San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-12-17
Is DEATH PAINLESS?
WHAT PHYSICIANS GIVE As THE
RESULT OF OBSERVATIONS.

RESULT OF OBSERVATIONS.
They Agree That Death. rs . General Rule.
L. Painless-The Appearance of Physical
Suffering Moro Seeming Than Real.
Some Cases.
DR.. R. B. Ridley said: 81 think it depends
upon the cause of death. think after pro-
tracted sickness where the strength is ex
hausted, as in long fevers, and the nerve
forces are weakened, death Is painless. Il
think sudden death is painless. I have seen
patients who died, / am satisfied, In PHYSICAL
distress. Just at the moment when death rel
leased the body, believe it is painless
DR.. G. G. Roy said: at is my opinion that
death in the 'articulo mortis is painless, and
my reason for this Is that vitality has sol
waned that there Is not enough nerve forcel
left to produce the sensation Of pain. YOU
win sec death come in this way. A child or
q grown person will stretch himself with his
hands clenched and face distorted as i inl
great agony, and just as soon as death Gomez
there will be a complete relaxation, with per-
feet ealmness and placidity of every feature y
DR.. b. 81. Orme: 81 Is death painless
Certsiniy-as sleep Is painless Death IL
the extinction of sensibiity, q release from
pain. The experience of persons approach
ing death is different thing, and differs
with the disease, the age and other circum-
stances. The road to death is often rough
and hard, but its asperities are generally
softened in proportion as the end Is near, and
obtunded or paralyzed sensibilities are the
fS IN he ofoo 81 pafo eto
ness that suffering and apprehension are the
CHARACTERIZATION and indifference usually
following toward the close. The idea of
rattle is due to paralysis"
EDr. W. c. Jernigan said: at is owing very
much to the cause Of death. Some cases an
evidently painful, but think the great ma
jority are painless. I remember the case of
one prominent merchant who had congestion
Of the bowels. He felt no pain, and half
hour before his death it was difficult to con-
vince him that he was dying. He laughed at
the idea, and he sat up tn bed and signed his
will In as legible characters as be ever made,
writing q beautiful hand.
IL have seen cases Of death by violence
that were apparently very painful, but 1
doubt very much whether those persons suf-
fered any very great pain at the time. The
appearance Of suffering ismore in the nature
of reflex action than the result of pain. I
think you may say that In the great majority
of cases death is painless. am speaking in
reference to the article Of death, the act DE
pain. In cases Of hemorrhage there is no
dying In sudden death think there is no
pain; it is more tired feeling than anything
else. The death of consumptives, as IA
ordinary thing, is comparatively painless
They really seem to welcome death. Death
from any exhausting disease is more a tired
feeling than one Of pain"
DR.. W. d. Bizzell said: 81 have seen men
die from almost everything, and I think the
most shocking death Is that in a malignant
case of yellow fever. The man seems abso-
lutely Indifferent to his terrible condition,
and lies there, seeing the black vomit and re-
alizing what it means, seeming to be in his
senses and answering questions inrelligently,
but apparently not caring at all
"The pain or painlessness Of death is @
question that engaged my attention good
deal In my earlier practice. remember
going through a hospital with a professor
when was a student We came upon a Door
fellow who was in the last agony of death
from consumption. The professor, who was
once thought to have consumption and after
ward died Of lung trouble, seemed to have
special interest In the case, and remarked to
the students, We'll, gentlemen, death has its
terrors to most menas long as it remains at
a distance, and we rarely have the privilege
of choosing the route by which we shall Jour
ney to meet it. Here you see man who is
travelling, in my opinion, as easy route as a
man can go. With his senses about him, the
passage from life into death is SO easy that
there is scarcely a Jar to shake his nervous
system The poor fellow looked up and said |
Well, doctor, when you get where am you
won't think so.'
"In few cases that can recall death
seemed to have terror for its victims, who
would call to the physician, Doctor, don't let
me die-for Gods sake, dontr Fortunately
such cases are rare, and, whether saint or
sinner, a man usually sinks, as it were. into
slumber, sort Of dreamy unrest, and so
passes away into death, confirming almost
the ancient doctrine that death and sleep are
twins.
There is a strange thing about death A
cElG.SEss tsSS-most intense horror % death.