Rife fluttering in the air on callow wings,.
And aim at infeCt prey their little flings*
B o h o n U p a s .
A D READ'FUJL
P o is o n »
S t r a n g e
A c c o u n t o f .
T h e s e beautiful lines, from a Angular and delightful: poem’,
is my introduftion to the account of the moil violent o f poifons,
extradied from the celebrated B'ohon Upas, o f Java; the Arbor
Toxicaria, or Ipo of Rumphius, vol. ii. p. 263. tab. 86.; and the
Epu of Kaetnpf. Amoen.' Exot. pi 575. I ihall extraCl from the
firil what he has faid refpe&ing this dreadful trees, in order to-
eftablifh the truth O f what has been reported o f its dire effeils,
and illuftrate' the relation with certain melancholy proofs; after
which will be given the more than apocryphal tales o f the
manner of procuring' that infernal j uice. •
T h e tree, fo long famed in many Of the Eajl India iflands for
the wonderful, and almofl: incredible effeCls o f its poifonous juice,,
has hitherto eluded the prying eye of the naturalift ; and, con-
fequently, its clafs in the botanical fyftern has never yet been
afcertained, notwilhilandmg the indefatigable refearches o f Europeans
to obtain full information upon fo intereitiog a fubjeCt
all we know for certain of the tree itfelf is, the figure of its leaf,,
and fruit, which the learned and accurate Rumphius has exhibited
in the Herbarium Amboinenfe! After much entreaty, and,
perfevering application to the Hutch governors of Celebes (the
molt noted o f all the iflands o f the Eajl Indies for the production
of this tree), Rumphius was favored by He Cops, governor of Ma-
cajjar, with a branch o f it, and a fpecimen o f its poifonous juice*
An enfign of the army was deputed in form to be the meflenger
o f fo rare a prefent. Of fuch a penetrating and malignant na-
* ' ture
ture was this found to be, that the very touching with the hand
the Bamboo in which it was inclofed, occafioned a tingling and
•numbnefs like that felt in a limb that had been expofed to in-
ten fe cold, and fuddenly brought to the fire.
N a t u r e has wifely ordained that this baneful tree fliould be
extremely rare, and its fituation the moil fequeftered from the
bufy haunts o f men, amidfh mountains of difficult accefs, and
inhabited by the moil barbarous tribes; they alone are acquainted
with the effects that this fubtile poifon has upon the
circumambient air, and fuch animals as approach its tremendous
lhade. The atmofphere is here faid to be ib infeCted by the deleterious
quality o f the effluvia o f this peftilential tree, that birds
which accidentally perch upon its boughs are feized with torpor,
and drop down dead. No man dares approach it without his
hands, feet, and head being well ihrouded with linen cloths ;
were this precaution negleCted, he would become benumbed,
and prefently lofe the ufe o f his limbs. The dripping o f rain
water from the tree upon the body, caufes it to fwell; and
Ihould it fall upon the bare head, the lofs o f all the hair would
enfue. No other tree can exift in its vicinity, and the earth -beneath
it -is parched and withered; fo that Death feems eminently
to have fixed his ftation here.
It is no wonder that the love o f the marvellous, natural to
mankind, has added fomewhat to the truly aftoniihing fcenes
that the environs of this tree exhibit. Hence the rude nations
o f this mountanous traCl have made it the habitation o f a fer-
pent, whofe eyes glare like fire in the night, and remind us of
G 2 I the