644 MODE OF PREPARING THE WOORARA POISON. 
here, though the kind-hearted will be sorry to read of an un- 
offending animal doomed to death, in order to satisfy a doubt, 
still it will be a relief to know that the victim was not tor- 
tured. The wourali poison destroys life’s action so gently, 
that the victim appears to be in no pain whatever; and pro- 
bably, were the truth known, it feels none, saving the mo- 
mentary smart at the time the arrow enters. 
“ A day or two before the Macoushi Indian prepares his 
poison, he goes into the forest, in quest of the ingredients. 
A vine grows in these wilds, which is called wourali. It is 
from this that the poison takes its name, and it is the prin- 
cipal ingredient. When he has procured enough of this, he 
digs up a root of a very bitter taste, ties them together, and 
then looks about for two kinds of bulbous plants, which con- 
tain a green and glutinous juice. He fills a little quake, which 
he carries on his back, with the stalks of these; and lastly, 
ranges up and down till he finds two species of ants. One of 
them is very large and black, and so venomous, that its sting 
produces a fever ; it is most commonly to be met with on the 
ground. The other is a little red ant, which stings like a 
nettle, and generally has its nest under the leaf of a shrub. 
After obtaining these, he has no more need to range the 
forest. 
“A quantity of the strongest Indian pepper is used ; but this 
he has already planted round his hut. The pounded fangs 
of the Labarri snake, and those of the Counacouchi, are like- 
wise added. These he commonly has in store ; for when he 
kills a snake, he generally extracts the fangs, and keeps them 
by him. 
“ Having thus found the necessary ingredients, he scrapes 
the wourali vine and bitter root into thin shavings, and puts 
them into a kind of colander made of leaves : this he holds 
over an earthen pot, and pours water on the shavings : the 
liquor which comes through has the appearance of coffee. 
When a sufficient quantity has been procured, the shavings 
are thrown aside. He then bruises the bulbous stalks, and 
squeezes a proportionate quantity of their juice through his 
hands into the pot. Lastly, the snakes’ fangs, ants, and 
pepper are bruised, and thrown into it. It is then placed on 
a slow fire, and as it boils, more of the juice of the wourali is 
added, according as it may be found necessary, and the scum 
is taken off with a leaf: it remains on the fire till reduced to 
a thick syrup of a deep brown colour. As soon as it has 
arrived at this state, a few arrows are poisoned with it, to try 
its strength. If it answer the expectations, it is poured out 
into a calabash, or little pot of Indian manufacture, which is 
