Morning journal and courier., 1880-07-14
A Fish Caught in a Boys Ear.
The Terrible Agony that NIinnow Caus ed Pennsy1va mia Lad.
 [From the Reading Pa.l Eagle.l

The Terrible Agony that a Minnovv Caus- ed n Pennsy1va mia Lad.
 From the Reading (Pa) Eagle.I
 A most horrible case of suffering is report ! ed from No. J25 Walnut street, this city. | The name of the victim is George Whitman, son of Howard Whitman, aged fourteen years. | His sufferings were terrible, in the extreme, | and the pain and agony endured by. him al- most drove him mad. Young Whitman, in company with number of boys about his own age, had been in the habit of bathing in ! the Schuylkill, and since vacation commenced ! has gone in the water several times day. Three weeks ago he was in swimming with l several of his schoolmates, and while diving | he experienced tickling sensation in one of his ears. Directly after he had little pain, but it was only momentary, and soon passed l away He probed for the object with sharp piece of wood, but could find nothing. He dressed and went home, and no more atten- tion was paid to the matter. Some time af- ter he had terrible headache, and from that
 time up to within few days ago he experi- enced nothing but an unceasing agony. The
 boy is naturally small and delicate for his age and the awful strain upon his nervous system was enough to greatly reduce him and render
 him almost crazy Sometimes there was q slight alleviation, but it invariably increased, and always with increasing pain. No physi- clan was employed, hisparents thinking he was afflicted with nothing but ear-ache. The agony increased, and the boy passed many a s1eepless night. His eye lost it's brilliancy, and his cheeks their rosy, healthful hue.
 Laudanum was recommended as remedy for
 earache, and enough of the liquid was poured
 into his auditory passage to lay him into that
 sweet sleep that knows no waking. No re-
 lief was experienced by the frequent appi-
 cations of laudanum and rabbits fat was next
 recommended. The animal was obtained,
 and q lot of fat rendered. This brought no
 relief and only greater, more horrible suffer-
 ing Matters went on in this way for over
 two weeks. It was now thought that the boy
 was afflicted with neuralgia, because he only
 experienced tn pain in fits and starts. When
 it first commenced the one side of his head
 felt as if some small object was wriggling and
 twisting in his ear. During this time he of-
 ten thought the top of his head was about
 bursting open. The properties of molasses
 to "draw" are well known and drop was
 poured into his ear. At II o'clock at night
 he had another attack and the pain he then
 endured, his parents say, is simply indescrib
 down was not to be thought of Up and
 down the room and through various parts of
 the house the boy paced all night. At 6
 o'clock next morning he felt something press
 hard against the lobe of his ear. His mother
 was called, and winding a handkerchief
 around the head of small pin, probed into
 his ear. She saw something protrude. She
 reached for it, got firm hold, and pulled
 out a white-looking object, over two inches
 long, which proved to be fish, one of the
 species used by many of the disciples of
 Izaak Walton for bait. Immediate relief was
 experienced. The boy felt as if weight of
 fifty pounds had been removed from his head
 and immediately began to get better.