| Show investigators ARE AFTER PEYOTE USERS two tuo salt bait ie 1 ale men are now in tho stafila to in of ibis evil weed C coulson smith special agent for the state board of phar pharmacy macy and mr air madson representative ot of the suit salt lake evening telegram have halve been la in the uintah basin all week investigating the effects of the peyote weed on the ute indians indiana most of the time they have spent la in the vicinity of ft duchesne Duc besne and randlett Randl tt as the guests of rey rev M J hersey who Is endeavoring to show them all that la Is to be seen one of the unique things which they have succeeded in doing was in gaining admission to one of the weird services of the indians when title this drug la is used and this religious rite in particular had a profound effect fact they have also interviewed many of the leading citizens both white and indian A very good account of the origin use and effect of peyote has been published in the red man the official publication of the carlisle indian school carlisle ra pa C coulson smith in speaking of his experiences at the festival said by special arrangement I 1 was given an opportunity to attend a peyote service five miles outside of randlett saturday night 1 I understand stand that I 1 am the first white man dian to attend one of these services but it was nas made possible through the friendship of francisco cespooch an indian interpreter who told me what ht the ceremonies were be the indians indiana in a most moat impressive manner began eating peyote weed while an indian played on a tom tom drum the T a ceremony continued all night and at 4 30 sunday morning when it appeared that weed was taking effect the indians became hostile and I 1 was ordered away from the ceremony there were a total of twenty four bucks and eighteen squaws squads present all had the appearance of being badly effected by the peyote habit when I 1 called on the rev M J hersey li ersey pastor of the episcopal church at randlett sunday I 1 found him la in tears he told me that as the result of eighteen years labor among the indians on the reservation he had built up an average attendance of indians at his sunday services but that the establishment lish ment of the peyote cult had bad robbed him of his entire congregation of indians husband inabit I 1 learned a heart rendering story in which rosetta cespooch Cea pooch an indian mother had died of the effects of the peyote habit and that in a dying request she asked her husband robert cespooch to go to dragon and kill phelps the husband rode to dragon with the intention of carrying out the dying request of ills his wife but under the influence of phelps he be was himself converted to the peyote habit and is now on the verge of death 1 I found that there has been a total of thirty five deaths among the indians from the peyote habit since january and that a great number of the indians are seriously effected by the drug there to Is a total of slightly move more than 1100 indians on oil the reservation and fully half 0 oil that number are followers of tile the peyote cult |
