Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-08-28

with the ebb and flow of the surgical fever.
Itwas noticeable that the low tide of physical
condition was in the evening and the high tide
of improvement in the early morning. The
febrile rise was then the most prominent fca-
ture of the case, and as this periodical in
crease of fever was largely due and caused by
| disturbances, excitement, the heat,
and surgical manipulatiOns of the day, it
reached its elimination in the evening. Dur
| ing the night the absence of all exciting and
disturbing influences and the rest and refresh
ment of sleep, caused a gradual improvement
| in the patients symptoms and his condition
touched the most favorable point in the early
morning. Since, however, the manifestations
| of fever have became of secondary importance
| to the manifestations of exhaustion, the high
and low tides of condition,if theysbe SO called,
| have, so far as time is considered,
| been exactly reversed. The patient now
| has the worst hours in the early morning and
the best hours in the afternoon and evening.
| His system sinks during the night and rallies
| in the early part of the day. This tagging
| of all the Presidents energies in the morning
was especially noticeable to-day. His pulse
was high and feeble. This meant condition
rather respondent and discouraging.
Most of the members of the cabiuet were
at the Executive mansion at an early hour and
the family did not leave after the appearance
of the morning bulletin, one of
the surgeons feel the gravest apprehensions.
The bulletin was of meagre and rather I'M
satisfactory character, but it clearly indicated
change for the worse, and; all information
obtainable unofficially from the surgeons was
fully in correspondence with it. Soon after
the morning examination, however, the pa
tient rallied slightly, the range of his pulse
foin INN inf
apparent in It's tone, and before noon the
urgent alarm of the early morning began to
subside About noon most of the cabinet
officers left the Executive mansion, feeling
assured that even at the worst death was not
imminent.
The Presidents condition at noon, as de-
scribed by several of the attending physicians,
was substantially as follows: In the first place
the exhaustion had become very threatening
and dangerous feature of the case. The sto-
mach, enfeebled by the poisoned condition of
the blood, seemed unable to properly and COM
pletely assimilate the food given it, and the re-
suit was steady and unmistakable failure of
all the vital powers, indicated by higher, fee
bier and more fuctuating pulse, less salts
factory condition of the Vound, and until to-
day considerable degree OF mental 1t disturb
parotid gland had not changed
in any respect for the better, there had been
slight discharge of pus, both from the incis-
ion made several days ago and from the orifce
of the ear, but its quantity was not sufficient
to relieve the inflammation or diminish the
size of the swollen gland. 1t continued,
therefore, to exert depressing and dangerous
influence upon the patients already weakened
vitality, and there was no prospect of any
immediate change for the better in its
character. The process of repair
along the track of the ball had ceased, and the
granulations were becoming less perfect. The
pus discharged by the wound was also un-
natural in appearance and consistence. All
the unfavorable symptoms are due directly TO
the vitiated condition of the blood. In the
opinion of the surgeons the danger of death
from exhaustion might be avoided were mot
for the condition of the gland, but it seemed
very doubtful whether the process of repair
could begin or go on in presence of that
complication. Such in brief, wese the unfa-
yorable features of the Presidents case at
noon. The only favorable symptoms were the
continued ability of the stomach to take and
retain food and the clearing and more perfect
action of the brain.
Soon after noon the Presidents attendants
reported slight improvement in his condi-
tion. At 2 O'Clock Col Rockwell sent the
following telegram to w. N. Robertson; New
York: "At this hour, q o'clock) the Presi-
dent is quite comfortable. His pulse is ia.
He voluntarily remarked he felt stronger than
Yesterday. Whatever the future may bring he
has not yet given any signs of dissolution.
He said ten years ago that SIT was always the
unexpected that was happening with him.
Later in the afternoon the surgeons ad-
mitted that some of the Presidents symptoms
were more encouraging His pulse began to
show greater steadiness and slightly i'm
proved quality, and his mental faculties were
clearer and more active than at any time dvr-
ing the past week. Both these symptoms
were taken as Indications Of improved nutri-
ton. The President himself voluntarily said
several times in the course of the afternoon,
to his attendants that he thought he felt bet
ter than he did yesterday, and remarked that
for the first time in several days, he found
himself able to taste the food he swallowed.
1.-The $50 official bulletin showed a slight
amelioration of the patients symptoms, and
although the change was too trihing TO justi-
fly any great amount of encouragement, it was
eagerly accepted by those who could not
bring themselves to believe that the President
would die, a ground for renewed hope.
DIR. Bliss in conversation with Rev. Dr..
Powers, pastor of President Garfeld's church,
said about z, that the President had thus far
rather better day than was anticipated this
morning. He did not think there was enough
change, however, to justify any anticipa-
tions of recovery, or to modify the views en-
tertained by himself and other surgeons as
to the extreme gravity of the crisis. eff"
he said, "the President gets through to-mor-
row as well as he has to-day, l think there will
be some ground for encouragement.