Morning journal and courier., 1882-10-09
Tho CGfssou Disease.


 The sufferings of Chief Engineer Roebling of the East River bridge, New York, from the caisson disease, recall to mind the trouble that was experienced here in the building of the structure across the Mississippi, when the men employed in the construction were stricken down with the malady. Three of the four piers of the St. Louis bridge are in the river, and had to be built on caissons made of very thick iron with an air cham Der. To reach this air chamber the men de- scended a flight of circular stairs in shaft in the center of the pier. On arriving at the bottom of the pier they entered what IS known as the air lock by door at the north side of the shaft The air lock was cylinder feet in diameter and feet high, made of very thick iron Besides the door leading to it from the shaft there was another door at the east side of it that led into the air chambers l After the bed of the river was reached, men worked in the ca1ssons at clearing away the 1 sand and earth, so that the piers could rest l on solid rock. Once the rock reached 1 the caissons had to be filled Tn with concrete | so that the piers could rest on the rock and 1 solid masonry. The lower the caisson was sunk the greater was the atmospheric pres sure, and when the east pier touched the 1 river bed the pressure was 17 pounds to the 1 square inch, exclusive of the 15 pounds am | bient atmosphere It gradually increased. | and when the east caisson touched the rock | on the 2Sth day of February, 1870, the pres l | by the rise of the river during the months of l March and April it was increased still more, 1 the pressure being 30 pounds to the square l inch on April 12. AS great pressure of | air could not be otherwise than mi furious to the men at work in the caisson, they were only worked for two hours when they were ] relieved for two hours, and this was kept uI ! for 12 hours so that they were in the cham l Der but six hours day. After the caisson o1 ] the east pier had been sunk 15 feet i'll the | sand and the pr assure had reached 2i pounds
 to the square inch, the men, after coming out of the air chamber into the air-lock, ol
 after leaving the air-lock and returning tt
 the normal atmosphere, commenced to suRel
 very severe pains in the arms and legs, anc
 sometimes shooting pains in the back.
 When the caissons had sunk to greater
 depth and there was pressure of 34 pounds to the square inch, the men became more
 seriously affected, some with violent epigas
 tric pains, others with paresis, and still more
 with slight paraplegia, of which they general
 ly recovered in 2+ or 49 hours. Sometime
 the parapiegia was more severe, and some O
 the raen were taken with still more seriou
 symptoms. Notwithstanding the existing 1 paralysis some of them complained of violen pains about the middle of the spine and radi
 ating in every direction of the lower half o
 the body. AS soon as cases happened mean
 were devised at the bridge to relieve the sui
 ferers if possible, even temporarily. and af ! terward they were sent to the City Hospital | The first case sent to the hospital was on th'
 18th of February, 1870. Some died shortl
 after their arrival at the hospital and som | after sojourn there.
 ! After the recurrence of such facts and acci
 dents physicians were called at the bridge t. see the men at work, when taken sick, whic was generally the when coming out 0 the air-lock, or after returning into the nor
 nal atmosphere. None were taken sick i
 the air chambers and the sufferers were gen l 1lxv fobo in fro fa min n 0n l hour after they returned into the normal at mosphere, and in two cases only did it occu l in the air-lock, as soon as the door opene
 into the normal atmosphere and not in tn | air chamber or calsson.
 Dr. Jaminet placed in charge of th men at work in the air chambers April ls7O He had descended into the caisso several times before with other gentlemen 1 and experimented upon the effect upon hin self and others, and knew the exhausting e 3 fects. On one of his visits to the caissoI , Feb. 2S, he remained two hours and fort, five minutes in the air chamber. The cai 7 son had then touched rock, and was 95 fe' : below the river service, and the pressure
 the air was 45 pounds to the square incl
 l The temperature in the normal atmosphel ' was 340 at the bottom of the shaft it WI 1 4So. It rose to 6S0 when the doctor entere ] the air lock, and fell again to 450 on enterin , I the air chamber. His pulse rose from {
 l beats to the minute to 102 in the air-loc ' but again fell back to S2 in the air chambe His respiration was 21 per minute. Aft
 leaving the caisson and returning to the tC , of the pier his pulse rose to no beats p minute He had to rest several times goil
 ! up the stairs. so exhausted he, and l almost tainted when he reached the top 8 l the pier. It was with the greatest difficul z that he managed to reach home, and when
 1 did he tainted several times, and lay f hours in a helpless condition, suffering u - most acute pains. He was paralyzed and u
 able to move himself. He took freque
 doses of Jamaica rum, beef tea and also us