EXPLANATORY INDEX. 491 



fell to the ground would be a secret only known to the 

 vultures and carrion-feeding insects. 



The peculiar " Quake " or basket into which the Wourali- 

 maker puts his materials, is shown on page 463. 



Chief among the materials is the Wourali Vine (Strychnos 

 toxifera). This, as its name imports, is allied to the plant 

 which furnishes the well-known strychnine poison. 



When full grown, its vine-like stem is about three inches in 

 diameter, covered with a rough greyish bark, like that of the 

 vine. The dark-green leaves are oval in shape, and are set 

 opposite to each other. It is a tolerably common plant in 

 certain places, but it is very local, and among the abundance 

 of herbage is not readily distinguishable. It bears a round 

 fruit, shaped like an apple, and containing seeds imbedded in 

 a very bitter pulp. 



The "root of a very bitter taste " is evidently the hyarri, 

 or haiarri, a plant belonging to the genus Lonc/iocarpus, 

 chiefly used in poisoning fish. Of this plant the following 

 description is given by the Rev. J. H. Bernau, in his Mission- 

 ary Labours in British Guiana : 



"The haiarri is a papilionaceous vine, bearing a small 

 bluish cluster of blossoms, producing a pod about two inches 

 in length, containing some small grey seeds. The root itself 

 is stronger in its effects than the vine, and is always preferred 

 by the Indians. A solid cubic foot of this root will poison 

 an acre of water, even in the rapids. In creeks arid standing 

 water, its effects are still more extensive." 



When used, the soft yellow roots are pounded with a 

 stone or mallet and steeped in water, which is then thrown 

 into the river. Heaps of the pounded roots are often found 

 on the stones on the river bank, showing that the fish have 

 been lately poisoned. They appear to be stupefied by the 

 poison, and float on the surface, when they are either shot 

 with arrows or simply lifted out by hand. 



No injurious effect on the flesh is produced by the poison, 

 which has been conjectured to paralyse the gills, and so to 



