Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1861-04-13
Sensations on Taking Chloroform.

Sensations on Taking Chloroform
A correspondent of the San Francisco
Weekly Krro, gives the following vivid de-
scription of the sensations he felt while un-
der the intoxication of chloroform, in which
he had been placed for the purpose of having
silver of iron extracted from his eye:
My last sane recollection is of the sur
geon applying the handkerchief to my mouth;
then the room began to magnify to gigantic
proportion; common lamp WAS transformed
to Il c0ndcabrum, more luminous and costly
than ever lighted the grnndcst cathedral in
the world. The surgeon bccnmc Il giant of
prodigious magnitude, holding a huge. glca-
ming knife, with single blow of which he
might have severed me. Tho sound of voices
in the room seemed like the clamorings of
vast multitude during the burning of city,
and sign board, scrccching outsdc convey
cd the idea of a furious mob collected in the
street for my execution. On entering the
room | had noticed Il large cat sitting asleep
on shelf, which turned its head l.zily to.
ward me and then resumed its Slumbcrs this
creature bccamea hidcouS. vimpirclik mon
stcr, with great fiery eyes, and with tangs and
claws like what were Eblcd to belong to the
griffin, walking round, and blowing fctid
breath on me, and pressing its frightCul paws
ON my breast. But the worst of ali was n col
lection of gigantic men, Sharpening instru.
mcnts for my dissection; | could hear the
whirriug of the stone and the Shrickiug of
the highly.tcmpcred knives as the grinder,
laughed at the intended dissection. One was
more ocoSc and hyar;!pSS than the rest lac
WAS my iupIacablG enemy; we had quurrclicl
and fought about schuOlMntc love Pres.
emily felt their keen knives Mt every ioiut
shrickcd and screamed, blaSphcmcd and be
sought my tormcmturs, but still tho inStml.
mcntS hlSscd through my quivcring HrSh, and
grated along every blhc. | am satisfied that
all these emotions were experienced within
moment after the Grst inhalation which began
the process Of Stupciaction 80 swift urr the
cvolutions Of thought when sense is SubGmcG.
and whom the phantom mourch OF dreams
leads the soul through the cudlvSs avenues.
swihtcr its ioumcynes than the short lived
fire which falls FROM the womb OF uu uvcrbur-
dencd cloud.
= But gradual rcvuluton of mental per.
ccption succeeded; those frightiul spcctrcs
began to rcccdc; JhG men and knives began
to dininish the cat returned to natural pro
portions and crcpt Sowlyaway; the voices be-
came less harsh and threatening and the
noise in the street was sUbducd to unhrokcn
silence. looked into universe OF light,
with nothing visible until inlisiiuCt forms ap-
pcar"d on the horizon, coming toward me and
dciinm" themselves as they came Onc was
my mothcr, clad in grave clothes, but ns she
ncarcd her luhilimcmtS changed to the fab
rlcS which Glittcrcd in the prophets vision
when he locked over the "grcat congregation
which no man could number Directly she
stood by me; and, recognizing every feature,
SAW that each age mark was conc her
check WAS fresh MS tie youn.t GIRLS when she
first bushes at the whispered words of love,
and, stopping to kiss inc the applrition went
out leaving another, still more beautiful! and
youthful, it WAS the figure Of my Young wife.
who died in the birth of her first cild She
held an infant in her arms who reached down
and ran lis tiny fingers through my hair, but
when | tried to take him in my arms, in.
Fant and mother were gonc. Strange, that
f |: no disappointment; knew they were but
pictures that hung in the galleries OF Il ia
Tiers heart Everything changed to- an cx.
istcncc of inlcScribablo pleasure: | laughed
and danced like Que mad with the cxhiliration
oi unexpected dciivcrucc from torture; the
air came into nay lungs gratefully rs the up.
gushing of cool water to the liIs of u thirsty
drinkcr The aroma Of celestial gnrdcmS
seemed about me; | believed that was in
the territory of souls, and wondered how any
one should fear to die could hear sounds
in the street, but they seemed to prolong and
swell like the sound OF n great organ. Mil.
lions of symmetrical creatures passed in re.
view, along horizon of silver and gold, and
yet was conscious that they were but the
creations of distorted imagination.
x x
" Presently became conscious of return.
+. lnp sense. I'M limbs flt u,,wirl,l, .ul pf t,,,