The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1885-08-10
PoISONs OF INDIA.
A ALTlMORE PHYSICIANS CHAT ON
MYSTERIOUS HERBS.
DatOora Plant Causing IntOxicatIon, In
sanity and Death-Fata1 Needles
Dipped In Madar NTilk-A
K1sptomania Plant.
baltimore Herald.l

/ baltimore Herald
| A well-known physician lives In pleas
ant house on Park avenue, which is fash
Toned somewhat on the plan Of one of those
charming French chateaux that were the
| pride of the nobility in the days Of Louis
| Philippe. The doctor is a skeptical,
dreamy sort Of fellow, not old in years, but
| the suns Of topical countries have bronzed
his skin and put funny little wrinkles on his
face. His rent-roll is much larger than his
| practices; he has q wife whom he married
under the shadows of Spanish convent; a
| and slightly bald head filed with all sorts of
| curious It'd bids of knowledge. The other
evening he was sitting on the veFanda with
a friend, young man, and the two were
exchanging experiences of travel.
"T never realized until / sauntered into
| India, said the doctor, show little we Ameri-
cans know about the art Of poisoning. In that
country every herb that grows is sign of
life or death. Centuries of an existence of
semi-idlenesS have enabled the natives to
| study out the wonderful secrets of the plants
and stubs that there flourish in such
abundance. Compared with that knowledge,
our own materia medica seems strangely in
sufficient. Along the roads in India one
sees Misunderstanding plants in bloom,
the mere tasting of whose flowers would
cause profound intoxication, such as could
not be procured by drinking quart Of
Kentucky whisky" The younger man
whistled and looked incredulous.
81 had an experience with the datoora
plant once" continued the doctor musingly,
"that very much increased my respect for
the natives. The datoora plant grows wild
by the side Of bitches and cactus hedges.
1t has large white flowers and very dark
green leaves. From distance it might be
mistaken for our own hollyhock. The leaves
are sure cure for asthma. They are dried
and prepared like cigars or smoked In pipe.
The seeds of the flowers, which have a dusty
yellow color, are a subtle and potent poison,
and when taken in small quantities cause
temporary insanity, and, in large quanti-
ties, death or permanent idiocy. The won
derful properties Of the seed are we'll known,
and there are regular gangs Of pro-
fessional robbers who traverse the
country and despoii their victims, after hav-
ing first placed them under the influence Of
the poison, which they conceal in sweet
meats. One evening put up at a small
village, at an inn. On the veranda noticed
three fne-looking fellows dressed with more
than customary elegance. Surprising them
to be dlgnital1eS OF some sort, scraped up
an acquaintance through my guide, and
we chatted in their own language until mid
night. then retired, not deeming it neces-
sary to secure the latch of my door. l re.
member nothing after that until a week
after, when awoke from what seemed to
me to have been profound sleep, to learn
that I had been poisoned by datoora seeds
by the three fne-looking scamps in good
clothes. They had taken literally every.
thing Of value l possessed, and I had to |
cable to London for money. The guide told
me they found me in the morning speechless,
with my eyes wide open, in the most ridiculous
sort Of stare. could walk about when led,
but gave unintelligible answers to questions /
put to me. can remember positively moth. |
ing OF what occurred during that week. All /
was blank. ny only sensations were
those Of going to sleep and awaking. When
person dies Of datoora poisoning in that |
country they cover the body with a cloth |
and some leaves, and place it for three days
in the shade Of a sacrifcia1 banyan tree. |
until the datoora-devn comes forth, when /
the body is buried. The use Of this plant /
has to great extent superseded the use Of |
by thelThugs"
The doctor paused and drew from his coat
out what looked like penny cake Of COM
pressed yeast. "That," he said, passing it
over to his friend for inspection, ois the
dried milk Of the madar plant. brought
it back from India as a souvenir. The
plant grows in clumps by the paths
N the country, and bears a beautiful, largo,
white waxen flower with q pink center. |
The leaves, when bound on q wound or sore,
affect speedy and miraculous cure. The
milk exudes plentifully from the leaves and
Tries in hard cakes in the sun. The fellows
there have way Of pretending to apply it
10 sores in the nose, and then slyly nibbling
little crumbs and swallowing them. Some
times they cut a vein. and let the current of
blood absorb the milk. The effect is the
same in either case, and can tell you that
when it gets into mans anatomy it creates
he TOD - 4
pondency are followed by spa SIMS of jubi-
ant intoxication; groans and signs, give
way to leers, chuckleS and broad grins-~
ach spell lasting about fifteen minutes. The
influence Of the drug extends over fully
hRee hours, and in that time there occurs
Isually not less than dozen Of these kalei-
ioscopic changes of temperament. Unlike |
ur intoOcants, no reactions follow its use, 5
Tor is there any recollection of what has
The madar milk Is sometimes
mixed with powdered ruttee seed by as
assins, who prick the skin of their victims
nth a delicate skeweP soaked in the mix |
ure and leaves the fine point beneath the :
kin. Death slips along painlessly and alb q
Olutely imperceptibly, no trace Of the
ause being left on the skin, or in the blood 4
r stomach. All the doctors and coroners :
4 the country might examine the body in
ain. They wouldn't know any more when
hey stopped than they did when they be-
an. There Is plant called the wild ganja,
7hich, when dried and habitualIy smoked,
auses kleptomania, The smoking is at
ended by dreams and visions similar to
hose produced by the use Of opium It Is {
lso drank as a tea, and results frequently r
l imbecility. They make a paste Of to- 6
acco leaves and charcoal and smoke it.
nd eat the dried leaves seasoned with damp a
uick-lime They are extremely fond OF G
70 weed"
The doctor replaced the cake Of madar r
nix in the morocco case, and, pulling a
ledicine chest out Of another pocket, with
row small vial filed with q dark green
quid, thicker at the top than at the bot
I'M. ut is the juice Of the chutwan tree"
, said, holding the bottle between him and
le moon, sand it leaves nothing Of the
Iost violent toothache but the memory. 1t :,
oerates speedily, aud permanently robs p
le nerve of its sensitive power, also to an Z
Etent preserving the teeth from decay. fC
here is the chereita plant, which makes N
ght of the most obstinate case Of fever, :
1d a weed resembling the clover that. is =
1IIud tn tha foToF1o. md afR o11ro- y