432

Composition of the Indian Poison For Arrows.

with the history of South America, that the Indian tribes inhabiting the extreme wilds of that continent, between the Oronoque and Amazon rivers, have long been accustomed to prepare their arrows with a poison which they call wourali; the composition of which was wholly unknown to Europeans resident in that country, though its fatal effects had been too frequently felt. With a view to as certain its component parts, and the method of mixing the ingredients, in order, if possible, to discover some antidote to its destructive consequences, a gentleman named Waterton, undertook in the early part of the present year to pe netrate into the interior of Guiana, and after a perilous journey of a hundred and twenty days, succeeded in obtaining the desired information. In the interior of Essequibo, remote from any European settlement, Mr. Waterton found a tribe of savages, known by the name of Macouchi Indians, who excelled in the preparation of the wourali. From them he learned that the principal ingredient of this deadly poison, and that from which it takes its name, is the Wourali vine, which is indigenous to the forests of Demarara and Essequibo. Two species of roots, of a bitter taste, unknown to European naturalists, and two kinds of bulbous plants, peculiar to those regions, the stalks of which are filled with a glutinous juice of a pale green colour, and which, from their rarity, are not to be obtained without considerable difficulty; and a quantity of the strongest Indian pepper, form the vegetable parts of the wourali poison. The animal ingredients consist of two species of ants; one of which is extremely large, of a black coJour, and so exceedingly venomous, that its sting invariably produces fever; the other is a smaller insect, of a bright red colour, inhabiting nests formed in the leaf of a particular shrub, and whose sting produces the effect of a nettle; a painful, itching pustule appearing instantaneously on the wounded part. The last article in this extraordinary composition is the fangs of the Labarrie and Counacouchi snakes, which, when any of those animals are killed, are always carefully extracted, dried, and beaten to a fine powder. The ingredients obtained, the method of preparing the poison is as follows:-The vine branches and bitter roots are first scraped into fine shavings and placed in a sort of cullender or strainer made of leaves, over a new earthen pot; a sufficient quantity of water being thrown on the shavings, the

[Dec. 1,

liquor which comes through is of the colour, and much resembles, strong coffee. The stalks of the bulbous plants are next bruised, and the juice expressed into an earthen vessel by squeezing the stalks in the hand. The snakes' fangs, the ants, and the pepper, are then pounded together, added to the liquid, and the whole is placed over a slow fire, where it is boiled down to a thick syrup of a deep brown colour. The scum which rises on the top of the mixture during the boiling is carefully removed with a leaf; and as soon as this scum ceases to appear, the poison is considered prepared. What may not be required for immediate use, is preserved in little pots of Indian manufacture, the apertures of which are covered with two or three leaves, and tied down with deer's skin so as effectually to exclude the air; the influence of which, it is understood, would materially affect the strength of the poison; it is then put away in the driest part of the hut, and occasionally suspended over the fire to prevent the effects of damp. Many superstitious precautions are taken by the Indians in the preparation of the Wourali poison, for the purpose of preventing any revengeful tricks being played on them by the Qahabow or Evil Spirit, whom they appear to consider jealous of the intrusion into his arcana of destruction. The effect of this poison on an animal is apparent in about a minute after it is wounded by the arrow; and however slight the puncture or scratch may be, has never, in any one instance, been known to fail of producing death in rather less than five minutes. The moment an animal is struck by a poisoned arrow, it either stands quite still, or walks forward at a very slow pace with its head inclined to the ground, as if in a state of stupefaction; in the second minute this stupor evidently increases, but the animal does not appear to suffer any pain; in the third minute, convulsive efforts to move, apparently accompanied by drowsiness and a nodding of the head, take place: these struggles are considerably increased in the fourth minute, and generally put a period to life before the expiration of the fifth. What is rather a remarkable circumstance in the Wourali poison is, that no injury whatever is done to the flesh of birds or animals killed by it; the flesh is perfectly wholesome, and will keep as long as if the animal had been killed by any other means; and even the wounded part may be eaten with complete safety.

1816.]

Illiberality of French Criticism.

The wound manifests no disposition to irritation, nor does any particular effect appear to be produced upon the muscle otherwise than would have resulted from a wound inflicted with any sharp instrument. Whether any beneficial consequences may hereafter result from an analysis of the ingredients which Mr. Waterton has obtained, it is difficult to say; but if the arrows used by the Indians of Guiana in their predatory excursions against the European Settlements are prepared with Wourali poison, the attempt to discover an antidote to its baneful effects is a study worthy of the attention of the medical philanthropist.

A course of lectures has been delivered by Mr. CURTIS, Surgeon and Aurist, of Soho-square, a nephew of the late celebrated botanist of that name, on the Anatomy, Physiology, and Diseases of the Ear. The course will be regularly continued, and it is hoped direct the attention of the profession to the diseases of an organ which has hitherto been much neglected. In this course, Mr. Curtis has introduced a number of improvements in the instruments commonly used for assisting hearing, particularly his artificial ears for deaf persons, first introduced in France, which, by being adapted to the ear, increase the collection of sound. But, besides the collection of sound, an additional force is wanted to transmit it through the pas sage in this respect the French invention is deficient. To remedy this defect, Mr. Curtis has added a small tube, which by contracting the passage will occasion the sound to enter with greater force. The form of this invention is particularly convenient, in consequence of the arti ficial ears being easily applied over the natural ones, which they are made to resemble. The samne gentleman has invented a hearing trumpet, forming a parabolic conoid on the same principle as the speaking trumpet used at sea, which is so well known to answer the purpose of extending the impression of sound. It has this convenience, that it shuts up in a small case for the pocket.

FRANCE.

A German, resident at Paris, being charged with the compilation of the lives of the most celebrated dramatic performers of that city for the Zeitgenossen, (Contemporaries, a periodical work recently commenced by Brockhaus, bookseller, of Altenburg and Leipzig), has addressed to them a circular, requesting to be favoured with a biographical sketch of themselves, and, if possible, NEW MONTHLY MAG.-No. 35,

433

with some traits relative to their professional education. They have all declared their willingness to assist him, and from Talma he has already received a well-written account of his life and professional career, filled with the most ingenious remarks, which will not fail to give peculiar interest to the article on that eminent actor.

I have been too long from home (says a correspondent in a letter from Paris) to know in what estimation my countrymen hold M. JoUY, who formerly wrote under the name The Hermit of the Chaussée d'Antin, and has for some time' furnished the Gazette de France with a weekly article on the manners of Paris, with the signature of The Hermit of Guiana; but so much I know, that he is considered as a man of genius among the orthodox here, that is, among the downright French, who believe most religiously in the infallibility of their own school. Some innovators indeed, now and then, raise objections against him, but their voices soon die away again as in a desart. It will certainly afford you some amusement to learn the opinion lately expressed by this man of genius, on the subject of the dramatic literature of foreign countries, in one of his weekly essays, which are entitled Miroir des Maurs. Read the following tirade of this consummate critic; and if you can still entertain the idea that the French are likely some time or other to do justice to foreigners, you must indeed have faith that can, if not remove mountains, at least transform these vain people into candid critics of the literature of other nations. Depuis deux siècles, says this M. Jouy, le Théâtre français n'a plus de rival, et quoiqu'en disent les ROMANTIQUES d'outre-Rhin, et d'outre-mer, il faut bien qu'ils finissent par convenir que la scène sur laquelle on représente les chefs-d'auvre des Corneille, des Molière, des Racine, des Voltaire, est preferable à celles où se jouent les monstruo sites de Shakespeare, d'Otway, de Lillo, les romans dialogués de Schiller et les rapsodies de Kotzebue. Should there be among the numerous readers of your journal but one individual who does not understand French, allow me for the benefit of that person to subjoin a transla→ tion of this curious passage:-"For the last two centuries the French theatre has been without a rival; and let the Romantics of Germany and England say what they please, they are obliged at last to admit, that the stage upon which the master-pieces of a Corneille, a MoVOL. VI.

SK

434

Sickler's Method of unrolling the Herculanean MSS. [Dec. I,

lière, a Racine, a Voltaire, are represented, deserves the preference to those upon which are produced the monstrous abortions of Shakspeare, Otway, and Lillo, the dramatised novels of Schiller, and the rhapsodies of Kotzebue." To this amusing passage I shall add a very grave remark. If the above opinion of Jouy, which is the universal opinion of Frenchmen with very few exceptions, were the result of a profound study of the German and English drama, it would at least demand respect, which is always due to opinions grounded on internal conviction, let them be found wherever they will. But amidst the total ignorance of modern foreign languages which prevails among the French, how is such a study possible? Out of the five hundred thousand inhabitants of Paris there are perhaps at the utmost five real scholars who read English and German, but not without the grammar and dictionary in their hands. Can such a knowledge of a language qualify for a just appreciation of the spirit of a poetical composition?-At the same time it is singular, but not the less true, that the knowledge and love of foreign languages, particularly English and German, are much inore prevalent among the unlettered class than among the literati, who confess their total ignorance of them with the most supercilious indifference. The Count de SEGUR is preparing for publication an Abridgment of Ancient and Modern History, for youth, in 37 volumes, 18mo. with maps and engravings. The first livraison, forming 9 volumes, comprizing the Ancient History, is just ready for delivery.

GERMANY.

At the meeting of the Royal Society of Sciences at Göttingen, on the 9th of November, 1814, M. HEEREN laid before it an Essay by Dr. SICKLER, director of the Gymnasium of Hildburghausen, known to the learned by various esteemed antiquarian and archæological works, as also by his excellent topographical map of the environs of Rome, which essay relates to a subject of considerable importance to classic literature-an improved method of unrolling the Manuscripts discovered at Herculaneum. The author was desirous that this method should be subjected to a rigid examination, and as, for well-founded reasons, he had determined not to make it public for the present, he requested that a Committee might be appointed by the Society for the purpose of minutely investigating his process as well as the experiments made

by him upon charred paper. M. Osiander, the then director of the Society, se lected Messrs. BLUMENBACH, HAUSMANN, and HEEREN, who made the following report:

"The method proposed by Dr. SICKLER for unrolling the charred manuscripts of Herculaneum is essentially different from that hitherto employed, with but little success, for that purpose, and seems to combine the necessary requisites for unrolling the MSS. in a legible state and in a short time. The viscous mixture which Dr. Sickler uses is of such a nature that it adheres as well to the charred mass as to the substance upon which the latter is spread. It dries slowly, so that the operation of unrolling need not be hurried, and that if even any of it should penetrate to an inner turn of a roll, and a small portion of that turn should adhere, it may be easily separated again. The body upon which the manuscripts are spread is very supple, so that it can be applied even to crooked rolls, but at the same time extremely tenacious. The method of working the machine is very simple, and affords the advantage that the MS. is thereby kept in a state of the utmost possible repose, and that every operation which has a tendency to tear the exceedingly tender mass is avoided. At the same time it brings the MS, into a state by which the reading of it is faeilitated. From all these circumstances the Committee think it highly probable that the method of unrolling proposed by Dr. Sickler may

lead to the desired object; and so much the periments with charred written papers, specimens of which were communicated by Dr. Sickler. It is true, that to produce a thorough conviction of its applicability it would be necessary that experiments should be made upon the Herculanean rolls themselves; when, perhaps, according to the better or worse preservation of those rcks, there might be found various difficulties to be surmounted, which could not previously occur to the ingenious inventor."

more as they have found it to answer in ex

A private letter from Weimar, dated Dec. 30, 1815, transmitted to us by our friend Mr. BÖTIGER, of Dresden, communicates the following particulars respecting the subsequent proceedings of Dr. Sickler:

Soon after the publication of the Re port of the Committee, Sickler resolved to have a fac-simile engraving made of a specimen of a roll of papyrus, as it ap pears in its charred state, and of the eleven Greek lines upon it, for general circulation, together with a brief account of the results of his new method. This fragment, considering its subject alone, is not a little curious. It evidently be longs to some geographical work, which

1816.]

Institutions for Education at Petersburg.

if published complete, could not fail to enlarge our knowledge of ancient geography. Here follows a translation of the passage which it contains :

435

ing is proposed to be supported by means of subscriptions; to which all the great officers about the court have already added their names. Besides this, "In all these parts there are also ani- they and other dignitaries, both in church mals. On the south side is a hollow full and state, have promised to assist perof serpents of various kinds; the inha- sonally in the selection of the pieces, bitants affirm that among them are some which are to be published, and the ac15 ells in length, which they kill without tuary of the archives of the kingdom, danger when hunting, as these animals M. Sundell, together with others to farnish a food that is always palatable. whom they are familiar, have been enContiguous to this country is a tract gaged to lend their aid in editing them. which from the numerous branches The first part of this interesting collecof the rivers is not only pleasant, but tion is now ready for the press it conwell adapted for pasturage. Near the sists of the first volume of the Swedish sea coast are situated four islands with "Corpus Diplomaticum," which has rocks and of a black appearance. These been traced from the earliest ages by the exhibit the phenomena of a wood of self-illustrious Fant, Professor of History at formed large pillars of stone (i παμμεγεθων αὐτοφυτον), and are uninhabited. A mountain is also situated near, which is called the mountain of the Cyclops, and consists from the foot to the summit of a perpendicular rock."

Thus far this fragment, which will remind the reader of the Cave of Fingal with its columns of basalt in Staffa, the most remarkable of the Hebrides, or of the Giants' Causeway on the north coast of Ireland; for the self-formed wood of stone pillars cannot imply any thing else than columns of basalt. But where this land of serpents, basalt, and Cyclops, is to be sought, may be a prize-question for some institution especially devoted to geographical inquiries.-It is to be hoped that through the favourable testimony of the most distinguished professors of the Georgia Augusta, and through their mediation with the Prince Regent, that illustrious patron of the sciences, at least one of the six rolls which were presented to him by King Ferdinand of Naples, and which have for some years been deposited at Oxford, may be entrusted to the Society of Sciences of Göttingen. In this case the ingenious Sickler might there try his method, and suspend a new wreath in the temple of national honour to the glory of Germany, by accomplishing a task which has been relinquished in despair by the English, who nevertheless deem themselves unequalled in chemistry and mechanics.

SWEDEN.

With a view to rescue important manuscripts from oblivion or destruction, an enterprize has been set on foot, through the zeal and activity of Baron Stjerneld, a Commander of the Order of the North Star, having for its object the publication of the most valuable ancient and modern MSS. connect with the history of Scandinavia. undertak

Upsala.

RUSSIA.

The institution for Cadets in the Land Service at St. Petersburg, which is of it self a little town, as its buildings comprize an extent of two versts and a half in circumference, contains at present 750 cadets, who together with the persons attached to it, form an aggregate of 2,315 individuals, accommodated in 1,260 apartments. This excellent and highly useful establishment was founded by Field Marshal Count Münnich, and afterwards organised almost de nopo by Count d'Anhalt: its yearly expense amounts to 650,000 rubles. The institution for Cadets in the Engineer Service costs annually near 460,000 rubles, and contains 560 pupils. The Greek Seminary which Catherine II. founded for 200 youths from Greece and the Archipelago, has but few pupils at present. The Fraulein Stift, an institution for the daughters of noblemen and others, which is calcu lated for 240 noble and 240 plebeian girls, has a yearly expenditure of 390,000 rubles. It is even frequented by the daughters of many rich and distinguished families. In the Orphan Asylum there are at present about 900 children. The number of Churches amounts to 73, exclusive of 60 which are of the RussoGreek persuasion, there are 5 of the German Lutheran, 1 of the French and 1 of the German Reformed persuasion, 1 English, 1 Dutch, 1 Catholic, 1Swedish, 1 Finnish, and 1 Armenian; to which may be added a mosque (merely a house of prayer) for the Turkish Ambassador and other Mahomedan residents. The divine service is performed in fifteen different tongues, and God is worshipped under eleven different confessions of faith. There are 13 Protestant congregations, superintended by 15 pastors.

The students of the University of Abo,

436

Altitudes of Mountains in the East Indies. [Dec. 1,

in Finland, are in number about 250, the greater proportion of whom are Russians and Swedes. Its professors are under the superintendance of a vice-chancellor, who receives his instructions from the Minister of General Civilization at St. Petersburg: and the former deliver their lectures in public halls, many being read in the Latin tongue. The peaks of the enormous rocks, by which Abo is encompassed on all sides, present their grotesque masses in every direction, and being seen from every street, afford a highly romantic spectacle to the eye of the stranger.

ITALY.

A new periodical work has made its appearance in Italy under the title of the Biblioteca Italiana, ossia Giornale di Leteratura, Scienze, ed Arti; compilato da una Societa di Letterati. Tomo I. Anno Primo. Milano: presso Ant. Fort. Stella. Of this work an 8vo. number is published monthly. It contains essays in various departments of the arts and sciences (as in the first part, for instance, On the Conduct and Advantages of Translations), unpublished pieces (among which is an original unedited letter of Torquato Tasso), critical extracts or advertisements of domestic and foreign publications, works of art, &c. Messrs. Vinc. Monti, Scip. Breislack, Pietro Giordani, announce themselves as contributors, and Gius. Acerbi has undertaken the editorship of it.

A valuable addition has been made to the records of history by a recent publication, comprizing the life of Trivulzio, and the annals of his times, and entitled Dell' Istoria intorno alla militari imprese e alla vita di Gian-Jacopo Trivulzio, dette il Magno, tratta in gran parti da Monumenti inediti, etc. Libri XV. del Caval. Carlo de Rosmini Roveretano. Milan. 2 vols. in 4to.

I accompanied the head-quarters of Col. Adams's detachment. Set again at leis sure by the recent peace, I am now about to commence my travels in the Siberian regions of Bootan. I have today received a letter from the Tartar chiefs, that they hope to commence their journey northward eleven days hence they are now with their wives and little ones assembled at Askoth, four days journey from hence, and to which place they migrate, if I may be allowed to use the word, when frozen out of their native villages by the severity of winter, returning thither again at the commencement of spring. I expect to set off with this motley group in caravan about the middle of this month, without any European companion, and purpose, if circumstances prove favorable to my researches, to abide among them some months.

I have been able during my survey to determine the altitudes of 27 peaks in the great snowy chain of mountains, which with a sketch of the province of Kumaon I have recently sent to Lord Moira. I enclose an account of the results; the distances and bases have been determined trigonometrically, and the work proved by inferring from the snowy peak alone the latitude of Peleebhut; which coincided with Mr. Burrow's observations to five seconds of a great circle, or in space 84 English fathoms; the distance between the great mosque in that town, and the nearest point of the snowy range, being in round numbers 98,000 fathoms. ALTITUDES of the principal SNOWY PEAKS visible from KUMAON as ascertained during a Survey of that Province by Lieut. W. S. WEBB, of the Bengal Infantry.

The ninth volume of the Storia della Toscana, of Lor. Pignotti, has also made its appearance at Pisa.

Feet.

Sea
Feet.

EAST INDIES.