The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1890-02-21
THE UPAS TREE.
1t Is Not Near So Poisonous as Has Been
Described.

IL Is MOI Near SO Poisonous as Has Been
Described.
Perhaps more fabulous tales have been
told concerning poisonous qualities of
the death-dealing (?) upas trees of Java
than of any other tree which has an
actual existence. Accounts of this tree
were first given to the public by DR..
Foersch, surgeon in the Dutch East
India Company's employ in the latter
part of the eighteenth century. Toersch
published several extraordinary accounts
of this deadly upas," one in particular,
which appeared in book giving the in
trepid M. DIS experience while explor-
ing the islands of Java in 1888. In course
of his narrative he said that criminals
condemned to die were compelled to go
and gather it's poisonous leaves, and
that not more than two out of each
twenty sent out on the journey ever re-
turned to tell the tale of how, overcome
by its deadly emanations, they had laid
themselves down to never again awaken.
The very birds that flew over the valley
in which this deadly vegetable monster
grew, according to this Haggard of the
eighteenth century, fell futtering into
the branches of the tree, only to die
among the poisonous foliage or upon the
bOne-strewn ground beneath. He also
relates how an army of 1000 men camped
one night about IA miles from where the
upas grew, and that only 800 answered
to the morning roll call, 300 of them
having persisted during the night by the
wind changing and silently waiting the
deadly vapors over the sleeping multi
tude.
The facts in regard to the trees are
these: 1t grows in the forest with other
trees, and attains height of about one
hundred feet The juice of the bark is
somewhat poisonous to the human skin,
but not more so than that of the poison
sumac, or even the three-leaved ivy. It
is evident that Foersch COMPOUNDED the
horrors of deaths valley" another Of
the natural curiositieS of Java, with the
legendary stories told of the upas tree.
The poison gases in the valley above
mentioned escapes from the ground, and
are not the emanations of any tree, fam
ciful stories Notwithstanding. - st.
Louis Republic.
"A very queer custom in Oconee
County, South Carolina, is the manner
OF burial so often practiced. Instead of
elaborate marble headstones or other
such memorials to the dead the Caro-
inian will build over the mound a shed
or small house to protect the grave from
the inclemency of the weather. At first
one is likely to take these little struct-
ures for baby houses. In the case of the
better class of mountaineer he will
paint this wooden mausoleum. The less
favored will content themselves with a
shed arrangement, which is made bv
driving two forked sticks in the ground
and then placing on these rail, which
forms ridge pole, upon which the plank
is laid, shedding to the ground.
"A San Francisco paper illustrates
the contempt of Californians for pennies
by the following: "Give me silver for
this, please" said an Eastern tourist
yesterday, as he dumped double hand
full of one cent pieces on the counter of
prominent money broker. 81 don't
want them. They're not worth count
ing. 1 Wouldn't give fifty cents on the
dollar for them," was the reply. 81
never took them but once, and then
had to. A fellow owed me five dollars.
and, after repeated duns, offered paw
ment in coppers. Indignantly refused.
The next day he came in, and showing
copper cent in my hand, asked me to
give him credit for that amount upon
the debt. He kept that up, making a
payment of one cent every morning,
noon and night-three cents every dav
until | accumulated cigar box full of
coppers. They're here yet, and they'll
stay here until some one comes along
who has more time than money. /
won't count them"