According to explanations by elderly villagers of La Posada, 
who had not tried latue themselves, an infusion was prepared in 
the evening with green leaves and bark. It was said that only 
‘‘los hechiceros’’ (witches) used latue. Intoxicated and with an 
appropriate refill from a “‘sub-hechicero’’ (witch’s apprentice), 
they could dance and preach for a week. None of my informants 
had seen this, but they had heard it from old people. According 
to the same informants, “‘los hechiceros’’ could quickly recover 
with a drug from a Solanum species of the section Morella (to 
which Solanum nigrum) belongs. Some of these species were col- 
lected nearby, but my friends could not tell me which they were. 
They only knew the vernacular name, ‘‘hierba mora’’, which is 
Solanum, but as we know, the vernacular names mean very little. 
It might have been something which looked like Solanum “‘hierba 
mora’’, 
Jan, 1, 1954.—In the evening, just prior to a féte-champétre 
at Centinela where we lived in an agricultural college, about 5 
centiliters of the infusion were taken. After approximately three 
hours, | noticed extreme dryness in my mouth, a strong urge to 
spit, which was made difficult due to the fact that the saliva dried 
to a whitish and later more solid froth. A strong urge to urinate 
was also felt. This was unfortunately impossible as the urine 
emerged just one drop at a time though repeated attempts were 
made. 
Somewhat later, possibly three or more hours after the consum- 
ing of the infusion, I felt a ““beavy’’ intoxication. This was not 
like alcoholic inebriation, where you have rather happy and agreea- 
ble thoughts and events before a hazy state occurs. This was an 
immediate and almost complete loss of memory. 
Without my knowledge, my friend, Dr. Earl E. Smith, Belts- 
ville, brought me home and put me to bed. In my journal I noted 
that I “‘missed my chance with the girl’’, but later Smith consoled 
me and told me that the girl in question had a face like a horse 
although she had a beautiful body. Even this mistake might have 
been due to the infusion. 
Jan, 3, 1954.—I1 awoke in the middle of the night with, as I 
remember, a kind of claustrophobic feeling, or it might have been 
a normal feeling that woke me up followed by the claustrophobia. 
I could not find the toilet and started to run down the passage. 
According to what I remember, it was dark and I hit walls and 
doors. My nose started to bleed. In one way or another, I went 
into Smith’s room and when I felt something that seemed to bea 
bed, I crept down—to Smith’s surprise and alarm. He Jater told 
me that with force he managed to lead me back to my own room 
and locked me in. 
[ 76 ] 
