Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1903-11-03
DEADLY GUIANA BLoWPIPEs.
Rare Skill Developed In tho Making ot
a Queer Weapon.


says Paul Fountain, in Longman's
Magazine. 1.-The first, called the poo
coona, is made Of the oorah reed. This
remarkable reed Is found In the ORR
noco river, and there only at certain
spots The oorah grows to the height
of thirty feet, and the basal point,
Of which the plowpipe Is made, is four
teen or fifteen feet long, straight as an
arrow. and without a knot. The in
side of the reed is as smooth as glass,
hence the facility with which the dart
traverses it. Very little Of the reed Is
cut away. so that the pipe is about
twelve feet long, and 80 strong that
when held horizontally there is not the
least bend in it.
"The reed, having been carefully Sc
lected, cut and prepared, ,is inclosed In
a small, thin, palm trunk, which Is
split open for the purpose, scraped
thin as a wafer, and then rejoined with
the reed in the centre. This palm, Tor
length, straightness and lightness Is as
remarkable as the reed. The whole
pipe, when finished. never weighs more
than pound and three quarters
Both the mouth, or muzzle, and the
breech are bell mounted, the bell pieces
being fixed on.
There are front and back sights,
the latter formed of the curved teeth
of the Dasyproch acouchi, a species OF
rodent somewhat larger in size than
wild rabbit. Two Of the incisors OF
this animal are fixed on the breech OF
the pipe by means of wax. The teeth
being placed parallel to each other, and
very close together, the sight is taken
between them. Sometimes the fore
sight is made in the same way, but II
more often consists Of the single sharp
tooth of a fish. It Is placed about
foot back from the muzzle, the back
sight being affixed four feet along the
tube, so that it Is a considerable dis
tance from the eye when aiming.
1.-THE missile used with this tube is
misnamed an arrow. 1t Is really a
dart, scarcely bigger than large darn
Ing needle and with a point quite as
fine. The dart Is made Of the rib or
the coo-cooreete palm leaf and Is so
heavy that 1t will sink in water. 1t Is
about seven inches in length, not
thicker than u large needle, and the
usual number that an Indian carries
with him when shooting Is from $50 to
500, ready poisoned, but not prepared
with the necessary cotton plugs
These darts are strung together some
thing like the reeds on which SOFT
cheeses are placed, and then rolled on
a stick, and carried in a quarter, points
upmost, it being requisite to protect
them from every chance Of being bro
ken or dulled. To protect the hand
when handling them the top Of the
stick is furnished with a small, wheel
like shield.
1.-The fine points are given to the
darts by means Of teeth Of the devil
fish (Serrasalmus piraya), and the cot
ton with which they are plugged before
use is found growing wild. 1t Is bound
to the base Of the dart with thread
made of silk grass, this thread, with
wax obtained from several trees, being
largely used also in making the blow
pipe. The skill used in binding the
plug of cotton to the dart must be
great, or 1t will not fly true and far
when shot. The Indian never carries
more than five or six ready plugged
and when these are lost he must draw
others from the culver and plug them
He always tries them repeatedly be-
fore use, and perhaps never succeeds
in getting one to fly perfectly true
But If 1t is only few inches out OF
flight, like a rifleman, In aiming ne
makes allowance for this inaccuracy
and it proves to be Of little moment.
1.-The distance to and accuracy with
which these darts are shot are simply
wonderful, though the darts do not
strike with any great force. The death
of the game Is occasioned, not by the
impact, but by the poison with which
the dart is tipped. This poison lodges
in a tiny groove cut or rather scratch
ed, in the dart for the purposes Of af-
fording 1t a lodgment, and also In the
notch cut near the tip.
$50 finely pointed Is the dart that 1t
will penetrate the flesh on a mere
touch, and If any animal. such as a
monkey, irritated by the prick, endeav-
ors to draw it from the wound, 1t
breaks at the notch and leaves the ia
tai jag behind.
There is knack in blowing the
darts from the pipe. I have succeeded
in propelling them about a hundred
yards, and I have never seen a Euro
pean send them further. but the In
dians puff them double that distance,
and at a hundred to a hundred and
fifty yards will hit mark only few
inches square. I have seen native
marksmen who could hit parrots and
toucans at the last distance one In two
or three shots.
When a dart has been shot, If 1t
misses the mark. the Indian takes
great pains to find It, on account Of the
danger it is to persons walking near
the spot, for if trodden on 1t is likely
to be as fatal as the bite Of the most
venomous snake. I have formed the
opinion that the woorali poison used to
tip the darts owes it's great virulence
to the venom Of a snake which, l
think. is mixed with it; but I need not
discuss that matter here.
Although 1t Is so light, the blow
pipe ia a clumsy weapon to handle. on
account of it's great length, and 1t Is