The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1890-04-05
POISONING ARROWS.
Rattlesnakes' Heads and Red Ants
in Wizards Cauldron.

1t is not generally known that IN
early times the Indians inhabiting
this section used in fighting an ar
row whose point had been dipped
in deadly poison. Within twenty
years these Indians have hunted
deer with poisoned arrows. With
these, if they once hit deer, they
never failed to get him. Preparing
an arrow for hunting was rather
simple and different from prepar-
ing the deadly war arrow. A beef's
liver was thrust at a rattlesnake
until he bit it. This was repeated
until number Of snakes had struck
the liver with their fangs. 1t was
then laid away until it became pu
trescent. when the arrows were stuck
into the mass and laid away to dry.
The arrows used by these In
dians were slightly larger than the
ordinary lead pencil, and about
three feet long. On the end was
stuck with the shellac that is pro-
duced on some of the desert shrubs
flint or volcanic glass point, or
the point was wrapped on with
sinew. The arrows were made of
arrow wood, strong reed that
abounds on the Colorado river.
The bows Of these Indians were
made Of white willow, and were
about FIVE feet long. The Utes used
bow made of the horn of a noun
tain sheep, that was about forty-two
inches long and of great strength.
The Indians of this section bought
their war poisoned arrows from the
Piutes.
We are indebted to Frank Smith
of Whitewater for a very graphic
account of the manner in which a
Piute Indian prepared his deadly
arrows. He gathered dozen or
more rattlesnake heads and put
them in a spherical earthen vessel.
With these he put half a pint of
species of large red ant that is found
hereabouts. The bite of this ant is
more poisonous than that of bee.
Upon these he poured bit of water,
and then sealed up with moist earth
and a lid, this vessel. He then dug
a hole two feet deep into the ground,
in which he built a roaring fire and
put in stones. When the exterior
of the hole and the stones were red
hot, he made place in the bottom
for the earthen vessel and put it in.
About it and upon it he put the
Goals and hot stones, and upon the
top he built fierce fire and kept it
up for twenty-four hours. Then
he dug out his vessel, and, stand
ing off with long pole, he olsen
gagged the top and let the fumes es-
cape. He insisted that had they
struck his face it would have killed
him. The mass left in the vessel
was dark brown paste. To test
the efficacy of his concoction the
Indian with his hunting-knite made
cut in his bare leg just below the
knee and let the blood run down to
his ankle. Then taking q stick, he
dipped it into the poison and touch
ed the descending blood at the
ankle. It Immediately began to
sizzle, as if it were cooking the
blood, and the poison followed the
blood right up the leg, sizzling its
way, until the Indian scraped the
blood off with the knife. He as
sured our informant that had he
allowed it to reach the mouth Of
the wound he would have been
dead man.
Stanley tells Of an African tribe
that poison their arrows from de-
coction Of red ants. Our inform
ant, Mr.. Smith, is thoroughly reli-
able, and we have no doubt Of the
truth of his account.--Banning
Herald.