The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1881-07-26
OPIUM SMOKERS.
Hitting the Pipe" and the
Terrible Effects of the
Pungent Poppy
Upon the Devotees-Location
of the Chinese Joints-A
Racy Article.

pOftlnn OF the race, nave sought
means, when in sorrow and tribula.
ton. whereby their grief could be as.
suaged and relief found from the
cares and anxieties of this Woe
weighted world. Every age and every
nation have been imbued with the ne
cessitv Of supplying some decOction
which should contain As its principal
ingredient something that would pos
sess the qualities attributed to the
river Lethe by ancient mythology.
In these latter days of science. means
and modes have multiplied 10 such an
extent .hat the average man can oh
tain surcease Of sorrow in various
forms. quality and prices.
This article will deal with but one
drug. and It's abuse by constantly in
crea>ing numbers in all parts of the
country, namely,
OPIUM SMOKING.
This vice, imported with Chinese
cheap labor, is slowly but none the
less surely charging its list Of victims,
until in this city it can safely he said
that at the lowest estimate 1000 peo-
pie Use opium i'm Its diverse forms.
In all cities where the heather laun-
drymen have IN abiding place can he
found all the necessary appliances for
the enjoyment Of the pipe for Il nomi-
nal consideration. To the initiated
these places are known as Joints"
and the act Of smoking ''hitting the
pipe" and it is not an uncommon
thing to hear from the lips of those
who gravitate between Kansas City
and the west that expression To
those who are innocent Of the slang of
the world. it conveys no meaning to
those ". know, it has terrible i'm
port; il conveys no hidden meaning:
it has no sphinx and the aid Of an
Oe,lipus is needless III order tn unravcl
and make known its significance. No
mathematician need solve it il is axi-
omaric. that is self evident and no de-
monstration is necessary.
To one, not a user of the drug, adj
mittance to Joint" is about as diff
cult matter rs would he the entrance
of a prince Of darkness to the realm
of st Peter. He must he known or
else present credentials obtained ut
the town he was last resident in. John
is very cautious and extremely wroth
if any insinuation is made regarding
the
PERPENDICCLARITYO OF HIS LAUNDRY.
There are at present but three well
known '.joints' in active operation in
this city, and known to the police As
such: one on Main street, under the
Atlantic hotel, ope under the Lindell,
and the other on Eighth, between
Walnut and Main streets. 1t is diff
cult to determine which does the
greatest amount of business, or what
the profits accruing are, but they are
all we'll patronized and the trade is
strictly cash with no discount. The
method of smoking opium is too well
known to require any extended men,
ton in these columns. The mode of
preparation, from the gathering of
the berry of the poppy until it is fin
ally resolved into a pellet no larger
than a pea, and ready for the pipe, is
a matter of general knowledge.
The cost Of smoking a pipe varies
according to the rank of the estab-
lishment and the varying price Of the
drug. In this city, at any of the
'joints," a smoke can be had at twenty
five cents a pipe, a pipe consisting Of
one opium ball the size of pea. The
peculiar effect produced by smoking
has time and again been commented
upon. The first pipefal produces the
same effect the first cigar does; it
makes a person wish he had never
been born; there is no pleasure in liv-
ing; the delights Of this earth are .
snare and delusion; all is vanity. This
is generally the experience of a
But there is something in
it that lures him back, q
SONG OF THE SIREN
that tells of wondrous lands and
scenes. He inhales again the deadly
drug. and to his disordered fancy |
strange things appear. Now he drifts |
down the river Of life. past trouble |
and sorrow and grief and care, heed
less of all. concerned only in the |
present, q lotus eater seeking an isle
Of peace. Again, if Of a warlike dis
position, in his delirium he may lead
armies to triumph over the world and
awaken to the fact that there Is some
Inference between q victorious general
md clerk at IS per one week. Again
nav cone viaiOna of colesfia1 1ovoli.