38 Obfervations on the Vejuco du Guaco. 



ing that he was not averfe to procure me that fatisfaftion, I 

 offered him a recompenfe, with which he feemed fatisfied. 

 Next morning he returned with the leaves of the plant in 

 queliion, w-hich tie moiflened, and, having bruii'ed them in 

 my prefence, made me drink two large fpoonfuls of the juice. 

 He then made three inciiions between my fingers in each 

 hand, in wliich he inoculated me with the fame juice : he 

 performed a iimilar operation on each foot, and on each fide 

 ofmybrcaft. When ihefe operations were finiihed he in- 

 • formed me that I might lay hold of the ferpent. I made 

 fevcral obicivalions to liim in regard to the difagreeable con- 

 feq^nences to be apprehended in cafe I (liould be bit by the 

 animal ; but finding that he feemed confident in his (kill, 

 I refolved to take it iiito my hand? without any fear; which 

 I did fevcral times, the animal never making the lead attempt 

 to do mc any injury. One of the individuals, however, who 

 were in the houfe, being defirous to run the fame rillc, was 

 bit by the ferpent the iecond time he look it in his hand; 

 but without any further inconvenience than a flight inflam- 

 mation in the part. 



Two of my domeftics who had been alfo inoculated, en- 

 couraged by this firft attempt, went out into the fields and 

 foon brought with ihcm another kind of ferpent, equally ve-- 

 nomous, without fullaining any hurt from it. In a word, I 

 have caught Iceral fince that time without any other pre- 

 paration than that of having drunk a little juice of the vejuco 

 du guaco; and after repeating thefe trials, either on my- 

 felf or mv domciiics, and always with the completeft fuc-? 

 cefs, I refolved, in 1791,10 give a memoir on this remarkable 

 antidote in a periodical paper publiflied every week atbanta- 

 Fe. i added a defcri])tion of the plant, and every thing that 

 appeared to nie neccifary for rendering public and general 

 this difeovery I'o ufefal to mankind. An account of all my 

 experiments, and of the perfons who were prefcnt, will be 

 found in that paper, dated Sept. 30, 1791. 



I fliall here only obfcrve, that the tradition current among 

 the Indians and negroes oF the vice-roy(hip of Santa-Fe, re- 

 fpeAing the nianner in which the virtue of this j)lant was 

 difcovered, is as follows: — A bird of the kite kind, defcribed 

 by Catelbv under the name of the Jcrpent-hawk, feeds chieflv 

 upon fnakes in the hot and temperate regions of tliat part of 

 America. I'liis bird has a monotonous cry, fonietimes very 

 difagreeable by iis repcliiion, wliich imitates the articulated 

 word gUiicOy on which account the inhabitants have given it 

 that name; and thefe people fav, tliat when it cries it is to 

 call forth the ferpt'nts. over whicli it exeicifcs a certain kind^ 



of 



I 



