PART I
POISONS IN MYSTERY AND ROMANCE
[Illustration:
NATIVES OF THE FRENCH SUDAN, SOUTH OF THE NIGER, PREPARING THEIR ARROW
POISON AND DIPPING THEIR WEAPONS.
(_From a drawing by A. Forestier._)
Reproduced by kind permission of the proprietors of the _Illustrated
London News_.
[_Frontispiece._
]
POISON MYSTERIES
IN
HISTORY, ROMANCE AND CRIME
BY
C. J. S. THOMPSON, M.B.E.
Author of “The History and Romance of Alchemy and Pharmacy,” etc., etc.
_POPULAR EDITION_
LONDON:
THE SCIENTIFIC PRESS, LTD.
28 & 29 SOUTHAMPTON STREET
STRAND, W.C.2
1925
_First Published, 1923_
_Popular Edition, 1925_
TO
SIR WILLIAM H. WILLCOX,
K.C.I.E., C.B., C.M.G., M.D., F.R.C.P. Lond.
As a slight appreciation of the eminent
services he has rendered to
Toxicology and
Medicine.
CONTENTS
PART I
POISONS IN HISTORY AND ROMANCE
CHAP. PAGE
I POISONS USED BY ANCIENT AND PRIMITIVE RACES 15
Poisoned Weapons—Poisons employed by Primitive
Peoples—Malay, African and Indian native Poisons—The
Upas Poison—Ordeal Poisons.
II POISONS USED BY THE EGYPTIANS, GREEKS, ROMANS, HEBREWS,
CHINESE, PERSIANS, AND HINDUS IN ANCIENT TIMES 26
A Babylonian Poison Goddess—Poisons in Mythology—Poisons
in Ancient Egypt—The State Poison of the Greeks—The
Death of Socrates.
III ANTIDOTES TO POISON IN ANCIENT TIMES 40
Poison Laws in Ancient Times—Antidotes and
Alexipharmica—Theriaca and its History.
IV PREVENTIVE METHODS AND SUBSTANCES USED AGAINST POISONS 49
Terra Sigillata—How it was Tested—Toad Stones—Unicorn’s
Horn—Rhinoceros Horn and Assay Cups—Bezoar Stones.
V SUPERSTITIONS CONNECTED WITH POISONOUS PLANTS 63
Mandrake—Aconite—Hellebore—Opium—Henbane.
VI THE POISON LORE OF TOADS AND SPIDERS 84
Poison extracted from the Toad—How an Italian Doctor
proved his knowledge of Medicine—A Mysterious Chinese
Poison prepared from Toads—Venomous Spiders—A Romany
Poison.
VII SOME CLASSICAL POISONS AND THEIR HISTORIES 88
Arsenic—Mercury—Antimony.
VIII ROYAL AND HISTORIC POISONERS 101
King John and Maud FitzWalter—The Abbot of Westminster
poisoned—The murder of Sir Thomas Overbury—The Earl of
Leicester and his Victims—Mysterious death of the son of
Peter the Great—The Gaekwar of Baroda tried for attempt
to poison Colonel Phayre.
IX POISONS TRIED ON HUMAN BEINGS 109
Vivisection of Criminals—Poisons and Antidotes
administered to Criminals—Brassavola and Fallopius—A
Charlatan’s Challenge at Oxford—English Experimenters.
X THE SLOW AND TIME POISONS OF MEDIÆVAL TIMES 113
Early Records of “Slow” Poisons—Attempt to poison Queen
Elizabeth—Death of Macchiavelli—Death of Elisabetta
Sirani.
XI THE ITALIAN SCHOOL OF POISONERS 120
The Venetian Poisoners—A Professional Poisoner’s
Fees—The Poisoners of Rome—Toffana—La Spara.
XII THE MYSTERY OF THE BORGIAS 128
History of the Family—Pope Alexander
VI—Cesare—Lucrezia—Preparing the Poison—Death of
Alexander—Death of Cesare—The Borgia Poison.
XIII POISON MYSTERIES IN EARLY SCOTTISH HISTORY 142
Earl of Moray—The Duke of Albany and Margaret
Drummond—Jean Douglas and James V—Mysterious death of
the Earl of Atholl—The death of Robert Stewart, Earl of
Orkney—The Earl of Dunbar and Secretary Cecil.
XIV HISTORIC POISON CASES IN FRANCE 145
Francis II and Mary Queen of Scots—Catharine de’
Medici—Mysterious death of Gabrielle D’Astrées—Death of
the Duchess of Orléans—Glaser and Exali—The Mania for
Poisoning in France—The Marquise de Brinvilliers and her
Crimes—Sainte-Croix—_Chambre de Poisons_—Le Vigoreux, La
Voisin and Le Sage—Maréchal de Luxembourg, Duchesse de
Bouillon and Comtesse de Soissons tried—Attempted
Poisoning of Louis XVIII—Poisons employed in France in
the XVIIth and XVIIIth centuries.
XV THE MYSTERY OF AMY ROBSART’S DEATH 164
XVI A POISON MYSTERY OF THE XVIITH CENTURY 171
The strange case of Sir Euseby Andrew.
XVII A MYSTERY OF THE AUSTRIAN COURT IN THE XVIITH CENTURY 178
Leopold, Emperor of Austria and Giuseppe Francesco
Borri.
XVIII POISON PLOTS 186
Dread of Wholesale Poisoning—The Poisoning of the Bishop
of Rochester’s Guests—The Act of Henry VIII making
poisoning equivalent to High Treason—Poisoners to be
boiled alive—Poison Plot at Malta—Attempted Wholesale
Poisoning at Lima—Plot to poison Ministers of
State—Austrian Army Poison Plot—Plot to Poison the
Commissioner of Police.
XIX CURIOUS METHODS EMPLOYED BY SECRET POISONERS 198
Poisoned Food and Wine—Women Poisoners—The Poisoned
Goblet—Poisoned Shirts—Poisoned Robes—Poison in
Boot-Blacking—Poison Rings—Poison by Injection—Poison in
a Wooden Leg—Poisoned Torch—Poisoned Candle—Poisoned
Flowers—Poisoned Bed.
XX LOVE-PHILTRES AND POISONS 211
_Pocula Amatoria_ of the Greeks and Romans—Ovid on the
Love-Philtre—Mysterious Substances employed—Love-Philtre
used by Eastern Nations—Belief in Love-Philtres at the
Present Day—Love-Philtres used by African native Tribes.
XXI POISONS IN FOOD 216
Poison in Beer—Poison in Food—Poison in Honey—Poison in
Cocoa and Chocolate.
XXII POISONS USED IN WARFARE 223
Poison Gas—Poison and Disease Organisms dropped by
Aircraft.
XXIII CRIMINAL POISONING WITH BACTERIA 230
A Petrograd Poison Mystery—Criminal use of Diphtheria,
Typhoid and Cholera Organisms.
XXIV POISON HABITS 238
Opium—Morphine—Chloroform—Ether—Chlorodyne—Cocaine.
XXV HASHISH AND HASHISH-EATERS 248
Ganja and Bhang—Use in Antiquity—Hashish and its
Effects.
XXVI POISONS IN FICTION 254
PART II
POISON MYSTERIES
I THE MYSTERY OF LAWFORD HALL—THE CURIOUS CASE OF ELIZABETH
FENNING 265
II THE CASE OF MADAME LAFARGE 273
III THE CASE OF MADELINE SMITH 279
IV THE BRAVO MYSTERY 282
V THE RUGELEY MYSTERY 287
VI THE CASE OF DR. PRITCHARD 293
VII THE CASE OF DR. LAMSON 298
VIII THE PIMLICO MYSTERY 303
IX THE MAYBRICK CASE 308
X THE LAMBETH POISON MYSTERIES 314
XI SOME POISON MYSTERIES IN FRANCE 318
XII THE HORSFORD CASE 325
XIII AMERICAN POISON MYSTERIES 329
XIV THE SOUTHWARK POISON MYSTERY 337
XV SOME IRISH POISON MYSTERIES 345
XVI THE DEVEREUX CASE 347
XVII THE CRIPPEN CASE 350
XVIII THE MYSTERY OF THE SEDDONS 362
XIX THE DALKEITH COFFEE POISON CASE 369
XX THE AGRA POISONING MYSTERY 372
XXI A CORNISH POISON MYSTERY 381
XXII THE ARMSTRONG CASE 385
XXIII SOME POISON ASPECTS OF THE ILFORD MURDER CASE 401
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Natives of the French Sudan, south of the Niger,
preparing their Arrow Poison and dipping their Weapons _Frontispiece_
TO FACE PAGE
Drinking Cup of Unicorn’s Horn (XVIIth Century) 58
Assay Cups of Rhinoceros Horn used to detect Poison in
Wine (XVIth Century) 58
Bezoar Stones 60
A Bottle with Representation of St. Nicholas of Bari
used for Aqua Toffana _page_ 123
Pope Alexander VI 128
Cesare Borgia 132
Lucrezia Borgia 138
“A Cup of Wine with Cesare Borgia” 140
Marguerite D’Aubray, Marquise de Brinvilliers 156
Bottle of Meat Juice and a Bottle containing Meat Juice
and Water exhibited in the Maybrick Case 312
Stethoscope and Pocket Medicine Case carried by Neill
Cream 316
PART I
POISONS IN HISTORY AND ROMANCE
CHAPTER I
POISONS USED BY ANCIENT AND PRIMITIVE RACES
Poisons, those silent weapons capable of destroying life mysteriously,
secretly and without violence, have ever had a peculiar fascination for
mankind. They have played so large a part in history at various periods,
in romance as well as in crime, that the subject is one which claims the
attention of every student of human nature.
A poison may be generally described as any substance which, in a small
quantity, when introduced into or absorbed by a living organism,
destroys life by rapid action. In another sense a substance may be
termed a poison that has a cumulative effect if administered for a
length of time so that it ends fatally. Substances of this description
were called venim, venyn, venum or bane in the Middle Ages, and also
termed “slow poisons.”
It is probable that many substances which had the effect of destroying
life were observed and used by primitive man from a period of remote
antiquity. When injured in a tribal battle, by perhaps a flint
arrow-head or stone axe, he no doubt sought for something to revenge
himself on his enemy. In his search for curative substances he also
found noxious ones, which produced unpleasant effects when applied to
the point of a weapon destined to enter the internal economy of an
opponent. He doubtless observed that the arrow-head and spear on which
the blood of former victims had dried caused wounds which often proved
fatal, owing to the action of what we now term septic poisons. This may
have led him to experiment with the juices of plants till he discovered
something of a more deadly character. The observations of primitive man
as to the poisonous effects of plants on animal life is evident from
some of the names which he gave to them in early times. Instances of
these are perpetuated in cowbane (the water hemlock), which often has a
fatal effect on cattle; sowbane, so called, says Parkinson in his
Herbal, as it was observed to kill swine; wolf’s bane, leopard’s bane,
henbane, and many others which might be mentioned, showing that
primitive man must have observed the evil effects on the animal whose
name he associated with them.
In primeval times both the poisonous and medicinal properties of plants
appear to have been first discovered and kept secret by the most
observant and intelligent members of pastoral and nomadic tribes. The
possessor of such secrets wielded an immense power over his fellows and
often combined the office of medicine-man and priest. He reserved to
himself as much as possible the knowledge which he had acquired of
plants and their uses, and particularly those which would produce
stupor, delirium and death, for by these means he was enabled to exert a
greater influence over others.
The study, therefore, of the poisons employed by primitive races for
destroying life in animals and man is one of considerable interest.
Arrow-heads and spear-heads, worked with depressions, probably for
holding poisons, have been found in cave remains of the palæolithic
period in France. Laigneau is of the opinion that these weapons were
first used to destroy large animals, such as the bison and reindeer, and
were probably also used in tribal warfare.
Τοξιχόν, the Greek word used to denote poison, takes its origin from a
word signifying a bow, which probably symbolized a poison-tipped arrow,
a custom still practised by savage tribes in various parts of the world.
It seems but a natural sequence that man should have turned to his own
account the knowledge he acquired of the effects of the substances which
proved deadly when introduced into the body by either external or
internal means, as in them he found a more secure and secret weapon by
means of which he could rid himself of the objects of his jealousy,
hatred or revenge.
The Greek toxican, from which the word toxicology is derived, is
believed to have been used for the poisonous substance into which the
arrow-heads were dipped.
Poisoned arrows are mentioned by several of the early writers, including
Homer, Horace and Ovid. The latter tells how the blood of vipers was
used to poison weapons, and there was a general belief that disease and
death were caused by poisoned arrows shot by an offended deity, as
instanced in the mythical story of Apollo, whose darts were supposed to
smite man with pestilence.
The Scythians are known to have used poisons and mixed the venom they
employed with human blood. Certain tribes of the Caucasus are said to
have employed viper-venom mixed with decomposed human blood serum.
Aristotle and Strabo state that the Celts were accustomed to poison
their arrows and weapons, while Pliny and Celsus refer to the practice
among the Gauls. As late as the seventh century poisoned arrows were
used by the Dacians and the Dalmatians on the shores of the Danube, and
among the Goths it seems to have been a common custom. Almost every
savage tribe and people throughout the world have been found to have
their own particular poison for this purpose, and there is little doubt
that this method of making the wound caused by the weapons more deadly,
has been practised from a period of remote antiquity.
Although most of the substances employed and the methods of preparation
are now known to us, there are others about which little or no
information can be obtained. The secret of the poison used by many
barbaric tribes is still most jealously guarded and is only known to
certain chiefs and their families, or the medicine-men of the tribe, who
pass on the knowledge to their successors. The substances used for
lethal purposes are both of animal and vegetable origin, and include
poisonous insects and fish, snake venoms and poisonous plants, which are
used alone or mixed together. These substances are not equally
effective, as the active principle by age tends to decompose, but if the
poison be freshly prepared, as it often is, it generally proves fatal.
Lewin, however, states that he found an arrow poison used by the Bushmen
in Australia still active after remaining for ninety years in a Berlin
museum.
The poisons used by the various tribes of Bushmen of Africa vary
according to the district in which they live. Livingstone states, that
those who inhabited the Kalahari district used the entrails of a small
caterpillar for poisoning their spears and arrows. When drawn over a
sore, this insect, which is known to the natives as “Nga,” causes the
most excruciating agony, and those wounded by arrows smeared with this
poison die slowly in a condition of violent delirium.
Baines says the Bushmen squeeze the grub gradually between the
forefinger and thumb, when a colourless fluid exudes which is smeared
over the arrow-head, forming an imperceptible coating. Modern
investigators who have studied the properties of this curious poison
state, that its action strongly resembles some of the snake venoms and
that it will retain its properties for an indefinite time. Livingstone
also mentions a curious fact that the natives consider that the best
antidote to the poison is to swallow the grub.
A very powerful poison employed by other tribes of Bushmen for their
arrow- and spear-heads is said by Burchell to be prepared from
_Amaryllis disticha_, various species of Euphorbium and Acocanthera,
alone or mixed with snake venom, and a species of black spider or beetle
poison.
The Bushmen or “Bosjermans” of the South African district called
“Kalahari” use the juice of the leaf beetle, or the _Diamphidia
simplex_. Lewin, who examined the insect, found in its body besides
inert fatty acids, a toxalbumin which causes paralysis and finally
death. Boehm, after examination, states that the poison from the larva
also belongs to the toxalbumins. The poison grubs are of a pale flesh
colour, similar to the silkworm and are about three-quarters of an inch
in length. When a wound is made by an arrow poisoned with this exudation
the most intolerable agony is caused, which proves fatal.
The Somali prepare a very deadly poison from various species of
Acocanthera which they call Waba, Wabayo or Ouabaio, to which they
sometimes add snake venom.
The Ovambos of South-West Africa employ a species of Adenium as an arrow
poison, while the seeds of the strophanthus (_Strophanthus hispidus_ or
_kombé_) are largely used by the tribes who inhabit the districts near
the Congo and the Zambezi.
The arrow poison of the Pygmies of Central Africa, in which the red ant
forms an ingredient, is described by Stanley, and is so very deadly that
a single arrow has been known to kill an elephant.
According to a recent writer on Malay poisons,[1] native poisoners
frequently use narcotic plants to stupefy their victims as a preliminary
to robbing them. They also employ sand, powdered glass, quicklime and
other powders to disconcert their pursuers. Some of them claim to be
able to know a method of causing loss of voice lasting seven or eight
days, by the administration of certain poisons by the mouth.
Footnote 1:
_Malay Poisons and Charm Cures_, John D. Gimlette, M.R.C.S. 1923.
Gimlette asserts that two or three clinical cases have occurred in
Kelantan in which it was alleged that the witnesses in court could not
give evidence for this reason.
Malay cunning is proverbial, but it is not generally known that the
natives are accustomed to use poison in the same manner as employed in
ancient times, namely by mixing it with honey which is sometimes smeared
on the under surface of a knife. The poisoner then shares a meal with
his enemy and divides a water-melon in half with the poisoned blade, but
is careful to eat only the upper and harmless portion as his share of
the fruit. This method is said to be common in Tregganu, where potassium
cyanide is employed for the purpose.
The Malays are said to have a knowledge of slow poisons which they call
“time poisons,” by means of which they can give a single dose of poison
and time the death of the victim within three, six, or even twelve
months, according to the dose and the particular combination used.
Native experts, however, say that the idea of this “time-poison” is
unfounded, but they know that the effect of certain deadly poisons is
greatly accelerated or delayed if certain fruits or vegetables, such as
water-melon or cucumbers happen to be eaten soon after the ingestion of
the poison.
Some of the Malays believe that poisoned food can be recognized by the
shadow of the right hand and fingers not being cast on eating rice.
Others believe that a stirring rod of ivory will become darkened if
poison has been put into the food, and in Perak a spoon made of the beak
of a horn-bill[2] is said to turn black if touched by anything of a
poisonous nature.
Footnote 2:
For the use of horns as antidotes or indicators of poison, see page
55.
The Malays use many different vegetable poisons for their blow-pipe
darts, some of which are extremely powerful, but curiously enough some
are poisonous to certain animals and not to others, and many of the
poisons which destroy human life may be eaten with impunity by
graminivorous animals. Thus, opium does not poison pigeons, tobacco and
hemlock do not injure goats, and henbane can be eaten by rabbits. The
Malay jungle natives have special markings on their blow-pipe darts, by
means of which they differentiate their various poisons. That of the
upas-tree is specially marked to distinguish it from the others.
The sap of the upas-tree (_Antiaris toxicaria_), the active principle of
which is called Antiarin, is used as a poison for their darts by the
natives throughout the Eastern Archipelago, including Java and Borneo.
It is extremely powerful and will sometimes cause death in thirty
minutes after a wound is received. It is often mixed with the venom of
snakes, scorpions or centipedes and occasionally with arsenic.
The upas-tree sap is collected in primitive vessels fashioned from palm
leaves, which are then suspended a few feet above the fire. The boiling
process is somewhat protracted and during the whole time the sap is
continually stirred. During this operation the liquid is transformed
into a thick viscid mass and in this condition it is withdrawn from the
fire. When cold the sap is a solid, hard, yet brittle substance, so
before it is set, the leaf is rolled up with its soft contents, the two
ends tied with rattan and the poison thus kept till it is required.
The darts, which are projected by the natives with blow-pipes, consist
of strips of palmwood from 20 to 30 cm. in length; they are pointed at
one end and a quantity of poison is then removed from its palm-leaf
receptacle and ground up until it is of the consistency of flour. It is
then mixed with water and stirred up until it becomes a thin paste,
which is smeared upon the points of the darts. The process of
preparation takes place before a fire, and when completed they are
placed with their points towards the fire until the upas sap has dried
into the wood. In the case of the darts that are required for larger
game, the point of the weapon is split open and a thin metal wedge or
plate is inserted and the whole point is then smeared over with the
poison. The opposite end of the dart comprises a small conical butt made
of the soft pith of the sago palm. The darts are carried in small bamboo
quivers, which are fixed into the loin-cloth of the native, the points
being protected by a piece of animal skin.
North American Indians employ a poison called “Caramari,” which they
prepare from the roots of a plant found along the sea coast. It is
prepared by being burnt in earthen pipkins and to the residue is added a
species of spider, hairy worms, bats’ wings, the head and tail of a fish
called “Teborino,” toads and mancanillas. These substances are set over
a fire and heated in pots till they come to the consistency of a paste.
The Choco Indians of Colombia, South America, use a poison which they
extract from a tree frog which they hold on a stick near a fire, when
the heat causes the glands of the skin to secrete the poisonous fluid.
The Jivaro Indians of the Amazon use a vegetable poison called “jambi”
for their arrows, which is said to be made from a species of vine which
grows in great profusion throughout the Upper Amazon zone. The process
for extracting the poison as described by Up de Graff[3] is simple.
Footnote 3:
_Head Hunters of the Amazon_, F. W. Up de Graff. 1922.
“The vine is cut into sections a foot in length, and the thin, hard
outer crust of bark is carefully removed by scraping. The main bark,
white when first exposed to the air, turns brown in just the same way as
an apple. This inner bark is scraped into fine shavings by means of
shells and flints, and these are placed in a colander which rests upon a
pot in which water is boiling. The water is poured over the contents of
the colander repeatedly, until the constant action on it has drawn out
the alkaloid, when the lifeless shavings are thrown away and the residue
is boiled down until it resembles, both in consistency, colour and
smell, plain chocolate. While still warm, it is poured into a bamboo
receptacle and when cool it becomes semi-solidified.”
The head of the arrow is dipped in the “jambi” and dried in the sun or
before the fire.
These arrows have a swift and painless effect on animals and birds of
the forest, and after a wound from the poisoned dart projected from a
blow-gun, so long as the skin is broken at any point, they are killed
within about two minutes. Experiments carried out on domestic animals
have proved that the poison acts painlessly, the effect being much the
same as an overdose of morphine, but despite its proved deadliness
“jambi” is never used by the Head Hunters in warfare.
One of the most curious preparations in use among the North American
Indians is the so-called “Black Poison,” the effects of which are well
known around the lakes of the Winnipeg basin and in the Swan River
district. Some time after administration it changes the colour of the
skin from brownish yellow or copper colour to a sooty black and at the
same time causes hair to grow on unusual parts, such as the cheek bones.
Its first effects are sickness, headache, and pain in the back and
limbs. Afterwards, ulceration and sores break out in various parts of
the body, chiefly over the joints and more particularly the knuckles.
When prepared, the poison is said to be a brown snuff-like powder with a
slight and rather sickening smell. A small quantity administered in food
appears to be sufficient to produce these effects. It is said to be
partly composed of _Rhus toxicodendron_ mixed with a dried acrid matter
secreted by the glands in the skin of a species of toad.
The Indian tribes indigenous to California have a curious method of
using certain plants to stupefy or poison fish. One of the most
effective is “soap root” (_Chlorogalum pomeridianum_). Besides providing
a substitute for soap the crushed pulp is dropped into the water,
generally into a small pool or stream, and then stirred. The fish are
stupefied by the poison, float to the surface and are captured either by
hand or in a basket. Another plant employed for this purpose is known as
“blue-curls,” or vinegar weed (_Trichostemma lancerlatum_).
Other tribes of Indians in South America use curare, which they extract
from a certain species of strychnos and other plants, which were first
brought to England by Sir Walter Ralegh in 1595. Although a deadly
poison when introduced into a wound or injected under the skin, curare
is practically harmless when swallowed; indeed Humbolt states the
Indians lick it off their fingers and use it as a stomachic tonic.
The Ainos of Japan are said to have used a preparation made from aconite
and tobacco, while the natives of the New Hebrides are stated to smear
their arrows with damp earth containing the tetanus bacillus which
infects the person wounded by them.
Besides the use of poisons for offensive purposes, the institution of
trial by ordeal still exists among barbaric tribes to-day, especially in
Africa. The substances employed vary with the locality inhabited by the
tribe. Muavi, which is used by several tribes in Western Africa, is
prepared by scraping the bark of a poisonous tree, known only to the
witch-doctors. A decoction of the scrapings is made with water and the
resulting draught, which is of a highly poisonous nature, is
administered to the suspected person. The action of muavi is generally
rapid; vomiting is quickly caused, followed by convulsions and death.
When both the accuser and the accused are seized with vomiting the
natives declare that the draught has been badly prepared, and should the
result not prove fatal to either party the test is repeated. When the
guilt of one of the parties has been established by death, his property
is at once confiscated and his wife and children are killed. So great is
the belief of the natives in the infallibility of the Muavi test that
they never hesitate to submit themselves to the trial and are said
frequently to volunteer to go through the ordeal in order to prove their
innocence.
The Balantes and other tribes who inhabit the West Coast of Africa
employ Sassy bark (_Erythroplæum Guineense_) for their trial by ordeal.
They prepare the poison by mixing the finely scraped or powdered bark
with powdered glass, together with the dried and powdered viscera of the
victims of the preceding trial. When required for use the mixture is
made into a paste with water, about two spoonsful being administered for
a dose.
It is customary for the chief of another tribe to preside at the ordeal
trial, whose duty it is to see that it is properly carried out. Each
person who undergoes the trial has to pay him a fee in cash or in kind,
the latter being in the form of rice, chickens or goats. The preparer of
the poison and his assistants also receive an honorarium. When one of
the Balantes is accused of a crime or witchcraft he must undergo the
trial, as after once being suspected he is no longer protected by the
ties of blood and friendship, and a father may even denounce his son or
a husband his wife.
Other West African tribes use the Calabar bean, commonly called the
Ordeal bean, which contains a powerful poisonous principle called
Physostigmine, a drug which is of great value to ophthalmic surgeons
to-day in the treatment of the eyes. It is so powerful that a fiftieth
part of a grain is considered a poisonous dose. It was customary at one
time, in Old Calabar and at the mouth of the Niger, where the plant
grows, to destroy it whenever found, a few only being preserved to
supply seeds for judicial purposes, and of these seeds the store was
kept in the custody of the native chief. Now it is preserved and the
beans exported to Europe on account of the value of their active
principle in medicine.
Witchcraft plays an important part in the daily life of most African
natives and to witchcraft they attribute every ill that befalls them.
One kind is practised secretly by evil-doers and the other by the
witch-doctors with the view of destroying the effects of the evil-doers.
The witch-doctors or medicine-men are undoubtedly the most powerful
individuals in their tribes; they hold the lives of all in their hands,
and are daily employed to satisfy the passions of their neighbours.
According to native ideas, death or sickness never occurs through
natural causes, but is always the result of somebody’s act. Whenever
anyone is accused of having practised witchcraft or of having committed
any other crime, the Calabar bean or the trial by ordeal is used to
decide the case, except when the accuser is a witch-doctor, when both
the accuser and the accused have to submit to the test.
Roscoe in his book, _The Soul of Central Africa_, alludes to a
mysterious poison prepared by the medicine-men of Ankole. It is a tribal
custom that should the king feel ill, or through age find his strength
failing him, it is his duty to end his life by taking a dose of poison.
The ingredients for the fatal draught are always kept at hand by the
royal medicine-man, who stores them in a crocodile’s egg. “It must have
been a strong poison,” says the explorer, “for it took effect rapidly,
ending the king’s life in a few moments. I could not, however, discover
the ingredients; the man absolutely refused to divulge the secret. The
king thus experienced no lengthened illness, but passed away in a few
minutes after swallowing the fatal potion and his body was at once
prepared for the ceremony.”
Thus to primitive and barbaric people in various parts of the world we
owe much of our knowledge of the properties of many powerful vegetable
poisons.