The Mt. Sterling advocate., 1891-12-08
Everything With Poison.


dians the administration of deadly
poison has been reduced to an exact
science. These tribes never go on the
warpath. They have not learned the
uses of the scalping-knife and toma-
hawk. Such thing as shooting
from ambush never occurs. When a
Cree or Salteaux Indian gets ready to
dispose of an enemy or rival he con-
suits the conjurer of the tribe and that
individual deals out poisons that are
not known in any other place on
earth. These poisons battle the most
skillful doctors and chemists.
British army surgeons who have
examined victims Of the Cree and
SaltoauX poisoners say that the deadly
mixtures used by them are absolutely
unknown to science. Missionaries
and trappe.s who came to Winnipeg
with stories Of the fatal liquids were
not believed. The only way they con-
vinced the doctors was by taking sew
eral victims before q board Of examin-
ing surgeons. These poisons are
brewed in the most mysterious man
ner by the old conjurers Of the tribe.
That is their chief occupation. They
go into the forests alone and come
back to their wigwams with strange
herbs and barks, which are converted
into liquids that work terrible execu-
ton among the bucks signaled out
for death. No remedy has ever been
found to operate against these drugs.
Death invariably follows, sometimes
swiftly and with awful agony, but
more frequently after the lapse Of
months of dreadful suffering.
"Fourteen braves have been sent TO
the good trapping grounds by this
hand" said one old conjurer, shaking
his hand in threatening gesture to
Rev. Egerton r. Young, missionary
who lived twenty years with the
tribes.
Rev. Mr.. Young is visiting friends
in Chicago. He tells thrilling story
of his lite among these savages. The
missionary is a man of powerful
physique and athletic proportions.
81 lived with two of the tribes so long
that they all called me their little
BROTHER" he said. "They are a pow
erful race. The men are large and
very strong. AS you may know, the
Cree and SaSsUauX Indians are the
last tribes we find on this continent
before reaching the Esquimaux," says
the Chicago Herald. "Mv work as a
missionary was in the country about
700 to 1000 miles north of Winnipeg.
The line that separates the Indian
from the Esquimaux is not marked,
and, while their hunting grounds are
not far apart in some places, the GUS
toms of the people are very different.
The Cree and Salteaux Indians are
not bood-thirsty, but once their anger
or envy is aroused, death more terri
BILE than that inflicted by the scalping-
knife or tomahawk awaits the victim.
Their knowledge Of poisons is extra
ordinary. / saw many victims of the
deadly drugs administered by the old
conjurers, and during my twenty
years residence with the tribes had
frequent occasions to administer to
the victims, for 1 was doctor, magis-
trate, preacher and teacher for them.
Many is the time l have been called
from my bed to 60 and stitch up some
poor fellow who had been clawed al
most to death by bear. Some of
these poisons operate in the most
mysterious manner. One of the drugs
in common use when / first went
among the Indians caused great sores
to appear on the face and body of the
victim. No matter what season of
the year this poison was given its
effects were not visible until spring.
Then the sores would appear. When
these scales dropped off great tufts of
hair sprung from the sores. Then
death followed. 1 told some army
surgeons at Winnipeg of these re-
markable drugs and their effects, but
my story was not believed. Such
things are not known to medical sci
ence,' the doctors replied. When 1
went back to Winnipeg again I took
one of the afflicted Indians with me.
The surgeons spent nearly week ex-
amining him. This is certainly the
first case of tha kind that has ever
been reported to the medical profess
sion,' was their verdict when they