The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1896-11-18
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Death is Often More Horrible in Form
Than in Feeling.

The most painful forms of death
arc, curiously enough, not those that
are the most shocking or the most
commonly dreaded. The most dis
tressing accidents usually produce
painless deaths, while some familiar
and little feared diseases result in
intensely agonizing death. The ma
chinery and the rush and hurry of
New York life cause more shocking
forms of deaths than the tortures Of
the inquisition.
The question as to what are the
most painful and easiest deaths to die
must, of course, be deeply interesting
to every one. DR.. A. P. Smith, of the
Metropolitan hotel, surgeon Of wide
experience in New York, said to a
reporter:
''It is curious fact that few people
know how a man really dies. They
have only a more or less blindly
superstitious fear and horror of it.
The deaths which are to be most
dreaded have as rule little or no
terror for most people. Now, to decide
what's actually the most painful death
any of US can die we must look some
what into the nature Of pain or agony.
D''In the first place, the greatest
suffering is produced not by the surface
or superficial nerves Of the body, but
by a disturbance at some important
nerve center. Many of the deaths
which are supposed to be accompanied
by the most excruciating agony are in
reality almost painless, because only
the outer nerves are affected.
"Perhaps the most familiar example
is death from burning. Many people
imagine that to be burned alive or
boiled alive is the most intense torture
conceivable. As matter of fact, |
would rather be burned 60 death than
die from many Of the so-called natural
causes. This is also true of the pain
produced by most cuts and bruises.
Unless such cuts go very deep or the
bruises are very severe death caused
in this way, although very distressing,
is not, however, nearly as painful as
that from many familiar diseases.
;'Most of the railroad and trolley
car accidents injure people in just this
way. Of course, death from such
causes is far more distressing to rela-
tives. It is grievous to see body
mangled or cut and bruised often be-
yond recognition. And so people
naturally dread such a death and
imagine that it is the most painful
death to die. But for the victim Of
such an accident the actual pain is
not by any means as great as most
people fancy.
"The pain, as I said, is in a. sense
superficial, and the center Of nervous
force remains undisturbed, so that
such person can retain consciousness
and keep measurably cool-headed. II
should, besides, be considered that
any shock, as in the case of bad
accident, produces dulling or numb.
ing effect upon the entire system
This is most merciful provision Of
nature. A man who falls from high
place is likely to be unconscious before
he reaches the ground. The victims
of railroad disasters, as a rule, have
their senses dulled in this way, and il
is much the same with person wht
is burned alive or who meets death II
any other sudden and violent manner
"On the other hand, some diseases
cause at the end the most intense ago
ny. The most painful death mai
can die is from tetanus or lockjaw. II
this disease the nerve centers are Sc
affected that the muscles are set OF
knotted together rigidly, SO that th'
pain is most acute. The disturbance
in this case directly affects the spina
cord and this quickly spreads to th'
brain. It is impossible for any ON
who has never seen death from lock
jaw to appreciate the terrors Of it.
TT is a, mistake to believe, howev
er, that the most violent deaths ar
necessarily painful. As a rule, when
ever patients are violent they are de
lirious and unconscious Of their pain
"The easiest death to die, of course
is in cases where the patient is abso
lutely unconscious. That is to say
they pass from sleep or condition
which closely resembles it into death
The great majority Of deaths occur il
this way. In most diseases as tn
end approaches there is a gradual fail
ing Of the faculties, SO that the endi
quite painless.
'Death from sufocationis also yer!
painful. In this way the agony is no
the result of any injury to the nerve
centers. But the consciousness tina
death is approaching in spite Of one
labored efforts to get air is most dis
tressing. This brings on intense ner
vous agony. Of course, in speaking
Of the pain of dying I refer particu
larly to the purely physical suffering