Daily Republican., 1881-07-25
IN DANGER AGAIN.
PRESIDENT GARFIELD,SALARM.
ING CONDITION.
Tho Doctors in COnsulsatl0n-A
Severe Operation Performed.
Hope Again Increasing.

Hope Again lncreasinE.
| WASHINGTON, July %. The BULL
tin which was sent out by the Pres
dents private secretary to the member
Of the Cabinet this morning gave the il
formation that the President was q
we'll AZ yesterday morning at the sam
hour. At 10 O'Clock the following off
cial bulletin was issued:
| The President was more restless las
night, but this morning at A. M
while preparations were being made t
dress his wound, his temperature wa
found to he normal; pulse, so; tempera
ture, 1874; respiration, o. At 7.30 h
had a slight rigor, in consequence c
which, the dressing of his wound Wa
postponed. Reaction followed promptly
and the dressing has now just been com
pleted. At present his pulse is 11(
temperature, 10l; respiration, "a.
AT II o'clock DR.. BuyntOn, in c0nver
sation, attributed the sudden rise in the
Presidents pulse and temperature t.
obstruction in the way OF a free discharg
Of pus from the wound. Symptoms o
granulation were noticed along tn
track of the ball yesterday, and it wa
possible, he said, that this healing pro
cess, going on at some point compare
lively near to the external surface o
the body, had damned up u quantity
of pus in the deeper part of The wound
and that the chill and increased fever
were to be accounted for The discharge
this morning, although perfectly nor.
NAL and healthy in its character, was
unusually scanty, which would seem
to indicate that its flow had been in
some way impeded or interrupted. The
chill mentioned in the official bnlletin
commenced about o'clock and lasted
until ., being quite severe, the pulse
running up at one time to 130. Atnoon
the Presidents condition was better,
subsequently, it was thought best to
send for the consulting physicians, Drs.
Agnew and Hamilton, and they were tel
egraphea to. 1t having got out that
the President had suffered a second
chill, DIR. Bliss denied it, and at 2.3O
Secretaries kirkwood and Hunt. who
had just come from the sick room, said
that the patients pulse and tenpera-
ture were falling and his condition was
improving at halfpast 3 yesterday af-
ternOon.
DR.. Bliss reported that the condition
OF the President had much improved
since noon. His pulse was then below
100 and his general symptoms showed
Improvement. There was not. he said the
slightest indication of pyemia, winch
was the danger most to be feared. At
4 o'clock the President was asleep and
his pulse remained at about 100. 1t
was the opinion of the attending sur
geons at that hour that the chill and
subsequent fever this morning were
caused by the formation of Il pus cavi-
ty at some point along the track Of the
bullet, but this could not be positively
asserted until after the evening exami-
nation. DR.. Bliss said that in his prac-
tice he had had cases where the forma-
ton of a pus cavity in n wound was
followed by much severer chill and
higher fever than the President had
had to-day, and that it was not neces-
sarily an alarming feature in case of
this kind. At O'Clock tonight the
bulletin was issued.
After the bulletin OF 10 q. M, the
Presidents fever continued. At ll.3O
!. m. he had again a slight r;gor and
lis temperature subsequently y rose, un-
il at II. 80 p. II. i, was l04 pulse, 125
aspiration, %. Between this time and
p. III. perspiration made its appearance
md the temperature began to fall grad
tally. 1t is now 1911; pulse, rs; res
%. There has been "a free dis
harge of pus from the wound during
he uay.
A special train conveying Or. Hamil-
on, one OF the consulting surgeons, left
|ersey City at 2.54 and arrived at Phila-
lelphia at 44O p. m., where a second
pecial train, with DR.. Agnew on board,
waited the arrival of DR.. Hamilton.
Nhe train then left for Washington and
he physicians reached the Executive
Mansion at 7.55. A consultation of the
was immediately held. At
hat hour the President was sleeping
md was not disturbed. At so, in re-
'ly to an inquiry, Attorney-General
dacVcagh sent the following dispatch
The Presidents $ condition has slowly
for several hours past, but is
till a cause of anxiety. The consulting
physicians have arrived.
THE CAUSE OF THE RELAPSE.
The explanation given by the attend
ng surgeons of the unfavorabe synr
)mswhichmanitested themselves in the
resident case to-day is briefly stated
8 follows Sometime during the night
r early this morning, the patients
Iound, which had for several days
ecome obstructed at or near the
lner end Of the drainage tube while
ne process of suppuration in the deep
+ part of the wounds continued. A
artial or complete pus cavity was
lus formed and the discharge from the
louth Of the wound nearly ceased.
he natural result of this state of things
as a chill, followed by higher fever,
le PATIENTS pulse rising to a maximum
about l3O and his temperature to l04.
S rigor, followed by increased fever,
a symptom OF pya.mia, or the forma-
on of an abceSs and of other untavor-
Die complications, ii caused at first a 5
'ou uchl vi dHAlcty. All cAdIiilidGAoHJ
)wever, OF the pus discharged by the
ound showed that its character was ,
,rtectly normal and healthy, and 30 {
r as appeared from the patients gene. a
i condition all the indications of py;e- 6
ia were absent. These facts relieved t
once the fear of blood-poisoning. An !
:ternal examination was then made &
the abdominal and hepatic regions,
lth view to ascertain whether there r
ere any signs of an abscess at the sup = =
sed location of the bullet. No un- +,
ual tenderness was. found in that part i
the body or any other indication If ~ T.
anged condition. From these facts, Il
ken in connection with the scanty out .
" ofpus, the conclusion was drawn y
ut an obstruction existed near the h
ner end of the drainage tube, which +
evented a free discharge. This i'm
isonment If the pus, technically
own as the formation of the "pus
vity," is entirely adequate to explain n
, chill and the increased fever since II