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Updated: June 12, 2025
I was still in hopes they might take the alarm and go away without attacking us. Now, led by a chief, in a head-dress of feathers, with a long spear in his hand, uttering loud shouts and shrieks, like the war-whoops of North American Indians, they dashed on. As they got within twenty yards of us, our native garrison sprang up, and shot forth a shower of arrows from their bows and blow-pipes.
"I trust you," he said, and he gave the box to Zorzi, to be deposited in the hole. Zorzi stood up, and taking a little tow from the supply used for cleaning the blow-pipes, he dipped it into the oil of the lamp and proceeded to grease the box carefully before hiding it. "It would rust," he explained. He laid the box in the hole and covered it with earth before placing the stone over it.
On leaving the house we noticed several blow-pipes, a hollow tube eight feet long called by the Poonans "sumpitan," the chief weapon of this tribe, and in the manufacture of which they greatly excel. The darts used are about five inches long, and are dipped in upas juice.
He was an excellent servant, by the way, light of foot, low of voice, serious of face, with a pair of eyes which I may liken to nothing so well as to a set of acetylene blow-pipes bored right through you. The master was middle-aged, about the same height and weight as his valet. He wore a full dark beard, something after the style of the early eighties of last century.
Bows, arrows, lances, pacunas or blow-pipes, were hung to the posts or rafters, an axe and a knife in some cases: bowls made from calabashes, earthen jars to hold chica, water and young turtles; a few blocks of wood for seats, a few baskets, a ladder to reach to the roof, a wooden trough in which masata is made, and a rude sort of loom, complete the furniture; from which list must not be omitted the lady's dressing box which contains her paints and brushes, as well as her trinkets.
As they only carried blow-pipes in their hands, I suspected as proved to be the case that they were not to proceed further. The chief called one of them up to him; and from the way he spoke, I had little doubt that he was his son. The chief made signs to us that the lad, whom he called Duppo, would go back with us to the village, and that we should there obtain any food we might require.
Kua-ko appeared to have brought some important news, which he discussed with Runi and the others; and on the following day I noticed that preparations for an expedition were in progress. Spears and bows and arrows were got ready, but not blow-pipes, and I knew by this that the expedition would not be a hunting one.
Meantime Senhora Josefa, with the assistance of her slaves, was employed in salting and drying the fish and fowl she had just received. We started in the morning with two canoes, equipped with nets, spears, and lines, bows and arrows, and blow-pipes as well as guns.
Until the invention of gunpowder, the arms of civilised men swords, and spears, and javelins, and the like were scarcely a match for the cunningly devised weapons boomerangs, and blow-pipes, and poisoned arrows, and lassoes of the savage.
As they go through the forest, arrows come flying thick through the tangle of creepers, and poisoned darts from blow-pipes. The foes are invisible, but they make themselves felt, and it soon breaks down the courage of the bravest to be shot at when you never get a chance of shooting back in return.
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