Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1889-05-30
SWALLOWED TACKS.
THE BAD RESULT OF A YOUNG
MANS QUEER MANIA.
From Tacks He Took to Swallc wing
Pins. and Had to Have a Wonder
full Operation Performed to Save
His Life.

Charles Raymond, says the New Yorl
correspondent of the Cincinnati En-
quirer, has been familiar figure AROUND
Niblos Garden for many years. Besides
having charge Of the machinery of til,
theater, which has brought him into
personal contact with all the celebrities
of the stage, he has bright intellect
and cheerful disposition. Raymond
did not take kindly to the ordinary in
dulgences that men usual employ
to ruin their health. He did
not use tobacco or drink intox
icating fluids, but he had one
little specially that he heartily enjoyed
1t is perfectly safe TO say that there are
few persons who have been lured into
following his example to get share Of
the Joy that seemed to come to him.
Raymonds method of dissipation OF
relaxation after the trying duties of q
nights performance were over, consisted
| in eating tacks for the amusement OF
| his friends. There was no legerdemain
about it, either. He would swallow q
handful of tacks with as much greed as
love sick maiden would candy. He
found out that he could swallow tacks
while working at laying carpets when a
young man. Professional carpet-layers
always carry the tacks in their mouths
when at work, and Raymond found that
once in while tack would slip down
his throat He was alarmed at first,
but finding that he was not much in
jured by the tacks, the idea struck him
that he had discovered a good way Of
having fun at the expense of his friends,
and he has been at it ever since. He
has swallowed several kegs of lacks in
his day, aud the only bad feature notice.
able was that his appetite always APP
peared TO be on the increase. The ex-
PLANTATION of the phenomenon is a simple
one. Raymond has not a copper-lned
stomach, as has often been suggested TO
him, but he has a strong stomach. into
which there flows an unusual amount of
powerful gastric juice, which dissolyes
the iron.
Raymond became ambitious. Tacks
we're not good enough for him, and he
got tired of taking them. He wanted a
change of diet, and he made it without
consulting a physician. He made a
mistake, like many others who will not
leave well enough alone, and he is now
sitting up in cot in the New York
Hospital, artistically done up in beauti-
full white bandages. He swallowed n
dose of pins to please his admirers, but
he never sought their admiration again
in the same way One dose was enough.
1t is not known exactly how many he
took, but his confidence in his digestive
apparatus led him 10 attempt 10 give q
few points to the ostrich. The theory
was magnificent, but the gastric juice
did not have any fancy for brass, and
each individual pin made a dive for
liberty on its own hook.
Raymond began to suffer in few
hours, and was taken to the hospital.
Dr. Wheeler took charge of the case.
The patient was kept perfectly quiet
with opiates to give nature chance to
get rid of foreign bodies by inclosing
them in cyst, but this solution, if the
difficulty did not appear. The patient
became pale, thin and delirious. A
swelling appeared in the region Of the
umbilicus after several days, and this
increased until the skin broke and dis
charged fibres Of the omental tissue,
farces and pus. There was no time for
further delay, as the developments prov
ed conclusively that the contract was
too large for nature and assistance must
be given.
The patient being thoroughly nnms-
thetized, an incision was made in the
abdomen in the medium line from the
umbilicus nearly to the pelvis, so that
all the abdominal spaces could be reach
ed without much trouble. The peri /
toneum was very vascular aud much |
valuable time was lost in checking the
hemorThage Mt this point
A number of pins were found in the |
lower part of the abdomen, where they 4
had dropped after coming through the /
opening that had been made in the small 1
intestine by an abscess. Several other /
pins protruded through the membrane,
and were held by the head. These were
pulled out.
The surgeon was in doubt as to what |
course he should pursue, but finally
made small opening into the intestine
near the stomach, through which small /
rubber tube was inserted. The bowl
was tied above aud below this point, and
warm water was gently forced through
Tic tuDc. -A5 SUM 10 hil6 pressure us
tended the bowl fine streams, little
miniature fountains, burst forth, and a
careful count showed that there were
sixty three perforations in the intestine
in a length Of thirty inches. The
artery and its branches lead
ing to this portion of the intestine were
heatured with silk passed around them
with an aneurism needle.
The intestine was then cut with scis-
sors in two places thirty-two inches
apart, and all the broken down intest-
ines were removed. The upper point Of
severance was close to the stomach, and
through this opening the stomach was
explored, and several pins
were taken out shat had fastened ON the
lining membrane. All the pins had
reached the stomach, none having lodged
in the oesophagus. None of the pins
could be detected in the lower part of
the bowel, and the canal appeared to be
intact. Being satisfied that there were
no more perfomtions, the divided ends
NJ the bowel we're b1nf1crht to0afhar and