Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-09-14
OPIUM SMOKING.
An Account OF Some OF she RSs asss
tn Sss LOuzes
ST. Louis Republican.

81. LOUIS fteptOt1Ct4ss.
At the last meeting of the Police
Board the question of suppressing the
opium evil, which is now known to be
growing and extending in this city,
came up. Il was decided that an Ordi-
nance should be recommended and
brought before the municipal assembly,
embOdying in its various sections penal
ties for keeping opium dens and punish
ing people found in them. A reporter,
in company with two detectives, made
tour of the opium haunts. After knock
ing at the door of a house in the
neighborhood of Seventh and Market
streets, the bolts were shot back and the
trio were ushered into dark hall where
the smell of opium was almost suffocat-
ing. The hall was about twenty feet
long, and on each side were two rooms.
Two doors on one side of the hall were
open, and glancing in the reporter saw
in the first four young men, apparently
between the age of twenty and twenty
five years. They were lying on a mat
tress, in the centre of which stood tray
and lighted candle. One of them held
a sort of knitting needle in his hand, on
the end of which was dark substance,
which he was holding over the flame of
the candle.
A dark stairway was found at the end
of the hall, and ascending it slowly, the
three found themselves at the open door
way of large room Immediately at the
head. Two mattresses were in this room,
and reclining about them in various
positions were three women and three
men. All were partially undressed, and
were hu ongaged in taking long whiffs
from BLACK looking pipes, which one
man on each mattress possessed. The
parties were well l-dressed and rather in
telligent and greeted theappearance of the
visitors with an invitation to take pipe.
Here, as below, one of the men was en-
gagged in burning the drug on a small
piece of steel. The operation was kept
up for few minutes, after which it was
inserted in long black pipe, made
especially for opium smoking. The
steel or pin upon which it was prepared
was then withdrawn, leaving the drug
in the pipe. The stem was then placed
in a victims mouth and the pipe lighted.
A subdued Kissing noise then ens1ed,
during which the pupils of the smokers
eyes expanded and his face assumed an
expression of ecstatic bliss.
After a few seconds the pipe was
withdrawn from the mouth, and the
smoker expelled from mouth and nos
trils huge volumes of blush smoke, and
then fell back on pillow in an ecstatic
frenzy. The opium was again prepared
and placed in the pipe, and handed to a
woman who reclined next to him who
had just smoked. She was evidently an
old-timer, for she handled the pipe and
smoked it in the most expert manner.
Thus it went around on each mattress,
each smoker taking his pipe in turn.
In another house was found a young
man, seemingly well bred, and very
finely dressed. His legs were crossed
oriental fashion, and he had his pipe in
his hand as he looked up lazily and then
turned again to the light when his pipe
had been refilled by the white man who
did the work quickly and handed it back
to the imitator of De Quincy, who pro-
ceeded to inhale the smoke and expel it
slowly from his mouth and nostrils.
Then he dropped his pipe and fell back
upon the bed, rolled over on his side,
threw his hands out on the bed and
closed his eyes, to wander in dreams
among happy scenes. He slept sweetly
it seemed, and the look of delight upon
his face almost made the reporter long
to put himself under the influence Of
''just, subtle and mighty opium" to en-
joy the fantastic dreams which De
Quincy so beautifully describes. He
seemed rather strange.looking in such
place, sleeping on the mattresses in the
dreary room and the poisonous atmos-
phere.
Eyes, said the white man, 1--WE have
lots like him come here, you bet your
life. They come here in fine style; get
out of their carriages a square or two
away in the evening, and sneak in here
to tap the pipe. Ladies? Yes, you bet,
and pretty ones in fine clothes, and they
smoke and smoke and lay around there
on the floor. just as happy as they can
be. They come here every day, you see,
and have the prettiest pipes of their own.
Nobody knows it, and they just 90 on
smoking every day."