ivid spots, much like those of the
_Petechiae,_ their faces swelled, their colour changed to a kind of blue,
their eyes looked yellow, &c. &c.

About a fortnight after this, I had an opportunity of seeing such another
execution at Samarang. Seven Malayans were executed there with the same
instrument, and in the same manner; and I found the operation of the
poison, and the spots in their bodies exactly the same.

These circumstances made me desirous to try an experiment with some
animals, in order to be convinced of the real effects of this poison; and
as I had then two young puppies, I thought them the fittest objects for
my purpose. I accordingly procured with great difficulty some grains of
Upas. I dissolved half a grain of that gum in a small quantity of arrack,
and dipped a lancet into it. With this poisoned instrument I made an
incision in the lower muscular part of the belly in one of the puppies.
Three minutes after it received the wound the animal began to cry out
most piteously, and ran as fast as possible from one corner of the room
to the other. So it continued during six minutes, when all its strength
being exhausted, it fell upon the ground, was taken with convulsions, and
died in the eleventh minute. I repeated this experiment with two other
puppies, with a cat, and a fowl, and found the operation of the poison
in all of them the same: none of these animals survived above thirteen
minutes.

I thought it necessary to try also the effect of the poison given
inwardly, which I did in the following manner. I dissolved a quarter of
a grain of the gum in half an ounce of arrack, and made a dog of seven
months old drink it. In seven minutes a retching ensued, and I observed,
at the same time, that the animal was delirious, as it ran up and down
the room, fell on the ground, and tumbled about; then it rose again,
cried out very loud, and in about half an hour after was seized with
convulsions, and died. I opened the body, and found the stomach very much
inflamed, as the intestines were in some parts, but not so much as the
stomach. There was a small quantity of coagulated blood in the stomach;
but I could discover no orifice from which it could have issued; and
therefore supposed it to have been squeezed out of the lungs, by the
animal's straining while it was vomiting.

From these experiments I have been convinced that the gum of the Upas is
the most dangerous and most violent of all vegetable poisons; and I am