River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1882-09-14
AN OPIUM DEN FOR WOMEN.
One OF the institutions OF PbiIa-
deIphia--1he Women who indulge
in the PerniciOus Habit OF Opium
Smoking

IN the EerniciOuS hEaDIt OF Vpium
smoking
Mrs. Kate Gibson is the proprietress
of the only opium parlor in this city.
She resides in a small. unpretending
brick house on Mount Vernon street,
few doors from Tenth. A silver
plate on the door bears her name, but
there is no other indication that the
house is inhabited. The green blinds
are always kept closed, and the door is
only opened for the patrons of the
place, who silently come and go. Mrs.
Chisom is pale, re fined looking wom-
an, of abouf 35 years, and her appear
ance does not indicate victim of the
opium habit. AS far as could be seen
in a hasty inspection or the three
rooms on the first floor, the interior of
the house is furnished with luxury
rarely attempted in house of the
kind. The walls are rich in gliding
and decoration: on the floors are heavy
Turkish and Persian rugs, and statu-
cites, pictures, and bric-a-brac are
scattered about in every direction.
"The rooms used for smoking are
up stairs" said Mrs. Gibson yesterday,
and of course / can not let you see
them but you can judge by these that
no expense has been spared in fitting
up the house. / came to Philadelphia
on the 10th of last February, and am
q ute satified that shall do well here.
My customers are constantly increas-
ing, and among them are some of the
wealthiest ladies in the CITY,"
On being questioned about her an
tecedents, Mrs Gibson told story of
an adventurous career. Seventeen
years ago." she said, II married a
wealthy southern cotton planter. He
was the owner of large plantation
near New Orleans, and for two years |
lived there happily. How did / begin
to use opium? Well, it is the old
story. l was i'll, and a friend advised
me to try it. did, and ever since that
day | have been unable to do without
it. My life became burden. / neg
lected everything, and could interest in
nothing connected with my home. |
made several attempts to give up the
habit, but / found it impossible, and
after every attempt | began taking it
in greater quantities than ever before.
My husband died Two years after my
marriage, and after his death turned
everything / had into money and went
to live in New York. There | put my
self under the care of a physician who
advertised to cure the opium habit
He gave me coffee baths and brandy
in large doses, but | used to elude him
and get the drug and take it secretly.
1t was in New York that / first learned
to smoke opium. | was taken by
friend TO an opium parlor on Eight
zenith street, kept by Frenchwoman,
called Nine. Fanlan. Mansfield, Mon
taland and other notorious WON en-
were regular patrons of her place. No
men were admitted, and the rooms
were fitted up with Oriental luxury.
often remained there q week without
seeing the outside world. Women
prominent In society came there also,
but, as rule, they did not smoke
much; the novelty of the thing alone
seemed to attract them. 1t soon be-
came too expensive for me to continue
to go there, for her charges were enor-
nous. About this time the idea of
having place of my own suggested
itself to me. had a number of friends
and money enough left to furnish few
rooms. So / opened an opium parlor
on East Sixteenth street. My place
soon became popular. Many of Nine.
Fanlan's customers came to me, and
my success was assured, would be
there today had it not been for the
treachery of one whom befriended.
"Among the frequenters ofthe French |
woman's place YVES young actress.
then playing leading part in one of
the New York theaters. She was very |
beautiful and quite the rage among,the |
gilded youth who affect things theatric-
al. She came originally from England, |
and of ali the opium-takers l have ever |
seen she was the worst. She was COM |
pletely infatuated with it, and whenev-
er she could escape from her duties at
the theater she would come to Nine.
Fanlans and smoke. A short time az
ter / had opened my place she come
to me, broken in health and in abject |
poverty. / pitied her, and took her in
and gave her home, but she proved |
an migrate, and | soon regretted my
kindness tc her. In order to obtain
money she informed the husbands of
some of my best patrons that their
wives came to my house to smoke OPT
UNI. OF course this greatly injured my
business in New York, but it taught me
a lesson that have not forgotten"
Mrs. Chisom claims that many of the
frequenters of her place on Mount Yer
non street move in good society and
reside in fashionable quarters Of the
city, and she seems to consider herself
a public benefactress in offering quiet
retreat K, yoraen victims of the opium
habit, where they can indulge in safety
and comfort. "Those who are in any