The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1890-10-16
kKY1NIka rnE 0RIExTAL GUN.

whose sources lie among the snowy heights
Of the Western mountains.
KKYINIko rnR ORIKxrAL GUN.
a Leok at One o. the Lssdisg InAustriss
~ Brstish CoIu0bis.
The shipment to the United States Of re-
fined opium, Il II well known. il one Of the
leading industries of British Columbis. the
smugklsrs making 30 much profit on sim
gie successful trip that they can we'd adord
20 often loee their consignments. A rep
resentatiye ok the New Westminster
Truth recently, through the courtesy OF
MessrA KWong On Wo 4 Co., had an OPP
portunity Of inspecting the premises on
which hey carry on the manufacture Of
opium. This Il done behind the firms
store on Front street, within . room which
one enters from the shop BY short. dim
liz passage, somewhat encountered with
manufacturing tinware and rolls Of the
half.prepared material thsre placed in
readiness for cleansing and baking. The
crude opium stun IL twisted into . thick,
black, viso0us mass, looking something
like . mass of the coarsest tlAckstYap to-
bacco that had been well soaked In water
and then rudely kneeded By hand. In
this form, ~ one gathered from the expla-
nation Of the Chinese workers, It IL inn
ported into this city. The material, there
fore. goes through several processes before
tits sent hither and does NOT, q one might
perhaps have expected, arrive in the form Of
large poppy heads containing the liquid
opium juice Of the plant. The kind of
poppy used in the opium manufacture
grows chiefly in Asiatfc Turkey. Egypt,
Persia and British India. The Chinese &C.
cordingiy import most Of the stuff even for
use in their own country. When the pop
pies, which are much larger than those
familiar to us a. garden flowers, are fully
ripe, the natives Of the districts in which
they grow pierce the heads with rude.
small implement that 10 half knife, half
saw. The liquid then, Of milky consist
ency, ooxes out of the poppy head, and il
left for . day or so to thicken like treacle.
1t il then scraped of and collected and
placed in an open brass dish tilted on one
side so that much of the water that il in
the semi-liquid mass may drain away. 1t
then becomes semi-solid viscsus mass,
and after being rudely kneaded is carefully
packed, when. ~ il frequently the case, it
has to be sent away for manufacturs. This
II the form in which it arrives here. when
- Psseenss sAss ePpeek en0S es10auy roughly
described.
So much for the material, few pounds
of which are lying in the passage through
which one makes his way to the manufact-
ure room. The room itself Is some twenty.
i've feet long, about half as many feet wide
and perhaps twenty feet in height From
the center Of the ceiling there, however.
rises several feet higher. large ventilating
shaft which carries OF many Of the fumes
caused BY the manufacture. In this room
three men work In charge Of . foreman,
before several inverted metal pans placed
In the form Of lids on the top Of . ERE Of
charcoal. . material used to avoid smoke
in preference to ordinary dry wood or coal.
A dry hest pervades the room, which
smells very stuffy. the opium baking also
causing heavy odor, difficult exactly to
describe. It may b said to be stifling or
oppressive than foul or nauseating. The
air within the room seems to be as little
tainted - il possible, having regard to the
process there conducted. This, however,
10. not saying much, for the searching
fumes OF opium pervade the place.
The Cinnamon at work are
dressed In very light clothing
and but little of it They wear, in addi-
ton to very baggy neither garments, kind
Of tunic Of the same material, very thin
spun cotton. This, too. hangs 30 loosely
and is so slightly secured to the person
that it reveals the wesrers' brown-skinned
figures almost to the waists, for shirts be-
meath their tunics they have none. The
men. too. are barefooted, wearing only
wooden sandals. Their scant and airy at.
tire would seem to serve double purpose.
It is extremely cool and therefore well
adapted TO the temperature of the room,
which approaches that OF hot-air bath,
and the loose-ftting vesture is SO devoid of
receptacles as to render difficult any con.
cealment Of the costly drug. The men
had before bur arrival crushed the
opium into damp circular flutes, looking
like chocolate, here and there blistered BY
the heat. These flutes then adhere closely
to the inverted lids already mentioned, and
these lids closed down over charcoal fires
cause an intense heat to play upon the
opium. The stuffis thus kept for at least
. day at . time, being examined the
while At frequent intervals In or.
der to ascertain that it is being
properly cooked. The workman in
charge has evidently. therefore, to be very
careful over this baking process. Ashes.
too, are from time time scattered over the
charcoal fires in which the lids and opium
cakes are laid in order to keep the heat dull
rather than bright or glowing. When this
process is complete the circular cube of
opium is pulled of the inverted lid and
placed upon thin metal netting and within
large brass bowl. The hot air of the
room thus plays upon it freely and further
dries the drug. 1t is then after q short
time ready for packing into small tins, like
those in which tobacco is kept, and is in
these tins sold to Chinese and other opium
smokers. The retail price of the drug we'll
shows the costliness of the article, for the
vendors readily obtain $3.50 for each half
pound. The tins in which the opium il
sold are, 1t should be also mentioned. well
iacquered, 80 as to exclude the outer air.
which. If admitted, gradually deteriorates
the drug. Taking the process here rem.
dered as whole, it may be said to REQUIRE
little In the way of apparatus, being small
round charcoal fires and q number of metal
appliances. A very little opium, however.
demands much Chinese labor, for the three
workmen and their overseer who work for
kwong & Co. only turn out few pounds
at time. The work too. IS said before.
must De done with great care. A bad at
mospnere and for the most part during the
autumn and winter months, theprocess be.
ing extremely oppressive during the hot
Gays OF summer. All these considerations
unite to render the makingof opium csstly.
MOST OF the opium smokers In this city are
Cinnamon; but it is said on good authority
that some who are not Ceestials indulge in
'ne raoiL There Is much controversy as
a. -