The Evening dispatch. [volume] (Provo, City, Utah) 1891-1895, 1895-04-24
POISON FOR ARROWS.
HOW THE DEADLY STUFF is MADE
BY THE INDIANS.

Heads of Rattlesnalxes and Abdomens Of
TarantuIa Killers Cooked Together-The
Thrilling Method of Testing-A Secret
Carefully Guarded.
had been cattle ranchman on the
plains Of southeastern Arizona for some
two years before I could find out how
the Apaches poison their arrow tips.
The Indians inherit from their ances-
tors an intense secretiveness as to thu
manner of their preparation of venon
for hunting or warlike purposes. A tribs
Il chief years ago would as soon think
of cutting off his own head as to let an
other chief know some method peculiar
to the tribe for preparing a powerful
poison. Now that the savages use fire.
arms almost to the exclusion of their
primitive weapons the older warriors
will not, if they can, allow information
concerning their tribal manufacture of
venom to become known among the
palefaees. had in my employ bright
young Indian buck, who gave me full
information concerning the way the
plains Indians have for many genera
lions made the poisonous fluids for their
arrows. One day he went SO far as TO
get permission for me to go over to the
mountains to see a tribe Of Yavapais
get their weapons in proper poisonous
condition.
Rattlesnakes afford most of the Apa-
che and Piute Indians venomous COM
pounds. To see the savages prepare the
poisons and try their efficacy on them
selves is enough to distress even from
tiersman's dreams The bloated rattle.
snake of the hot alkali deserts of Ari.
IONA or the panhandle of Texas makes
the most powerful poison. There is no
more hideous and deadly serpent in
America than the bloated RATHER. 1t is
a terror even to an Apache Indian, and
if there is one thing that is worse than
a rattlesnake in the opinion Of plains
men and settlers in eastern Texas and
southern Arizona it is an Apache Indi-
an. The Piutes, although a more cow
ardly gang than the Apaohes, hold this
it plenty of room. The Piutes draw on
the snake for their poison after it 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 Arizona desert
grows to length of feet and attains
II girth of inches at the thickest part.
They have tremendous sets of rattles.
This snake has fangs an inch long and
is frequently fitted with two SETS The
poison sacs at the base of these fangs |
are as big as hazelnut The snake is a
bright yellow in color.
The desert rattlesnake is a dreadful |
enough customer any day in the year,
but during August takes on the fullness
Of its frightfulness, both in appearance
and conduct. About the middle of Au-
gust when the weather is insufferably |
hot, this snake becomes bloated from
some cause until is third larger than
its normal size. Its appearance is as if
the snake had been blown up like a
bladder or charged with gas like bal
loon. This RATHER is always sluggish
Aad slow in its movements, and like all
Of its kind usually makes an effort to
get out of the way of its intruders, but
IN August it simply lies still in bloated
and will not move for any
hing, being ready at all times to strika
1t everything that comes near it, As
near as you can get at it, this rattle
make at that time of the year is simply
! swollen reservoir of venom.
A Piute Indian who wishes to lay in
stock of poison for his arrows kills, at
his time of year, enough of these rat
lesnakes for his purpose. He cuts off
heir heads and takes them to his lodge
lie places in one of the rude earthen
'essels that are among the Piute house
lold effects ten or a dozen of these
make heads. To them he adds perhaps
pint of tarantula killer, as the big
lairy Texan or Mexican spider is call
d, or rather he puts the abdomen OF
he spider in with the snake heads.
his spider has sting that injects
,oison subtle enough almost to kill ia
antula instantly, which is itself about
S poisonous a member of the animal
ingdom as one would care to meet,
he poison sac of the tarantula killer is
4 the lower abdomen Of the insect, and
is this the Piute brave mixes with the
heads. He then pours III
pint of water, seals the lid of the YES
81 on with moist clay and places the
essel in a pit where he has made "a bed
f hot Goals. He buries the vessel in
nese Goals, and besides that builds a
lazing fire on top of it. This fire is
ept burning fercely for several hours,
hen it is swept away, and the Indian
igs his vessel out of the Goals. With a
ing pole he knocks the lid off and does
OF venture near the pot until the steam