The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-12-28
A Pfoneer Drug store

A Pioneer Drug Store
We had four or five saloons and one
grocery at CEDAR Hill. when the out
fit OF 2. man named Dayton arrived.
He had seven packed mules loaded
| with goods, and after a day or two he
unpacked and set up for business and
hung out a sign reading, Dry Goods,
CIorhing, Har1wore. Groceries. Boo
and Shoes and Tinware; also Drug
Store" The shanty which he occupied
for a store was about Ii feet square,
| and he had everything packed in a
heap.
The drug store was an innovation.
1t was not only the first to be estab-
1ished at Cedar Hill, but the only one
for 200 miles around, and We were in
clined to look upon the druggist with
| awe and respect. We were a very
| healthy lot up there, and. aside from
| accident, no man had lost a day for six
months. No sooner was that drug
| store opened for business, however,
! than most of us felt a yearning. Hiram
| Davis hit the nail on the head, when
he said to the crowd. Boys. that
| drug store reminds me OF home and of
| the dc woman and children. Just
hin of pills and salts and calomel
and q%uinine! Civilizashun has come
knockin' at our doors. ard it's our
solemn dooty to feel bad and buy sun
thin"
Plenty of us began to feel bad"
but when we came to buying some
thing we found that the druggist was
doing business on a inc of his own.
When Abe Smallman dropped in to
| sCot q Snca of oo1nropl for his liI-pr
which was doing business seven days
in the week and in need of no encour-
agement of any sort, Mr.. Dayton said
to him:
81 bought this drug store outfit Of a
tenderfoot down at Grass Valley. He
was sick and discouraged and wanted
to go back home. 1 don't know much
about the business myself. I'll hunt UP
the calonlel and sell it to You, but 1
won't be responsible for the -eSilts."
What dye mean by resusts?"
Queried Abe.
Wall, I've got calomel, arsenic,
salts and a lot Of other things all mix
ed up here, and I'm not going to guar
antee anything. Mebbe it'll be calomel
and mebbe not"
We all SHE'D off for a day or two
at that, but when we came to think it
over we rather liked the uncertainty,
and the druggist was kept busy with
our purchases. Some of his liquids
and powders were in bottles or papers,
duly labelled, and some of the powders
were in parcels without a label on
l,them. II anybody asked for EPSON
salts, for instance, the druggist would
fish around under the heap Of boots
and shoes and clothing till he got hold
Of a box or parcel, and, bringing it
out. he would say:
al I know about this stuff is that
it amt copperas. l took a parcel of
copperas on a debt once, so / know the
stuff when I see it. If you want to run
rance you can take it along"
Most everybody was willing to u
chances, and for two weeks all went
well. If nobody was made any better
nobody was made any worse. and the
druggist did a rushino trade. Then
came an afternoon on which old Joe
Crosby laid down his working tools and
announced that he was "off his feed"
and had got to have something to ward
off a bilious attack.
Il can't say what's good for it," said
tine druggist, but I'll fish up a lot of
packages and you can take your
choice"
He laid out 10 parcels on the counter,
and old Joe wet the tip of his finger
and tasted the contents of each in
succession. He finally bought one to
suit his palate, at least, and he bought
a. dollars worth and went off to his
shanty to dose. Half an hour later he
was taken With violent ami and
inside of two hours he was dead. A
move was made on the druggist, but
the smiling and urbane Mr.. Dayton
replied:
Gentlemen, it might have been
powdered borax. or it might have been
arsenic. I can't tell the difference be-
tween the two, and 1 have been free to
say so. I I'VE him good weight and
he took his chances"
Our purchases were light for the
next week. but in time we got over
the scare and went to buying again.
A fortnight after the death of Crosby
a man named Haley was made terribly
sick for two or three days by a dose
IF some stuff, and the next
day Sile Warner entered the drug store
to say:
II amt feelin' jest as I orter, and I
want sunrhin' to brace me UP. Kin we
recommend a bracer?"
Il never recommend" was the reply.
Here's the bottles and here's the
packages. They may brace or they
may lay you out"
wall, this is a world Of chance"
continued Sile as he Dawed h stuff
over, "and I'll take a dollars with of
lis stuff in the bottle. It'll wet the
throat when it goes down, anyway"
The stuff was probably laudanum,
for Sile never woke up from that
give the druggist fits about the mat