The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-11-07

served they will be destroyed while still
under the anRsthetlc."
$50 much for the good professor, as to
the operations conducted under such anaes-
thetics as ether, chloroform and morphine.
But how about your experiments with
curare, the Indian arrow poison-the hellish
corah mentioned by Tennyson! Is IL not
true thai the effect Of this agent is to pro-
duce muscular paralysis without in any
way destroying sensation"
THE INDIAN ARROW POISON.
"In the first place." said Horsely, THAT
assertion Is utterly untrue To give you
the briefest Of all examples, this fact will
point out that we have on record in a med
ical Journal an instance of the action OF
curare on the human being. A servant girl
at Noting ham, busting a trophy OF Indian
warfare, ran an arrow point into her arm
and Immediately became unconscious. She
was in a condition OF coma tor several hours
despite every endeavor TO rouse her, and
on partial recovery remained for three
days in "a state of hebetude. She stated
that during the period of absolute collapse
she was utterly unconscious Of all that went
on around her. This should be sufficient
answer to these calumnistors who Willy
us for making Use of curare. But as "A
matter OF fact. we never use curare except
in conjunction with ether, morphia or
cbloroform."
''Why do you use it at allf'
For this reason: II is Of vital import
ance to our power of dealing with the
nervous system that we should obtain &C
curate measurement of vessels in their
normal state. Ordinary an8sthetics. while
destroying sensation, do not affect the re-
iex action of the muscles. For instance, a
man may be SO deeply chloroformed as to
die. yet until and even after death, he may
kick and twitch his limbs IL the muscles be
iritated, 1t is TO annul this reflex action,
which has the effect Of dilating aud con
tradicting the vessels and therefore makes
accurate measurement impossible, that we
employ curare."
Would pain have any effect on these
vesselssn
They would. in all probability, be much
contracted; certainly they would not be
normal
Then may understand, professor. that
If the animal under operation should suffer
pain while thus Paralyzed, the entire object
of experiment for which curare was admin
istered would be vitiatedW
THE ANIMALS NEVER SUFFER-.
Most certainly that is so. Any abnormal
condition might cause complications which
would throw our calculations completely
out"
do animals suffer much when they re-
cover from the effects of these operations 2"
They never recover, and are destroyed
while still deeply .auasthetzed."
There is another experiment, professor,
that has greatly exercised the public mind.
1t is said to extend over several weeks or
months. and consists OF the insertion OF
tubes filled with croton oil deep in the mus
Giles of the animals back, the tubes being
subsequently broken by pressure, and the
irritant oil. permitted to permeate the sys-
tenn until it produces deep Assesses. Surely.
this must cause intense agonyw
This is another example of wiltul ex-
aggeration and perversion Of facts which
are the chosen weapons of Miss Cobbe and
her adherents. No medical man could pre-
tend TO ignore that that very description Of
these Assesses which is quoted with foul
gusto in proof of our inhuman cruelty, in
dictates in itself cold or painless assesses
that wonld cause no more Inconvenience to
patient than a strumous gland The first
effect of croton oil would certainly be pain
full, but the pain, which is that of a sewers
blister, would pass off in few hours.
We are able to minimize IL by
slight injections of morphia; indeed, our
whole endeavor is vital to success, and our
experiments apart from all considerations
of humanity tend to avoid the causing OF
fear, pain or distress tn the subjects of our
operations. Our antagonists, while deter
minedly refusing to recognize this, and con-
tlnuAhy nebplnR on US vie, lying hccu6a-
tions of cruelty and inhumanity, refuse to
verify for themselves the misdeeds that they
attribute to US, and content themselves with
publishing distorted travesties OF official
reports of our experiments.
much opprobrium has been cast on me
for my characterization of Miss Cobbe's
action. But no one considers the provca.
ton have received. For ten years Miss
Cobbe, with her blind, unreasoning, mar
row-minded malice, has carried on this I'M
fair crusade against our body, by means of
constant, willful Justification of evidence,
not in occasional instances only, but in all
cases. This is no mere statement on my
part; it ia susceptible of irrefragible proof
by documentary evidence from Miss Cobbes
own pen and speeches"
THE last question. Mr.. Horsely. In
your licenses you are granted permission for
experimental research on animals with or
without anasthetics. Do you ever perform
any painful operation on a living animal
without the aid Of ansesthsticsp'
Never; neither l nor any of my COL
leagues"
ar