Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1884-12-18
THE JUICE or THE GAGus.


A More Deadly Lethal Drink rhan Any
Known to Civilixssfon.
s.Do you know what that isP' sid
the Captain of bark lately returned
from q cruise in the Southern seas.
He held in his hand what appeared to
be gaudily-painted BARRIERS pole
shrunken to she size OF a policeman
club.
1T came from GauptiI Island, near
the Molucca group. / have nayigated
the South Seas for many years. and I
never saw it growing upon any other
island, and 1 don't think you will find
any sea-faring man who halls from
those waters but will bear out what
say. Gagus stalk is as near as we
sailors can get to- what the natives
there call it. I've heard these four
eyed scientific lubbers call it by q
name a yard long, but / might as
well have tried to reef mainsail
alone as to reel it around my mental
windlass. Gagus is good enough for
me-"
..Who painted it?''
s.Why, jigger me. that's the way it
grew" cried the skipper, with a laugh.
1t is species of cactus, and grows only
to my knowledge on Gauptil Island.
The island is small one, but is well
populated by natives of the Malay race.
In the interior this plant grows wild,
f1ourishing especially in the rocky soil
It looks beautiful when growing, as
you may judge by the bright hues with
which this is spotted. The main stalk
is covered with sharp, nettle-like pro-
tuberances, and a prick from one of
them will cause more pain than hand
full of red-pepper thrown in your eyes.
When young the plant consists OF but
one stalk, which shoots up straight to
a height of four or five feet. It is a
brilliant scarlet in hue. Toward win
ter number of offshoots spring out
until the thing looks like broom
stood upright Green and purple
specks then appear all over it. A grove
of gagus shrubs is very pretty sight
But it is the properties of the plant
which distinguish it. Opium is po-
tent drug, but will back the extract
from the gagus stalk to effect more
damage on the human system than all
the opium in the world. The natives
cut the plant in the early spring. After
they have gathered sufficient quantity
they put it in large bowls and crush it
with huge stones A grayish sap runs
out freely, and this they collect
and drink after letting it ferment,
which it does easily. One drink OF a
pint is enough for an ordinary man,
but 1 have seen natives drink more
Within half an hour after imbibing it
the drinker becomes perfectly stupid
and lies around like log. The spell
lasts day or more, during which time
the natives say they live in paradise.
/ have known sailors to try it, but they
never tackled it twice. Three years agoI
had man in my crew who was driven
crazy by one drink. If you could see
some of the terrible examples of gagus
drinking in Gauptil you would be hor-
rified. The first effect of the liquor is
to soften the bones, and gradually eat
them away. There are natives there,
the victims of gagus, who are indeed
homeless and unable to walk or use
their limbs. They then begin to wither
away like this stalk until they die in
misery and commissions. Immediately
after death, the head of the corpse be-
comes soft as pulp, no bones can be
felt, the skull is completely eaten away.
The body then begins to swell as though
it were inflated with gas and immediate
burial is necessary"
How long does it take to thus de-
vastate human being?"
Usually two years will finish the
hardest man. Oh, the suffering of the
slaves to the drink are terrible. San
Francisco Call.