Eureka weekly sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1887-1902, 1888-05-12
4 YOUNG LIFE WRECKED.
Sv Frank weIIner was Dragged
pown 60 thc Depths OF Misery by
Opium.

Down Go thc Depths OF Misery by
Opium.
Two young men were walking down
the Bowery in New York one day.
h One Of them was scarcely more than a
4 bOy. The other was older in years
and experience. They passed Chi
nese laundry and the young man re-
marked:
"That's an opium joint, isn't it?"
"Yes," his companion replied.
"Haye you ever hit the pipe ?" NO"
"Then you have missed something.
Come down stairs and try it,"
The boy had heard good many
weird stories about opium pipe fiends
and there was something of the
sensational about the proposed adj
venture. lie stepped down and tried
one OF the long bamboo reeds through
which the drug is smoked. He slept
heavily; he dreamt delicious dreams
he dreamt he was in paradise and
awoke headachy and penitent.
He was penitent all the next day,
but along towards night he began TO
think of his sensations, his leap into
the atmosphere OF soft lights and
hazy figures with more pleasure and
even the thought of his waking
dullness was less painful than il
had been that morning. The
boy suddenly reflected: "It's getting
the better Of me already. mustn't go
there tonight, " and he didn't go-not
that night.
But lac went later on and again and
again, and slowly the dreams began to
fade away and gradually the fumes
OF cooking opium affected him less
and less. lie tried whisky and found
it did him little good. Then he went
TO laudanum, still drinking liquor in
greater and greater quantities. The
laudanum gave him relief, but its
course las like the opium-it satisfied
him, but eventually only made his
appetite worse, and the more he took
lf il the more he wanted. Then he
ldopted the last resort OF fiends."
Finding the drug smoked or eaten was
,low and unsatisfactory in its results,
ne took to the hypodermic syringe.
And the other day the result came
when, wild-eyed and disfraught in
mind, he sought refuge in Justice ker-
stems court from imaginary conspira-
tors whom, he thought in his unde-
brain, were banded together
10 take his life. His mother stood be-
side him and soothed him when he
raved madly at the plan to assassin
ate him. Twenty-three years old and
an opium victim
This was the story of young f. l..
Wellncr, who sat behind the grated
window in the county Jail devoted TO
the insane yesterday and restlessly
shifted about to rest his wretehed
body. lie is an opium madman, his
body is covered with sores from the
incisions made by the syringe, and he
has the delirium tremens. And these
are not his only misfortunes. lie has
been three times married!
Twenty-three years old and an opium
victim
Twenty-three years old and three
times married
lie was married the first time when
he was IL years old--a year before he
took TO frequenting the dens in New
York. His wife divorced from him.
He married again, and divorced a sec
ond time. Then he turned around
and remarked his first wife, who now
lives in New York with her child.
Ills mother is the wife of Harry
Thomas, the well-known singer. Well
ner was telegraph operator and stem
ographer, and a good one. lie earned
$500 month and spent $3.50 OF it for
whisky. The rest went for the neces-
sites OF life-morphine and laudanum,
and for few luxuries like food and
clothes. When he was arrested he
was taking five doses OF five grains
each day.-Chicago Times.