Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-17
CLAY EATERS.
A Curious Habit-Akin to the Chewing
of Gum or Tobacco.

From the New York Times.
A recent traveller who has been study
ing the old country traversed by Keno
phon on his famous forced march from
Babylonia to the Black sea has noted the
effects on the peasantry of eating earth
mixed with flour. The Armenians being
in the majority, are not allowed to have
arms in their possession; the Kurds, who
are nominally Mohammedans are per-
mitted by the Turks to plumber and op-
press their Christian fellow citizens at their
own sweet savage will; hence abiect pov-
erty among the Armenian villagers who
scarcely keep soul and body together IT is
these unfortunates who are massacred
every now and then when some ambitions
Osmanli or kurd wishes to earn a decora-
ton for his prowess in suppression of fic-
l, 1 lhsurIectioh' 1t Is they who liter
ally 'eat dirt.
The of various CLAWS. mixed with
flour or entirely pure, does not however
mean in every case that hunger was the
patentee. Some of the most unappea sa BILE
clay and earth eaters seem never To have
had the spur of necessity to drive them tn
such perversty. On the Amazon and
Orinoco the Indian tribes lay up during the
dry season store of slightly-roasted halls
of potter's clay for eating when tha roin,,
season stops the fishing. They eniov cr11nch,
ing these clay balls between tbeir +aath -
any Tune. Inc Eskimos. the Otomacs. the
of
India consume clays of different kindS -
orally soft, smooth, fatty sort. lust as we
eat candy; especially do the women and
chiioren indulge the habit. Scientists have
iinasiIea tnat geophagy is disease a
perversion of the human mind and con 90
or taste, because in many cases geonbao;sts
pine away in consequence of too ~norob of
their unnatural food But the facts are
not SO tragic IN the case of Spanish and
Portuguese ladies who MUNICH the thin
| brittle potsherds of the water coolers mr.
! the patients who used to be fed on costly
little biscuits of clay from Lemnos. Malta
or Cyprus, in the firm belief that they would
| be cured of certain maladies thereby
Our clay eaters In the southern Stotas
| are supposed to, have learned the trick
from the negroes of the west coast. who
| are convinced eaters of soft potter $
! clay. The norlotony of their food NAV
have something TO do with the habit. and
possibly certain useful chemical elements
are supplied to the stomach in this cr,Ifsa
way; but it, .sesms more sensible to be-
lieve that such habits are similar to child.
| ish tricks Hike chewing gum, the eating
of nuts in endless quantities. the use Of
| tobacco for chewing Most children if left
to themselves viii try any peculiar looking
clay by puqtiag some in their mouths.
| Clay eating ID soewidespread among savage,
semi ciyiliZediaafd advanced peoples that
1t cannot be gronsdered so abnormal as it
once appeared. Like the bark ground fine
mix with tfeif fye and buckwh u ''i fiour
| in times of fanaSne, the use of soft claws
when kneaded with nutritious food does
not destroy the health 1t is only when
it becomes a passion that the victim of
| this trick suffers, and often dies.
Our bakers, however, should not say, go
to, we shall make the loaf heavy and vet
not unsavory, with cunning clays," nor
! imagin that alum, that magical stuff.
does no harm; neither should the candy
| makers load their wares with terra alba
undetected and unassailed. There Is
great need OF watchfuiness over a staple
article like bread lest the ingredients
meant to tighten and whiten 1t should be
adding to our national disease