Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1893-04-05
a Remarkable Case.

The sad case of Ruby Perkins, the
ei ght-year-old girl in B%ridgewater
whose scalp was torn off last Tuesday,
is of such a peculiar nature as TO at
tract wide attention. There are few
sech cases recorded.
On Tuesday afternoon, she, with
some young companions, was at play,
snowballing, near her fathers stretcher
mill IN Daley Hollow (Bridgewater),
when she ran under the mill to escape
the snowballs pelted at her. Her hair
was in two braids, one on top and the
other at the back of her head, and
these, ned together, hung down her
back. AS she came under a swiftly
revolving shaft, her hair caught on a
set-screw, or other projection, and
wound up instantly with such force as
to throw her over the shaft, when the
weight Of her body wreuched the scalp
off from her skull, leaving the bare
bone exposed TO view. The child fell
to the ground, while the dismembered
part was left whirling on the shaft.
She was imm di At ely Carl ,d to L Q
house, a quarter of a mile dist mt, by
he br ,ther. DIR. Boyden was sum-
moued and found the scalp entirely
gone, from the eyebrows in front over
to the back of the neck below the base
of the skull, and so low on the right
side as to remove the ear entirely,
while the left side was torn across Just
above the ear. The skin slipped down
from the nose so that it fell on the up
per lip and had to be held in place by
adhesive strips. 1t would have been
vain to replace the scalp, as all connec-
ton had been so severed as to render
union impossible. Furthermore, the
membranous covering of the skull, call
ed the periosteum, furnishes life and
nutriment to the outer table of the skull
bone. and much of this Is removed
with the scalp.
In this condition she laid last week,
suffering very little pain, taking about
the usual amount of food, sleeping well.
and in a comparatively comfortable
state of mind, perfectly cons cious.
She does not know how badly she is
injured,o or thai her hair is one for on
Saturday she asked Tor a hand glass TO
see how she looked, and on being gen.
tly turned from her purpose, remarked
to her sister hat she would have a
good job untangling her hair when she
got up. The first of the week she
seemed worse in some respects, and
suffered from pains in the head. On
Tuesday, however, the doctor fom d
her ieenng much better, and amusing
herself with her dolls.
During one Of DIR. Boyden's daily Wis
its he tested the sensitiveness Of the
skull by tapping repeatedly on it with
his finger, al first gently and then quite
forcibly, but the patient felt no pain,
and did not notice what he was doing.
The absence Of excessive suffering is
due to the fact that the nerves were
all removed from the top of the head,
so that there is positively nothing to
ache. and there can be no more pain
than would result from a flesh wound
equal in extent to the torn edges Of the
wound. Thus the injury which seems
50 terrible to look upon is, in the ac-
iual experience OF the patient, much
less painful than Others which seem
less cruel.
DIR. O. W. Sherwin Of Woodstock.
4 surgeon oflong and varied experience,
who was called 10 council over the case.
lays that he never personally knew of
me similar, or 50 distressing in appear
.nce. 1t is much talked of 10 this and
leighboring Woodstock Stan