50 
REVIEW— TRAVELS IN WESTERN AFRICA. 
major branches also send forth minor ones, bearing a resemblance 
and proportion to the horns of a species of deer or antelope abun- 
dant in this country. It is of the cactus tribe, and the whole is of 
a fleshy nature, but quite smooth and without prickles, growing 
almost without soil on the bare surface of the granite rock, and 
receiving nourishment from its long fleshy roots, which run in 
different directions, till they find some narrow fracture or crevice, 
into which they insert themselves. Their growth is very rapid. 
“ I had been cautioned by my Dahoman caboceer, early in the 
morning previous to our marching, not to touch either a flower or a 
shrub of any description, or even pick up a pebble, as I had been 
in the habit of doing when I observed any thing new on my journey. 
I took little heed of this wholesome injunction, supposing that his 
motives were merely to prevent any delay on the road, as the day 
was likely to be rainy. Upon observing a succession of this plant 
as I rode along, I carelessly laid hold of and broke off a portion of 
one which was extremely brittle. A yell was instantly raised 
amongst my soldiers, and in a moment it was snatched out of my 
hand, and thrown a considerable distance from the path, while 
another soldier seized my horse’s head, and pulled it on one side 
from the plant. 
“Upon inquiring the cause of such an unceremonious proceeding, 
I was assured that I had run into extreme danger myself, as well 
as all those near my person, as this plant was the most deadly 
poison to be found in that country, and that even the vapour from 
a fracture or wound in the stem or any other part of it, from which 
a milky liquid almost in a stream exudes, which comes in contact 
with the eye, invariably causes total blindness, and death imme- 
diately any particle of the juice comes in contact with the blood. 
Be this as it may, I certainly observed in Logazohy and some 
neighbouring krooms an extraordinary number of blind persons, as 
well as blind dogs, which naturally excited my curiosity. I 
thought that this was occasioned by the ravages of the small-pox ; 
but I observed that many were totally blind where no signs of 
small-pox were visible (though this disease is very prevalent here 
as well as in all the neighbouring kingdoms to the north and east 
of these mountains); but, upon inquiry, I found that the blindness 
was attributed to coming in contact with this plant. 
“ After my return to Whydah,” adds Mr. Duncan in a note, 
“ I happened to mention this circumstance to a Portuguese slave- 
merchant, at the same time doubting the truth of the powers of this 
plant. He assured me of the correctness of this information, and 
that the same plant is to be found in the Brazils.” 
