St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-11-21
HOW 1T Is DONE.
James Montgomery Experience
=g in an Opium joint.


James MOntgomery's Experience
-[=s in an Opium joint.
James Montgomery was yesterday &C
quilted or an Indictment for visiting an
opium joint with tile purpose of ''hit-
ting the pipe Montgomery is an III
telligent Englishmah,who has evidently
seen much better days. He has been n
newspaper man and theatrical mas
ager iii his time. Lately. however, slie
has been earning livelihood by serv-
ing night lunches from wagon in the
streets. Several witnesses appeared
against Montgomery at the trial, one of
them being William Hubbel, repre-
sentative of a wholesale tobacco house.
Another is q man named Perkins, both
Of whom were in the den the night Of
the raid.
When on the witness stand, at the re-
quest of his attorney; ". Ii. Mcdonald,
Montgomery RECALLED the court and jury
with all Intelligent description of the
modus operandi in preparing the opium
for the pipe. According to his story
there are two grades of opium i'll use.
The best grade is received usually from
San Francisco. The second grade is
prepared by Cinnamon. which is made
from a gum purchased at the drug
stores and mixed with q refuse from the
bowls OF pipes used by other smokers,
and which is scraped from the pipe
with bent wire. The opium to be used
for smoking is usually about as thick as
glue, and is dealt out on playing card
by the Chinaman. If the smoker pre-
pares the opium for smoking without
assistance, he stretches himself upon a
bunk on his left side, supporting his
body on his left elbow, leaving the
right hand free TO manipulate the
opium and holding the long pipe with
its bowl near one end in the left hand
A piece of bent wire, the size of a knit
ting needle. and which fits into the hole
in the opium pipe, is held in the right
hand. With this a ball of opium, the
size ola pea, Is taken from the semi
fluid mass on the card and held over the
flame Of lamp until it expands to the
size of walnut-the needle being con-
stantly revoked by the fingers. When
the moisture Is absorbed from the opium
it is rolled on the owl of the pipe or on
the thumb of the left hand, 1t is then
reduced to about the size OF the end of a
led pencil, and is made into the
form of cylinder by the roll
ing. The pipe is held with the
bowl near the lamp until the whole gets
warm. The end of the needle is then
inserted into the hole of the bowl and
the ball of opium dropped into the bowl.
If the operator is an expert the opening
in the bail of opium will fall directly
over the hole in the bowl which COM
municates with the pipe. The hole in
the bail of opium and the pipe cor
respond in size. The bowl is then
turned down and applied to the flame
and the opium is ignited. The subject
then inhaleS the fumes by placing his
mouth to the end of the pipe. 1t takes
an expert from four to ten minutes to
roll pill, but only few seconds to
smoke it. A man often passes hours in
opium smoking, and if he pays for it at
Chinese rates it is very expensive.
While waiting for the jury to come
In Montgomery discussed the subject of
| opium-smoking to group of ATTORNEYS
and others in an intelligent manner He
SAID 1t quickens the perceptive faculties
| for time or eases pain. but the effects
are very deleteriouS in the end, and
there is no known cure for tine habit
when once formed. He has been smok-
| ing opium for nine years and thinks he
will not live great while longer. After
his acquittal he seemed respondent and
out of sorts.