Zoological Notes from Aneiteum . 7137 



caution any live specimen I saw. I was told that the small Tntiags 

 and those of certain localities (one of which is near my present resi- 

 dence) are reputed more dangerous than others. The Intrag is not 

 usually considered dangerous unless the animal be touched, which ot 

 course no one here will do, except unwittingly, but some of the natives 

 say that it can " blow " the poisonous influence upon the hand of an 

 intruder from the distance of several inches. 



On June 9th of the present year, about 10 p. m. I had brought to 

 me a young man, my neighbour Niuenham, who was said to have 

 recently been poisoned by the Intrag, and appeared to suffer intense 

 pain. From what I could learn it seems that he and a companion 

 had been looking for shell-fish by moonlight about two hours previously. 

 N. had picked up in the shallow water something which he did not 

 see distinctly. Immediately on touching it, and while his hand was 

 in the water, he felt a sensation as if some very cold water had been 

 " blown " on the palm of his right hand, and dropped the object, which 

 he saw was an Intrag. Not long afterwards he went home, and soon 

 began to complain of a numbness in the whole of his right arm and 

 hand. This was immediately ascribed to his having touched the 

 Intrag, and his companion went back to the spot for it, carefully picked 

 it up, the shell with the animal retracted, and eventually it was given 

 to me. A bandage was tied tightly round the sufferer's arm at a little 

 below the shoulder, and when I saw him the arm was cold and much 

 swollen, and the pulse about 50, and very feeble. I administered an 

 enormous dose of the solution of muriate of morphia, as he suffered 

 excruciating pain. A medical man in New Zealand having suggested 

 the experiment of burying the hand and arm affected in fresh earth, 

 this was done, but the patient could not endure it long, for he literally 

 writhed in agony while lying on his face on a mat, with his arm in the 

 ground. Meanwhile a man experienced in such matters had been 

 sent for. On arrival he prepared a knife or two of strips of bamboo, 

 and made two deep incisions in the upper part of the arm, one in front, 

 another behind, below the ligature, which had been slackened. About 

 half-a-pint of blood was obtained. Next morning at 8 a. M. I found 

 that the morphia had produced sound sleep during the night, and that 

 the bandage had been removed according to my suggestion. The 

 right arm was swollen, and felt rather cold, but the pulsation was 

 equally strong at each wrist, sixty -three beats to the minute. Means 

 were taken to assist in restoring the natural temperature to the arm, 

 and wine was ordered, to be discontinued on indications of reaction 

 showing themselves. All pain, except from the incisions, had dis- 

 XYIII. 2 Y 



