The Blow Gun

The blow gun is one of the most remarkable savage devices in which compressed air is used as a motive force. The blow gun is a simple tube of cane, smoothly cleared of the joint partitions, through which light darts, feathered with a tuft of down or pieces of pith, are propelled by the breath. The blow gun is used for killing birds and small animals. Frequently the arrows are poisoned, rendering the light dart effective on larger game. The chief merit of the blow gun is its accuracy and the silence with which it may be employed. The penetration of the blow gun dart is greater than would be imagined. At the distance of fifty feet I have driven a blunt dart one-quarter of an inch into a pine plank. It is stated that the range of the blow gun among some tribes is from eighty to 100 yards. The blow gun is a tropical device and may be looked for in regions where bamboo or cane grows. Nevertheless, these tubes are often made of hard wood, single or of two pieces hollowed out and joined together. Frequently one tube is thrust inside of another to secure rigidity. The examination of many of these blow guns [inspires?] a great respect for the ingenuity and mechanical skill of the workers. The North American specimens are from the Chetimachas of Louisiana, who frequently combine the tubes in series, forming a compound blow gun, and the Cherokees of the Carolinas. From Central America, the Indians of Honduras and Costa Rica; from South America, several Amazon tribes from Ecuador east and from British Guiana employ the blow gun.