Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1881-07-14
INTERVIEW WITH DIR. BLISS.
Reasons for Thinking that tsAe Bul-
let Will BE Extracted.

Washington Cor. Baltimore Sum- feth.
'The President is better than he has
been at any time since he was shot,"
said DR.. Bliss, the physician in charge,
this afternoon, "and every day and hour
adds to the hopes of his recovery. From
s o'clock last night, when he received
his morphine, he slept in maps of half
hour each until midnight, and as he
obtained rest his pulse and temperature
decreased. From midnight until 2 o'clock
this morning he slept continuously,
which is the longest period of continu
GUS sleep that he has had. This improve
ment In his rest is very reassuring.
do you consider" your correspond
ent inquired, that the danger period
has passed2'
"Oh, no; it will not pass, l think, fer
a week. Yesterday we were somewhat
disturbed by the increase in tempera-
ture, as we did not know what change
there might be in the internal conditions
to cause it; but the temperature was
soon reduced, and by very simple means
To-day it is much better. He is, of
course, very weak. If you could see
that strong man in his present condition
you would realize how severe his hurt
is. He is doing better continuously
very much better than we could have
dared to hope"
"The physicians who are not in this
case and who have not seen the patient,
doctor, seem to know more about it than
you do. They say now that the diagno-
sis was all wrong; that the wound is not
so severe as it has been made to appear,
and that it is very doubtful whether the
ball pierced the liver or entered the ven
trail cavity2"
81 know they do, and do not under
stand why medical gentlemen are willing
to put themselves in that position. 1t
might do for laymen. We have been
taking careful notes of the case every
half hour for the benefit of the
President, for the sake of science and for
ourselves. These notes will constitute
the record, and the result will show that
the original diagnosis was perfectly cor
rect. There are besides certain indica-
tions, strong indications, which we have
communicated to the consulting physi.
clans in writing, and not by telegraph,
and which for prudential reasons we
have not given to the public, that make
it pretty certain that we will be able to
locate the ball. and which make it pro
bable that we ultimately can remove it
without danger"
"What are these indications2"
cat present we deem it prudent to
withhold them, but they are such as to
make it clear that the track of the ball
was rightly stated in the first diagnosis.
The medical gentlemen who say that the
ball did not enter the liver have forgot
ten their anatomy. We know that the
ball entered three inches into the body.
We have felt and developed the course
of the ball so far. Where it went then
we do not definitely know, but from the
direction of the three inches of the
course which has been ascertained it is
certain that it must have entered the
liver and probably it passed entirely
through the abdominal cavity, and is
lodged in the anterior wall of the aldo
men. That is where think it is now
in the anterior wall of the abdomen, and
not in the abdominal cavity at all.
"The ball entering the body where it
did and passing inwards three inches,
must of necessity pass through a por-
ton of the liver. At that point in the
body the liver lies close alongside of the
ribs, and the ball could not penetrate the
BODY at that point and enter 80 great a
distance without striking the liver. The
liver is there and must have been hit.
Even if the ball dropped downwards af-
forwards it must have grazed the liver in
its downward course. But, as | said,
the indications of which we have pri-
vately advised Drs. Agnew and Hamil
ton by letter, are that the ball went
through the liver to the abdominal cavity
and is lodged in the anterior wall of the
abdomen, as at first supposed, and it will
be easy when the time comes to remove
it from that point without danger.
do not think it will be necessary to enter
the abdominal cavity at all. -
''Is the wound healing2"
"Thc preliminary stages of the pro-
cess of healing have begun. There has
been no healing of granulated surface.
The pus that has come from the wound
thus far comes from l don't know how
far in, but it is not the pus of healing
wound. 1t is the pus from the broken
outlying tissues undoubtedly
"How do you expect to know whether
the wound proper is healingf"
eve shall keep the wound open at
present. There is wall formed by ma
ture around the entire track of the ball.
We cannot, of course, probe it at pres
ent, but we know that the wall exists
1t will not be necessary to enter the alb
dominal cavity for any purpose. If the
pus should not come from along the
entire track of the wound, We should
know that fact in few hours. 1t would
be demonstrated by a change in the
patients internal conditions. There may
be some sbreds of clothing in the track of
the wound; there may be stoppage at the
point where this foreign substance is, or
at the point where the bullet itself is
located, and a pus cavity might form.
If the track of the wound should be
closed that way 1t would be necessary to
instantly enter and relieve the stoppage.
We are confident we could do that with
out any danger. 1t would in any event
be necessary to relieve that stoppage and
to get the woundsopen to prevent blood
poisoning. The ball itself might be
encysted. We think it is. We hope 10
be able to say by the end of this week
that the President is entirely out of dan
ger. He still feels the pain and soreness
very much"