Tombstone daily prospector. (Tombstone, Ariz.) 1887-1891, 1890-11-08
ONE OPIUM EATER CURED.
nut 1T Took Term in Sing Sing ss-s
Endless Agony to Do 1t.


Endless Agony to Do tt
A confirmed opium smoker was r.
sently asked whether he ever knew
person who had been cured of the
habit.
Only once, he replied, and theE
It wasn't a voluntary cure by any
means. He vas a man about IS years
old, who had been slave TO the habit
for fifteen years. He was so given up
20 II that his business went 70 smash,
and he used 10 resort 10 all manner of
things in order TO get money TO pur
chase she'll he used TO crave
eight shells or 81 worth of opium a
day, and l have frequently met him
IN 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.
cot smoke for "bout seven hours,
and he became so desperate that
be tried to rob the till in a
grocery store. de was detected
and arrested He got word down TO
he joint telling OF his misfortune,
and begging for Gods sake that some
body would send him some opium.
bought some dry opium pills and got
them in to him after a deal of trouble.
The next day | called on him and
more miserable wretch i 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 tortures were joined TO severe
pains in all the joints, as though the
limbs were decaying and would soon
| drop Of He had been without opium
50 long that he was fairly famishing,
and the small quantity of the drug
had been able to send was disposed Of
in short order.
There isn't taste of II left he
yelled TO me as ! entered his cell in
| The Tombs. Then he rolled his tongue
around as though searching for any
| small particles that might be hidden
away In q tooth. / gave him the pills
| had brought He seized them like q
| starving man would seize q 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 a mouthful Of water.
In few minutes he was lying on his
cot as placid and happy as healthy
baby. kept him supplied with opium
until he was tried and sentenced.
managed to slip few of them into his
hand as he was on his way 10 Sing
| Sing. / heard no more Of him and
forgot all about him until one day, on
| Broadway, several years later, a stall
wart, rosy checked fellow slapped me
| on the shoulder and heartily shook
| me by the hand / was nearly sur
| prised into o fit when he explained
that he was the opium fend of a few
yeais ago. He said that when he
got TO Sing Sing the habit was
| on him very strong. The pills
| had given him had crumbled to dust
| in his pocket, and had become So
mixed up with lot of other stuff that
he could not use them. He was in q
raging torment tho night and cried
| for the drug. The keepers found him,
and the prison physician, who was
called, fortunately diagnosed the case
| correctly. 1t wasn't much credit to
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
Elm up with hypodermic injections Of
morphine every time the craving cam6
| on, and by liberal use of this drug
finally wore away the desire for TIE
/ other. OF course this treatment ere
ated the morphine habit, but this was
more readily cured, and my friend
soon lost all desire for drugs of any
kind, and IS prosperous, happy man
today. II he had not been arrested he
could certainly have gone the way Of
all the fends, and have ended his
life msef, or died miserably in some
hole He tried to reason the case with
me in hopes that / would surrender
the drug and endure the agonies thai
such a privatiou would produce for
the pleasure attending the feeling that
was no longer a slave 10 1t. / have
heard all Of those arguments a thou
sand times, and frequently have lain
ia a joint with another smoker, and
wc have both sworn of, and the very
next day we would both be in the
same place again. am getting worse
every year. The habit is growing
more expensive, and the longer | an.
at it the les disposed do / feel for
work of any kind Ny memory Is
failing me now, and / am already
pretty well along on the downward
road. Ill go little further down.
and lhen good-by to everything
New York Sun