The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1899-04-26

INDIAN PolSoNS THAT PUZZLE oui
MEN OF SCIENCE.

Finish Its Deadly Work ant
Against which There In No Rene
dy-A Poison That ParaIyxes.
II venture 10 say that no poiSons know
to science the world over can compare II
their effects with the deadly mixtures usot
hy the conjurcrs, or medicine men, of tn,
Crce and Saltcaux tribes Of Indians away
up in the northwest region Of British Co
lumbia," says DR. James Melden of Mani
toba
These tribes, " he said, "live in tha,
vast, wild region from 200 TO 1000 mile,
north of Winnipeg, just on the border o.
Eskimo land They are the last tribes to
bc met with before the EskimoS are reach
cd, and they get along very amcably with
them, rs hunting ground demarcations ART
mutually understood and respected Nc
doubt the extreme rigor of the climate ac
counts for 1t, but they are conspicuously
peaceful for redskins and perform almost
incredible feats of endurance | have
known bucks Of these tribes to run ahead
Of dog slcd'aS guides for over 100 miles
But, for all they have such amiablo dispo
sitions, just let one of them get his anger
or spirit of revenge aroused through jcal
ousy or envy, and tho victim of his wrath
meets death moro horrible than the tor.
lures of the inquisition by the use of these
mysterious, battling poisons The modus
operandi is simple enough. He takes his
case to one of the conjurcrs of the trihc--
for the same custom prevails among both
the Creos and the Saltoaux-who under
takes the job of removing the objection
able buck The conjurcr then starts of
into tho dense forests alone and gathers n
collection of barks and herbs unknown to
botanists. With these he returns to his
wigwam and brcws the destructive mix
turc that does the business.
Now for the peculiar way In which II
works, the doctor continued IL want
to say, by way of parenthesis, that these
tribes never go ON the warpath They
make no use OF tomahawk or Scalpinp
knife. They never resort to the popular
redskin method of removing an enemy by
shooting him down from ambush Poison
is their sole recipe for settling scores.
Fortified, then, with his potent drug, the
man who is out for vengeance manages to
have it administered to his doomed foe in
his food 1t may be months before the
effects are visible, At whatever time Of
the year the poison is taken 1t never be-
gins to operate before spring. Here is one
of the most amazing features. Tho first
sign is the appearance of sores on the
body, and especially on the face, of the
victim In the course Of month or so
these would apparently, dry up and be
followed by scales But that is merely the
seeming calm before the storm, for in the
course of few months more, during
which the poor buck suffers indescribable
tortures, these scales drop off, and in thoir
place great tufts of hair spring up The
last stage before death follows in its most
agonizing form, far worse than the tor
lures from prussic acid and great deal
more prolonged.
II remember well, " resumed the narra-
tor, show we had heard of these Indian
poisons in a vague way for some time in
our country; but, knowing the medical
books contained nothing of that sort un-
der the head of toxicology, we put the
whole thing aside rs yarn We were
rudely aroused one day from this infldeli-
ty by the appearance among us of buck
about 40 years old who had been under
his enemy's poison. He was in the earlier
stages before the scales formed. AS he
was n man of wonderful strength and
superb physique, it was hoped by q mis-
sionary who had lived for many years
with these tribes that the victims life
| might be saved If he could reach oiviliza-
ton and get tho benefit of professional
skill. So he had brought him, like good
| Samaritan, over that vast Sahara of snow
1 t. r. IL.
"Hcre at last was flesh and blood proof
of the poisons we had laughed out Of court
as impossible, and we lost no time in de.
Gliding to cure him. No mortal was ever
more carefully watched and dosed than
that redskin. We tried every antidote
known to materia medica, both simple and
compound, but the poison turned around
and laughed us out of court, securing q
double revenge. Nothing we administered
could stop the slow but deadly work of the
Indian mixture The giant buck went
through all the stages have described
until the most exoruciating death put al
end to his miseries. All our science wa!
bound hand and foot, utterly helpless II
the presence of this curious, fatal brew o.
an Indian conjurer.
ing" he went on to say, "of the herb
that enter into this mixture. This poisor
mystery has long been kept q secret among
the conjurers of those two tribes. The,
are always few in number and exercis
the greatest caution in transmitting 1t t,
those who come after them. They requir,
long and severe training on the part o
any buck who feels inspired to enter tn
conjurers' mystic circle. So severe is tn
J preliminary training that few arc able Il
| pass through it successfully. As the brew
ing Of these deadly mixtures is the con
jurers' chief occupation they form a sor
i of college of poison.
but, DR.. Melden continued there
, still another branch of this Indian mys
terry quite as battling as the one I've told
. These tribes have wonderful powers of en-
! durance and make great boasts of thei
, running qualities In this there is tn
Q aercest professional rivalry-worse thai
0 anything among the theater folks-an
when q certain buck is outclassed he gen
: orally hunts up the conjurer for modifle
t form of revenge. He doesn't care to XII
Q his rival 1t will satisfy him to have hiI
/. crippled and placed out Of the race. Th
b conjurer is ready for business on tha
1 basis, too, and gives his caller brew tina
makes short work of the objectionabl
rapid buck. Sometimes these drugs wi
paralyze the legs of the victim and hay
2 no other effect whatever. At other time
s they will SO stiffen his limbs that he prat
o tically hobbies about on pair of woode
/, legs. Altogether it is the most curiou