St. Paul daily globe., 1888-05-13
EFFECTS OF HAsHEEsH.
The Horrible Experience of Young
Drug Clerk.
AN INTERESTING STORY TOLD
He Swallows by Mistake a Large Dose
of the Terrible Indian Drug, and
% Describes His Sensations.

6ssEs=Exr UT few miles from the city
x, # of Manchester lives man
III who was once as fine drug
~ clerk as there was in Boston.
ESus But that was some time ago,
and no doubt he is forgotten
blythe fraternity in that city. His name
is ROlDhie X. Sanford, and he is at pres
ent residing with his widowed mother,
who owns a fine residence not far from
Manchester. His experience with
hasheesIi is worth reproducing. A rep
sentative of the Manchester Union saw
Sanford some time ago. and as it was
just after dinner and he had partaken
of his meal with unusual relish,
he>was in the mood for talking. why,
my boy, SAID he, drug clerks of course
have secrets. You want me to tell you
a little story, eh? If / should tell you
some of the secrets of course they would
be secrets no longer, but I'll give you a
little of my experience with hasheeSh.
It's stuff that no one wants to meddle
with with impunity. allow me to inform
you. If l had not been careless | would
not be able to tell you my eX-
perience with hasheesh. 1t was some
eight OF ten years ago, when | was at
work for prominent druggist in BOs-
ton. For some little time | had been
suffering from dyspepsia, and the all
ment bothered me so that life became
unbearable. | at last mixed up a
decOction that gave me great relief.
was to take it before meals, and placed
the bottle on shelf behind the preScrip-
ton counter among other bottles which
are usually found in that place: One
noon | went to take my medicine.
took down what ! thought to be the
right bottle, and, diScarding the use of
spoon, placed the oriice to my mouth
and took a large swallow. Horrors. The
taste told me that | had made
a mistake. / looked at the bot
tie and-well, my friend, | had
taken a large dose of Indian cannabis,
or otherwise. hasheesh. l staggered
back to the rear part OF the store. How
queer felt. How light was growing.
Up, up, up l went until my head bobbed
against the ceiling. | was like cork
floating on disturbed water. | glided
along, and could look down and see the
huge bottles, each one with hideouS
face laughing at me. The stools on the
| marble floor seemed to want to keep me
company, and their click. click on the
floor sounded like thunder in my ears.
| Suddenly was plunged into inky black
| ness. From the black nOthingneSS
| flashed out bright balls of light.
! reached the sofa and sank down upon
| it. My tongue seemed to swell, and
| tried i'll vain to scream, but no sound
| issued. | seemed to know that there
was long, long hour before my fellow
clerk would be back from his dinner,
and then he might not come into the
rear room and discover my condition.
! The events of the days and weeks came
) before my mind in all the details. and
! saw faces-beautifu faces-angelic in
| their divinity which seemed fO heck
! to me and then vanish with a hideouS
laugh. All normal conditions and rea-
OnS seemed to be reversed. Again |
was tossed to the ceiling and then
thrown by some invisible force from
one side of the room to the other. | felt
no concussion. Then fell back into
dreamy contemplation, and years
| seemed to pass by. Fantastic pictures
were worked, my limbs seemed
; weighted with lead, just the opposite to
my experience of what seemed
[ to me years ago. l heard some
body say, why, Rolphie, old
fellow, what's the matter? Rolphie,
Rolphien The word reverberated like
| thunder. Ny shopmate had returned.
| Again he tried to shake me to myself,
and never hated a man so cordially as
| | hated him at that moment. He got a
doctor, and [ tell you, my friends, they
| had no easy time to bring me to myself.
Every word they uttered surged into
my brain and seemed to jar me to
pieces. That was popularity of the
stuff. | suffered from that experience
! long afterward, and it appears even at
| this day, when | think it over, that /
| have that feeling coming on, so power
full was the impression made on me that
tIme."