Evening star., 1909-05-29
DYNAMITE USED As Dope
MEXICAN PEoNS TAKE THE
STUFF FOR DREAMS.
Experience of Man Who Took
Large Doses of the Explosive.
The Things He Saw.
From the Mexican Herald.

From the Mexican Herald.
Opium. marihuana. morphine and CO.
caine are all insipid drugs when 1t comes
to dynamite for the induction of a really
enjoyable sleep said Henry Bexter, .
mule driver. who has been engaged in
construction work on the Pacific coast
until recently, last night.
Il tried 1t and I guess l know. Dyna-
mite as narcotic, or a dope, was dis
covered some years ago by Mexieans en-
ployed in loading powder holes on rail-
road construction work. Americans have
long known the headache producing pow
er OF nitro-glycerine. and have dreaded
the handling Of powder in any shape or
entering places where explosions had TAX
en- place. before the smoke had been
cleared out. A tiny bit of the grease
smeared on the nose will produce a nau-
seating headache which will last three
days But 1t remained for the poems to
find out that dynamite was a iuxury.
Dynamite eating is common on the
Pacific slope among Indians who have
worked upon the Southern Pacific rail-
road construction work. They take a
small grain of it. the size OF tiny pill,
and dissolve it in a glass Of teduila.
Searching out cool. shady place, in
which they are not apt to be disturbed.
lot III l0dSC IWenty-IOur nOuFS, Iney OT1Nk
this down, or several drinks like it. &C
cording to how far they have advanced
In the habit, and roll over in their blank
cts in the shade. When they awanen
they have a headache that is murderous.
and many pretty tough fights have re-
suited from too much indulgence In dyna-
mite. But while they sleep they enjoy
a dream that the thousand and one au
thors Of the Arabian Nights tales could
not have described had they all set to
work on the one theme.
Dynamite Dreams.
II took some of the dope on a wager
one Saturday night" Mr.. Bexter went on
to say, "and as by midnight was only
more awake than ever, l took NO more
large drinks. I was still awake Sunday
morning. and feeling extraordinarily ex-
hiarated and wideawake. The fact that
the dope would not make me sleep an
noyed me. and l again took double swal-
low
LAS the stuff went down the last time
heard a sharp explosion as If the top Of
a hill had been blown off. I thought my
head had exploded. l only thought this
one instant, for the next moment ]. was
deep in the bosom of Morpheus. l was
asleep so soundly that a drop off fifty
meter bridge would not have woke me up.
Dreams began to pull off their game
like the last performance when the act
ors have to catch a midnight train to
leave town. The first impression l re-
ceived was that l was locomotive engi-
neer and fireman, also doing the work of
conductors and brakemen, on four express
trains running side by side. pulled by dou-
ble-headers and pushed behind with eX-
ira locomotives. all running on four
track railroad line. l tied back the whis-
ties, drove in wedges to hold the throttles
wide open and began to shovel coal with
one hand and punch passenger tickets
with the other. We were riding for our
lives.
Wakes in Hospital.
Suddenly We struck a forty-degree
curve and turned into night black tun-
mel on a 10 per cent grade. The pas
sengers were drinking champagne and
eating cake and wanted me to join them,
and the fact that l had too much busi-
ness to do at the time to keep the trains
from hitting the sides OF the tunnel and
scratching of the paint was a tantaliz-
ing thought. Just as We were coming
out of the other end of the tunnel heard
another loud explosion that sounded like
all the locomotives had been blown up at
once.
"Then everything became black and
was unconscious until / woke up in a
hospital at Guadalajara two days later
1t took five doctors and twelve trained
nurses six days and nights to relieve me
Of my headache. The physician who took
the strength of my headache with spe-
cial instrument that shows headaches b.
horsepower or oot-pound-minutes, said
that II it were divided into ordinary
headaches such as men have after a
nights whisky or beer carousals it
would have gone around a whole regi-
ment Half of Chicago could have been
given sick headaches four days by divid
ing up mine. and seven Ice wagons work
ing short trips two days would have been
required to carry ice to keep their heads
from bursting. I won't eat any more dy-
Mantle, no matter what anybody else
has to say about it."