Wichita eagle., 1888-08-01
HORRORS OF HASHISH.
A REPORTER EXPERIMENTS ON HIM
SELF WITH THE DRUG.

A REPORTER EXPERIMENTS ON HIM
SELF WITH THE DRUG.
Chapters from the Dreamer's Narrative.
Strange Condition Into Which the Drug
Throws Its victim-Awkward Feeling
of DuaIity-The Waking.
An hour had passed. when of sudden
there shot through every pulse thrill IN
Bpeakable choking like that Of first love.
| knew at last the wizards wonder working
hand was upon me Every nerve was
Jingle, and the only relief was to tighten
every muscle and sinew to tension that
seemed like to wreck me- The blood rushed
in vast and ever growing volume to my brain
and the room was whirling hike flywheeL
At my throat and heart was that strangllng
clutch There was taste on my tongue as
If | had drank from Leyden jar, and a con-
mming thirst was upon me. | wondered
what penalty must be paid for thus trying
10 steal over the back fence into paradise.
The dear bread and butter commonplace
seemed the one thing admirable, Fear grew
with the minutes The sense of isolation was
awful No one was in the same world with
ma i must enter upon the abyss alone
friend came in at the door and | could
have screamed for JOY | wanted to fall upon
his neck Again, ike cold chill, came the
knowledge he can do nothing. In voice
which sounded strange and louder than COM
mon gave him greeting, then fell back into
the chair and went on, holding the book be-
fore me. Is seemed as though should fly in
atoms, yet, with mighty effort, 1 made
pretense of talking to him about the weather.
Feet and hands were growing numb, The
first sensation of heat had departed Now
the marrow was all gone from my bones, and
through the osseous chambers cold wind
crept The clutching at my heart was as
hideous as death / felt the center of life
within me freezing up a great weight held
me- To speak was to utter a few ponderous
and Arctic syllables. and the st lips took
an age to form them The moven mt of an
arm was like the motion of vast machine
/ was freezing Yet all the time with
mighty rhythm, the blood kept beating to my
brain. Drowsiness came on, and yet closed
eyes would bring no sign of sleep.
VISIONS OF ANOTHER SELF
Here, with the fading eye Of reason, l
could trace the first sense of that duality
which hashish gives. The self material and
the self spiritual seemed sundered and NOV
ing In different worlds The more violent
the dose the more completely is the outer
nature subdued, until familiar surroundings
are swallowed in the vision IL is an incred-
ible characteristic of hashish intoxication or
delirium that whatever visions you see you
never seem to see them, but, as 1t were to see
yourself seeing them In all your wander
ings you cannot be aiona There Is sense of
companlonship-of an attendant familiar,
vet strange In an instant there is flashed
upon you the knowledge of that duality, that
companion is your other self.
The sense of duality is doubly apparent in
the talk and action of one under the spell Of
hashish His ordinary CONSCIOUSNESS of per-
sons and things about him is little impaired
Though be lies as in a stupor, and exclalms
drowsly at the visions before him the
slightest question will receive ready an
swer but in q vexsd tone, to say: Go
away and Vet me alone" The hearing s
marveiously fine 1t seems as If all the out
ward senses were alert and even had ra-
tionality working behind them, while from
the disjected utterances of the sleeper you
may know that behind closed lids be moves
in a land of wonders manifold
When trying to talk sense he knows his
speeches are broken and wandering 1t is q
common expression OF the hashish eater,
waking or sleeping: Il know | am making q
fool Of myself but | can't help it." The
thought is for an instant clear Gnd acute
upon any subject suggested, bat then the
ideas flee from utter.nce, and IN Their pur-
suit the victim gets tired and tangis and in
a moment cannot tell what the subject was.
Out at the far confines Of space there was
q greet flaming sickle OF gold aud OF infinite
circumference IL grew smaller and smaller
Its point curled ever inward The glitter
ing. wavy edge seemed to smile while to
slow music 1t gIt ne closer and panlessly,
softly as though | were of air | felt myself
biserted at the EQUATOR The two whirling
hemispheres passed away in opposite direc-
tons into space Looking back upon this
and other things | marvel how they could
have been so real To sense 1t seems absurd.
Yet the further | pass from that strange ex-
perience the more distinct. more vivid, moro
glorious grows its memory, the more its in
cipient horrors grow small in estimate and
are crowded out of remembrance
THE SCENE GROWS soMBER
Twas drifting downward, heavy with the
mist that came from the echoing caverns be-
neath, and the blue shadow o. the calling
spirit seemed ever to be deuser. ever TO clasp
the closer to it The darkness bad its genii,
damp and slumberous creatures. looking from
eyes heavy with lethargy Here and there a
Diamond, huge the MOON CLEANED with
malignant light from It's black. dripping SET
ting in the hideous and world ribbing rocks
Through the blackness of that place | sank
till was OF O weight with the mountains
and seemed part Of them The blue water
sprite had gone in pursuit Of ives not with
me. and looking upward | saw her, smiling
down. her sad, cold face only a shadow be-
tween me and the far glistenias day Turn
ing nv eyes, pressed into the darkness and
shrank from all about me- The deulzeus of
the place made no sound but black spittle
oozed over black teeth and drlpped from
their rfngy lips
Again the scene changed The clear. blue
sky Of night was all about ma Slunberiuc
cities were mere specks beneath US From
lnfinsty hand Of light was thrust, at nv
very side, and hurled into the heavens q
handful of shining stars 1t was when a
sower casts seed They leaped away broad
cast, left lines Of trailing brightness across
the vault In their wake, and took up their
stations, like sentiaels Of the night, about
the blue serene What glories passed, what
raptures drank, among what strange people
did novel l could hear tkeir cries, yet al
attuned TO softest harmony. All was radi-.
ance There was no human sorrow, no earthly
suffering