Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-11-23
THE GAGUS STALK.
The Most Terrible and Fatal IntOxI-
cant Yet Discovered.

Ndht ANb OAeNONGEcus
san Francisco Cau.
"DO you know what that is?" said the
Captain OF a bark lately returned from a
cruise in the Southern seas to a Call re-
porter who was providing around the
waterfront in search of items. He held
in his hand what appeared to be a gaudily
painted BARRIERS pole shrunken to the size
Of a pOliceman's club. The reporter sur
Yeyed the object curiously and admitted
that he could not guess what IL was.
ssThat," continued the skipper, taking
the nOndescTipt object from the reporters
hands and caressing it as though it was a
kitten, lis a piece Of gagus stalk. Itcame
from Gauptil Island, near the MOlucca
group. l have n~avigated the South seas
for many years, and 1 never saw it grow
ing upon any other island, and l don't
think you Will find any s%eafaring man
who halls from those waters but Will bear
out what l say"
But what is it?' questioned the re-
porter, cycling the curiosity. "Gagus
rOOt:7
"Yes, that's as near as we sailors can
get 10 what the natives there call it. Pve
heard these fOur-eyed scientific lubbers
call ii by a name a yard long, but l might
as well have tried to reef a msinsaIl alone
as to reel it around my mental windlass.
Gagus is good enough for me-"
"WhO painted it:' went on the report
er, asuspiciOn creeping into his mind that
the Captain had Ornamented it with color
for the purpose of selling IL to some DEM
Ocrat 10 put in his hat.
"PaintedIt? Why, jiggerm me-, that's the
way it grew" cried the skipper, with a
laugh. Il guess you haven't seen any
thing ike il before"
The reporter admitted that he had not,
and asked the Captain to dissipate at once
the cloud Of mystery surrounding tue
''gagUs."
1T is a species Of cactus" he explained,
land, as l said, grows only, to my knOwl-
edge, on Gauptil leland. The island is a
small one, but is well populated by ma
tiVeS of the Malay race. In the interior
this plant grows wild, ~iOurishing espe-
cially in the red rocky soil. Itlooks beau
tiful when growing, as yOG might judge
by the bright hues with which this is
spotted. The main stalk is covered with
sharp, ncttle-like pTOtuberances, and a
prick from one Of then will cause more
pain than a handful Ofred pepper thrOWnin
your eyes. When young the plant con-
sists Of but one stalk, which shoots up
straight to a height Of four or five feet. 1t
is q brilliant scarlet in hue. Toward
winter a number OF OtfshOOts spring out
until the thing looks like a broom stood
upright. Green and purple specks then
appear all over it. \ grove Of gagus
shrubs is a very pretty sight. But it Is
the properties OF the plant which dIstin-
euish il. opium Is apOtent drug, but viii
back the extract from the gagus stalk 10
effect more damage on the human system
than AL the opium III the world. The ma
tives cut the plant in the early spring.
After they have gathered a sufhcientquan-
tity they put it IN large bowls and crush
it with huge stones. 4 grayish sap runs
out freely and this they collect and drink
after letting it feTment, which il does
easily. one drink of a pint is enough for
an ordinary man, but l have seen natives
drink more. Within half an hour after
imbibiug It the drinker becomes perfectly
stupid and lies around like a log. The
spell lasts a day or more, during which
time the natives ssy they live in paradise.
"DO white men drink it!'
Il have known sailors to try il, but they
never tackled it twice. Three years ago
1 had a man in my crew who was driven
crazy by off drink"
"What effect does it have upon the ma
~tiyes:'
well. that is where the gagus displays
/ itself. If YOU could see some of the terri
/ BILE examples of gagUs drinking in Gauptil
you would be Mortified. The first effect
Of the liquor is 10 soften the bone and
EfdlussllN Cdt tacuu away AuC-C d4C Ac-
tiVes there, the victims OF gagus, who are
indeed homeless and unable to walk or use
their limbs. They then begin to witheI
away like this stalk until they die in mis-
cry and commissions. Immediately alter
death The head of the corpse becomes soft
as pulp. no bones can be felt; the skull is
completely eaten away. The body then
begins 10 swell as though il were inflated
with gas and immediate burial is neces-
saTy.
GLOW long does it take to thus devas.
tate 4 human being?" asked the reporter.
That is according to the appetite OF
the victim for tie stuff. Usually two
years Will finish the hardest man. Oh,
the sufferings of the slaves to the drink
are terrible"
The piece of plant was again subjected
to an inspection by the reporter, and this
time with some manifest interest.
s.YOu see, it is hard,'' said the Captain.
dropping t on the deck to prove his words
land this is harmless unless, / presume
it was soaked in water and the liquor
/ drank"