The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1884-09-06
"The Man with the Wax Head"

Some terrible stories are told by the
burial parties after the battle of Tel-eli
Kebir of the CHASTITY nature of the
wounds inflicted by modern arms OF
precision. In one case the officers in
charge found poor Egyptian, who
had been left for dead, with the upper
part of his face blown quite away He
was, however. still alive, and, notwith-
standing his fearful injuries, was, bv
the ca G and skill of the English doc
tors, fairly on the way to recovery when
he was attacked by dysentery, which
proved fatal. A different fate, how
ever, if not a more fortunate one, seems
TO have awaited Jean MORGAN, French
artilleryman, wounded in the Franco
German war, whose story is told by
General Ambeft in the second volume
of his Souvenirs Militaires, which is
shortly to be published iu Paris.
."Morcau entered the service in 1870,
and on January ), 1871, was engaged
in the affair at Bapaume. Toward
three o'clock in the afternoon, while he
was loading a cannon, he was struck
down by shell, which, bursting across
his face, tore away his nose, eyes, the
upper jaw and a portion of the lower.
He was left or dead on the field, but
af er time recovered his senses, and
by chance staggered, falling at
almost every step, on the road
to the village of Ervilliers.
The Colonel of the Twenty-fourth
Regiment sent him from this place by
carriage to Arras the next morning,
where he staid till the 4th of October
following. He was transferred to the
military hospital Of the Val de Grace at
| arts a fortnight latter. and rema ned
there till the 10Th of March, 1872, when
cicatrization was nearly complete. All
the soft portions of the fore part of the
head having disappeared, and the b ny
framework being crushed N various
places, the unfortunate man presented
the appearance of a veritable Deaths
head, with two cavities fcrthe eyes, one
for the nose, and a large opening TO
the mouth. How yer, by ingenuity and
patience wax resemblance of face
was invented and fitted with the ut
most exactitude to the healthy portions
of flesh which still surrounded the i'm
mense cicatrix. The adhesion, which
is almost hermetic, was completed by
natural cushion of skin, which thus, as
it were, keeps the border of the mask
in grove. The inner ca ity has also
been ut lized, one of its uses being, by
means of lint, to guard the patient
against the effects of sudden alterna-
tions of heat and cold, while the upper
jaw and the palate are protected by
plate, to which are attached a row of
false teeth, and mastication of the
hardest kinds of food is successfully
performed.
Thanks to the disposition of the ma
tural parts and the ingenious shaping
of the mask, and particularly that Of
the false nose, respiration is rendered
possible through its nostrils, and, in
deed, has regained the normal direc-
ton, from below to above. The system
of aeration Is assisted by two small
holes toward the inner angle
of the eyes creating current of air, the
eyes themselves of course being closed
The sense of SMELL strange to say, has
been regained, willie the voice possesses
its natural tone and clearness. Thus
Moreau-who when he removes his
mask, it is needless to say, presents a
most hideJus aspect, in conse luence of
tie d appearance of u great part of the
bony portions, as well as the muscles
which should cover them, and of whose
head there literally remains only the
brain and the Gran um--is enabled by
this wond rful exercise of medical skill
and constructive talent to breathe, eat,
speak, smell, and even, so it is said, to
play the flute. The mutilated soldier,
who is fond of chatting aboat his cam
paigns, possesses that resigned ar COM
mon to blind men, and his sense of
touch, moreover, has excessively devel-
oped. He lives at Favri, Landrecies,
in the Nord Department, and ekes out
his. pension by the sale of pamphlet
recountlng the facts of his wondrous
cure. Perhaps says General-Ambert,
1t would have been well to have kept
silence about this poor fellow; but it is
not sufficient to only show the glor:es
of war-every one should know the
sacrifices of the soldier. This one has
given more than his life, for each day
which passes is marty DOM But
Moreau never complains. He is held
in great respect by those who know him,
and feels genuine pride in SHIT W ng
the Cross of the Legion of Honor ON his
breast to the many curious travellers
who turn out of they way to see the
Iomnle a la tete dc ciTe. Pail Mall Ga
zet,e.