Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-12-05
THE CHA Y,EATERso

An Explanation or a,Pecpliar EA
of the North Carolina 1osnL4
eer.
1t has been a matter Of spmulath =
years as to why the ''poor VIII traNssf
Central North Carolina ate 81 clay In
found in that rpart OF the eon5Ey, I'd the
Philadelphia Times. IL rem&ed for nl-
adslphia physician to solve ttmysteA A.
short tims age DR.. Frankly GetchR. OK
l, 432 Spruce street. went a. CUNNING ex~
petition to North Carolina. His quest fos
game led hin into the wild untry paee o.
Salisbury, which is inhaId for Sne SOL SOL
part by miserable race ofeings WIN only
just enough energy to exc q wfesenSa -
istence. These creatures nearly az VeL'
liable living skeletons, oil, with Few "a
ceptiens. arc addicted to 20 habit % 0AAS
eating.
While shooting wild turky and other gan =.
in This wild rAaion. DR.. Gtcheli made an IN
cidental sttds II this peg liar haDt u 'IS
among the Inhabitants. 1 is q mountalnou
country, and in tho spring little Flsu' ~
start out FROM she caps of snow on -
mountains, and .sse the days grow war l.,s'
the little rivulets bsspme torrents' ana 81.
washouus are nnadeslong the mountain siS'
The soil is OF e heavy, clayeJ natuIea u u
there are strata of clay saA6 nea ss.
than the rest. and when th@-~~asH A4sasNBs~
down this clay is termed into b pellets
and rolls and accumulatss in Id in the
valley. These little pellets e4rolls are
what the clay-eaters devour @as much
avidity as a roper swallows gla4 whisky.
"AmoRg the poor people Of thection,"
said DIR. Getcheu yesterday, ''thhabit Of
eating clay is almost universal. en- little
toddlers are confirmed in the hahand tbs
appetite seems to increase with IA While
investigating the matter l enta q cabin
occupied by enc of these poor n les and
saw little chap tied by the ankib tke leg
of q table, ON which was placedNbig dish
of bread and meat and potatoes pain easy
reach. The child was kicking An crying.
and asked his mother why shsaad tied
MIN up. She replied that she wked him
to eat some food before he MT GUS
to tine clay and he refused to do
SO. The woman confessed bat she
ate tie clay himself, but explained lAt the
child's health demanded that IL esfIme sub
stantial food bsfors eating a earth.
Almost every one met in this vion was
addicted to this habit. They ws1hll very
tnia, but their flesh seemed TO be fed out.
This was particularly noticeable bout she
eyes, which mad a sort Of reddish 10.
Gan of the clay eaters were hcessivsly
lazy and indolent, and all these conditions
combined led me to the conclusion nat there
must be some sedatfve or stimulating quail
ties, or both, in the clay, and / dGermIne cd
to find OUT whether there was or nA. con-
geQuGntIY brought q lot of tins CtnJ nom
with me, and Prof. Herman and my
self made an analysis of the stuf
and dis oversd that, instead of clay-satsrs
the lima bitants of Central North Caroline
should more properly he called arsenic-eat
ers. Ali of this clay contains arsenic, bu
exactly in what proportion We have not ye
discovered Arsenic-eatiHg is common IL
many parts of the world, and is practiced tS
a greater or less extent throughout tn
world. 1t acts as a sedative and also a.
a stlmulant. The nIountaineers OF SSyria
Austria, are habitual aFssnic-eaters. ThsJ
give as their reason for eating 1t that thsJ
are better able to climb the mountains ate
eating the poison, aud their explain alton is |
perfectly reasonable one, as arsenle act
as a sedative to the hearts action. TIT
habit Is also prevalent in the Tyrol snd Ia
the Alps.
lit is also said that the peasant girls O
Switzerland and parts of Germany and III
Scandinavia eat arsenic TO give luster u
their eyes and color to the cheeks, but this Il
9 matter / have not investigated. IL hal
been shown tbat arsenic or arsenlcai tufne'
are a sure cure for intermittent fever. Thu
inhabitants of secEion of Cornwall, Eng
land. at one time all suffered with this typ'
of fever, but when tne coppervwoThs wer'
established there the fever disappeared
This was accounted for by the arsenica
fumes created in the treatment OF copper
As to whether arssnic-esting shortsns life,
ana not yet prepared to say, but intend In
vsstigating the MASTER thoroughly"