The Northern Pacific farmer. [volume] (Wadena, Minn.) 1878-1885, 1881-07-14
NORTHERN PACIFIC FARMER
WHITNEY 4 WllIppLE, Publishers
WADENA. WAD&NA, CO.. MINNESOTA.
WHAT THE SURGEONS SAY
GARFlELD'S ASSASSINATION.
Further Particulars of tho Most Excit-
ing Event OF the
Year.
No Check to the Steady Advance of
President Garfield Toward Ply
steal Restoration.
THE LONDON LANCET.

THE LONDON LANCET.
LONDON, July S.-The Lancet, the leading
medical journal Of London, says:
The accounts of the condition of Garfield are. on
the whole, satisfactory. They give reasonable
ground for hope. There are. of course, many per-
lis to he encountered. Secondary internal hemorr-
hace may occur when the bullet is sursically or &C
blood poisoning is possible, but looking at the case
as i whole. and recalling the history Of similar
cases, it is impossible not to feel that fairly
gooc hope is permissible. 1t may be as
sulned that the course taken by the bullet must
have been such as to avoid injury to the most i'm
porant structures tits scarcely possible that any
large vessel eau have been injured. and hypothe-
sis of complete severance or even Of severe
Injury OF great nerves is not necessary to ac-
liver, if wounded. can hardly have been extensively
lacerated. II Garfield survives the perils of the
next few days, and the bullet can be extracted,
there can be no medical reason at least arising out
It the general character Of his injuries, why he
should not do WE'LL
DR. HAMILTON
New YORK, July S.-Dr. Hamilton is very
much encouraged over tO-day's news from
Washington. He says:
The term "laudable pus" means healthy pus,
clear and free from gangrene unhealthy matter,
u very good sign indeed. OF course the president
cannot yet be SAID to be out of danger but there is
to believe that all chances are in his
favor for recovery, although it may be protracted
While the location Of the bal is unknewn There is
uduSet, "ut Tue symptoms as reported Indicate that
nature will take Of the ball.
LOBBY SURGEON
From the New York World
DR.. Norris is q staunch friend of Dr. Bliss
and when asked about the trouble said: Il was
the physician to the White House during the
time of President johnson and when General
Grant was there. but when Mr. Hayes came
lid not remind him Of the fact, and then Doc
tor or Colonel Baxter intruded and was recog
nlzed. He is q conf :med lobbyist and draws
ho o1or ~T [,,tI
services in looking over the papers of
the two deputy purveyors. II is one Of the
greatest siuecures in existence When
Hayes was in he did not like to supplant the
OLD Surgeon General Barnes, but he made q
bargain with Garfield by which HAYES ap
pointed Maj Swains to be Judge advocate
general because he was friend of Garfield,
and in return Garfield was to appoint Baxter
as surgeon general We old army officers
were all expecting it, though there are a num-
Der of good reasons against it. Just think Of
this. Ninety-tive officers of the medical de-
partment arc Baxter's seniors. and their com
missions antedate his, going back bevond
1861. They all served actively with volun-
teer troops during the rebellion. They were
all breveted for faithful and meritorious SER
vices. The chief medical purveyor entered
the regular army as assistant purveyor to pur-
chase medicines and medical supplies On
March ., 1872. he was put above ali the sur
Geons of tho army, with the rank of lieutenant
colonel. On January %, 1874. he was placed
over the other two medical purveyors and made
the chief purveyor. with the rank Of colonel
IN the army He now applies to the president
to be appointed over the only remaining officer
above him on the army register, the assistant
surgeon general, and to command us all, every
one Of whom entered the army by competitive
examination, His promotion to the surgeon
genera'ship would shut out all the other sur
geons from such promotion for seventeen
years. Well, when he came into that con-
ference chamber you may be sure he was not
Welcomes man who was 4 better LOBBYIST
than practitioner, and who, by currying IA
vor with the sergeant at arms, had gained the
run Of the cloak room. He would no doubt have
insisted upon attending at the next conference.
so by not having the conference there was no
chance of his Intrusion 1t avoided possible
complications. You see don't feel offended
in being thus politely dismissed, for I am in
good company. That is the real basis of the
trouble. We were of one mind in our treat
mcEt and it has been to-day Endorsed by men of
worldwide fame as DR.. Hamilton, of New
York, and DR.. Agnew. OF Philadelphia
DR.. TOWNSEND IN NEW YORK HERALD.
doctor, what do you think of the presi-
dents chances now?"
well. his condition is yet very critical We
can only hope for the best He may pull
through. God grant that he may. This" said
James A. Garfield and 1 think if the whole
American people could have seen his bearing
under the circumstances they would como to
revere hum doubly: He Is indeed the modest
Roman of them ALL Cool, calm, clear, reso-
lutte and enduring, cheerful under great suf-
fering, grateful for every attention or assist
ANGEL think his the grandest type of man
hood have yet Witnessed"
Referring to the nature of the presidents
wound. DR.. Townshend says that his judgment
OF the course the ball took, from the examina-
ton he made of the wound at the depot. ia tina t
the ball entered two inches to the right of the
fourth lumbar verbetr;e, PASSED through the
intercostal muscle, between the tenth and elev-
enth r,6s, fracturing the upper edge Of the
(the latter not affording resistance enough to
stay iD into the abdominal cavity, where it
came in contact with some hard
substance on the opposite side,
which could have been nothing else but the
ribs and possibly directed to the spinal column
He says the very fact of the presidents having
partial paralysis of the extremities shows
that the spinal column has been injured. The
doctor added that he considered the president
in as much danger now as at any period since
he was shot, and that ne came near dying the
first night from internal hemorrhage and had
it kept up much longer he certainly would
have passed away; that he yet has the
danger OF peritonitis to pass through,
and symptoms of its advent in more
right along. Yet he might escape peritonitis
entirely, for if it did once set in It might carry
him off, although his strong physique might
probably carry him through safely. The doc
tor says that he received at the battle Of
Shiloh shot in some respects eimilar to that
of the presidents, only the ball that struck
him was Mimic ball of one and a quarter
ounces, or little larger than that shot from
Guiteau's pistol.
1T was CHANGING shot, which passed
through my sword-belt over the crest of the
lIlum, passed down over the pelvs and came
out over the groin. could not walk for four
months, as the fracture Of the bone of the pelvis
was considerable. or course I was not struck in
any of the vital organs, as the shot came from
q prominence and took downward course.
Quite the contrary Is tho case with the presi-
dent as the ball was sent straight at him. "A
singular feature of my wound was that eleven
years after it had healed up it became inflamed
aud troublesome, and had = physician, .
friend OF mine in this city, to open and probe
it: This resulted in bringing out small piece
OF my leather belt that had been carried in by
the ball" The doctor concluded by saying he
could IN candor state that in all his experience
he had never known of shot similar in its
character to that received by the president
DR. CARNoCHAS's VIEWS.
DR.. Carnochan, when asked by Herald re-
porter whether he had an accurate KNOWLEDGE
of tho character of President Garfield's wound.
replied that he had not obtained complete data.
but that IN addition to having read newspaper
accounts he had had some conversation With
other members of the medical profession.
from which he had obtained an idea Of its ma,
ture.
The reporter then showed him the bulletin
OF 1880 P. m: yesterday, and DR.. Carnochan
declared that the symptoms there described
we're not desperate, and that he should not
consider the case hopeless. one from the data
he had
.'What is the probable prognosis Of the case ?"
asked the reporter.
'Ishould say" replied the doctor, shat in
many surgical cases as well as medical we
have to judge from negative symptoms. The
position of the ball not having been, so far as
can learn, definitely ascerta,ned by exact ex-
animation we may judge by the absence of
certain symptoms that most of the important
organs of the abdomen have escaped from
being wounded in this case"
For example," he continued, explaining his
position with great care "as q general rule
it the intestinal tube is wounded by bullet
most probably there would ensue what is called
extravasation Of its contents Such an occur
renee in all probability. would be followed
by speedy peritonitie, continuation of the
collapse and death within two or three days or
less, If any of the large arterial or venous
trunks were wounded. so az to induce coplous
IptprnQI c.V1,o oo<;o