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Busted An Illustrated History of Drug Prohibition in
Canada Susan C. Boyd Digital Instant Download
Author(s): Susan C. Boyd
ISBN(s): 1552669769
Edition: Illustrated
File Details: PDF, 20.30 MB
Year: 2017
Language: english
SUSAN BOYD
 Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2019 with funding from
Substance Abuse Librarians and Information Specialists (SALIS)

https://archive.org/details/bustedillustrateOOsusa
 BUSTED
An Illustrated History of
Drug Prohibition in Canada
BUSTED
An Illustrated History of
Drug Prohibition in Canada

Susan Boyd

FERNWOOD PUBLISHING
HALIFAX & WINNIPEG
Copyright © 2017 Susan Boyd

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in

any form by any means without permission in writing from the publisher,
except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Editing: Curran Faris

Cover design: Mike Carroll
Interior design: David Lester

Printed and bound in Canada

Published by Fernwood Publishing

32 Oceanvista Lane, Black Point, Nova Scotia, BOJ 1B0
and 748 Broadway Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3G 0X3
www.fernwoodpublishing.ca

Fernwood Publishing Company Limited gratefully acknowledges the financial

support of the Government of Canada, the Manitoba Department of Culture, Heritage
and Tourism under the Manitoba Publishers Marketing Assistance Program and the
Province of Manitoba, through the Book Publishing Tax Credit, for our publishing
program. We are pleased to work in partnership with the Province of Nova Scotia
to develop and promote our creative industries for the benefit of all Nova Scotians.
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, which last year
invested $153 million to bring the arts to Canadians throughout the country.

Canada for the Arts du Canada arts NOv^cbTiA Manitoba ♦ft

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Boyd, Susan C., 1953-, author

Busted: an illustrated history of drug prohibition in
Canada / Susan Boyd.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-55266-976-1 (softcover)

1. Drug control — Canada — History. 2. Drug abuse —

Canada — Pictorial works. I. Title.

HV5840.C3B685 2017 362.290971 C2017-903103-1

 Contents

Criminalizing Drug Use

1 Plant Drugs and Colonization: 1800s and Earlier

Alcohol 7
Opium Poppy 14
The Coca Plant 19
Cannabis 22
Isolation of Compounds from Plants 26
The Opium Wars 28

2 The Beginnings of Narcotic Control: 1880s-1920s

World War I 47

3 Reefer Madness: 1920s-1930s

The Depression 55
Addict Files 60

4 The Criminal Addict and Psychedelics: 1940s-1950s

Ernest Winch and the Ranta Report: A Health Perspective 70
LSD 76
Hollywood Hospital 81

5 Alcohol Prohibition and Tobacco Regulation

Tobacco 86
Alcohol 96

6: The Counterculture Movement: The 1960s and 1970s

The Le Dain Commission 120
Pharmaceutical Drugs 121
7 Resisting the War on Drugs: 1990s-2000s 127
Harm Reduction 129
Women and Harm Reduction 135
Political Backlash 136
Voices of People Who Use Illegal Drugs 139
Heroin-Assisted Treatment and Another Drug Overdose Crisis 140

8 The Movement to Legalize Cannabis: 1980s-2017 143

Compassion Clubs 146
Cannabis and the Government 149
Legalizing Cannabis 152
Illegal Cannabis Continues 153
The Task Force 155

9 Where to Now? 157

Appendix A:
National and International Drug Reform Organizations 163

Appendix B:
Drug User Unions 165

Index 167
 Acknowledgements

IN 2000, THE BRILLIANT RESTORATIVE JUSTICE SCHOLAR AND ACTIVIST DENNIS

Sullivan encouraged me to explore and write about the history of the

regulation of altered states of consciousness and the resistance to it. I
have been doing so ever since. In 2004, Dave Diewert and Bud Osborn,
long-time social justice activists, founded Creative Resistance in Van¬
couver. The grassroots group called for an end to drug prohibition. I
joined in with them alongside other activists. For many years, we set
up public forums in Vancouver to provide a space for people to talk
about the harms of, and alternatives to, prohibition. With Dave Diewert
in charge of the logistics, sound system, introduction and discussion
period. Bud Osborn recited his exquisite poetry, Mark Haden discussed
alternative legal frameworks for drug regulation and Clinton Sherman
eloquently challenged negative stereotypes about people who use her¬
oin. I often presented a PowerPoint that visually illustrated the history
of drug prohibition in Canada. This led to the genesis of this book. I
owe a debt of gratitude to Creative Resistance and Dennis Sullivan.
I would also like to thank Fernwood Publishing for their support in
the publication of Busted. Without their support the book would not
have been published. Special thanks to Errol Sharpe, Wayne Antony,
Curran Faris, Brenda Conroy and Beverley Rach for making this book
happen. Wayne was especially helpful and endured reading and edit¬
ing several copies of the manuscript before the final one was complet¬
ed. I would also like to thank David Lester for his creative expertise
and the beautiful design and layout of Busted.
Many people and institutions provided photos, images and copy-
right permission to reproduce the images in the book. I would like to
thank aqpsud, aawear, John Bonner, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition,
B.C. Compassion Club Society, Canadian hiv/aids Legal Network, Dr.
Peter Centre, dual, Iain Mitchell-Boyd, John Donoahue, Marc Emery,
Jodie Emery, Hugh Gibson, Mark Haden, International Centre for Sci¬
ence in Drug Policy, L'Injecteur, David Malmo-Levine, maps Canada,
Bob Masse, Kent Monkman, redun, Henri Robideau, snap, David South,
Richard Tetrault, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users, wahrs, and
Nettie Wild. Thanks also to Archive of Jesuits in Canada and Michael
Metosage, Archives of Ontario, Canadian Museum of History, Cana¬
dian Press, City of Edmonton Archives, City of Vancouver Archives,
Flickr, Ecomusee du fier monde, Georgia Straight, Health Canada, Hud¬
son's Bay Company Archives, Archives of Manitoba, Infomart and
Saskatoon Star Phoenix, Library and Archives Canada, U.S. Library of
Congress, Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan, The Province, National
Geographic Creative, National Film Board of Canada, National Mari¬
time Museum, natopa. New Westminster Museum and Archives, On¬
tario, Ministry of Government and Consumer Services, Pacific News¬
paper Group, Pacific Tribune Collection, Sears Canada, Photofest, Sun
& Province Infoline, Textile Museum of Canada, Time Inc., Toronto Star,
Getty Images, Toronto Public Library, ubc Museum of Anthropology,
United Church of Canada, United Nations Photo Library, ubc Library,
U.S. National Library of Medicine, Vancouver Area Network of Drug
Users (vandu), Vancouver Police Museum, Vancouver Public Library,
and Wellcome Library. I would also like to thank the University of Vic¬
toria for their support.
I would also like to thank a number of people who provided me
with information, Lynne Belle-Isle, John Conroy, Sheila Lacroix, Craig
Heron, Alex Sherstobitoff, David Malmo-Levine and Hilary Black.
Thanks to those who took the time to read over sections of the book
and provided comments: Fernwood's external reviewers, Beth Abbott,
Jade Boyd, Neil Boyd, Rielle Caplier, Dara Culhane, Patricia Erickson,
Lenora Marcellus, Ron Abrahams, and Donald MacPherson. Any mis¬
takes are of my own making.
 For Bud and others
who have suffered under
drug prohibition
■
 Criminalizing Drug Use

SINCE DRUG PROHIBITION WAS INTRODUCED TO CANADA OVER A CENTURY AGO,

more than three million people have been arrested (busted) for a drug
offence. Yet prohibition does not deter people from using criminalized
drugs —these substances have become more desirable and visible in
our everyday lives. Every day we see images of police rounding up
suspected drug traffickers and people "shooting up" or smoking can¬
nabis in films, tv series, YouTube and photographs in newspapers and
online. Rock, rap and even pop songs praise cannabis and its effect.
We often hear police and politicians expound on the evils of illegal
drugs like heroin, cannabis, cocaine and methamphetamine, but at the
same time, pharmaceutical companies cajole people about the bene¬
fits of similar, but legal, drugs like codeine, Marinol and Adderall. In
Canada, even though the government claims that it will end cannabis
prohibition by 2018, law enforcement is still arresting large numbers of
people for cannabis possession, and the laws to incarcerate individuals
for growing more than five cannabis plants have still not been repealed
as this book goes to press. In some U.S. states, cannabis is legally reg¬
ulated, and adults can buy, consume and grow up to five plants. We
also see counter images of normalized cannabis use at events like 4/20
where citizens defy current federal law.
People use drugs for a variety of reasons, including pleasure, medic¬
inal and spiritual use. For over a century, criminalized/illegal drugs
have held our attention rather than diminishing in power. Given their
prominence in our lives and in the media, it appears that our interest in

l
 BUSTED

these demonized drugs grows stronger with each passing decade. Our
efforts to prohibit them in Canada are simply not a success.
This book is a short history of Canadian drug prohibition, the re¬
sistance to it and significant events that have shaped drug policy and
practice. It is illustrated by visual reproductions from the late 1700s
to the present, including photos, paintings, drawings, posters, book
covers, film stills, official documents, newspaper articles and headlines
that show significant moments in the history of drug prohibition and
resistance to it in Canada.
Drug prohibition in Canada is a drug control system adopted in
the early 1900s and expanded on for more than a century. In Canada,
drug prohibition is primarily a criminal justice system approach. In the
early 1900s, specific drugs, such as opium and cocaine, and the few
people who used them, were deemed evil and criminal. Moral reform¬
ers (vocal individuals and groups that identify a "social problem" and
then propose solutions which correspond with their own priorities)
who champion drug prohibition claim that criminalization will lower
consumption, addiction rates and drug trafficking. Thus, harsh drug
laws were enacted with severe penalties. In the early twentieth century,
drugs like opium were associated with Chinese men, who were depict¬
ed as foreign Others (outsiders to the white Christian nation) intent on
corrupting moral white women and men. In the years to come, these
negative stereotypes and myths were easily reactivated to inflame new
drug scares and to support further prohibitionist policy. As much as
anything else, Canada's drug laws are based on racial, class and gender
prejudices and are aimed at controlling these groups of people. Drug
prohibition has also been intricately tied up with colonization.
Negative stereotyping and visual representation in popular culture
and news media also accompanied the criminalization of drugs. A cen¬
tury of law enforcement and media commentary linking drugs like her¬
oin, cocaine and cannabis, and the people who use and sell them, to
violence and crime supported harsh drug prohibitionist policies. Since
the enactment of our first drug laws, the list of criminalized drugs has
grown longer and the punishments more severe. Still, the goals of drug

2
 Criminalizing Drug Use

prohibition have not been met.

It is now well documented that prohibition has not stopped the use
of drugs, but it has worsened the health and well-being of not only
those who use them but also those who do not use them. Drug prohibi¬
tion results in increased imprisonment, child apprehension and human
rights violations. Moreover, prohibition undermines health services
such as prevention and treatment services that effectively counter hiv

and hepatitis C epidemics and drug overdose deaths. The harms stem¬
ming from drug prohibition are not limited to illegal drug users and
traffickers: families and communities also bear the brunt of our drug
policies. Drug prohibition is a multi-billion dollar experiment that has
utterly failed.
In this book, the history of addiction is not fully explored. Other
writers have tackled this concept. Yet, fear of addiction or the "addic¬
tive" qualities of some drugs have fueled drug scares in Canada. How¬
ever, specific drugs do not compel people to use them, and most people
do not experience problematic drug use or become dependent on the
drugs that they use. Only a small percentage of drug use can be con¬
sidered problematic and oftentimes it is situational rather than lifelong.
I do not make light of the lives of people who experience problematic
drug use or their suffering. But, we must acknowledge that there are
"multiple trajectories into, within, and out of addiction"1 and multiple
experiences of non-problematic use. People's diverse experiences with
drugs cannot be divorced from historical, social, cultural, psychologi¬
cal, biological, "political, legal and environmental contexts."2 This book
emphasizes that experiences and outcomes of drug use are shaped by
one's social status and environment. People who use illegal drugs are
subject to a host of discriminatory and punitive legal, social and med¬
ical regulation; however, the level of control and its impact are linked
to social status — people from poor and marginalized communities are
much more likely to be severely criminalized. Historically, and in con¬
temporary times, some ideas about addiction promote social injustice.3
Therefore, this book, in part, explores how people who use criminal¬
ized drugs have fought back against discrimination. Throughout drug

3
 BUSTED

prohibition history, people who use illegal drugs have been framed as
immoral, criminal, pathological and out of control. People who are de¬
pendent on legal drugs, such as tobacco or alcohol, are slightly stig¬
matized in contemporary society, but they do not experience the same
level of legal discriminatory practices directed at people who use ille¬
gal drugs.
Around the world, many citizens, and some governments, are turn¬
ing away from discriminatory drug prohibitionist policies. Nations,
states, provinces and cities are developing alternative drug policies
based on reducing harm that work best for their citizens and their so¬
cial, political, health and legal systems. Drug policy is rooted in local,
national and international history, and drugs are defined and framed
differently over time. Canadian drug policy is populated by moral
reformers, activists, politicians, drug users, concerned citizens, law
enforcement, health providers. Supreme Court judges, constitutional
lawyers and plaintiffs.
On October 19, 2015, Canadians voted in a Liberal Federal Govern¬
ment that, in part, campaigned to end cannabis prohibition. In April
2017 the Cannabis Act was tabled in the House of Commons. It is too
soon to know if the Act will become law. However, the Act, and pre¬
ventable tragedies such as the opioid overdose crisis in Canada, has fu¬
elled a heated debate about our drug policy. In order to chart the future,
it is worthwhile for us as Canadians to know our history of prohibition.

NOTES

1. Reinarman, Craig, and Robert Granfield. 2015. "Addiction is not just a brain disease: Critical
studies of addiction." In R. Granfield and C. Reinarman (Eds.), Expanding Addiction: Critical
Essays. New York: Routledge.
2. Fraser, Suzanne. 2017. "The future of 'addiction': Critique and composition." International
Journal of Drug Policy. 44:130-134
3. Hart, Carl. 2017. "Viewing addiction as a brain disease promotes social injustice." Nature
Human Behaviour. 1(0055): 1.

4
 1

Plant Drugs and Colonization

1800s and Earlier

H istorically, people have used plant-based drugs for medicinal,

cultural and spiritual use. Prior to the rise of the pharmaceutical
industry in the 1800s, families relied on plants to reduce pain, to heal
and to maintain health. Right up until the nineteenth century, there was
little distinction between medical and non-medical use of plant-based
drugs, and all classes of people consumed them. In fact, opium, alcohol
and tobacco consumption were embedded in social custom in Britain
and France.
Of course what was called the New World by white explorers and

Prince ofWales Fort, Hudson’s Bay, engraved hand-coloured print by Samuel Hearne, 1797
(Library and Archives Canada, 1970-188-680 W.H. Coverdale Collection of Canadiana).

5
 BUSTED

settlers in the 1500s was not empty. It was home to diverse Indigenous
nations with their own forms of political systems, languages and social,
cultural, health and spiritual practices. Indigenous people used a vari¬
ety of plant-based medicines and foods that they introduced to early
white settlers. Due to the diversity of Indigenous culture, geographical
regions, plants, languages and traditions, their medicines, ceremonies
and spiritual beliefs also differ. However, many contemporary Western
medicines are derived from Indigenous medicines.
Alongside trading companies. Catholic missions were set up in the
early 1600s in New France, and following the British Conquest of 1759-
60, Protestant missions became more common. These trading posts,
military forts and settlements built by the French and British settlers
displaced longstanding Indigenous communities from their home¬
lands. Traders, politicians, religious leaders, and moral reformers also
used the Christianization of Indigenous peoples to justify colonization.
Colonialism was driven by Western imperialism, the quest for new re¬
sources and lands, and it was supported by Western philosophies and
eugenics, proponents of which argued that white Europeans were su¬
perior to all other races.

Painting by Frances Ann Hopkins,Voyageurs, 1869 (Library and Archives Canada, 1989-401-1).

6
 Plant Drugs and Colonization

ALCOHOL

Fur traders from New France, the Hud¬

son's Bay Company (incorporated in
1670), and the North West Company
(formed in 1780), as well as other British,
French, and U.S. settlers brought their
drug of choice — alcohol — along with
their religions, laws and diseases with
them upon settlement. All of this had
devastating consequences for Indige¬
nous peoples. The land (much of which
is unceded) that is now considered to
be part of the Canadian state was vir¬
tually alcohol free prior to colonization.
White settlers introduced alcohol to
Indigenous peoples, and trading posts
sold and traded whisky for important
trade items such as furs. Canada's first
drug prohibition was directed at Indig¬
enous peoples. In Canada, colonization
played a significant role in the racialization of drug policy. Drawing of Indigenous
person trading for
Alcohol is one of our oldest drugs; it is made from fruits and grains,.
alcohol and (below) an
Although not universally accepted as a legal beverage, it continues to altered state of con¬

be one of the most popular drugs around the world. In the 1700s, sciousness. Created by

an unknown Indigenous
alcohol was embedded into Western culture, consumed for pleasure
artist from the Pacific
and medicinal purposes. Northwest. Collected

by Father Pierre-Jean
However, there was some opposition to alcohol, especially hard li¬
De Smet, a Jesuit
quor, by Protestant clergy and upper-class moral reformers. Accom¬ missionary, around

panying British imperialism and colonialism, the Protestant Christian 1847—48 (The Archive
of the Jesuits in Canada
mission movement emerged in England in the late 1700s. Devotees
and Michael Metosage).
became active in setting up foreign missions to convert "uncivilized"
and "heathen," "non-Christian" people, including Indigenous peoples,
in Canada. After the Seven Years War, Britain, acquired Canada from
France in 1763. As a result, more Protestant missions were established

7
 BUSTED

B|^f A Map of die

gg^gF
iNHAiiiTEJi Part

Trom die French Surveysrwidr*r?»fr

p the Frontiers of
Sew York and NewEngl.\n^
♦ from tbe Large Survey . ,j
jaBy Claude Joseph Sai tijikr.
v. KllPTavrd 1>V \V ''IADEN, jTv

LONDON.Publtlhcd its the Art directs FebT 25. ijj-j W^TTaDEN, Comer of S!Mnrtin's Lane. Ckanng CroC.

Cartouche by William Faden of fur trade, 1777 (Library and Archives Canada).

in Canada. Adherents of the Christian mission movement were staunch

temperance advocates. Distinguishing themselves from "uncivilized"
and Catholic, lower-class people. Western Protestant missionaries and
temperance advocates adopted religious dedication, sobriety and self-
control as their template for middle- and upper-class respectability. As
the temperance movement in Canada became more active in the early
1800s and 1900s, women were at the centre of this movement. Not hav¬
ing the federal vote until 1918, these women put their political energies
into alcohol prohibition and other moral reform movements such as
child saving. White middle- and upper-class reformers at this time re¬
garded morality and sobriety as innate to women. They saw women as
defenders of both home and nation. Rather than indict poverty, rapid
urbanization, industrial capitalism and colonization for a wide array
of social ills, they blamed alcohol. Furthermore, the conversion of In¬
digenous peoples to Western Christian religions, morals, and values,
including sobriety, became a goal of temperance reformers.

8
 Plant Drugs and Colonization

The Tree ofTemperance, coloured lithograph by Currier and Ives, 1872 (Wellcome Library, London).

9
 BUSTED

Temperance supporters also sought to

suppress the liquor trade between white
traders and Indigenous people in Cana¬
da. Although federal alcohol prohibition
had a short history in Canada in the early
1900s (see Chapter 5), it was imposed on
Indigenous people for over a century.
Rejecting Indigenous sovereignty,
the Gradual Civilization Act of 1857 and
the Gradual Enfranchisement Act of 1869,
which were consolidated into the Indian
Act and passed in 1876 under the lead¬ Ontario Women’s Christian

Temperance Union, cloth banner,

ership of Prime Minister John A. Mac¬
1877 (Textile Museum of Canada).
Notice of liquor law
donald, regulated all aspects of life for
posted on telegraph

pole in Bella Coola, those labelled "Status Indians" by the Canadian Government. Thus,
B.C., by Harlan I. Smith,
Macdonald sought to consolidate and extend control over the lives of
1923 (photo Archives,
Indigenous peoples and nations. The Act is understood by many as an
Canadian Museum of
History, 58543). instrument of genocide imposed on Indigenous peoples. The Domin¬
ion of Canada was envisioned as a white,
Christian nation by British colonists. Indig¬
enous people, and later Chinese, Japanese
and South Asian people, were seen as Out¬

gOTICE, siders to white nation building.

gssssas
UIDJKATIIB film
After Confederation, some provincial
legislation banned the sale of alcohol to
Indigenous people. For example. Nova
, the form of patent or proprietary
edicines- cordials or perfumes, eiS£ Scotia banned the sale of alcohol to "Indi¬
for off their Reserves, will be jj!
£uted with the utmost ri}lour of the
being liable to a fme ol ans" in 1829. Colonial legislation from 1868

$300.00 on banned the sale and barter of alcohol

yjd to SIX MONTHS imprisonment
to Indigenous people and intoxication. In
DUNCAN C. SCOTT,
Deputy Superintendent General of Indian Aff ■
wn«lofIndi»n'A£fci™, the North-West Territories, distilled alco¬
hol was banned in the early 1870s, and the
newly formed Royal North West Mounted
Police was created to enforce the law.

10
 Plant Drugs and Colonization

CAP. XLII.
An Act providing for the organisation of the Department of the
Secretary of State of Canada, and for the management of Indian and
Ordnance Lands.

[Assented to 22nd May, 1868.]

Preamble. HER Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate
and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows :

Department 1. There shall be a department to be called "The Department of

constituted.
the Secretary of State of Canada," over which the Secretary of
State of Canada for the time being, appointed by the Governor
Tenure of office. General by commission under the Great Seal, shall preside ; and
the said Secretary of State shall have the management and
direction of the Department, and shall hold office during pleasure.

Under Secretary and 2. The Governor General may also appoint an "Under Secretary of
officers.
State," and such other officers as may be necessary for the proper
conduct of the business of the said Department, all of whom shall
hold office during pleasure.

General duties of 3. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to have charge of
Secretary.
the State correspondence, to keep all State records and papers
not specially transferred to other Departments, and to perform
such other duties as shall from time to time be assigned to him by
the Governor General in Council.

To be Registrar 4. The Secretary of State shall be the Registrar General of

General. Canada, and shall as such register all Instruments of Summons,
Commissions, Letters Patent, Writs, and other Instruments and
Documents issued under the Great Seal.

And Superintendent 5. The Secretary of State shall be the Superintendent General of

of Indian affairs. Indian affairs, and shall as such have the control and management
of the lands and property of the Indians in Canada.

Excerpt from Indian Act, 1868.

There is evidence that some Indigenous nations supported alcohol

prohibition in the 1800s; however, support was framed within a larg¬
er context of loss of land, sovereignty, the extermination of animals,
smallpox epidemics and the trade in ammunition and arms by non-In-
digenous people to Indigenous people. As mentioned above, the 1876
Indian Act consolidated earlier colonial legislation that prohibited alco¬
hol from being sold to and consumed by Status Indians. The introduc¬
tion of whisky and other hard liquor by heavy drinking white traders

11
 BUSTED

had devastating effects for some Indigenous communities. Critics ar¬

gue that alcohol prohibition did not become a provision of the Indian
Act solely because of concerns about consumption. Rather, prohibition
served as a legal mechanism to further control Indigenous peoples and
nations. In addition, although many early white settlers married Indig¬
enous women, by the 1800s, colonial and eugenic fears emerged more
strongly in Canada. White settlers viewed the "mixing of the races"
as a threat to racial boundaries and ultimately to the white nation. It
was believed by temperance advocates that if alcohol were prohibited,
there would be less inter-racial mixing between white and Indigenous
peoples and less mixed-race children.
Colonialism, and the quest for resources, land and souls, was ac¬
companied by the social and legal discrimination against Indigenous
people. The fact that Indigenous nations had their own diverse and
long-established political systems, knowledges and cultural and spir¬
itual practices was disregarded. Colonialism positioned Indigenous
people as not fully human. White religious and political leaders at that
time espoused that the consumption of alcohol was more "injurious
to Indians than the whites" because of "their semi-savage condition."1
To drink legally, or to vote, those deemed Status Indians had to give
up their status. Supplying alcohol to a Status Indian resulted in impris¬
onment for up to six months and/ or a fine of no less than $50 and up to
$300. Indian Agents, prosecutors and informers profited from the legis¬
lation because half of the fine went to them. Thus they had a vested in¬
terest in arresting Status Indians under the Indian Act provisions right
up until 1936 when this practice was repealed. Also, any Status Indian
found to be intoxicated faced imprisonment for up to a month, and if
the accused did not provide the name of their supplier, an additional
two weeks was added to their sentence. In 1936, the Indian Act also
added a new provision criminalizing anyone in possession of alcohol
or any other intoxicant (such as opiates, cocaine, etc.) in the home of a
Status Indian, on or off reserve. Unlike other Canadians, Status Indians
were denied a legal space to drink.
Alcohol prohibition for Status Indians lasted right up until 1955

12
 Plant Drugs and Colonization

when the Indian Act was amended to allow provinces to provide Status
Indians the same drinking rights as other Canadians. However, it took
many provinces a decade to do so, and some bands chose not to lift the
ban on reserves. For more than a century alcohol prohibition created
more harm than good. It did not stop Indigenous people from drinking
alcohol; instead it encouraged covert and dangerous drinking practic¬
es, illegal consumption and selling, and discouraged social drinking.
Thousands of Indigenous people were arrested and imprisoned
due to the law. It was a punitive and racialized policy used by Indi¬
an Agents and police. It also contributed to enduring stereotypes and
legal discrimination against Indigenous people. The Indian Act and
colonialism in all its many manifestations, including but not limited
to alcohol prohibition, the reserve system, residential schools, policing
and child apprehension, continues to affect Indigenous families and
nations today.

The Scream (permission from artist Kent Monkman, Acrylic on Canvas, 84” x I 32”, 2017, kentmonkman.com).

13
 BUSTED

OPIUM POPPY

Besides alcohol, settlers brought other plant-based drugs with them.

The opium poppy, Pnpaver somniferum, was renowned for centuries and
continues today to be an important medicine. Scholars claim that the
opium poppy was recognized as an essential medical treatment as far
back as the Egyptian, Greek and Roman empires. Opium has long been
used for pain management, intestinal ailments, respiratory conditions
and infections. It became an important medicine and trade item in In¬
dia, China, Europe and the Middle East.
The opium poppy is an annual plant that is cultivated for its sap,
which is collected and dried to form raw opium. Raw opium is formed
into cakes and small balls to be stored and sold on the market. Opium
is a narcotic that is consumed in various forms, including smoking and
liquid forms.

Opium poppy field (Wellcome Library, London).

14
Modus extrahcndipzpmerh fuccum .

A Mong.thofc powerful! guifrsto wan infufd,

What better is the knowledge of thole plants
Which for two thou fa nd y cares were only vftif
Method of extracting the juice from the poppy, woodcut, Opiologia by Sala (Angelus), 1618 (Wellcome Library, London).

15
 BUSTED

Drug jkr for opium made in

Britain between 1670 and

l740.The label on the jar

stands for “poppy

conserve” (Wellcome

Images, London,
Science Museum).

16
 Plant Drugs and Colonization

In the 1700s and 1800s, opiate-based drugs were

taken orally, and opiate-based elixirs, teas, patent
medicines, cough suppressants and tinctures were
consumed in Europe and in Canada. Opiate-based
drugs were also unregulated and could be bought
in local pharmacies or by mail order. At that time
there was no distinction between legal and ille¬
gal drugs. Laudanum, an opiate-based
tincture, was also consumed during
this time. It was often used by white,
middle-class women for what were
termed as "women's problems."

rrutae hx s*

Papine is the trade

name for this popular
opium remedy, 1890-1920

(Wellcome Images,
London, Science Museum).

Manufactured for the Proprietors by

ROBERTS & CO.,
76, NEW BOND ST., LONDON, W.l

" PAPINE ” is ttie anodyne or pain-relieving principle of Opium,

the narcotic or convulsive elements being eliminated. " Papine ”
Laudanum, an contains one grain of Morphine Hydrochloride to each fluid
ounce = 0'158% Anhydrous Morphine w/v.
opium tincture taken DOSE. One half to one drachm, repeated at intervals as may be
necessary.
orally, was a popular CA O TION. It it dangerous to exceed the stated dose.

medicine, 1880-1940
(Wellcome Images,
London Science
Museum,.

17
 BUSTED

Medicine chest for the home or apothecary, containing medicines for a range of illnesses. It includes

opiates, emetics, rhubarb, stimulants, such as ginger and lavender, scales and other instruments,

1801-1900 (Wellcome Images, London Science Museum).

18
 Many popular soothing syrups for infants also contained small Mrs.Winslows
Soothing Syrup for
amounts of opium and alcohol. The syrups were given to infants for
Children Teething
teething and to sooth an upset stomach. Historians Virginia Berridge contained opium, 1885

(U.S. National Library of

and Griffith Edwards explain that gastro-intestinal problems for in¬
Medicine, A021055).
fants coupled with poverty and poor housing conditions led to high
infant mortality rates in Britain during the 1800s. In the face of these
harsh social facts, parents found relief for their infants using soothing
syrups.2 Canadian families faced similar problems.

THE COCA PLANT

The coca plant, Erythroxylum, has been grown for thousands of years
and is an integral part of cultural and social life in regions of South
America. The leaf is chewed and used in teas and other products. The
coca leaf is a mild stimulant that contains minerals and nutrients.

19
Advertisement for Coca-Cola beverage, 1890 (Library of Congress,# 2004671509).

20
 Plant Drugs and Colonization

Women gathering leaves

of the coca plant at a
coca farm in
Bolivia, wood carving,
1867 (Wellcome Library,
London).

The coca plant was introduced to Western societies after parts of

South America were colonized.
However, products made from coca did not become common in
Western nations until the late 1800s when it was included in patent
medicines, cough drops, wines, and beverages, such as Coca-Cola. Co¬
ca-Cola and other drinks made from coca extract were often advertised
as temperance beverages.

Advertisement for
Hall’s Coca Wine,
1916 (Wellcome
Library, London,

Ephemera Collection,
by Stephen Smith
& Co.).

Coca plant (permission from artist

lain Mitchell-Boyd).

21
 BUSTED

Advertisement for
TOOTHACHE DROPS
cocaine toothache Instantaneous Cure I
drops, 1880-1899 PEICE 15 GIEHsTTS-
(US National Library Prepared by the
of Medicine, LLOYD MANUFACTURING CO.
A02I082). 219 HUDSON AVE., ALBANY, N. Y.

For sale by all Druggists.

CANNABIS

Cannabis, Cannabis sativa, is an ancient plant originally from central

Asia, and it is used for medicinal, spiritual and recreational purposes.
The cannabis plant contains hundreds of chemical substances and more
than one hundred cannabinoids or compounds, tetrahydrocannabinol
Cannabis plant as
(thc) being only one of them. The plant also provides fibre, paper, rope,
medicine from

“De historia stripivm oil and edible seeds. However, outside of its use for these commodities,
commentarrii insignes”
cannabis products were not used as often for their medicinal properties
by Leonhart Fuchs, 1542
in Western nations until the mid-nineteenth century. Western imperial¬
(Wellcome Library,
London). ism introduced British doctors who travelled and lived in colonial India
and other nations to a wider range
of plant drugs. For example, some
British doctors who visited India
in the 1800s praised cannabis for its
u1ujnu<csjsxit<*r"*&xui-
euphoric effects and recommended
AJaouiAsMlCrvtai.
W3»r it for medicinal use. It soon became
Miii
Mr an ingredient in patent medicines
ill and tonics and was recommended
_B <«»-***
Sg
, W a-.-SAiuo Iuh. Prfu
£H MMBdoatkM I.,,.,, -
.S 1'f.T....i , . -U r,, 1 AfiluHO. r"0*-1
for treating migraines, ulcers, painful
menstruation and asthma.

22
 Plant Drugs and Colonization

Although cannabis-based prod¬

ucts were never as popular as opi¬
ate-based drugs, cannabis products
were advertised in the early 1900s
for treating mental and physical ex¬
haustion, depression and insomnia.
Pharmaceutical companies, such as
Squibb and Eli Lilly, produced and
sold cannabis products.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s,
doctors wrote about the benefits
of cannabis, cocaine and opi¬
um-based products, and Ca¬
nadian citizens consumed
Cannabis plant (permission from artist,
lain Mitchell-Boyd). these medicines. In rural Can¬
ada, people relied on plant-
based drugs in oral, powder and tablet preparations to care
for the health of their family, especially prior to public
health care. Doctors were also few and far between and
expensive in rural areas.
Plant-based drugs were active ingredients in medi¬
cines and tonics available by mail order and at apothe¬ N
caries and drug stores. Oftentimes ingredients were not ..PINT (118 CO
fully listed, and producers made wild claims about the FLUID EXTRACT
healing properties of their patient medicines and tonics. No. 96
Plant-based drugs were sold without prescriptions in
mail-order catalogues, such as the Simpson Company CANNABIS, U. S. P
(Cannabis satlva)
and Eaton's. Compared to the services of a doctor, these
‘OVrUNS ALCOHOL H# PERCENT
JV".
medicines were cheap and available. Many tonics and
patent medicines contained only herb mixtures, and
some medicines also included alcohol.
Oral cannabis, marketed by Lilly

(permission from David Malmo Levine pUUf AND COMPANY. INDIAN AP HIS- #■ S ‘

from his Special Collection).

23
 BUSTED

28 THE BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL. [Apuji, 8, 1899.

■R A ‘VTHTg/fiS

Pharmaceutical Specialities.
The most reliable of tbe hypnotics. In simple insomnia Trional will pro¬
duce sleep in from 15 to 30 minutes

Trional
Acts quickly and surely, and is not
attended by any secondary eil’ects. with absolute certainty.
The sleep produced by Trional is as Dose.—15 to 30 grains, followed by
calm and refreshing as the natural a hot drink. A good method of ad¬
one; it is deep and dreamless, and (Diethylsulphon ministration is in the form of Pala-
the patient awakes without showing Methylethan). tinoids (Messrs. Oppenheimer, Son 4
the least sign of drowsiness. In small Co., 179, Queen Victoria Street, E.C.),
doses, Trional prevents the night or in the form of Oxy-Carbonated
sweats of Phthisis. Trional Water (manufactured by
Messrs. Cooper & Co., 80, Gloucester
Road, S.W.).

Increases considerably the alkalinity

of the blood.
The best product yet introduced in the
treatment of the mac acid diathesis.
Combines the acknowledged uric acid
solvent properties of Piperazine with
Lycetol Dose.—16 to 32 grains daily. Best
administered either in effervescing
form (Effervescing Lycetol, Messrs
the diuretic properties of Tartaric (Tartrate of Dimethyl Bishop & Sons, Ltd., Spelman Street,
Acid. Piperazine). E.), or in the form of Oxy-Carbonated
Lycetol Water (Messrs. Cooper & Co.,
80, Gloucester Road, S.W.).
INVALUABLE IN INFLUENZA.
Absolutely non-toxic. Specially in¬
A perfect substitute for salicylate of
sodium, as it acts quite as promptly,
but without producing any of the
unpleasant after effects so frequently
attending the use of this drug. Its
Salophen dicated in acute articular rheumatism,
sciatica, chorea, migraine, and neu¬
ralgia.
Dose.—16 grains, three or four
(Acetyl para Amidosalol). times a day, in powder or in the form
action is sure and quick.
of lozenges.

An excellent substitute for Codeine. Heroin does not cause constipation.

In doses of 5 milligrammes Heroin

Heroin
Its dose is much smaller than that of
has given excellent results in cases morphine. Heroin can be administered
of bronchitis, pharyngitis, catarrh of to patients with a weak heart who
the lungs, and in asthma bronchialo. cannot tolerate morphine. It is best
In the latter two cases the dose may (Di-acetic ester of Morphia). given in the' form of powder, mixed
be increased to 1 centigramme. with sugar, or may be dissolved in
brandy or water acrid ulntod by the
addition of a few drops of aeetitic acid.
TANNIGEN, TANNOPINE, IODOTIIYRINE, CREOSOTAL (Pure Carbonate of Creosote), DUOTAL
(Pure Carbonate of Guaiacol), AHISTOL, EUROPHEN, PROTARGOL, PHENACETINE-BAYER.
SULPHONAL-BAYER, PIPERAZINE-BAYER, ANALGEN, LOSOPHAN, TETRONAL, SOMATOSE, IRON
SOMATOSE, MILK SOMATOSE, Ac.

Samples and Literature may be bad on application to—

THE BAYER CO., Ltd., 19, ST. DUNSTAN’S HILL, LONDON, E.C,
Also at MANCHESTER, BRADFORD, and GLASGOW.

Bayer’s Pharmaceutical Products advertised in the British Medical Journal in 1899 (Wellcome Library, London).

24
 Plant Drugs and Colonization

PRICES SUBJECT TO
DRUGS, PATENT AND PROPRIETARY MEDICINES, MARKET FLUCTUATIONS
TINCTURES EFFERVESCENT PREPARATIONS
Containers extra where not listed by bottle.
VI. Tincture of Arnica. 2-oz. bottle.... 1 4c
pRICES INCLUDE WAR TAX
VI. Tincture Benzoin, (simple) 2-oz. bot. f 7c
Patent medicines have added to their cost the War Stamp tax, besides
any (not all) manufacturers have advanced their prices owing to the
EATON'S
VI. Tincture Benzoin Compound. (Friar's
Balsam). 2-oz. bottle. 20o
advance In the cost of Ingredients entering Into them, and such will
to be advanced by us In consequence.
EFFERVESCENT
VI. Tincture of Bucliu. per oz. lie
VI. Tincture of Camphor Compound VI. Abbey's Effervescent Salts.
FRUIT SALT
(Paregoric). 4-oz. bottle. 30c Small.21c Large. CATARRH SNUFF 76-038. For the cure of
2-oz. bottle. 1 5c VI. Allcock's Porous Plasters. sour stomach and biliousness,
VI. Tincture of Capsicum (Cayenne). VI. Antlblllous Pills. Pur box 76-02S. For catarrhal ©specially where the head is
2-oz. bottle.. 1 4c cold in tho head, etc This affected It will be found to cool
Vl-F. Tincture of Cantharldes (poison), 76-020. Liquid Antisep¬ is an antiseptic and healing the blood.
per oz . 1 Oc tic Is one of the best disin¬ powder.
VI. Tincture of Ocratian. 2-oz. bottle. . . 1 4c fectants and deodorizers for I Price. i 6c Small bottle, about -m
VI. Tincture of Ginger, strong. 2-oz. hot 20c all wounds and sores, also H pound.O / C
VI. Tincture of Green Soap, 2-oz. bot. . T4c very usoful In eczema and Large bottle, about 1 lb. 63o
VI. Tincture of Guaiacum, per oz . . 8 Ho chronic skin diseases, old COUGH SYRUP 76-039, Eno's Fruit Salts.
VI. Tincture of Guaiacum (Ammoniated). ulcers and running sores. It Per bottle. 73c
per oz. 8 He Is also a splendid wash for 76-026. Children's
VI. Tincture of Iron. 2-oz. bottle. I Oc the teeth and mouth, espe¬ Cough Syrup, Composed 76-047. Ely's Cream
VI. Tincture of Iodine, 1-oz. bottle.... 1 3c cially when having anv of Ipocac, Squills, Wild Balm. 52o
2-oz. bottle. 24c decayed teeth. Applied to Cherry, Tar, Horohound,
VI. Tincture of Iodine (Churchill's), the font after bathing them
Is most refreshing, applied
Tolu, etc. This Is one of
the safest and most effectual
CITRATE OF MAGNESIA
i-oz bottle.• 22o U. S. D.
VI. Tincture of Myrrh. 2-oz. bottle. 15c to the feet when burning cough syrups for children,
Vl-F. Tincture of Nux Voralca (poison), hot and tired is very sooth¬ bdng very powerful. It Is a 76-040. A most refreshing drink, regulate©
ing aod refreshing. stimulating expectorant and the bowels and keeps theblood cool.»»
per oz. 1 Oc Small bottle. 3 0c
VI. Tincturo Opium (Laudanum, poison). 2-oz. bottle. 16c very slightly sedative, from l-lb. bottle. . . 85o
1- oz. bottle. 1 7c 4-oz. bottle. the wild cherry.
2- oz. bottle. 3 2c 8-oz. bottle.
20-oz. bottle. , . . . .
Per 3-oz. bottle. . . 11c GRANULAR EFFERVESCENT
VI. Tincture of Quinine (Ammoniated). Per 8-oz. bottle.. .

§
2-oz. bottle. 1 8c MAGNESIA
VI. Tincture of Rhubarb, compound, Per 10-oz. bottle. . 76-041.The old well-known preparation
per oz. 8 He VI. Baby's Own Tablets. Per box. 21c
VI. Beecham's Pills. Per box. 2 So r,fC ™ 601(1 under tbe nam« or Citrate
VI. Tincture of Valerian (Ammoniated), CORN PREPARATIONS
per oz 8 He VI. Belladonna Porous Plasters. 1 6c
VI. Belladonna and Capsicum Plasters 1 6c
2 1 C an,I 6 3C
VI. Bovrll. 1-oz. . -20c! 2-oz.40c: CORN EXTRACTOR
4-oz. 70c 8-oz... 1.25 16-ox.... 2.25
W VI. Whiting (Paris
100 lbs.
te). 3 lbs. |>c
1.50
VI. Bovrll Cordial. Per bottle. .. . 1.25 76-028. This preparation when SULPHATE
VI. Bromo Seltzer. used two or three times a week
WATERS
(Containers Extra)
Price. . 9c 21c 42c 80c
VX. Brown's Bronchial Trochee, small 21c
according to directions, gives great OF
relief, and often a permanent cure.
Large box. 42c
VI. Lavender Water, per oz.
VI. Cologne Water, per oz.. VI. Burdock Blood Bitters.73c
Price 16c 26c
VI. Zolo Corn Plasters. A painless remedy
MAGNESIA
VI. Dill Water. 3 ozs . VI. Burdock Pills 21c for hard and soft corns.
VI. Elderttower Water, 3 ozs. VI. Butter Color. Wells Richardson's. 76-042. EATON’S
VI. Orange Flower Water, 3 ozs. . Per bottle Per package. 16c 2 for 27c Effervescent Sul¬
_1 2c_20c 35c_ 7Qo VI. Zolo Bunion Piasters. A painless rem¬
VI. Rose Water. 1-oz. bottle. edy for bunions. phate of Magnesia,
8-oz. bottle 25c 20-oz. bottle BORAC 1C Per package. I 6c 2 for. 27c Epsom Salts.
WATER GLASS EYE WATER VI. Blue Jay Com Plaster.
Small package. 1 6c Largo pkg. 26c Per lb. . 7 OC
Tho Great Egg Preservative VI. Blue Jay Bunion Plaster. Small bottle. . 25c
76-027. One pound of Water Glass mixed 76-021. For In¬ Small package. . . 1 6c Large package. 2 6c
with u gallon of water makes a satisfactory flamed eyes and VI. Magic Com Salvo. Per box. 11c
preserving liquid sufficient for about 150 eggs. eyelids. Is antisep¬ VI. Corn Plasters, plain. Per box... lie EFFERVESCENT PHOSPHATE of SODA
Water gloss Is sold in air-tight tins. tic. healing and
1-lb. tin 1 5c 2-lb. tin 25c 5-lb. tin 50c soothing. 76-043. Granular Efforvoscent Phos¬
Price. 26c CRAMP phate of Soda, Is a mild saline and tonic
purgative, and is a diuretic, aati-acld and
WITCH HAZEL anti-lithic. as it renders the urino alkaline it
76-022. Blackberry and MIXTURE is useful in gout.
Small bottle..30c
^ _
76-016. Distilled "highest Chalk Cordial, for diarrhoea
and summer complaints of 76-029. For women. This 1-lb. bottlo. . 85o
grade,” containing fifteen vol¬
umes of pure grain alcohol in children. This is an astrln- preparation is a boon to suffer¬
every one hundred volumes, gsnt. soothing anti-acid prep¬
that is practically
ctlcally 15 per | q aration which has been found ing girls and women, and fre¬ LAXATIVE LITHIA
cent. 6-oz. bottle veitr beneficial. Each tea- quently a dose or two taken
Pint bottle. 25c spoonful contains 1/5 minim according to directions when 76-044. Is a granular effer¬
! Tincture of Opium. O 1 suffering will give almost vescent alkaline saline laxa¬
^13 ' tie. .
Per 4-oz. bottle.. A I C
immediate relief. tive. This preparation Is to
COMPOUND dissolve and eliminate uric
Compound Elixir of Bool, Iron and Wine Per 8-oz. bottle. 2oC
ARNICATED 20-oz. bottle. 52c acid from the system and
76-023. This preparation
by that means got rid of
WITCH HAZEL is made with the finest extract
of beef, citrate of iron, and many of tho rheumatic and
76-017. For bruises, swell- Imported sherry wine, and is VI. Deadshot Worm Candy other troubles from excess of
-most imla-nablc.Qf ureal (Mackenzie's’), per stick. 9c uric acid.
ad 94c Per small bottlo. 32c
mg.
Per 1-lb bottle. 1.04
:Vc
3o7! EUCALYPTUS, WHITE PINE
l.<
“2c
2c AND WILD CHERRY
COMPOUND
-Oc 76-045. For bron¬
tin 40c chitis. coughs, colds. This
70c does not contain any
bromide, chloral hydrate,
37c opium or preparation
therefrom, such as mor¬
WITH'S phine. codclna. etc. It.
is tho least hurtful of all
FO cough medicines on the
stomach, acting as an
76-018. W I antiseptic, while at the
26c same timo it is com(>osed
Food acts lit 26c
kinds of flow of tho very best expector¬
2.60 ants and healing agents
tubhw. for tbe throat and lungs.
Small size tin.
! G-oz. bottle. .. 26c
Medium size
Largo size tin l 10-oz. bottle .

Z yi-
VI. /
Vl-F. Zinc Si Eaton’s catalogue,
63c EMULSION OF
Cod
;lon of COD LIVER OIL 1915-1916 (Sears
78s
Liver 76-046. With Hypo-
an talus phosphites of Lime and
>otash.
78c
Soda, is mado with the Canada and Canadian
.Iver finest non-freezing Ood
78c Liver OH. and can bo
recommended for coughs, Museum of History).
colds, debility, loss of
flesh and all wasting dis¬
eases. It is so prepared
78c that It can be retained by
Jeef, the most delicate stomach.
63a
16-oz. bottle. 63c

282 ITALOGUE (No. 116), 1915-16

Simpson Company catalogue,

1899 (Hudson’s Bay Company,
Archives of Manitoba, and
CO.
Limited. Canadian Museum of History).
TORONTO. CANADA.

25
 BUSTED

ISOLATION OF COMPOUNDS FROM PLANTS

In 1803, a German chemist isolated an organic compound (or alka¬

loid)—morphine—from opium. This is the first time that an active
compound was isolated from a plant. Morphine, in its refined state, is
more potent than raw opium. It can be taken orally and by injection.
This date marks the beginning of the pharmaceutical
industry's quest for semi-synthetic and synthetic drugs
with greater potency and profit. Drugs can be natural
(plant-based), refined, semi-synthetic or synthetic. For
example, heroin is a semi-synthetic drug that was
first derived from the compound morphine in 1898.
The coca leaf is a plant that contains many com¬
pounds, cocaine being only one of them. The other

Solution of morphine,
compounds found in the coca leaf modify cocaine's
first isolated from stimulant effect. In fact, the coca leaf contains vi¬
opium in 1803.
tamins and nutrients. The coca leaf contains about
The name refers to
Morpheius, the ancient 0.5 percent cocaine; thus products made from pow¬
Greek god of dreams dered coca are similar in potency. In contrast, refined
(Wellcome Images,
cocaine can be up to 100 percent pure. Equating the
London, Science

Museum). coca leaf with refined cocaine, as our contemporary

drug laws do, is quite the stretch of imagination.

The coca leaf and

industrialized products

made with powdered

coca leaf, Quito,

Ecuador (photographer:

Pablo Corral Vega.

ID: 7793 I, National

Geographic Creative

Photography).

26
 Plant Drugs and Colonization

Refined cocaine contains

up to 100 percent

cocaine (Shutterstock,
I.D. 46683 1727, photo by
majo I 12233 I).

The invention of the syringe in the early 1850s changed drug use.
Instead of oral medicines, now drugs like refined morphine and co¬
caine could be injected, and their effects could be felt more quickly.
Prior to the late 1800s and early 1900s, the consumption of opiate, co¬
caine and cannabis products was a personal matter —there was little
stigma attached to using drugs at that time.
If a person used a drug regularly they might
be seen as a habitual user. The term "addic¬
tion," as a concept associated with drug use,
was not fully developed then. Even today
the term "addiction" is culturally and histor¬
ically bound, and the concept of addiction is
continually changing.
In Canada, opiate use in and of itself was
not considered a social problem in the 1700s
and 1800s. There were only anecdotal ac¬
counts of habitual use. However, attitudes
were changing due to Protestant ethics about self-control, sobriety Hypodermic syringe
made by Coxeter
and morality. The increased power of medical professionals, and their
& Son, 1856-1865,
growing concerns about unregulated patient medicines, and colonial Britain (Wellcome Im¬
ages, London, Science
discourse about outsiders to white, middle-class morality also influ¬
Museum).
enced this change. Drug consumption became more suspect, especially
drug use associated with foreigners.

27
 BUSTED

THE OPIUM WARS

Ideas about the use of some forms of plant-based drugs were about to
shift dramatically over the 1800s and early 1900s. Several international,
national and local events led to changes in the way that raw opium
was thought of by citizens of Britain and Canada. Although opium had
been imported into China since the eighth century, the smoking of opi¬
um began in the late 1500s following the import of tobacco. Smoking
opium increased in China in the 1700s and 1800s as the British East
India Company brought in chest loads of opium for trading. Although
opium was illegal in China, British traders transported the drug from
India into the country to trade for tea and other items.

Drying room in an opium factory in India, lithograph by W.S. Sherwill, 1850 (Wellcome Library, London).

28
 Plant Drugs and Colonization

The East India Company ship Nemesis and other steam ships destroying Chinese junks in Anson’s Bay
on January 7, 1841, during the Opium Wars (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, 0792,
PAH8893).

When China sought to stop the opium trade, two Opium Wars (a
term applied by anti-opiate reformers) were fought by England (1839-
1842 and 1856-1860) to force the Chinese Government to allow the
profitable trade to continue.3
The Opium Wars provided British, Canadian and U.S. Christian mis¬
sionaries at home, and in China and India, to advance their ideas about
the evils of opium use, specifically opium smoking, by non-white peo¬
ple in colonized nations. Christian missionaries believed that moderate
use of opium (especially in smoking form) was impossible. Protestant
missionaries7 view on opium in colonized nations was a form of cul¬
tural imperialism as they failed to see, especially in India, how opium
cultivation and personal use was mainly unproblematic, long stand¬
ing and relied upon for medicinal purposes. Many supporters of the
anti-opiate movement were also members of the temperance move¬
ment. Both movements highlighted the physical and moral decline of
users and called for prohibition.

29
 BUSTED

Mass meeting under the auspices of the Anti-Opium Urgency Committee, World’s Woman’s

Christian Temperance Union, 1894 (Wellcome Library, London, GC EPH560: 26).

By the end of the 1800s, opium smoking and trafficking became firm¬
ly linked to Chinese men, who were depicted as endangering white
moral citizens. Britain's imperialist, free trade practices that allowed
British merchants to profit from the trade in opium was overlooked or
ignored.
In Canada, as the early 1900s began, opium, cocaine and cannabis
remained legal and unregulated; however, change was on the horizon.
Vancouver, B.C., was soon to become the epicentre of events that led to
Canada's first opium law.

NOTES

1. Canada. 1895. Report of the Royal Commission on the Liquor Traffic Minutes of Evidence.
Ottawa: Canada.
2. Berridge, Virginia, and Griffith Edwards. 1981. Opium and the People: Opiate Use in
Nineteenth Century England. Toronto: Allan Lane.
3. Lovell, Julia. 2011. The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams and the Making of China. Oxford: Picador.

30
 2

The Beginnings of Narcotic

Control: 1880s-1920s

F or more than a century, the City of Vancouver has played a pivot¬

al role in the formation of drug prohibition and resistance to it. A
number of significant events took place in Vancouver that dramatically
altered drug policy in Canada. Race continues to be a central feature
of Canadian drug policy. After ensuring provisions in the Indian Act to
prohibit the sale and possession of alcohol to those designated Status
Indians by the Federal Government, white Canadians turned their at¬
tention to Chinese residents.

Chinese labourers working on the Canadian Pacific Railway in the mountains of B.C., 1884 (Library and

Archives Canada, Boorne & May, C-006686B).

31
 BUSTED

Although some Chinese men came to Canada to join the Gold Rush
in 1858, a second influx of men arrived in the late 1800s to work on the
national railway. The national railway was envisioned by the Federal
Government as a project to unite white settlements throughout the Do¬
minion and to provide speedy transport of military units, especially
following the Metis Red River resistance in the late 1860s.
At that time Chinese men were seen as honest, hard-working labour¬
ers. However, there was also a profit motive involved: Chinese labour¬
ers were paid a third of what white labourers received from contractors
hired by the Canadian Pacific Railway (cpr) and were given some of the
most dangerous jobs.

Chinese workers on a Canadian Pacific Railway ship travelling to Canada to work, date unknown
(Vancouver Public Library, 12866).

32
 The Beginnings of Narcotic Control

Camp and work conditions were rough for the Chinese men who
worked on the cpr, especially through the mountain terrain of the west
coast. When the railway was complete, linking east and west, many
Chinese men settled permanently in Vancouver. Although the west
coast did not become a British colony until 1849 and part of Canada
until 1871, white settlers intended it as a "white Canada," even though
the area was home to Indigenous people.

In 1886, the City of Vancouver was founded. The cpr was given prime Arrival of first
Canadian Pacific
land by the Federal Government throughout the area. This land was
Railway passenger
not unoccupied, but was, and is, the traditional homeland of the Coast train to Vancouver, B.C.

Salish. However, from Vancouver's inception, city politicians and la¬ 1908 (Vancouver Public
Library, 27).
bour leaders espoused white supremacy. Indigenous people were seen
as inferior and outsiders to white "British" Columbia. Many Indig¬
enous people were torn from their traditional lands and, along with
Chinese and Japanese people, were denied the vote and discouraged
from living in Vancouver. Whereas the Indian Act regulated all aspects
of Indigenous peoples' lives, the City and Province enacted by-laws to
restrict where Chinese and Japanese people could live and work, and
even what professions they could work in.

33
Other documents randomly have
different content
gorilla was regarded as an intruder. He would push and shove the
gorilla, grunt and whine and quarrel until he got him out of it. But
after doing so he would leave the hammock and climb up into the
bushes, or go scouting about, hunting something to eat. He only
wanted to dispossess the intruder, for whom he nursed an inordinate
jealousy. He never went about the gorilla’s little house, which was
near another side of my cage. Even after the gorilla died Moses kept
aloof from its house.
As a rule, I took Moses with me in my rambles into the forest, and
I found him to be quite useful in one way. His eyes were like the lens
of a camera; nothing escaped them. When he discovered anything in
the jungle, he always made it known by a peculiar sound. He could
not point it out with his finger, but by watching his eyes the object
could often be located. Frequently during these tours the ape rode
on my shoulders. At other times the boy carried him; but
occasionally he was put down on the ground to walk. If we traveled
at a very slow pace, and allowed him to stroll along at leisure, he
was content to do so; but if hurried beyond a certain gait, he always
made a display of temper. He would turn on the boy and attack him
if possible; but if the boy escaped, the angry little ape would throw
himself down on the ground, scream, kick, and beat the earth with
his own head and hands, in the most violent and persistent manner.
He sometimes did the same way when not allowed to have what he
wanted. His conduct was exactly like that of a spoiled or ugly child.
He had a certain amount of ingenuity, and often evinced a degree
of reason which was rather unexpected. It was not a rare thing for
him to solve some problem that involved a study of cause and effect,
but this was always in a limited degree. I would not be understood
to mean that he could work out any abstract problem, such as
belongs to the realm of mathematics, but only simple, concrete
problems, the object of which was present.
On one occasion while walking through the forest, we came to a
small stream of water. The boy and myself stepped across it, leaving
Moses to get over without help. He disliked getting his feet wet, and
paused to be lifted across. We walked a few steps away and waited.
He looked up and down the branch to see if there was any way to
avoid it. He walked back and forth a few yards, but found no way to
cross. He sat down on the bank and declined to wade. After a few
moments he waddled along the bank about ten or twelve feet to a
clump of tall, slender bushes growing by the edge of the stream.
Here he halted, whined, and looked up thoughtfully into them. At
length he began to climb one of them that leaned over the water. As
he climbed up, the stalk bent with his weight, and in an instant he
was swung safely across the little brook. He let go the plant, and
came hobbling along to me with a look of triumph on his face that
plainly indicated he was fully conscious of having performed a very
clever feat.
 A STROLL IN THE JUNGLE—MR. GARNER, MOSES, AND
NATIVE BOY
(From a Photograph.)
One dark, rainy night I felt something pulling at my blanket and
mosquito bar. I could not for a moment imagine what it was, but
knew that it was something on the outside of my cage. I lay for a
few seconds, and then I felt another strong pull. In an instant some
cold, damp, rough thing touched my face. I found it was his hand
poked through the meshes and groping about for something. I spoke
to him, and he replied with a series of plaintive sounds which
assured me that something must be wrong. I rose and lighted a
candle. His little brown face was pressed up against the wires, and
wore a sad, weary look. He could not tell me in words what troubled
him, but every sign, look, and gesture bespoke trouble. Taking the
candle in one hand and my revolver in the other, I stepped out of
the cage and went to his domicile. There I discovered that a colony
of ants had invaded his quarters. These ants are a great pest when
they attack anything, and when they make a raid on a house the
only thing to be done is to leave it until they have devoured
everything about it that they can eat. When they leave a house
there is not a roach, rat, bug, or insect left in it. As the house of
Moses was so small, it was not difficult to dispossess the ants by
saturating it with kerosene. This was quickly done, and the little
occupant was allowed to return and go to bed. He watched the
procedure with evident interest, and seemed perfectly aware that I
could rid him of his savage assailants. In a wild state he would
doubtless have abandoned his claim and fled to some other place,
without an attempt to drive the ants away; but in this instance he
had acquired the idea of the rights of possession.
Moses was especially fond of corned beef and sardines, and would
recognize a can of either as far away as he could see it. He also
knew the instrument used in opening the cans. But he did not
appear to appreciate the fact that when the contents had once been
taken out it was useless to open the can again; so he often brought
the empty cans that had been thrown into the bush, got the can-
opener down, and wanted me to use it for him! I never saw him try
to open a can himself otherwise than with his fingers. Sometimes,
when about to prepare my own meals, I would open the case in
which I kept stored a supply of canned meats and allow Moses to
select a can for the purpose. He never failed to pull out one of the
cans of beef bearing the blue label. If I put it back, he would again
select the same kind, and he could not be deceived in his choice. It
was not accidental, because he would hunt until he found the right
sort. I don’t know what he thought when his choice was not served
for dinner. I often exchanged it for another kind without consulting
him.
I kept my supply of water in a large jug, which was placed in the
shade of the bushes near the cage. I also kept a small pan for Moses
to drink out of. He would sometimes ask for water by using his own
word for it. He would place his pan by the side of the jug and repeat
the sound a few times. If he was not attended to, he proceeded to
help himself. He could take the cork out of the jug quite as well as I
could. He would then put his eye to the mouth of the vessel and
look down into it to see if there was any water. Of course the
shadow of his head would darken the interior of the jug so that he
could not see anything. Then, removing his eye from the mouth of
it, he would poke his hand into it. But I reproved him for this until I
broke him of the habit. After a careful examination of the jug he
would try to pour the water out. He knew how it ought to be done,
but was not able to handle the vessel. He always placed the pan on
the lower side of the jug; then he leaned the jug towards the pan
and let go. He would rarely ever get the water into the pan, but
always turned the jug with the neck down grade. As a hydraulic
engineer he was not a great success, but he certainly knew the first
principles of the science.
I tried to teach Moses to be cleanly, but it was a hard task. He
would listen to my precepts as if they had made a deep impression,
but he would not wash his hands of his own accord. He would
permit me or the boy to wash them, but when it came to taking a
bath or even wetting his face, he was a rank heretic on the subject,
and no amount of logic would convince him that he needed it. When
he was given a bath he would scream and fight during the whole
process. When it was finished he would climb upon the roof of the
cage and spread himself out in the sun. These were the only
occasions on which I ever knew him to get upon the roof. I don’t
know why he disliked the bath so much. He did not mind getting wet
in the rain, but rather seemed to like that.
He had a great dislike for ants and certain large bugs. Whenever
one such came near him he would talk like a magpie, and brush at
the insect with his hands until he got rid of it. He always used a
certain sound for this kind of annoyance; it differed slightly from
those I have described as warning.
Moses tried to be honest, but he was affected with a species of
kleptomania and could not resist the temptation to purloin anything
that came in his way. The small stove upon which I prepared my
food was placed on a shelf in one corner of the cage, about halfway
between the floor and the top. Whenever anything was set on the
stove to cook, he had to be watched to keep him from climbing up
the side of the cage, reaching his arm through the meshes, and
stealing the food. He was sometimes very persevering in this matter.
One day I set a tin can of water on the stove to heat, in order to
make some coffee. He silently climbed up, reached his hand
through, stuck it in the can, and began to search for anything it
might contain. I threw out the water, refilled the can, and drove him
away. In a few minutes he returned and repeated the act. I had a
piece of canvas hung up on the outside of the cage to keep him
away. The can of water was placed on the stove for the third time,
but within a minute he found his way by climbing up under the
curtain, and between that and the cage. I determined to teach him a
lesson. He was allowed to explore the can, but finding nothing, he
withdrew his hand and sat there clinging to the side of the cage.
Again he tried, but found nothing. The water was getting warmer,
but was still not hot. At length, for the third or fourth time, he stuck
his hand in it up to the wrist. By this time the water was so hot that
it scalded his hand. It was not severe enough to do him any harm,
but quite enough so for a good lesson. He jerked his hand out with
such violence that he threw the cup over and spilt the water all over
that side of the cage. From that time to the end of his life he always
refused anything that had steam or smoke about it. If anything
having steam or smoke was offered him at the table, he would climb
down at once and retire from the scene. Poor little Moses! I knew
beforehand what would happen. I did not wish to see him hurt, but
nothing else would serve to impress him with the danger and keep
him out of mischief.
Anything that he saw me eat he never failed to beg. No matter
what he had himself, he wanted to try everything else that he saw
me eat. One thing in which these apes appear to be wiser than man
is, that when they eat or drink enough to satisfy their wants they
quit. Men sometimes do not. Apes never drink water or anything else
during their meal, but having finished eating, they want, as a rule,
something to drink. The native custom is the same. I have never
known the native African to use any kind of diet drink, but always
when he has finished eating he takes a draught of water.
Moses knew the use of nearly all the tools that I carried with me
in the jungle. He could not use them for the purpose for which they
were intended, and I do not know to what extent he appreciated
their use; but he knew quite well the manner of using them. I have
mentioned the incident of his using the hammer and nails; but he
also knew the way to use the saw; however, he always applied the
back of it, because the teeth were too rough; but he gave it the
motion. When allowed to have it, he would put the back of it across
a stick and saw with the energy of a man on a big salary. When
given a file, he would file everything that came in his way. If he had
applied himself in learning to talk human words as closely and with
as much zeal as he tried to use my pliers, he would have succeeded
in a very short time.
Whether these creatures are actuated by reason or by instinct in
such acts as I have mentioned, the caviller may settle for himself;
but the actions accomplish the purpose of the actors in a logical and
practical manner, and they are perfectly conscious of the fact.
 CHAPTER XIV
The Character of Moses—He Learns a Human Word—
He Signs His Name to a Document—His Illness—
Death
I know of nothing in the way of affection and loyalty among
animals that can exceed the devotion of my Moses. Not only was he
tame and tractable, but he never tired of caressing me and being
caressed by me. For hours together he would cling to my neck, play
with my ears, lips, and nose, bite my cheek, and hug me like a last
hope. He was never willing for me to put him down from my lap,
never willing for me to leave my cage without him, never willing for
me to caress anything else but himself, and never willing for me to
discontinue caressing him. He would cry and fret for me whenever
we were separated; and I must confess that my absence from him
during a journey of three weeks hastened his sad and untimely
death.
From the second day after we became associated he appeared to
regard me as the one in authority. He would not resent anything I
did to him. I could take his food out of his hands, but he would
permit no one else to do so. He would follow me and cry after me
like a child. As time went by, his attachment grew stronger and
stronger. He gave every evidence of pleasure at my attentions, and
evinced a certain degree of appreciation and gratitude in return. He
would divide any morsel of food with me. This is, perhaps, the
highest test of the affection of any animal. I cannot affirm that such
an act was genuine benevolence, or an earnest of affection in a true
sense of the term; but nothing except deep affection or abject fear
impels such actions in animals; and certainly fear was not his
motive.
 There were others whom he liked and made himself familiar with;
there were some that he feared, and others that he hated; but his
manner towards me was that of deep affection. It was not alone in
return for the food he received, for my boy gave him food more
frequently than I did, and many others from time to time fed him.
His attachment was like an infatuation that had no apparent motive;
it was unselfish and supreme.
The chief purpose of my living among the animals being to study
the sounds they utter, I gave strict attention to those made by
Moses. For a time it was difficult to detect more than two or three
distinct sounds, but as I grew more and more familiar with them I
could detect a variety of them, and by constantly watching his
actions and associating them with his sounds I learned to interpret
certain ones to mean certain things.
In the course of my sojourn with him I learned one sound that he
always uttered when he saw anything that he was familiar with,—
such as a man or a dog,—but he could not tell me which of the two
it was. If he saw anything strange to him, he could tell me; but not
so that I knew whether it was a snake, or a leopard, or a monkey;
yet I knew that it was some strange creature. I learned a certain
word for food, hunger, eating, etc., but he could not go into any
details about it, except that a certain sound indicated “good” or
“satisfaction,” and another meant the opposite.
Among the sounds that I learned was one that is used by a
chimpanzee in calling another to come to it. Some of the natives
assured me that the mothers always use it in calling their young to
them. When Moses wandered away from the cage into the jungle,
he would sometimes call me with this sound. I cannot express it in
letters of the alphabet, nor describe it so as to give a very clear idea
of its character. It is a single sound, or word of one syllable, and can
be easily imitated by the human voice. At any time that I wanted
Moses to come to me I used this word, and the fact that he always
obeyed it by coming confirmed my opinion as to its meaning. I do
not think that when he addressed it to me he expected me to come
to him, but he perhaps wanted to locate me in order to be guided
back to the cage by means of the sound. As he grew more familiar
with the surrounding forest he used it less frequently, but he always
employed it in calling me or the boy. When he was called by it he
answered with the same sound; but one fact that we noticed was,
that if he could see the one who called he never made any reply. He
would obey the call, but not answer. He probably thought that if he
could see the one who called he could be seen by him, and it was
therefore useless to reply.
The speech of these animals is very limited, but it is sufficient for
their purpose. It is none the less real because of its being restricted,
but it is more difficult for man to learn, because his modes of
thought are so much more ample and distinct. Yet when one is
reduced to the necessity of making his wants known in a strange
tongue he can express many things in a very few words. I was once
thrown among a tribe of whose language I knew less than fifty
words, but with little difficulty I succeeded in conversing with them
on two or three topics. Much depends upon necessity, and more
upon practice. In talking to Moses I used his own language mostly,
and was surprised at times to see how readily we understood each
other. I could repeat about all the sounds he made except one or
two, but I was not able in the time we were together to interpret all
of them. These sounds were more than a mere series of grunts or
whines, and he never confused them in their meaning. When any
one of them was properly delivered to him, he clearly understood
and acted upon it.
It had never been any part of my purpose to teach a monkey to
talk; but after I became familiar with the qualities and range of the
voice of Moses, I determined to see if he might not be taught to
speak a few simple words of human speech. To effect this in the
easiest way and shortest time, I carefully observed the movements
of his lips and vocal organs in order to select such words for him to
try as were best adapted to his ability.
 I selected the word mamma, which may be considered almost a
universal word of human speech; the French word feu, fire; the
German word wie, how; and the native Nkami word nkgwe, mother.
Every day I took him on my lap and tried to induce him to say one
or more of these words. For a long time he made no effort to learn
them; but after some weeks of persistent labor and a bribe of
corned beef, he began to see dimly what I wanted him to do. The
native word quoted is very similar to one of the sounds of his own
speech, which means “good” or “satisfaction.” The vowel element
differs in them, and he was not able in the time he was under tuition
to change them; but he distinguished them from other words.
In his attempt to say mamma he worked his lips without making
any sound, although he really tried to do so. I believe that in the
course of time he would have succeeded. He observed the
movement of my lips and tried to imitate it, but he seemed to think
that the lips alone produced the sound. With feu he succeeded fairly
well, except that the consonant element, as he uttered it, resembled
“v” more than “f,” so that the sound was more like vu, making the
“u” short as in “nut.” It was quite as nearly perfect as most people of
other tongues ever learn to speak the same word in French, and, if it
had been uttered in a sentence, any one knowing that language
would recognize it as meaning fire. In his efforts to pronounce wie
he always gave the vowel element like German “u” with the umlaut,
but the “w” element was more like the English than the German
sound of that letter.
Taking into consideration the fact that he was only a little more
than a year old, and was in training less than three months, his
progress was all that could have been desired, and vastly more than
had been hoped for. It is my belief that, had he lived until this time,
he would have mastered these and other words of human speech to
the satisfaction of the most exacting linguist. If he had only learned
one word in a whole lifetime, he would have shown at least that the
race is capable of being improved and elevated in some degree.
 Another experiment that I tried with him was one that I had used
before in testing the ability of a monkey to distinguish forms. I cut a
round hole in one end of a board and a square hole in the other, and
made a block to fit into each one of them. The blocks were then
given to him to see if he could fit them into the proper holes. After
being shown a few times how to do this, he fitted the blocks in
without difficulty; but when he was not rewarded for the task by
receiving a morsel of corned beef or a sardine, he did not attempt it.
He did not care to work for the fun alone.
In colors he had but little choice, unless it was something to eat;
but he could distinguish them with ease if the shades were
pronounced. I had no means of testing his taste for music or sense
of musical sounds.
I must here take occasion to mention one incident in the life of
Moses, such as perhaps never before occurred in the life of any
chimpanzee. While it may not be of scientific value, it is at least
amusing.
While living in the jungle I received a letter enclosing a contract to
be signed by myself and a witness. Having no means of finding a
witness to sign the paper, I called Moses from the bushes, placed
him at the table, gave him a pen, and had him sign the document as
witness. He did not write his name himself, as he had not mastered
the art of writing; but he made his cross mark between the names,
as many a good man had done before him. I wrote in the blank the
name,
His
“MOSES X NTYIGO”
mark

(the cross mark being omitted), and had him with his own hand
make the cross as it is legally done by persons who cannot write.
With this signature the contract was returned in good faith to stand
the test of the law courts of civilization; and thus for the first time in
the history of the race a chimpanzee signed his name.
 When I prepared to start on a journey across the Esyira country, it
was not practicable for me to take Moses along, so I arranged to
leave him in charge of a missionary. Shortly after my departure the
man was taken with fever, and the chimpanzee was left to the care
of a native boy belonging to the mission. The little prisoner was kept
confined by a small rope attached to his cage. This was done in
order to keep him out of mischief. It was during the dry season,
when the dews are heavy and the nights chilly; and the winds at
that season are fresh and frequent.
Within a week after I had left him he contracted a severe cold.
This soon developed into acute pulmonary troubles of a complex
type, and he began to decline. After an absence of three weeks and
three days I returned and found him in a condition beyond the reach
of treatment. He was emaciated to a living skeleton; his eyes were
sunken deep into their orbits, and his steps were feeble and
tottering; his voice was hoarse and piping; his appetite was gone,
and he was utterly indifferent to everything around him.
During my journey I had secured a companion for him, and when
I disembarked from the canoe I hastened to him with this new
addition to our little family. I had not been told that he was ill, and,
of course, was not prepared to see him looking so ghastly. When he
discovered me approaching, he rose up and began to call me, as he
had been wont to do before I left him; but his weak voice was like a
death-knell to my ears. My heart sunk within me as I saw him trying
to reach out his long, bony arms to welcome my return. Poor, faithful
Moses! I could not repress the tears of pity and regret at this sudden
change, for to me it seemed the work of a moment. I had last seen
him in the vigor of a strong and robust youth, but now I beheld him
in the decrepitude of a feeble senility. What a transformation!
I diagnosed his case as well as I was able and began to treat him,
but it was evident that he was so far gone that I could not expect
him to recover. My conscience smote me for having left him, yet I
felt that I had not done wrong. It was not neglect or cruelty for me
to leave him while I went in pursuit of the chief object of my search,
and I had no cause to reproach myself for having done so. But
emotions that are stirred by such incidents are not to be controlled
by reason or hushed by argument, and the pain caused me was
more than I can tell.
If I had done wrong, the only restitution possible for me to make
was to nurse him patiently and tenderly to the end, or till health and
strength should return. This was conscientiously done, and I have
the comfort of knowing that the last sad days of his life were
soothed by every care that kindness could suggest. Hour after hour
during that time he lay silent and content upon my lap. That
appeared to be a panacea to all his pains. He would roll up his dark
brown eyes and look into my face, as if to be assured that I had
been restored to him. With his long fingers he stroked my face as if
to say that he was again happy. He took the medicines I gave him as
if he knew their purpose and effect. His suffering was not intense,
and he bore it like a philosopher. He seemed to have some vague
idea of his own condition, but I do not know that he foresaw the
result. He lingered on from day to day for a whole week, slowly
sinking and growing feebler; but his love for me was manifest to the
last, and I dare confess that I returned it with all my heart.
Is it wrong that I should requite such devotion and fidelity with
reciprocal emotion? No. I should not deserve the love of any
creature if I were indifferent to the love of Moses. That affectionate
little creature had lived with me in the dismal shadows of that
primeval forest for many long days and dreary nights; had romped
and played with me when far away from the pleasures of home; and
had been a constant friend, alike through sunshine and storm. To
say that I did not love him would be to confess myself an ingrate
and unworthy of my race.
The last spark of life passed away in the night. Death was not
attended by acute pain or struggling; but, falling into a deep and
quiet sleep, he woke no more.
 Moses will live in history. He deserves to do so, because he was
the first of his race that ever spoke a word of human speech;
because he was the first that ever conversed in his own language
with a human being; and because he was the first that ever signed
his name to any document. Fame will not deny him a niche in her
temple among the heroes who have led the races of the world.
 CHAPTER XV
Aaron—His Capture—Mental Powers—Acquaintance
with Moses—His Conduct during Moses’ Illness
Having arranged my affairs in Ferran Vaz so as to make a journey
across the great forest that lies to the south of the Nkami country
and separates it from that of the Esyira tribe, I set out by canoe to a
point on the Rembo about three days’ journey from the place where
I had so long lived in my cage. At a village called Tyimba I
disembarked and, after a journey of five days and a delay of three
more days, caused by an attack of fever, I arrived at a trading
station near the head of a small river called Noogo. It empties into
the sea at Sette Kama, about four degrees south of the equator. The
trading post is about a hundred miles inland, at a native village
called Ntyi-ne-nye-ni,—which, strange to say, means, in the native
tongue, “Some Other Place.”
About the time I reached the trading post, two Esyira hunters
arrived from a distant village and brought with them a smart young
chimpanzee of the kind known in that country as the kulu-kamba.
He was quite the finest specimen of his race that I have ever seen.
His frank, open countenance, big brown eyes, and shapely physique,
free from mark or blemish of any kind, would attract the notice of
any one not absolutely stupid. It is not derogatory to the memory of
Moses that I should say this, nor does it lessen my affection for him.
Our passions are not moved by visible forces nor measured by fixed
units. They disdain all laws of logic, spurn the narrow bounds of
reason, and conform to no theory of action.
As soon as I saw this little ape I expressed a desire to own him.
So the trader in charge bought him and presented him to me. As it
had been intended that he should be the friend and ally of Moses,
although not his brother, I conferred upon him the name of Aaron.
The two names are so intimately associated in history that the
mention of one always suggests the other.
Aaron was captured in the Esyira jungle by the hunters, about one
day’s journey from the place where I secured him; and with this
event began a series of sad scenes in the brief but varied life of this
little hero such as seldom come within the experience of any
creature.
At the time of his capture his mother was killed in the act of
defending him from the cruel hunters. When she fell to the earth,
mortally wounded, this brave little fellow stood by her trembling
body defending it against her slayers, until he was overcome by
superior force, seized by his captors, bound with strips of bark, and
carried away into captivity. No human can refrain from admiring his
conduct in this act, whether it was prompted by the instinct of self-
preservation or by a sentiment of loyalty to his mother, for he was
exercising that prime law of nature which actuates all creatures to
defend themselves against attack, and his wild, young heart
throbbed with sensations like to those of a human under similar
ordeal.
I do not wish to appear sentimental by offering a rebuke to those
who indulge in the sport of hunting; but much cruelty could be
obviated without losing any of the pleasure of the hunt. I have
always made it a rule to spare the mother with her young. Whether
or not animals feel the same degree of mental and physical pain as
man, they do, in these tragic moments, evince for one another a
certain amount of concern. This imparts a tinge of sympathy that
must appeal to any one who is not devoid of every sense of mercy.
It is true that it is often difficult—and sometimes impossible—to
secure the young by other means; but the manner of getting them
often mars the pleasure of having them; and while Aaron was to me
a charming pet and a valuable subject for study, I confess the story
of his capture always touched me in a tender spot.
 I may here mention that the few chimpanzees that reach the
civilized parts of the world are but a small percentage of the great
number that are captured. Some die on their way to the coast,
others die after reaching it, and scores of them die on board the
ships to which they have been consigned for various ports of Europe
and other countries. Death results not often from neglect or cruelty,
but usually from a change of food, climate, or condition; yet the
creature suffers just the same whether the cause is from design or
accident. One fruitful source of death among them is pulmonary
trouble of various types.
One look at the portrait of Aaron will impress any one with the
high mental qualities of this little captive; but to see and study them
in life would convince a heretic of his superior character. In every
look and gesture there was a touch of the human that no one could
fail to observe. The range of facial expression surpassed that of any
other animal I have ever studied. In repose his quaint face wore a
look of wisdom becoming to a sage; while in play it was crowned
with a grin of genuine mirth. The deep, searching look he gave to a
stranger was a study for the psychologist. The serious, earnest look
of inquiry when he was perplexed would have amused a stoic. All
these changing moods were depicted in his mobile face with such
intensity as to leave no room to doubt the activity of certain faculties
of the mind to a degree far beyond that of animals in general; and
his conduct in many instances showed the exercise of mental powers
of a higher order than that limited agency known as instinct. In
addition to these facts, his voice was of better quality and more
flexible than that of any other specimen I have ever known. It was
clear and smooth in uttering sounds of any pitch within its scope,
while the voices of most of them are inclined to be harsh or husky,
especially in sounds of high pitch.
Before leaving the village where I secured him, I made a kind of
sling for him to be carried in. It consisted of a short canvas sack,
having two holes cut in the bottom for his legs to pass through. To
the top of this was attached a broad band of the same cloth by
which to hang it over the head of the carrier boy to whom the little
prisoner was consigned. This afforded the ape a comfortable seat,
and at the same time reduced the labor of carrying him. It left his
arms and legs free, so he could change his position and rest, while it
also allowed the boy the use of his own hands in passing any
difficult place in the jungle along the way.
From the trading post to the Rembo was a journey of five days on
foot. Along the way were a few straggling villages; but most of the
route lay through a wild and desolate forest, traversed by low, broad
marshes, through which wind shallow sloughs of filthy, greenish
water, seeking its way among bending roots and fallen leaves. From
the foul bosom of these marshes rise the effluvia of decaying plants,
breeding pestilence and death. Here and there across the dreary
tracts is found the trail of elephants, where the great beasts have
broken their tortuous way through the dense barriers of bush and
vine. These trails serve as roads for the native traveler and afford
the only way of crossing these otherwise trackless jungles. The only
means of passing the dismal swamps is to wade through the thin,
slimy mud, often more than knee-deep, and sometimes extending
many hundred feet in width. The traveler is intercepted at almost
every step by the tangled roots of mangrove trees under foot or
clusters of vines hanging from the boughs overhead.
Such was the route we came. But Aaron did not realize how
severe was the task of his carrier in trudging his way through such
places, and the little rogue often added to the labor by seizing hold
of limbs or vines that hung within his reach in passing. Thus he
retarded the progress of the boy, who strongly protested against the
ape’s amusing himself in this manner. The latter seemed to know of
no reason why he should not do so, and the former did not deign to
give one. So the quarrel went on until we reached the river; but by
that time each of them had imbibed a hatred for the other that
nothing in the future ever allayed. Neither of them ever forgot it
while they were associated, and both of them evinced their aversion
on all occasions. The boy gave vent to his dislike by making ugly
faces at the ape, and the latter showed his resentment by screaming
and trying to bite him. Aaron refused to eat any food given him by
the boy, and the boy would not give him a morsel except when
required to do so. At times the feud became ridiculous. It ended only
with their final separation. The last time I ever saw the boy, I asked
him if he wanted to go with me to my country to take care of Aaron;
but he shook his head and said: “He’s a bad man.” This was the only
person for whom I ever knew Aaron to conceive a deep and bitter
dislike, but the boy he hated with his whole heart.
On my return to Ferran Vaz, where I had left Moses, I found him
in a feeble state of health, as related elsewhere. When Aaron was
set down before him, he merely gave the little stranger a casual
glance, but held out his long, lean arms for me to take him in mine.
His wish was gratified, and I indulged him in a long stroll. When we
returned I set him down by the side of his new friend, who evinced
every sign of pleasure and interest. He was like a small boy when
there is a new baby in the house. He cuddled up close to Moses and
made many overtures to become friends; but, while the latter did
not repel them, he treated them with indifference. Aaron tried in
many ways to attract the attention of Moses, or to elicit from him
some sign of approval, but it was in vain.
No doubt Moses’ manners were due to his sickness, and Aaron
seemed to realize it. He sat for a long time holding a banana in his
hand and looking with evident concern into the face of his little sick
cousin. At length he lifted the fruit to the lips of the invalid and
uttered a low sound; but the kindness was not accepted. The act
was purely one of his own volition, to which he was not prompted by
any suggestion from others. Every look and motion indicated a
desire to relieve or comfort his friend. His manner was gentle and
humane, and his face was an image of pity.
Failing to get any sign of attention from Moses, Aaron moved up
closer to his side and put his arms around him in the manner that is
shown in the picture of him with Elisheba. During the days that
followed, he sat hour after hour in the same attitude, and refused to
allow any one except myself to touch his patient; but on my
approach he always resigned him to me, while he watched with
interest to see what I did for him.
Among other things, I gave Moses twice a day a tabloid of quinine
and iron. This was dissolved in a little water and given to him in a
small tin cup kept for the purpose. When not in use, the cup was
hung upon a tall post. Aaron soon learned to know the use of it, and
whenever I went to Moses, Aaron would climb up the post and bring
me the cup to administer the medicine. It is not to be inferred that
he knew anything about the nature or effect of the medicine, but he
knew the use, and the only use, to which that cup was put.
Aaron displayed a marked interest during the act of administering
the dose, and seemed to realize that it was intended for the good of
the patient. He would sit close up to one side of the sick one and
watch every movement of his face, as if to see what effect was
being produced, while the changing expressions of his own visage
plainly showed that he was not indifferent to the actions of the
patient.
While I was present with the sick one, Aaron appeared to feel a
certain sense of relief from the care of him, and frequently went
climbing about as if to rest and recreate himself by a change of
routine. Whenever I took Moses for a walk, or sat with him on my
lap, his little nurse was perfectly content; but the instant they were
left alone, Aaron would again fold him in his arms, as if he felt it a
duty to do so.
It was only natural that Moses, in such a state of health, should be
cross and peevish at times, as human beings in a like condition are;
but I never once saw Aaron resent anything Moses did, or display
the least ill-temper towards him. On the contrary, his conduct was so
patient and forbearing that it was hard to forego the belief that it
was prompted by the same motives of kindness and sympathy that
move the human heart to deeds of tenderness and mercy. At night,
when they were put to rest, they lay cuddled up in each other’s
arms, and in the morning they were always found in the same close
embrace.
 But on the morning Moses died the conduct of Aaron was unlike
anything I had observed before. When I approached their snug little
house and drew aside the curtain, I found him sitting in one corner
of the cage. His face wore a look of concern, as if he were aware
that something awful had occurred. When I opened the door he
neither moved nor uttered any sound. I do not know whether or not
apes have any name for death, but they surely know what it is.
Moses was dead. His cold body lay in its usual place; but it was
entirely covered over with the piece of canvas kept in the cage for
bed-clothing. I do not know whether or not Aaron had covered him
up, but he seemed to realize the situation. I took him by the hand
and lifted him out of the cage, but he was reluctant. I had the body
removed and placed on a bench about thirty feet away, in order to
dissect it and prepare the skin and the skeleton for preservation.
When I proceeded to do this, I had Aaron confined to the cage,
lest he should annoy and hinder me at the work; but he cried and
fretted until he was released. It is not meant that he shed tears over
the loss of his companion, for the lachrymal glands and ducts are
not developed in these apes; but they manifest concern and regret,
which are motives of the passion of sorrow. But being left alone was
the cause of Aaron’s sorrow. When released he came and took his
seat near the dead body, where he sat the whole day long and
watched the operation.
After this Aaron was never quiet for a moment if he could see or
hear me, until I secured another of his kind as a companion for him;
then his interest in me abated in a measure, but his affection for me
remained intact. His conduct towards Moses always impressed me
with the belief that he appreciated the fact that the sick one was in
distress or pain, and while he may not have foreseen the result,
when he saw death he certainly knew what it was. Whether it is
instinct or reason that causes man to shrink from death, the same
influence works to the same end in the ape; and the demeanor of
this ape towards his later companion, Elisheba, only confirmed this
opinion.
 CHAPTER XVI
Aaron and Elisheba—Their Characteristics—
Anecdotes—Jealousy of Aaron
Four days after the death of Moses I secured passage on a trading
boat that came into the lake. The boat was a small affair, intended
for towing canoes, and not in any way prepared to carry passengers
or cargo; but I found room in one of the canoes to set the cage I
had provided for Aaron, stowed the rest of my effects wherever
space permitted, and embarked for the coast.
Our progress was slow and the journey tedious. The only passage
out of the lake at that season is through a long, narrow, winding
creek beset by sand bars, rocks, logs, and snags, and in some places
overhung by low, bending trees. But the wild, weird scenery is grand
and beautiful. Long lines of bamboo, broken here and there by
groups of pendanus or stately palms; islands of lilies, and long
sweeps of papyrus spreading away from the banks on either side;
the gorgeous foliage of aquatic plants, drooping along the margin
like a massive fringe and relieved by clumps of tall, waving grass,
forms a perfect Eden for the birds and the monkeys that dwell
among those scenes of eternal summer.
After a delay of eight days at Cape Lopez, we secured passage on
a small French gunboat called the Komo, by which we came to
Gaboon. There I found another kulu-kamba. She was in the hands of
a generous friend, Mr. Adolph Strohm, who presented her to me. I
gave her to Aaron as a wife and called her Elisheba,—after the name
of the wife of the great high-priest. Elisheba had been captured on
the head-waters of the Nguni River, in about the same latitude that
Aaron was found in, but more than a hundred miles to the east of
that point and a few minutes north of it. I did not learn the history
of her capture.
It would be difficult to find any two human beings more unlike in
taste and temperament than these two apes were. Aaron was one of
the most amiable of creatures; he was affectionate and faithful to
those who treated him kindly; he was merry and playful by nature,
and often evinced a marked sense of humor; he was fond of human
society and strongly averse to solitude or confinement.
Elisheba was a perfect shrew. She often reminded me of certain
women that I have seen who had soured on the world. She was
treacherous, ungrateful, and cruel in every thought and act; she was
utterly devoid of affection; she was selfish, sullen, and morose at all
times; she was often vicious and always obstinate; she was
indifferent to caresses, and quite as well content when alone as in
the best of company. It is true that she was in poor health, and had
been badly treated before she fell into my hands; but she was by
nature endowed with a bad temper and depraved instincts.
It is not at all rare to see a vast difference of manners,
intelligence, and temperament among specimens that belong to one
species. In these respects they vary as much in proportion to their
mental scope as human beings do; but I have never seen, in any
two apes of the same species, the two extremes so widely removed
from one another.
While waiting at Gaboon for a steamer I had my own cage erected
for the apes to live in, as it was large and gave them ample room for
play and exercise. In one corner of it was suspended a small, cosy
house for them to sleep in. It was furnished with a good supply of
clean straw and some pieces of canvas for bedclothes. In the center
of the cage was a swing, or trapeze, for them to use at their
pleasure. Aaron found this a means of amusement, and often
indulged in a series of gymnastics that might evoke the envy of a
king of athletic sports.
 Elisheba had no taste for such pastime, but her depravity could
never resist the impulse to interrupt Aaron in his jolly exercise. She
would climb up and contend for possession of the swing, until she
would drive him away. Then she would perch herself on it and sit
there for a time in stolid content; but she would neither swing nor
play. Frequently during the day, when Aaron was lying quietly on the
straw, she would go into the snug little house and raise a row with
him by pulling the straw from under him, a handful at a time, and
throwing it out of the box till there was none left in it. No matter
what kind or quantity of food was given them, she always wanted
the piece he had, and would fuss with him to get it; but having got
it, she would sit holding it in her hand without eating it; for there
were some things that he liked which she would not eat at all.
When we went out for a walk, no matter which way we started,
Elisheba always contended to go some other way. If I yielded, she
would again change her mind and start off in some other direction.
If forced to submit, she would scream and struggle as if for life. I
cannot forego the belief that these freaks were due to a base and
perverse nature, and I could find no higher motive in her stubborn
conduct.
Aaron was very fond of her and rarely ever opposed her inflexible
will. He clung to her and let her lead the way. I have often felt vexed
at him because he complied so readily with her wishes. The only
case in which he took sides against her was in her conduct towards
me.
When I first secured her she had the temper of a demon, and with
the smallest pretext she would assault me and try to bite me or tear
my clothes. In these attacks Aaron was always with me, and the
loyal little champion would fly at her in the greatest fury. He would
strike her over the head and back with his hands, and bite her and
flog her till she desisted. If she returned the blow he would grasp
her hand and bite it, or strike her in the face. He would continue to
fight till she submitted. Then he would celebrate his victory by
jumping up and down in a most grotesque fashion, stamping his
feet, slapping his hands on the ground, and grinning like a mask. He
seemed as conscious of what he had done and as proud of it as any
human could have been; but no matter what she did to others, he
was always on her side of the question. If any one else annoyed her,
he would always resent it with violence.
About the premises there were natives all the time passing to and
fro, and these two little captives were objects of special interest to
them. They would stand by the cage hour after hour and watch
them. The ruling impulse of nearly all natives appears to be cruelty,
and they cannot resist the temptation to tease and torture anything
that is not able to retaliate. They were so persistent in poking sticks
at my chimpanzees that I had to keep a boy on watch all the time to
prevent it; but the boy could not be trusted, so I had to watch him.
In the rear of the room that I occupied was a window through
which, from time to time, I watched the boy and the natives, and
when anything went wrong I would call out to the boy. Aaron soon
observed this and found that he could get my attention himself by
calling out when any one annoyed him, and he also knew that the
boy was put there as a protector. Whenever any of the natives came
about the cage he would call for me in his peculiar manner, which I
well understood and promptly responded to. The boy also knew
what the call meant and would rush to the rescue. If I were away
from the house and the boy were aware of the fact, he was apt to
be tardy in coming to the relief of the ape, and sometimes he did
not come at all. In the latter event the two would crawl into their
house and pull down the curtain so that they could not be seen.
Here they would remain until the natives had left or some one came
to their aid.
Neither of the apes ever resented anything the natives did to
them, unless they could see me about; but whenever I came in sight
they would make battle with their tormentors, and, if liberated from
the big cage, they would chase the last one of them out of the yard.
Aaron knew perfectly well that they were not allowed to molest him
or his companion; and when he knew that he had my support he
was ready to carry on the war to a finish. But it was really funny to
see how meek and patient he was when left to defend himself alone
against the native with a stick, and then to note the change in him
when he knew that he was backed up by a friend upon whom he
could rely.
Mr. Strohm, the trader, previously mentioned, with whom I found
hospitality at this place, kept a cow in the lot where the cage was.
She was a small black animal, the first cow that Aaron had ever
seen. He never ceased to contemplate her with wonder and with
fear. If she came near the cage when no one was about, he hurried
into his box and from there peeped out in silence until she went
away. The cow was equally amazed at the cage and its strange
occupants, though she was less afraid than they, and frequently
came near to inspect them. She would stand a few yards away with
her head lifted high, her eyes arched and her ears thrown forward,
waiting for them to come out of that mysterious box. But they would
not venture out of their asylum while she remained. At last, tired of
waiting, she would switch her tail, shake her head, and turn away.
When taken out of the cage Aaron had special delight in driving
the cow away; and if she was around he would grasp me by the
hand and start towards her. He would stamp the ground with his
foot, strike with all force with his long arm, slap the ground with his
hand, and scream at her at the top of his voice. If she moved away,
he would let go my hand and rush towards her as though he
intended to tear her up; but if the cow turned suddenly towards him,
the little fraud would run to me, grasp my leg, and scream with
fright. The cow was afraid of a man, and as long as she was
followed by one she would continue to go; but when she discovered
the ape to be alone in the pursuit, she would turn and look as if
trying to determine what manner of thing it was. Elisheba never
seemed to take any special notice of the cow except when she
approached too near the cage, and then it was due to the conduct of
Aaron that she made any fuss about it.
 On board the steamer in which we sailed for home there was a
young elephant that had been sent by a trader, for sale. He was kept
on deck in a strong stall built for his quarters. There were wide
cracks between the boards, and the elephant had the habit of
reaching his trunk through them in search of anything he might find.
With his long, flexible proboscis extended, he would twist and coil it
in all manner of writhing forms. This was the crowning terror of the
lives of those two apes; it was the bogie-man of their existence, and
nothing could induce either of them to go near it. If they saw me
approach it, they would scream and yell until I came away. If Aaron
could get hold of me without getting too near the elephant, he clung
to me until he almost tore my clothes, to keep me away from it. It
was the one thing that Elisheba was afraid of, and the only one
against which she ever gave me warning.
They did not manifest the same concern for others, but sat
watching them without offering any protest. Even the stowaway who
fed them and attended to their cage was permitted to approach the
elephant; but their solicitude for me was remarked by every man on
board. I was never able to tell what their opinion of the thing was.
They were much less afraid of the elephant when they could see all
of him, than they were of the trunk when they saw that alone. They
may have thought the latter to be a big snake; but this is only a
conjecture.
At the beginning of the voyage I took six panels of my own cage
and made a small cage for them. I taught them to drink water from
a beer bottle with a long neck that could be put through a mesh of
the wires. They preferred this mode of drinking and appeared to
look upon it as an advanced idea. Elisheba always insisted on being
served first; being a female, her wish was complied with. When she
had finished, Aaron would climb up by the wires and take his turn.
There is a certain sound, or word, which the chimpanzee always
uses to express “good” or “satisfaction,” and he made frequent use
of it. He would drink a few swallows of the water and then utter the
sound, whereupon Elisheba would climb up again and taste. She
seemed to think it something better than she was drinking, but
finding it the same as she had had, she would again give way for
him. Every time he used the sound she would take another taste and
turn away; but she never failed to try it if he uttered the sound.
The boy who cared for them on the voyage was disposed to play
tricks on them. One of these ugly pranks was to turn the bottle up
so that when they had finished drinking and took their lips away, the
water would spill out and run down over them. Several times they
declined to drink from the bottle while he was holding it, but when
he let it go, it hung in such a position that they could not get the
water out of it at all. At length Aaron solved the problem by climbing
up one side of the cage and getting on a level with the bottle; then
he reached across the angle formed by the two sides of the cage
and drank. In this position it was no matter to him how much the
water ran out; it couldn’t touch him. Elisheba watched him until she
quite grasped the idea; then she climbed up in the same manner
and slaked her thirst. I scolded the boy for serving them with such
cruel tricks; but it taught me another lesson of value concerning the
mental resources of the chimpanzee, for no philosopher could have
found a much better scheme to obviate the trouble than did this
cunning little sage in the hour of necessity.
I have never regarded the training of animals as the true measure
of their mental powers. The real test is to reduce the animal to his
own resources, and see how he will conduct himself under
conditions that present new problems. Animals may be taught to do
many things in a mechanical way, and without any motive that
relates to the action; but when they can work out the solution
without the aid of man, it is only the faculty of reason that can guide
them.
One thing that Aaron could never figure out was—what became of
the chimpanzee that he saw in a mirror. I have seen him hunt for
that mysterious ape an hour at a time. He once broke a piece off a
mirror I had in trying to find the other fellow, but he never
succeeded. I have held the glass firmly before him, while he put his
face up close to it—sometimes almost in contact. He would quietly
gaze at the image and then reach his hand around the glass to feel
for it. Not finding it, he would peep around the side of the glass and
then look into it again. He would take hold of it and turn it around,
lay it on the ground, look at the image again, and put his hand
under the edge of the glass. The look of inquiry in that quaint face
was so striking as to make one pity him. But he was hard to
discourage. He resumed the search whenever he had the mirror.
Elisheba never worried herself much about it. When she saw the
image in the glass she seemed to recognize it as one of her kind;
but when it vanished she let it go without trying to find it. In fact,
she often turned away from it as though she did not admire it. She
rarely ever took hold of the glass, and she never felt behind it for the
other ape.
Altogether Elisheba was an odd specimen of her tribe—eccentric
and whimsical beyond anything I have ever known among animals;
yet, with all her freaks, Aaron was fond of her and she afforded him
company; but he was extremely jealous of her, and permitted no
stranger to take any liberties with her with impunity. He did not
object to their doing so with him. He rarely took offense at any
degree of familiarity, for he would make friends with any one who
was gentle with him; but he could not tolerate their attentions to
her. She betrayed no sign of affection for him except when some one
annoyed or vexed him; but in that event she never failed to take his
part against all odds. At such times she became frantic with rage,
and if the cause was prolonged, she often for hours afterwards
refused to eat.
On the voyage homeward there was on board another
chimpanzee, belonging to a sailor who was bringing him home for
sale. This one was about two years older than Aaron and fully twice
as large. He was tame and gentle, but was kept in a close cage by
himself. He saw the others roaming about the deck and tried to
make up with them; but they evinced no desire to become intimate
with one who was confined in such a manner.
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