The Pelican—War Poison of the Indians. 23 
Cabul, mentions this highly picturesque creature, under the name 
of Goorkhur; describing it as an inhabitant of the desert between 
India and Afghanistan, or Caubul. It is called gour by the Per- 
sians, and is usually seen in herds, though often single, straying 
away, as the one I first saw, in the wantonness of liberty. By 
the national passion for hunting so wild an object, Persia lost one 
of its most estimable Monarchs, Bahram, surnamed Gour from 
his fondness for the sport, and general success in the pursuit of 
an animal almost as fleet as the wind. The scene of this chase 
was a fine open vale, near to Shiraz, but which had the inconve- 
nience of being intersected by a variety of springs, forming them- 
selves into exceedingly deep ponds, caverned at the bottom, by 
nature, to an extent under ground uot to be traced. While the 
King was in the heat of pursuit, his horse came suddenly to the 
brink of one of these pieces of water, and, tumbling headlong, 
both horse and rider. disappeared. The pond was immediately 
explored to the utmost of their ability in those days, but the body 
of the King could not be found. Hence it is supposed that it 
must have been driven by the stream into one of the subterraneous 
channels, and there found a watery grave. This event happened 
fourteen hundred years ago, and yet it forms an interesting tale 
in the memories of the natives about, to relate to the traveller 
passing that way.” 
THE PELICAN. 
A pelicanwas killed about the middle of last month, in Wash- 
ington, Augusta county, (Alabama,) at a distance of 250 miles 
from the sea, which measures nine feet from the extremity of ove 
wing to that of the other, six feet fromn the end of the tail to the 
point of the bill, which is 14 inches long ; and the pouch, or 
bag connected with the under part of it, is large enough to con- 
tain three or four gallons. The body is shaved much like that 
of a goose, but a little more elongated towards the neck, aud 
being thickly covered with feathers, appears to be about three 
times as large, though, from its apparent famished state, and 
the extreme thinness of its bones, the whole bird weighed but 18 
pounds, Its tail is shorter than that of of a goose, aud its plu- 
mage white, except the extremities of the wings from the last 
joints, outward, which are black. ‘The skin of the bird is pre- 
served, a 
WAR POISON OF THE INDIANS. 
(From Humboldt’s Personal Narrative. ] 
Esmeralda is the most celebrated spot on the Oroonoko for 
the fabrication of that active poison which is employed in war, 
in the chase, and, what is singular enough, as a remedy for gastric 
obstructions, The poison of the ficunas of the Amazon, the upas- 
ticute of Java, and the curare of Guyana, are the most deleterious 
substances 
