The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1891-06-18
POISONED ARROW POINTS.

Among Ancient and Modern Snvagos.
J The use of poisoned arrows is I'M
doubtedly of very ancient ORIGIN said
DIR. w. j. Hoffman to n writer for tho
Washington Star. ''Thcy are believed
to have been employed In Europe in
prehistoric times, and later on, accord
ing to Aristotle, Strabo and Plipy, tho
| Celts and Gnuls cnvcnomcd their shafts
with the juice of n plant of the genus
helleborc- Tho Scythians prepared ar
row poison by mixing serpent venom
with the serum of putrid blood, and
other instances are recorded in classic
literature OF people about the Black
sea and in Asia Minor who practiccd
similar arts.
The Amos of Japan prepare poison
for spreading upon bamboo or metal ar
row points to kill game with, n small
portion of flesh about tho wound being
cut out before the animal is cooked and
eaten. In Java, Borneo, New Guinea
and other parts of the East India is
lands the same practice obtains to n
considerable extent The poisoning of
arrows prevails extensively in Africa,
particularly on the west coast in the
Gaboon, among the Somali and with
Dushmen BY the Bushnen the juice
Of plant is used, mixed with the pulp
as venomous worm.
The best known and most active of
arrow poison is the woorara or 'urari'
Of South America 1t is chiefly used
for the tips of darts blown from the
blowgun, and the most important in
gredient is the juice of the plant from
which strychnine is obtained, to which
is added certain other vegetable elc-
ments and serpent venom In Central
America poisons are also employed on
arrows and blowgun darts. The Caribs
employed, similarly, q poison made
from the sup of a tree called the man
ccnilles-' The antidoto was the appli-
cation to the wound of what we know
of 'arrowroot-'
THE Seris of northwestern Mexico
prepared poison by putting into the
ground q cows liver, rattlesnake,
scorpions, centipcdcs and other unplcas-
ant things and beating them with
sticks Into the mixture the arrow
points were dipped The Apachcs and
ncighboring tribes were until recently
i'll the habit of smearing upon their ar
rows composition said to consist of de-
composed decr's liver and rattlesnalse
venom. In some instances crushed red
ants are also reported to have been
used. a microscopic examination of
such n coating upon arrows obtained
from the Apachcs in 1871 showed the
presence of blood and crystalline sub
stance that was apparently rattlcsnakc
venom The venom of scrpcnts retains
its poisonous properties when dried in
! 1Nfnitn11- (1on ir,ct Af
by such an arrow mentioned to me was
that of a man whose wound was mere
scratch ON the shoulder blade, but
previous to death, which cnsucd, the
flesh of the mans back fell off, expos
ing the ribs and spine i'll several places
The Shoshonc and Bannock Indians
state that tho proper way to poison ar
rows, us formerly practiced by them, is
to secure IL deer and cause It to be bit
ten by a rattlesnallc, Immediately after
which the victim is killed, and the
meat removed and placed in q hole in
the ground When the mass has become
putrid the arrow points are dipped into
it. The Clallams of Puget Sound, used
to make arrow points of copper, which
were afterward dipped IN sea water and
permitted to corrode. have never met
an Indian who would admit the use of
poisoned arrows in warfare against
man. In nearly all instances where
poisons arc prepared by Indians the
operation is performed with more or
less ceremony, chanting and incanta-
ton, for the purpose of invoking evil
spirits or demons. In their belief the
effects of poison are due wholly to the
presence in them of malcvolcnt spirits
or demons, which enter the body of the
victim and destroy life