The daily critic., 1890-10-14
A MAN WITHANEW SKIN
SUDDENLY LOST tbs OLD AND
SLOWLY GREW THE NEW.
4 Man who was skinned alive, but
Nursed Back to Life and Resup-
piled with CuHclo from
Big Frogs.

IND1ANAroL1s, IND. Oct. 14-Wesley
Kellar, "the man who was skinned
alive has returned to work His case
is curious As an illustration Of the
nice powers Of modern surgery 10 will
he talked about from one end Of the
country to the other.
On Wednesday, July 30 Kellar fell
into a steam vat at the Indianapolis We
neer Works He was taken out as
quickly as possible, but he had been
scalded from the soles Of his feet 20 the
middle Of his chest. One arm was all
right, but the other arm was blistered to
the shoulder. Huge blister5 pulled up
all over the mans body, ana the fluid
which had exuded from the flesh to fill
them had been cooked to a Jelly. In
removing his clothes great strips Of the
outside or scarf skin came Off, leaving
exposed the true skin underneath, cooked
until it looked like a parboiled lobster
His toes and ankles were so blistered
and swollen as to lose nearly all resem.
blanCe to human members.
As soon as his fellow. workmen got
Kellar out Of the vat they telephoned
for the Company's surgeon, DIR. Ralph
Perry. There is, perhaps, one chance
in thousand Of saving this man." said
the surgeon when he had looked at the
burns. He set to work, however. aud
creased Kellar from top to toe with a
mixture Of linseed oil and lime water.
Then he swatbed the body in cotton
wadding, from which all possible i'm
purities and disease germs had been re-
moved by chemicals.
For two days and nights the case
hung without loss or gain. A teas
poonful of brandy was given every few
hours. Then a change came. Kelar
seemed to be choking The throat be-
came swollen, but this swelling was
checked. The mans temperature rose
a little. Fever set In. This gave great
hope. The next morning Kellar asked
Tor something TO eat, and actually ate a
piece Of pie and drank some coffee.
The news of this shocked the surgeon
at first; but he said
II guess we'll win this fight, for a
man who can eat pie with no skin on
him has life enough left to grow a new
one"
When suppuration began great care
was taken to let out the pus at every
point. The first dressing took three
hours; the second still longer. Five
days were consumed In taking OIL the
bits Of old skin, four hours each day
being spent with the forceps, scissors
and sCalpel, removing the skin layer by
layer. Not q piece as bic as q dime
was forced. Kellar's pluck was mar.
velous. The raw surfaces were dressed
with an iodoform mixture and band.
aged with soft stufTs.
Meanwhile the swamps of South
Bend were being secured for two.
pound frogs A bushel basket Of these
were cleaned with a gCrmicide mixture
and fed on pure food. The raw sur.
faces OF kellar's body were tenderly
washed with clean warm water. then
with peroxide Of hydrogen, which de-
struys pus. The utmost cleanliness and
wholesomCness was insisted upon Just
before applying the frogskIn the raw
surface was washed with q weak solu,
uon OF corrosive sublimate. Every.
thing ready, the first frog was brought
out. With quick snip Of the scissors
It's spinal cord was severed at the back
OF the neck. Then the loose, peariy
white skin from over the abdomen was
quickly taken out and thrust into a dish
Of water which had been boiled, but
which was now merely warm.
In the water had been dropped a lit
tie of the corrosive sublimate solution.
Being cleansed, the skin was cut up
into bits about tenth Of an inch square
and applied 10 Kellar's body-inslde 10,
outside out. Powdered iOdOfoTm was
busted over the graft, which was sealed
tightly from impurities.
DR.. Perry made gratis on fQrty,two
occasions. Thirty-two operations were
unsatisfactory; ten were satisfactory.
From each Of the ten centres healthy
skin radiaied, until now Kellar Is 'as
good as new"
So kellar has gone 10 work-the only
man In the world who has been boiled
and skinned alive, and who has frog
skin where be once wore his own.