The Lake Charles echo. [volume] (Lake Charles, Parish of Calcasieu, La.) 1876-1898, 1882-01-14

Hyue Oh Tile znBSt 1tniafhaotc "a - -.
nlish calsl,rated cases Was that OF Sir
Thsodosius BouRht0n, who was poisoned
IN his brother-in-lsw by draught OF
laurel water.
In I7a2 certain DIR. Price, Of Gull
ford. PROGRESSED 10 be able 70 convert
mercury into gold, end offered to repeat
his experiments before o competent tn
buual. hut he put period 10 his exist
encef before the day appointed for ms
exhibition by swallowing laurel water.
of hate vears. stryehnane has been
frequently used In criminal poisoning.
Its effects are not ilstantaneous, Like
those Of y,russics acid, but It's action is
nevertheless very rapid. III a person
survives two hours after swallowing this
poison he usually RECEIVERS. The small
est fatal dose ON record ID half a grain.
So many plants and leaves Of trees are
poisonous, especially IN tropical coun-
tries, that it IL wonder that decoctions
from them can ever be used in an IN
uocuous quantity. There 10 a tree IN
the island Of Cuba which the natives say
is fatal 10 sleep under, especially TO fat,
fnll-blooded people. The deadly upas
Tor poison tree) Of Java is well known.
II is. said that merely sitting under its
outrageous foliage sfew minutes causes
IN eternal sleep.
A strong liquid poison is brewed from
it's leaves. into which arrows are dipped.
Criminals are wounded by these arrows,
and death ensues immediately.
Ticunas Is an extract obtained from
various plants BY the Indians OF South
America. Woorari d poison with
which the Indians of Guiana arm the
points of their arrows. The Indians OF
the Amazon prepare . similar poison,
and cnare is the war poison OF the In
dams on the banks OF the Orinoeo-
Strychnine forms the basis OF all these
.oisons. The poison employed by tine
natives near araccas, in South America,
is Analogous. It is mot knownto civilized
people from what plant this poison rs
prepared. hut ii produces Heath IN
eleven minutes after its Insertion under
the skin.
Z Eslaeraida, on the 0rinoeo, is where
eurare is prepared. The Indians strip
off tho bark Of the tree, for in IL is con-
tanned this terrible poison. The venom
Gus Juice is pressed out by br,lising
the bark with stone. This juice being
yellow, the whole fihrous mass takes
this color. 1t is then thrown into
funnel made of the leaf OF D plantain
tree. A cold infasiois Is first prepared
by pouring water on She tibrous matter,
and yellowish water filters, drop by
drop, for several hours, through the
leafy funnel. This water is the deadly
liquor. but it acquires strength only
when concentrated by evaporation, like
molasses, in .aaarge eartben pot. The
Indians taste the liquor nom time to
time. and the taste, more orless bitter,
decides when concentration has been
carried sufficiently far.
The curare is eieleterious Only when
brought into contact with the blood.
Ii is inert when taken into the stomach.
The juice is thickened with O glHtmous
substance to make it stick 10 the darts,
which il renders mortal.
There is no known antidote TO eurare
poison. ~.
Heliebore was used by the ancients to
poison their arrows.
Cerbera tanghin grows IN Madagas-
car. The kernel rs poisonous. 1t is
not larger than an almond, yet when
divided is sufficient to kill twenty per-
sons. The King of Madagascar s,is-
pected some Of his servants Of attempt
ing to poison him. One kernel WAS
pounded fine, and every one was made
TO swallow small portion of 1t. 1t be-
gan TO act ia half an hour, throwing tbs
victims into state of insensibility, in
which condition they we're thrust into Q
large hole aud the earth thrown upon
them, 30 that they were buried alive.
They were supposed to be guilty. Two
persons Of the suspected party recoy-
cred, their stomachs having immediately
rejected the poisoned substance.
This seldom happens, but when it
does the poison does not act. These
fortunate MadAgascans were believed
innocent, having safely passed through
the test.
/, The nerium oIeander abounds In
Africa. A small detachment Of the
French army Of Algiers halted under o
tree of this kind
The cook Of the party stirred be bar
ley he was preparing for their meal with
branch of it.
All who partook Of the food were
seized with the symptoms VI poisoning.
but recovered. sasss.5s
Some fish are poisonous, particularly
in the West Indies. The yellow-billed
sprat is the most dangerous. Whites
and negroes have been known to expire
with the sprats In their mouths, un-
swal, owed. This is said to be the only
fish which produces immediate death.
even in the tropics.
Some of the fish taken on the coast Of
England possess poisonous properties,
particularly the mussel. In june, 1897,
nearly the whole town Of Leith was
poisoned. and many died. fron eating
nusseiB. Ss
iThe physalis 10 . fnoliuscous apimai,
irlhaliting the tropical seas. II Is called
hy sailors the Portuguese man-of-war.
Handling it ppisons the skin.
The partridge o. Pennsylvania is said
| 10 be poisonous during the wli.tel
months, % used BY its feeding on flie
buds Of the laurel, which preserves ~
ssrdure throughout the cold season.
Some beehises were once placed wliers
| the lssaral was the principal Towering
shrub. This bees increased prodigious
l IN, hut IL WAS soon found that every ON
| who ate Of the honey became highly 40
| toxicated. IL was then made into meth
eglin, producing . similar effect
The bite Of almost all reptiles il poi
scnous likewise tliat Of insects, such q
Cha scorssion. fArAntula and centipede
and Unless remedial agents are speedily
/ employed, the result ii fatal.
4 AZ To The yenomons nature Of TIL
toad. scoiAradictory opinions exist .
the present day, th0ugh formerly it Va