News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-03-07
SLAVES OF MORPHINE.
THE TERRIBLE EFFECTS OF A
DEADLY DRUG.
Incidents that Illustrate the Stupid
Victims Complete Slbjection to
this Habit.

In collecting information III regard 10
the use of the drug number OF remark
able instances of its abuse was run
across. One of its most degrading Ell
fects is the complete obliteratlon OF all
moral responsibility. DR.. james q.
Wilson relates an incident OF patient
under His care. woman devout and re-
in ID and in all other matters save the
one subject of morphine eminently
Trustworthy. When about to undergo
treatment she denied having taken or
then having in her possession any OF the
drug. 81 call upon God to witness,
she cried, ''that neither now have nor
have had since L began to be treated
any preparation of morphine whatever
Within ten minutes sixty quarter-Sraln
morphine pills were found concealed
urdsr her pillow.
It was not long since that man vol
unfairly went to Kirkbride's to be treat
ed for the habit, and concealed in
the sleeve of His coat Il few days after
wards were found sixty grains OF the
drug that he had struggled into the In
stitution.
Surveyor of the Port Campbell tells of
q well-known politician of his ward who
died some time ago from the effects of
liquor and opium, whose body, when he
was examined after death, did not con-
tain an inch square that was not filled
with the needle punctures of the hypo
dermic syringe. There is one man at
Kirkbride's now who is accustomed to
iab the needle straight down into his
leg at the risk of striking vein, artery
or nerve.
A pale, nervous young man walked
into an Eighth street barber shop not
long ago and sat down on chair to be
shaved The barber had hardly lathered
his face before he was seized with lit
of terrible trembling, so that the shay
ing could not be continued. With great
difficulty he managed to get a hypoder-
mic syringe from his pocket and squirt
some morphine into his arm, and in half
a minute he was calm and collected and
ordered the barber to continue. He told
the curious tonsorial artist that he was
just recovering from q prolonged de-
bauch.
A lady Yesterday related to the writer
the case of young victim of the habit,
confined in a convent to be cured. 1t
could not be disc overed how she con
tinued to keep herself under the intiu-
ence of the morphine until one day it
was found that the inkstand on the
writing table was filed with the solu-
ton, and what was supposed to be pen
was no other than a hypoder1nic
syringe.
Some months ago a gentleman con-
nected with the Press was going South
on the Virginia Midland Railroad. At
POpe's Head Run, Prince William
County, Va, the train was wrecked and
the engineer was crushed under his en-
CINE. He was frightfully mangled, but
remained conscious, and, while efforts
were being made to release him, scream
ed and prayed to be killed, to be put out
of his agony While strong men turned
away in horror, pretty young woman
ran back to rear car and presently re-
turned with her handbag. From it she
produced hypodern1ic syringe and in
1ected n good dose Of morphine into the
suffering engineer, exhibiting an amount
of nerve that astounded the witnesses.
The first injection did not bring relief
and she gave another, exhausting her
supply of the drug. When the engi-
neer was released he was dead, but his
suffering had been greatly soothed. The
pretty young NOtuttu NdtS ID IlOL I'lIIilC
tiend, and she endured untold agony I'M
til she got to town where her supply
could be renewed.
One of the drug clerks interviewed told
this story: '"There is man who comes
here who uses thirty grains of morphine
a day. One day last fail he was about
to start on a fishing trip, and before do
ing. so came here, got his fifteen
grains dose, and bought quantity to
take with him. When he reached the
fishing ground, a friend who knew of his
failing asked him if he had come well
supplied. He looked for his morphine
and found to his CONSERVATION that he
had lost it. Although he had taken
enough to last him for eight or ten
hours, he Immediately became like
wild man. His companions could not
control him, and he rode twelve miles
over the country ON horseback at
breakneck speed to the nearest drug
store, where his loss was made good, to
his great Joy and relief. '-PhiladelpAia
Press