WANDERINGS IN SOUTH MIERICA 93 



and fluttered at intervals. In five-and-twenty 

 minutes from the time of his being wounded he 

 was quite dead. His flesh was very sweet and 

 savoury at dinner. 



On taking a retrospective view of the two dif- 

 ferent kinds of poisoned arrows, and the animals 

 destroyed by them, it would appear that the quan- 

 tity of poison must be proportioned to the animal, 

 and thus those probably labour under an error 

 who imagine that the smallest particle of it intro- 

 duced into the blood has almost instantaneous 

 effect. 



Make an estimate of the difference in size be- 

 twixt the fowl and the ox, and then weigh a suffi- 

 cient quantity of poison for a blow-pipe arrow 

 with which the fowl was killed, and weigh also 

 enough poison for three wild-hog arrows which 

 destroyed the ox, and it will appear that the fowl 

 received much more poison in proportion than the 

 ox. Hence the cause why the fowl died m five 

 minutes, and the ox in five-and-twenty. 



Indeed, were it the case that the smallest parti- 

 cle of it introduced into the blood has almost in- 

 stantaneous effects, the Indian would not find it 

 necessary to make the large arrow; that of the 

 blow-pipe is much easier made and requires less 

 poison. 



And now for the antidotes, or rather the sup- 

 posed antidotes. The Indians tell you, that if 

 the wounded animal be held for a considerable 

 time up to the mouth in water, the poison will not 

 prove fatal ; -also that the juice of the sugar-cane 

 poured down the throat will counteract the effects 

 of it. These antidotes were fairly tried upon 



