The Russellville Democrat., 1881-12-22
vINEGAR's yoTARIEs.
acuIiud LadIssv Victims to Singular
 Vice.
New Orleans Democrat.


 aCullud Ladies" Victims to Singular
 Vice.
 New Orleans Democrat.
 "Do you know or have you ever heard why 1t is that negro women drink vine gar?" asked gentleman of Times re- porter one day last week.
 The scribe professed the profoundest ignorance in regard to the matter, but he immediately set to work to find an answer to the question. In the first place he inquired of several negro .wo- men if they ever drank vinegar
 "Yes," said one, q drink it all the time. especially when am ironing, and the women in OUT yard drink it too"
 Does 1t do you any good?"
 "Yes; it is cheaper than whisky, and 1t keeps up person wonderfully. l don't know why began it--Decause the others did, reckon. It hurt me at first, made me feel sick at the stomach, but when got over this feeling I felt a great deal better. It's especially good after smoking pipe and leaves kind of cooling feeling behind"
 "How much of 1t do you take at 8 dose?n
 About two tablespoonfuls. The first dose took was about teaspoonful, but know some ladies'" the colored wo. men are generally alluded to as ladies by their associates, "who take as much as quarter of teacupful If I took that much it would make me sick.n
 How did the habit first begin?"
 Some of the ladies used to take it, when feeling badly, and it did them so much good that others followed the example. The men folks can't drink vinegar and don't like the women folks to take it, but they do it though.n
 The reporter subsequentlg saw an ap- town lady who is at the head of a large clearinghouse. In answer 10 questions propounded to her she said: "Oh, yes, have had number of colored women in my employ who were great vinegar drinkers. The way 1 found it all out was in this way: 1 had washer and ironer who ate very little. I always kept bottle of vinegar in my kitchen where 1 could get it easily. One day went to take 1t from the shelf and found that the bottle was nearly empty. Twas not annoyed at this, although little bit surprised, but concluded to keep the vinegar under lock and key. The next day the servant came to me and asked me for little vinegar. I asked her what she wanted it for,and she answered to drink She then told me that she always drank it, and that it did her a power of good. 1 have noticed that those women who are the greatest whisky drinkers are also the greatest vinegar drinkers. You will be surprised, I know, when l tell you that whisky drinking among colored women, espec- ially those in advanced years, prevails to great extent. I have been compelled to discharge ever so many valuable servants on this account. l could not trust them nor depend on them, and so of course 1 had to dispense with their services. It is great pity, too, for they do not live great while after the habit has become confirmed with them. I think the chief reason of it's killing them so quickly is on account of the mean whisky they get from the grog shops. You know some of these corner grocers will give servants lagniappe of whisky for the purpose of securing their custom. When l send a servant to the grocery she can go to whichever one she pleasea, so long as it is in the immediate neighborhood. If grocer refuses to give servant dram, she will not pat ronize him. and So he thinks the best thing he can do under the circumstan- ces is to oblige her. tried once to keep my cook from going out to get her drams by selling her some of the whisky 1 kept in the house, but it took so much to satisfy her that I was forced to give up the practice. And yet she would go to a corner grocery and get royalty drunk on ten cents. This made me think that it must be awfully mean whisky that they get at these places"
 "You've noticed, then, that the wo- men who drink whisky also drink vine- gar?"
 "Yes, and those of them who get on sprees sober up on vinegar"
 The reporter, after bidding the lady good day, interviewed several physicians in regard to the vinegar drinking prac- tice. Said one:
 "I didn't know that the practice was so general, but I know several negro women who drink vinegar, although have never been able to discover what good it does them. Vinegar is very acid, you know. and very hard to digest. The women can't drink it for the sake of the whisky that is in it, for the req son that it contains very little of the liquor"
 The other physicians that the re- porter applied to could give no further information in regard to the matter He said he had noticed, however, that the women who were in the habit of drink- ing vinegar were thin and weak eyed, and usually very lazy. He also stated that the vinegar drinking practice was confined to negro women. Although the reporter was unable fully to answer the question propounded to him by the gentleman, the fact was nevertheless established that the question is perti- nent, and that its complete elucidation would prove very interesting.