Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1889-08-09
HANGING AS A REMEDY.
METHODS DESCRIBED BY ONE WHO
IS HANGED TWICE A WEEK.


Do It Alone and Lost His Life.
$50 you have never heard Of the hanging
curer' said well known member of the diplo-
matte corps to us the other day. "You never
heard Of it, Really thought every one
knew about the hanging cure" what do
you nleanf' we asked in alf'innocence. Hang
ing is a cure certainly, but one somewhat
too effective to be recommended to the ordi-
nary patient" "NonsenseiR was the reply
u mean the hanging cure as 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 Russian invention, but it is coming
into vogue chiefly through Dr. 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 incapacity to move the limbs,
the mischief is due to the fact that your
spinal cord gets 'crinkled up and in order to
remedy the evil you must stretch your spinal
cord
THAT is easier said than done; how can
''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 week, and the result in my
case has been quite extraordinary. do not
suffer from ataxia, but / have a very invet-
crate nervous complaint, which has incapaci-
tated me for active work for some time past.
l 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
leviate the active irritation that was caused
by overexciting the nervous system
''But l thought hanging was not a remedy
for that, but for ataxiaF"
"Quite true; and when l went to the Sal
petriere they were in very grave doubt as to
whether they would subject me to the treat
ment, as my malady was at once declared to !
be overexcitement Of the nerves. Neverthe-
less, they strung me up, and experienced I
very great relief"
pray tell me how they string you up"
This way,n 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 of his 1
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 I
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 /
10 hang longer than that, and do not advise !
any one to try the experiment One wretch
who made an involuntary trial hanged him
elf in grim earnest. He was alone and found
ne could not lower himself at the right time
He remained, hanging until the spinal cord
snapped and he was found dead.n
SIS it then so dangerous2"
Every dangerous if you suspend yourself
without another person in the room. Not at
Ill dangerous if you are accompanied by a
udicious and trustworthy friend l 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 sensationP
I
f any one takes you by the chin and back Of
he neck and tries to pull your head off, you
an form some conception of what your feel
ngs are when the weight Of your body is
langing upon the spinal column. At the end
f a minute you experience a sensation of in
ense WEAKNESS, and when you are cut down,
II lowered rather, to your feet you feel as if
-ou had walked to the top of the Eiffel tower
Without resting. You are utterly exhausted,
ut that soon passes off and you experience
n almost immediate relief. When l went to
he Salpetriere l went with a young Ameri-
an who had been for three years helplessly
aralyzed. He was driven to the door and
arried in chair up the steps into the oper
ting room. He was duly hanged, and be-
ore / left Paris he was able to walk the
rhole way from his hotel to DR.. Charcot's.
t was remarkable cure, and there are many
Ike it."
"How was the treatment found outF'
ut was partly by accident. An American
octor was in the habit of suspending his pa
ents for the purpose Of making a plaster
asst in cases of curvature of the spine. From
ais they received great benefit, and his
lethod was adopted in Russia by doctor Of I
le name of Motchowkoffski One day he
)und that patient of his whom he had sus-
ended for the purpose Of putting on this
laster cast had broken the cast, so that the
enetit which manifestly resulted from his
'eatment could not be attributed to the
lst. From this he inferred that the inn
rovement was really due to the suspension. /
few experiments soon satisfied him that
lis was the case, and he took to hanging his /
ltients as a regular method Of treatment.
r. Charcot, hearing of the results that had
Flowed from DR.. Raymond, who had been
a medical mission TO Russia, conducted a
ries Of experiments in the Salpetriere and
und that the treatment worked marvels 1t
now adopted as a regular method Of treat
ent at the Salpetriere, and nervous patients
I've experienced therefrom the greatest pos
BILE advantage. In no case has any injury
the patients followed its adoption. When
left the Salpetriere took over with me the
mplete set Of suspensory apparatus, and
n now being hanged twice a week regularly
my own rooms. There is no reason why
u should not have an apparatus erected in
Q office of The Pail Mall, in which you can s
reich the spinal cords Of all nervously II
n bla uarsor,e n-palI Mall