The Somerset reporter., 1896-04-23
SAW HIS OWN HEART.
UNPRECEDENTED EXPERIENCE OF A
CHICAGO POLICEMAN.

ing of His Own Heart-Sayed by Deli
cate Surgical Operation.
Il must be an uncanny sensation to
.ook 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 i'll
blue who was injured i'll the Chicago
Haymarket riot. His chest was torn
away by the explosion Of bomb, and
as he lay III the hospital bed he saw,
with the aid of a hand mirror, his own
throbbing heart. What is still more
marvellous, he recovered and is today
doing man work and commands s 90
year more than an ablebodied police
man travelling beat.
May 4, 1856, was a bloody night in
Chicago history. One hundred and sew
enty stalwart men marched from the
Desplaines Street station They had been
corralled there for several days antici-
pating a crisis, and at 10 30 O'Clock the
order to fall in line was given The
country thrilled With the horror that
followed The efforts to dispense the
mob and the throwing Of bomb that
burst between Lieutenants Stanton and
Bowler's companies left over 60 officers
lying in a heap ON Haymarket square.
One man died within an hour, and two
others We're hopolessly crippled by hav-
ing their legs blown off. Other men
We're cruelty MANNED, II 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 We're 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 yop want to see
what no man ever saw before?'
Yes What is it," asked the officer
feebly
"Your own heart.
He handed his patient a mirror, and
Whitney saw the greatest miracle ever
given to human eyes. He now affilms
that the heart is not movable organ,
for it neither leaps up into the throat
nor descends into the boots. In fact, it
does not indulge i'll any of the acrobatic
fcats generally ascribed to it by imagi
native writers. But he frankly aclnowl-
edges that he is incapable of expressing
his sensation as he watched the oscilla-
ton of his heart.
Within Il month he was able to return
home and was supposed to be on the
road to recovery. Later he suffered re-
lapse and, after weeks Of unparalleled
suffering, DR.. Murphy decided to resort
to the most extreme operation known
to scientific surgery. In the history of
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 a piece of the bomb casing pene-
trated the breastbone, passing about
midway betweer@ the second and third
ribs, and was located about one-eighth
of an inch from the pericardium. Like
magnet coquetting with Il piece Of
metal, every throb of the heart brought
ing Of the organ was inevitable.
The operation was set for Friday,
Nov. 6, 1856. Relatives and friends Of
the injured man protested and, this
coming to his ears, he said:
Il am going to make test case of
this and see if there is anything wrong
with Friday.
The eventful morning came The old
wound was completely healed, but the
flesh was laid open and DIR. Murphy pro
ceeded to bore a hole through the Off
GERS breastbone, very much as a skill
full carpenter uses an anger on hard
wood stick. The instrument used was a
trephine suitable for making a hole
fiye-eighths of an inch in diameter.
The delicate operation was a marvel
Gus success, FIR at the foot of this tiny
tunnel lay the piece of bomb, which
was easily pluckad cut with Il pair Of
tweeZers. 1t was cone shaped and COM
posed Of almost equal parts Of copper,
zinc and lead, and Was cozily ensconced
in the outer fatty coating Of the heart.
1t was over year before it healed
and during that time he Wore a rubber
drainage tube But it was several years
before he was able to do any manual la
Dor Meanwhile he watched the anarch-
lists trial. kept i'll touch with his com
rades at the station and was detailed for
light service Then for three years he
drove Il patrol wagon and afterward
served as a messenger on the force. For
Il couple of years he was officer at the
Goodrich school, and two years ago he
was appointed at the Carter Harrison
public bath, where his star awes unruly
bathers, large and small. He draws Il
regular salary for his service, and as
long as he lives he will have pension.
The laws provide for this.
Whitney is a handsome man, with
large gray eyes and brown mustache.
Suffering has given his face the charac-
teristics Of scholar rather than a man
of muscle His conversation with ply
sicians have given him scientific
knowledge of anatomy, which is per
haps not so remarkable considering he
is the only man in the world who has
keen his own heart - Chicago Cor.
Philadelphia Times
He Had Been Treated.
Old Lady tcompassionately) -Poor
fellow l suppose your blindness is in
rurablp Have vuu eyer bccn trputpdp