The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1880-04-29

went on boyieh fr0lics. As he grew
older he weakened his power Of resis.
tence by thoughtlessly giving away 10 tbs
slight craving he at times had for liquor.
at last, when he was thoroughly alarm.
ed for ais safety, he found that the de.
sire for alcohol was almost irresistible.
Again and again he yielded to the crav-
Ing. each time saying that this would
be the isst time. Then he would "swear
on" Soon he would look kindly on
beer or ale or wine then he would take
'jns: enc g!sss,p and before be seal;ze5;.
it whiskey would be drank like water.
Recovering from that spree, he wonld
soon believe it wes mishap, purely
accidental, and would try it again, al
ways with the same result. It was mt
beer or wine or whiskey he craved !;
it was alcohol, and of fthis drug the least
quantity famed the EmoldaEipg fierceneas
of his desire into imperative demand that
he could not reaiot. He could give up
the use Of alcohol for few weeks, some
timea for months; then he would feel the
spell, the glamour the alcohol cast be-.
fore it, coming on gradually, taking pos.
session OF. and haunting him day and
night, Turing him TO his destruction,
Daily he argued with himself, fighting
etubbornly over each point. and daily
the alcoholic portion of his brain out
argued the non.alcoholic. The desire
for alcoho. grew moro intense, and the
craving for the poison invariably culmi.
mated in an attack that he had no moro
power to resist than he would have to
resist q malaria chill.
We had caught some fish, and ceas-
ing padding Ne sat idly in the canoe,
drifting before light wind. .C:a.o.ack
talked very dcspondently of his future,
dwelling with great bitterness on ths
modification he had endured, of the
sense of degradation he suffered under.
Sitting motionless in the canoe, he tried
70 see his future, talking the while as
his imagination pictured painful scenes
in the lite he had before him. I cheered
him as bestI could. Ie stas care of hered-
itary disease that did not believe there
was any relief Tor. During the war I
had an army friend, o captain of artil-
lery, who was afflicted with this dis.
ease. Worn out with repeated, defeats,
he, feeling the glamour Of alcohol ccm.,
ing on, and having determined not to
again endure the deep modification re.
sultant from disgracefui spree, went into
his quarters at Fort Henry and blew
his brains out. Zalmack's case l thought
was eimilar.
Thenext morning we parted. I agreed
to be in Missoula on o certain day if
possible, and together we were to travel
up the Lou Lou Fork of the Bitter
Root River. Ny work would be fin-
ished, and we had planned chicken and
deer hunt.
One bright October day 1 rode out of
the Jocko,- country. Passing through
the Coriecan Defie, ! descended into
the valley Of the Missoula. Great fiocks
of grouse took wing from the grass
before me. Fool hens sat stupidly in
spruce trees and looked at me. In the
distance g threshing machine was loudly
humming. could see the small verti.
cal column of dust riHing high above the
separator. Farm houses and barns nes-
tied at the base of the hillc. Clear, cool
water flowed sluggishly in the irrigating
bitches. II was the frat glimpse Of civ
ization I had seen for some months, and
I rode along the old Indian trail elated.
The frosty air, the rustic of the dry her.
bage, the leeaess trees, and the dark, pine
clad mountains Of the Bitter Root Range
in the distance all stimulated my light
heartedness, Cantering briskly over the
dusty trail was soon in Missoula. Put.
ting my horse in stable walked to the
hotel and inquired for my friend. He had
been in town q week had been on o
spree, and was then up sto:rs suffering
with the damnabls diaepse of distilla-
tion-delirium tremens.
Sorrowfully mounted the rickety
stairs. In meanly furnished room that
was foul,smelling and ill.veptilated, Zal.
mack lay on hard bed, tossing, moan
ing, and cravenly begging, by us unseen
spectators, to be merciful. He was nursed
by two sympathetic miners. Zalmank
lay and mourned, or in terse language
described the phantoms that haunted
him. The corpse Of o friend he had buried
a few weeks previously foated in the air
before him, and beckoned him with black,
swollen hands, to descend to hell; or,
thrusting the rotten ragged tongue from
out of its foul mouth, the bursted eye.
balls turned to him aud the eugorged
lids 9lowiy and repeatedly winke6 OF him.
His description ofthe grating of the bones
of the neck and jaws, Of the actions of
this naked mass Of corruption, as the spec-
tire nodded aud grinned at him, or heav-
lily danced around his bed, was horrible.
With great cry of terror, Zalmack sat
up shouting that the head OF the corpse
he'd fallen of and rolled under the bed,
while serpenta, lizards, and poiscnous
toads swarmed ont Of the neck of the
headless trunk. He screened to Us TO
keep them of of him. The rough
nurses laughed heartily, and said It was
"a rum go." KnoL.ng the sensitive,
nervous organization Of the sna;i, "ss
deeply Distressed. ! spoke to him. He
started, seemed TO recognize my voice,
then lost me. Wisha mighty effort he
endeayol Sd to grasp his intellect. I
could see him strive to get control of It.
The diseased mind could NOT clear itself
of the wreck produced by the alcohol.
The delicate organ was dispsd cred. 1t
Mis- 40 if an iron edko lind b5eTi III Tu7s .
into mass of cog-Eheels OF delicate
machine. destroying the balance, causing
come wheels to madly whirl around,
others TO at3nd stlII. so with TINS ;iIua
brain. The alcohol had clogged ali of It
except the feryent imagination, which
was Eeeling off panorama af horrible
pictured. Speaking to the nurses, I said
.ouid watch him that might. SssuliiiI- Sssulii
ingiy they replied, You can not stand
il alone" would try. They could
aleep in the uext room, and if I found I
could not endure the awful pictures 10
painted I would call to them. at 10
o'clock entered the room. The miners
left. heard them throw Themselves
wearily on their hard bed. Soon they
snored. Opening the window for fresh
air, SAT looking out smoking the while.
The Doctor came, gave Zafmack some drug,
bid me goodnight, and I was alone with
/ nav friend, T{at an sAsclnni, 4 . n,AIaaI-