324 ENVENOMED ARROWS. 



of the shaft was feathered, as usual, for the 

 purpose of steadying it in its flight. When such a 

 weapon is discharged, and strikes the game, the 

 endeavours which are made, by the animal to 

 escape, occasion the head to become detached from 

 the reed, which falls to the ground, whilst the 

 former remains in the wound ; and as it is loaded 

 with a black mass of vegetable poison, the absorp- 

 tion of this into the system, soon terminates the 

 life of the animal. I had no opportunity, nor has 

 any other traveller, I believe, of identifying the 

 plant, which supplies this poison, with the 

 " Euphorbia Anti quorum," of botanists. I do not 

 think it inhabits the low country of the basin of 

 the Hawash ; for the Soumaulee told me, they 

 obtained it from the South of Hurrah ; and as this 

 city stands upon the highland, where commences 

 the watershed of the river Whabbee, to the south, 

 I should suppose, that the poison plants of the 

 Soumaulee will not be determined, until some 

 traveller has visited that locality. 



The party who joined, us on the road, had just 

 before succeeded in killing an ostrich, and each 

 possessed a small parcel of the feathers. These 

 were preserved in portions of the gut of the bird, 

 cleaned and dried in the sun, through which, the 

 feathers were carefully drawn, in the direction of 

 the plumage, so as not to disarrange it. Besides 

 these, contained in the parcels, they had others tied 

 in a bunch, which they freely distributed among 



