The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-05-12
EFFECTS OF MESCAL.
THE PECULIAR ACTION or the DRUG
UPON THE BRAIN.

vealing an Optical Fairyland 10 III
IntoxicateA senses.
fss The use Of opium and hasheesh to stimu
aate the Imagination 10 not considered
highly moral practice These drug
should be INDUCED In, II at all, only unde
carefully prescribed conditions. But an
other drug which has come into notic
within the last few years, while produoin,
equally delightful visions, seems to be FREE
from some Of the objections that may b,
offered to the first two mentioned In tn,
Judgment of those who have tried 1t 1t Il
more strictly intellectual In Its appeal tt
the senses; Its Immediate after effects ar,
not 20 pernicious as those of better kpowr
drugs. 'r
The name "mesoal" Is associated In
the popular mind (and in the Dictionaries
with distilled beverage obtained from
the agaye, whose ferlnented juice makes
another notable drink, Mexico's favorits
pulque But the same word has also been
used to designate an entirely different
preparation, derived from a certain species
of cactus, whose brown and bitter leaves
are pressed into solid button. For many
| years the Kiowa Indians of this country
have been In the habit of paying peculiar
| homage to five or six related varieties Of
| cactus, NO doubt because Of their discov-
cry OF this property possessed by one Of
them.
On Saturday nights they are accustom.
ed to combine in one performance the fea-
lures Of a semireligious ceremony and a
mild debauch. A number of them having
seated themselves on the ground around a
campfire and within a large tent, they
swallow three or four mesoal buttons
apiece and then solemnly await results.
Their reyeries are attended with singing
and the beating Of drums by assistants
The kiowas begin this strange rite with
prayer, and at intervals through he night
they swallow more buttons, until each
man has taken about dozen.
levin, Berlin scientist, discovered in
1888 that this cactus to which lac gave the
name Anhalonium lewihii, contained
poison that might be elassed with strych-
nine, but he did not learn anything of its
vision exciting powers, James Mooney,
representative of the United States bu-
reau OF ethnology, was apparently the first
white man to bring the subject to the at.
tention of civilized folk His studies Of
the habits of the Kiowul had made him
familiar with the drug, and he had tried
1t himself while among the Indians of that
tribe. In 1891 he brought quantity Of
mescal to Washington, und some expert
ments were made with it there.
Subsequently DR. Weir Mitchell tried it
on himself. Later Havelock Ellis made
some tests with himself and several other
persons, either artists or poets, in London.
Neither Mr.. Ellis nor his friends ever took
more than three Or four buttons For a
beginner that seems to be the correct dose,
although for sensitive persons such an
amount may prove rather too powerful
and rapid In its action.
Although all of the senses are to some
extent stimulated by mescal, 1t was the
visual perceptions that were chiefly affect.
ed in the cases of Mr.. Ellis and his friends
Mr. Ellis himself enjoyed ravishing dis.
plays OF color-now a succession of hues
and then an infinite variety of the tints of
one hue. For instance, at one moment he
saw in rapid progression scarlets Grim
sons and pinks; at another there was a
distinct predominanoe of golden color.
The first effect of the drug however, was
the tendency of q printed page at which
he was gazing to assume blue or violet |
border, and at frequent intervals thereafter !
he was conscious of an exceptional abun.
dance of this hue. Almost the only after
enect which he records was heightened |
appreciation Of blue and violet.
Again there were great alterations in |
the brightness Of the show. Sometimes |
the colors were somber and sometimes ex-
ceedingly vivid. Indeed there were mo.
lnents when he seemed to be gazing upon
a most dazzling assortment of jewels.
Form was less conspicuous phase of
the display, yet it was not excluded there
from. There were lace patterns, ara
besques, porcelain designs and finally pic
buresque human figures Occasionally
The sense of smell was excited delightfully."-.
Most Of the visual phenomena were per-
'eived when the experimenter' eyes were
closed, but If he raised his lids and looked
about him any conspicuous object, like a
gas Jet was likely to assume fantastic
shapes and constantly changing proper
ions. 1t would enlarge and contract with
'mazing frequency. 1t has been suggest.
ii that the kiowas have definite object
n keeping a fire blazing before tn EN-
they indulge in mescal seance.
The artist on whom experiments were
rled had weak heart and experienced
ono unpleasant physical sensations. He
Uttered slightly from nausea, which was
ellcved when biscuit was handed to him
0 eat, and at times he felt severe pains in
he ncighborhood of the heart. He also
eported an oppressive sense of suffocation,
lnging in the ears, hot eyes and hands
nd tremors But he emerged from the
rdeal without harm. His visions were q
title different from those of Mr.. Ellis,
ut on the whole the excitation of the
DIOR sense was the predominant feature.
II of the definite forms that he perceived
ere grotesque and suggested Aubrey
eardsley's conceptions.
The time which elapsed from the first
ose to the last perceptible effect of the
rug was usually about 10 hours. One
light lie down-and he was apt to feel
INDECENT after little to do SO
but the subject was not sleepy, and he
SO found that he possessed certain
mount of intellectual independence. Mr..
Ills says:
"Mescal intoxication may be described
chiefly saturnalia of the specific ,
hses anu, apoVe all, an orgy OF vision. A
rye part Of it's charm lies in the halo of
'auty which it casts around the simplest .
I'd comfnonest objects. 1t reveals an
'tical fairyland, where all the senses now
I'd then join the play, but the mind itself
mains self possessed spectator Mescal
toxication thus differs from the other
tifcal parMises which drugs procure.
nder the influence Of alcohol, as in nor. \
al dreaming, the intellect is impaired,
ough there may be a consciousness of
usual brilliance. Hasheesh again, pro- y
ices an uncomfortable tendency to move. \
ent and battles its victim in sea of \
notion. The mescal drinker remains Y
In and collected among the sensory
rmoil around him. His Judgment is as
,ar as in the normal state. He falls into Y
oriental condition of vague and yolup-
Gus reverie. On this ground it Is not
obable that its uses will easily deyelon Y