The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1892-04-01
CHINESE JAIL BIRDS.
The Ingenious Methods of Obtaining and
secreting Opium.


secreting Opium.
The average Chinaman would rather
go without his dinner than be deprived
of his regular allowance of opium.
When at large he usually manages to
satisfy his longing, either by theft or
legitimately, but when arrested and
put in prison their supplies of the drug
are summarily cut off and they find
themselv es forced to all sorts of devious
devices to crafty their craving for the
narcotic. A notable example is afforded
by the Chinese prisoners confined in the
county Jail, and the articles resorted to
are as hume rous as they are cunning.
Despite the vigilance of the sheriff's
officers employed in the old building on
Broadway, nearly every day it is found
that some one of the Mongolian prison
ers has succeeded in hiding opium in
his cell. 1t would seem sometimes as
if it must float to them through the
closely barred windows or be trans
ported in some mysterious way by SUI
perhuman means The Jail officials do
not meet inquiries on the subject very
kindly, for the very good reason that
they are not little piqued by the sue
cess of the Chinese in eluding the guards
and keeping up the traffic in the drug.
Chief Hadeler, who has charge of the
jail keeps in his private office what
might be called an opium cupboard"
1t contains enough of what the diction-
airy calls 1.-The aqueous extract Of ~
poppy" to kill a regiment There are
several shelves and each is heaped full
of variously shaped cans, boxes and
jars, each containing a quantity of the
common, dark, gummy form of the stuff
thauthe Chinese ordinarily use for smol1
ing, but in case of necessity, as when in
the Jail, for chewing. Besides, there
is quantity of thicker and coarser
form of the drug made from pipe
scrapings. " This too, the not over par
ticular heather use for chewing, and
often by masticating it while locked up
in their cells they get quite drunk"
or, rather, semi-stupefied.
In the cupboard are not less than
several hundred cases of opium Every
bit of it was found on the persons or in
the possession Of the Chinese prisoners
within the past year
No one can remain in the Jail for two
or three hours any day without realiz-
ing that the success of the Chinese in
getting hold of the narcotic when in
confinement is not owing to any laxity
on the part of the guards If an inmate
of the Jail is permitted to receive
visitor in one of the rooms set apart for
that purpose the prisoner is thoroughly
searched before being permitted to re-
turn to his cell If visitor talks to
prisoner through the bars of cell
guard keeps a close watch on the two
throughout the conversation in order
to prevent the secret passing of any
article from one to the other Visitors
are admitted only during certain hours
in the day and then must register their
names and addresses and submit to all
the regulations imposed by the sheriff.
Every article sent into the Jail is ex-
amined closely. Packages Of smoking
tobacco are opened and the tobacco
itself is loosened and tossed over to see
that nothing is concealed within the
bunch. All other bundles of whatso-
ever kind are opened and even such
Misunderstanding articles as oranges,
apples cigars and books are closely
inspected.
The searching of prisoners, as it is
done at the Jail, is in itself an art. In
the old days the guards simply went
through the prisoners pockets and felt
of his clothing to see that there were no
razors or revolvers concealed about
him. Now when Chinese is admitted
he is taken into side room and stripped.
Every bit Of clothing is carefully exam
ined before he is permitted to dress
himself and go to cell.
Many interesting stories are told of
the ways in which the pig-tailed in
mates elude the eyes and the searching
of the Jail officials A few weeks ago
sad-eyed Chinese locked in one of the
cells was visited by Mongolian friend
from Cum Cook alley. A guard watched
the two while they chatted and saw
nothing pass between them. just be-
fore the visitor left however, he passed
handful of cigars to his friend, who
was seen several hours later in his cell
in state of complete stupefaction, re-
sulting plainly from too much opium
chewing
The cell was searched but no opium
found Finally the guard thought that
something might be wrong about the
cigars and opened all of them. In one
was several dollars worth of opium. 1t
had been wrapped in tissue paper and
the cigar had been made around it
Chief Hadeler said nothing until the
visitor from Cum Cook alley came again
TO the jail. After he had passed some
cigars to his friend he was searched and
a handful of the weeds taken from him.
In them more than twenty dollars
worth of opium was found hidden.
For many weeks the guards wondered
how a Chinese prisoner named All Lee
got the opium which he used himself
and sold to other prisoners. The cell
was searched, but nothing was discov-
cred. The mans clothes were exam
ined, but not a particle of the drug was
concealed anywhere about them. Still
All Lee remained in an opium stupor,
and still the other Chinese had all of