SUFFOCATION AS A WEAPON. 155 



example, are now left unharmed. Poisoned weapons have, by 

 common consent, been abolished, and so have those instruments 

 of warfare which, though they do not simply poison the blood 

 by means of bodily wounds, do so by means of noxious vapours 

 poured into the lungs. 



It is sometimes rather unfortunate when civilisation and 

 semi-barbarism meet in battle ; the former respecting the cus- 

 toms of honourable warfare, and the latter ignoring them. 

 For example, in olden times, one of the most potent weapons in 

 naval combat was the " stink-pot " — i.e. a vessel filled with 

 sulphur and other ingredients, and emitting a smoke which was 

 death when inhaled. Among the American Indians the well- 

 known Chili-plant was much used for this purpose, the very 

 first breath that was taken of the thin and almost invisible 

 smoke causing the throat to contract as if clutched by a strong 



B03IBADIEB-BEETLE. CHINESE STINK-POTS. 



hand. If then any enemies had taken refuge in a cave, or 

 were suspected of having done so, a fire was lighted at the 

 entrance, a quantity of chilis thrown on it, and the rest left to 

 time. No being could endure that smoke and live, and they 

 must either stay in the cave and die, or come out and deliver 

 themselves up to their foes. The former was the better part 

 to take, as suffocation, however slow, is only an affair of a few 

 minutes, while death by torture is prolonged through hours. 



In the late Chinese war the stink-pot was extensively used, 

 and our sailors took it in very bad part that the enemy should 

 be allowed to employ such weapons, and they should be debarred 

 from using them. 



Whether this principle is still retained in the defence of 

 fortresses I do not know. I recollect, however, some twenty 

 years ago, going over a fortress in which suffocation was em- 

 ployed as a means of defence. A long gallery was so placed 

 that the assailants were tolerably sure to force their way into 

 it, thinking that it led to the interior of the fort. 



