Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1886-03-27
JIM JAMS,
A Picture by Que who Has Had Snakes
in His Boots.

Yes, I've had them. You can't
have but one attack of smallpox or
death. Smallpox or death is soon
over with, but being dead is more lin
gering. You can have more than one
attack of the Jim jams, though. You
can have as many as your miserable
body will stand. do not like to re
cord my experiences of them. 1t
makes me shudder; causes my heart
to sink; | can feel it sliding down to
the bottom of my bosom. But if my
experiences shall be of benefit to hu-
mainly, shall be rewarded for max
ing this confession.
1t takes a week or more of steady.
industrious drinking to bring on the
jim jams. But you feel repaid for
your trouble when they come; the
crop is very abundant. You find,
first, that the outraged nerves cease
to be excited or soothed by liquor. A
half-pint of brandy has no more effect
on you than if you had eaten rotten
apple, or even two rotten apples.
Food won't help you. Your stomach
scornfully declines its assistance.
Now, you can't sleep, though never so
weary. You feel oppressed by great
mountain of WEAKNESS. You are
soaking and dripping with it, and it
squashes in your boots, but you can
no more sleep than you could if some
one were throwing sand IN your eyes,
or telling you that you were getting
bald. The tired brain keeps thinking,
thinking; though you, individually,
and separate and apart from your
brain, may think you have thought an
ample sufficlency Of thought. A man
with the jim jams should be consid-
cred separate and apart from braiu,
for he hasn't got any-never did have
any. You walk and walk; walk in
your room, on the street, and seem
to walk on your head, and off on your
ear, until the worn, dry, burning mus
cles can endure no more. This is an
moving.
Then you lie down, but only for a
moment. The demon commands you
to move on and be spry, and make
yourself useful. This may 60 OH for
day or two; and, at the same time
there arc people around and about
you who haven't got the jim jams
There's the rub, Nobody helping
you to have them. Your hands fee
like they were enormously large, SC
much so that they would have to &C
gloveless for ever. our head, like
wise, feels aggressively bulky, Seem,
that head has been put on you, anc
an immense amount of material useC
in the superstructure. The BLOOD
rushes to the heart all together; you
gasp and fight for life. his is un
pleasant.
Now comes the snakes. They nev
er come alone. All kinds of vermil
and hideous things you have seen
and horrible things you have never
seen before, come with the snakes
The snakes will sometimes lie perpen
dicular upon the wall, then get in
horizontal position, next will lie boil
WAYS, across each other, and gridiror
the wall. Then, in concert, they rat
tie their scaly bodies against the wall
This is disagreeable.
You begin to look steadily at on
snake; you don't know why, you can
help it. This excites his attention
his eyes glitter and his forked tongu
shoots out; he gets mad. He leave
the wall, comes slowly and threaten
ingly toward you; and, if you are ly
ing down, he coils on your breas
reaches out his hand and Kisses frs
in one of your ears, then in the Other
You can't fight him off; if you coulc
you probably would.
A grasshopper, ordinarily, is
, small, harmless looking thing, but tn
crop of grasshoppers that is on han
during the delirium tremens is of
r large breed. A grasshopper that
four feet high and seven feet lon
looks more dangerous than grizzl
bear, particularly if he is mad. Sac
a horrid hopper, and mad, too, Wi
. approach you, and you do not NOV
for he seems to be threatening to XII
t you if you do. He stretches out hi