Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1883-08-04
A Broken Neck Repai,ed.

oAA.e aC4utuIlUdnc2S, Is the most remark
able patient they have ever had in Belle
u Hospital. He is only the second
person on record who survived after his
neck was completely broken, and al
though he is greatly deformed, he finds
no difficulty in performing all the nee
essary acts of eating and breathing, and
is IN good health and spirits. Clarke is
q man with a history, even outside the
fact that he still lives after having had
his neck broken in an involuntary con-
test of ''hard-heads" with an ice-barge
in the North River. Born in Dublin.
Ireland, and full of animal spirits and
strength, he 0 o became known as q
rounder in his native city. Among other
feats which he performed at the rough
and-ready age of eighteen was to enter
the prize-ringg and keep up an hours
hard fighting with Jim Ringwood, a
famous Dublin boxer, whom he de-
feated, spreading his nose all over his
face, and leaving him with a couple Of
broken ribs rs mementoes of his huge
fists.
After this Clarke thought he was able
to venture from home and take care Of
himself. He went out tothe gold coast,
Africa, with a party of adventures and
led a wild life there for two or three
years, being finally recognized as the
champion ~knocker-out of the coast.
Like Alexander, longing for other
worlds to conquer, he worked his way
on a bark from the African coast to the
United States twenty years ago. Since
then he has made trips to Australia and
to other countries, but always found his
way back to New York as his favorite
place of residence. On, the 2Sth of De-
cember, 1881, while working on an ice-
barge lying at the foot Of Eleventh
street, North River, he fell overheard,
going down between the barge and the
end of the wharf. He remained down
long enough to drown a man, and when
ne was hauled up his body was twisted
out of all natural proportions, and his
face was crushed down flat against the
chest. The vertebra were completely
broken, and the general spectacle he
presented was horrible. 1t was consid-
cred a useless task to convey him to the
hospital, but as he continued kicking
and showing signs of life an ambulance
Vincent's Hospital, in Eleventh street,
near Sixth avenue. Here he remained
unconscious for nearly three days. TIE
physicians there had no hopes of his re-
covery at first, and outside placing him
in as easy a position as possible, they
did not attempt to do anything for him.
However, on the third day, when he re-
covered consciousness, the doctors be-
gan to think otherwise, and set to work
upon him. 1t was a most difficult piece
of surgery they were called to perform,
to set a broken neck, bat they went to
work to do their best.
Clarke describes his suferings as fear
full but, being a man of iron nerve
and great courage, he bore it all in a
spirit of desperate bravery and snever
said die" He vas not able to take any
food, and the means of supplying nour-
ishment usual in such cases was resorted
to. In a week he was able to take
liquid food, and the broken vertebre
began to knit. His sufferig for weeks
and months was excruciating, but this
was compensated for to some extent by
the assurances of recovery, which daily
grew stronger. He remained in st.
Vincent's hospital until the 18th of De-
cember, when he was transferred to
Bellevue and placed in Ward No. 2.
The deformity of his huge frame and
neck gave him an almost hideous APP
pearance. The neck shot out behind
like a good sized bump. the head bent
forward and the back retreated way in,
crushing the chest out very prominently.
Prof. Smith and DR.. Nichols consulted
regarding Strengthening him out, but
that the crooks had into such a firm,
fixed set that this could no more be
done than to mold him all over again.
Under their care, however, Clarke pro-
crossed rapidly in gaining strength,
and when seen by a Mercury reporter
last Friday, looked decidedly healthy
and vigorous. In appearance he is the
most remarkable specimen of humanity
the Mercury ever aw. The back being
conceived in, the head bent forward,
and the back of the neck %protruding
out in very bold relief, and himself
standing over six feet in height, he looks
like a twisted and gnarled old trunk Of
a tree: His hands, which are of huge
size, look like oaken buckets slung to
his sides, and the three last fingers on
each hand are bent inward, giving
them the appearance of graphing
irons.
He works around the hospital and
goes messages for the doctors. Being
possessed Of a pure streak of genuine
Irish wit, full Of anecdotes and stories
of adventure, and still retaining a Dub
lin brogue, he is a source Of great
amusement to the hospital people. His
wit has even been able to overcome the
moroseness of the man with the finger
nose-that is, a nose supplied from his
own finger, the original one having
been eaten away by cancer Clarke is
now forty-ive years Of age, and says
he has a green old age before him, and
if his neck ever gets broken again he
hopes it will not be by an ice-barge or
on the gallows. He has a wife and four
children in the city, and the wife pro-
vides for the family. Clarke says he
does not care so much for the loss Of
physical beauty as for the obstacle that
his contorted form may be to his getting
employment when he feels thoroughly
strong to engage again in laboring
work.-N. Y. Mercury.
The severe storm of the other day
caused one of the most wonderful land