l88 SMITHSONIAN MISCELIvANEOUS COLIvECTlONS VOL. 52 



commanding higher prices. I have known of them selHng for $150 

 to $200 in gold, and rather a poor specimen was recently sold in 

 Iquitos for $80. In the Rio Negro and Orinoco regions there is said 

 to exist a tribe which prepares entire bodies in this manner, and in 

 the Putumayo district they are said to retain in natural size, by a 

 system of smoking, the hands of enemies slain in battle. I have 

 seen teeth, shin bones, and other parts of skeletons thus treasured. 



The Aguarunas, in common with several tribes, also make use of 

 certain poisons, both in their wars and in hunting. The poison is 

 extracted from different species of vegetables and plants and pre- 

 pared by the women and old men of the tribe. It has the peculiarity 

 of killing game without giving any evil effects to one who may eat 

 the flesh. Another poison is scattered over the surface of a pool 

 where fish are known to gather, and great numbers of them are 

 killed in this manner. The small fish, being able to withstand the 

 effects of the poison for only a short time, rise to the surface first, 

 and later the larger ones, though only the latter are taken. There 

 is thus a vast waste, and though this form of fishing is prohibited 

 by law, it is by no means stopped. The Indians of the Putumayo 

 use in their wars a kind of poison which has the peculiarity of pro- 

 ducing putrefaction almost as soon as the wound is made. 



The Huichipairis 



These Indians, united with neighboring tribes, have resisted to 

 this day the invasion of the whites and remain hostile. They live 

 in the Upper Madre de Dios district, are very muscular, both men 

 and women, though not large of stature. The naturally fierce aspect 

 of the men is heightened by the custom of perforating the upper lip, 

 through which a piece of wood, feather or shell is inserted and worn. 

 They have a language of their own, but many of them understand 

 the Quechua and Campa dialects, the latter being introduced by the 

 women of the Campa tribes, whom they are continually stealing. 



The Inji-inji 



Five hundred souls, the remnant of what was once a powerful 

 tribe, go to make up all that now exists of the Inji-inji Indians, who 

 live along the small streams and branches of the Curaray River. 

 They are the lowest of the Peruvian Indians, both in manner of 

 living and in the progress they have made. They use stone axes 

 for breaking down the trees when small clearings are needed in 

 which to plant corn and yucca. They are not hostile to the whites, 

 but avoid as much as possible any contact with them. 



