Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-10-25
oeu,M ,nTox,cAT'oN.


The ASSuIiicoo ..o,a H. il |
to him it is life. What ma'.e's cha,
his awakenings are unpleasau,' - w. IL
his vitality is weakened; or tha' , ne
~ n- the path to premature semi
=" haapess and early deathP Noun
mo "Hoi-yoi-oir' shrieks 'he opr u;aa
seller. and presently from 'no -, -
ea,ds and villages the "hol-yoi-oi
taken up, and anon one py o" ",;um
sellers bamboo hut. .ho,t
II is evening in Assam anu 49,
.ho aooded rice fields II thick vapor 10
rising. impregnating the ar WIZ -
~ malaria-laden moisture. Eher
waiting indeed is the same climate -
Assam: and the wretched Assanio'o'
.,;,h his inveterate love for the poppy
;rica adds but too surely to It's pane
fnl influence. Down by the opium
sellers hut squat the opium drinhers,
while their eyes roll strangely anu
their marched tongues loll ovt in very
Uneasy fashion indeed. This far they
MANAGED to drag their deolllta'eo
forms, and no further can they go un-
II, the soul-reviving elixir has Deeh
drunk Of -. .ho
The opium seller weighs OUT 'he
dung eager hands clutch at IT, anu
presently it is dissolved in brass YES
sci of water. Excited, eager LOOKS
greet those who are tardily-oh' now
tardilv it seems to the opium drinkers!
-preparing the mass. When ready IL
is of dark brown color, OF tne coi-
sistency and appearance OF English
norter LET me have it!' "Me!
"Mer' yell the now thoroughly excited
mob. Rapidly it passes from mana 10
mouth. and smiling, CHASTITY smiling
faces. show how satisfied they all are
# ia the Assamese opium drinkers es-
q cape from purgatory-from weak splr'
itless and enervated exis tence TO inc
+ seventh heaven of bliss. AS the drug
takes effect the victim dozes OIL into a
kind of reverie Surrounding objects
d. assume a weird aspect-bampoo lot
,sts. banana bushes, rice fields and VII
lagos; the whole panorama OF lana
i. scape before them is no longer mis-
a srable reality, the scene of their daily
a toll. but an ever-changing kaleldo'
scope, the beauty of which is beyond
p the comprehension of sober mild
h Such. at least, is q description given BY
y one of the opium drinkers.
e Our party, now thoroughly lntoxl
! Gated with opium fumes, lie about II
IT sprawling attitudes. In the first stages
# of intoxication all are smiling, ant
Is their lips move in rapid speech; TO
Nc one hears an incoherent jabbering go
% ing on broken occasionally by a lou
a chuckle from one of the party Ihl
!. unseemly hilarity wakes up for mo
ment the other opium drinkers; an
n they, after an angry look toward tn
4 noisy one, soon relapse into their coma
is tose state. A few of this party VIII
d had evidently been indulging freel
l. fell Immediately into a heavy sleel
u out of which they did not wake unit
e. the night was far advanced
t. A rather amusing incident occurre
to while | sat watching them. The opiul
lie drinkers had taken up position on tt
5, high road. probably because it wa
lie tolerably dry and the inclosul
p around the opium sellers hut
it where they usually sat-ha
e. got flooded during the recei
re heavy rains. A cart caravan of tt
g. from neighboring tea plantatic
happened to come up while the opiu
drinkers sat squatting on the roa
Is Vainly the cart-drivers called on ii
w. opium drinkers to move out of Il
of way. So they reluctantly got off the
ne perch, and taking the opium -drinke
as bodily up, deposited them in a shallc
en- pool of water on the road. Tho
to wretched opium-drinllers wallowed
Ill awhile in the puddle, and not feeli
to quite comfortable in the water, mere
or dragged their befuddled carcasses
is on to the bank. and there resum
IS their dreaming again as if nothing h
to happened. | learned while | watch
use them, too, that the opium-drinker h
Use an instructive dread of drunken IN
ret i mean one drunk ON spirituc
l a liquors; for party of coolies who h
SIS been drinking in neighboring bazs
er came up while | sat there a
tn literally frightened the wits
ng of the opium-drinkers. The cooli
yn who seemed to know somethi
nix of the opium drinkers antipathi
he plagued them for awhile and IL
DIS. went away, laughing heartily at I
eX- other drunkards.
ost Toward midnight one by one tt
on awoke out of their trance, and, shiv
es, ing with the cold-for the night
MS had cooled somewhat made
their respective villages. AS | wat
ed them crawling home through
o. rice fields, their forms STOPPING, E
their attenuated bodies besmeared W
mi the mud in which they had been T.,
vel ing, thought the moon could scare
shine on more miserable obie,
ca, Such scenes may be witnessed by
er- Traveller any evening all over ASA
1t Is sad state of things truly, an,
i'm. not remedied the Assamese race '
,pe speedily die out.-St James BUD
,r,
he SMQnfc rs 4