Pagan races of the Malay Peninsula - Sabrizain.org

266 IVEAPONS AND IMPLEMENTS
chemical trace of either arsenic or antimony in its
composition. Hence he elects to consider them as
pure plant poisons. On the other hand, the weight of
native testimony (of all kinds) as to the addition of
arsenic to these poisons is so universal and over-
whelming, that I am inclined to think we have not yet
quite got to the bottom of the matter, though in the
view of Mr. L. Wray it is the use of arsenic by the
Malays, in the cleaning of their kris (and other)
blades, that has given rise to these reports. " As a
dart-poison" (Mr. Wray writes me), "arsenic would
be useless, and it is not found in the Peninsula in a
state in which even the Malays could extract it from
its ores." It is sold in the bazaars, however, and may
be used for special purposes ;
Durability.
e.g. in shooting tigers.
As regards the durability of Ipoh poison, Geiger
is doubtless right in ascribing the conflicting reports
which characterise it in that respect to the variability
of the ingredients composing the poison.^ There is
almost certainly a great difference in durability
between the poison obtained from the Upas creeper
and that of the Upas tree.
Effect of the Poison.
Small birds or mamnials when struck by a dart
coated at the point with poison of an average
strength are killed almost instantaneously, but bigger
ones take, as a rule, some minutes to die. In the
case of the largest and strongest monkeys the effect
of the same (average) poison may take a quarter of
' Geiger, p. 24. The chemical the scope of this book, is fully treated
aspect of the question, which is beyond by Geiger, loc. (it.