Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 122, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 May 1918 — MESCAL-EATING HABIT GROWS AMONG INDIANS [ARTICLE]

MESCAL-EATING HABIT GROWS AMONG INDIANS

Becoming a Menace, Says Secret Service Agent Fighting Evil. Winnebago, Neb.— The mescal evfl among the Indians Is becoming a menace, according to F. T. Thunder, an Indian employed in the Government secret service. In addition to his regular work Mr. Thunder la fighting the mescal traffic. Indians of the Winnebago reservation are especially given to the use of-the drug, Thunder declares. The mescal plant bears small brown pellets about the size of the average overcoat button. These when eaten in quantities of a dozen or more leave the user in a temporary state of mental derangement, during which, the Indians believe, they are communicating with the holy spirit “While you are under the influence of this drug you do not see things as they really are,” said Thunder. “I Used the drug for a long time, and I thought as some of them do now. I could hear bells ringing and could see visions of heaven. I had a hard time quitting, pyit I did so. I am trying to persuade others to quit “But we are powerless to stop the evil except thru gentle means. When I come upon a number of men using mescal, each has a Bible, and they say they are holding a religious meeting. If I try to interfere they call have me arirested for disturbing the peace. “There is no law I know of against the use of the mescal plant, but we hope the Legislature will take it np soon. It is killing many red men. Some of them feed it to their babies to quiet them.”