The third trap, and the most ingenious of all, is the blow-gun trap.  One day the sub-Chief, a tall, gloomy-looking fellow, took me to one of these traps and explained everything, till I had obtained a thorough knowledge of the complicated apparatus.  The blow-gun of these Indians is supplied with a wide mouth-piece and requires but slight air pressure to shoot the arrow at a considerable speed.  In the trap one is placed horizontally so as to point at a right angle to the path leading to the maloca.  At the “breech” of the gun is a young sapling, severed five feet above the ground.  To this is tied a broad and straight bark-strip which, when the sapling is in its normal vertical position, completely covers the mouth-piece.  The gun was not loaded on this occasion, as it had been accidentally discharged the day before.  To set the trap, a long, thin, and pliable climber, which in these forests is so plentiful, is attached to the end of the severed sapling, when this is bent to its extreme position and is then led over branches, serving as pulleys, right across the path and directly in front of the mouth of the blow-gun and is tied to some small root covered with leaves.  When the caboclo passes along this path at night to raid the Indian maloca, he must sever this thin bushrope or climber, thereby releasing suddenly the tension of the sapling.  The bark-flap is drawn quickly up against the mouth-piece with a slap that forces sufficient air into the gun to eject the arrow.  All this takes place in a fraction of a second; a slight flapping sound is heard and the arrow lodges in the skin of the unfortunate caboclo.  He can never walk more than twenty yards, for the poison rapidly paralyses his limbs.  Death follows in less than ten minutes.

The bodies of these captured caboclos are soon found by the “police warriors” of the tribe and carried to the maloca.  On such occasions a day of feasting always follows and an obscure religious rite is performed.

It is true that the Mangeromas are cannibals, but at the same time their habits and morals are otherwise remarkably clean.  Without their good care and excellent treatment, I have no doubt I would now be with my brave companions out in that dark, green jungle.

But to return to my story of the two Peruvians caught in the pit-trap:  the warriors cut off the hands and feet of both corpses, pulled the big game arrows out of the bodies, and had an audience with the Chief.  He seemed to be well satisfied, but spoke little, just nodding his head and smiling.  Shortly after the village prepared for a grand feast.  The fires were rebuilt, the pots and jars were cleaned, and a scene followed which to me was frightful.  Had it not happened, I should always have believed this little world out in the wild forest an ideal, pure, and morally clean community.  But now I could only hasten to my hammock and simulate sleep, for I well knew, from previous experience, that otherwise I would have to partake of the meal in preparation:  a horrible meal of human flesh!  It was enough for me to see them strip the flesh from the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet and fry these delicacies in the lard of tapir I hoped to see no more.