182 THE UPAS TREE. [1844. 



sions around the base of the stem, made by the natives 

 for the purpose of procuring the poisonous juice for tip- 

 ping the arrows of their sumpitans. 



" Although, ominously, the Brunese have selected the 

 supposed deadly shade of the poison-tree as a place of 

 interment, and the ground beneath is crowded with 

 tombs, yet vegetation flourishes luxuriantly around its 

 roots, and clings to its base to such a degree that I ex- 

 perienced some little difficulty in approaching the stem 

 for the purpose of tapping it for a portion of sap. On 

 approaching the tree, I experienced no ill effects from 

 the effluvium which it is asserted by Leschenault de la 

 Tour, and others, is frequently sufficient to produce 

 nausea, vertigo, and vomiting. The Malays, however, 

 that accompanied us, viewed the tree with evident sus- 

 picion. In order to prove, by experiment, the effect of 

 the Upas-poisoned sumpit or arrow, it was tried on a 

 troublesome cat near our house, but it had not the rapid 

 effect we were led to imagine. A little while after the 

 receipt of the wound there was foaming at the mouth, 

 followed by spasmodic contractions of the limbs, ending 

 in exhaustion and frequent convulsions, which caused 

 the animal to tumble into the river, and thus terminated 

 the life of the unfortunate feline victim of experimental 

 science. The Upas does not, then, after all, appear to 

 be nearly so poisonous in its properties as the Manchi- 

 neel (Hippomane Mancinetta) of the West Indies, the 

 dew that falls from the leaves of which blisters the skin, 

 and many people are reported to have died by simply 

 sleeping under its branches. In Java, there is a plant 

 called Tjettek, or Upas Rajah, from the roots of which, 



