Daily Yellowstone journal., 1890-02-06
STRANSs. ACCIDENTS.
Killed by u Woman's Embrace L'>4,,s
with Ills Head Cut In Half

with His Head Cut Ia Half
A remarkable accident is one reported by
d.. Eaton. of New York, who tells of
woman oWIhlacilgn a man wish fatal effect.
She had the pernic.ous habit so common
among women Of sticking pins and nrSies in
the bosom of her ,iress, and ON this occasion
she had common sewing needle stuck there.
The embrace was a CLOSE one, and the needle
penetrated the mans clothing and flesh,
reaching his heart AMI killing him instantly.
The same physical relnrts case in his own
practice which probablr has no parallel,
When he was practicing in Mobile. Ala,
he was callel 10 attend II man who had fallen
under circular saw in a mill, and found his
patient with his head literally sawn one-han
through, from the top down TO each temple
One eye was destroyed, but the other was
not harmed He supposed, as a matter ~
course, that the man would die directly, but
was astonished to find that he was getting
well. For eight days he convalesced, and ate,
drank and slept as usual. A surgeon was
called in consultation, and he proposed to
stitch up the open wound. Dr. Eaton op
posed the proposition, saying that If such q
thing should be done the pus forming inside
the head could not escape, and the man would
die at once. On the ninth day, however, the
surgeon sewed up the gap aud the man
promptly died
A similar case 10 this came under my OWE
notice about dozen years ago was sen;
by one OF the New York dailies To "A city ip
New Jersey-EliEabeth. think to report .
strange accident, and found that a boy less
than Il years old had fallen squarely against
circular saw in such a way that his head
had been cut almost In two. The cut ex-
tended from between his eyes TO the back of
his neck. He picked himself up and walked
unaided 10 drug store, where be complained
that he had a bad headache. Thence he
walked home alone, nobody then realizing
how badly he was burt. He was taken to
q hospital and lived for week was un-
able To get any further history Of the case,
for the hospital was n religious, not civic
institution, and ! was refused access TO the
records. ! remember distinctly being sur
prised to learn that no less than three men
were then living In that city in good bodily
health, with bullets in their brains Since
chen have learned OF number OF similar
CASES
out VI hbt uiicl 'tllibl VI lIt~f " ~
that of young man in Texas, who when
mere boy had a large portion OF his skull
over one of his temples blown of by the dis
charge Of a gun. About two tablespoonfuls
of brain matter we're spilled out and lost, yet
he recovered and became quite brilliant
scholar afterward Very few cases are
known, it is true, which show such wonder.
full vitality, but there are enough of them
recorded tO make 1t seem almost an impossi-
bility To destroy human life instead Of being,
a II sometimes l., one Of the easiest things in
the world To DO The two cases that have
just come to notice prominently, through the
newspapers, Of persons surviving the break.
Ing Of the neck, are not unprecedented, for
DIR. Ernest Mcneil, of New York, had
case of the kind in his practice more than
dozen years ago, and accomplished a com.
plete cure.
Sometimes desperate efforts at murder or
suicide fail 10y reason Of extraordinary vital
ity. Such "A case was that Of Thomas Ham
Ion, one Of the Eanlon brothers who were
famous gymnasts some years ago. In one Of
his perforyances be fell from his trapeze and
injured his lead SO badly that he became q
violent maniac. IT was found necessary %
put him in hospital and confine him in
padded cell, for he struggled violently to kill
himself " was thought that he could not hurt
himself in the cell, but after he had been left
there over night he was found nearly dead
and still trying TO kill himself in the morn
ing He had managed to strip the padding
from a portion Of the floor, and had discov-
cred an iron nut placed there to hold bolt in
position. 1t projected slightly from the
planking, and be had spent the night In leap
ing up and dashing himself, head downward,
on the nut From the frightful condition OF
the top Of his head it vas estimated that he
had done this not les than sixty times, and
he sas doing il again when discovered ano
overpowered by the hospital attendants.
Even more remarkable than his was th,
resolution displayed by Louis Lngg, the Chi.
cago anarchist, for Lingg was not, so far as
known, lunatic. He procured small dy-
Mantle bomb in some way while in prison,
and rather than die on the scaffold he put II
in bis mouth, and In some manner-it Is sup
posed by chewing on it-be managed to ex-
plode il and blow his head to fragments.
A very curious case Of death was reported
on Staten Island few years ago in which
man died Of hydrophobia caused by the bite
Of blue fish; but It hardly belongs in this
list since IL was not a murder. but q death
by natural disease. Neutral diseases, how
ever have often been used as the means of
murder by willfull spreading Of contagion.
1t has been many times proposed In times of
war 10 adopt this means Of depopulating the
enemy's country, but no civilized nation, at
least in modern times, has been known to
adopt IL.
Whether nationally or contradictorily,
public opinion, while justifying war, refuses
10 sanction the use of unusual methods of
killing. On this ground the German scientist
was severely snubbed when he proposed to
produce chemically such foul vapor that no
living thing within q radius Of some miles
could possibly remain alive. His argument
seemed logical enough. that IL there was TO
BE- war IL should be waged as vigorously as
possible and 50 shortened; but the world re-
fused 10 listen 10 him. Poison, therefore, is
noe included among civilized weapons OF war,
though it is freely employed by a number Of
savage tribes In different parts Of the world.
1t is little difficult to see why wholesale
killing should be done in one way and not in
another, but 80 il is