198 MALAY POISONS AND CHABM CUBES 



Leaves trifoliate ; leaflets 3 to 7 inches long by 2 to 4 

 inches wide. Gadong is weU known by Malays to 

 possess narcotic properties and to cause vomiting ; the 

 juice is very acrid like that of the Mladi tubers (see 

 section KSladi), and may cause violent inflammation 

 of the eyes : as a Kelantan poison gadong is some- 

 times used in combination with keladi as an internal 

 poison, but more frequently with datura (see section 

 Datura). 



A case attributed to gadong occurred in August, 

 1913, when a fairly well-to-do Malay carpenter and his 

 son were poisoned. It occurred during the fasting 

 month, when no meal is allowed between sunrise and 

 sunset. These two persons happened to be Uving alone 

 in Kota Bharu because the man's wife was ill and away 

 at the seaside ; in her absence a sister-in-law prepared 

 their evening meals and sent them to the house. The 

 two returned home about 10 p.m., and found a sweet- 

 meat (a conserve made with banana) that had been 

 brought at dusk by a strange girl, who came and went 

 in a hurry telling a neighbour that the sister-in-law had 

 sent it. The carpenter ate most of it and gave a small 

 portion to liis son, who enjoyed it, but noticed a peculiar 

 earthy taste. They lay down to sleep together and 

 quickly became stupefied ; they found they had lost 

 the power of moving their legs, their throats got 

 parched and their heads giddy. About 4 a.m. thieves 

 broke the door open and plundered the house : their 

 victims, although awake, were unable to rise and 

 protect their property. The son managed to strike a 

 match, but stumbled and fell on attempting to get up ; 

 the thieves escaped, but the man was able to recognise 

 one of them. I saw the patients about 11.30 a.m. the 

 next day ; both had dilated pupils, inactive to light. 

 The man was lying on a mat ; he was still dazed, but in a 



