The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-09-30
A GIFT TO SCIENCE.
DR.. F00te OF Kansas Gives His Body
TO the Surgeons.
He Declares IIo Abhors the Modern
Practice OF Burial.

Argentine, Kan, a document both rare
and unique. 1t will be formally published
An the Kansas City Medical Index and en-
bodies an offer of his body after death to
the medical society or college that guaran
tees to carry out tho provisions of his re
markable will.
DIR. Foote believes that his physical Or
ganism will reveal secrets at present un-
known to science and, in his self expressed
devotion to humanity, he makes the be-
quest of his body for the purpose OF dissec
tion.
At times DR. Foote has felt like a steam
engine Upon other occasions his heart
made music more melodious than that
produced by organ or piano.
DIR. Foote's leg, his arms, his stomach
and his brain have each had experiences
which demand scientific inquiry, and his
love for future generations is such that he
proposes to offer his entire carcass as sac
rifce His stomach has been known to
ring 'as If an iron or steel rod had been
hit in that region.
Other motives besides love for human.
fly prompted DIR. Foote to make his strange
will. These motives, two In number, are
set forth in the remarkable document
which he now proposes to make public.
The first motive is his disgust at the
sickly sentimentalism regarding the nat
ural event called death and lSsthsome de-
cay underground, with riotous worms az
companions.
The other is "the popular inconsistency
which demands higher order of skill and
attainment of medical men and surgeons,
and then denies them, by penal enact
ments, the best and in many cases the only
source and means of obtaining such skill
Both the document and its author are
original creations AS TO the will, 1t is
constructed differently from the ordinary
last testament Of man, being devoid Of
all legal verbiage and written in an enter
tanning, gossipy manner. 1t includes de-
scription Of the doctors physical make mp
and the imperfections incident thereto, so
that the coming medical student who shall
take him apart may do so with the more
facility and profit. 1t embodies n brief
biographical sketch OF the author, as well
as his ideas on cremation, progress, medi-
cine and the abatement of crime.
Realizing that we arc given to many
practices for which we can assign no rea-
son only that it Is the CUSTOM" the docu-
ment begins, "and realizing that many of
these practices are not only unwise but
actually pernicious, and believing this to
be the case In regard to our present Gus
tom OF disposing of the dead by funeral
ceremonies and burials in the earth,
through which water percolates, rendering
our fountains deadly poisonous, and from
.sa1x IL.
danger those still living, / hereby enter
my protest against this custom being car
ried out In the disposition of my remains.
Realizing further that there are some
points in my anatomy that may be of in
terest to our profession, will map them
out In order to facilitate the work of the
operator who may dissect my remains"
Then follows an account of DIR. Foote'S
various peculiar complaints in the techni-
cal language affected by the medical pro-
fession. DIR. Foote calls these idiosyncra-
sizes "deviations from the normal" and be-
gins with the less important ones
He explains that the operator will find
that the right fbula and tibia have been
fractured three times, leaving an insight
ly lump"
Next comes compound fracture, ex-
tending from near the elbow to the shoul-
der, which Of itself is of little Importance,
he states, but the new attachments of the
muscles which cause the arm to lock and
induce pain when raised I'm a certain posi-
tomas, for instance, in the act of putting
on coat or vest-may prove of some inter-
est.
The right ear next must be taken into
consideration, which was stung or bitten
l,xvo 10 In, 1a moi ri,h pf1 -
the timpanum twenty odd years ago, caus-
ing total deafness in that ear.
The stomach of DIR. Foote will also prove
Of interest to some young man handy with
the scalpel. "He may or many not find
anything abnormal, " continues tho will,
"for of lato years it has caused me little or
no trouble, but some years ago / suffered
much with indigestion, acidity and regur-
citation. A frequent metallic tinkling, as
II an iron or steel rod was lightly hit in
that region, was heard, which was very
annoying, and after this was prostratcd
by solar heat and was unable to labor or
retain food or drink to any extent for 10
weeks"
After calling attention 60 rare cordi-
tion of the appendix, the document dis
cusses tho spine, where n careful inspection
IL recommended. Some doctors have claim
ed that the trouble was ataxia locomotor,
and tho patient admits that tho symptoms
indicated such 60 DO the case. The brain,
it is suggested. will prove equally profitable
TO tho operator, considering the other con-
ditions
DR. Foote sometimes feels like steam
engine and again like musical instru-
ment He explains In his last will as fol-
lows:
For period Of eight years q noise re-
sembling the interrupted escape of steam
from locomotive was heard with every
pulsation of my heart, which led me to
suspect thrombosis cerebri, and greatly an-
noycd me, but during this time was fire.
quently entertained after retiring by hear
ing two soft and musical notes Of about
one seoond's duration each, commencing
on G. Of the middle scale and ending on ID
below These sounds were peculiarly me