original account of Latua, in which he reported several 
‘ases of inadvertant poisonings :* 
It has been six years now since I first learned that the Indians 
of the Province of Valdivia possess a secret way of producing in- 
sanity with a poisonous plant, for a long or short time depending 
on the dose. It is considered with great secretiveness. Padre 
Romualdo, a missionary in Daglipulli, succeeded in learning that 
the plant is a tall shrub called /atwe which grows in the forests of 
the coastal mountains. He was finally able to obtain a branch of 
it. This had no leaves, however, since the Indian who brought 
the plant thought that the Padre wanted it in order to examine 
its poisonous qualities which lie mainly in the bark. Later, I 
learned the details of /atwe from Senor Juan Renous. The shrub 
is very similar in its growth, thorns and leaves to fayu or palo 
santo, but the flowers are like Sarmienta repens KR. & P. in their 
size and shape. .. . Of the fruit, Sefor Renous had nothing to 
report, but he did tell me of several cases of intentional and un- 
intentional poisonings. The latter occur quite readily since, as 
mentioned, the shrub is so very similar to fayu whose bark is used 
externally and internally in the form of a decoction for bruises, 
blows caused by falls or kicks, ete. He related to me among 
others the following case which had just recently occurred. One 
of his woodcutters had suffered a strong blow with the blunt end 
of his axe and went into the forest to get some bark of tayu for it. 
He took instead /atue and drank a concoction of this poison. He 
became insane almost immediately and wandered into the moun- 
tains. He was found three days later in an unconscious state. 
Several days were required for his recovery, although he suffered 
severe headaches for several months. ‘The fruits are just as poison- 
ous as the bark and in their color and size somewhat resemble 
young apples. Some people who were traveling from Osorno to 
Maullin, where /atue also grows, mistakenly ate a few fruits. They 
arrived at Maullin completely bewildered and nearly unconscious. 
Unfortunately, I have none of the details of the symptoms which 
the ingestion of /atve produces, nor of the antidote which the In- 
dians employ to combat the dire effects of poisoning. 
Here and elsewhere (Mariani, 1965), there are refer- 
ences to malevolent and criminal uses of Latua. Several 
natives from Llanquihue (Rio Frio) told us of such de- 
liberate poisonings to produce insanity or death. It is 
* Translated by ‘I. Plowman, 
