THE POISON-MASTEB. 439 



panition was enveloped in great mystery; that its piuicipai 

 ingredient was furnished by a subterranean plant with a 

 tuberous root, which never puts forth leaves, and which is 

 called specially ' the root ' (raiz de si misma) ; that the 

 venomous exhalations which arise from the manufacture are 

 fatal to the lives of the old women who (being otherwise use- 

 less) are chosen to watch over this operation ; finally, that 

 these vegetable juices are never thought to be sufficiently 

 concentrated till a few drops produce at a distance a repulsive 

 action on the blood. An Indian wounds himself slightly ; 

 and a dart dipped in the liquid curare is held near the 

 wound. If it make the blood return to the vessels without 

 having been brought into contact with them, the poison is 

 judged to be sufficiently concentrated." 



When we arrived at Esmeralda, the greater part of the 

 Indians were returning from an excursion which they had 

 made to the east, beyond the Bio Padamo, to gather juvias, 

 or the fruit of the bertholletia, and the liana which yields 

 the curare. Their return was celebrated by a festival, 

 which is called in the mission la fiesta de las juvias, and 

 which resembles our harvest-homes and vintage-feasts. The 

 women had prepared a quantity of fermented liquor ; and 

 during two days the Indians were in a state of intoxication. 

 Among nations who attach great importance to the fruit 

 of the palm, and of some other trees useful for the nourish- 

 ment of man, the period when these fruits are gathered is 

 marked by public rejoicings, and time is divided according 

 to these festivals, which succeed one another in a course 

 invariably regular. We were fortunate enough to find 

 an old Indian more temperate than the rest, who was 

 employed in preparing the curare poison from freshly- 

 gathered plants. He was the chemist of the place. We 

 found at his dwelling large earthen pots for boiling the 

 vegetable juice, shallower vessels to favour the evaporation 

 by a larger surface, and leaves of the plantain-tree rolled up 

 in the shape of our filters, and used to filtrate the liquids, 

 more or less loaded with fibrous matter. The greatest 

 order and neatness prevailed in this hut, wlwV.h was trans- 

 formed into a chemical laboratory. The old Indian was 

 known throughout the mission by the name of the poison- 

 master (amo del curare). He had that self-sufficient air 



