METHODS OF POISONING AND CEABMS 11 



in poisoning until the District Officer, Mr. A. J. S tarrock, 



treated it with a considerable amount of judicial atten- 

 tion in the year 1912. Many of my notes have come 

 from Ulu Kfeial ; but of late years it has become 

 increasingly difficult to chat about poisons in this part 

 of Kelantan. Native experts there say that the idea 

 of a time-poison is unfounded {hohong)^ but that the 

 effect of a certain deadly poison, presently to be de- 

 scribed, is greatly accelerated or delayed if certain fruit 

 and vegetables, such as papaw, water-melon, pumpkiu 

 and cucumber, happen to be eaten soon after the inges- 

 tion of the poison, or not until some days after its 

 administration. This Ulu Kesial poison serves as an 

 example of the great attention to detail which must 

 be paid in the preparation of old-fashioned Malay 

 poisons. It is said to cause the spitting of blood with 

 fever. 



The fruit of a poisonous palm {ibuTj and of a poisonous 

 jungle climber [re^igut) are taken as well as a pill- 

 millepede and the gall-bladder of the honey bear, that 

 of a common toad and that of a homed toad-frog ; 

 each is carefuUy and separately dried and then toasted 

 over a fire. They are then pulverised, and kept in 

 separate packets until the time arrives to use them. 

 If it is desired to administer this poison in water, £.,n 

 ' equal quantity of the six powders is taken, mixed 

 together, and put into the water jar. If it is to be mixed 

 with food, the galls of the frog and the toad must be 

 fresh, and, when fresh, mixed with the four dry powders, 

 and the resulting mass then heated over a fire until it 

 becomes black and sticky Hke opium prepared for the 

 pipe. It is now ready to be put into a curry or any kind 

 of rice-broth. In three or four days the victim is said 

 to cough blood. A fine black powder, prepared by an 

 Ulu Kesial villager and said to contain all the ingre- 



