24 FEBRUARY 1917, Page 15

WOURALI OR CURARE POISON.

[To vas Entree or IRE "SPECTATOR."3

Etna—Those who are interested in wourali or curare poison in .connexion with an impending trial should read the account of this poison given by the great naturalist, the late Charles Waterton, in his Wanderings in South America. In the fifth .edition published by B. Fellowes (pp. 29-70) a. most interesting account is given of his stay amongst the Maconshi Indians in who used the blowpipe with arrows or darts poisoned with this deadly vegetable poison, commonly called wourali. Also in Waterton's Essays on Natural History, First Series, published by Longmans, Green, and Co., 1851, on p. 301 is given an extract from the St. James's Chronicle on the • ' Ass Wouralia," which was experimented on at the- Veterinary Cellege, London, in 1814. This ass was poisoned by wourali, and -then when apparently dead was restored to life by means of artificial respiration, the operation lasting for four hours. This nee lived until 1839, being well cared for at Walton. Hall, Yorkshire,