Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1896-12-03

operation that only the most fnhnftesimal
proportion is allowed In a tonic prescrip-
ton Yet 1t has been seized upon by the
physical wrecks Of civilization as a means
Of stimulating the Pickering spark Of life,
and strychnine "jag" can be added to
the hilarious moments that nerve smash
ing drugs afford
The discovery Of the strychnine flend
was made by religious worker in a large
city, whose mission takes him nightly into
the society Of women to whom excitement
of some kind is essential TO the forgetful-
ness Of life's dark side. This missionary
recently found, early one morning, the
form of well dressed woman prostrate ON
the pavement. She was taken to one of
the institutions in connection with which
the missionary worked, and a doctor sent
for. 1t was clearly case of "jag" of some
kind or other The usual remedies were
applied, but the deathlike pallor of the pa
TENTS face and the queer action of the
heart alarmed the doctor, and he ordered
her clothing to be searched to obtain clew
to guide him in his efforts to bring her to
consciousness.
In the woman's pocket was found a
which upon investigation, proved to con.
tain enough strychnine to kill an elephant.
The woman was suffering from an over
dose Of strychnine, and the drug had done
its work well. 1t was with the greatest
difficulty that her life was saved, and for
days following this she cried pitifully for
the deadly tonic that was withheld from
her. From her own statement, and the
doctor and those present believed it, she
had begun by taking very small portion
of strychnine, and, as the craving for the
drug increased, had added to her daily
dose until she found she could take with
impunity quantity sufficient to kill ten
people who were unused to poison.
A reporter who visited the chemists
shops in the districts gathered some addi-
tional particulars regarding the new
dope" One chemist stated that the poi
son book, in which entries are made of all
deadly drugs sold, showed a steady in
crease in the amount of strychnine con-
sumed. "It is quite evident that the new
stimulant is gaining in favor" said this
druggist, land the recklessness of the
'fiends' is sure to result in some fatality
unless druggists decline to sell strychnine
altORetHer. 1HOSe uuulCueu 10 lUS use guy
it III pellets, and the dose they take is reg
ulated by themselves. The seasoned hands
are able to tako an enormous quantity
without doing anything more than quick
ening the beating of their dying hearts
and stimulating their jaded nerves, but
those to whom the drug is q new thing
are likely to kill themselves with com.
paratively small quantity.
81 have on my books the names of wom-
en- who are shining ornaments of society
who send to me for strychnine pellets with
the stereotyped assertion that they are
wanted to kill a dying cat. The women
who send for the poison are without doubt
victims of the strychnine habit Then ]
shall show you the names of men who are
regular customers for strychnine. In their
case the poison is usually taken to coun.
teract the evil effects of tobacco smoking.
A person can derive some benefit from tax
ing strychnine, as the stimulating action
| of the one poison counteracts the sedative
effects of the other. In these cases the
poison may be taken with some benefit,
under medical direction, but with the or.
dinary fiend' who merely takes it for the
pleasurable sensation it produces the after
effect is bound to be disastrous. Pear.
sons Weekly.