Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-11-05
d MORPHINE VICTIM.

q MORPHINE VICTIM.
Story 81 How Il, Ne. Ruined and Tlsn SAVED "A
second % Qsiaeey.
II. Ramsdell, . veteran CORE.
spondent writes IS follows TO the Phil
adelphia Press:
+ During my travels this Summer, no
matter where, I met gentleman,
never mind his name, who was for
years addicted to the opium habit
probably the most serious Of all in
the catalogue Of bad habits-and he
told me all about it. had known
him in youth, but had not seen him
for twenty years or more. I had
heard, however, that his life was vast
ed by the use Of morphine. He is a
handsome man Of about 40 years Of
age, tall and shapely, though rather
spare, a thin, pale, eager face, q grace
tul dark moustache and a flashing,
nervous eye. He was well educated, a
man of strong common sense and
Judgment and stood we'll in his COM
munity. Before opium began to fight
him he had as few bad habits as any
OF us. He smoked q cigar now and
then and would sometimes, rarely,
take drink. Seven or eight years
ago he was taken with q stomach
/ trouble. He vomited good
deal and frequently. Finally he
yonited blood and became weak and
! troubled. He tried rything to stop
it. His physician gave in vain all the
usual remedies. The case was getting
desperate. His. doctor, with whom l
had talked, finally decided to give the
! patient ahypodern,ic injection OF NOR
phine. He began with an eighth or a
sixth of a grain. 1t worked like a
tabled charm. The vomiting was dis
PEELED, the patient for time got back
his strength-but only for a time.
His disease returned and morphine
was again resorted to, with the same
effect. At first one or two or three
treatments wouldbe sufficient and the
gentleman would 60 for weeks-at one
time he went three months without
! return Of his complaint. Then the
intervals became shorter and thence
the necessity for more morphine.
| Finally, woful day! the patient bought
a little syringe and bottle of NOR
phine for himself. He had acquired
the habit! The terrible drug relieved
his pain and bore him, with gentle
| hands and perfumed breath, through
the fiowery paths of Palestine to
realms OF supremest bliss. He
was warned by his skillful and
faithful doctor, and he himself
knew what the dreadful result would
| be. He began temporarily enough.
He was able to attend to his business
affairs, and felt in good health. First
once a day, then twice and thrice. A
little dose at frst-how easy it is to
begin! It is easy, too. to imagine the
progress Of this terrible vice. What
perfect happiness it produced, what
perfect repose, what self-contidence it
gave, what molehills it made of mount
aims of trouble, what courage to the
shrinking heart, what world. of love
for the human kind it inspired! And
as the effect went off what depression
came! What misery, what hopeless
ness, what dependency took the
place ofsunshine. How black were the
present and the future, how faith
less were your friends, how sus-
plcious of the world, how your lit
tie molehills of trouble became i'm
! passable mountains. Nervous beyond
belief, starting at every shadow,
fearful of every noise, scared almost
to death at your own misery. Thus
the gentleman told me how he suffer
ed. II have" he said, "prayed for
death thousand times-the fervent
prayer that came from a frightened
heart and helpless imagination.
longed for death. and many times
made up my mind that I would end
my sufferings with self-destruction.
thought of the pistol and gun; I
thought of the knife and razor;
thought Of gas suffocation; I though
OF drowning; l thought of charcoal; l
| L
thought OF poison; Thought of my
own morphine; thought Of every
thing Many times l tried to put
my determination into execution, but
some way the same power that gave
me the disposition to commit suicide
took away the courage to do it.
"Ah, he continued, ''you ask me
what followed. DO you not know?
OF course you do. Every time it was
the same. went for the little toy syr-
inge and morphine! Ten minutes and
! was happy. l had lost my pain, my
strength returned, my lassitude was
gone, my heart came back, my friends
returned, the sun came out Of the
darkness, the world was bright again.
! Every man I met was a nobleman,
every woman a beautiful princess.
When the effect wore of, why, another
dose, that's all! Don't get so miser-
able as you were, when the puncture
OF a needle in the skin of your arm
will make you happy. That is the
way Ireasoned. T.
How long" asked, "did this go
on?' r 7, r.. .ztr.
80, for two or three years did not
experience much trouble, though I
could see that the thing was having it's
effect. confined the use of the drug
to once or twice a day for the first
year, but You know how such a habit
grows. / became very weak, and I
think my mind was affected. lbecame
indifer emit to every thing. After "a
while could not sleep. Punch! was
/ afraid of the outside world. Punch!
wanted to be alone. Punch! Then
my appetite gave way. Icould not
eat; was never hungry. Punch! be-
gan to- grow very chin; my memory
began to fail. But continued to