THE POISON-MASTER.
439
paration was enveloped in great m y s t e r y ; that its principal ingredient was furnished b y a subterranean plant with a t u b e r o u s root, which never p u t s forth leaves, and which is called specially ' t h e r o o t ' (raiz de si m i s m a ) ; that the v e n o m o u s exhalations which arise from the manufacture are fatal to the lives o f the old w o m e n w h o ( b e i n g otherwise u s e less) are c h o s e n t o w a t c h over this operation ; finally, that these v e g e t a b l e juices are never t h o u g h t to bo sufficiently concentrated till a few drops produce at a distance a repulsive action o n the b l o o d . A n I n d i a n w o u n d s himself s l i g h t l y ; and a dart d i p p e d in the liquid curare is held near t h e wound. I f it make the b l o o d return t o the vessels w i t h o u t having b e e n b r o u g h t into c o n t a c t with t h e m , the p o i s o n is j u d g e d to be sufficiently c o n c e n t r a t e d . " W h e n w e arrived at Esmeralda, the greater part o f the Indians were r e t u r n i n g from an excursion which they had made t o the east, b e y o n d the R i o P a d a m o , t o gather juvias, o r tho fruit o f t h e bertholletia, and the liana which yields the curare. T h e i r return was celebrated b y a festival, which is called in the mission la fiesta de las juvias, and which resembles o u r harvest-homes and vintage-feasts. T h e w o m e n had prepared a quantity o f f e r m e n t e d l i q u o r ; and during t w o days the Indians were in a state o f intoxication. A m o n g nations w h o attach great importance to the fruit o f the palm, and o f some other trees useful for the nourishm e n t o f man, the p e r i o d w h e n these fruits are gathered is marked b y public rejoicings, and t i m e is divided a c c o r d i n g t o these festivals, which succeed o n e another in a course invariably regular. W e w e r e fortunate e n o u g h t o find an old I n d i a n m o r e temperate than t h e rest, w h o was e m p l o y e d in preparing the curare p o i s o n from freshlygathered plants. He was the chemist o f the place. We f o u n d at his dwelling largo earthen p o t s for boiling t h e vegetable juice, shallower vessels to favour the evaporation b y a larger surface, and leaves o f the plantain-tree rolled u p in the shape o f our filters, and used to filtrate the liquids, m o r e o r less loaded with fibrous matter. T h e greatest order and neatness prevailed in this h u t , which was transformed into a chemical laboratory. The old I n d i a n was k n o w n t h r o u g h o u t the mission b y the n a m e o f the p o i s o n master ( a m o del c u r a r e ) . H e had that self-sufficient air