The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1881-07-15
The WOUNDED PRESIDENT.
He Still Lives and is Likely
to Recover.
INCIDENTS AND PARTICULARS.

The week has been trying one to
he President and his household, but
each days lease of life has encOar.
,ged his attendants and physicians
md given the country hope that his
recovery is only question of time.
The physicians are doing all that hu.
man skill can accomplish and from
day to day rebort renewed evidence
that tho patient is improving. The
bulletins sent out nearly every hour
are of similar import, and though
the wound is Il dangerous one and
the long prOstration very weakening
to the President, he bears up heroic.
ally and frequently INDUCES in an en-.
couraging word and vein of humOr
that reminds one of his own former
vigorous self. We extract from
from daily reports the following:
DIR. BLISS DIAGNOSIS OF THE CASE.
DIR. Bliss clings tenaciously to the
theory that the first diagnosis made
of The case was the correct one. In
conversation he said the fact was
referred to that other physicians had
expressed the opinion that the dag
nosis was all wrong, and he expressed
surprise that physicians should DO
willing to put themselves in such u
position. lie added ave have been
taking careful notes of the case every
half hour for the beEeiiit 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 correct. There are
besides certain Indications strong
indications which we have cOmmu-
nicated to the consulting physicians
in writing, not by telegraph, and
which, for prudential reasons, we
have not given To the public, that
make it pretty certain that we will
he able to locate the ball, and which
make it probable that we ultimately
can remove it without danger"
| what are these indications 2"
AT 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 forgotten their anat.
omy. 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 three inches of
the course which has been ascer.
taincd it is certain it must have Ell.
tered the liver, and prob;,bly it passed
entirely through the abdominal cav.
ity and is lodged in the anterior wall
of the abdomen. That is where
think it is now-in the anterior wall
of the abdOmen-and not In the ab.
dominal cavity at all. The ball
entering the body where it did, and
passing inward three inches. must
necessarily pass through a portion
of the liver. At that point i'm the
body the liver lies close alongside OF
the ribs, and the ball could not pen.
etrate the body at that point and
enter So great a distance without
striking the iive:. The liver is
there and must have been hit. Even
if the ball dropped down afterward
it must have graZed the liver i'm its
downward course. But, rs ] said
the indications of which we have
privately advised Drs. Agnew and
Hamilton by letter, are that the ball
went through the liver to the alb.
dominal cavity, and is lodged in the
anterior wall of the abdomen, Us at
first supposed. md it will be easy
when time comes to remove it from
that point without danger. / do not
think it will be necessary to enter
the abdominal cavity at all" s.
THE PRESIDENTS CHEERFULNEss.
The chief interes: about the Presi.
dents shooting now centers in the
prospect of his final recovery. The
treatment under which he has been
all the time is continued unchanged
He gets along very well nnder it,
and grows stronger almost every hour
The physicians will not pronounce
him out of danger in 80 many words
but DIR. Bliss virtually says he is.
To-day Saturday was very bright
one 1T the white house. Every word
from the sick room was full of cheer
The president this afternoon re.
quested DIR. Bliss, when he went to
the room occupied by the clerical
force, to "tell the boys that he was
all right. and that he hoped the doc.
tors would soon allow them to come
and see him." That is a fair sample
of how the president was all day.
His spirits have been the highest,
and his frame of mind the most
cheerful. 1t was with the greatest
difficulty that he was kept from talk
ing when he was not asleep. Every
two hours he is given a little rum
and milk in addition to his diet of
cruel, with Oat meal now and then.
The rum is some of the eighty years.
old case that was sent him the other
day. This afternoon when he drank
a small amount of the mixture that
DIR. Bliss handed him, tho president
said: "Ah, Bliss don't you wish you
could have some Of that rare old
article :" and he smacked his lips as
if he enjoyed the thought immensely
An instance of how light hearted
be is.
SERIOUS sELF-QCESTIONING.
Very naturally the slow and tedi.
GUS process of recovery is wearying
to the President, but only on two or
three occasions has he manifested
any such feeling. The other day he
remarked In a sort of inquiring way
that it was doubtful if the few years
he would get of life, at best, were
worth all the hard struggle he was
making; but Mrs. Garfield, who was
by him at the time, urged him not to
talk that way, as he knew that his
life WAS worth all that could possibly
be expended to save it. The Presi.
dent promptly replied that he did not
have any idea OF relaxing any of his
efforts, but that his remark was more
in Il reflective or specializing manner
than anything else. OF course news.
papers and information generally of
the excitement and affairs outside are
kept from the President, but Occa.
oiohupy uC stoho oOiiC YuCotiOio 0UOut
these things and gets some infOrma-
ton. lie knows what deep interest
has been manifested in his recovery
by the people of the whole world,
and yesterday morning he asked if
the excitement at the time of the
shooting was rs great rs when Lin.
coin was killed.
At one time the noise made in ar.
ranging for the introduction Of cold
air 50 annoyed and excited the Presi-
dent that the wOrkInen had to be
stopped for While. The machinery |
is in order and no more disturbance
of the kind will be necessary. Mrs. |
Garfield still keeps up her courage.
The ordeal has necessarily told upon
her considerably. She takes daily |
rides and is doing everything to keep
up her physical strength.