Southwest Oregon recorder., January 20, 1885, Image 5

INDIAN HASHEESH.
t Effect Upon Physicians Who Ex
perimented With It.
"You must have heard of the has
heesh eaters of India," remarked a
. well known Cleveland physician to a
reporter. "When the news-gatherer
t replied in the affirmative, the doctor
continued: "Then you know all about
the intoxicating effects the eating of
the drug, or herb, or whatever it may
be called, has on the natives of India.
I have never traveled through that
country, but I have frequently read
and heard of those who are almost
- driven mad, wild and furious after in
dulging in hasheesh injudiciously."
"What does the preparation consist
of?" inquired the reporter. '
It is an acrid gum resin, manufac
tured principally of Indian hemp,
which grows in warm climates. The
leaves and flowers of the hemp are
boiled with butter or some other fatty
substance. The result is the hasheesh
we hear so much about But that is
neither here nor there; there is noth
ing new in hasheesh, its mode of man
ufacture, or in its effects upon the na
tives of India, but what I intended to
tell you was something of the effect
the drug had on me when I first ex
perimented with it
"I was then house physician at one
of the city hospitals, and had often
heard my fellow-students and physi
cians discussing the effects of hasheesh
and as I am inclined , to be of an ex
perimental nature I concluded to try a
moderate dose of it and watch the re
sults. One day a friend of mine re
ceived some of the genuine material
from India, not the weak stuff usually
sold in drug stores. I took a very
small dose of it and went to work as
usual attending to the patients.
"Late, in the afternoon when the
hasheesh I had taken that morning al
most seemed like a thing of the past,
as I had forgotten all about it, I was
in the sick-room" of a lady patient.
Suddenly, without a moment of warn"
ing, I felt an irresistible desire to
-burst out in a fit of laughter without
apparent cause or reason, but I re
strained myself somewhat, and with
out explanation to the patient I left
the room. "When I reached my apart
ment I was, in my estimation, the
happiest man in the universe, and re
peatedly laughed outright in the most
hilarious manner imaginable.
When the effect wore off I narrated
my experience to an older physician
-who said that I must have taken an
unusually small dose, as the effect of a
greater amount is of an entirely differ
ent nature. In a few days after my
first experience I tried it again, but I
found that instead of taking too small
a dose I undertook too much and swal
lowed an overdose.
"At first I felt unusually weak and
helpless to such an extent that I was
obliged to seek my bed, but suddenly
everything about me was changed;
articles in the room seemed greatly
magnified in distance, and in endeavor
ing to reach for something placed upon
a table near by my bed, I imagined it
was a mile away. The door seemed
further still, and before I had time to
make an effort to reach it my symp
toms suddenly changed, and I imagin
ed myself on the point of death. I was
as helpless as a babe, and could not
move any part of my body; my limbs,
arms and head were glued to the bed,
and, try as hard as I might, I found it
impossible to move them. My body
was covered with cold perspiration.
"I grew weaker and weaker every
moment; the beating of my pulse was
almost imperceptible, and apparently
the heart ceased to perform its func
tions. But, strange to say, I retained
full consciousness, thought every mo
ment was my last, felt all the symp
toms of a horrible death, and my ef
forts to call for assistance proved in
vain, for my voice was gone entirely
and I could not utter a sound.
"About the time when I imagined
that my last moment had arrived, and
looked at my approaching death with
comparative calmness and completa
resignation, I by degrees felt my
strength returningjmy heart commenc
ed to beat, first slowly, and by degrees
more naturally. Suddenly I regained
the use of my arms and limbs, felt
strong again, and I need not tell you
that I jumped out of that bed as fast
'as my strength would permit, and for
'.an hour or so I paraded up and down
that room like a pedestrian in training
I again told my experience to my
friend, and he informed me that I had
taken an overdose."
"Did you make any further experi- J
ments with the drug?"
"Any further experiments? No,
sir; I know when I have had enough
of experimenting, and you . may rest
assured that I shall net try it again.
One or two doses of hasheesh is quite
enough for my constitution."
GOOSE BACON.
A. flfew Edible ltapldly Growing In
Popularity.
"As a feature of my business," said a
Harrison-street packer to a reporter
for the Tribune, "I am introducing
smoked geese breasts."
"And do you find it profitable?"
was asked.
"I do, very."
"Will you tell me what you mean by
smoked geese breast ?"
"Smoked geese breast? Why, it is
a kind of delicacy, I suppose, but
there are places in the world where
they are as common as bacon. It is
not always easy to 'make the business
profitable, owing to the high price of
fowls. We can only preserve the
breast and legs. When the legs are
preserved," said the man, smiling
blandly, "they are called hams."
"How do you dispose of the other'
portions of the fowl?"
"Well, some of it we are compelled
to throw away. Other portions can be
used in making goose-lard. That, you
know sells at forty cents per pound.
We get from one to two pounds from
each fowl. This is a small yield, you
must understand, but we do not
hunt for fat geese in buying for the
trade. We want those that seem to
have plenty of meat, but as little fat
as is consistent with their health and
flavor. The breasts, when smoked
and dried, weigh on an average about
three pounds. Three and a half pounds
is about as heavy as we can get them
generally. They are cured almost the
same as pork hams except that we add
a little garlic to the sugar and salt.
When offered for sale the meat is as
dry as beef, and is chipped and eaten
raw. To tell you the truth there is
nothing better in the way of dried
meats. I ship a great . deal of the
dried meat or "goose-bacon" to New
York, and some I sell here, where the
other material is always disposed of
The only product sold in its green or
fresh condition is the livers. These I
sell under contract to one man,' who
pays me fifteen cents apiece for them.
You know they are very small All
healthy livers are, though' the most
unnaturally enlarged ones bring the
most money."
"You speak only of geese; do you
distinguish . between them and the
ganders?"
"Oh, no! there is only a trifling dif-,
ference, if any, in the flavor, and we
pay no attention to sex in replenishing
our stock of fowls."
"Who are your patrons 2"
"They are divided chiefly among the
Jews and the Germans, and by both
goose-bacon is considered a rare deli
cacy. . You would be surprised to see
the kind of people who buy of me. I
have people, who come here in carria
ges to make purchases and leave or
ders. I often have more orders than I
can fill. During the last cold spell I
was unable to do much business on
account of the high price of fowls.
The price always advances, by the
way, whenever it grows cold enough
to ship the dressed fowl East"
To Tell Good Batter.
The steward of a Detroit hotel said
to a Free Press reporter : Any house,
keeper can prove the honesty of her
grocer, or his butter, by melting it
Pure butter melted produces a pure,
limpid, golden oil, and . it retains the
butter flavor. Melt oleomargarine, and
the oil smells like tallow, and a scum
rises to the surface. Butterine is a
mixture of dairy butter and fats. Melt
that and the butter , oil will rise tc
the top. Tour this off, and you will
find the fats at the bottom, whitish in
color and giving off a disagreeable
smell.
A Leeral Opinion.
"I notice in the papers," said the
wife of a well known judge, "that
some lawyers are advocating that
judges should be clothed in silken
gowns." , v
"Yes," he replied, straightening
himself up. "How do you think I
would look in a silken gown."
"I hardly know," said the lady.
"You might look well or you might
not, but it is about time that somebody
in the family had a new silken gowff,"
An American Farmer In Russia.
"A camel can carry a ton."
Bobert Eldridge of Cincinnati, who
las recently returned from Bussia,
where he has been rearing goats and
jamels, says he has seen good pack
amels carry more than a ton on their
backs, but a ton is considered a fair
burden.
"Are there many camels reared in
Russia?"
"The industry is not important in a
Sommercial point of view. I have
been engaged at it four years. I have
5gured that there are 25,000 camels in
the Kuldscha and Erivian districts, the
Kalmucks have about 20,000, and the
Khirgese not far from 180,000. Cam
sis are bred fbr their labor principally
but also for their hair and milk. A
camel will shear from eighteen to
twenty-two pounds of hair. This is
worth in the open market about $2.50
a pound."
"You also raised goats ?" .
"Yes, 1 had about 800 on ' my ranch
when I left. There are over a million
and a half of goats in European Bus
sia. The industry is the most impor
tant in the mountainous portions
of the Caucausus. The Angora
and Cashmere breeds are bred in som9
of the governments for their milkf
meat and hair. In 1880 the export of
goat down amounted to $38,000, while
the coarser qualities of hair about
doubled it. The largest export was in
1876, when it reached $400,000 for down
and coarse hair combined."
"What do you know of bee culture
in Bussia ?"
"In Little Bussia and Lithuania, the
great linden forests render bee-keeping
very profitable. The finest honey I
ever saw is produced in Kovno. Largest
quantities come from the governments
of Yekaterinoslay and Pollova. There
are over 450,000 hives in those two
districts. Kaluga produces annually
about 1,760 poods of honey and 3,500
poods of wax. A pood contains about
thirty-six pounds. The annual pro
duction in the Don Cossack country
amounts to $50,000 in round numbers
"In Volhynia and Bessarabia the
combined yield of honey reaches a val
ue of nearly $200,000 a year. The
annual yield of the whole empire is
not far from $400,000, or about 18,000
tons. To this must be added nearly
5,000 tons of wax, worth $2,000,000.
This is about all consumed in Russia,
the exports being very smalls. . .,
Making a Home in the West,,
With only a team and a few dollars
.the emigrant determines to make him
self a home in the wilds of Nebraska.
His first care is to build a sod house,
as he must have shelter. This done,
about the middle of May he commen
ces breaking prairie, and if he ha3 a
good horse team, succeeds in getting
from forty to sixty acres broken by
the middle of June. A few acres of
first breaking are usually planted with
corn, dropped into a cut made through
the sod with an ax, which incision is
closed again by the foot of the planter.
This cannot be cultivated, and is whol
ly at the mercy of the season. Half
the time it is a failure, but if a favor
able season, yields twenty or thirty
bushels to the acre. Melons and pump
kins usually do well on sod, and
turnips sown in mid-summer seldom
fail. In the fall he "back-sets" his
ground with his breaking plow, tak
ing an inch or so of ground from be
low the spring breaking. The ground
should not be plowed deeper than it is
thoroughly rotted. The ground is now
ready for the crop, and his wheat is
sown the last of February, or in
March. He has plenty' of work to do,
and hard work at that No chance to
make money escapes him. ' The first
year or two is almost invariably one
of hardships and privations for the
average household. The weak or
shiftless ones usually give way in de
spair and turn eastward. The reso
lute ones stay, and soon have com
fortable homes. But no young man
should go West unless he is prepared
to work hard in the face of many diffi
culties. Quarterly.
"now often do you present your bill
to that young fellow?" said a gentle
man to a cigar store man, whom a dude
told to charge him with a package of
cigarettes.
"Quarterly, sir."
"What? You don't mean to say you
trust him for three months ?"
"Oh no, of course not. Quarterly in
this case means every time the bill
amounts to a quarter."
JOHN CHINAMAN'S WATS
Peculiarities of the Almond-Eyed
Oriental Residing n Ctan.
A year in no other place can afford
more amusing incidents than a twelve
month in -Utah among the Chinese
scattered in numbers throughout the
Territory.
To use the word Chinese, erroneous
ly implies both sexes; there are only
men. Many of these keep tea stores
and china shops, but they are princi
pally engaged in laundrying and gar
dening. Some few find situations as
house servants in private families, and
most of the hotels emplcy Chinese
cooks, but any hotel engaging jin this
capacity tries to conceal the fact The
prejudice against them is so great that
mine host fears to injure his house by
acknowledging them to be cooks.
This prejudice is not political, but
arises from a suspicion of their cleanli
ness. ' .
The Chinamen are successful as ped
dlers, and clatter about over the wood
en sidewalks in the ' Western towns,
making a patter in their queer wooden
shoes, stopping t every door to sell
vegetables, out of picturesque panier.
shaped baskets, which hang at their
sides from each end of a pole, as the
scales are represented on the statues of
Justice, only the Chinamen carry this
pole across the back of the neck, bend
ing the neck slightly forward to hold it
in place. -
When the vegetable season is over,
during the midwinter on the Pacific
Slope, they peddle wares they bring
from China and Japan; lacquered trays,
fans of ivory, sandal wood, feathers and
paper, carved boxes, ( parasols, puzzles
and shallow porcelain cups cased in
wicker, which they say i3 to make them
proof against breaking when Chinese
babies, having finished drinking tea
from them, throw them to the floor.
They are very persistent, and as pa
tient watching for a trade as is a cat
watching a rat-hole. They take infinite
pains to show you all their wares,
which they carry around on their heads
in huge clothes baskets. They will un
load a whole basket of frail things, and
are as polite if at the end of an hour
you have bought nothing, as if their
labor had been well rewarded.
They all carry around face powder,
of a chalky white, made of fish-bone,
and tablets of rouge, which they are
fond of giving to lady customers who
buy generously of their wares.
Their rouge is very peculiar. It is a
green, glassy-looking- tablet, which,
when they moisten by touching the
finger first to the tongue, then to the
tablet, rubs off a beautiful vivid rose
color, but is ghastly and unnatural on
the skin.
It is interesting to the stranger to
meet two or three Chinamen walking
along together chanting to each other
instead of talking in a conversational
tone. They sing everything to each
other in a recitative strain. They have
childlike voices usually; and a bearded
Chinaman is almost as rare as a beard
ed woman. They are so small in height
and so slight that the forms of the old
est men look childlike, and their faces
are so thin and yellow and their eyes
so dull that the faces of the youngest
boys look like old men.
When their day's work i3 done, the
old men amuse themselves by playing
ball and flying kites, which is consider
ed a very praiseworthy pastime. They
have aJegend that many centuries ago
a grear earthquake shook the Chinese
Empire to its center, and only those
escaped death who were engaged at the
moment flying kites. They have look
ed upon it ever since as an occupation
which must be pleasing to the gods. .
The older a Chinaman grows, the
more time he gives to play while the
; youth work without relaxation. They
make a life-work of carrying out the
advice of the adage: "Business before
pleasure." -
Female Detectives.
A superintendent of detectives in
New York say3 of female detectives:
"We do not employ, women, because It
is our firm conviction that women can.
not be relied on. ' We have tried them
and found them wonderfully quick at
divining the source of a mysterious
crime, patient in testing a plan for
capturing a suspected person, and
yes, uncommunicative. There is just
one reason, and only one reason, why
they are not to be trusted no one can
tell who has the most influence over
them. Anyhow, we can't afford to
take the risk of employing them and
being betrayed by them." r ;
Flowers in the Sick Boom.
The "superstition," as he called it
that plants are not healt hf ul in slec ping;
or sick rooms, was vigorously attacked,
by Dr. J. M. Andrews, in a lecture
before the social meeting of the alumni
of the Philadelphia College, of Phar
macy. The deleterious matter that
they gave out, the doctor declared, is
too sm;il to have any appreciable ef
fect, while their positive value in av
sick room is great They fulfil two
functions that of the generation of
ozone and exhalation of vapor, by
which the atmosphere of the room is
kept in a healthful condition of humid
ity. Tests made by the doctor at
Christ Hospital showed that in "two
rooms, alike in all respects except that
one contained some flowers and the
other none, that containing the flowers
was cooler by 1J degrees than the
other.
The ozone, which is generated by.
budding and flowering plants, the doc
tor had found to have great sanitary
value, in that it purified the air, rid
ding it of disease-breeding germs and
of vapors of decomposition. For con
sumption ozone is of great benefit, ar- .
resting the course of the malady, and.
by living among flowers constantly
consumptives have been known to
reach an advanced age. Of thirty
florists whom the doctor visited, ha
found none who had the consumption,
though among the families of several
it was hereditary. Foliage plants, the
doctor found, produced no ozone, and,
so far as he had experimented, he had
found no difference between odoriferous
ind non-odoriferous plants.
Choking a Wildcat.
, We have laughed over the fable of
the man who had the tiger by the taiL
and dared not let go. That the man
himself in such a position does not
feel much like laughing, a resolute
farmer from Indiana can testify very
positively and he only caught a very
small kind of a tiger, either.
While visiting in Vinton County
Ohio, lately ,he suddenly encountered a
wildcat; in the woods. Having no
weapoiy to defend himself with, he
threw his whole weight on the cat and
crushed it to the ground, at the same
instant by strange good luck, grasping
the animal's neck with both hands. :
His weight held the wicked little
fighter close to the ground, 'with his
feet, its only weapons, under it while
by main strength he slowly choked the
life out of the animal. Even after life
was seemingly extinct, the farmer says
he was afraid to loosen his hold, and
only did so when the cramp in his fin
gers compelled him. He exhibits the
skin of the animal as a trophy, but
says he is not looking for other worlds
to conquer.
Saying and Doing:.
The man who is all the time saying7
what he is going to do when he accu
mulates five' thousand dollars, seldom
does it. Ten years ago, two poor but
honest young men, named William
Henry and John Thomas, sat upon a
rail fence trying to pry into the future.
Said William Henry, "When I accu
mulate fire thousand dollars I am going
West to buy a herd of cattle, and in a
short time I'll be a rich man.' John
Thomas did not reply, but got down oft
the fence and went West . while the.
walking was good. To-day William
Henry does not own a solitary cow,
bull or steer, while John Thomas has
more horned cattle out in Wyoming
than you could count in a week.
Peacocks Feathers.
A correspondent in riting on the
question of the unluckiness of pea
cocks' feathers, says, that the peacock's
feather is the emblem of an evil eye or .
an ever-watchful traitor in the house.
The story is this : Argus was the vig
ilant Minister of Osiris, King of Egypt
WTien Osiris started on his Indian ex
pedition he left his Queen, Isis, Be
gent and Argus her chief adviser. Ar-.
gus, with his one hundred eyes--oi -rather
secret spies soon made himself
so formidable and powerful that hf r
seized the Queen-Begent shut her up
in a strong castle and proclaimed him- '
self King of Egypt. Mercury was sent
against him with a large army ;--him
, captive and cut off his he; ,
whereupon Juno metamorphose .
inU a peacock and set his spies. iuhi
tail '