St. Paul daily globe., 1892-06-13
ABOUT EXPLOSIONS.
Interesting Discussion of Their
Effect Oh the Nervous System.

Interesting Discussion of Their
Effect Oh the Nervous System.
is an unhappy fact that the dynam-
ite question is the leading one of the
day. In criminal hands this substance
has beencauSing woe ana disaster, but
we now hope that recent legislation will
put an end to this misfortune, which has
reached the rank of an epidemic. 1t is
.my intention, says writer III the Eu-
ropean edition of the New York Herald,
IN the present article to speak of the
effect of this substance. BY this do
not mean it's destructive power, which
islsoiwell known from the accounts of
thenumerous mishaps thatit has already
caused, but of its action Oh the nervous
system, which has been overlooked so
far.
How can we account for the fact that
persons living In or near a house In
which there is dynamite explosion
have been struck almost as If by light-
ming, and that others have lost con-
SciouSneSS or remembrance; that
others, still, have been paralyZed in a
limb or in one side of the body, and that
others, finally, should have lost their
reason for the time being?
In the interesting paper read before
the Societe de BiolOgie de Paris M.
Regnard relates that it is to the eX-
tremely intense vibration produced by
the explosion of dynamite in the atmos-
phere surrounding it, and transmitted
to the nervous centers, that are due the
symptoms that have been noticed
symptoms that are absolutely compare
bic to those that have been already
observed in railroad catastrOhes
and in explosions In mines. He
made some experiments few years
ago which leave no doubt Oh the queS-
ton. He let off cartridge containing
thirty grammes of dynamite in pond
filled with fish. and found that while
the fish near the cartridge were entirely
destroyed, those at greater distance
manifested nothing but signs of Stupor.
The latter Immediately after the eXplO-
sion came to the surface of the water,
belly upward; yet they were not dead,
as the slightest touch was sufficient to
bring them back to life and 10 cause
them to disappear into the depths of
the water.
This phenomenon is very familiar to
pOachers who fish by means of dyna-
mite, and when they have stupefied
their victims by the explosion they take
very much care not to touch them, but
to gather them up by special nets de-
viSed for the purpose. This nervous
stupOr caused by vibrations or by col
llsiOn is not peculiar to dynamite, as
Weir-Mitchell called attention long
time ago to the extraordinary nervous
effect produced by an insignificant
wound from frearm. M. LebOrde, re-
ferring to NJ. Regnard's paper, recalled
the fact that similar phenomena have
been seen in rabbits who have just been
missed by a hunter. In such cases
rabbit has been known to remain mo-
tlonless. as though hypnotized by the
report of the gun, and not to run away
until touched. If now we apply these
facts to the victims of the recent explo-
sion on the Boulevard Magenta in Paris,
the explanation advanced by Nj. Reg
nard is well fitted to account for the
nervous symptoms, fortunately only of
short duration, which appeared in Nine.
Very and her cook. These symptoms
cannot possibly be explained by fright,
since both these women lost conscious
ness from the violence of the shock, and
had not time to realize what had taken
place.