Treasures, page 6-- Smoking paraphernalia

Over a thousand Chinese miners would winter at 150 Mile House, BC. One oldtimer recorded that when you walked through Chinatown all you would hear was the gurgle of the water pipes and everywhere you would see the swirl of sparks of the glowing punk which was circled in the air to cause it to flare up to relight the pipe.

Tobacco pipes came in many varieties. Some had small brass bowls and stems of various lengths made from bamboo or other wood or metal. Others were metal or bamboo water pipes.

Tobacco pipes-- the long bamboo pipe is actually 43 inches long. Also shown is a snuff bottle which was dug in a Chinese dump and a box of Chinese matches bearing a 1915 Canadian excise stamp on the back.



Water pipes, bamboo and brass-- the brass pipe is made from brass cans which were soldered together.



Fancy water pipe-- complete with cleaning tools. This one came from San Francisco's Chinatown.



All the opium pipes I have seen in museums or illustrated as having been used in North America were long bamboo pipes with little or no adornment. They often had short ivory or bone rings at each end, the one at the far end from the bowl serving as a mouth piece. Usually the ones I have seen have one or up to three bamboo shoots in a clump just behind the bowl. The pipe was made from "female" bamboo signifying that the pipe was female, and seduced the smoker.

Opium was not actually smoked. The drug was vapourized and inhaled. The design of the bowl and the fact that opium vapourizes at a fairly low temperature made this possible.

An opium layout might include a tray, one or two opium pipes, extra bowls on a stand, cleaning tools, opium in a can or bowl and a peanut oil lamp. Also seen in pictures of layouts are tobacco pipes and teacups. The "smoker" often lay his or her head on a specially shaped pillow. These were wooden or pottery. Some of them opened up so the supply of opium could be kept safe from thieves under the head of the dozing user.



Opium tools-- The long needle tool was used to move a ball of opium to the pipe bowl. The other tools are cleaners.



This opium lamp, lamp shade and bowl came from an old store in Vancouver's Chinatown. The owner noticed that the inside and outside length of his store didn't match and when he broke through the wall he found a large supply of opium lamps, bowls, and other merchandise. The long bamboo tobacco pipe also came from that source. In past years I was very lucky to have a local antique dealer who watched for items such as these-- items fitting my collection from B.C. sources.



Opium relics-- dug bowls, cans and pipe saddles. One day I may find a relic lamp shade to go with the lamp parts. The lamp bowl is purple manganese glass, from before about 1915. The brass cans on the left are Fock Kee, rooster brand, from Macao. All were found in BC. I obtained most of the bowls at bottle swap meets although a friend gave me one he dug near Ashcroft.



A closer look at the opium cans. The rooster brand cans were dug on Vancouver Island, part of a fairly large quantity found together. The can on the right is the variety usually found. I have been told that these have been found cut in half and used as ink pads. The can is filled with string which is soaked in the red or orange paste ink used for seals.



These portable scales were used to weigh gold or opium. The one on the right came from Wells, BC, an old gold mining town near Barkerville.

Reference books and manuscripts on opium use in North America: