The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-10-21
A POISONOUS PLANT.
some of the Early History OF To-
bacco in This Country and France.
New York Press

(New York Press
For a long time the tobacco plant
grew unknown and solitary in the
WHO'S or America. 1t attained height
Oh SIX feet The foreigners came here
with brandy to get drunk on-a vio-
lent poison-and the Indians, not TO be
outdone, introduced them to tobacco
another violent poison. A fair exchange
was made-the Indian got drunk on
the white mans brandy and the white
man got drunk on the red mans to-
bacco.
Prominent among the family of pois-
onous plants are the henbane, the da-
tura stramonium and the tobacco
plant The tobacco plant is perhaps a
little less poisonous than the datura,
put IL is more poisonous than the hem
bane, which is a violent poison.
Ihose who began putting tobacco
aust (snuif) up their noses as a cere-
pral stimulant were first laughed at
ana then prosecuted more or less. King
James |. of England wrote against
snun-takers book entitled "Misocap-
nos. The meaning is "a hater of
smoke" He also wrote "a Cour,tar-
blaste to Tobacco" Pope Urban VIII.
communicated ali persons who took
snuff in churches. Empress Elizabeth
thought ii necessary to add something
10 the penalty of accommodation
pronounced against those who used the
black dust during the divine SER
vices, and authorized the beadles to
connScate the snuff boxes to their own
use. Amurath ". forbade the use of
snun under pain of having the nose
cut off.
Thrifty France was the first country
that thought of converting a worthless
plant into a revenue producer. No use
full plant could have WithstoOd the at
tacks that were made by church and
state on tobacco. NJ. Crapaud said to
NJ. Saureau: Let us seek the means of
filling the Golfers of the state by a
voluntary tax Let us set about sell
ing something which everybody will
like to do without. In America there is
plant essentially poisonous; if from
its leaves you extract an empyreumatic
oil, a single drop of it will cause an
animal to die in horrible commissions.
Suppose we offer this plant for sale
chopped up or reduced to a powder
We will sell it very dear, and tell peo-
pie to snuff the powder up their
noses"
a great reasoner was NJ. Crapaud.
1.-THE first time that a man will smoke
he Will feel sickness. nausea giddiness
and COLES; but that will go off by de-
grees, and in time he will get so ac-
custOmed to IT that he will feel such
symptoms now and then-when he
smokes tobacco that is bad, or too
strong, or when he is not well, or in
five or six other cases. Those who take
ii in powder will sneeZe, have a dis
agreeable smell, lose the sense of SMELL
ing and establish in their nose a sort
Of perpetual blister. We will sell il
very dear, and reserve to ourselves the
monopoly of it,
NJ. Crapaud was heartily laughed at;
but he was persistent, and positively
enthusiastic. MY good friend" one
would say, nobody will envy you the
privilege OF selling a common weed
that no one will care to buy. Yor
might as well open shop and write
on it, Kicks sold here or 'Such-a-ont
sells blows, wholesale and retail YOU
will find as many customers as for you
poisonous weed"
Who would have believed that the to
bacco speculation would answer per
! fectly? The kings of France wrote M
satires against snuff, had no noses Gu
| off, confiscated no snuff boxes. Fal
from it. They sold tobacco, laid an i'm
post on noses, and gave snuff boxes Il
poets, with their portraits on the liz
and diamonds all around. This littl
| trade has brought millions into tn
French treasury. The potato, stapl
article of food. was much more diff
| cult to pOpulariZe