The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1885-03-03

bangs over the door. By its aid we
make out four characters written on
red paper, pasted on the Intel: ''May
the five blessings descend to these por-
talsin After rap with my stick the
door is slightly opened. and a wasted,
bilious-looking face peeps at the open
inc. s.Who is it?" demand half doz-
en- voices. ''Only some foreign devils"
says the man at the door. After Q
short elaboration among the inmates
we are admitted, and the door closes
behind us with q creaking sound. |
Once inside. nose, eyes and ears tell
US we are in the presence of King
Opium, the dread tyrant that holds !
millions of men in slavery little short |
of q living death. A supplying smoke |
fills the den, through the gray fumes OF
which two or three little opium lamps
struggle hopelessly to penetrate. 1t is
sufficient to show us what is there. The
room is about twelve or fifteen feet
long and perhaps nine or ten feet
wide. The filthy walls and ceiling are
covered with black cobwebs; the floor
Is the bare earth. The walls, as in
most Chinese shops, bear one or two
strips of red papers, with s1ch inscrip-
tons as: 'May all who enter here get
peace and Joy" On all sides of the
room are wooden benches, spread with
mating, each bench being furnished
with lamp and pipe. Most OF these
are occupied by heavy-eyed, hstless
and. in some cases, haggard, wasted
figures, lying curled up on the mat,
some taking their first puffs, others in
different stages of prostration and stu
pefaction.
Everybody has heard how opium Is
smoked. The smoker lies curled up,
| with his head resting on q bamboo or
earthenware pillow about five inches
/ high. Near him stands an opium lamp,
the fame of which is protected by
glass shade low enough for the point OF
| the flame to project above the top OF
the shade. The smoker takes wire
and dips it into little box containing
prepared opium. A small quantity adj
heres to the point of the wire, which is
then held over the flame of the lamp
until the heat has swollen it to about
ten times its original size. This is rolled
over and over on the fiat side of the
clay bowl, the opium all the time adj
herring to the wire. When it has been
rolled to soft, solid mass it Is again
applied to the lamp, and this alternate
roasting and rolling is kept up for at
least ten minutes. by which time 1t Is
in the shape of pill and ready for use.
The aperature in the pipe is so small
that it can only receive the smallest
quantity, and the most careful manipu-
lation is needed to transfer the tiny ball
of opium from the end of the wire to
; the bowl of the pipe. The point of the
wire is inserted into the hole of the pipe
and worked round and round till the
soft opium forms into conical-shaped
D ring around the wire. By twlrling The
, wire the drug is gradually detached
J from it, leaving a hole through the
opium about as large as the hole OF the
: pipe bowl, with which it communicates
The pipe is now ready and the bowl /:
r held over the lamp so that the opium
. comes in contact with the fame. 4
spluttering noise ensues as the smoke
$ sucks at his pipe. After each success
= i've draw he elects from nose and moutl
: a volume of smoke, the very smell o
. which is enough to turn horse
stomach. By the end of the fourth. o
, fifth Whit the pipe is empty. Tn
> smoker SCOOPS out another dose o
opium, rolls it into a pill and repeat
a the operation with the same patience a
before and smokes away until the pip
falls Srom his hands and he is lost i
q dreamland One thing is very certain
= that ii tobacco smoking were on y ha
y the trouble tobacconists would 500
have to Saut 10 SHOP.
After little while we turned col
u ner and passed into back room. Her
J. were the same scenes, the same tlltf
y the same withered faces and the sam
- splutterino of opium pipes. Ines
seemed to be secret smokers who ha
y gone here to avoid detection, wheI
~ there seemed 10 be every facility
?, eyade the search of their friends. w
a are not surprised TO find in this rool
De- mere youth. who, Judging by the
n silken robes. must belong to wealth
in families and who were here beginnin
j. a career which must end in rum an
= disgrace. On entering the den "
10 were surrounded by half a doze
emaciated looking objects, who IN
as plored us to give them medicines
IS cure them. Every foreigner In CHR
rs, is believed to be god to kill and NAL
ne alive. He has great reputation as
to medicine man. We Were fortunate
er able to direct the poor fellows to Il
Missionary Hospital. where they won
ay get weaned from the drug. One m;
A. told us that he had smoked for thir
It's years; that his physical energies d
y clean gone and he was fast becoming
he wreck. He spent three-fourths OF
all family EARNINGS at the den ana
les craving was becoming 80 intense
feared that before long sill his mea
ire would 90 in opium. II is only We
er, common example where q vile of
as very Young family will toll early q
les late to support an opium-smokns h
tie hand and father. A beginner has q
pa, to pay two or three visits to the d
nd and the place has wonderful fascir
III ton for him. Three weeks smoking