Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1923-01-09
PEYoTE.

E
prive the Indian OF his peyote That could
not very well be effected without a nineteenth
amendment enforced by the United States
Army. Peyote is older than the Constitution
was here before John Smith 1t can be con-
cealed in a moccasin carried in feather head
dress The supply is inexhaustible. Grave
and reverend Senators debated peyote whole
hour without learning much about it, and they
treated am appropriation OF SIS 000to curb the
habit among the Indians as joke. What
is peyote? asked Mr.: Harrison OF Misslssip-
pi. "A drug, :, replied Mr. Slifoot, Utah, that
acts upon the Indian as does bad whisky on
white man" Mr.. Ashurst of New Mexico
said that I'm the addict it produces the deus-
ion of great wealth, although i'll truth he IS
poor" If this were So it would be sin to
take ii away from any Indian but a reserva-
ton lnsg1ate OF Oklahoma Such pleasing
delusion impressed Senator's Why NEEDLE with
peyote? Il want to say observed Mr.. Smcot
that they use it in their religious worship, and
for that reason they object to its Suppression
4 hush fell upon the Senate, broken by ques-
ton from Mr.. Mcclellan of Tennessee What
is it made Of? "a small bean, i think, haz-
arted MIR. Slnoot st grows along the Rio
Grande in Texas put iii MIR Ashurst, who
pronounced it a ''deleterious drug. " He was
pronlptlv rebuked BY the Senator from Mis-
sissippi: t%.e 81
a few wears ago a few old, fossils in
the Interior Department made a report
that it was deleterious A House commit
tee is now investigating, and | oppose
this proposition because OF the legislation
pending in the House which will deter
rhine whether or not peyote is deleterious.
The tide was running against Mr. Ashurst
OF New Mexico. Mr. Jones OF the same State,
who had been on a peyote committee, spoke
up. A man OF Indian blood had said that the
effect was to bring about a very beautiful state
of mind, that after the Use OF this drug the
whole thought OF the individual Was centeref
upon everything that is beautiful and good
and hat if plenty of it could be had he could
make 4 Christian out of every Indian Ill the
United States A sigh went through the
Senate. Nevertheless, Mr.. Jones was moved
to say that whether peyote was deleterlous to
the Indians physical or spiritual welfare IT
was impossible to determine from the EVIL
dence. which came from Il great number OF
witnesses" Accordingly the peyote item was
struck from the bill and $4,000 was saved
for the white man.
In period when the bootlegger IS admit
ted to the best society as benetactor 1t was
not strange that Senators idealized peyote,
worker OF dreams and decisions agreeable
Everything had been taken from the Indian
but pevote: let him have it. At the Lake MO
honk Conferences peyote is mathematical as
a bane to the Indian At the meeting III lSl4
an Omaha's affidavit was read:
After eating thirtysiN of these peyote
| cot lust like drunk, only more so, but
more good than when / drink whisky
The Treasurer of the Sacred Peyote So
cietv was sitting near me, and asked HIM
if he heard young kittens. 1t sounded as
if they were right close to me, and then 1
sat still for long time and | saw big
black cat coming toward me. --~....-.---
The clawing that the black cat gave the no
vitiate decided him not to eat another peyote
III they gave me a $40 bill Padre Jose Or
tega, in his account OF peyote, published at
Barcelona in LISA, called it "raiz dlaboca'
devils root Another name for it IS the sac
red mushroom, Lophophora wiiamSli Bern
ardino Sahogun. writing in 1869, SAID that
the Chchimeca Indians had long used these
evil mushrooms which intoxicate like VINE.
w t. Stafford. botaniSt of the Department
of Agriculture, says that peyote resembles a
dried mushroom when prepared as drug,
but is the crown OF a small, tleShly, Spine!ess
cactus (Lophophora williamsii). Partaken OF
moderately. peyote NAV produce radiant dreams
and delectable emotions but devouncd grossly,
the result is a nervous state worse than deItr-
Il