Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1885-10-31
THE e!.OW.6UN OF THE DYaX3
m "~Su'npitan" and It's Poisoned Ar
rcw-A Weapon silent and Deadly.

M "su'npitan" and It's Poisoned Ar
rcw-A Weapon Silent and Deadly.
CIR. American ri
A peculiar weapon. and one whose
like We have not yet seen. is the SUN
tau or blow gun Of the Dyaks has
wca on Is u ,ong. straight. AMI p"isaed
tube Of Ieavy woo. abou, e,ght teet l." =
auI an Inch or two in d.alneier. ID real
out with The utmost care. c%ustomarily z
nameuted with weed patterns ald often
surrounded At the end with metal. 4
The end. 'ashcd the side in such a way
a. not TO interfere with the man usc Of
tue weapon. is Often found n spear head,
giving the sumpitau u two fo d use. 4 d
showi & us thar il was u ter all 40 Eau.
Gus an who first Invented the ba Oct
The sump.tau Shoots a poisoned arrow.
This is "ny about siX or eight inches
long, AID as thick as a heavy darn NJ
needle. beilg fire iuenlly on,y u large
thorn. At It's lase secret Of the force
with which il can be blown-it ha, u lit
tie wad OF bal Of pith, which just fits The
caiiler throughout.
The tip of this tiny arrow Is poisoned,
Rev. MIR Wood thinks, with the uice of
Tie Gedd y native upas tree; but in In $ ne
is n t necessarily right Mr.. arl Book,
VINO is perhaps the only traveller of note
VIII" ever saw the process of preparing the
arrows, thus Describes what he obser ed
among the ioonaus Of the interior:
They had n bundle of arrows by their
side, and as soon az the poisonous matter
was hot. they took q small Quantity and
sm' AIRED il over a wooden plate. By meaus
Of u wooden instrument resemb ing a pes.
&c ill the plate was covered with a thick
Ia, er. Then taking an arrow. they rolled
the head across the plate. SO that IL became
coated with the pasty matter. Next they
made u spiral incision in the arrow head.
and again rolled it over the plate. d" +"
" hat lnis arrow poison il made of. !
could he or ascertain, notwith> landing all
my inquiries on he spot 1t certainly
coniatned nicotine, which the Dyaks col.
lest from t.seir pipes Whoa they get foul
after smoking"
MunN scientific men Of Europe have at
tempted the disc" very Of the iature Of
this roson. bat have failed nor has an
ant:dote been discovered which is more
certain thaa he common treatment Tor q
snake bite -copiuus draughts Of spirits
and abundant exercise with authorization
OF the wound. Il IS probable that ditier.
ent pois rs are used.
The wound OF thist tiny arrow is usually
within u few minutes fatal to animal or
IA The bravcst Troops dread to march
aga nst an enemy 50 armed. for the h.dden
foe, using a weapon parfect!y silent even
more SO than the bow aud $ ear can creep
undiscovered TO easy dlslan. e, and Stay q
dozen men before his location can be de
term ned. 1t is strange. too, al what range
this weapon is fatal. Atfprty or atty y ards
the native can use ii with perfect accuracy
aud can even do execution at Sc, cnty We
10 10 yards "a distance almost incredible.
English sailors soon learned to dread the
canoe attacks Of these fierce pirates. who
came on with their pea. shooters. and
blew a perfect cloud Of death darts
through every Granny of the ship de
fences.
The Lyak uses the sumpitau as a hunt
iny weapon, for which it's perfect silence
renders ii the more serviccabie. Most Of
his game is killed with 1t. He cuts out
m inch or SO of the flesh from about the
tiny wound. and then eats the animal with
l%crfect %impunity. The poison ,eelns not
To 4 ect the remainder Of tho body at al.
The G" oct Of this poison g supposed to be
a stoppaee Of the action Of the heart