San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1896-11-05
THE GHOST OF AN ARM.
Pains Felt in a Limb That Has
Been Amputated.

yearning blood, and about stump
that can't shake off the inhuenc
of the dead flesh. A fellow tina
has only one arm and goo
imagination can make out a pre-
ty strong case. he old sOldie
gave an absent-IMhded flirt wit
the remaining bit of his left arm
and Topped his empty sleeve on
into the air like a banner. BY
cOntortiOn he caught the dang
ling sleeve cuff in his right hanC
and tucked it back into his peck
ct once more.
II haven't a very good imagi
nation myself, that is so they tel
me, but when | lost that arm al
AppOmattOX | had the curiOusest
aches and shivers and twitches
and knawings you ever heard of.
When l came around after the
operation lay and endured the
pain a little while, and then said
to the nurse:
d" Why didn't they do it?'
"'What do you mean% she
asked.
Thought the surgeons were
going to cut off my arm?
"Iand sakesn she said, that
was done an hour or so ago. and
you've been growing and shout
ing and gritting your teeth and
coming out from under the infiu-
ence ever since. Your arm is off
and the stump nicely dressed and
bandaged. Now drink this and
60 to sleep
"Of course, you've heard all
about these sensations, and the
doctors explain 'em all nicely. So
| won't go into that. But, oh,
Caesar. how | suffered for days
with awful pains in that arm and
hand that were gOne-cut off and
buried. Ache, ache, ache; and |
would roll my eyes down as l
lay on my pillow, and look right
where that awful aching was and
see only air.
But that blank spot was filled
with such pain for me that for
hours l CROPPED in that little space
marked out by my eyes, trying to
seize and squeeze and rub-well,
| didn't know what, Then I got
notions into my head. | could lie
there in my cot fancy so wildly
just what was happening to the
piece of flesh laid away in the
ground that at last | would
scream like a woman. For ey-
cry pang that shot through my
arm that was / could see a gleam-
ing tooth or a writing worm.
"That torture wore away, of
course, but still I'm never allow
ed to forget that lost arm. l used
to have rheumatic twinges in my
middle finger. l have 'em now. l
had a felOn on my thumb a few
months ago, or at least / had all
the sensations of a felon. | could
only grunt and bear it.
"That hand is COLOR, rather
perhaps, to be understood, l
should say that it seems as
though !. had a hand there, and
that it is cold. The hand is
numb and goes to sleep it is
warm and thrObs; in fact, it is
a strange sort of a ghost that
haunts me. The sensations. say
the doctors, arise in the ends of
the severed nerves, and | believe
them, but at the same time |
can't feel 'em anywhere except
in that hand.
can old friend of mine up in
Fairfield had a foot amputated
few months ago, and it was bur
led, but in a few days he began
to take on about that foot. He
said it was cold. The doctor
said, Pooh, nOnesenser fft ex-
planned about the nerves and all
that, but it didn't satisfy the old
gentleman. He said he had lived
60 years and he guessed he knew
when his foot was cold and no
doctor could come any mind cure
over him. The old man wanted
to know all about where they
had put the foot, and, though it
was not a pleasant subject to
talk about and they tried to
switch him off, he persisted and
got so worked up that it was ex-
planned to him that the foot was
buried under the cellar bottom.
He ordered it dug up. They re-
fused. He insisted. He said it
was his foot, and they should do
as he wanted to.
gsINTLx. \