370 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



rarin. Its chemical constitution is not yet made out ; it is not crystal- 

 lizable, has the look of horn, is very hygroscopic, and easily soluble in 

 water and iu alcohol. The watery solution is not affected by boiling, 

 and appears to preserve its toxic property for an indefinite time, pre- 

 cisely like the dried curari on the tips of arrows, a circumstance which 

 renders these weapons very dangerous objects to handle. 



Curari is prepared at long intervals by the natives of South America, 

 whenever the supply, which is divided between the hunters and the 

 warriors, has become exhausted. The mode of preparation differs 

 according to locaUty, but these differences are not essential. The in- 

 gredients are everywhere either the same or at least analogous, for the 

 curaris manufactured in different regions amid the almost unexplored 

 forests of Guiana and Brazil always present the same toxic properties. 

 Sometimes curari is prepared openly and without mystery on some 

 high festival of the tribe, with the usual accompaniment of copious 

 libations of strong drink. And, by-the-way, it has been remarked by 

 Humboldt that during a festival it is a rare thing to find a native that 

 is not intoxicated, drunkenness being unfortunate!}', in all latitudes, the 

 habitual expression of gladness among the ruder classes of mankind. 



At other times the arrow-poison is prepared only by the medicine- 

 men, who hedge its preparation around with superstitious practices 

 and mystic ceremonies, designed to enhance their own prestige and 

 influence. The exaggerated reports of travelers have still further 

 complicated the matter, as when we are assured that in the prepara- 

 tion of the curari some old hag of the tribe shuts herself up in a but 

 with the kettle in which the poisonous ingredients are boiled, and that, 

 if the process is successful, she herself dies by inhaling their noxious 

 emanations. This is a fable, for curari is not volatile. 



It has also been stated that, when the curari begins to thicken, the 

 natives throw into the pot ants with venomous stings, and the fangs 

 and poison-glands of the most deadly serpents, such as the rattlesnake. 

 Possibly these accessories may have sometimes been employed, but we 

 now know that they are not essential, and that excellent curaris are 

 prepared solely from vegetal substances. According to Goudot, the 

 tribes living on the New Granada frontier cut down in the woods cer- 

 tain climbing plants of the genus Strychnos^ from which exudes at 

 the cuts a quantity of acrid sap. The wood is crushed and macer- 

 ated in water for forty-eight hours ; it is then pressed, and the liquid 

 is carefully filtered. After filtration it is slowly evaporated, till it 

 reaches the required degree of concentration. It is now distributed 

 among a number of little earthenware pots, which are placed on hot 

 embers, and the process of evaporation is carried on with still greater 

 care, till the poison acquires the consistence of a soft paste and is per- 

 fectly free from water. 



Dr. Jobert is now engaged in studying in their native habitat the 

 properties of the various plants which are known to have been em- 



