Saving a girl from an overdose of Laudanum in 1882
By Mary Peery
Ada Branch was a Madam, who ran a respectable parlor house, prior to Lou Bunch’s arrival in Central City. Ada, known as “Big Swede,” ran her business from the same house that Lou Bunch would one day occupy. The following Weekly Register-Call article from 1882, describes an attempted suicide at Ada Branch’s house on the “Hill.” The suicide involved the ingestion of Laudanum, a drug which was used primarily to cure sleeplessness. The strong opioid medication was also used as a pain medication and cough suppressant. Suggested dosages were measured in drops, anything more rendered the drug a poison. Notice that messengers are sent to bring someone in, and the girls don’t leave the house.
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