silently moving through the forest only the sound of cicada song
echoing through the green canopy one of the creatures around her
she lifts her gun in the air and all that's heard is a swift exhale her
prey falls and the forest continues its sung undisturbed the blowgun aptly named
the BreathOfDeath throughout time and continents its uses are many from
hunting to put food on the table all the way to covert missions tipped with
exotic poisons the blowgun dates back to the prehistoric era and is found in
almost every continent and culture from Southeast Asia to North America from
medieval to mayan surprisingly effective it's simply a tube made of materials like
bamboo iron and carbon reinforced plastic loaded with projectiles such as
seeds clay pellets or darts it's shot by blowing air into the tube forcefully
which propels the dart out the end with unexpected velocity most effective at
Short ranges and small game projectiles can travel at speeds of 400 feet per
second with a simple whisper barely disturbing its surroundings
this makes it not only ideal for sneaking up on game but also for dark
missions that require covert discretion
three cultures stand out in both unique methods and unique poisons
North American tribes crafted blow guns out of River cane and tipped the darts
with poisons made from boiled toxic plants like cassava and golden poppy
or dipped them in snake or Gila monster venom they favored backing their darts
with rabbit fur milkweed cotton or feathers and sometimes even twisted the
darts for more accuracy in Japan blowgun cultural roots run deep in the modern
sport of Fukiya as much as the ancient school of
ninjutsu ninja favored this tool alongside the shuriken as their
secondary weapons and often dipped both into potent poisons derive from
Wolfsbane and puffer fish toxin
they even notched the darts at the tip so they break off in their victim more
easily beyond the more obvious covert uses the blowgun could be a breathing
pipe to survive underwater approaches or getaways and sometimes even contained
a blinding powder made of fine pepper dust to act as a kind of mace
arguably the most famous blowgun practitioners are the Amazonian tribes
they gather poisons from plants like the curare or poison dart frogs roasted in
fire to release their toxins they crafted dart tips from metal stone and
even piranha tea and adorned their blowpipes with feathers and wood
carvings they use their poison darts mostly in hunting a variety of jungle
creatures including birds small jungle cats and monkeys but also employed them in
tribal warfare
though now outlawed in some countries and states blowguns are still used today
in hunting competitions and even to safely capture wildlife equipped with
tranquilizer or stun darts in more recent times they catch pop-culture
imagination in movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark The Mummy
Apocalypto and countless other films yes the BreathofDeath is still alive and
well today remember to subscribe and follow on social media channels like
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