The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-10-27
HOSPITAL SUPERSTlTIONS.
BellcVue'S Famous BLACK Bottle" and
What Some Thiak Of 1t.
There Are Fatal Beds" Too-Ignorant
Founders" Often Spread Silly and
Troublesome Stories.
From the New York Press.

From the New York Press.
No one can be an inmate Of Bellevue
Hospital for any length of time without
hearing of the famous "black bottle" The
superstition connected with it is very
grewsome; yet it is believed in implicitly
by many of the patients. Briefly told it
is as follows:
The opinion is prevalent among the poor
that Bellevue Hospital is a school of ex-
pertinent for the instruction of young sur
geons and physicians, and that only cases
of peculiar novelty and interest are want
ed there. If a patient happens to be a good
subject for the operating table, or a elm
ical lecture, he. or she, is welcome to all
that the institution affords; otherwise,
the sooner the poor creature makes room
for a more interesting patient the better
Nor are the physicians and nurses sup
posed to entertain any scruples of con-
science as to the means employed in af-
fecting such removals. In case of linger-
ing sickness, where there is no hope of an
ultimate recovery, they are supposed to
hasten the end by administering fatal
dose out of the mysterious black bottle"
After taking it the patient falls asleep
never to awaken.
This superstition originated from the
fact that morphine and other drugs of a
poisonous nature used in the hospital are
always kept in bottles of a particularly
suspicious appearance. They are made OF
dark blue glass, with a corrugated sur
face, and are not distinguished by fam
ing red labels on which is printed the
emblem of a skull and cross bones, fianked
by the word poison" Now it frequently
happens that morphine is administered
to those who are dying of painful diseases
in order to mitigate their sufferings, but
the ignorant patients around do not I'M
derstand this. They see the nurses take
the dreaded BLACK bottle" from the medi-
cine chest, measure out a. portion of it's
contents in a glass and give it to their
comrade to drink. Then they shake their
heads ominously and whisper to one an
other in frightened tones.
"They are giving him the black bot
tie Poor fellow, they are tired of him.
He's been occupying wanted room, but
he'll be on his way to the morgue soon
enough now"
When the sick man dies, the other pa
ticnts do not attribute his death to nat
ural causes, but to the mysterious poison
contained in the black bottle" No
amount of reasoning could convince them
otherwise. Once a nurse tried to argue an
old patient out of the superstition, but
he maintained his belief in it as ebsti-
nately as ever, and answered.
Don't tell mel I'll believe my own eyes
sooner than what other folks say. If
there isn't death in the black bottle why
is it marked with a skull and crossbones?
And why is poison printed on it, tell me
that?
1t is needless to say that the bottles con-
tanning poisonous drugs are so labeled to
insure the safety of the patients. The cor
rugated surface is a further precaution-
airy measure; for no one could be mista-
ken, even in the dark, as to what such a
vial contained. The sense of the touch
would warn the nurse where that of sight
might fail. In Bellevue hospital the
greatest care is exercised over poisonous
drugs They are kept under lock and key
in a strong closet specially prepared for
them in the pharmacy, and the door is
furnished with an automatic arrange
ment that rings an electric bell whenever
it is opened.
The BLACK bottle" superstition is by no
means the only one associated with hos
pitfalls. There are certain beds in almost
every hospital that are considered I'M
lucky. The old hospital FOUNDERS" know
them and are probably responsible for
keeping alive the superstition concerning
them a hospital rounder" is a person
who makes caplIal out OF a chronic all
ment lie makes the rounds Of the hos
pitfalls in precisely the same way that the
habitual vasrant makes the rounds Of the
police station lodging houses. He is pref
IS well posted on the affairs Of the insti-
buttons that have harbored him. and
takes particular pains to tmpart his In
formation to the other patients lie
treasures In his memory every grewsome
detail that comes to his notice and that
may serve to embellsh his stories. II a
new patient happens to be brought to the
ward Of which he Is an inmate, and laid
on the cot that is supposed to be unlucky
he takes advantage Of the first opportuni-
ty TO steal to his side and whisper: Get
them TO move you outer that bed as
soon as yer can Ye're courtin' death 20
lie there. Five have died IN II the past
fortnight"
Such an announcement canot fail to in
spire the newcomer with terror especially
II he Is not educated above the belief IN
supcrstitions, yet, n the ward r. full he
IS compelled 10 occupy the unlucky cot.
prey to the most gloomy forebodings. The
unlucky bed is always that IN which the
greatest number Of deaths have occurred,
and there Ia generally one in each ward
that can claim such a distinction.
ft is congidered an evil omen 70 have
anything 70 do with q barber, or with