Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1896-05-09
SAW HIS OWN HEART.
UNPRECEDENTED EXPERIENCE OF A
CHICAGO POLICEMAN.

One of the Bluecoats Injured by the Hay
market Bomb Saw In Mirror the Beat
ing of His Own Heart-Saved by a Deli
cate Surgical Operation.
1t 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. Wlstney, 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 own
throbbing heart. What is still more
marvellous, he recovered and is today
doing a mans work and commands 500
a 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 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 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 hopelessly crippled by hay
inCr f1oiy. 1ooc 1,1oxy,, off ntlnr ,,,or,
were cruelty manned, 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 you want to see
what no man ever saw before?'
Eyes. What is it?'' asked the officer
fcebly.
"Your own heart"
He handed his patient mirror, and
Whitney saw the greatest miracle ever
given to human eyes, He now affirms
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 writer's. But he frankly acknowl-
edges that he is incapable of expressin
his sensation as he watched the oscilla-
ton of his heart.
Within 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 piece of the bomb casing pene-
trated the breastbone, passing about
midway between the second and third
ribs, and was located about one-eighth
of an inch from the pericardium. Like
a magnet coquetting with piece Of
metal, every throb of the heart brought
the piece of shell nearer until the pierre
ing Of the organ was inevitable.
The operation was set for Friday,
Nov. 6, 1886. Relatives and friends of
the injured man protested, and, this
coming to his ears, he said:
81 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 DR.. Murphy pro-
ceeded to bore hole through the Off
GERS breastbone, very much as skill
full carpenter uses an auger on a hard
wood stick The instrument used was q
trephine suitable for making hole
tive-eighths of an inch in diameter.
The delicate operation was a marvel
GUS success, for at the foot of this tiny
tunnel lay the piece of bomb, which
was easily plucked out with 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 a 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 patrol wagon and afterward
served as a messenger on the force. For
a 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 u
regular salary for his service, and as
long as he lives he will have a 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 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
seen his own heart. - Chicago Cor.
Philadelphia Times.
IL