Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-12-27
A NEW NARCOTIC.
Coca, Wonderful South American
Plaintiffs Remarkable
Properties.
New Orleans PicaYune.1

New Orleans PicayuneJ
Humboldt and other travellers tell how the
mailcarriers, travelling on foot and bearing
upon their shoulders heavy bags of mail, will
scale the mighty mountain range of the An
des, crossing through passes 16, 900 feet above
the sea level, where, even under the vertical
sun of the equator, perpetual snow abides,
sustained in these labors by a meagre diet of
parched corn and stimulated by the potent
coca leaf. The laborer who, in the absence
OF steam engines and other hosting ma
chinery, climbs tortuous and trembling
ladders from the depth of a thousand
fathoms in the Peruvian silver mines,
bearing upon his back a leathern bag of
the precious ore, Is enabled daily to endure
this tremendous exertion through the bracing
! influence of coca. These matters, incredible
| as they may seem, are certified to as facts by
the most trustworthy witnesses. The schedule
time for foot-mail carriers across the noun
tains in Bolivia, from Chuquisaca to La PEI,
| distance OF seventy leagues, 210 miles, is
| three days, or seventy miles day, and these
carriers live chiefly or parched corn, seldom
tasting meat, but chewing about three ounces
of coca leaf a day. In the high attitudes,
where travellers suffer with difficulty Of
breathing, and frequently with rushes of
blood from the mouth and nose, the consum-
ers OF coca experience no sort of inconven-
| fence, but perform their labors with accus-
toned activity.
That plant which is possessed of such re-
markable properties should be so little known
beyond its own proper habitat is quite curious
| in this age OF travel and discovery, and it in
duced some consideration and inquiry on the
part of a reporter. Meeting with DR.. Her
| rick, secretary of the board of health, yester-
day. the reporter questioned him concerning
| the matter.
Said the doctor in substance: Coca is now
coming into use by the medical profession in
this city.
| In reply to an inquiry as to the purposes
for which this medicine was administered
here, the doctor said that it has specific and
! powerful effects On the nervous system. 1t is
tonic and stimulant without any apparent
| injurious reaction. When the nervous sys-
| tenn has been broken down by alcohol, OPT
ates, and the like, it has been recommended,
and, combined with phosphates, it has been
prescribed to counterfeit the waste of the
body which is seen in pulmonary consump-
| ton and other diseases which have to be met
| by some system of nutrition. 1t is very prob
| able that this drug might be used to advan-
| SS-eoS ~ OlCoSIOilll pGuGSb.laIS csHu OGleIS
engaged in exhausting and prolonged Phys
| ical labors.
| Under the direction of the doctor the re-
| porter visited druggist near the Poydras
market, who imports the article in its purest
and most reliable form; that is the freshly
| dried leaves.
Said the druggist, reaching down from
shelf a metallic can, closely sealed: 'sThe
coca, like the tea, must be transported and
| kept in alright and water-tight packages.
| Exposed to the air and to moisture, it not
| only loses its aroma and flavor, but is chem
| ically altered, and thereby rendered inert and
| useless. You will observe" he continued, as
| he opened the package and pulled out some
! greenish dried leaves, ''they have much the
| odor OF English breakfast tea, and except
| that the leaves are not curled or crumpled
| they are not unlike those of the tea plant
| The first coca leaves brought here were in
! bags, but they were worthless; and now that
| they are packet in these canisterS the Leave S
arrive here endowed with all their proper
virtues.
| LAS tonic for. persons who are suffering
| from alcoholism or the opium habit, it is
an admirable remedy It not only re-
| lieves the nervous depression under
which they suffer, but enables them
to break off from their dangerous stimu-
lants by offering them one which seems to
| have no bad properties. Coca seems to brace
| up the nerves without producing the exciting
stimulation and the consequent depressing
reaction that accompany the use of other
narcotics In combination with certain
! remedies it has been of great benefit to con
sumptive patients also.
Have you any habitual customers for the
drug who use it as a regular stimulant?n
asked the reporter.
| 'Yes. The first was gentleman who had
learned to use it while living in Brazil As
soon as he found he could get it here he has
been buying it regularly, and says he never
| experienced any injurious effects from it.
| Other persons, among them several journal
lists who learned the use of the coca from the
| first-named party, also purchase it regularly
and declare that while it braces them up for
| night work it produces no bad effects
Coca is an interesting study, not only to the
medical scientists, but to the political philos-
opher, for it enables millions of people to do
their daily work ON deficient food supply
without suffering the pangs of hunger As
| an economizar of food it occupies unique
position.
A Thrilling:Ride forea:Jug of Liquor