Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1882-08-04
Senator Hills Fast Ebblng Life.


An Atlanta dispatch says In modern
onro1a there has uot been case recorded
AZ full of horror as that of Geofgia's great
orotor and statesman. Nor has the resig-
nation and Christian philosophy he exhib-
its been excelled. Slowly dying OF one of
the most acutely painful and distressing
Of all diseases he is cheerful, patient and
resigned to his fate.
Mr.. Hill is put to sleep every night about
O'CLOCK with a hypodermic injection of
morphine, and sumbers until II O'Clock in
tho naorning He is then dressed and spends
| the f1av in an easy chair near the window
of a nayilion attached to the north-side of
his residence, with window and door
onening TO the east on to veranda. There
he sits the whole day, the subject of the
| most assiduous attentions from his devoted
family. He reads little, newspapers, his
| mail and some devotional works, also writes
down his passing Impressions, indites let
rers and communicates with those to whom
| his almost inarticulate murmurings are in
! telligible.
| tered daily the patient never being allowed
to come thoroughly from under its in6u-
ence. His food consists of milk, into which
the yolks of eggs have been beaten, and a
little whiskey added. About three pints of
| this mixture is passed into the patient 3
stomach every day through d tube, no por-
| tion of the fluid touching his palate.
The cancer, for such the disease is &C.
knowledged to be, by al but some persons
who have not had any connection with the
case. has destroyed all the tissues of his
throat and mouth, on the left side, as we'll
| as the lower jaw or submaxillary bone. The
opening is SO large that two or three fingers
can be passed freely up into the mouth from
below, and the palate can be seen when the
| patient is lying down and one approaches
him from the feet. The outer carotid is
exposed, and pulsation is plainly visible
The soft connective tissue has been eaten
away, and only such rough, elastic sub
are left intact. What is left of the tongue
| is attached to the right side by very slen-
| der ligament, and the constant fear is felt
| that it will become detached and fall into
! the patients throat, when asleep, and thus
end his sufferiDgs, while sufficient strength
| might exist for further continuance of
| the contest with the dead destroyer. His
mouth is kept filled with absorbent and
antiseptic cotton, which is frequently
changed, as Is the dressing on the out
side.
| No internal remedy is now given, nor
! has any been administered since the aban-
| donment of the French "cancer cure,'
| which consisted in the injection into the
| circulation of purified carbolic acid, the
object being to destroy the cancerous germs
in the blood.
For three years Mr.. Hill suffered with
an ulcerous sore on his tongue before he
told even his wife. Then by advice of a
friend in New York, he consulted DIR. Bay
ard, an uncle Of the Delaware Senator,
! who practices homeopathy in New York.
For eight months this physician treated
him and reported constant improvement.
But the patient was growing worse, and
| he finally realized that he was in danger,
and placed himself in the hands DR.. Gross
| end the Philadelphia hospital staff.
The evidences Of the sufferers entire res.
| ignation are numerous. The other day he
| called his son Charles to him. II am soon
going to a better land, Charles, don't you
wish you could come along? Wish there
was some way to take you" Such is the
tenor of all his utterances to his family
and friends. In writing to an old servant
now in Athens, where he lived when first
elected to Conl ress, he reiterated the re-
mark that this was the happiest period OF
his existence. He might have been
thoughtless in the vigor of health, but
now he felt ready to meet his maker The
Lord had given him good long notice,
and he was fully prepared for the sum-
mons when it came.
The final change, 1t is now thought, will
come from sheer exhaustion. If the NOR
phine was suspended he would soon sink
from the effects Of the pain. Now all that
can be done is to alleviate the suffering
and prolong the few days, which,in spite of
his terrible condition, he seems to prize
more than those upon which he gained
his glory.