The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-05-07
THE GHOST OF AN ARM.
Pains Felt In Limb That Had Been
Amputa;ed.

Well, 1t may be SO! But still there's q
good deal Of poppycock about nerves and
sensations and yearning blood, and about
stumrs that can't shake of the influence
of the dead flesh. A fellow that has only
ole arm and a good imagination can
make out pretty strong case. The old SOL
uier gave an absent-minded fiirt with the
remaining bit OF his left arm and flop
ped his empty sleeve out into the air like
q bahner. by cortortion he caught the
dangling sleeve cuff in his right hand and
tucked 1t back into his pocket once more.
81 haven't very good Imagination
myself, that is, SO they tell me, but when
l lost that arm at Appomatox lad the
curiousest aches and shivers and twitches
and cravings YOU ever heard Of. When l
came around after the operation las and
endured the pain little " hilc and then
said to the nurse:
"Why didn't they do it9"
hat do you meanP she asked.
I" Thought the surgeons were going
to cut OF my armY
"'Land sakes,' she said, 'That was
done an hour or SO ago, and you've been
growing and shouting and gritting your
teeth and coming out from under the in
fuence ever since. Your arm is OF, and
the stump nicely dressed and bandaged.
Now drink this and go 10 Sleep
"Of course, you've heard all about
these sensations, and the doctors explain
'em all nicely. So j won't go into that.
But, oh, Caesar how 1 Uttered 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 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 / CROPPED In
q hot ItstI rlx xp6 ont hu my
trying to seize and squeeze and rub--well,
l didn't know what. Then got notions
in my head. could lie there In my cot
and fancy so vividIy just wnat was hap
pening to the piece OF flesh laid away in
the ground that at last ! would scream
like a woman. For every pang that shot
through my arm that was could see q
cleaning tooth or wrthing worm.
"That-torture wore away, of course,
but still Pm never allowed to forget that
lost arm. used TO have rheumatic
twinges in my middle finger. have 'em
now. / had felon on my thumb few
mont MS ago. or at least had all the SEN
sations of O felop. could only grunt
and bear It. ....
.sThat hand Is cold-or rather, perhaps,
to be understood, 1 should say that 1t
seems as though ! had hand there and
that IL is cold. The hand is n umb and goes
to sleep, It is warm snd throos, In fact, Is
n
The sensations, say the doctors, arise in the
ends OF the severed nerves, and 1 believe
them, but at the same time / can't feel
'em any here except in that pand.
"An old friend OF mine up in Fairfield
had a foot amputated few months ago,
ana IL was buried. but in a few days he
began to take on about that foot. He
sa id II was cold. 1he doctor said, 'Poh,
nonsense He explained about the nerves
and eli that, but IL didn't satisfy the old
gentleman. He said he had lived sixty
five years, and he guessed he knew when
mis- foot was cold, aud no doctor could
come auy mind cure over him. The old
man wanted to know all about where
they had put the foot, and though IL
wasn't a pleasant subject to talk about and
they tried TO switch him of. he persisted
and got SO worked up that II was ex-
planned to him that the foot was buried
under the cellar bottom. lie ordered II
dug up. They refused. he insisted. He
said ii was his foot aud he should do as
he wanted TO.
"when the foot was disinterred II WAS
found that water from n spring I'm the
fedge had filed the box. The old man
was triumphant, and ordered the msmrer