The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-05-06

Not Those Who Stretch IL, but Those Who
Eat 1t and See Strange Visions

Not Those Who Stretch IL, but Those Who
Eat 1t and See Strange Visions
st. James Gazette.
Speaking from personal knowledge the writer
Of this paper can assert that the first experiences
of . hemp eater are far from agreeable. For
about an hour after taking q couple of spoonfuls
of the hemp no effects whatever are evident.
Then, feeling OF chilllness comes over one, in
creasing to sensation of severe cold. Then
the pulse rises; and. after taking Whit or two
at the narghile as il Is passed around. the full
toxic effects Of the powder are experienced.
The room seems 10 turn round; the people
near appear to rise TO the ceiling; the pulse beats
with extreme rapidity. and the throbbing of the
heart becomes audible. The viii remains
affected; but thinking becomes impossible,
for one cannot recollect anything-ths ideas
seem to slip away. In another ten minutes the
characteristics indications OF hemp eating appear.
Every object around attains a monstrous size.
Men and women seem Of Brobdingnagian pro-
portions, the cushions upon which one sits
seem fit for giants and any trifiing obstacle in
the way when you attempt to walk appears so
big that you fear to step over It The room 10
which vou may be sitting seems to stretch be-
yond the range Of sight, and one fancies the
street outside is recedinR before ones very
eye All sense of time is lost now. and when he
is spoken TO- the hempeat fancies there are
long and apparently senseless intervals between
the words His own attempts at speech are
similarly marked. the syllables come slowly. Ia
OBVIOUSLY, and minutes Seem 10 ciaPco ucb"cou
the beginning and end of word.
In this stage &c 10 usual to partake OF more
coffee which changes the nature OF the seusa-
tons Whit at the nsrghiie that always ac-
companies the beverage. and the body seems 10
rise into the ais and float about though, mex
plicably enough. the feet keep firmly pressed 20
the ground. Then ones legs and arms appear
to drop off, and life and sensation concentrate
themselves. to ones thinking In the back OF the
head, which feels full to bursting Gradually
L. -. H. ia, <~<,x-
the nerveIess fingers; will altogether fails and
the body seems to rise and float away In space.
heavy, dreamless sleep usually succeeds
such an indulgence in the drug, and, as . rule,
the novice awakes none the worse for the even
ings experiment A little lemon juice removes
any sensation of nausea or light headache that
may ensue.
Old and experienced ,hemp-eaters 60 very
methodicaIly to work They say that TO relish
hemp one must first abstain from all stimulat-
ing food and drink for brief period for only
after short fast can one taste to the full the
delights Of hashish ana render ones system
fully susceptible to its influence. So, for sew
eral days previous to the ''orgie.' the expert
eneed hemp-eater eats no meat. drinks neither
wine nor spirit lives mainly upon vegetable
food light pastry and ripe fruits, and smokes
little On the day OF the debauch he
rises very early and fasts till the afternoon,
when the friends who are to join him arrive.
They prepare for dinner by taking strongly
charged pipe and inhaling the thick, white
smoke. A light meal il then served, IN which
plenty Of sweet pastry figures and each OF the
company retires to his cushion prepared for the
evenings indulgence. Musicians are stationed
at the end of the apartment, dancing girls are
introduced. or If the host is q very wealthy man
he orders his own slaves in. Hemp boluses are
passed around and the pipes well charged with
the drug For this purpose tobacco 10 first laid
IN the bowl, upon this small charge OF pure
hashish extract is placed, and the whole is fired
by means of a glowing ember of charcoal and
saltpetre which has been mingled with honey
and dried. Strong and wel-sweetened coffee is
handed round, and while the dancing and music
60 on the smoker begirs
Lounging back they suck the smoke into the
lungs and air passages, sending it forth again
through the widely distended nostrils and, gag
ing upon the forms and faces posturing and re-
volving before them. the hastashin swims of in
q sea of blissful content that verges upon &C.
stacy. AS soon as the pipe 10 exhausted strong
coffee without sugar 10 taken. and this rouses
the drsamers from their vision Of delight But
q bolus of hemp cake and another pipe well
charged stimulates afresh the excited magma
tion, and sends them of again into their dream.
lands. The singers chant their love songs. and
the almehs sway in their passionate dances.
This goes for hours. fresh pipes and coffee be-
ing passed round at intervals. the smokers wax
ing from one dream only to 60 of into another.
Such an orge. indeed, 10 sometimes protracted
for two or three days. Then lassitude and ex-
haustion ensue, and the hashashin experiences
a sort of revulsion against the drug. which lasts
for some weeks, when the longing for it returns
In many parts-amonR the Baktaches, for ex-
smoking. just as the Nsairic Of Syria meet on
certain days. to drink hemp tea. The poor find
opportunity for induleing in the drug in the So
called meshash or hemp-houses. These are for
hidden in most Moslem countries. But. though
the law may prohibit. it cannot suppress these