Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1863-02-26
Written for the Newsdealer.
. rRUE INCIDENT OF THE WAR.

wac OOufSiSihS,t AANS I'D SA~S' "~
returned volunteer
Il was in the hospital as nurse, for a
long time" said he, "and assisted in TAX
ing off limbs, and dressing all sorts of
wounds; but the hardest thing ever did
was to take my thumb off from mans
leg"
"Ahv' said l, chow was that u? Then
he told me.
at was young man who had severe
wound in the thigh. The ball passed COM
pletely through and amputation was neces-
sary. The limb was cut off close up to
the body, the arteries taken up and he
seemed to be doing well. Subsequently
one of the small arteries sloughed off. An
incision was made and it was again taken
up. 1t is we'll it was not the main arte-
ry' said the surgeon as he performed the
operation; he might have bled to death
before we could have taken it up But
Charlie got on finely g. was a favorite with
us all.
1 was passing through the wards one
night about midnight when suddenly as l
was passing Charles bed he spoke to me-.
"H-my leg is bleeding again. l threw
back the clothes g. the blood spirited in
the air. The main artery had sloughed
off!
Fortunately I knew just what to do &
in an instant had pressed my thumb on
the place g. stopped the bleeding. 1t was
so close to the body that there was barely
room for my thumb, but l succeeded in
keeping it there g. rousing one of the con-
valesccnts, sent him for the surgeon who
came in on the run. Il am so thankful,
H (said he as he saw me) that you
were up & knew what to do for he must
have bled to death before | could have got
here.
But on examination of the case he look
ed exceedingly serious & sent out for otn-
er surgeons. All came who were within
reach & consultation was held over the
poor fellow. One conclusion was reached
by all. There was no place to work save
the spot where my thumb was pressed ;
they could not work under my thumb g. if
| removed it he would bleed to death be-
fore the artery could be taken up. There
was no way to save his life.
"Poor Charlie! He was very calm
when they told him, and requested that his
brother, who was in the same hospital,
might be called up. He came and sat down
by the bedside and for three hours stood
and by the pressure of my thumb kept up
the life in Charlie while the brothers had
their last conversation on earth. 1t was
a strange place for me to be in, to feel that
held the life of fellow mortal in my
hands as it were, and stranger yet, to feel
that an act of mine must cause that life to
depart. Loving the poor fellow as I did,
it was hard thought, but there was no
alternative
The last words were spoken. Charlie
had arranged all his business affairs and
sent tender messages to absent ones who
little dreamed how near their loved one
stood to the grave. The tears filled my
eyes more than once, as | listened to those
parting words. All were said and he
turned to me. Now HI, guess you
had better take off your thumb. oh
Charlie, how can ~" I said. But il
must be, you know he replied, cheer.
fully - thank you very much for your
kindness and now, good bye
He turned away his head. l raised
my thumb. Once more the crimson life.
current gushed forth. In three minutes
poor Charlie was dead"
johnson, Vt. s.