Poison Arrows: North American Indian Hunting and Warfare

137 Pages·2007·3.6 MB·English

by  David E. Jones

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poison arrows
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poison arrows
North American Indian Hunting and Warfare
By David E. Jones
university of texas press austin
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Copyright © 2007 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2007
Requests for permission to reproduce material from
this work should be sentto:
Permissions
University of Texas Press
P.O. Box 7819
Austin, TX 78713-7819
www.utexas.edu/utpress/about/bpermission.html
(cid:2)(cid:3) The paper used in this book meets the minimum
requirements of ansi/niso z39.48-1992 (r1997)
(Permanence of Paper).
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Jones, David E.
Poison arrows : North American Indian hunting
and warfare / by David E. Jones — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn-13: 978-0-292-71428-1 (cl. : alk. paper)
isbn-10: 0-292-71428-9
1. Indian weapons—North America. 2. Indians
of North America—Ethnobotany. 3. Indians of
North America—Hunting. 4. Arrow poisons—
North America. 5. Poisonous plants—North
America. 6. Poisonous animals—North America.
7. Neurotoxic agents—North America. i. Title.
e98.a65j65 2006
355.8(cid:2)2—dc22
2006024691
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Contents
Disclaimer vii
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1. On Plant Poisons 1
2. Nonmilitary Poisons 6
3. World Survey of Arrow Poisoning 20
4. Arrow Poisons of the North American Indians 32
5. Other Uses of Poisons in Warfare 49
6. Paleo-Indian Poison Use 53
Conclusion 62
Appendix: Tribes and Poisons Used 69
Notes 75
Bibliography 93
Index 103
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Disclaimer
this is a work of ethnography and ethnobotany, not of toxicology.
The material presented is based on oral reports of North American
Indians concerning their knowledge and uses of poisons, particularly
those with military applications. With but a few exceptions, this infor-
mation has not been tested under laboratory conditions. It is rightly
considered poison lore, an aspect of hunting, warfare, and martial cul-
tural knowledge transmitted through generations by Native Americans.
THE PLANTS DISCUSSED IN THIS BOOK SHOULD NOT BE
HANDLED OR INGESTED EXCEPT UNDER THE GUIDANCE
OF EXPERTS!
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Acknowledgments
i would like to thank my wife Jane for her support and skillful edit-
ing during the writing of this work. I could not have done it without
her. Likewise, I owe a debt of gratitude to Ida Cook, Wayne Van Horne,
and David Butler for comments on the evolving draft, and to Theresa
May, editor-in-chief at the University of Texas Press, for her faith in this
project.