Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1879-09-19
Opium Smoking.

These smoking rooms are surrounded
by wooden hunks, like the Steerage of
an Ohio River steamer, with uatting,
blankets, and heavy wooden block for
q pillow These underground vaults
are the abodes of bliss for the opium
smokers. Here they dream away their
lives unmolested. In China, they tell
us, it is a direct breach and violation
of the law, and the proprietor of an
opium-shop is punished with death,
and all his neighbors and the police Of
fcers of that district receive one hun
dred blows and are banished from the
kingdom for three years. If the Chi
nese, universally conceded to become
one of the most depraved races in ex-
istence, and addicted to every species
of vice, deem it advisable to enact such
severe laws against the use of this
poisonous drug, what must be its fear
full effects, and how ought it to be
dreaded by usi Dozens of the victims
were already stored away in the hunks
in various stages of delirium, while
others entered after us whose emaciated
forms, sallow compilations and distend-
ed eye-balls told them as users of the
poison. Some about us were laughing
and talking, under the influence of the
pipe; others lying perfectly helpless up
on their backs, with an idiotic smile
upon their Countenances, which we
afterward learned to know betokened
the fact that they were fast merging in
to the long -wished-for dream of happi-
ness.
The smokers selected hunks and
pipes, each according to his own fancy
and having completed all minor
arrangements, covered themselves with
their blankets and deliberately began
their debauch. 1t was just as If n
modern dfunkard were to ensconce
himself in wad of straw, place fun
mel in his mouth, and beginning to pour
himself full of whisky until 1t ran out at
the gills, still persevering until he had
lost all consciousness in a beastly state
of intoxication, the only difference being
disgust upon the one hand and pity upon
the other. The idiotic smile and death
like stupor of the opium debauchee has
something far more awful to the gaze
than even the brutality of the drunkard
wallowing in his own filth. A few days
of the luxury brings haggard express
sion on, salloW countenance, unsteady
gaze and general feebleness, uniting
one almost entirely for the ordinary oc-
cupations of life. A few months of
such physical suffering as beggars de-
scription, the stout, healthy man short
ly becomes feeble, tottering, idiotic
skeleton, and the death-boding glance
of the eye shows that few years at
most must bring the climax to this trag-
edy-death.
We were induced finally to try pipe
of the poisonous essence much against
physical desire, as the smell is any
thing but enticing, while the implement
or pipe resembled so much an old greasy
flute that we could hardly muster cour-
age to place it to the mouth. The
opium, to all appearance so much shoe
makers wax, was twisted in small
lump about the size of pea at the end
Of a knitting-needle, and after being
warmed and melted in lump at the
head of the couch it was inserted
through small aperture into the bowl
of tho pipo, and the smoking COM
menced by inhaling or drawing into the
lungs of dense volumes of smoke. Con-
trary to the expectation, the taste was
anything but disagreeable, having a
delicate flavor, compound, one might
say, of chocolate and licorice. The SEN
sation is, as one great traveller says,
zone of warmth and strength, softened
by happy consciousness of repose."
The portion of opium was exhausted in
about half minute and before the pipe
could be renewed we concluded
that we had taken enough. -Four
or five pipes are sufficient for the
beginner, but the old stager requires as
high as eighteen or twenty before reach
ing the seventh heaven of Mongolian
happiness. The sleepers, scattered
here and there, some having struggled
from the hunks and fallen in stupor
on the floor, reminded us of so many
poisoned rats, their eyes standing open
with fixed and CLASSY look, and their
waxy and deathlike countenances be-
ing repulsive in the extreme. The
fumes of the opium having become too
much for us, producing slight qualm's
in the stomach, we returned by a near
path "to the topside of the ground" "
as the Chinaman would say, to get a
breath of fresh air.-San francisco
ChrOniole.