230 Pisli-Poisoiii)ii^ in the ll(v:caiiaii Jslauds 



Tutuila from 1901 to 1912 and frequently witnessed the process 

 there. Mr. Mooklar's description is more detailed than that of 

 most writers on the subject of fish-poisoniny- in Southern Polyne- 

 sia. 



The narcotic that Mr. Mooklar saw in use was extracted from 

 the unri])e or gTcen seed kernels of the fiitit (Barriir^toiiia spcci- 

 osa). This tree is to be found growing luxuriantly aknig the 

 sandy beaches of all the islands of Samoa, frequently with its roots 

 in the salt water and its branches overhanging the sea. The buoy- 

 ant seeds drop into the water in great (|uantities and, while some 

 are carried aw^ay !)>• wintl and ocean currents, large numbers are 

 washed back again to the beach where they sprout readily. The 

 seeds are somewhat pyramidal in form, the husk corklike and fib- 

 rous. Those used for fishing are gathered from the trees. Though 

 Seemann states that the husk was used, in the process seen by Mr. 

 Mooklar (and other writers confirm Mr. Mooklar's account) only 

 the kernel" was taken, being either pounded in stone mortars or 

 grated to a coarse meal. The grater was a piece of tin plate 

 roughly punctured l\y nails, then bent into semi-cylindrical form 

 and fastened to a flat board. 



The fishing was done in pools left by the receding tide. Very 

 soon after grating the prepared meal the fishermen threw it into 

 the water by handfuls, where it sank slowly. The eiTect of the 

 poison was quick, as in a few minutes the fish were observed float- 

 ing helplessly on their sides on the surface of the pool. They 

 were taken as rapidly as possible, as the natives believed that the 

 fish would recover if permitted to float into untreated water. It 

 was also stated that human beings were in no way afifected by eat- 

 ing the narcotized fish. While the process observed is modern it is 

 probably similar to the older method, with the addition of the tin 

 grater. 



Though Mr. Mooklar did not know of the use of any other 

 fish-poisons, several writers have spoken of other plants used for 

 the purix)se. Other fish-poisons reported as used in Samoa are 

 Tcphrosia piscatoria, which according to Brown^^ was mixed with 



Seemann, Berlin >1(I, Flora Vitiensis, p. 82, London. 1865-187.?. 

 Brown, Macniillan, IMclanesians and Polynesians, p. 3,37, London, 1910. 



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