“bright helen mixed a mirth-inspiring bowl,
tempered with drugs of sovereign use, to assuage
the boiling bosom of tumultuous rage;
to clear the cloudy front of wrinkled care,
and dry the tearful sluices of despair.”
pope’s homer.
the influence of climate in modifying the characters of plants is a circumstance known to all botanical students. the same plant, in temperate regions and under the tropics, exhibits different properties, or, we should rather say, in one instance developes more highly certain properties which in the other lie nearly dormant. the newly-introduced sorghum, from which we have been promised an unfailing supply of excellent sugar, fails in the north of france to reach that degree of maturity, or to develope in such manner its saccharine secretions as to be available for the manufacture of a crystallizable sugar. the sweet floating grass (glyceria fluitans) in poland and russia supplies farinaceous seeds, which, under the name of manna croup, are consumed as food; but no seeds at all available for that purpose are produced at home from the same plant, although it grows213 freely. the flavour of the onion, as grown in egypt, is, we are assured, far milder, and vastly different from the bulbs cultivated in britain. the odour of violets and other flowers grown for perfumery and other purposes at nice, have a scent more rich and delicious than when grown in english soil, subject to our variable climate. but the most extraordinary effect of all, produced by these influences upon plants, occurs in the case of hemp, which in europe developes its fibrous qualities to such an extent as to produce a material for cordage hitherto unsurpassed; but in india, while deficient in this respect, developes narcotic secretions to such an extent as to occupy a prominent position among the chief narcotics of the world.
it was for some time supposed that the indian or narcotic hemp was a different species to that which is cultivated for textile purposes; and even now it is often characterised by a different specific name, which would seem to assume that the species are distinct. this, however, the most celebrated of our botanists deny. the difference is declared to be, not one of species, but of climate, and of climate only. the native home of the hemp plant is assigned by dr. lindley to persia and the hills in the north of india, whence it has been introduced into other countries. burnett says, “hemp seed is nutritious and not narcotic; it has the very singular property of changing the plumage of bullfinches and goldfinches from red and yellow to black, if they are fed on it for too long a time or in too large a quantity.” never having tried the experiment, we have no ground for disputing or authority for verifying these remarks. if such, however, is the case, hemp seed possesses some property, if not narcotic, which canary and poppy seeds, we should presume, do not.
johnny englishman, with his usual genius for214 discovery and invention, has been discovered filling his pipe on board ship with oakum, when the stores of tobacco have been exhausted, but not being satisfied from his own experiments of the superiority of hemp, in that form, to his brother jonathan’s tobacco, he therefore adheres to the latter. he considers hemp an excellent thing when twisted into a good hawser, but does not like it as “twist” in the masticatory acceptation of the term; nor does he at all admire the twist of ben battle, when
“round his melancholy neck
a rope he did entwine,
and for his second time in life,
enlisted in the line.
“one end he tied around a beam,
and then removed his pegs;
and as his legs were off, of course
he soon was off his legs.
“and there he hung till he was dead
as any nail in town;
for though distress had cut him up,
it could not cut him down.”
hemp is one of those plants which adapts itself well to any climate: there is scarce a country in europe where it cannot, or might not, be cultivated. from poland and russia in the north, to italy in the south, the fibre is supplied to our markets. in north america it is grown for its fibre, and in south america for its narcotic properties. throughout africa, it may be found chiefly as an article for the pipe. in most of asia it is known, and it has been cultivated in australia. thus, in its distribution, it may now be considered as almost universal.
twenty-five centuries ago, herodotus wrote of its cultivation by the scythians:—215—“they have a sort of hemp growing in this country very like flax, except in thickness and height; in this respect the hemp is far superior—it grows both spontaneously and from cultivation, and from it the thracians make garments very like linen, nor would any one who is not well skilled in such matters distinguish whether they are made of flax or hemp; but a person who has never seen this hemp, would think the garment was made of flax.” then follows a description of the use of the hemp as a narcotic: “the scythians, transported with the vapour, shout aloud.” antiquity is in favour of this narcotic, and its use for that purpose before any other, except perhaps the poppy, was known, or at least of those now in use. the nepenthes of homer has been supposed to have been this plant, or one of its products. the use of hemp had become so general amongst the romans at the time of pliny, that they commonly made ropes and cordage of it. the practice of chewing the leaves to produce intoxication existed in india in very early ages, whence it was carried to persia, and before the middle of the thirteenth century, this custom was adopted in egypt, but chiefly by persons of the lower orders.
the narcotic properties of hemp become concentrated in a resinous juice, which in certain seasons and in tropical countries exudes, and concretes on the leaves, slender stems, and flowers. this constitutes the base of all the hemp preparations, to which all the powers of the drug are attributable. in central india, the hemp resin called churrus, is collected during the hot season in the following manner. men clad in leathern dresses run through the hemp fields, brushing through the plants with all possible violence; the soft resin adheres to the leather, and is subsequently scraped off and kneaded into balls, which sell at from five to216 six rupees the seer, or about five or six shillings per pound. a still finer kind, the momeca or waxen churrus, is collected by the hand in nepaul, and sells for nearly double the price of the ordinary kind. dr. mckinnon says—“in nepaul, the leathern attire is dispensed with, and the resin is collected on the skin of naked coolies.” in persia the churrus is obtained by pressing the resinous plant on coarse cloths, and then scraping it from these and melting it in a pot with a little warm water. mirza considers the churrus of herat the most powerful of all the varieties of the drug. the hemp resin, when pure, is of a blackish grey colour, with a fragrant narcotic odour, and a slightly warm, bitterish, acrid taste.
the dried hemp plant which has flowered, and from which the resin has been removed, is called in india gunjeh. it sells at from twelve annas to a rupee the seer, or from ninepence to a shilling per pound, in the calcutta bazaars. it is sold chiefly for smoking, in bundles two feet long and three inches in diameter, containing twenty-four plants. the colour is dusky green, the odour agreeably narcotic, the whole plant resinous and adhesive to the touch.
the larger leaves and capsules without the stalks, are called bang, subjee, or sidhee in india, and have been brought into the london market under the name of guaza. they are used for making an intoxicating drink, for smoking, and in the conserve called majoon. bang is cheaper than gunjeh, and though less powerful, is sold at so low a price that for one halfpenny enough can be purchased to intoxicate an habituated person.
the gunjeh consumed in bengal comes chiefly from mirzapore and ghazeepur, being extensively cultivated near gwalior and in tirhoot. the natives cut the plant when in flower, allow it to217 dry for three days, and then lay it in bundles averaging two pounds each which are distributed to the licensed dealers. the best kinds are brought from gwalior and bhurtpore, and it is cultivated of good quality in gardens around calcutta.
the majoon or hemp confection, is a compound of sugar, butter, flour, milk, and bang. the mass is divided into small lozenge-shaped pieces; one dram will intoxicate a beginner, three drams one experienced in its use. the taste is sweet and odour agreeable. most carnivorous animals will eat it greedily, and very soon become ludicrously drunk, but seldom suffering any worse consequences.
the confection called el mogen in use amongst the moors appears to be similar to, if not identical with, the majoon of india.
the ancient saracens and modern arabs in some parts of turkey and generally throughout syria, use preparations of hemp still known by the name of haschisch or hashash. m. adolph stuze, the court apothecary at bucharest, thus describes the haschisch, by which general name all intoxicating drugs whose chief constituent is hemp, are well known all over the east. the tops and all the tender part of the hemp plant are collected after flowering, dried and kept for use. there are several methods of using it.
i. boiled in fat, butter, or oil, with a little water; the filtered product is employed in all kinds of pastry.
ii. powdered for smoking. five or ten grains of the powder are smoked from a common pipe with ordinary tobacco, probably the leaf of a species of lobelia (tombuki) possessing strong narcotic properties.
iii. formed with tragacanth mucilage into pastiles, which are placed upon a pipe and smoked in similar doses.
218
iv. made into an electuary with dates or figs and honey. this preparation is of a dark brown or almost black colour.
v. another electuary is prepared of the same ingredients, with the addition of spices, cloves, cinnamon, pepper, amber, and musk. this preparation is used as an aphrodisiac.
the confection most in use among the arabs is called dawamese. this is mingled with other stimulating substances, so as to administer to the sensual gratifications, which appear to be the summum bonum of oriental existence.
the haschisch extract is about the consistence of syrup, and is of a dark greenish colour, with a narcotic odour, and a bitter, unpleasant taste.
a famous heretical sect among the mahometans bore the name of assassins, and settled in persia in 1090. in syria they possessed a large tract of land among the mountains of lebanon. they assassinated lewis of bavaria in 1213, were conquered by the tartars in 1257, and extirpated in 1272. their chief assumed the title of “ancient of the mountain.” these men, some authorities inform us, were called haschischins because the use of the haschish was common among them in the performance of certain rites, and that the ancient form has been corrupted into that now in use. m. de sacy states that the word “assassin” has been derived from the arabic name of hemp. it has also been declared, that during the wars of the crusades, certain of the saracen army while in a state of intoxication from the use of the drug, rushed madly into the christian camp, committing great havoc, without themselves having any fear of death, and that these men were called hashasheens, whence has arose our word “assassin.” the term “hashash,” says mr. lane, signifies “a smoker or an eater of hemp,” and is an appellation of219 obloquy; noisy and riotous people are often called “hashasheen,” which is the plural of that appellation, and the origin of our word “assassin.”
benjamin of tudela says, “in the vicinity of lebanon reside the people called assassins, who do not believe in the tenets of mahommedanism, but in those of one whom they consider like unto the prophet kharmath. they fulfil whatever he commands them, whether it be a matter of life or death. he goes by the name of sheikh-al-hashishin, or, their old man, by whose command all the acts of these mountaineers are regulated. the assassins are faithful to one another, by the command of their old man, and make themselves the dread of every one, because their devotion leads them gladly to risk their lives, and to kill even kings, when commanded.
in the centre of the persian, as well as the assyrian territory of the assassins, that is to say, both at alamut and massiat, were situated, in a space surrounded by walls, splendid gardens—true eastern paradises—there were flower-beds, and thickets of fruit trees, intersected by canals; shady walks and verdant glades, where the sparkling stream bubbles at every step; bowers of roses and vineyards; luxurious halls, and porcelain kiosks, adorned with persian carpets and grecian stuffs, where drinking vessels of gold, silver, and crystal glittered on trays of the same costly materials; charming maidens and handsome boys, black-eyed and seductive as the houris and boys of mahommed’s paradise, soft as the cushions on which they reposed, and intoxicating as the wine which they presented; the music of the harp was mingled with the songs of birds, and the melodious tones of the songstress harmonised with the murmur of the brooks—everything breathed pleasure, rapture, and sensuality.
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a youth who was deemed worthy, by his strength and resolution, to be initiated into the assyrian service, was invited to the table and conversation of the grand master or grand prior; he was then intoxicated with henbane (haschish) and carried into the garden, which, on awakening, he believed to be paradise. everything around him, the houris in particular, contributed to confirm his delusion. after he had experienced as much of the pleasures of paradise—which the prophet has promised to the blessed—as his strength would admit, after quaffing enervating delight from the eyes of the houris and intoxicating wine from the glittering goblets, he sank into the lethargy produced by debility and the opiate, on awakening from which, after a few hours, he again found himself by the side of his superior. the latter endeavoured to convince him that corporeally he had not left his side, but that spiritually he had been wrapped into paradise, and had then enjoyed a foretaste of the bliss which awaits the faithful, who devote their lives to the service of the faith and the obedience of their chief. thus did these infatuated youths blindly dedicate themselves as the tools of murder, and eagerly sought an opportunity to sacrifice their terrestrial, in order to become the partakers of eternal life.
to this day, constantinople and cairo show what an incredible charm opium with henbane exerts on the drowsy indolence of the turk and the fiery imagination of the arab, and explains the fury with which those youths the enjoyment of these rich pastiles (haschish), and the confidence produced in them, that they are able to undertake anything or everything. from the use of these pastiles they were called hashishin (herb-eaters,) which, in the mouths of greeks and crusaders, has been transformed into the word assassin, and as221 synonymous with murder, has immortalized the history of the order in all the languages of europe.23
this is the account given by marco polo, as repeated by von hammer in his “history of the assassins.” to this let us further add m. sylvestre de sacy’s, from a memoir read before the institute of france:——“i have no doubt whatever, that denomination was given to the ismaelites, on account of their using an intoxicating liquid or preparation, still known in the east by the name of hashish. hemp leaves, and some other parts of the same vegetable, form the basis of this preparation, which is employed in different ways, either in liquid or in the form of pastiles, mixed with saccharine substances, or even in fumigation. the intoxication produced by the haschish, causes an ecstasy similar to that which the orientals produce by the use of opium; and from the testimony of a great number of travellers, we may affirm that those who fall into this state of delirium, imagine they enjoy the ordinary objects of their desires, and taste felicity at a cheap rate. it has not been forgotten that when the french army was in egypt the general-in-chief napoleon, was obliged to prohibit, under the severest penalties, the sale and use of these pernicious substances, the habit of which has made an imperious want in the inhabitants of egypt, particularly the lower orders. those who indulge in this custom are to this day called hashishin, and these two different expressions explain why the ismaelites were called by the historians of the crusades sometimes assissini and sometimes assassini.”
as an instance of the blind submission of these devoted followers to the will of their chief, it is narrated that jelaleddin melekshah, sultan of the222 seljuks, having sent an ambassador to the sheikh of the assassins, to require his obedience and fealty, the son of sahab called into his presence several of the initiated. beckoning to one of them, he said, “kill thyself,” and he instantly stabbed himself: to another, “throw thyself down from the rampart;” the next instant he lay a mutilated corpse in the moat. on this the grand master, turning to the envoy, who was unnerved by terror, said—“in this way am i obeyed by seventy thousand faithful subjects. be that my answer to thy master.”
from comparison of these notes, it will therefore appear that the order of hashishans used the haschish, as a means whereby to induce young men to devote themselves to their cause. that it was used by the chief for its intoxicating and illusionary properties, probably without the knowledge of the members of the order, but as a secret, the divulging of which would have defeated his design, and that it was not indulged in habitually by the order; but that from its use in these initiatory rites they came to be called haschishans, afterwards corrupted into assassins. and ultimately, that their murderous acts procured for all those who in future times imitated them, the honour of their name.
but to return from this long digression, we still meet with the name of haschisch and hashasheen in egypt, and also with preparations of hemp, which are believed as of old to transport those who indulge therein to scenes such as paradise alone is supposed to furnish.
“where’er his eye could reach,
223
fair structures, rainbow-hued, arose;
and rich pavilions through the opening woods
gleamed from their waving curtains sunny gold;
and winding through the verdant vale,
flowed streams of liquid light,
and fluted cypresses reared up
their living obelisks,
and broad-leaved plane trees in long colonnades,
o’er arched delightful walks,
where round their trunks the thousand-tendril’d vine
wound up, and hung the boughs with greener wreaths,
and clusters not their own.”
m. rouyer, of the egyptian commission, says, with the leaves and tops, collected before ripening, the egyptians prepare a conserve, which serves as the base of the berch, the diasmouk, and the bernaouy. hemp leaves reduced to powder and incorporated with honey or stirred with water, constitute the berch of the poorer classes.
dr. livingstone found hemp in use among the natives of southern africa under the name of mutokuane.
with the hottentots it is known as dacha, and another plant used for similar purposes among them is called the wild dagga or dacha. the use of hemp as a narcotic appears to be very general in all parts of africa.
the d’amba possesses numerous native titles, but it is only understood by those distinctive terms which the negroes give it in their respective countries. by the people of ambriz and musula it is pronounced as d’yambah, while to the various races in kaffraria, it is more generally known under the hottentot name of dakka or dacha. this plant is extensively cultivated by the dongós, damarás, and other tribes to the southward of benguela. among the ambundas or aborigines of angola, the dried plant is duly appreciated, not only for its narcotic effects, but likewise on account of some medicinal virtues which it has been reputed to enjoy. the markets of st. paul de loanda are mostly supplied from the224 dongós, and other adjacent tribes, and from st. salvador, and the towns in the vicinity of upper kongo.
the mode in which it is prepared for sale, consists in carefully separating from the leaves and seeds, the larger stalks, retaining only the smaller stems, which are compressed into a conical mass, varying from two to four inches in diameter, and from one to two feet in length, the whole being covered by some dried vegetable, firmly secured by thin withes. the substance thus manufactured is ordinarily employed for the purpose of smoking, and is endowed with powerful stimulant and intoxicating principles, consequently it is proportionately prized by those nations who are familiar with those peculiar qualities, and is probably viewed more in the light of a luxury owing to the absence of all other sources of excitement, for which, perhaps, it was the only available substitute.
the zulu kaffirs and delagoans of the south eastern coast use it under the same or like names. amongst the former the herb is powdered and used as snuff. the true tobacco is known amongst them, and is grown to a certain extent, but the use of hemp both for smoking and snuffing, is far more common. perhaps, requiring less cultivation, it suits best their indolent habits.
the most eminent of the persian and arabian authors refer the origin of hemp intoxication to the natives of hindostan. but few traces, however, of its early use can be found in any part of india.
in the “rajniguntu,” a treatise on materia medica, the date of which is vaguely estimated at about six hundred years ago, there is a clear account of this drug. the names under which it is there known are, “bijoya,” “ujoya,” and “joya225,” meaning promoters of success; “brijputta,” or the strengthener; “chapola,” the causer of a reeling gait; “ununda,” or the laughter-moving; “hursini,” the exciter of sexual desire.
in another treatise in sanscrit, of later date, the above is repeated; and in a religious treatise, called the hindu tantra, it is stated that sidhee is more intoxicating than wine.
in the fifth chapter of the institutes of menu, brahmins are prohibited to use pabandoo or onions, gunjara or gunjah, and such condiments as have strong and pungent scents.
persian and arabic writers give, however, a fuller and more particular account of the early use of this substance. makrisi treats of the hemp in his description of the ancient pleasure-grounds in the vicinity of cairo. this quarter, after many vicissitudes, is now a mass of ruins. in it was situated a cultivated valley, named djoneina, which was the theatre of all conceivable abominations. it was famous, above all, for the sale of the hasheesha or haschisch, which is still consumed by certain of the populace, and from the consumption of which sprung those excesses which gave rise to the name of “assassin,” in the time of the crusades. this author states that the oldest work in which hemp is noticed is a treatise by hassan, who states that in the year of the hegira 658, the sheikh djafar shirazi, a monk of the order of haider, learned from his master, the history of the discovery of hemp. haider, the chief of ascetics and self-chasteners, lived in rigid privation on a mountain between nishabor and rama, where he established a monastery of fakirs. ten years he had spent in this retreat, without leaving it for a moment, till one burning summer’s day, when he departed alone to the fields. on his return, an air of joy and gaiety was imprinted on his countenance;226 he received the visits of his brethren, and encouraged their conversation. on being questioned, he stated that, struck by the aspect of a plant which danced in the heat as if with joy, while all the rest of the vegetable creation was torpid, he had gathered and eaten of its leaves. he led his companions to the spot—all ate, and all were similarly excited. a tincture of the hemp-leaf in wine or spirits, seems to have been the favourite formula in which the sheikh haider indulged himself. an arab poet sings of haider’s emerald cup—an evident allusion to the rich green colour of the tincture of the drug. the sheikh survived the discovery ten years, and subsisted chiefly on this herb, and on his death his disciples, by his desire, planted an arbour in which it grew about his tomb. from this saintly sepulchre, the knowledge of the effects of hemp is stated to have spread into khorasan. in chaldea it was unknown until the mahommedan year 728, during the reign of the caliph mostansir billah. the kings of ormus and bahrein then introduced it into chaldea, syria, egypt, and turkey.
in khorasan, it seems that the date of the use of hemp is considered, notwithstanding the foregoing, to be far prior to haider’s era. biraslan, an indian pilgrim, contemporary with cosroes (whoever this same cosroes may be, for it is a name often occurring, and applied as c?sar or czar to more than one generation), is stated to have introduced and diffused the custom through khorasan and yemen.
in 780 m.e. very severe ordinances were passed in egypt against this practice of indulging in hemp. the djoneina garden was rooted up, and all those convicted of the use of the drug were subjected to the extraction of their teeth. but in 792 m.e. the custom re-established itself with more227 than original vigour. a vivid picture is given by makrisi of the vice and its victims:——“as a general consequence, great corruption of sentiments and manners ensued, modesty disappeared, every base and evil passion was openly indulged in, and nobility of external form alone remained to those infatuated beings.” in the “sisters of old,” some further memoranda will be found of the early history of this extraordinary narcotic.
not only was its intoxicating power, but many other properties—some true, some fabulous—were known at the above periods. the contrary qualities of the plant—its stimulating and sedative effects—are dwelt on:——“they at first exhilarate the spirits, cause cheerfulness, give colour to the complexion, bring on intoxication, excite the imagination into the most rapturous ideas, produce thirst, increase appetite, excite concupiscence; afterwards, the sedative effects begin to preside, the spirits sink, the vision darkens and weakens, and madness, melancholy, fearfulness, dropsy, and such like distempers are the sequel.” mirza abdul russac says of it: “it produces a ravenous appetite and constipation, arrests the secretions, except that of the liver, excites wild imagining, a sensation of ascending, forgetfulness of all that happens during its use, and such mental exaltation that the beholders attribute it to supernatural inspiration.” to which he also adds: “the inexperienced, on first taking it, are often senseless for a day, some go mad, others are known to die.”
whether for the purpose of increasing its power, or for what other reason we know not, in india the seeds of datura are mixed with hemp, in compounding some of the confections, as well as the powder of nux vomica. this is, however, exceptional, neither of these substances entering into the composition of the majoon of bengal any more228 than does corrosive sublimate form a proportion of the pills in general use by the opium-eater of constantinople.
it is a custom with some people to blame, without limit, those who indulge in nervous stimulants of a nature differing from their own, while serving the same purpose. thus, one who thinks that providence never designed his corporeal frame to become a perambulating beer-barrel, eschews all alcoholic drinks, but at the same time eschews not the abuse of those who think fit to indulge in a little wine for their stomach’s sake, or a draught of porter for their bodily infirmities. these same abstainers still adhere to their tea and coffee, and though harmless enough as these dietetics may be, yet they in part serve the purposes for which others employ alcoholic stimulants. an eminent chemist states that persons accustomed to the use of wine, when they take cod liver oil, soon lose the taste and inclination for wine. the temperance societies should therefore canonise cod liver oil.
it is true that thousands have lived without a knowledge of tea or coffee; and daily experience teaches, that under certain circumstances they may be dispensed with without disadvantage to the merely animal vital functions. “but it is an error,” writes liebig,229 “certainly, to conclude from this that they may be altogether dispensed with in reference to their effects; and it is a question whether, if we had no tea and no coffee, the popular instinct would not seek for and discover the means of replacing them. science, which accuses us of so much in these respects, will have, in the first place, to ascertain whether it depends on the sensual and sinful inclinations merely, that every people of the globe has appropriated some such means of acting on the nervous life—from the shore of the pacific, where the indian retires from life for days, in order to enjoy the bliss of intoxication with coca, to the arctic regions, where the kamtschatdale and koriakes prepare an intoxicating beverage from a poisonous mushroom. we think it, on the contrary, highly probable, not to say certain, that the instinct of man, feeling certain blanks, certain wants of the intensified life of our times, which cannot be satisfied or filled up by mere quantity, has discovered, in these products of vegetable life, the true means of giving to his food the desired and necessary quality. every substance, in so far as it has a share in the vital processes, acts in a certain way on our nervous system, on the sensual appetites, and the will of man.” so, although some have no tobacco, they find in the use of hemp or opium a substitute for that vegetable which nature has denied them. there can be no doubt that had we never become acquainted with tobacco or gin, we should have discovered and used some other narcotic in the place of the one, and a no less fiery and injurious form of alcohol instead of the other. to talk of the degraded chinese as barbarians, indulging to an awful extent in opium, and the ignorant hindoo and arab, as in madness revelling in debauches of hemp confections, is an evidence of the workings of the same narrow-minded prejudices under which some who abstain from alcoholic stimulants rail and rave at those whose feelings and habits lay in an opposite direction, charging upon the enjoyments of the many the excesses of the few. friend brooklove, drink thy tea, and re-consider thy verdict!
