The home journal. (Winchester, Tenn.) 1858-188?, 1884-08-27
THE OPIUM HABIT.
SOME or TIE ECCENTRICiTiEs -
OPIUM POISONING.
flow IL In Supposed TO Operate IN Same
Parts OF the Far West nn told by Bii'
Nye.

Parts OF the Far West ns told by BIZ
N,e.
I have always had n horror OF opiates
Of all kinds. They are so seductive and
so still in their operations. They steal
through the blood like wolf on the
trail, aud they seize upon the heart at
last with their white iaDgs till it is still
forever.
Up the Laramie there is cluster Of
ranches Mt the base Of the Medicine
Bow, near the north end of Sheep Noun
tain and in sight Of the gIittering, etcr-
nal frost Of the snowy range. These
ranches are the homes Of young men
from Massachusetts,, Pennsylvania and
Ohio, and now there ore several
"youpeer Sons" OF Old England, with
herds OF horses, steers and sheep, worth
millions OF dollars. These young men
nre not the kind Of whom the metropoli-
tan ass writes, saying, ''youboicherllfe,"
and calling everybody "pardncr." There
are many Of them college graduates,
who can brand u wild Maverick or fur
nish the easy gestures for Strauss
waltz.
They wear human clothes, talk in the
United States language and have bank
account. This spring they may be
wearing chaparaj % and swinging qulrt
through the thin mir, aud in July they
may be at Long Branch or coloring a
mecrschaum pipe among the Alps.
Well, II young man whom we will call
Curtis lived at one Of these ranches
years ago, and though quiet, mind
your.own- business fellow. who had ab-
solHtely no enemies among his COM
pauioDs, lac had the misfortune to incur
the wrath of tramp sheep-herdcr, who
waylaid Curtis one afternoon and shot
him dead rs lie sat in his buggy. Cur
It's wasn't armed. He didn't dream OF
trouble till he drove home from town,
aud us ho passed through the gate Of n
corral saw the hairy face Ct the herdcr
aud ut the same moment the flash Of
Winchester rifle. That was MI.
A rancher came into town and tcle.
graphed to Curlis'B father, and then n
hall dozen citizens went out TO help cap.
turc the herdcr, who had fled to the
sage brush Of the foothills.
They didn't gel back till toward day
break, but they brought the herdcr with
them. / saw him in the gray Of the
morning lying in II coarse gray blanket
on the floor OF the engiue-house. He
was dead.
asked, as n reporter, how ho came to
his death, and they told me opium
said, "Did | understand You to say
'ropium 2" They said no, il was opium
The murderer had taken poison whcr
he found that escape was impossible.
/ was present ut the inquest 30 that
could report the case. There was very
little testimony, but all tho evidence
sccmcd TO point to the fact that life wa
extinct, and u verdict Of death by hi.
own hand was rendered.
1t was the first opium work hat
ever seen, and it aroused my curiosity
Death 10y opium, il seems, leaves darl
purple ring around the neck. / did no
know this before People who die b,
opium also tie their hands together he
fore they die. This il one Of the eccen
trictics of opium poisoning that | hav'
never seen laid down in the books.
bcqueath it to medical science. When
ever / run up against new scientific
discovery ] just hand it right over t,
the public without cost.
Ever since the above incident | hav
been very apprehcnsivo about peopl
who seem to be likely to form the opium
habit II iS one of the most deadly q