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Show 190 ] nyi ng out to God and Mahomet for mercy . In Gxtccn minutes by my w::ttch, which I held in my hand, all the crimimls were no more. Some hours after their death, I obferved their bodies full of livid fpot s, much like thofc of the P etcchite, their faces r~, cl lcd, the ir colour changed to a kind of blue, their eyes looked yellow, &c. &c. About a fort night after thi s, I had an oppo rtunity of feeing fu ch another execution ot Samar:111g. Seven Mabyans were executed there with the fame infl:rument, and in the f.1mc manner; and I found the operation in the poi!un , and the fpots in their bodies, cx:1cUy the fame. Thefe circumfl:ances made me clefirous to try an experiment with fome animals, in order to be convinced of the real effect~ of this poifon; and as I had then two young puppies, l thought them the fittefl obj ects for my purpofe. I accordingly procured with great diffic ulty fomc grains of U p:ts. I di {folvcd half a grain of that gum in a fmall <ttw.ntity of arrack, :we! dipped a bncct into it. With this poifoned infl:rument I made an incilion in th<:: lower mukubr part of the belly in one of the puppies. Three minutes after it received the wound the :mim:1l began to cry out mofl: piteoufly, and ran as fait as pofil ble from one corner of the room to the other. So it continued during Jix minutes, when all its firength being exhaufl..ed, it fell upon the ground, was taken with convulfions, and died in the eleventh minute. I repeated this experiment with two other puppic. , with a cat and a fow l, and found the operation of the poifon in all of them the fame: none of thefe animals furvived above thirteen minutes. I thought it necc!fary to try alfo the effeCt of the poifon given inwardly, which I did in the following manner. I di ffo lved a quarter of a grain of the gum in half an ounce of arrack, and made a dog of feven months old drink it. In [even minutes, a retching enfued, and I obferved, at the fame time, that the animal was delirious, as it ran up ancl down the room, fell on the ground, and tumbled about; then it rofe again, cried out very loud, and in about half an hour after was feized with convulfions, and died. l opened the body, and found the fiomach very much inflamed, as the intefiines ·were in fome parts, but not fo much as the fiomach. There was a fmall quantity of coagulated blood in the fiomach; but I could difcover no orifice from which it could have i!fued ; and therefore fuppofed it to have been fqucezed out of the lungs, by the 21nimal's fl:raining while it was vomiting. From thefe experiments I have been convinced that the gum of the Upas is the mofl: dangerous and mofl: violent of all vegetable poifons; and I am apt to believe that it greatly contributes to the unhealthinefs of that ifland. Nor is this the only evil attending it: hundreds of the natives of Java, as well as Europeans, arc yearly dcfl:roycd and treacherouOy murdered by that poifon, either internally or externally. Every m.an of quality or fa01ion has his dagger or other arms poifoned with it; and in times of war the M:tlayans poifon the fprin gs and other waters with it ; by this treacherous praCtice the Dutch fu ffered greatly during the l::!fl.. wa r, as it occa!ioned the lofs of half their army. Fur thi~ rca{(m, they have ever fince kept fi01 in the fprings of which they drink Llac water, and fcntinels arc pbced near them, '\vho infpcet the waters every hour, to ft:c ' \ ht:tlter the fifh arc alive. If they march with an army or body of troops into an rne;ny's country, they always ca rry live fifh with them, which they throw into the water fome hours before they venture to drink it; by which means t!tey have been able to prevent their total dc!lruCI.ion. This account, I flatter myfelf, will fatisfy the curiofity of my readers, and the few faCts which I have related will be confidered as a certain proof of the exifl:cnce of tlus pernicious tree, and its penetrating effcCl:s. If it be afked why we have not yet any more fatisfaetory accounts of this tree I can only anfwcr, that the objeCt of mofl: travellers to that part of the world eonfifl:s 1~ore in commercial purfuits than in the fiudy of Natural Hiftory and the advancement of Sci ences. Befides, Java is fo univerfally reputed an unhealthy iOand, that rich travellen: fcldom make any long !lay in it; ai}d others want money, and generally are too igno-rant of the language to travel, in order to make enquiries. In future, thofe who vi fit this ifland will now probably be induced to make it an object of their refearches, and will furnifh us with a fuller defcription of this tree. I will therefore only add, that there cxifl:s alfo a fort of Cajoe-U pas on the coafl: of Maca!far, the poifon of which operates nearly in the fame manner, but is not half fo violent or malignant as that of Java, and of which I fhall likewifc give a more circumfl: antial account in a defcription of that ifland.-London Magazine. Another Account of tht Boa U pas, or Poifon-Tree of Maca !fer, from an inaugural DijJertation publijhed by Chrifl:. Aejmela:us, and approved by Profe!for Thunberg, at Upfal. Doetor Aejmel:x;us firfl: fpcaks of poifons in general, enumerating many virulent ones from the mineral and animal, as well as from the vegetable kingdoms of Nature. Of the firfl: he mentions arfenical, mercurial, and antimonial preparations ; amongfi the fecond he mentions the poifons of fcveral ferpcnts, fifhes, and infects ; and amongfl: the lafi the Curara on the bank of the Oronoko, and theW oorara on the banks of the Am a zones, and many others. But he thinks the firongefi is that of a tree hitherto undcfcribed, known by the name of Boa Upas, which grows in many of the warmer parts of India, principally in the iflands of J ava, Sumatra, Borneo, Bali, Maca!fcr, and Celebes. Rumphius tefl:ifies concerning this Indian poifon, that it was more terrible to the Dutch than any warlike infirument; it is by him flyled Arbor toxicaria, and mentions two fpccies of it, which he terms male and femal e ; and defcribcs the tree as having a thick trunk, with fpre:tding branches, covered with a rough dark bark. The wood, he adds, is very folic!, of a pale yellow, and variegated with black fpots, but the fruc-tification is yet unknown. Profe!for Thunberg fuppofes the Boa U pas to be a Cefl:rum, or a tree of t~e. fame natural family; and defcribes a Cefl:rum of the Cape of Good ~ope~ the. jtllce Of which the Hottentots mix with the venom of a certain ferpent, wh1ch IS fa1d to increafe the deleterious quality of them both. . 1 [I ') The Boa U pas tree is cafily recognifed at a di!lance, being always folttary, t 1~ o.t around it being barren, and as it were burnt up; the dried juice is dark brown, ltqu~- |