The Forrest City times., 1891-01-30
UNIQUE SURGICAL SCIEN
Severed Fingers kuit ts ths Hand Through .
 Neat Process


 While the press dispatches are every day telling of the wonderful doinrs Of physicians and surgeons. 1t seems not aniss to give an account of n minor surg ical operation that was recently performed in San Francisco, which in its very success turns topsy-turvy all the preconceived notions of the limits Of surg cal science.
 The subject of the operation is James F. Shean, foreman of the lith- osraphins department of the Bosqui Engraving and Printing Company. To reporter ot the San Francisco Chron- icle he related the remarkable facts:
 You see that big cutter over there" pointing to large paper cut ter with spring blade. Well. it was about two months or more ago that l got the second and third fingers oi my left hand under that knife along with several sheets Of paper. Some oue spoke to me justas l was about to bring down the blade. l turned. ab- sent-mindedly leaving my finger under the blade. With my right hand l pushed down the lever. 1 felt sud den pain. and looking around l saw the ends of my fingers lying on the paper had just cut. They were chop ped of as neatly as the paper itselI just In front of the first joint. The boys bandaged up my hand. wrapped up the severed fingers in a piece oi paper foe me. and l started over to Dr. Blake's office, which is fully | mile from here. It WIS about three quarters of an hour after the accident when reached the doctor
 ''l told him l wunted tue end of my dlgits sewed on again. He laughed ut my ignorancs of surgery. aud al first pos lively refused to annex them. | He said the only thing to do was to take the bone out at the first joint and make stamps ot the two fingers. and he warned me that l would ee lucky fl the stumps healed up all rigat and gave nc no further trouble. l was ir an obstinate humor just then had considerable pain, aud it made me jus, cranky enough 10 have my own way. whether or not Dr. Blake and l are old friends, and have known each other for some time. We had never quarreied before that nor since. told hin thea, though, aud in no gentle toues, that if he didn't want to sew the fingers on would go to some othe, doctor who would do for me W hat wanted.
 When he saw that l was dead sci on Il he consented. He bathed the haad and the several fingers in hot water, and then carefully stitched them together. You see that hand, aow' Tell me where the fingers were joined. and I'll treat"
 After examining the fingers very closely the reporter was forced tc admit that no marks of the ligatures remained Comparing the finger. with those Of the right hand no d itfer- once could be seen. save in the finger nails. which. on the fingers that were severed, are bettor formed and oi a pink. fresh appearance.
 Those are tho third aiis that have grown on those fingers since the operation. The first died and fell eff. The recond were soft and finally Game sa. These nails have been on aow i"r month aud are ss hard aud sound as any on my hsnda am not sorry now that l was obstinate the day w nc "a went 10 Dr. Blaxes office If he had had his way l would have had a couple of stumps nov instead of those two good. useful fingers"