228 MALAY POISONS AND CHAEM CUBES 



hunt down Death and kill him. Aa they went their 

 way they met an old man, who told them that he had 

 just left him sitting mider a tree in the lane close by. 

 Off posted the thi'ee rioters, but when they came to the 

 tree they found a great treasure, which they agreed to 

 divide equally. They cast lots which was to carry it 

 home, and the lot fell on the youngest , who was sent to 

 the village to buy food and wine. While he was gone 

 the two who were left agreed to kill him, and so increase 

 their share ; but the third bought poison to put into 

 their wine, in order to kill his two conh'eres. On his 

 return with his stores, the two set upon him and slew 

 him, then sat down to drink and be merry together ; 

 but, the wine being poisoned, all the three rioters found 

 Death under the tree as the old man had said " (Ref. 1). 



Cases of death from acute arsenical poisoning 

 occurred in Kota Bharu m 1910, in 1914, and in 1919. 

 In 1910 a Tamil traveller put up for the night in an 

 eating-house kept by a fellow-countryman. He found 

 an old mortar and used it in the dark for preparing his 

 curry stuff. The pestle and mortar had unfortunately 

 been used for pounding up kiha tikus for poisoning rats ; 

 it was forgotten that arsenic remained in the mortar, 

 and death from misadventure resulted. Symptoms of 

 poisoning commenced in the early morning following 

 the heavy evening meal, with nausea and stomach-ache ; 

 death supervened about seven hours afterwards. There 

 was no definite algide stage, but violent vomiting 

 occurred, with burning pain in the throat and stomach, 

 cramp, diarrhoea, with dark motions, collapse, suppres- 

 sion of urine, and the passage of much mucus from the 

 bowel with straining. Asiatic cholera was epidemic in 

 the town at the time, so the case was instructive : the 

 cUnical picture resembled that of Asiatic cholera, and 

 might also have been very difficult to diagnose during 



