The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1891-10-03

Tho Various Queer Ways In which
They W~re Obtained.

They w~re ObtAined.
THE use OF poisoned arrows is un-
doubtedly OF very. anolent origin"
snid b. wv. j. IIonrnAn. TO u Washing
ton Star ~ ,,rter. They are believ-
cd 70 nave bea, employed In Europe
in prehistoric Inns. and later on. sc-
cording to Aristotle Strabo and Pliny.
the Celts and Gauls envenomed their
shafts with the juice Of q plant Of, tho
genus hellebore. The Soythians pre-
pared arrow poison by mixing serpept
venom with the serum OF putrid bIo6A
and other instances are recorded ~
literature OF people about tho Bladl
sea and In Asia Minor who practiceAr
similar arts. ~. s2as, =
The Amos OF Japan prepare 4
poison for spreading upon BAN boo Or
metal arrow points TO kill game with.
small portion Aof flesh about tho
wound being cut out before the AMI
NAL is cooked and eaten. In Java.
Borneo New Guinea and other OF tho
East India islands tho same practice
obtains TO considerable extent The
poisoning OF arrows prevails extern.
sively in Africa. particularly on tho
west coast in the Gaboon. among tho
Somali. and with the Bushmen. BY
the Bushmen the juice Of y plant rs
used. mixed with thepulpsof venom
Gus worm.
The best known and most active OF
poisons Is the woorara or 'urarf OF
South America. 1t Is chiefly used for
the tips OF darts blown from the blow
gun, and the most important ingredi-
ent Is the juice OF tho plant from
which strychnine is obtained, to which
Is added certain other vegetable elo-
ments and serpent venom. In Gen.
trail America poisons are also employ
cd on arrows and blow-gun darts
The Caribs employ similarly u poison
made from the sap OF tree called the
.mancenilles.' The antidote was the
application to tho wound OF what wo
! know as 'arrowroot'
The Serbs OF northwestern Mexico
prepared poison by putting into the
ground cows liver. rattlesnakes,
| scorpions, centipedes and other UNI
pleasant things and beating Thorn
with a stick. Into the mixtures the
arrow points were dipped. The
Apaches and neighboring tribes were.
until recently. In the habit OF smear
| ing upon their arrows composition
| said to consist OF decomposed deer's
/ liver and rattlesnake venom. In some
instances crushed red ants are also re-
!. ported to have been used. micro
/ scOpic examination OF such u coating
upon arrows obtaiued from Apaches in
! 1871 showed the presence OF blood and
u crystalline substance that was APP
parently rattlesnake venom. The
venom OF serpents retains its poisonous
properties. when dried indefinitely.
One instance OF poisoning by such an
arrow mentioned to me was that OF q
man whose wound was n mere scratch
on the shoulder blade, but previous to
death, which ensued, the flesh OF the
mans back fell of. exposing the ribs
and spine in several places.
The Shoshone and Bannack Inc
dians state that the proper way to
poison arrows, as formerly practiced
by them, Is to secur, deer AID cause
1t to be bitten by rattlesnake. inn
mediately after which the victim is
killed and the meat removed and
placed In hole In tho ground. When
the mass has become putrid the ar
row points are dipped into it. Tho
Clallams OF Puget sound used to make
arrow points OF copper, which were
afterward dipped in sea wa.er and
permitted 10 corrode. ] have never
met an Indian who would admit tho
use Of poisoned arrows in warfare
against man. In nearly all instances
when poisons are prepared by Indians
the operation is performed with more
or less ceremony. chanting and in
cantation. for the purpose OF invoking
evil spirits or demons. In their belief
the effects OF poison are due wholly to
tho presence in them Of malevolten
spirits or demons. which enter tho
body OF the victim and destroy life.