48 
WANDERINGS IN 
FIRST 
JOURNF ' 1 
that brought on immediate dissolution in this case ? 
: Of course the weapon. 
The second have been misled by disappointment, 
caused by neglect in keeping the poisoned arrows, 
or by not knowing how to use them, or by trying 
inferior poison. If the arrows are not kept dry, 
the poison loses its strength, and in wet or damp 
weather it turns mouldy, and becomes quite soft. 
In shooting an arrow in this state, upon examining 
the place where it has entered, it will be observed 
that, though the arrow has penetrated deep into the 
flesh, still by far the greatest part of the poison has 
shrunk back, and thus, instead of entering with the 
arrow, it has remained collected at the mouth of 
the wound. In this case the arrow might as well 
have not been poisoned. Probably, it was to this 
that a gentleman, some time ago, owed his disap¬ 
pointment, when he tried the poison on a horse in 
the town of Stabroek, the capital of Demerara; the 
horse never betrayed the least symptom of being 
affected by it. 
Wishful to obtain the best information concerning 
this poison, and as repeated inquiries, in lieu of dis¬ 
sipating the surrounding shade, did but tend more 
and more to darken the little light that existed; I 
determined to penetrate into the country where the 
poisonous ingredients grow, where this pernicious 
composition is prepared, and where it is constantly 
used. Success attended the adventure; and the in¬ 
formation acquired made amends for one hundred 
and twenty days passed in the solitudes of Guiana, 
