Vermont Phœnix

Description of the Poison Tree of the Island of Java.

Translated from the original Dutch of N. P. Foersch.

This destructive tree is called in Malayan language Bohon Upas, and has been described by naturalists; but the accounts have been too tinctured with the marvellous, that the whole narration has been supposed to be an ingenious fiction, by the generality of readers. Nor is this in the least degree surprising when the circumstances, which we faithfully relate in this description are considered. I must acknowledge, that I myself doubted the existence of this tree, until after enquiry convinced me of my error.

I shall now only relate simple undoubted facts, of which I have been an eye witness. My readers may depend upon the authenticity of this account. In the year 1775, I was stationed at Batavia, as a surgeon, in the service of the Dutch East India Company. During my residence there, I received several different accounts of the Bohon Upas and the violent effects of its poison. They all then seemed incredible to me, but excited my curiosity in so high a degree, that I resolved to investigate this subject thoroughly, and to trust only to my own observations.

In consequence of this resolution, I applied to the Governor General for a pass through the country: My request was granted; and having procured a recommendation from an old Malayan priest to another priest, who lives on the nearest habitable spot to the tree, which is about fifteen miles distant, the letter proved of service to me in my undertaking, as the priest is appointed by the emperor to reside there, in order to prepare for eternity the souls of those who, for different crimes, are sentenced to approach the tree, and to collect the poison. The Bohon Upas is situated in the Island of Java, about twenty leagues from Batavia, fourteen from Charta, the seat of the Emperor, and eighteen and twenty leagues from the present residence of the Sultan. It is surrounded on all sides by a high hills and mountains; and the ground around it to the distance of ten or twelve miles from the tree, is entirely barren. Not a tree, nor a shrub, nor even the least grass is to be seen. I have made the circuit all around this dangerous spot, at eighteen miles distant from the centre, and found the aspect of the country on all sides uncommonly dreary. The easiest ascent of the mountain is from the part where the old ecclesiastic dwells. From his house the criminals sent for the poison, into which the points of all warlike instruments are dipped. The poison is of high value, and produces a considerable revenue to the Emperor.

An account of the manner in which the poison is procured. The poison which is produced from this tree, is a gum that issues out of the bark and the tree itself, like the gum of other trees. Malefactors who, for their crimes, are sentenced to die, are the only persons who collect the poison; and this only chance of saving their lives. When sentence is pronounced upon them by the judge, they are asked in court, whether they will die by the hands of the executioner or whether they will go to the Upas tree or a box of silver. They commonly prefer the latter, as there is not only some chance of saving their lives, but also a certainty of their safe return that a provision is made for them in future by the Emperor, which is generally of a pleasing nature and commonly then provided with a wife, and permitted to ask a silver basin which is granted. Or if they prefer a hell box, in which they are to put the venomous gum, and are properly instructed how to proceed while they are upon this dangerous expedition. Among particulars, they are to attend to the direction of the winds; as they are to go to the tree before the wind, so that the poison from the tree is always blown from them.

They are told likewise, to travel with utmost despatch, as that is the only method of insuring a safe return. They are afterwards sent to the house of the old priest, to which place they are commonly attended by their friends and relations. Here they generally remain some days in expectation of a favorable breeze. During that time, the ecclesiastic prepares them for their future fate by prayers and admonitions. When the hour of their departure arrives, the priests put on them a leather cap, with two glasses before their eyes, which comes down as far as their breast; and also provides them with a pair of leather gloves. They are then conducted by the priest and their friends and relations, about two or three miles on their journey. Here the priest repeats his instructions and tells them where they are to look for the tree. He shows them a hill which they are told to ascend, and that on the other side they will find a rivulet which they are to follow, and which will conduct them directly to the Upas. They now take leave of each other; and amidst prayers for their success, the delinquents hasten away. The worthy old ecclesiastic has assured me, that during his residence there or upwards of thirty years, he has dismissed above a hundred criminals in the manner which I have described; and that scarcely two out of twenty have returned. He shewed me a catalogue of all the unhappy sufferers, with the date of their departure from his house annexed: and a list of the offences for which they had been condemned: to which was added, a list of those who had returned in safety. I was present at some of these melancholy ceremonies, and desired different delinquents to bring with them some pieces of the wood, or a small branch, or some leaves of this wonderful tree. I have also given them silk cords desiring them to measure its thickness. I never could procure more than two dry leaves that were picked up by one of them on his return: and all I could learn from him concerning the tree itself, was, that it stood on the border of a rivulet, as described by the old priest; that it was of a middling size; that five or six young trees of the same kind stood close by it; but that no other shrub or plant could be seen near it; and that the ground was of a brownish sand, full of stones, almost impracticable for travelling, and covered with dead bodies.

This however, is certain, though it may appear incredible, that from fifteen to eighteen miles round this tree, not only no human creature can exist, but that in that space of ground, no living animal of any kind has ever been discovered. I have also been assured by several persons of veracity, that there are no fish in the waters; and when any birds fly so near this tree, that the effluvia reaches them, they fall a sacrifice to the effects of the poison. This circumstance has been ascertained by different delinquents, who in their return have seen the birds drop down, and have picked them up dead, and brought them to the old ecclesiastic. I will here mention an instance which proves the fact beyond all doubt, and which happened during my stay at Java. In the year 1775, a rebellion broke out among the subjects of the Massay, a sovereign prince, whose dignity is nearly that of the Emperor. They refused to pay duty imposed upon them by their sovereign, whom they openly opposed. The Massay sent a body of a thousand troops to disperse those rebels, and to drive them with their families out of his dominions. Thus four hundred families, consisting of about sixteen hundred souls, were obliged to leave their native country. Neither the Emperor nor the Sultan, would give them protection, not only because they were rebels, but also through fear of displeasing their neighbor the Massay. In this distressful situation, they had no other resource than to repair to the uncultivated parts round the Upas, and request permission to settle there. Their request was granted on condition of their fixing their abode not more than twelve or fourteen miles from the tree, in order not to deprive the inhabitants already settled there, at a greater distance, of their cultivated lands. With this they were obliged to comply; but the consequence was, that in less than two months their number was reduced to about three hundred.

Experiments made with the Gum of the Upas Tree. In the year 1776, in the month of February, I was present at the execution of thirteen of the Emperor's concubines, at Soura Charta, who were convicted of infidelity to the Emperor's bed. It was in the forenoon about 11 o'clock, when the fair criminals were led into an open space, within the walls of the Emperor's palace. There the judge passed sentence upon them, by which they were doomed to death by a lancet poisoned with Upas. Thirteen posts, each above five feet high, were then erected. To these the delinquents were fastened, and their breasts stripped naked. In this situation they remained a short time in continual prayers, attended by several priests, until a signal was given by the judge to the executioner; on which the latter produced an instrument, much like the spring lancet used by farriers for bleeding horses. With this instrument, it being poisoned with the gum of the Upas, the unhappy wretches were lanced in the middle of their breasts, and the operation was performed upon them all in less than two minutes. My astonishment was raised to the highest degree, when I beheld the sudden effects of that poison; for, in about five minutes after they were lanced, they were taken with a tremor, attended with a subsultus tendinum, after which they died in the greatest agonies, crying out to God for mercy. In sixteen minutes by my watch, which I held in my hand, all the criminals were no more. Some hours after their death I observed their bodies full of livid spots, much like those of the Petechiae, their faces swelled, their color changed to a kind of blue, their eyes looked yellow, &c.

This account, I flatter myself, will satisfy the curiosity of my readers; and the few facts which I have related, will be considered as a certain proof of the existence of this pernicious tree and its penetrating effects. If it be asked why we have not yet any more satisfactory accounts of this tree, I can only answer, that the object of most travelers to that part of the world consists more in commercial pursuits than in the study of natural history and the advantages of science. Besides, Java is so universally reputed an unhealthy island, the rich travelers seldom make any long stay in it! and others want money, and generally are too ignorant of the language to travel, in order to make enquiries. In future, those who visit this island, will now probably be induced to make it an object of their researches, and will furnish us with a fuller description of this tree.