The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-12-19
BATTLING WITHDIATH.
Blaine Once More Fends Off
the Grim Reaper:
THE STRUGGLE IS NEARLY OVER
A Relapse on Sunday Morning Nearly
Extinguished the Vital Spark.
The Family In Tears Around Els Bed
side Watch the Sufferers Ps1e Face
While the Doctors Count Hss Pulse
Beats,

Beats.
WASHINGTON CITY. Dec la-ispecsal. THE
death watch has been set and the greEs states
man, James G. Blaine, the man has twice been
premier and once the candidate of his sarty for
the presidency, may be dead before the sun
rises again. He is suffering, a. has beesa known
for weeks past, from complication: of dis
eases, diabetes or Brights disease General
nervous prostration and pleurisy confined are
the prime causes OF his present conditisn. just
why the truth has been so persistently denied
by his son cannot be understood. He has per.
eistently msled the Press Association.
and has knowingly misrepresentsd the
condition OF his father. Even a. late
as o'clock today he represented
that there was a slight improvement, ;iotwith-
standing the fact that he had a sewers attack
this morning with cataleptic symptons. EARLY
this morning his vitality was SO low THAT those
around him feared that he was even then about
to pass away. Later he had q hemorrl5age, and
the attendants by his bedside have beea dread
ing second hemorrhage that would prove ia.
tai termination of the long illness.
During the early part of the day there were a
number of prominent callers at the house to in
quire as to NJ Biaine's condition. A Few were
admitted, but others were told by the Butler at
the door that Mr.. Blaine was n about
the same condition Throughout the day
there has b.en the usual VIBRATIONS
of the death struggle At times
he has been bright and has been able to garry on
an Intelligent conversation with those about
him, but theae moments of consciousness are
soon followed by depressons which cFrry him
nearer each time to the brink OF ths grave.
The rapid disntegration of the organie tissues
due to the ravages of the kidney disease,
nd Ill =.
integration is likely to result at any mor1ent in
uremic poisoning. coma and death.
DECEMBER 19.-1 a. m.-fSpecial. l-Ths Blaine
house is closed up. The physicians haze gone
home, and it is announced that the pstient ia
very much easier than he has been dursng the
past twenty-four hours. The immediatS crisis
seems to have passed and it is now believed he
may live some hours, possibly days, but as one
OF the physicians said: "There is no nope OF
his recovery"
WASHINGTON CITY. Dec. 16-All day f5ng the
life of James G. Blaine hung trembling in the
balance. For more than an hour in tee fore
noon hope was abandoned and the end was
momentarily expected by the physcia,ls, the
family and his friends. All stimulation was
thrown aside in the apparent imminess pres.
ence Of death, and the suppressed factk of his
illness long denied were now admitted. There
were occasional intervals of dsliriun5. long
hours when he lay incapable of speech;or mo-
tion, a. is now said was the case when CARDINAL
Gibbons paid him q recent friendlS call.
His disease has been aggravateai of
late by a cold contracted whils i'm
prudently venturuing out driving tive weeks
ago, and by malarial fever, and confro.sged by
constitution impaired by nearly two years of
continual sickness. All theee things a5s now
tacitiy admitted. His physician asseres there
have not been hemorrhages, as asserted, but
this Is almost the only alarming sympton@which
is now denied.
The irst crisis was reached between lG-and IL
O'Clock this morning, when q sinking sI.ll set
in when the worst was feared The family was
called around the bedside, and the physicians
sent messenger to the nearest drug s:oss with
prescriptions requiring hasty attention. The
distinguished patient lay unconscious, snd to
oil Appearances dying, until shortly btiore
o'clock, when slight rally se3 in.
His pulse. which had almost ceased to beat, be-
came again perceptible and partial conscious-
ness was restored Att o'clock the physSciaus
Drs. w. w. Johnston and Hyatt. considered the
patient so much improved as to render co;,stant
presence at the bed side unnecessary, and: while
there has been no change in Blaine's eonsiition
upon which hopes of ultimate recovery could
be based, the immediate crisis had passed:
At 2:S) O'Clock this afternoon a reporter saw
James G. Blaine. jr, at the family residence
He said his fathers attack this merning
was very bad and had created the
gravest apprehension. His conditiots be-
came weak that it was esared
that in view of his enfeebled condition, q
recurrence must involve the gravest oonse-
quences. About S o. clock Senator Hale called.
He said, after he left the house, that blaine
seemed little moro comfortable than career in
the day. but that his condition appearea crit
ical. The statement was authoritatively made
at p. N. that nothing in the nature of a relapse
hna hi Ia Irov<
Baines condition is but slight and nos SUM-
cient to afford any great amount of encourage
ment to his family and friends. the resction
seemed to modify the feeling OF apprehes sion
for the immediate future. Or. Hyatt ss3d he
thought there was no doubt that Blaine -ouId
live through the night but at the same tir5e he
is undoubtedly critically i'll. Any comaslica-
tions that may arise would doubtless csnse
fatal termination oil the illness
little later James G. Blaine, jr., said teS re.
porter:
We think that father IL considerably ss.ter
than. this morning. His physic ans have been
here this evening, ana we now think ha will
live through the night, and We hops fer the
best Still IL must be said he Is very dan gersusy
Ill.
President Harrison, accompanied by P4vate
Secretary Halford, this evening personally in
quired as to Mr.. Blaine's condition, ans. ex-
nent of the moro alarming symptoms. Eecite-
ment throughout this city was in;enae as the
news of Blaine's condition spread throues the
Sunday newspapers. which issued extras which
found rapid sale.
From intimate friends OF the family It was
learned that it Was only when Blaine was sud
penly seized with q sinking spell this mosaug
which threatened for some minutes to term snate
In heart failure that the family fully reazized
how near he was to death For a few seconds
he seemed 20 be in extremis and the watchers
ben. anxiously over him. The ernaciatei face
OF the dying statesman was white as raatble and
bis features were sadly drawn. At timss he
scarcely seemed to breathe, q: Others gsspe- for
breath. His physicians, who had been hs4tily
summoned, piled him With stmuiants and
cordials, and trained nurses cha.ed his exirsni-
ties, and it was only alter working over the
patient for upwards of thirty minutes ans the
application of every art known 10 the meeical
profession that Mr.. Blaine slowly revived. ;Bat
the battle with death found him eItye:aey
weak weaker than st any time when suae-ing
q relapse
Blaine was too weak even TO whisper and
made no sign OF recognition. The family gath
cred around the bedside all in tears. except AIRS
Blaine She maintained outward coripesu.e
Throughout: the trying scene, and calmly save
such directions to the attendants as were ueces-
sary. Her viii power was. IN fact, hea.tbsask-
ing. and Is described as something pathetic and
marvellous.
At $40 o'clock tonight q reporter had az: in
teryiew with M. Blsine's attending hysicEAns.
u