The Wichita daily eagle., 1894-01-20
USE OF THE KOLA-NUT.
European Nations Adding It to
Their Army Supplies.
It's Force-Promoting and Life-Preserving- e
Properties Have Been Introduced Into
tie United .Statcs-Product of the
Dark Continent.

Dark Continent.
Besides Gordon. Ennin Pasha and the
Matabele war. the opening of the
Dark Continent has contributed to
the progress Of humanity the koia-nut.
Within few years, says the New
York Post. 1t has passed from the mar
row function of delectating barbaric
aboriCiries into an extensive service of
civilized man.
Kaiser Wilhelm the Young, ever
alert 10 discover additional means of
preserving the peace of Europe, in
ferred from the exhaustive reports Of
iaborious German chemists, physiolo-
gists and therapeuticists that it would
Srodigiously increase the fighting ca
pacity of his soldiers, and Immediately
ordered it to be stored in his pacific
armament The French republic. de-
;errnined that its brother of Germany
should not beat it an inch to the goal
OF peace. promptly placed the llolanut
in the commis.sariat OF its military es-
tablishment Thereupon generous ri
ralry stimulated Austria and Italy to
ilO likewise: whereupon the cOntagion
of the philanthropic impulse overcame
Russia. Mountain climbers were as
quick as peace preservers to recognize
the battle-sustajning properties of
l.ola. and nearly all the Alpine clubs
IL Europe have made it part of their
Gietetic equipment. And finally its
force promoting and life saving quail
tiles have won for it secure admission
to the medical pharmacopnia both
abroad and in this country. 1t is,
however. much less known and used
here than there.
A marvellous property of endowing
its user with power to endure severe
and prolonged physical eXertion, with
out taking food and without feeling
fatigue, is the particular virtue which
has attracted attention to kola. TRAY
elers' tales to this effect, at first rele-
gated to the realm of the fabulous,
Uere finally followed and confirmed ~
scientific investigation. Among the
latest European investigators are Prof.
+. Heckel. Prof +. Schlagdenhauffen
and Dir. Leon Ernst Monnet, and from
their authoritative reports the ma
terial of the present article is mainly
derived.
Prof. Heckel tells us that the negroes
In tropical Africa easily walk over forty
miles day with nothing to eat but one
fresh lola. nut, and that he has accom-
plished as surprising feat upon diet
of dry kola. lie relates the experience
of two army officers who, while
ascending the nearly nine thousand
feet of Mount Canigou. limited their
nourishment to quantity of kola rep
resentirg shout two grains of caffeine
They rested twenty minutes, climbed
twelve hours and found themselves on
top with no sense of fatigue and with
apparently no diminution of muscular
power. Many other officers and pri-
vate soldiers, DIR. Heckel says, have
tested with like results the potency of
kola- He cites the experiences of scv-
rral infantry officers who ate an insig-
nificant quantity, and were not tired
nfter walking in the month of July
forty miles in fifteen and half hours.
At his suggestion the French Alpine
club adopted koia. and, afterwards, a
vote of thanks to the professor, declar-
ing that it had surprisingly kept them
~ breath and strength
But this striking attribute by no
means eXhausts the vitality of kola
The investigators, convinced that in
snch an astonishing product lay benefi-
cent agencies as yet unrevealed,
promptly fell to studying its physiolog-
zeal action upon the haman system
and IFS therapeutic possibilities Dis
covcries were soon announced. kola
was 4 tonic for the heart. accelerating
strengthening. and at the same time
regulating its pulsations. in the last
stages of cardiac affection" declared
DR. Dujardin- Beametz. "kola some
times works resurrections 1t revived
the pulse, increasing its fullness and
decreasing ITS rapidity. 1t exerted
special action upon the nervous svs-
TEN and for all arrangements thereof /
was an efhcacious remedy; and proba- /
bly, through this same action il retard- {
ed metamorpbosis of the tissue. It
was a powerful tonic for emplovment 1
IN anamia and chronic debility. while /
in convaleSoence from severe fevcrs (
and other acute disorders it greatly /
promoted repair of the organism 1t
assisted digestion and prevented dvs- 4
pepsia. 1t had rendered signal service
in cases Of sporadic cholera. 1t was
specific for inebriation. This reputa-
ton came from Zululand. where the
found it a godsend after con-
tact with the British chartered compa-
nies.