The uncivilized races of men in all countries of the world; vol. 2 of 2 / Being a comprehensive account of their manners and customs, and of their physical, social, mental, moral and religious characteristics

by J. G. Wood

(7.) ARROWS STRUNG.
(See [page 1224].)

When properly made and mounted, these arrows can be propelled with wonderful force. I have sent one for a distance of a hundred yards, and the natives can propel them to a still greater distance. There is a certain art in using the pucuna, the arrow not being urged by a lengthened breath, but by collecting all the air that the lungs will hold, and giving a short expiration, as if the object were to empty the lungs at one puff. The force comes entirely from the lungs, the cheeks having nothing to do with it. When an arrow is rightly propelled, it flies from the tube with a slight pop, like that which is produced by quickly drawing the cork of a small bottle. It is quite invisible for some little time, so rapid is the motion; and even when fitted with white instead of yellow cotton the eye can scarcely follow its course.

Such an instrument as this is simply invaluable for the purposes to which it is devoted. It is intended to be used almost exclusively for killing birds and small monkeys, both of which creatures live on trees. Now, as the trees of Guiana run to an enormous height, some of them attaining at least a hundred feet before they throw out a branch, it will be seen that the birds are beyond the reach of shot-guns. The foliage is so thick that it does not permit more than one or two shots to reach the bird, and the height is so great that, even if they did strike, they would produce but little effect. But the pucuna can throw an arrow higher than a gun can propel a shot, and if the needle-like point enters any part of the bird the effect is fatal.

There is another advantage which the pucuna possesses over fire-arms. The report of the gun frightens away every bird within sound, whereas the pucuna is practically noiseless. The slight “pop” with which the arrow is expelled does not alarm the birds, and an expert hunter can kill twenty or thirty birds from one tree without alarming the others. The pucuna is particularly useful in the chase of the toucan. The feathers of this bird are much used in the manufacture of the beautiful gala dresses which the natives wear on grand occasions, and are much prized by them. Now, the toucan has a way of sitting on the topmost boughs of the tallest trees, and were it not for the deadly arrow of his pucuna, the native could seldom obtain a specimen.

Just before the arrow is put into the blowgun, the hunter places it between two of the pirai-teeth already mentioned, and turns it round between his fingers. He thus cuts it through just above the poisoned portion, so as to leave a mere thread of wood attaching the head to the shaft. If, therefore, the bird or monkey, on feeling the smart, should seize the arrow and withdraw it, the poisoned head snaps off and is left in the wound.

In some parts of the country a very ingenious form of arrow is used. Instead of being made to fit the bore by means of cotton tied on the butt, a flat piece of bark is twisted round the arrow so as to cause it to terminate in a hollow cone. A larger piece of the same material is fixed along the shaft of the arrow, and slightly twisted so as to cause it to revolve when projected through the air. The arrow is tipped with a slight iron blade, instead of being merely sharpened wood. (See [illustration No. 2].) This form of hollow base is admirably adapted for its purpose, and has been copied by Messrs. Lang, the well-known gunmakers of Cockspur Street, in their blow gun darts for killing small birds and animals without noise.

Next comes the quiver in which the arrows are kept. This is shown in [illustration No. 4], on page 1225. The framework of the quiver is made of the ittiritti-reed, and the bottom is closed by a circular plate of wood. In order to keep the poisoned arrows from the damp, which would effectually spoil them, the whole of the quiver is covered with a thick coat of kurumanni wax, which is pressed firmly into the interstices of the wicker-work, and into the junction between the bottom and the sides of the quiver.

Lest the rough basketwork should injure the delicate arrows, the quiver is lined with beautifully made mat-work, of much finer material, and quite smooth to the hand. The cover is made of a piece of skin, sometimes of the tapir, but mostly of the peccary. While fresh and wet it is moulded over a wooden block of the proper size, just as hatters mould their felt into its form. The hairy side is kept inward, and when it is pressed on the top of the quiver, and twisted with a turn of the hand, it holds itself firmly in its place. When the cover is on the quiver, no water can enter, and even if the hunter were to drop it into the river, the arrows would be preserved quite dry in their floating receptacle.

Before the kurumanni wax which covers the quiver is quite dry, a flat plaited belt made of silk grass is secured to it by means of a long string, which encircles the quiver several times. In this cincture is also secured by strings a coil of silk-grass, from, which can be drawn the fibres by which the cotton is attached to the arrow, together with the half jaw-bone of the pirai, with which the arrows are sharpened. In my specimen this jaw-bone is two inches in length.