The Greeley tribune., 1904-03-10
THE GUNS OF GUIANA
sAvAeE SKILL IN THE USE OF THE
DEADLY BLoWPlPE.

Ward D1atonceb ESsAs
law Reed.-Th~ Venom""s Arrow.
There are two kinds of blowpipes III
use among the Indians OF Guiaha. 1"e
frat called the poocoona. Is made OF
tho oor,,h reed. This remarkable reed
is only found in the Orinoco river ana
there only ut certain spots me ooi"h
grows to the height OF at least thirt!
feet. and the basal Joint, OF which the
blowpipe is made. is fourteen or niteeh
feet long, straight as an AFRO" anu
without knot The inside OF the retp
is as smooth as glass, hence the tacli'y
with which the dart traverses II. Yer!
little of the reed Is cut away, 10 that
the pine is about twelve feet long and
80 strong that when held horizontally
there is not the least bend In II.
The reed. having been carefully Sc
lected, cut and prepared is inclosed In
small. thin palm trunk. which Is
split open for the purpose, scrapeu thin
as wafer and then rejotned, with
the reed in the center. This palm Tor
length, straightness and lightness ls as
remarkable as the reed. The whole
pipe when finished never weighs more
than a pound and a half or pound
and three-quarters. Both the mouth, or
muzzle, and the breech are bell mouth
ed, the bell pieces being fixed on.
There are front and back sights, the
latter formed of the curved teeth OF the
Dasyprocta acouchi. species Of rodent
somewhat larger in size than wild
.,by,;t rT,,-, ,f 10 ipciSprS Of this ami
NAL 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 be-
tween them. Sometimes the foresight
is made in the same way, but 1t more
often consists Of the single sharp tooth
of a fish. 1t is placed about a foot
back from the muzzle. the back sight
being affixed four feet along the tube,
80 that ii is considerable distance
from the eye when aiming.
The missile used with this tube Is
misnamed an arrow. 1t is really
dart. scarcely bigger than large darn
ing needle and with a point quite as
fine. The dart is made of the rib of
the coocooreete palm leaf and IL so
heavy that it will sink in water. 1t ia
about seven inches In length. not thick
er than a 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 something
like the reeds on which soft cheeses
are placed and then rolled on stick
and carried in quiver, points upmost.
1t being requisite to protect them from
every chance Of being broken or dulled.
To protect the hand when handling
them the top Of the stick is furnished
with small. wheel-like shield.
The fine points are given to the darts
by means of the teeth OF the devllfish
(Serasalmus pirava), and the cotton
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, be-
ing largely used also in making the
blowpipe. 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 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 tiny groove cut, or. rather scratch
ed. in the dart, for the purpose Of af-
fording It lotgment, and also in the
notch cut near the tip.
So finely pointed is the dart that it
will penetrate the flesh on a mere
touch. and if any animal, such as q
monkey. irritated by the prick. endeav-
ors to draw it from the wound II
breaks at the notch and leaves the fatal
jag behind
There is a knack in blowing the
darts from the pipe. ! have succeeded
in propelling them about hundred
yards. and have never seen a Euro
pean send them farther but the Indi-
ans pun them double that distance
and at 100 to $50 yards will hit a mark
only few inches square ! have seen
native marksmen who could hit par
rots and toucans at the last distance
once in two or three shots.
When dart has been shot, II 1t
misses Its mark, the Indian takes great
pains to find ii on account of the dan
ger 1t is to persons walking near the
spot. for II trodden on It is likely to be
as fatal as the bite Of the most venom
GUS snake. have formed the opinion
that the woorall poison used to tip the
darts owes Its great virulence to the
venom Of snake which, 1 think, is
mixed with 1t, but l need not discuss
that matter here.
The darts must At the tube closely