Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-02-09
DEATH FROM BLOOD POISON.
Negiecting a Slight Wound IrrItated by
shirt Dye-Spread of the Disease.

Nea0 York Tribune.
John krebs was employed on the Long
Island Railroad as a section hand, and
| lived at Hicksville. Some rails having
/ become lOOsened on Jan. %, krebs went
I to repair the track. W lille driving a spike
/ the sledge hammer struck it a glancing
/ blow and split 1t in two. a small frag-
/ ment of the iron flew upward and struck
/ the back of his right hand near the wrist.
/ 1t penetrated deeply into the flesh. and
] when It was drawn out small stream of
/ blood followed. kTebs was a man Of
/ strong vitality, and loo j upon the in
! Jury in the light of a p scratch. and did
/ not pay any attention TO the wound, not
| even by bandaging it. He wore a blue
/ shirt, and while swinging the sedge the
| shirt sleeve kept the wound irritated
| The eXertiOn caused the sweat to flow,
and, being absorbed into the shirt, the
dyestun came into contact with the wound
and was absorbed into the system.
Although the wound became painful
krebs did not seek the advice of a physi-
clan. Three days after the injury the
hand was swollen to twice its natural
size. was covered with dark red patches,
and was exceedingly sore. The arm was
also greatly swollen, and the muscles OF
the back and chest were puffy and of d
drOpsical character, so that when pressed
by the fingers the indentatiOn remained.
the strong constitution of Krebs kept
him on his feet until the fourth day,
when his health was shattered and his
nervous power exhausted. a physician
pronounced it case Of blood poisoning,
. and gave little hope Of saving Krebs' life.
[ Despite TIE use Of the most powerful
antiseptic remedies the poison kept up its
dread march. The arm was swollen to
such an extent that it seemed as if the
muscles could not stand the strain. The
red, spotted appearance was gradually
extended from the wound upward, and
by the end OF the fourth day had reached
the elbow. The disease spread rapidly,
and krebs gave evidence on the fifth day
that the poison had stamped its impress
on the brain. His eyes were fixed ana
had a vacant stare. His face at times
was flushed, and was accompanied by
delirium. This condition would be fol-
lowed by an ashy hue and a state Of great
exhaustion.
The pain at first was confined to the
right arm. As the Inflammation spread
the pain surface increased and when it
reached the abdominal region Krebs'
whole body was racked by the eXcrucia-
| ting pain that powerful Opiates tailed to
| allay and relief only came when his mind
| gave way, and the insensibility of deliri-
um destroyed all knowledge of his con-
ditiOn. His body, however, gave unmis-
| taxable evidence of terrible physical
agony. SpasmOdic cOntTactiOns of the
muscles Of the neck and chest spread
over the abdomen, though the eXtremI-
ties and the whole body was thrown into
a frightful state of cOntortiOn. Last
Wednesday after passing a night of great
| pain, though he still remained uncOn-
sciOus. he sank into a state of complete
exhaustion. He remained quiet and easy
for some hours, and his friends saw the
first ray OF hope. suddenly he was thrown
into q csnvulsiOn of greater severity tAan
he had yet had. The poison had reached
a vital spot. The struggle of nature to
throw the pestilence from the system was
terrific. but unavailing. The CONFUSION
lasted a few moments only, when, after
giving a short cOnvulsive gasp, Herbs
fell upon his pillow dead.