519 



fercntly during several weeks. The juice of the 

 liana, when it has been recently gathered, is not 

 regarded as poisonous ; perhaps it acts in a sen- 

 sible manner only when it is strongly concen- 

 trated. It is the bark and a part of the albur- 

 num, which contain this terrible poison. Branches 

 of the mavacure 4 or 5 lines in diameter are 

 scraped with a knife ; and the bark that comes 

 off is braised, and reduced into very thin fila- 

 ments, on the stone employed for grinding cas- 

 sava. The venomous juice being yellow, the 

 whole fibrous mass takes this colour. It is 

 thrown into a funnel nine inches high, with an 

 opening 4 inches wide. This funnel was of all 

 the instruments of the Indian laboratory that of 

 which the master of poison seemed to be most 

 proud. He asked us repeatedly, if por alia 

 (down yonder, that is in , Europe) we had ever 

 seen any thing to be compared to his embudo. 

 It was a leaf of the plantain-tree rolled up in the 

 form of a cone, and placed in another stronger 

 cone made of the leaves of the palm-tree, The 

 whole of this apparatus was supported by slight 

 frame work made of the petioli and ribs of palm- 

 leaves. A cold infusion is first prepared by pouring- 

 water on the fibrous matter, which is the ground 

 bark of the mavacure, A yellowish water filters 

 during several hours, drop by drop, through the 

 leafy funnel. This filtered water is the venom, 

 ous liquor, but it acquires strength only when it 



