The Coalville times. [volume] (Coalville, Utah) 1894-1923, 1895-07-12

come celebrated IN local Hl'uiN"i
circles. says san Francisco Chronicle.
lie IL Clyde Hess. actor. Less than
year ago In an alcoholic freak he jabbed
the point Of a dagger into his heart.
and yet he lives 10 act In as good " not
better health than ever The Pacific
Medical Journal In lis current issue de-
votes two pages to review Of the case
and the course Of treatment followed
by Dr. Tension Deane. the attending
surgeon. Hess was In the Auditorium
saloon on Powell street about 3 o'clock
on the afternoon Of June last lie
had been drinking quite heavily dur
ing the day. and was much the worse
for wear. Accompanying him were
several well.known theatrical people.
They all lined up to the bar. ordered
drinks. and were talking on the first
subject ut hand when suddenly. With
out word Of warning. Hess drew a
dagger from his pocket and plunged II
into his breast SO quickly was II done
that his companions thought he was
going through mock tragedy for their
amusement. M he staggered across the
floor and against the wall. a moment
later the bloody dagger fell from his
grasp. the warm blood spouted after II.
and the young actor sank Imply TO the
floor. stabbed to the heart
When laid on the operating table at
the receiving hospital It was discoy-
cred that the weapon had penetrated
TO depth Of four aud n half Inches
into the chest. The point Of entrance
was one inch to the left OF the sternum
and over the fourth rib. The point Of
the knife had slipped over the bone
and passed through the fourth inter
costal space and through the wall Of
the let ycntrlcle OF the heart The
wound was Immediately pronounced
fatal.
An antlseptlc dressing was applied
and the patient put to bed. An Ice bag
was placed over the dressing. aud orgot
and conyallarla maJalis we're admlnis-
tered. The heart beat was 100 per min
ute and very Irregular. there being a
distinct murmur NJ the second heart
sound. Hess recovered consciousnesl
the next day. but was very weak from
loss Of blood and the condition OF hls
heart, Respiration was seriously In
terforod with. Or. Dcine removed
eighteen ounces OF blood. a little more
than a pint. by using an asplrator.
/ After this the heart beat improved, al
though there was marked ml,ral rcgur-
/ citation. The patient was then given
small doses OF Conynllnrla malalls
every three hours.
The third day there was marked
Improvement In the condition " Ileas.
Another pint Of blood vas drawn on
and the temperature was reduced to
99.5. Five days later he was removed
TO his home. and the very next day had
two fHintlng spells. DR.. Deane found,
at this time, that from the nature OF
the original wound nuid and air could
be expelled. but none could enter. The
point where the knife had entered was
az leas, half an Inch higher than where
II had penetrated the intcrcostal space.
the passage forming a valve which al
lowed the outward passage Of fluids,
but remained closed to the outside air.
From this fact alone the case was q
remarkable one, not TO speak OF tho
manner In which the heart stood the
rough manipulation necessary to the
treatment followed
With a contriyance composed OF a
double cathoter an insprator. and a
douchc bag, the surgeon was able 20
slphon OF the accumulation ana wash
out the cavity with boraclc acid In hot
water. The curved silver cathe,er
was put through the wound and passed
around the heart From June ~ Ia
July q the douchcs were kept up regu,
, larry, ana on July 10 the patient fol,
i quite we'll, The wound troubled him
: no longer and nothing remained but the
yalyular trouble.
Hess was then removed to Fruityalt
/, 10 rest until the original wound healed
up, DR.. Dcane not seeing him again
1 until Aug, /, lie called at the nous,
; whore his patient was stopping and
b founl him at work In the garden. Tn,
b doctor found that heart trouble still
, existed, and all the idlopathlc SWIM
, toms Of mitral reorganization were uuit,
apparent Tie Insisted that Hes.
should rest and continue the doses d
conylllarla maialis Dr. Dtlne ana no
% soc him again until a month had nassed
- when, after a careful examination. n,
(, could discern not the least heart muir
|, muir During the thirty DAYS preced
: INK the heart had returned TO Dos norma
I condition. Hess stated that no hn,
@ been M Tor three days during the mid
n dle OF the monJh OF August when n,
% had had great pain IN his heart and
- rapid, irregular pulse.
Since that time Clyde Hess has beef
well man, despite the fact that IN
knife OF Bandit Sontag had punched
y hole In his heart, despite the furtho
n fact that the silver catheter Of the sur
Is feon ana the fingers OF that gentle
m man had pushed the heart out Of posl
u ton time and time again. A peeulla
~ feeling, Hess told his doctor. came owe
" him as these foreign bodies touched III
10 heart rather numbing than apythin
else Last week he played leading FL