MiGEEl REPUTED VEGETAL POISONS 259* 



is ail iufallible remedy. On the whole it seems probable that the yerba 

 mala {Sebastiano hilocularis f), or yerba de flecha, or mago, or magot, 

 yielded or f(jrmed the standard arrow-poison of the Opata and perhaps 

 of other Indians, and that the ill-repute of the shrub survived and 

 spread throughout Mexicanized Sonoraiii such frequent repetition and 

 common belief as to affect the ideas of residents and travelers alike; 

 but it seems equallj' probable that the magic-inspiretl brew of the Seri 

 is entirely distinct.' 



As suggested by widespread iirimitive customs, and as illustrated 

 specifically by the arrow-charming, the warfare of the Seri is largely 

 sortilegic, this feature being but an extension and magniflcatiou of a 

 corresponding feature of their hunting customs. The economic object 

 of the chase is, of course, the flesh of the quarry ; but the hunt Jiormally 

 begins with invocatory or other fiducial ceremonies, culminates in a 

 feast opened with oblations, and ends in the use of horns or hoofs, teeth 

 or bones, mane or tail, as talisman-trophies — primarily pledges of 

 fealty to the fa.vorable potencies, only secondarily symbols of success. 

 The observances illumine the ever-present esoteric object of the chase, 

 which is to gain the favor or overcome the power of the beast-god 

 represented by the animal hunted; in general, this is sought to be 

 eftected throngli mimetic movements, or symbolic objects, associated 

 with that animal-kind, and the retained charm-trophy is valued as 

 a symbol of the placation or outwitting of a particular deity. Simi- 

 larly, the Seri warrior strives for the supposed deiflc symbols of the 

 enemy — the scalp or headdress or arrow of the alien tribesman, the 

 flre-breathing and echo-waking (as well as death-dealing) wand of 

 the Caucasian; and the Papago arrows, Yaqui scalps, and white man's 

 firearms are sought avidly, treasured as fetishes, and often carried 

 conspicuously as badges of borrowed prowess.' So the Seri are never 

 witliout alien insignia in the form of weapons. The day before the 

 189o expedition entered their stronghold, a band of warriors and 

 women were frightened from a freshly slaughtered cow by a party of 

 vaqueros so suddenly that their arms were left behind — and these 



' It whould h& noted that the actuality of the poisonons property ascribed to the yerba mala is in 

 some degree questionable ; the plant is the only one of southern Papagueria yielding suitable material 

 for arrow-shafts, and it is possible (if not probable) that it was consecrated lo this purpose by the 

 aboriginal ()i)ata and protected by tabu in such wise as to become a sacred and fearsome thing/ Itis 

 accordingly by no means impnibable that the reputed poisonous property is but the product of gen- 

 erations of association, and that the plant is really harndess — an inference supported by experi- 

 ments on the part of the leader of the 1895 expedition, wlio swallowed the juice of stem and leaves in 

 two or three minute but increasing doses without perceptible effect. On the other hand, it should be 

 observed that the region is one abounding in toxic juices, and that this shrub is so luxuriant and so 

 free from thorny armament and other protective devices of a mechanical sort as to raise the pre- 

 sumption that it must be protected against herbivorous animals, at least, by chemical constituents of 

 some kind icf. ante, p. 35). 



2 These inotives on the part of the Seri were reciprocated by their tribal enemies ; a Papago fetish 

 in the form of an Apache arrowpoint, long worn bj' an aged warrior as a 7)rotectiou from Apache 

 arrows, was among the spoil of the 1894 expedition ; and a " poisoned " Seri arrowhead and foreshaft, 

 worn by a superannuated Papago 'doctor " as a bailge of invulnerability to similar missiles, was cau- 

 tiously shown to the 1895 expedition, but was held above price by its wearer— and this despite the 

 lact that he had been christianized for decades, and retained no other pagan symbols. 



