St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-12-05
WHITES IMPERWoUs 70 POISON.
CaucnslAns do Not Suffer from the DaEts
or Sayn9e Tribes.

/ WHITES IMPERWous 70 POISON.
Caucaslaas DO Not sa3er from the Darss
Of savage Tribes.
II is rather curious that we hear SO
little Of poisoned weapons in these days.
Now and again the newspapers report
what they call "a tragedy" from the
South seas or from Africa, such rs the
death of poor Commander Goodenough,
Or the massacre ct that French party
in Borneo, announced the other day.
But such events are very rare, and they
nearly always happen in certain narrow
areas. Poisoned arrows were an abid-
ing terror once in every land, civilized
or savage. But in Europe they seem to
be quite extinct, and somehow people
Eo longer take much account of them in
regions where they are still common.
One might suspect that the alarm OF
nur forefathers was due mostly to SUI
perstition nnd ignorance. They had
,oison. as one may say, 'cn the brain.
and their methods of analysis were
grotesque. But in every museum are
weapons carefully fashioned to insure
that q dose of venom shall enter The
wound they inflict. Doubtless the men
at that time were familiar with roxious
herbs and substances which are known
at present time only to students of
science. But it still remains somewhat
OF puzzle that poisoned arrows are SO
rarely mentioned in savage countries.
There are districts innumerable up and
down where Europeans live, no wei
come residents, among population
well acquainted with deadly drugs and
used to steep their weapons therein.
One might certainly have expected that
the Ghazis, Of Afghanistan, would poi
son their knives. Often it has been al
legged tEnt one OF them did 30, but is
there any evidence? In our generation.
at least, wounded men duly recover un-
less their hurts be mortal.
Has any Englishman ever lost his life
in Borneo from the fatal darts of the
blowpipe? Capt. Mundy tells how sew
eral Of his men were struck at the cap
ture of Bruni, but their messmates in
stantly sucked the wound, and nothing
followed. The present rajah of Sara
wax once lost so men in q single day:
they had gone out as skirmishers. The
bodies had no mark beyond the simple
puncture, where drop Of blood rested
on the wound. "One man was struck
near him; he instantly had the arrow
extracted, the wound sucked, glass
of brandy administered and the pa
tient sent off to the boats about five
miles distant. Two companions sup
him sleep till he reached the landing
place; they made him keep awake, and
he recovered" Old officers of the Sara
wax government have many such
stories 10 tell. But the fact remains,
curious to us, that natives make very
little use comparatively of their ter
rible power. Not half the tribes, in
deed, employ the blowpipe, whether
for war or hunting, and none poison
swords. spears or any instrument what
ever. The poisoned weapons OF the
Malays are q stock property of fiction.
1t is not said that they never existed in
fact, for the braves are found every
where. but assuredly they are uncom-
mon even among the criminal class.
Yet the Malays are perfectly familiar
with the up0s,. and they entertain even
an exaggerated belief in its virulence.
They know venom more powerful
still, the sap Of the Chetek, a common
vine, which can be obtained in five min
utes, for it is used 'neat"-the ccncoc-
tion Of uI0s is not little complicated.
DIR. Horsfield. in Jav0, persuaded an ex-
Fert 10 make some in his presence.
with an equal quantity of upas juice
the native mingled about half a drachm
each Of sap from Arum. Kempferia
galange, anomum, = kind of Zerum
bed, common onion. = drachnl and q
half of black pepper" With this COM
position DIR. Horsrfield killed dog in
one hour. a monkey in seven minutes.
cat in Is. and large buffalo in two
hours ten minutes. By all accounts
the Bornean upas is much stronger.
In 50 minutes, or even 20. a man 10 dead.
they say.-Pall Mall Gazette.