Cum veniffet ad urbem Ambigeri regis, oppidam victum ferro
audientes, fagittas veneno armant, atque ita gemino mortis vulnere
hoftem a muris fummoven-tes, plurimos interficiunt. Juftin,
Lib. 12, Chap. o.
A fimilar ftory is told of a tree, in the ifland of Java, called the
Upas, and of another in Makaffar, which Gumilla mentions. See
Vol. III. pg .16. Hift.
de l'Oronoque.
It muft be obferved, that the ufe of poifoned Arrows is principally
confined to the chafe, and is introduced upon emergencies only in
battle, among the Americans.—See Condamine, Voyage, pg. 206,
and Bancroft's Hiftory of Guiana, pg. 306.—There is, however,
an inftance of the Americans having ufed thefe Arrows with great
fuccefs, related in the " Viaggi da Ramufio," Vol. III.
pg. 24—A. Vafco Numez, with 300 men, attacked a party of
Indians, who immediately turned about, difcharged a flight of
poifoned Arrows on them, and at the firft fhot killed 107 of the 300
who. had invaded their country.
Mr. De la Condamine informs us of a few expe¬riments he tried on
poifoned Arrows, during his re¬sidence at Cayenne, which he has
inferted in the narrattve of his voyage to the Amazon river. pg.
203.
In the preparation of this poifon, it is faid, the care of the
boiling is entrufted to a criminal; and at the time the perfon
becomes fuffocated by the fumes, it is concluded to be fufficiently
boiled.—(See Bancroft, pg. 290.—Alfo Gumilla,
Vol. III. pg. 12.)
But the Experiments of the
Abbé Fontana on this kind of poifon, prove the vapour to be
innocent to the lungs. This author concludes the
relation of his experiments in thefe words:—" Da
tutte quefte fperienze deduco che i vapori de' fumi del veleno
Americano, fono innocenti, o che fi fiutino, o che fi
refperino."
Bancroft fays, in his Hiftory of Guiana, that in trying experiments
with poifon, he had a drop acci¬dentally thrown into his eye,
but by wafhing he pre¬vented any very bad effects, though he
felt pain for fome time, afterwards. Pg. 293.
Gumilla relates, that the nations on the banks of the Oroonoko, eat
the Monkies they kill by poifoned Arrows. See
Vol. III. pg. 7.
Hift. de I'Oronoque.
It is reported, that wounds made by Arrows. tinged with fome kinds
of poifon, ufed by the inhabi¬tants of Brafil, which are not
inftantly mortal, prove extremely tormenting; and the effects are to
violent, that thofe who are wounded appear to be almoft dri¬ven
to diftraction with the pain.—'' Quefti
tirano le dor frezze com una herba cofi peftifera & velenofa,
che non vi ha remedio alcuno: et quelli che ne ven-gono feriti,
muoiono arrabiati, & fanno molti motivi & fi mordono le loro
proprie mani & carni, &c." Ramufio
Vol. III. pg. 83.
Cum inter multos vulneratus etiam Ptolemaeus effet, moriturufque
jamjam videretur, per quietem regi monftrata in remedia veneni herba
eft, qua in potu acceptas ftatim periculo liberatus eft, majorque
pars exercitus hoc remedio fervata. Juft.. Lib.
12. Ch. 10.
Les premiers Efpagnols qui voulurent foumettre Us Caraibes, ayant
fouvent reffenti les effets de ces traits, eurent recours a une
infinite de contre-poifons, & s'imaginerent enfin d'en avoir
trouvé un, dans les feuilles du tabac. Cette
decouverte fut annoncée en Efpagne avec tant d'eclat que
Philippe II. fit faire des experiences en fa préfence
fur des, chiens, dont on frotta les plaies avec du tabac broyé,
mais 1'illufion ne dura pas, & on s'apperçut bientot que
ce pretendu fpecifique n'etoir pas infaillible. Rech. fur
les Amer.
Capras autem in Creta feras, cum effent confixae venenatis fagitis,
herbam quaerere quae Dictamnus vocaretur; quam cum guftaviffent,
fagittas excidere dicunt e corpore. Cicero,
Nat. Deorum, Lib. 2.