The first stories about "poisoned arrows" arose from Victorian exploration in the western Pacific. From the 1850s onward, accounts of them circulated in published books by officers, and in the stories told by sailors below decks.

completely misunderstood Melanesian culture.

Stories about poisoned arrows persisted, however, especially after the death of Commodore James Goodenough in 1875. Goodenough and two crewmen from HMS Pearl were hit by arrows during a landing on Santa Cruz Island (see illustration). All of them died shortly afterward of tetanus. The ship's doctor attempted to refute the rumours about poison, but the tales persisted.

Weapons collected by Capt. Markham

Source of quotations: J.E. Erskine, Journal of a cruise among the islands of the Western Pacific (London: Dawsons, 1967; orig. publ. 1853), 325; A.H. Markham, The Cruise of the "Rosario" amongst the New Hebrides and Santa Cruz Islands (London: Dawsons, 1970; orig. publ. 1873), 240 - 241; J. G. Goodenough - Journals and notebooks, 1854-1875, FM4/1766-1768, Mitchell Library, Sydney

In 1849 Captain John Erskine led the first extensive exploration of the western islands in HMS Havannah. At one island he exchanged some English cloth for bows, arrows and spears which "they told us were poisoned", and his published account became standard reading for later officers on Pacific duty.

Captain Albert Hastings Markham of HMS Rosario tried to discover more about the arrows in 1871. After an attack on members of his crew at the island of Nukapu, he wrote: "All the arrows used in war are poisoned … I was told that on the death of a native, the arrows were stick into the kidney fat of the corpse, and allowed to remain until decomposition
takes place. Men wounded by these poisoned arrows invariably die from tetanus …". One of the wounded crewmen died and another did not, but Markham published his theory about corpses and collected a number of arrows (see illustration). The Rev. Robert Codrington was very critical of the views of Markham and others aboard the Rosario, saying that they

© 2006, Jane Samson and Matthew and Katalin Wangler.

Lt. Harrison's sketch of the attack