Spirit of Jefferson. [volume] (Charles Town, Va. [W. Va.]) 1844-1948, 1866-07-10

jble Plowmep were turning over the sod of
the fields preparatory to the falLsowinp Of
ys1e which Is the leading staple of the
Shenandoah Valley wherein Charlestown
stands. - 'N''O'l 'l
The sbull bats or "boo-ha4s.n as they
were yarioti called bird Identical yv;.5
tsthe whipportFi1l, or sAmerican ni,lt, e,ais >,
and which swoops through the sEy b2 55S
and -sIpGs from -fsnees by nigktE1ore un-
usually bpndaut just outside Of town. and
they We're lying uncOmmonly low ovcra piece
OF plewed ground. Il was on visit to that
place at the tune, my own place of practice
being IN another county, as stated in former
narratives of this series; and was stonn;n1
at the village hotel. There was boarjin99
there at the time, an old bachelor totallv ,leaS
/ and known as Deaf K" He wsc. ,o,,3
as good shot on the wing, ar ecc,n,nI;sL ,,T.IH
ment which was considereII. very desirable in
tnat region, because =" the plenteonsness Of
wv y W mere OF pa-sridges as they are called
~ !. Iei-'ta, This made him the center of
N' .isvle interest on such an occasion as am
writing OF. He was informed by some one,
through the customary process of writing on
pocket-tablet, that the birds referred to
were afording rare sport. So off he started
for his namesake's farm; with his double bar,
relied towling- piece, followed by all who could
RAISE a gun With nothing else to do, L
joined the party, little thinking that there
would be an occasion for the application Of
surgical skill.
When we arrived at the fallow field, we
found large number of gunners there ahead
of us, banging away at the birds. and we
Joined in the exciting sport-for such it was
In the most emphatic sense of the word. The
more We shot, the more they seemed to gath
er, tho place of each one brought down being
hiled up bya score of others that hastened to
the spot. We could see them approaching
from great distapces, flying lower and lower
and more swiftly, till they Joined the reckless
whirl of their kind above our heads. No
not above our heads, but Gyouna them, strict
ly speaking.
The sounds of more than a score of guns.
discharged as fast as they could be loaded bv
the muzzle-breeeh>loadin not being in
vogue then-and the shouts of excited men
and boys appeared to have no terrors for the
poor creatures. To the contrary, as [ have
already limited, they were attracted thereby
as IT to charmed circle. Becoming more
and more reckless-desperate 1 NAV saw
they tapped their dusky widespread wings
against hevery muzzles Of the fowling pieces,
within reach of their owners, Some of us
hndlng it impossible to shoot them, because
OF their movements being so near and so rap
Id, took to catching at them with our hands.
or Knocking them down with our guns-or
rather catching and knocking at them, for
they were seldom secured in that way:
was intensely interested in Deaf k.
whose gun had become so hot that he could
scarcely hold it steady enough to load it. and
who. therefore, kept it tossing from hand to
hand for some minutes, toward the close of
the scene-that is, when night brought it to
close. But he had previously succeeded in
bringing down bird every minute, amounts
ing to nearly three dozen in all. While 1 was
watching him, [ saw reckless youngster
grasp wildly at bird just as he fred, and in
stantly fall to tho ground, whether shot by
hlm or not, could ncteSactly tell rushed
to the wounded youth, and discoyered that
ne had received a wound in each arm. One
OF these was IL the forearm, and the other in
the hand. With assistance, raised him up
from the plowed ground, and carried him to
more comfortable position, some distance
from the gunners, who scarcely seemed to no.
tIce the occurrence, so great was the excite
ment under which they were acting.
Having no surgical case with me. I was at
loss what to do for moment, for at once
perceived that amputation would be necessary
IN the case of the wounded fore arm. But
there was, happened to know, case of am
putatIng Instruments in the village, owned by
DIR. =. Although they were in bad order, I
sent Tor the. lean of them, requesting their
owner to accompany them. DR.. G. respond
ed, and We amputated at once, and success
tully. On inquiry, l learned that the wound
ed lad was pupil, if remember Alright in
Parson Jones's Academy, whose parents ived
IN neighborhood between my own home and
Charestown, and nearer to the former than
the latter. had him sent to his home at
once, and,l accompanied him The injury
to his remaining hand did not appear to be
dangerous, the wound Indicating that only
SHOT, or two at the most, had entered the
palm Perhaps, had not the more important
wound OF the other arm absorbed my atten-
ton, should have had more cognizance of
and concern about it. But, as it was. I sim
ply dressed it, and paid very little attention,
although visited the patient daily.
several days had elapsed-just eight as /
End BY recurring to my 1ournal-when 1 dis
covered symptoms of clock. jaw" accompani-
ed by several tetanic indications. The patient
complained of intense pain, extending from
the lower point of the sternum (breast bonel
backwards to the spine. Never having had
case OF this appalling disease to treat before.
the only courss for me was to follow the rules
laid down in the books, il rules they could be
called in view of the passable disagreemeuts
Of different authors on the subject, not 70 men
ton their fiat contradictions Of each other.
which fully justify. the confession Of the late
Or. EbeFie, with his characteristic frankness.
"the practitioner who consults the records of
medicine for light on the remediate manages
ment of tetanus, will probably find himself
very much perplexed3'
"PerPlexed," as confess was, 1 went to
work: stripped my patient, and carefully
examined him. I found the sternum and
lower ribs powerfully retracted By tonic spasm
OF the diaphragm, and much tension of the
muscles OF the neck and jaw. The opistho-