Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-13
GUATEMtALAN CLAY EATERS
Hundreds Of Children Are Addicted to the
Deadly Habit
Rarely Grow to Maturity Death
Comes in a Horrible Form
The Only Remedy.
Written for The Evening Star

Written for The Evening Star
"Ramundo died last night patrone" said
| the old Indian to the administrator of the
coffee plantation or 'finca," as they are
called in Guatemala The Indian was what
| is termed a 'caporal.' or, in English, a
foreman. He making his morning re-
| port TO the overseer. He continued in Span
| ish:
We had been expecting it for several
days, senior. You yourself have seen how
| the boy was swollen. He had not touched
| food for week He could not move.
was awakened some time in the night by
a scream which made my blood run cold
Then there was sound as If something had
exploded. | lighted the candle. 1t was Ra-
mundo. patrone. We could not make him
stop eating the clay, and now he is dead.
Directions were given for interring the
body of the ourteen-year-old boy, who had
| become one of the hundreds of annual VIC
Tins of the deadly habit of eating a GER
tain kind of clay which is found in many
sections of Guatemala and OF Central
America.
the Indians is almost an inexplicable one,
even to those who have studied the subject
| The only theory which has been given Is
| that the victims are attracted by the sweet
| ish taste which the clay possesses.
| In appearance it is gray, with fecks OF
some mineral shining substance through IL
which somewhat resembles mica. When
first discovered on the hillSides, where the
soil has been washed away by the heavy
rains of the wet season, it is soft to the
| touch, about the consistency of putty. On
being exposed to the sun for short while
| it hardens and can be crumb.ed to pieces
| in the fingers. On tasting it 1t is found
to have a decided saccharine flavor mixed
with the earthly one. 1t is hard to conceive
how 1t can appeal to the palate of human
being, but it is fact that from the time
| the baby is emancpated from the mantle
which binds il to its mothers back ana
can todde about unmatched, the little half
breeds with unerrng instinct, find the
clay, and. not being content with putting
| it in their mouths and sucking it, swallow
| it in toto No amount of scolding or even
beating will prevent a child who has once
tasted the stuff from induiging his or her
craving for it again and again. The strict
est watch must be kept over the little ones
continually by older person, and in
stances are known of where the watcher
has even succumbed to the disease, for
such it must be without doubt.
Not Confined to Children.
II is not only the small children who are
numbered among the clay eaters. for those
within a few years of attaining their ma
jority likewise die from the effects of filling
their stomachs with the clay.
The symptoms are so marked that in
Guatemala they are noted immedia teIy.
The one indulging in the strange habit pre-
sents sick1y. pallid, blush color. With no
appetite, there is apparent plumpneSs
about the body. The face becomes pulled
out. The abdomen is greatly distended. and
the limbs swell up terribly. The sufferer is
10th TO move and will not do unless fore
ed. The eyes sink in the head and become
glazed. The whole appearance is that of 4
person with the dropsy. When eaten the
clay has cumulative effect, and the vari-
Gus organs fail to perform their functions.
The patient finally dies horrible death,
the body not infrequently swelling that
ton.
tn only real cure known or what is sup
posed to be one. is the use of strong tobac-
co. If child of not more than three or
four years of age is seen putting away at
g puro, big. black native cigar, it is a
certainty that the kid has been caught in
the act of eating clay and that the smoking
is to take away any further craving in
that line which may exist. The smoking is
not supposed to injure the child in the
least, the youngsters of the tropics take
to this as naturally as a duck does to
water. The usa of tobacco does not appear
to have the slightest ill effect upon them.
Causes Many Deaths.
1t may be that the little Guatemaltecos
the natives of that country are called
having candy, as do those of other
countries, to satisfy an inherent desire for
sweets. select the clay the next best
or next worst thing, as the case may be
4si'tHs uettiS are caused ny II, ana, so far
the only remedy appears to b, in watching
the child so closely that Ii is not allowed
to satiate its craving for something that
will in the end cause death as certainly
as II the most noXious poison were used.
To satisfy their longing for ''dulc.'' or
something sweet, the children also make
themselves Ill by sucking the Cherry of
the coffee tree. Two coffee beans with
their fiat sides to one another, grow in
hull which is almost identical in looks with
the ox-heart cherry. The inside of this
has bitter-sweet taste, which. when there
is no clay to be had, is much sought after
While not dangerous as the clay, il
stli has bad effect on the child who eats