Sullivan republican. [volume] (Laporte, Pa.) 1883-1896, 1890-06-27
INDIAN ARROW POISONS.
RATTLEsNAKE VENOM Is THEIR
UNIVERSAL BASE.
The Piute Tests Its Efficacy on Him.
self, While the UngalJant Apache
T., Tries it on His Squaw.

The Piute Tests Its Efficacy on Him.
self, While the UngaJant Apache
+, Tries it ON His Squaw.
s'The rattlesnake venom that is the
base of both the Apache and the Pluto
arrow poisoning" says Oliver HI. Patton,
-ho was for many years ranchman on
the Southwestern plains, ''is provided
by that most hideous and deadly of its
kind, the bloating rattlesnake of the
Staked Plains. 1t is so hideous, and its
death dealing qualities so sure, that it is
terror even to an Apache Indian, and if
there is one thing that is worse than a
rattlesnake in the opinion of plalnsmen
and settlers it is an Apache Indian. The
Piutes, although a more cowardly gang
than the Apaches, hold this rattlesnake
in less horror, but they give it plenty of
room. The Piutes draw on the snake for
their poison after the reptile is dead. The
Apaches, in spite of their fear of the
snake, make it contribute its venom to
them while it is alive.
"The rattlesnake of the Staked Plains
grows to a length of six feet, and attains
"a girth of ten inches at the thickest part.
They have tremendous sets of rattles. 1
and had twenty y-three rattles in it, and 1
heard of snake being killed that had
string of twenty seven rattles. The head
of the Staked Plains rattler is an enor-
nous triangular thing, often five inches
long from the thin neck to the blunt
nose, and three inches wide, measuring
from base to base of the jawbone. This
snake has fangs an inch long, and is fire.
quently fitted with two sets. The poison
sacs at the base of these fangs are as big
as hazel nut. The snake is bright
yellow in color, and is distinguished by
much the same markings that character
ize the rattlesnake of this State and
Pennsylvania. The Staked Plains rattle
snake is a dreadful enough customer any
day in the year, but during August takes
on the fulness of its frightfulness, both
in appearance and in conduct About
the middle of August, when the weather
is insufferably hot, this snake becomes
bloated from some cause until it is third
larger than its normal size. Its appear
ance is as if the snake had been blown up
like bladder, or charged with gas like
a balloon. This rattler is always sluggish
and slow in its movements, and, like all
of its kind, usually makes an effort to get
out of the way of intruders, but in
August it simply lies still in bloated re-
pulsiveness, and it will not move for
anything, being ready at all times to
strike at everything that comes near it.
AS near as you can get at it, this rattle
snake at this time of the year is simply
swollen reservoir of venom, and its bite
will then send even an Apache Indian to
the happy hunting grounds, and quickly
at that
GA Plute Indian who wants to lay in a
stock of poison for his arrows kills, at
this time of year, enough of these rattle
snakes for his purpose. He cuts off their
heads and takes them to his lodge. He
places in one of the rude earthen vessels
that are among the Plute household eff
fects ten or dozen of these snake heads.
To them he adds perhaps pint of taran-
tula killers, as the big Texan or Mexican
wasp is called, or, rather, he puts the alb
domen of the wasp in with the snake
heads. This wasp has a sting that in ects
a poison subtle enough almost instantly
to kill tarantula, which is itself about
as poisonous member of the animal
kingdom as one would care to meet with.
The poison of the tarantula killer is in
the lower abdomen of the insect, and it
is this the Piute brave mixes with his
rattlesnake heads. He then pours in q
pint of water, seals the lid of the vessel
on with moist clay, and places the vessel
in pit where he has made bed of red
hot Goals, and, besides that, builds a
blazing fire on top of it. This fire is kept
burning tiercely for several hours, when
it is swept away, and the Indian digs his
vessel out of the Goals. With a long
pole he knocks the lid off, and does not
venture near the pot until the steam that
arises from it as soon as the lid is taken
off entirely ceases to appear. The
Piutes say that to inhale the smallest
quantity of that steam would be instant
death. Whether that is true or not am
not able to say, as l never saw it put to
the test. After the fiery ordeal to which
the snake heads are put is over, brown
ish residuum remains in the bottom of
the kettle. That is certainly the double
quintessence of poison, if its action on
human blood, or, at least, Indian blood,
is any indication. The Piute always tests
this poison before trusting his arrows to
it. He cuts cash in the feshy part of
his leg and draws the blood, which he
lets trickle down his leg. When the red
stream has run down six or seven inches
ne dips stick in the poison and touches
it to the lower end of the bloody streak
If the poison is all right it actually burns
the blood almost like hot iron touched
to water, and rapidly runs up the trick.
ling stream. The Indian mas his knife
ready and scrapes the poisoned blood off
dry. If it was permitted to reach the
wound it would be all up with the Piute.
The arrows are dipped into this poison,
ard the Indian feels that whatever such
an arrow hits had much better not have
been born.
tsThe nachp Indian onllects bic ,,oicon