San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-08-10
HANGING AS A REMEDY.
METHODS DESCRIBED BY ONE WHO
is HANGED TWICE A WEEK.
Stretching the Spine to Cure Nervous Dis
eases and Ataxia-The Discovery of the
Benefits of Hangins-One Man Tried to
Do 1t Alone and Lost His Life.

80 you have never heard of the hanging
curel" said well known member of the diplo-
| matte corps to us the other day. you never
beard of it' Really thought every one
knew about the hanging cure" What do
you meanF' we asked in all innocence. Hang
ing is cure, certainly, but one somewhat
| too effective to be recommended to the ordi-
| nary patient" "Nonsensel" was the reply.
Il mean the hanging cure a remedy for
nervous diseases especially, and ataxia."
| mo, | have never heard of it; tell me
what you mean" And thereupon our Wis
itor set forth his explanation of the new
| method of treatment, which is becoming ex-
| ceedingly popular
THE APPARATUS USED.
at is a Russian invention, but it is coming
into vogue chiefly through Or. Charcot, of
the Salpetriere Its secret is this, that in
certain maladies of the nervous system, es-
pecially those which bring about either semi
paralysis or iuapacity to move the limbs
the mischief is due to the fact that your
spinal cord gets 'cr.nkled up, and in order to
| remedy the evil you must stretch your spinal
cord"
THAT is easier said than done; how can
| you stretch a mans spinal cordF
"By hanging him." was the answer, "by
| hanging him in such way as to cause the
whole weight of the body to fall upon the
| spine as a means of strengthening the spinal
marrow It is very simple. am hanged
| regularly twice a week, and the result in my
| case has been quite extraordinary. | do not
suffer from ataXia, but | have very invet-
crate nervous complaint, which has incapaci-
| tated me for active work for some time past.
| am now almost completely well-at least,
| after a course of treatment at some baths in
| France hope to be completely restored to
my former health For years have suffered
many things from many physicians, and all
| that they could do for me was to slightly al
| Ieviate the active irritation that was caused
| by overexcting the nervous system"
But thought hanging was not a remedy
| for that, but for ataXia"
Quite true; and when | went to the Sal
| petriere they were in very grave doubt as to
| whether they would subject me to the treat
meut, as my maIady was at once declared to
| be overexcitement of the nerves. Neverthe-
| less, they strung me up, and | experienced
| very great relief"
Pray tell me how they string you up"
This way" said the gentleman inter.
viewed, producing diagram of the hanging
apparatus by which the patients are suS.
| pended in mid-air for the purpose Of stretch
| ing their spinal cords. One part of this rests
| under the chin, the other under the back of
the head The patient is then hoisted Off his
feet and allowed to hang"
How long do you hang"
AT first not more than one minute After
ward it is possible by practice to extend the
period Of suspension to as much as three or
| four minutes. | have never been able to hang
more than two minutes at a time Four
minutes is the outSide-no one has been known
| to hang longer than that and do not advise
any one to try the experiment. One wretch
who made an involuntary trial hanged him
self in grim earnest. He was alone aud found
he could not lower himself at the righ ....>e
He remained hanging until the spinal cord
snapped and he was found dead
rs it then SO dangerously
Very dangerous if you suspend yourself
without another person in the room. Not at
all dangerous ii YOU are accompanied by
iudicious and trustworthy friend | am
always hanged in the presence of my doctor,
who takes care to lower me as soon as the sus-
pension has lasted two minutes"
DISCOVERED BY ACCIDENT
What is the sensatiOnE
The sensation is not difficult to imagine
If any one takes you by the chin and back of
the neck and tries TO pull your head of, YOU
can form some conception of what your feel.
tngs are when the weight of your body is
hanging upon the spinal column At the end
OF a minute you experience a sensation Of in
tense WEAKNESS, and when you are cut down,
or lowered rather, to your feet YOU feel as If
you had walked to the top Of the Eiifel tower
without resting You are utterly exhausted,
but that soon passes off and you experience
an almost immediate relief When | went to
the Salpetrere | went with young Amer
can who had been for three years helplessly
paralyzed. He was driven to the door and
carried in a chair up the steps into the oper
ating room. He was duly hanged, and be-
fore ! left Paris he was able to walk the
whole way from his hotel to Dr. Charcot's
1t was remarkable cure, and there are many
like it."
"HOw was the treatment found outp
ut was partly by accident. An American
doctor was in the habit Of suspending his pa
tents for the purpose of making a plaster
cast in cases Of curvature of the spine From
this they received great benefit, and his
method was adopted in Russia by doctor Of
the name Of Northumberland One day he
found that patient of his whom he had sus
pended for the purpose Of putting on this
plaster Gust had broken tine cast, 50 that the
benefit which manifestiy resulted from his
treatment could not bo attributed to the
cast. From this he inferred that the i'm
provomeut WAS really due to the suspension
A few experiments sNuu satisfied him that
this was the case, and ha took Go hanging his
patients as q regular method of treatment