The Press., 1896-12-10
SAW HIS OWN HEART.
UNPRECEDENTED EXPERIENCE OF A
 CHICAGO POLICEMAN.

One of the BluecUats Injured by the Hay
 market Bomb Saw In Mirror the Beat
 ing of His Own HeaFt-saved by Deli
 cate Surgical Operation.
 It must be an uncanny sensation to look within your breast and actually see the pulsation of your own heart. Yet this has been the experience of Charles w. Whitney, one of the men in blue who was injured in the Chicago Haymarket riot. His chest was torn away by the explosion of bomb, and as he lay in the hospital bed he saw, with the aid of hand mirror, his dwn throbbing heart. What is still more marvellous, he recovered and is today doing a mans work and commands $1OO 8 year more than an ablebcdicd police man travelling beat.
 May 4, 1886, was a bloody night ill Chicago history. One hundred and sev- enty stalwart> men marched from the Desplaines Street station. They had teen corralled there for several days antci- pating a crisis, and at 10 80 o'clock the order to ''fall in line' was given. The country thrilled with the horror that followed. The efforts to disperse the mob and the throwing of bomb that burst between Lieutenants Stanton and Bowler's companies left over 60 officers lying in heap on Haymarket square. One man died within an hour, and two others were hopelessly crippled by hay ing their legs blown off. Other men were cruelty maimed, IA of whom are now dead.
 But of all the men Whitney stood the smallest possible chance of life. His breast was horribly mutilated, and bits of exploded bomb were imbedded peril ously near the vital organs. He was taken to the hospital, and after the neces- sary probing the wound was sewed up.
 Just before taking the stitches Dr. J. B. Murphy inquired:
 My brave boy, do yoR want to see what no man ever saw before?"
 "Yes. What is it?'' asked the officer feebly.
 "Your own heart. ''
 He handed his patient mirror, and Whitney saw the greatest miracle ever given to human eyes. He now aff1rms that the heart is not a movable organ, for it neither leaps up into the throat nor descends into the boots. In fact, it does not indulge in any of the acrobatiC feats generally ascribed to it by imagi- native writers. But he frankly ackn6wl- edges that he is incapable of expressing his sensation as he watched the oscilla- tion of his heart.
 Within month he was able to return home and was supposed to be on the road to recovery. Later he suffered a re- lapse, and, after weeks of unparalleled suffering, Dr. Murphy decided to resort to the most extreme operation knOw1 to scientific surgery. In the history o1 surgical procedure in this country it was the third time it has ever been under. taken, the former cases having proved fatal A careful examination indicated that piece of the bomb casing pene- trated the breastbone, passing about midway between the second and third ribs, and was located about one-eightE of an inch from the pericardium. Like a magnet coquetting with 8 piece o1 metal, every throb of the heart brought the piece of shell nearer until the pierc ing of the organ was inevitable.
 The operation was set for Friday, Nov. 6, 1886. Relatives and friends o1 the injured man protested, and, thii coming to his ears, he said:
 ''I am going to make test case o1 this and see if there is anything wrong with Friday"
 The eventful morning came. The ole wound was completely healed, but tho flesh was laid open and Dr. Murphy pro ceeded to bore hole through the off cer's breastbone, very much as skill full carpenter uses an auger on harC wood stick The instrument used was { trephine suitable for making a hole fve-eighths of an inch in diameter
 The delicate operation was marvel ous success, for at the foot of this tiny tunnel lay the piece of bomb, whicl was easily plucked out with a pair o. tweezers. It was cone shaped and com posed of almost equal parts of copper zinc and lead, and was cozily ensconceC in the outer fatty coating of the heart. It was over year before it healed and during that time he wore rubber drainage tube. But it was several year before he was able to do any manual Ia bor. Meanwhile he watched the anarch ists' trial, kept in touch with his com rades at the station and was detailed fo1 light service. Then for three years hC drove a patrol wagon and afterwart served as a messenger on the force Fol couple of years he was officer at thu Goodrich school, and two years ago h' was appointed at the Carter Harrison public bath, where his star awes unruly bathers, large and small. He draws regular salary for his service, and a long as he lives he will have pension The laws provide for this.
 Whitney is a handsome man, witt large gray eyes and brown mustache Suffering has given his face the charac teristics of scholar rather than ma1 of muscle. His conversation with phy sicians have given him a scientific knowledge of anatomy, which is per haps not so remarkable considering h' is the only man in tho world who ha seen his own heart. Chicago Cor