The Northern Pacific farmer., 1885-03-05

CHANTS PIT1ABLE CONDITION., s
rhs Recovery Of the ,ox-rrssids;nt Now Con-
oeded to Be 1mpossible-1nsomaiaB Being
Added to His Other Affections, He Is a
| Constant sunerer-Ta1ks with His Physi-
clans and Son Fred. . z.,'
NEw YORK, Special Telegram, Feb 2s.-Ths
an4ouncement of Gen. Grants alarming and
probable fatal illness. to-day caused great
surprise among bis numerous frienda
. Anxious inquiries were made as to his condi-
| tion, coupled with expressions of hope
that the reports had been exaggerated
! and that the general would soon
F, be restored to health 1t Is now believed
that the malady from which Gen. Grant il
suffering cannot but have a fatal termtna-
ton, and also that his dissolution may
take place within q very short
time, few months being the max
! imum period of his life. with
the chances that shorter time will end his
earthly career: All the physicians in attend
ance upon him concur in this view Of the
case, and the generals immediate family have
abandoned all hope of his recovery: His
wife and all his, children, with the
cabled for from England, are constantly in
attendance upon the general, and their deep
sorrow is intensified by d realization OF the
fact that his sufferings are of the most
intense character. He can only, have
temporary relief while sleeping, and even
an impossibility, as insomnia has been added
to his other complications, SO that he is prac-
tically all almost continual sufferer Death
from cancer may not occur Immediately,
but it is sure to come in a very short time
and at moment when least expected. Gen.
Grant presents pitiable appearance at pres
ent His face and head are bandaged, his
eyes are sunken and his face wears a sal
= low hue, while his hair and beard have
whitened greatly. This is the worst form OF
bis disease, and has brought about loss OF
appetite. His doctors assert that he is sub
sisting largely upon his vital tissues, and
he Is growing preceptibly weaker day
! by day. The trouble is an liberation
Of the soft tissues of the roof of the mouth
with hardness and soreness at the base of the
tongue 1t is with great difficulty that the
general opens his mouth to admit food He
suffers the most excruciating torture from
neuralgia also, but scarcely murmur
escapes hin, The general knows he must
die, and yet he does not want to believe it.
There were many callers at the house to-day,
SOAASAS&A .
presence, and after warm expressions of
Sympathy with the members of his
family they Withdrew: Throughout his ILL
ness Gen. Grant has labored faithfully at his
literary tasks His history Of the rebellion
is now practically completed, and the maga-
zine articles for the Century are also finished
RELATED BY FRED GRANT.
NEW YORK, Feb. 28-In regard to Gen.
Grants health, Col. Fred Grant said to a Post
reporter this afternOon:
My father is a very sick man. There Is no use
longer denying the fact. We have made every
effort effort to keep the facts from the public. be-
cause t. shoud booome knows thss SSSn hs
was dangerously i'll there would be
hundred letters coming in with every mail, and
covery less hopeful. My father he had little
rest for the past few nights: He
up again to-day; but he is suffering constant
pain in the ear and head, For any facts oon-
cerninR the nature Of his disease. refer you to
The doctors who are attending him are Dr.
j Fordyce Baker, DR.. J. H. Douglas and DR.. r.
B. Sands of this city, and DR.: T. NJ Merker
; of Philadelphia DR.. Douglas said:
report that appeared in a medical journal last
week. Two days before the report was pub-
lshed hsd 3D. nrcna" conversation Sasa With DE-
dacded that the groweh
! the root OF the tongue was hardening and stead
! lily growing worse. A -microscopical examina-
case was one Of malignant epithelial growth.
Gen. Grant is very sick man, and think there
is little or no hope that he will recover. He is
breaking down, but has displayed much courage.
as six or eight hours work a day. but
has had little sleep for the past eight
Of his true condition from the general
because ne had go many other troubles
to tened bear that bIye bS trdnbe all along T3im srn
caused no doubt by excessive smoking. Every
time he speaks or breathes or eats this is dis
turbed; 1t is difficult to treat it for that rea-
has been temporarily checked, but it has never
been arrested and is steadily increasing. There
has been considerable loss of tissue of the soft
palate. He takes nOurishment every day in
liquid form. He cannot eat solid food because
he has lost all his teeth. They were extracted
| In the hope Of easing the pain in his face. This
pain. although it resembles neuralgia is not that
pain caused by - cancer in the throat. He
has been suffering from severe Ss,a pein
eose this his head is kept wrapped in hot fan
% i've meonfhs Yet, as Isl; men saerng rron This
disease have done; bat do not think there Is
any hope that he will ever recover
Private letters received here confirms the
alarming news published by the Philadelphia
Times in regard to Gen Grants health He
; Is now recognized as an invalid, and his con-
dition is critical He is confined to his
room, sees but few of his Oldest frinds, and
ls much broken and deDreeaed IN spirits
DIR. DOUGLAS STATEMENT.
| DR.. Douglas was asked tLis afternoon to
describe the condition Of his patient He
said:
Gen. Grant is very sick man. His body and
hands are greatly emacated. and he is losing
flesh daily He cannot recover from the disease,
losing his grip life, and has not the force and
energy to stand up against the many blows to
his strength. He may live for weeks or months.
The progress Of the disease may be put in abey-
ance by natural forces though at present it is
advancing rapidly. 1t Is not likely that the can
Ger will choke him, it will kill him by exhaust
ion. It is impossible to give him stimulants, as
they injure his throat. Gen. Grant came to me
first on Oct. 20 last and asked me to examine his
throat. did so. and saw at once that he was
suffering from cancer. I did not wish to
frighten him by telling him this, so said he
had an epithelial trouble. He asked me il
it was not and tod him hi
mild form. 1t probably arose from excessive
smoking, combined with other causes. He had
been suffering with it since June !. L at once
told his family of the nature Of the disease, and
they know how serious the case is. I think the
general also knows it now. He was in the habit
of coming down to see me pretty much every
morning. The cancer continued to grow worse
although its growth has not been steady. The
hardened part Of the cancer is at the root Of tho
tongue on the right side The liberation is on
the soft palate just above where the tonsils lie.
The loss of the teeth has prevented Gen. Grant
from chewing solid food. He eats minced meat,
terrap1n, and other soft food, and has no diff
Guilty in swallowing it. Indeed. he swal-
lows more readily than he did two
months ago. This is probably due to the
fact that liberation has relaxed some Of
the membranes He takes a good deal
Of nourishnent, although he does not want to
eat, as the effect Of the disease is to destroy all
appetite. The bad weather of late has affected
him unfavorably. He caught slight cold. The
cancer is what is called benign cancer" and if
least hold it in abeyance. AS it is, an opera
t1on would accomplish no good 1t would
be quite impossible to cut it out from the root Of
has been great % change @ FOR for the be- woTse. % The The
mind has great influence on such diseases, and
believe that distress OF mind caused by tho
failure of the relief bill in congress- injured the