WAR AND HUNTING. 



CHAPTER II. 



POISON, ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE. — PEINCIPLE OF THE BARB. 



Poison as applied to Weapons. — Its limited Use. — Animal and Vegetable Poisons. — 

 Animal Poisons. — The Malayan Dagger, or Kris, and two Modes of poisoning 

 it. — The Bosjesmans and their Arrows. — Snake Poison and its Preparation. — 

 The Pseudo-barb. — The Poison-grub, or N'gwa. — Simple Mode of Prepara- 

 tion, and its terrible Effects. — Vegetable Poisons. — The Upas of Malacca. — 

 The Wourali Poison of Tropical America. — Mode of preparing the various 

 Arrows. — The Fan Tribe of West Africa, and their poisoned Arrows. — Sub- 

 cutaneous Injection. — Examples in Nature. — The Poison-fang of the Serpent. 

 — Sting of the Bee. — Tail of the Scorpion. — Fang of the Spider.— Sting of 

 the Nettle. — Exotic Nettles and their Effects. — The Barb and its Develop- 

 ments. — The " Bunday " of Java. — Eeversed Barbs of Western Africa. — 

 Tongans and their Spears. — The Harpoon and Lernentoma, or Sprat-sucker. 

 — The Main Gauche, or Brise-epee. 



A NOTHER advance, if it may so be called, lay in increasing 

 ■"- the deadly effect of the weapons by arming them with 

 poison. 



Without the poison, it was necessary to inflict wounds which 

 in themselves were mortal ; but with it a comparatively slight 

 wound would suffice for death, providing only that the poison 

 mixes with the blood. It is worthy of notice that cutting 

 weapons, such as swords and axes, seldom, if ever, have been 

 envenomed, the poison being reserved for piercing weapons, 

 such as the dagger, the spear, and the arrow. 



Animal Poisons. 



Perhaps the most diabolical invention of this kind was the 

 Venetian stiletto, made of glass. It came to a very sharp point, 

 and was hollow, the tube containing a liquid poison. When 

 the dagger was used, it was driven into the body of the victim, 

 and then snapped off in the wound, so that the poison was able 

 to have its full effect. 



