58 BEY. T. POWELL ON THE VEGETABLE 



to prevent adhesion to its sides, the powder was again put into it 

 and the liquid added in quantity sufficient to form a thin paste, 

 which was then well stirred with a stick or brush prepared for 



the purpose. 



There was still one more Ingredient considered necessary to 



render the poison sufficiently virulent. In the woods, in the 

 neighbourhood of wasp-nests, were accumulated on the branches 

 of trees small mosses of what the natives considered the wasps' 

 food. It had the appearance of dried earth, and was probably 

 merely accumulations of material for building-purposes. It was 

 called Na LET(=?ffy^), which was the name also of the wasp, as in 

 Samoa a species of white ant and its nest are both called ane. 

 This substance, " the food of the let," was collected, and a quan- 

 tity, equal to that of each of the other ingredients, rubbed to a 

 very fine powder in a separate mortar kept for the purpose. The 

 OS femoris, the badge of office already referred to, was used as a 



pestle. . . ^ 



This wasp-earth was considered by the natives the most active 



of the ingredients, since when convulsions and lock-jaw ensued 

 from the poison, they would say of the person so afiected "iV^« 

 puatia na lef'^- — that is, " he is seized by the layf.'' 



This fine powder was added to the mixture, stirred in ; and the 

 whole was then exposed for a while to the sun in order to evapo- 

 rate any remaining humidity. To this mixture some were in the 

 habit of adding the juices of various other poisonous plants ; but 

 these were not considered absolutely necessary. 



The next step was to grate down the flesh of an old cocoa-nut 

 and wring out the milky oily juice, which was added in proper 

 proportion to the mixture. The mass was then stirred frequently 

 for about a month, till it became a cloudy dark oil. It was then 

 put into gourd bottles, which were suspended to the roof of the 

 house. In about twelve months it became consolidated to the 

 consistence of lard and was considered fit for use. 



Prom this account, then, we obtain the following formula for 

 the preparation of 



r 



The Poison for Spears and Arrows. 

 Take, in equal parts, of 



r ExccBCaria AgaTlocha^ 



the leaves of \ Taherncemontana orientalts, 



^ Carumhium pedicellatum7 



