, 1889-05-02
ONE OPIUM EATER CURED.


Endless Agony to Do It
A confirmed opium smoker was re-
Gently asked whether he ever knew a
person who had been cured of the
habit.
"Only once" he replied, " and then
it wasn't a voluntary cur by any
means. He was n man about IS years
old, who had been a slave to the habit
for fifteen years. He was so given up
to it that his business went TO smash,
and he used to resort to all manner of
things in order TO get money TO pur-
chase a she'll He used to crave
eight shells or 81 worth of opium a
day, and l have frequently met him
in a joint that was run by two tough
Cinnamon in Marion street, offering to
roll for smokers in order to share their
opium. One day he had been with
ont n smoke for about sever hours,
and he became so desperate that
no tried TO rob the till in a
grocery store He was detected
and arrested. He got word down to
the joint telling of his misfortune,
and begging for Gods sake that ome
body would send him some opium. l
bought some dry opium pills and got
them in TO him after a deal of trouble.
The next day l called on him and n
more miserable wretch / never saw.
He was suffering the fortunes of hell.
He was doubled up with cramps in his
stomach, and the inevitable pain be
tween the shoulders, which feels as
though somebody was driving spikes
into your flesh, was racking him.
These fortunes were Joined TO severe
pains in all the joints, as though the
limbs were decaying and would soon
drop off. He had been without opium
so long that he was fairly furnishing,
and the small quantity of the drug /
had been able TO send "a disposed of
in short order. a
There isn't a taste of it left, he
yelled TO me as / entered his cell in
around as though searching for any
small particles that might be hidden
away in n tooth. / gave him the pills
/ had brought He seized them like a
starving man would seize n crust of
bread. He placed two of them In his
mouth and rolled them around until
they had dissolved, and then washed
them down with n mouthful of water.
In n few minutes he was lying or his
o MS placid and happy as n healthy
baby. Ikepthim supplied with opium
until he was tried and sentenced. /
managed TO slip n few of them into his
hand ms he was on his way TO Sing
Sing. l heard no more of him and
forgot all about him until one day, on
Broadway, several years later, n stall
wart, rosy checked fellow slapped me
on the shoulder and heartily shook
me by the hand. l was nearly sur
priscd into n fit when he explained
that he was the opium hcnd of n few
years ago. He said that when he
got to Sing Sing the habit was
on him very strong. The pills
l had given him had crumbled to dust
in his pocket, and had become so
mixed up with n lot of other stuff that
he could not use them. He was in n
raging torment that night and cried
for the drug. The keepers found him,
and the prison physician, who was
called, fortunately diagnosed the case
correctly. II wasn't much credit 10
him, however, for every feature of the
mans face and every motion of his
body almost proclaimed him an opium
fend. He was removed TO the hospital,
and the physician was kind enough TO
get interested in the case. He braced
him up with hypodermic injections of
morphine every time the craving came
on, and by a liberal use of this drug
finally wore away the desire for the
other. OF course this treatment Gre
ated the morphine habit, but this was
more readily cured, and my friend
soon lost all desire for drugs of any
kind, and is a prosperous, happy man
today. If he had not been arrested he
would certainly have gone the way of
all the fiends, and have ended his
life himself, or died m%iserably in some
hole. He tried to reason the case with
me in hopes that | would surrender
the drug n d'endure the agonies that
such a privation would produce for
the pleasure attending the feeling that
l was no longer n slave TO it. i have
heard all of those arguments n thou
sand times, and frequently l have lain
in n joint with another smoker, and
we have both sworn off, and the very
next day we would both be in the
same place again. l am getting worse
every year. The habit is growing
more expensive, and the longer ! am
at it the less disposed do l feel for
work of any kind. My memory is
failing me now, and / am already
pretty we'll along on the downward
road. I'll go q little further down,
and then good-by TO evcrything."-
New York Sun.