The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-02-08


One woman came hurrying to me one day.
just about two weeks ago. with doorbell
and asked me how much of the stuff 1
would give her for it. When Informed her
that / had no earthly use for doorbell.
she seemed terribly disappointed and went
away to devise some other means of secur-
ing some cocaine without the necessary
money to pay for it,
ATE SOAPSTONE PENCILS.
I'm all my experience. however, I have
never met with such an unusual and TO me
extremely interesting case as that OF the
woman and the soapstone slate pencils
This story Is not concerning a cocaine
fiend, but an unfortunate of an entirely
different kind. Several years ago a woman
whom had never seen before entered the
drug store one day and asked If we kept
soapstone slate pencils. such as children
use at school. 1 told her that had one
box of them. Very WELL. she said, I'll
take the box. She paid me 80 cents for a
large box of the pencils and left the place.
/ thought that of course she must be a
school teacher, as she was a woman of good
appearance. The next day she came again
and asked me If 1 had ordered any more
of the pencils. No. / answered, but / will
do to-day 4 wish that you would she
| said in a voice of so much concern that 1
looked at her in surprise, for I'll want a
good many of them, and as live near here
| now it will be convenient for me TO get
them here at lis store Well, she came
again the following week after my order
had been filled and bought two boxes of the
pencils. 1 wasn't in the store at the time,
but when my clerk CHANGED to mention the
sale / confess that 1 began TO feel such a
deep curiosity regarding the woman and
what seemed to be her strange hobby that
could scarcely get my mind off the thing.
/ concluded to question her when she put
in an appearance the next time. had not
long to wait, for she returned to the store
about two weeks later.
II asked her TO pardon my curiosity, but
to please tell me once and for all what In
the wide world she was doing with all those
slate pencils. She looked embarrassed for
a moment and then made her confession.
| She said that she simply loved the taste OF
| the soapstone. You don't eat them! ex-
| claimed, Mortified. Yes, she said, that 8
| exactly what i do with them eat them
| eat as many of them as one hundred
| every week and have been doing so for
years. 1 contracted the habit at schooi
| when 1 used to bite at my slate pencil as
| so many school children do.
AN UNACCOUNTABLE TASTE.
'I found as grew older that had culti-
waited a decided taste-passion, you might
call it-for soapstone slate pencils. Some
people are passionately fond Of olives
| Well, soapstone appeals to me In very
much the same way. Nowadays. am never
content without a slate pencil to chew upon
while engaged in my homework then no.
ticed for the first time that her teeth were
worn down in deplorable manner. l tried
| to urge her to discontinue the habit, but
| she only laughed at me for my pains, and,
after coming to the store several times
| again to buy her. beloved slate pencils, her
visits suddenly ceased. and 1 have never
| seen her since.
| 'The strange case was of such interest
| to me that took up the matter scientifical-
| ly and corresponded with prominent ply
stefan in Knoxville Tenn, in order to
learn something about the clay eaters that
| are to be found in the Great Smoky noun
| tains of Tennessee and North Carolina i
| soon became satisfied, from my investiga-
ton of the subject, that the passion of the
indianapolis woman was very similar to
the passion of the Southern mountaineers
| for clay. She had the same sallow COM
| plexion, too, that always marks the clay
eater. There are some queer things that
fall under the observation of the pharma-
| cist of a big city, but nothing has ever
come to my notice in a professional way
that has brought home to me with such
| conviction the peculiarities of human be-
ings as did this poor woman who could
not get rid of her love for soapstone."