SOUTH AMERICAN BLOW-GUN 43 
Along the Upper Caiary-Uaupés blow-guns are made from the 
stems of a variety of palm (/riartea setigera Martius). ‘These palm 
stems have often been described as canes on account of their having 
rings of scars of the fallen leaves which closely resemble the joints of 
canes or bamboos. ‘The Indian selects two stems of such sizes that 
the smaller will exactly fit within the larger. After these stems have 
been carefully dried and the pith cleared out with a long rod, the bore 
is made smooth by drawing back and forth through it a little bunch of 
tree-fern roots. The smaller stem is then inserted in the larger, so that 
one will serve to correct any crookedness that may exist in the other. 
The wooden mouth-piece is then fitted to one end, and about three 
and one half feet from it, a boar’s tooth is fastened on the gun by some 
gummy substance, for a sight. Over the outside the maker winds 
spirally a strip of the dark shiny bark of a creeper which gives it an 
ornamental finish, and his blow-gun is complete. 
In some localities instead of the two canes a single piece of palm 
wood is used, which is split into two equal parts throughout its length, 
each piece hollowed out, and the two divisions afterward cemented 
together like the divisions of a cedar-wood pencil. 
The arrows are from ten to fourteen inches long, and of the thickness 
of an ordinary lucifer match. Those of the Indians of the Caiary- 
Uaupés are made from the midrib of a palm leaf or of the spinous proc- 
esses of the Patawa (Qnocarpus Batawa) sharpened to a point at one 
end and wound near the other with a delicate sort of wild cotton which 
grows in a pod upon a large tree (Bombax ceiba). ‘This mass of cotton 
is just big enough to fill the tube when the arrow is gently pressed into 
it. The point is dipped into poison, allowed to dry, and redipped 
until well coated. ‘The exact composition of this poison is unknown, 
and probably varies in different localities; but it would seem that the 
chief ingredient is always the juice of a Strychnos plant. It is known 
among different tribes by many names; such as Curari, Ourari, Urari 
and Woorali. Poisoned arrows are dangerous things to handle, and 
they are always carried in a quiver which has been partly filled with 
cotton or some other soft vegetable material, into which the poisoned ends 
of the arrows are thrust for protection. The blow-gun is called “Sara- 
batana”’ on the Upper Caiary-Uaupés, and by many tribes in the Ama- 
zon region it is known as the “Pucuna.” ‘The Portuguese of the River 
District call it ‘ Gravatana.” 
