“The use of the intoxicating fungus in Siberia, and that of the urine flavored by it, is mentioned in Steller’s ‘History of Kamtchatka,’ which is, I believe, the earliest and best authority in reference to it.”—(Personal letter from Hon. John S. Hittell, San Francisco, April 24, 1888.)
Although Grieve’s account is, in the main, derived from Steller, every effort was made to find the latter author and examine his own language. The copy belonging to the Library of Congress had been mislaid, and it was not possible to find it; but the extensive Arctic Library of General A. W. Greely, U. S. Army, the polar explorer, was most kindly placed at the author’s disposal, and there the long-coveted volume was, translated by Mr. Bunnemeyer, to whom the warmest acknowledgments are due.
George William Steller was born March 10, 1709, at Winsheim. In 1734, he went to Russia, where he became an adjunct and member of The Imperial Academy of Sciences. In 1758, he was delegated to explore Kamtchatka, especially its natural history. After completing the task and making voyages to various other regions, he attempted twice to return to St. Petersburgh, but each time received orders to return to Irkutsk to answer charges there brought against him. He did not reach Irkutsk the second time, but was frozen to death while his guard entered a way-side inn, and was buried at Tumen, in November, 1746. The following are his remarks about poisonous mushrooms: “Among the Champignons, the poisonous toadstool, called mucha-moor in Russian, is held in greatest esteem. At the Russian ostrag it has long ago fallen into disfavor, but is used so much the more in the vicinity of the Tzil and towards the Korakian boundary. This mushroom is dried and swallowed in large pieces without mastication, followed by large draughts of cold water. In the course of half an hour, raging drunkenness and strange hallucinations result. The Korakians and Jukagiri are still more addicted to this vice, and buy the fungus from the Russians whenever they can. Those too poor to do so collect the urine of those under the influence of the drug and drink it, which makes them equally as drunk and raging.
“The urine is equally effective to the fourth and fifth man. Reindeer frequently devour these mushrooms with great avidity, becoming drunk and wild, and finally fall into a deep sleep. When found in this state, it is not killed until the effects of the drug have passed away, as otherwise its meat when eaten will cause the same frenzied intoxication as the mushroom itself.”