The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1889-08-21
The New Elixir OF Life.

The New Elixir OF Life.
Or. William 4 Hammond, the retired
surgeon general Of the United States Ar
my, who IS making investigations Of his
own in the line os Or. Brown-seqaar,i's
experiments with the latest elixir Of life,
had just the sort Of suhject which be de-
sired. lie hal cone TO Dr. Hammoud in
Washington IN quest Of a cure for his in
iirmities. He was IS years old, had been
incessantly engaged in mercantile pur-
suits al his life and was generally run
down and decrepit. TIE doctors first
subject was go years old, and had per
formed manual as vel as mental labor.
The results in his ease had surprised the
doubling physician; he likes to prove
everything, IS every scientific man does +;
his investigations with man generally
broken down, therefore. would, IL they
we're satisfactory, be more significant
than the others The usual injection Of
elixir vas made under the skin OF the
rightaFm not long after eighfoelock this
evening. Doctor and patient viii have
20 wait until morning to see what the ef-
feet Is.
asked Dr. Hammond tonight to ex-
plain to NE IN detailed and accurate,
and, yet a popular way, just how he had
treated the first subject. So many absurd
accounts had been circulated that moth
ing could really be known about his ex-
act method He dictated this, the first
authorized statement yet made with re
gard to his experiments
when the first accounts of the elixir
Of life we're received in this eountry I
was very much disposed 70 doubt the ef
iiraey OF ang soeh means, because 4s
read the matter Or. Brown-Seguard used
the iaices Of various glands, such as the
liver, the spleen, the pancreas, etc, but
when got the fall details IN the French
Aedlcal Journal, I found that his expert
ments were restricted to the use Of the
inspissated Juice Of the provocative glands
Of guinea pigs and rabbits. and I think
in one case OF q dog. at once inferred
that the reason why the guinea pig and
the rabbit had been used was because
they had been handy in the doctors LAB
oFatory-
Il thought saw an objection to usirg
the procreaiive gland Of a gninea pig or
q dog that the one remarkable thing
about the guinea pig was that it is tinid.
and that the dog IS carnigerous and not
edible I at once concluded that the cor
responding glands in the sheep we're far
preferable for such experiments a. 1 de-
signed TO perform. therefore procured
the proereative glands Of a sheep. cut
them in small bits, ground them in a
mortar, mixed the mass with a small
quantity Of water and then filtered the
mixture through pure swedish filtering
paper. the puTest Of all that Is maize l
thus obtained a clear opalescent fluid
Il injected thirty minims Of this into
the arm Of a man little over sixty years
Of age, having previously injected i 1iau-
tity Of It under my own skin simply to
show that it was nothing injurious It is
rule OF mine to perform all Of my own
experiments upon myself first Dr.
Hammond turned up the sleeve Of his
black alpaca coat and the wrisfbluI Of
his buff c6lored flannel shirt b show
that there was no marx, even where the
iniectio n Vi been maae.
@WeI, = he continued, Il put this hlid
under the skin Of this old man. lie re-
ceived the injection about 5 O'Clock in
the evening. No III consequences en-
sued. lie said the next day that he had
become free from a rheumatic pain That
he had had in his Ieft arm for over
year. He had been unable to bntiou his
shirt collar Or to use his arm freely many
way, even to scratch the bAek OF his heal
or TO stroke his back hair. During the
day be recovered the free use of that
arm
%Did j. stag cured, I asked Yes
the doctor replied, at stayed cureI
saw him not an hour ago. Tie has had
three injections all together. He tells me
that his power for work has been rnuch
increased, and his labor isof sreh a char
ac.er as to require the use Of the mimi as
well as the body. He adds that he has
noticed buoyaHcy Of spirits that he has
not enjoyed for fifteen years. and that he
has recovered certain functions that Re
had supposed he lost fifteen years before.
His vitality ne Vas sure had Increased in
every respect.
knowing 30 we'll Dr. Hammond
went on, @that the principle of sus-es-
tiou IS sueh a powerful influence With al .
most all persons, / hesitate1 to give an
unqualified acceptance % what appeared +
to be the outcome Of the experiments. It Z.
number Of observations b'sflre
I can accept the resalns AZ absolutely re-
liable, and an now about 70 extend the
very considerably
How about your ogr injection ~ +
asked @Has it brleed you Up percepr-
blv p
II can't say 50 have thought that I
have felt livelier all day, but Of course,
there is no telling whether took enough
to have any effect or not
The Doetor expressed graat satisfaction