The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-14
clN FEAR KILL A MAN?
GOOD MANY DOCTORS THINK 1T
POSSIBLE.

,rr-SoIdfers Paralyzed by Fear at
~. beginning of n Battle.
p curtis. in the Chicago Record.
washington, d. ca group OF scien-
s,l5iers and statesmen We're gos-
INC III the Cosmos CLUB in this city the
-irbt. when somebody asked a. fam
srrv surgeon. who served Through
wars. and is now upon the retired
.-- vtether it was possible for man to
JARED TO DEATH and they fell into rem
licences Fear has often sought and
-.4.1 the fatal instrument of the sui
- Inf can fright or terror or any otner
-,.r+ emotion stop the beating Of the
t1rau heart!
--r.ra are many WeH-authenlcatei
-- If insanity resultant from sucn
lastS and hat the hair of the head may
gus, ,,ged from black to white within a
- F5,Irs I know from an instance oc-
-,-rire within my own acqualhlahce.
-'- 7tbanv physician of eminence was
~ ~ a month in the Adirondacks not
sl-,- Years ago, and one morning, with
rs wife and guide leIt the n0se In IA
eai5F The wife sat in the middle OF tine
- with her arm carelessly passed
t~5reh a cord attached 10 ths guhMaie,
~ ,be husband sat in the bows with
anu ..1 m his hand Attempting 10 shoot
7--l, hat was soaring over their heads
.f.+ra1. overturned inc canoe lie ana
H l Cd we're drowned. The lady, hang
-e The wrist. seated about upon the
7-er with the canoe al mat Gay ana
~ ,iqbt following, unable either 10 SINK
" .o release herself. When she was res
ol ~ ~ next morning her abundant hair
60 ,',c'1rfcctlv white, although it had been
5fsc55Driful glossy black but tW'enty-tour
hours ,y.,, psi1 n man die of fright
IPu's,rgaon General Moore of the army
Ia. III is entirely possible for man to
~ scared TO death. lie may ne killed py
IN. or bv brief, or by any other intense
y-.sofion -predispOsing that he had weak
6aart or is keenly susceptible 10 external
s,1,ressions / have within my own know
Hedge case of man who dlea from JOY
non the receipt of a message OF great I'M
LStarce He was so affected that he fell
5ead | have known men also TO be tenn
-o~arilv disabled by excessive fear. A
,,an turns pale when he Is frightened.
licences is a sign of a disordered condi-
- If the blood The blood is forced back
mon the heart, and If the vessels OF the
Il heart are weak they burst and death en-
eues Fright or any other strong emo
4 ION might cause apopleXy. / have read OF
a well authenticated case where a man
4 Sied of fear He was the victim of prac-
a tical Joke His tormentors took him into
dark room held mock trial and pre-
4 tended TO sentence him to death. The SEN
4 tence was that he should be bled to death,
s and they pretended to prick ms veins;
Then he was turned over on his side ana
4 made to believe that his blood was trick
4 ling from him. In order to strengthen this
4 deception they dropped water from pot
/ into a pan and the victim, hearing the
4 dripping believed that his blood was leav-
ing his body and died of fright
Representative Henderson of Iowa re-
ports a similar case, which was told him
by his brother as having occurred in
medical college at which the latter was
student in Aberdeen, Scotland. An old
professor was obnoxious TO the students,
and 10 punish him they arranged a prac-
II Entering his nfphf
masked, they bound him and took him to
a carriage, which was driven around for
half an hour TO make him believe that he
was being carried out of the city. Then
4 they took him to a room, where a mock
Z trial was held, and he was sentenced to
death. They prepared an eXecutiOners
block, compelled him TO kneel and place
Y his head upon it and then struck him
across the back of his neck with a damp
CLOTH. The shock produced apoplexy. to
4 the CONSERVATION of the students, who
4 hastily carried his body to his own room
and left il on the floor in such a position
as to lead to the belief that he had fallen
n In fiji when alone.
Dr. john S Billings, curator of the
Fl United States Army Medical Museum,
who is recognized as authority on any sub
Ject he undertakes to discuss, says yes"
with a prOvsO.
NO case has ever come under my per-
S sonal observation, but l know enough of
q the power of mental Impressions upon the
VITAL organs to believe that the numerous
4 INSTANCES tlleu HDy writer's may DC tTuos
mat convulsiOnS or paralysis and even
death from failure of the hearts action
may be caused by strong emotions. We
know that mental shocks can produce a
great increase or decrease in the score
tons. For example, the sudden fright of
nursing mother may produce such
chemical change in the quality of the milk
mat the infant taking it may be poisoned
nave seen cases of commissions in in
4 rants which could only be attributed to
a such causes. The sudden frightening of
a child IN jest has frequently caused fatal
illness and epilectie commissions"
Have you ever known of a soldier be-
ing frightened to death in battle?"
DO you believe such a thing ever oc-
Il do not know it is possible, but
uoh see how man who could be fright
sneu TO death could pass the physical
lesIs necessary to become a soldier"
~ az OF the records of the surgical and
ineqlcaI corps in the late war has any
~ ~ ease peen brought to your attention.
+5oNt 40. But ! will admit it to be possible
80 III certain diseases of the heart
S.ldIH or shock viii stop its action The
iistCist OF walking uD fight of stairs
IhnisAt result fatally. You can readily see
LOW an artery that was ready to break
~otiu, When strain was put upon it
atplure easily. Apoplexy is produced by
br r5'Ul ma pressure upon the arteries of the
=. an. several cases are on record where
- a. Iedr OF surgical operations has pro-
uuceu death. The London Lancet reports
~, Ky CdSe OF colored man of middle age
iiouuSt ana in good health who was labor
ttibs 4haer a moderate-sized aneurism of
~ Iemoral artery An operation was
eaU!o5eq TO him, to which readily as
fiittsu;; Dut upon entering the theater he
-oddite9 ana finally died from fear"
~ 1Hlli such shocks have cured disease as
~ ~ Df: K. 7. Coleman reports a case
~ CHIohlc rheumatism in a soldier who
80 utterly helpless and whose limbs were
r,C ~ w leG. During a battle he was ex-
1891 70 sudden and unexpected danger
talue erect was marvellous and instan-
6ii.'5ous. 1t produced a complete, imme-
IN, ana permanent cure
anro Ie ashington Post of Feb. 7, 1889
wi50oUU.l that Mrs. Sibley, the aged
80 tSW OF the late Gen. Sibley, died of
az ~ ,adnd disappointment upon the refusal
H. C'lsIess TO pay a claim she had against
SHE Nashville Journal of Medicine and
a rES;,ly' 1872, reports a case of one Maze
lir11 ~ " aye IN the confederate army, whose
rba,I,s ldu become so stiffened by acute
lees' '4a ism that he was absolutely help
w. AZ the battle of Cedar Creek Maze
go lung in wagon when a shell burst
We eet from him He jumped from the
raaoo5tt with an agility that would have
stirelsd credit on the soundest limbs, and
rnea ~ az pace that few able bodied
Vas o oould nave kept up with. The cure
l5tIoI Rush mentions an instance of n
fI mar VINO was condemned to be shot, but
orIa IecelVlng his pardon just before the
Oh "dS given to fire, was unable to