•50 AN ESSAY ON THE' OOPAS, OR 



portioned to that wliicb was tbrown inio the 

 svstern in the experiments on snrAler animals ; 

 the dart feil from the woupd before a suiücietit 

 quantitj bad been taken iato the ciiculatioa to 

 produce a rapid eïïod. If an animai is piei'ced 

 bj an iron spear to which the poisoa bas beea 

 appliöd, it ((^eU comparatively but lilde of the 

 eiFects, because the weapon is agaio retracted, 

 and the poison does oot remain in contact witb 

 the wouad long eoough to be taken into the cir- 

 culation. Mir« Leschenaut de la Tour stabbed 

 a Buffalo a number of tirnes successivelv with a 

 common spear or pike of the Javanese, largelj 

 covered with the poison of theTshettik^ witboot 

 Verj sensiblv affoctiag- the aniinal. A dart or 

 arrow prepared of bamboo is a more fit instru- 

 ment to introducé the Oopas ; having once 

 pierced the skin, it easily adherés to the parts it 

 comes in contact with^ on account of its incoii- 

 siderable wei.^ht. 



The Natives of Macasser, Borneo^ and the 

 E'vstern Isbmds, when tliev emploj this poison, 

 inake use of an arrow of bamboo, (to the end of 

 which thej attach a shark's tooth, ) which ihey 

 tbrow ffom a blow-pipe or sompit, 



The 15th and iötb Experiments ?Lve convpar^ 

 ative, thej were made with the Oopas from 



