National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-09-20
THE PRESIDENT.
iRrEF HISTORY OF HIS CASE
Tho various Epochs from the Dag Of the shooiinf
ueutIoned-The Days OF Gloom aud Sea-
sons Of Encoursgement-Denla
and Admissions or Doctors.

AZ least II has been peculiar IN many Of Its phases
and the circumstances surrounding Il have been
Unusual. A very careful record has been kept of
observations made more or less frequently accord
ing to the gravity of the symptoms, from the day
| OF the shooting down 10 the present The main
points which have been given to the public are
the pulse, temperature, and respiration. together
with such general facts as the doctors saw NJ 20
embrace in the bulletins, with more or less ftp1
quency every day from the date Of the shooting,
which took place at $40 a. m. on the ID OF July,
the bullet which made the ugly wound being Of
~ calibrc, and striking the President about four
inches to the right Of the spinal column. II struck
the tenth and shattered the eleventh rib very
badly. having turned downward and forward in o
direction which at that limo It was impossible for
The physicians TO determine.
THE SHOCK FROM THE WOUND
was so great that tho doctors In attendance have
said that they never saw man come so near dy-
Ing from this cause and 1.-Two rs did the President
the first day he was wounded II seems that the
FIRST physician to reach him ut the depot was DR..
Smith Townshend. who made a slight exRmina.
ton OF the wound-simply enough 10 determine
whore the President had been hit. The alarm was
given, an ambulance procured, and he was driven
hastily to the White House. The usual nervous
effects OF the severe shock followed the shooting,
and the patient was affected with nausea. vomit-
Ing and extreme prosuation during the ilrst day.
He was so weak indeed, that Il was not until five
o'clock In the evening OF that day that his clothes
were all removed and he could be put In shape foi
the beginning Of the treatment II seems that the
surprise and panic were SO great at the time tina,
there was no one to direct the medical operations
and as tho result various Government physicians
and leading surgeons who were in the city voluii.
teered or were called In attendance, and brief
examination was made late in the afternoon oil
the shooting,
But NOTHING WAS DONE TO EELIEyE THE PATIENT,
The ball having entered over the liver, its>emaf
perfectly natural 10 the physicians that II had con-
tinucd In direct course and passed through thai
organ; hence for some days Il was confidently be.
heyed that the liver had beon pierced this proba-
bly, being one cause why the physicians despairod
OF the patients recovery and believed he would
die ut once. The only examination TO determine
really what.course the ball had taken. when the
theory Of its passing through the liver was COL.
rect. was made by Surgeon General Wales, who
thrust his little finger in the wound
and discovered that the tenth and eleventh rib!
more or less were fractured. So low was he thai
niRnt that one Of the attendants reports wher
Central Swain proposed to clear the room and
give the patient air one Of the attending physi.
clans said: There Is no use doing anything
There is the death rattle in his throat now The
General insisted, however and the room was
patient did rally at 2A5 on the morning of the Sd
He was then able to take and retain little nour-
ishment. Atthistime II was not known that the bah
had been detected downward by the rib and had
passed, Us subsequently was shown, forward and
around through the heavy muscular tissue and
had
ENTERED THE PERIToNEAT CAVITY.
In short, subsequent investigations showed thai
the ball had touched no vital part, and the wound
aa NJ GItNh a al mot vi lr
mortal. The large number OF physicians who were
In consultation the first day and the following
morning formed a body Of men too great for the
convenient treatment Of any patient and DIR. Bills,
was assigned 1t is said, by the President himself
to charge Of the case, with authority TO select his
own corps Of advisers. This he did by choosing
Surgeon General Barnes, of the army; DR.. J
J. woodward, also medical officer OF tho army
and a well.known and accomplished microscopic
and Robert Reyburn, physician who had made O
favorable record as surgeon In Government in
stitutions. All through the day of July 3 tn,
fluctuations Of pulse, temperature and respiration
were ofsuch q character that the case appeared tC
be very critical, and It was still feared by many
that
DEATH WAS IMMINENT.
At three o'clock on the morning of the Sd SC
serious did the matter appear that one OF the
level-headed of the Cabinet officers remarked
invoicing the life or death of the President Of the
United States, 1t not strange that the people Of
tho country felt an interest in Il, and were not "a
be satisfied with any treatment that might be af-
forded by local physicians, be they never so skill
full. and 1t was deemed necessary, In order tc
silence criticism and satisfy public demand, thai
consulting surgeons Of national reputation be EN-
ployed to assist the corps I'm constant attendance
who had more special charge of the case, under
n ~ hai nfn
Frank II. Hamilton, OF New York, and d. Hayes
Agnew. an eminent surgeon OF Philadelphia, were
telegraphed for on the morning of the 4th. They
started at once on special train, furnished by the
Pennsylvania Central Railroad and arrived here
on the afternoon Of the same day. Throughout
the day Of the 4th Of July, and for several day.
succeeding, the patient was troubled with
ExCRUcIATING PAIN IN THE LOWER LIMBS AMI
FRRT.
which he himself described as being alike tn,
sticking of million needles into him." From thl
1t was feared that the spinal nerves had been il
some way injured. Toward the night of the 4th
however, there was turn for the better and Tho
patient was safely launched into the next day
Drs. Agnew and Hamilton returned immediatel,
TO their respective homes, and II transpires tina
the only knowledge they had of the case at tha
time was what they had heard from the attending
physicians, having made no personal no exam
ination. 1t was not until after the examination
that DIR. Hamilton was told by Surgeon
\ General Wales that there had been a fractur,
of the ribs aud this only came to the knowlcdg,
OF Or. Agnew when told by his brother physician
upon the train as they were starting out OF Wash
ington toward Philadelphia. An understanding
Of medical ethics, however, will explain in
measure what might appear surprising circum
stances In this connection. DIR. Bliss with hi
three assistants, were In charge of the case, and
Drs. Aguew and llamllton were but the consult
ing physicians; they could only advise and ap
prove, making suggestions when asked questions
but they could make for themselves no examina
ton, and
WERE NOT IN THE POSITION TO DICTATE
anything as to tho treatment of the patient II
Is not surprising, therefore, that they knew only
such points Of the case as IL had occurred to the
physicians in charge to communicate TO them
Whether the advice Of such eminent surgeons NJ
Agnew aud Hamilton would have been different
from what 1t was on that eyentful occasion had
they known this important factor OF the com
minued rib, with its attendant complications
arising from splculn of bone, II Is perhaps impos
sible now TO say. At that time a very little wa
heard of the rib fracture, but much speculation
was INDUCED in as 10 the locality OF the ball
Whether It had continued directly through the
Vital parts had passed downward, or had passed
forward and around through the integument NJ
course Of n few days became the il-absorbini
question in the discussion OF the physicians. On
the morning OF the 9th Of July the pulse for TN
FIRST time fell as low Us 9S IN the morning and onl,
touched lOi in the evening; and upon the 7th tn,
leading physician In attendance declared The
chances are
MoRk THAN kyEN FOR HIs REcovRRY
Previous TO this time they had said there wa,
but one chance in hundred. and. upon the Prcsi
dent asking what his show Tor life was was tol(