The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1893-12-14

A Lady Placed Under an Operators
Control and a Finger Amputated.
There are many so-calleed scientific
men who scout at the idea Of there be-
ing anything In hypnotlsm, and when
Drs. Funkhouser, Mulhall, Heating,
Bauduy, Steinmetz, Brokaw and others
opened up discussion before the Medi-
cal Society about two years ago on hyp-
notism as terapeutic aid, they were
practically driven from tho field by the
SCOTS and jibes OF the hard-shen mem
.bers of their profession. Yet that did
not deter them from going right on in
the use of the art, or gift, In their daily
practice. DIR. MulhaIl told the medical
society of how, by the use of hypnot-
ism, he was enabled to perform deli
cate and hideously painful operation in
a young lady's throat. DIR. FunkhOuser
related some experiments with a sus-
ceptible subject conducted in his own
parlor before q scientific audience that
were as remarkable as any of the de-
monstrations made In the hospitals of
Paris, Nancy or Leipslc. DIR. Heating
Bauduy had cured an epileptic who
daily had fits at about the same hour
for years, by throwing him into a hyp-
motto state every day for an hour before
and after the usual time of the vista
ton. DIR. SteinmetZ frequently brought
hypnotism to his aid In his City Dis
pensary practice. DIR. Brol1aw, Jr., one
day stepped off an Olive street car and
ministered to young man who had
been run over by the preceding car, re-
ducing him to Inconsistencies while
he performed the preliminary surgery
necessary, previous to removal to the
hospitals.
Doctors who use this force will not
talk about it. It may not be forbidden
by the code of ethics, but there is so
much of hypnotic fraud extant that the
professional man who can WELD the
power declines to discuss it out Of sheer
WEAKNESS and recognition Of the
hopelessness Of convincing the average
man of anything that he does not act
ually understand.
There was an interesting case Of hyp-
notism brought to the aid of a surgeon
at the residence Of Mrs. Emma La
Boule, who lives near Tower Grove
AAC4C ID So0Ass uOStOAs CL'
John by name, living at Windsor
Springs, ST. Louis County. at the re-
treat of the Redemptorist Fathers. He
is a Frenchman, recently from Paris,
and speaks English poorly. His fame
as a surgeon and his ability to use hyp-
notism in lieu of anaesthetics in his
practice had reached the La Boute
family Miss La Boute was so unfortu-
nate several days ago as to run sew
ing-machine needle through a finger.
Blood poisoning set in, and it became
necessary to amputate the member to
save the arm OR perhaps the life. The
/ lady is affected with heart trouble that
would render the administration of an
| anaesthetic dangerous. DR.. st. John
was called in, and he got the consent
of the lady to put her in a hypnotic
condition previous to the operation.
Several witnesses, including the family
physician, were present. 1t took thir-
ty-five minutes steady staring into the
lady's eyes on the part Of the doctor to
reduce the lady to proper state of IN
consciousness and the amputation was
then performed. During the twelve
minutes required to remove and band,
age the finger the lady gave no sign OF
| suffering, and when awakened declared
| that she had not felt the slightest sen,
| sation. In fact, she did not know that
| the operation had been completed until
| she gazed at her bandaged hand.