66 TRAVELS I N ^ 
which have retained the poifon in theii* bo- 
dies for fome time. 
On the firft view of their arrows, one 
would not fufpedl how deftrudlive weapons 
they are. They will neither fly fo far, nor 
are they fo long, as thofe ufed by the Caribs 
in America; but even their fmallnefs ren- 
ders them fo much the more dangerous, as 
it is impoffible to perceive and follow them 
with ' the eye, and confequently to avoid 
them. The flighteft wound which they 
make always proves mortal, if the poifon 
reaches the blood, and if the flefh be torn. 
The fureft remedy is to amputate the wound- 
ed part, if it be a limb; but if the wound be 
in the body, death is unavoidable. 
Thefe arrows are made of reeds, and very 
curioufly formed. They are only eighteen 
inches, or at moft two feet, in length ; where- 
as thofe of the Caribs are fix feet. Having 
rounded a fm.all bone three or four inches 
in length, and lefs in diameter than the reed, 
thefe Hottentots thruft it into one of the 
ends of the arrow, but without fixing it ; on 
this account, when the arrow penetrates any 
body, the rod may be drawn out, but the 
bone remains in the wound ; becaufe it is 
I armed 
