River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1899-09-14
A cocAINIsT's DELUsIoN.

cocaine bug You imagine that in
your skin worms or similar things are
moving along. If you touch them with
wool Especially absorbent wooD they
run away and disappear, only to peep
cautiously out Of some corner to see if
there is any danger. These worms are
projected only to the cocainist's own
person or clothing. He sees them on his
washing, in his skin, along his pen
holder, but not on other people or
things, and not on clothes brought clean
from the laundry. How is this to be ex-
planned? About the same time appear
many other Authorizations of the opti-
Gus, and, strange to say, self-suggest-
ed Authorizations also. Night turns to
day. You sit up in your room syring-
ing until the morning, and fall asleep in
como. In my case this occurred to
such an extent that | had to engage a
hospital warder, who came in the morn
ing to revive me with about ten syringes
of five per cent solution, so that was
able to drive, not walk, fearing some
one might garrote me. Other dreadful
hallucina tions | had in thousands, all of
a prosecuting character, and frighten-
ing the life out of me so long as the eff
fects of the drug lasted.
You see small animals running
about your body and feel their bites.
Every object seems to become alive to
stare at you from all corners-look re-
volvers, knives, etc. and threaten you.
Yet, so soon as the effect of the injection
is over, you laugh at it, and produce
willingly, by a new injection, the same
terrors. About that time 1 bought
three st. Bernard dogs, thinking they
would protect me, but one night l
found out they were talking about me
how could they get rid of me-so
stood up and shot one of them with a
revolver, which | always used to carry.
/ think this was the most dreadful night
of my life-I, standing on the table with
an Indian dagger and syringe on the
ground, one three-foot high dog going
to die and two rather dangerous dogs
roaring and groaning aloud. reproach-
fully looking at me, who always fam
cied: Now comes the moment when
they will tear you 10 pieces l stood
the night on the table until the ar
rival of my wardman who hardly risked
to enter the room. The strangest thing,
however, in the cocaine habit is that
there seem TO be two souls in the cocain-
ist-one infested by the cocaine, suffer
ing and tortured by its effects; the
other normal, laughing at his fears and
saying: What nonsense! il is only an
Authorization produced by an injection
Not frightened enough by these expert
ences and escaping from the troubles
produced BY his conduct, on the cocain-
list goes, taking more and more, and
then enters new kind of Illusion,
which finishes him up for the mad
house l mean the revolving, sensuous
illusions"
The afflicted physician, in summarize
ing the physiologic effects of the drug.
SAYS that the cocainist early loses all
appetite for solid food, but likes sweets.
lollies and cakes. Upon the muscular
system the drug, as is generally recog-
nized. acts as a most powerful stimulant
for either single or continued effort.
Not only could he make long marches
without becoming tired. but on one oc-
casion, after injection. he says he lifted
a cab with one hand on the axle. 1t in
creases also the number of the respira-