The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-09-25
OPIUM AND YELLOW FLYER.

Cniname en- Claim That None of Their
Race Has Ever Caught the Disease.
NEW YORK, Sept. 22.-When the death,
BY yellow fever, of the eminent English
astronomer. Prof. r. A. Proctor, in this
CITY. brought home to the popular conscious
ness the alarming fact that the dreaded
sco,lrre of the south was actually among
ms. some anxious excitement might reason
,tblv have been expected. New Workers,
bowcyer do not scare easily, and though
certain newspapers have seemed deslr-
ous of culJivating a panic by their
sensational articles on the subject,
The public seem to view the stu
alton with gratifying GOODNESS and conf
deuce. Among one large element of our
population the feeling is p acid Indifference
Those exceptionally unconcerned ones are
the Chinese. No fear OF yellow fever agi-
tetes thel, nor would they be frightened
were that pestilence raging here with even
greater virulence than it has attained in
Jacksonville. 1t is not that they fancy that
there IS any race immunity for them, but
they have unbounded confidence in the
preventive and medical powers of
habit to which nearly all of them are,
more or less, addicted. That habit is
opium smoking. They aver that one
who habitually hits the pipe'-
whatever his race, color or previous con-
dition of ,servitude-is proof against yellow
fever germs And if, not being thus pro-
tected, one gets the disease, a prompt and
certain cure is afforded by resort to the
opium pipe. 1t is affirmed by them that
although there are a number of Cinnamon
in Jacksonville, not one of there has died
or has even been a sufferer from yellow
fever, and they affirm that the same fact
has been observable in each of the yellow
fever epidemics. that have in former
years ragged in other southern cities,
ever since Cinnamon have lived in
them. A rheumatism possesses infinitely
greater terrors for John than yellow fever
1t seems as if, in view of these facts, the
opium pipe is we'll worth trying as a REM
edial agent, where the disease prevails, by
others than Cinnamon. 1t is simple, easy
when one gets the knack OF it, and certainly
not likely to be hurtfulif not used to excess.
But some special instruction is necessary to
enable one to smoke opium, and it is rather
doubtful If one novice out of ten will be able,
from any mere description, to accomplish
it without ocular demonstrations by an ex-
pert The whole art of it is in the ''cook-
ing of the opium. The variety of the drug
that is used for smoking is very different
from that employed in pharmaceutical pre-
paration. 1t is soft, thick, glossy black, tarry
looking stuff, and costs four or five times as
much, at least, as the other kind does
Enough of it for dozen ''pipes" will cost
from 80 to 40 cents in any respectable
F'ioint" in New York, but then one, no
doubt, pays there certain percentage for
the use of the Layout" which consists of
pipe, needle, lamp and place to lie down
and enjoy the questionable dissipation.
The lamp is fed with some vegetable oil
probably that from peanuts-which gives
forth no unpleasant smell in burning. Its
flame, small and clear, is surrounded by a
little dome of glass; open at the top. The
expert "fiendn-as the habitual opium
smoker is caled--takes upon the point of
the long slender steel needle a small wad of
the opium from the ''shell" in which it is
served. This he holds over the flame of the
lamp, where it boils, bubbles, squirms like
q golden bronze worm and gradually
changes color to a shade of metallic gray.
All the while it is undergoing this
transformation, he twirls it deftly
and shapes it on the bowl Of the
pipe, which has broad, smooth
surface surrounding tiny CEN
trail aperture. First he makes it cylindri-
CAL Then he pokes the end of the needle
through the little hole in the pipe, COM
pressing the pasty pill into a little disk, in
which shape he finally leaves it sticking to
the bowl round the hole. By this time it is
quite hard, and seems cooked as well as
cooked. Now be holds it over the flame of
the lamp and, as 1t seethes, sucks in the
volume of family oderiferous smoke that it
gives forth Three or four long and deep
charlottesville smoke being taken away
down into the lungs-and the pill is con-
sumed. Then the cooking process is re-
commenced. Out of three hours of opium
smoking, two hours and half are con-
sumed in the preparatory cooking of the
drug.
Whether the practice is a very injurious
one or not; whether the incidental aSsocia-
tions of the 'jointn are sometimes very i'm
moral or not; are questions that need not
be discussed here. Some estimable Chinese
merchants in this city smoke twenty or
thirty pipes per diem, at least, and do not
seem to be harmed by it, physically, men
tally or morally. But all that has nothing
to do with the question-Will it prevent, or
cure yellow fever2 and that is one of such
Importance that it deserves speedy and eff
fectual determination.
II CONNrIJv