X 
Abbe fontana on the 
phyfician there, and fellow of the Royal Society, procured me a 
great number of American arrows which had been carefully pre- 
ferred, and were well impregnated with poifon. He was alfo 
fo obliging as to fupply me with a good quantity of poifon, in- 
clofed and fealed up in an earthen veflel inclofed in a tin cafe. 
Within the tin ckfe was a paper containing the following 
words : 44 Indian poifon, brought from the banks of the river 
44 of the Amazons, by Don pedro Maldonado : it is one of the 
46 forts mentioned in the Phil. Tranf. voi. XLVII. numb xn.” 
In the volume of the Tranfadtions here quoted, mention is 
made of two poifons little different in their activity ; the one 
called the poifon of Lamas, and the other of Ticunas. The poi- 
fon contained in the earthen veffel which I ufed is that of the 
Ticunas. It is not well known to which of the two the poifon 
on the arrows belonged ; but my experiments proved it was 
of the fame ftrength with that of the Ticunas, fo that I do 
not think it at all material to diftinguifh the one from the 
other. 
Much has been written by authors concerning the adlivity of 
thefe American poifons ; fo that I thought it proper to make 
my experiments by degrees, and with all poflible precaution. The 
very fmell of them was thought to be noxious , on the bare open- 
ing of the veffel; and if the leaft of their particles was fuffered to 
diffufe itfelf through the air, fome grievous diforder, and even 
death itfelf, was apprehended ; fo, at leaft, we read in the beft 
authors. I began, therefore, as foon as the veffel which con- 
tained the poifon was open, by making a young pigeon breathe 
the air of it ; for which purpofe I held its head within the veflel 
for a few minutes. On taking it out I found it as well as at firft. 
I loofened with a pen-knife many pieces of the poifon, in order 
to have a little duft in the veffel, and then again immerfed the 
head of the pigeon ; but I found that in this fecond experiment 
alfo the animal fuffered nothing. 
From that moment I made no more difficulty of expofing 
myfelf to that vapour, and of fmelling the effluvia, which feemed 
difagreeable and naufeous. Many of the particles entered my 
mouth with the air, and I found that they had a tafte fomething 
like 
