The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-02-21
ON AN ETHER SPREE.
A Strange Vice Among WOm'

A Strange Vice Among Women.
"l've seen that paragraph" said a
West Side druggist to a Newly orrik
Sun mar, glancing at a newspaper
scrap That told an alarming story of a
prev dlent vice among New I ork
women, "and know just what it is
worth. In the inscrutable wisdom of
an all-wise Providence, all the legiti-
mate descendants of Ananias and
Sapphire have become New York
correspondents for country papers,
and oh, how they lie! Four or five,
yes, half dozen years ago, there was
some basis of truth for that story, for
then great many women did use
chloroform as an intoXicant, but of
late years that taste has become COM
paratively rare. Even when that vice
was most prevalent, where one woman
used chloroform, three took choral
and five were addicted to hypodermic
injections, or tie internal use OF NOR
phia, and the one habit that has
spread most and has the greatest num-
Der of victims now, by far, is the sub
cutaueous injection OF morphine.
Such, at least, has been the re-
suit of my observation, and l think
L know the business.
An east side druggist said " The
writer of that paragraph, l see, set
ties upon the women of the east side
as those most addicted to the use OF
chloroform. He is wrong. Formerly
several years ago. suppose they
took their share of it, as good many
women then did, but it has gone out
of fashion, and a much less hurtful
and more social fluid refreshment,
known as beer, has supplahted it. A
few here and there have become
slaves of the vice, and cannot leave
| it off, but their number is not worth
talking about. 1 know Of two SUCH
but neither is among my customers,
! [ would not sell chloroform, know
| ingly, to be used in that way. You
had better ask some reliable physician
| if you want solid facts about the
| matter"
DIR. Stephen W. Root said: Unques-
tionably the use of chloroform as a
stimulant has declined OF late years
but there is still a great deal of the
drug consumed in that way. 1t is by
no means easy to determine who are
! the chlorofoTm drunkardS, for they
are almost all women, and women are
very secretive and cunning when il
comes to doing what they know i:
wrong. They will buy small quanti
| ties of the fluid from different drug
stores, where they are not known an(
under various preteXts. Often they
will get it in the form of very strong
chloroform IMMINENT, when they sim
ply purpose inhaling it, but wish tt
conceal the fact. There are almost a.
many women who use sulphuric ethe
in this way as there are who take chic
reform, but the latter is most likely tt
be preferred, as it is sweeter and pleas
anter. When the evil effects of by
drate of choral were exposed
few years ago, at time whel
it was a popular drug TO
those who sought intoXication oJhe
were badly scared, but, unable to dro]
everything of the sort, turned from
to chloroform and ether. The habi
of getting drunk on such things be
comes fixed, just as the habit of liquo
drinking does, but it is less likely t
spread and make new permanent vic
Tins, because there is no sociabilit
about these drug drinks. People VIII
1
solely for the sensual and selfish graf
fication of inebriation, and they do nc
afford the satisfaction that drinkin
men find and want in liquor. If 20
, saturate cloth in chloroform or ethe
throw it over your face and breath
the fumes, you will have very brit
exhilaration, say for minute or tw,
, and then all will be gone, except, pc
haps, little feeling of nausea. I
, get drunk as a drinking man can wit
liquor it is necessary to keep on Satl
J rating the cloth at short intervals.
7 "Women who have tendency to by
) terra are those most likely to resort
f the use of chloroform and ether. {
course, temporary relief is obtaine
but the ultimate consequence is an a
: gravation of the complaint, and tho
: drugs will induce mental and phi
e steal condition like mania potu ju
= as certain as liquor will. knew of
]. woman few years ago, the wife
q an excellent gentleman, down-toN
C merchant, who was slave to ethe
Il She was one of a family of six ch
|. dren, who all had an inherited predi
3. position to drunkenness. Every lit
= while the craving would come upC
n her for an ether spree. She Won
IS have violent fit of hysteria, and
q qaiet her the husband was obliged
d supply her with ether. He used
buy if in quantities from a Wholess