El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-18
Opium Smokers
New York Den BY Thirty "Fends


thieves, thugs and the women are the
aristocracy of their class.
No opium smoker is long fastidious
about his environment. With the
| loosening of the moral fibre that is the
| drugs unfailiDg consequence, there
| comes an Indifference to everything
but the soothing smoke.
The fastidiOus victim is quick enough
to notice and cry out if inferior opium
is substituted for the high-priced III
Yuen, but if the opium is good, the
man or woman slave to it will enjoy it
equally If it is served among laces and
velvets or if it is sucked from the pipe
in a reeking Chinatown cellar with q
leprous coolie as pipe mate. Moth
ing batters when the treaclv pill swells
snd bubbles over the lamp. There are
no distinctions, Only knowledge that
the agony of burning desire is fading
into the bliss of perfect calm and con-
tent.
1t is a common belief that the Chin
csc are able to smoke opium without be-
coming absolute slaves to it. Really,
the Chinese opium drunkard is relative
ly as prevalent among them as the
whiskey drunkard among white men.
The longing for the drug drives the
poor coolle back as soon as he has
earned or stolen enough to pay for
even a short smoke. He cannot, like
the white man or woman smoker, lay
down SIS or $40 aud wallow in opium for
hours and days.
The men who were arrested as Ellis's
guests wore good clothes after the
habit of their kind, but livid faces and
sunken eyes told that they were far
gone "fiends.'' After the night in Jail
"yen yen" was strong on all of them.
They were hungry for more, of the
drug, and they stood up and lied to the
judge desperately. With the opium
stains on their hands and clothes they
swore they were not smokers and that
they were only at the den for curl
osity's sake.
The women lied even harder than
the men. They were of the same sort
but described themselves as dressmak
ers, seamstresses and housekeepers.
One was blond, bleached and bloated
the drug acts to these effects some
times--but the other three were drawn,
hollow-eyed and emaciated. They said
they had been seeing the town and
were only at the, place because it was
one of the sights.
The police DO not know them parti-
cularly-except one. She is the young
est of the four. She came here from
Ohio four years ago with gam bier
who had married her at the point Of
shot gun.
She made some pretense of being an
actress and presently deserted her
gambler husband for q theatrical man.
He taught her to smoke opium and
she has been patron of nearly every
opium resort that has been started up
town since. She was released on bail
yesterday.
Ellis was also bailed out, and he
revisited the raided den yesterday af
ternOOn.
a.
Hill's Club" was it is we'll supplied in
all the essen tials.
The police seized twelve pipes, twen-
ty-five yen hooks, thirty-one bowls,
five saddles, seventeen lamps, eleven
scrapers, twenty-five pairs of scissors,
twelve small traps, several packs of
playing cards, jar of first-class opium
valued at $50, and one box of an infe-
rior grade of opium.
each party of four smokers, so this |
place was fitted to accommodate about
fifty patrons night.
Ellis's case Is to be heard this morn |
ing. His defense is that he merely |
called st Harry HILLS and that he was
in no way interested in the place.
His fats on Sixty fourth street are
queer places. The lower floors seem |
to be respectable; there are many chill |
sure that there are other |
opium places and other evil resorts all |
them.
The den raided on Wednesday night
Ia connected with the next door fiat by |
3 bridge to afford an avenue of escape.
The police. of course, blocked it when
they made the raid.
When q reporter for the Journal
vent to the place last night q group of
little girls were playing on the steps.
"You can't get in," cried one, notic-
ing which bell was rung, 'tbey raided
the joint last night"