Sioux City register. [volume] (Sioux City, Iowa) 1858-1871, 1861-03-30
sensations of Taking ChIoroEorm

A correspondent of the San Francisco
Weekly Mirror gives the following vivid
description Of the sensations he felt while
under 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 surgeon applying the handkerchief to
my mouth; then the room bcgan to mag
nifty to gigantic proportions a common
lamp was transformed to q cGndeIabrum,
more luminous and costly than ever ligh.
ted the graudest cathedral in the world -
The surgeon became a giant OF prod gious
magnitude. holding huge. cleaning
knife, with single blow Of which he
might have severed me- The sound of
voices in the room seemed like the clam .
o,ings of vast multitude during the bar
ming of a city, and a sign board, screech-
ing outside, conveyed the idea Of furious
mob collected in the street for my execu-
ton. On entering the room | had noticed
Il large cat sitting asleep on shelf which
turned its head lazily toward me and then
resumed its sumbers; this creature be
came hideous, vampire like monster
great fiery eyes, and with iangs and claws
like what were fnbied to belong to the
griffin, walking round, ard blowing ietd
breath on me, and pressing its frighttul
paws on my breast.
But the worst of all IVES q collection of
gigantic men sharpening instruments for
my dissection | could hear ths whirring
of the stone and the shvieking Of the high
ly-tampered knives as the grinders laugh
ed at the intended dissection Oue wa,
more jocose and hearlecs than the rest
he was my imrlaca5lc enemy; we had
gUarreIed aud fought ab9ut schoOimate
love. Presently | felt their keen knives
at every inint; | shriekei and screamed,
spAeued and besou.At my tormentors,
bat still the Instruments hl.ssd thrOugh
my quvcring flesh and grated along every
bone. | am satisfied that all these emo,
tons were experienced within moment
after the first Inhalation which began the
process of stupGtnction. So swift are the
evoIutlons OF thought when sense IS sub
dued, and when the phantom monarch Of
dreams leads the soul through the endless
avenues, switter IN is ja"rneying than the
short lived fire which ttIS from the WOMB
ot an overhurdeueI cloud.
btt u gradual revolu,ion Of mental per
cep'ion succeeded; those trigAt:ul spec
ters ne,,an to rocvle; the men and kuve.
began to diminish; tie cat returned 10
natural proportions, and creps slowly a.
way; the voices became less harsh and
, threatening, and The noise in the street
vas subduei 10 uHbrolen silence. | look
| ed INTO q universe of light, with nothing
visible, un:Il inG 1stlrtt forms appeared on
the horizon, com1g toward me and dchu
ing themselves as they came One was
! my mother, clad IN grave clothes, but as
she nsarcd, her haII.imcnts changed 10
the fabrics which gljt.e.ed in toe prophet S
vision when he looked over the great
ber.' Directly she stood ny me aui, re
cogn1ing every feature, | saw that each
age mark was gone, her cheek was fresh
as the foung girls when she hrst blnshes
at the whispered words OF love. and,
stooplug to kiss ,ae, the apparition went
| out. leaving another. still more beautiful
and youthful; it was the figure Of nv
Young wife, who died in the birth of her
! first child She held an infant in her
arms who reached down and ran his tiny
fingers through my hair, but when tried
! tn a Ia in, M lnf. nd n
er We're gone. Strange, that felt u dis
appointment; | knew they were hat pie
lures that hung in the galleries OF a faith
ers heart Everything changed to an ex-
istence Of indescribable pleasure; | laugh.
ed and danced like one mad with the ex
| filtration OF unexpected delveranee from
torture the Air came into my lungs CRATE
fully as the up gushing Of cool water to
the lips of thirsty drnker. The aroma
Of celestial gardens seemed about me; |
! believed that | was in the territory Of
souls, aud wondered how auv one should
fear to die. | could hear sounds in the
street, but they seemed to prolong and
swell like the sound Of great organ. --
| Millions of symmetrical creatures passed
in review. along horizon of silver and
gold, and vet | was conscious that they
were but the creations OF distorted ina
gInatlon.
Presently became conscious Of retur-
ming sense my limbs felt unweldly and
Of too great proportions to be moved hy
the Strengthening will nv eyes opened
and began to discern objects returning to
natural dimensions. and began to com
prehend the conversation OF persons in the
room. Tho whole operation had not oc-
cupied half an hour, but had lived cen
turies of indescrbable horrors and emo,
tons Of happiness which are incomnre
hensibe to the sane and wakeful mind -
Ny sight was preserved. and The fragment
Of steel in my posse ssiou. which, like the
key Of St Peter, unlocked celestial splen
d6rs and opened Pandora box Of hellish
| imagery, which, even now. scares me from
dreams to sudden and trembling wake
tulness. G.. A. {.
We have not taken the pains to look
and see if the following from the N.York
Ledger is true, but if it is they are GER
tainly condolences:
The dying of the three Presidents, John
Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James
Monroe. on the Fourth Of July, is only
one among several remarkable coinciden-
ces in our history. John Adams who died