The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-09-05
The Syrian Arsenic Eatsra.
 lCAanAaxsa Tnarmall

It must not be supposed that any one takes to arsenic eating openly. On the o0ntraxy, 1t IS begun in secret sa the in- crease of the moon, and in some villages with superstitio0s ohseEvAnces A very small dose is at first taken once a week -hread and butter is the favoFite medium then twice q week, and 90 on. When the individual arrives at dose daily, the dose itself is increased, till as much be taken as in ordinary circumstances would kill two or three individuals. But even these people cannot consume the drug altogether with impunity. When they first begin with their very small doses, they are seized with nausea and burning paias in the mouth, throat and stomach, and are probably very much more un- comfortable than boy who has taken his 6Est cigar. Bat one peculiarly os arsenic eating is this: that when a man has once begun to indulge in is, he must continue to indulge; tor if he ceases the arsenic in his system poisons him-or, as 1t is popularly expressed, the last dose kills him. Indeed, the arsenic eater must not only continue his indulgence, he must also increase the quantity of the drug, so that it is extremely difficult to stop the habit; for, as sudden cessation causes death, the gradual cessation pro- duces such terrible heart gnawing that it may be said that no genuine arsenic eater ever ceased to eat arsenic while life lasted. It is curious that while the human organism is so remarkably sensitive to arsenic, man may indulge in these poisonous doses for years. This Is prob ably owing to the fact that arsenic acts on the skin, and thus is being constantly carried out of the system, and also be- cause it is readily eliminated by the kid ceT.- Ne=, .s:s prevents any accumu- lation going on in the tissues and thus what might seem almost mythical is at least brought within the range of possi- bility. It has been calculated that this process of elimination has to be carried on for fourteen days before a given dose is entirely removed. But yet the tact re- mains that these Austrian peasants can impunity unprecedented in the annals of texicology.
 For the solution of the problem we may offer the following considerations {: First of all, the human organism may be- come accustomed to most it not all poisons. if they are administered at first in exceedingly small doses. Secondly, though the human organism is extremely sensitive to arsenic, yet some constitu- tions may be less so than others; thus, for instance, the arsenic eaters of Styria are all of them robust mountaineers, whose forefathers have eaten arsenic from generation to generation, so that, as may be supposed, each generation has become more arsenic proof than the one before it. Thirdly, like most moun- taineers, the Ssyrians consume large quantities of milk and butter, as well as other food rich in fats, when the oily matters to a certain extent unite with the arsenic, forming an arsenical soap, which does not SO readily enter into the blood, so tn at the tetal amount of arsenic actually assimilated is proportionally small. 1T the Syrian partakes of an unusual amount of this deadly drug he is at the same time not only less susceptible to its influence by his hereditary descent and his habits, but his food supplies him with seme sort of an antidote.