Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1892-02-13
poIsoNs ron ARROWS

the yargpas uu.~r ways Ia whieh They
wers obtained bs savage reoPies.
s.Ths nse of poisoned arrows l. uadoubt
esly % very ancient origin" sald DR. w. J.
Hoffman They are believed 70 have been
employed Ia Europe Ia prehistoric times,
and later on. according % Aristotle, Strabo
and pliny, the Gelts aud tiauls enyenomeei
their shafts with the juice 81 plant Of the
genus heilebore. The Scyfhians prepared
arrow poison by mixing serpent venom
with the serum az putrid hlood, and other
instances are recorded IN literature of PEG
pies In the Black sea aud In Asia Minor who
practt@-i similar arts
''The Ainos Of Japan prepare poison
for spreading upon bamboo or metal arrow
points to Xiii game with. small portion
OF flesh about the wound being cut out be-
fore the animal Is cooked and eaten. In
Java, Borneo, New Guinea, and other Of
the Fast India islands the same practice
obtains 10 n considerable extent The poi.
snninR Of arrows prevails extensively In
Africa, particularly on the west coast, In
the Gahoon, among the Somais, and with
the Bushmen. by the f3ushmen the Juice
OF plant Ii used, mixed with the pulp Of
a yenomous worm.
1.-THE best known and most active of poi.
sons il the woorara or .urari' OF South
America, II IL chiefly used for the tips OF
darta blown from the hlowRnn, and the
most important ingredient Is the juice Of
the plant from which strychaine is OBJ
tanned. TO which Il added certain other
vegetable elements aud serpent venom.
In Central America poisons are also EN-
ployed on arrows aud blowgun darts The
Carihs employed poison made from ths
sap 81 a tree called the 'mancenilles.' Ths
antidote WINS the application to the wount
of what we know as 'afrowroot.'
''1he Serbs u northwestern Mexico pre-
pared poison by patting into the ground !
cows liver. rattlesnakes, scorpions, cent?
pcdes and other unpleasant things ant
beating them with a stick Into the mix
lures the arrow points were dipped TIN
| Apaches and neighborinr tribes were unit
recently In the habit Of smearing upoi
their arrows composition said to epnsis
| OF decomposed deer's liver and rattlesnak
| venom In some instances crushed re-,
ants are also reported to have been used
| microscopic examination Of such coat
ing upon arrows obtained from Apaehes Z
/ 1871 showed the presence Of blood and
crystalline substance that was APPARENT
| rattIesnakc venom. The venom of serpent
retains it, poisonous properties, whe
dried, indefinitely One instance 81 POI
| soning by such an arrow mentioned to IN
was that Of man whose wound was
mere scratch on the shoulder blade, bu
| previous to death, which ensued. the ties
| OF the mans back fell or, exposing tn
ribs and spine In several places.
"T'he Shoshone and Hammock Indian
| state that the proper way % poison arrows
as formerly praeticed by them, Is to secrr
deer aud cause 1t To be l,ssten by rattle
| snake, Immediately after which the victim
| Ii killed. and the meat removed and place
| In hole In the ground. When the mas
has become putrid the arrow points ~
dipped into IL. The Claliams of Pugt
Sound used To make arrow points III col
per, which were afterward dipped in se
water aud permitted II corrods. | hay
never met an Indian who would admit I'll
use of poisoned arrows Ia warfare again'
man. In nearly all instances whea 20
sons arr prepared by Indians the operatio
Is performed with more or less cerernon
chanting and incautation for the purpo
Of invoking evil spirits or demons.
their belief the effects Of poison are dl
wholly to the presence w them OF maiey
lent spirits or demons, which enter u
body Of the victim and destroy life"