444
EFFECTS
mavacure fire;
OF
i s a m o r t a l poison
THE
POISON.
o n l y w h e n it is c o n c e n t r a t e d by
and ebullition deprives t h e juice o f t h e root of Jatropha
m a n i h o t ( t h e m a n i o c ) o f all i t s b a n e f u l b i n g a long
time
between
qualities.
rub-
In
m y lingers t h e liana w h i c h y i e l d s
t h e potent poison o f La Peca, w h e n t h e weather w a s excessively
h o t , my
hands
were b e n u m b e d ;
and a person w h o
w a s e m p l o y e d w i t h m e felt t h e s a m e effects
from
this
rapid
absorption by the uninjured i n t e g u m e n t s . I shall not here e n t e r into any detail on t h e p h y s i o l o g i c a l properties o f those with the same
poisons of the New
promptitude
World
which
kill
a s t h e s t r y c h m ĂŚ o f Asia,* b u t
w i t h o u t p r o d u c i n g v o m i t i n g w h e n t h e y are received i n t o t h e stomach, the
and
violent
fowl is e a t e n been
without
excitement
killed
with
method
of the Orinoco
a poisoned
flesh
of death by
the approach
o f t h e spinal m a r r o w .
on the banks
allege that the this
denoting
a
has n o t
a r r o w ; a n d the m i s s i o n a r i e s
of animals
is e m p l o y e d .
Scarcely
which
is n e v e r s o g o o d a s w h e n
Father
Zea, who accompanied
u s , t h o u g h ill o f a tertian fever, e v e r y m o r n i n g h a d t h e live f o w l s a l l o t t e d for o u r food brought t o his h a m m o c k with not
an a r r o w , a n d h e k i l l e d t h e m confide
this
importance,
to
operation, any other
to
himself;
which
person.
he
together
for h e w o u l d
attached
Large
birds,
great
a
guan
( p a v a d e m o n t e ) for i n s t a n c e , o r a c u r a s s a o ( a l e c t o r ) , w h e n wounded
in t h e t h i g h ,
i t is often
pig or a p e c c a r y . bought
d i e in t w o o r t h r e e
ten or twelve
minutes
before
minutes; but
life is e x t i n c t i n a
M . B o n p l a n d found that t h e s a m e p o i s o n ,
in different
villages,
c u r e d a t t h e river A m a z o n
varied
much.
which o f the
keys,
T r a v e l l e r s , on arriving in t h e m i s s i o n s , f r e q u e n t l y
their guanas,
killed with less.
Ticuna
had p r o -
w a s l e s s p o t e n t t h a n a n y o f t h e varieties o f t h e curare Orinoco.
real
We
poison
testify
some
apprehension on learning and
even
poisoned
Majendie
has
the fish
arrows. proved
t h a t t h e fowls, m o n -
which t h e y e a t , have b e e n
B u t t h e s e fears are g r o u n d b y his i n g e n i o u s
experiments
on t r a n s f u s i o n , that t h e blood o f a n i m a l s on which t h e b i t t e r strychnos o f India
h a s p r o d u c e d a d e l e t e r i o u s effect, has no
fatal action on o t h e r
animals.
able quantity of poisoned
blood
A
d o g received into
a consider-
his v e i n s w i t h o u t a n y
trace of irritation b e i n g perceived in the spinal m a r r o w . * The nux vomica, the upus tieute, and the bean of St. Ignatius. (Strychnos Ignatia.)