Vegetable Poisons.
We now come to the Vegetable Poisons, the two best known of which are the Upas poison of Borneo, and the Wourali of South America. It is rather remarkable that in both these cases the arrows are very small, and are blown through a hollow tube, after the manner of the well-known “Puff-and-dart” toy of the present day.
The Upas poison is simply the juice of the tree, and it does not retain its strength for more than a few hours after it has been placed on the arrow-points. A supply of the same liquid is therefore kept in an air-tight vessel made of bamboo, the opening being closed by a large lump of wax kneaded over it at the mouth. One of these little flasks, taken from a specimen in my collection, is seen on the extreme right of the illustration.
The Wourali poison owes all its power to its vegetable element, though certain animal substances are generally mixed with it. The principal ingredient is the juice of one of the strychnine vines, which is extracted by boiling, and then carefully inspissated until it is about the consistency of treacle. This poison differs from the Upas in the fact that it retains its potency after very many years, if only kept dry. I have a number of arrows poisoned with the Wourali. They were given to me by the late Mr. Waterton, who procured them in 1812, and even in the present year (1875) they are as deadly as when they were first made.
A bundle of these tiny arrows, surmounted by the little wheel which is used to guard the hand from being pricked, is seen next to the Bornean poison-flask.
Beside these little arrows, which are only about ten inches in length, very much larger arrows are used both for war and hunting, and are propelled by the bow, and not with the breath. Many of these arrows are nearly six feet in length. In all, the head is movable fitting quite loosely into a socket, so that when an animal is struck and springs forward, the shaft is shaken off, to be picked up by the hunter, and fitted with another point, while the poisoned head remains in the wound.
Another kind of poison, also of a vegetable origin, is used by the Fan tribe. The arrows are mere little slips of bamboo, and are propelled by a slight crossbow. But the poison is so potent, that even these tiny weapons produce a fatal effect.
Nearly in the centre of the illustration is seen a rather curiously formed syringe, with an extremely long and slender tip. This is a recently invented instrument, used for the purpose of subcutaneous injection—i.e. of injecting any liquid under the skin. It is mostly employed for injecting opium and other drugs of similar qualities, for the purpose of obtaining relief from local pain. The slender spike-like point is hollow, and ends in a sharp tip, formed like the head of a lance. Just below the head there is a little hole, communicating with the interior of the tube.
The mode of operating is simple enough. The syringe is filled with the drug, and the point introduced under the skin at any given spot. Pressure on the piston then forces out the liquid, and causes it to mix with the blood.