Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-05-12
SAW HIS OWN HEART.
UNPRECEDENTED EXPERIENCE OF. A
CHICAGO POLICEMAN.


One Of the Biueeoats InjareA BIZ TIE Bsv.
naskse Bsnb Saw In Airrss tie Bess.
ing % His Own Heart-saveA b. . Deli.
esss Surgical Operates.
It 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. Whitney. 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
"A he lay in the hospital bed he saw.
with the aid II hand mirror, his own
throbbing heart. What is still more
marvellous, he recovered and il today
doing q mans work and commands 500
year more than an ablcbodied police
man travelling beat.
May 4. 1885, was q bloody night in
Chicago history. One hundred and sew
enty stalwart men marched from the
Dcsplaines Street station. They had been
corralled there for several days antici.
"
order to fall in line" was given. The
country thrilled with the horror that
followed. The efforts to disperse the
mob and the throwing Of bomb that
burst between Lieutenants Stanton and
Bowler's companies left over 80 officers
lying in heap on Haymarket square.
One man died within an hour, and two
others were hopelessly crippled by hav-
ing their legs blown of. Other men
were cruelty MANNED, II Of whom are
now dead.
But Of all the men Whitney stood the
smallest possible chance Of life. His
breast was horribly mptilated, 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.
d. Murphy inquired:
MY brave boy, do you want to see
what no man ever saw before?''
Eyes. What is it3'' asked the officer
fcebly.
Your own heart"
He handed his patient q mirror, and
Whitney saw the greatest miracle ever
given to human eyes. He now affirns
that the heart IL not movable organ,
for IL neither leaps up into the throat
nor desccnds into the boots. In fact, il
does not indulge in any of the acrobatic
fcats generally ascribed To it by imagi-
native writers. But he frankly acknowl-
edges that he is incapable Of expressing
his sensation as no watched tho oscilla-
ton of his heart.
Within month he was able to return
home and was supposed 90 be ON the
road TO recovery. Later hcssufforcd re-
lapse. and, after weeks Of unparalleled
suffering. DIR. Murphy decided 10 resort
TO the most extreme operation known
TO scientific surgery. In the history Of
surgical procedure in this country il was
the third time IL has ever been under
taken, the former cases having proved
fatal. A careful examination indicated
that piece 81 the bomb casing pene.
tratod tho breastbone, passing about
midway between the second and third
ribs, and was located about one-eighth
of an inch from the pericardium. Like
u magnet coquetting with n piece Of
metal. every throb Of the heart brought
the piece If shell nearer until the pierre
ing ~ the organ was'inevitable.
Tho operation was set for Friday,
Nov. q, 1856. Relatives and friends Of
tho injured man protested, and, this
coming to his ears, l,c said:
II am going to make test case Of
this and see IL 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 a hole through the Off
GERS brcastbone, very much as skill.
full carpenter uses IN Iuger OH hard
wood stick. The instrument used was a
trephine suitable for making q hole
fivc-eighths Of an inch in diameter.
The delicate operation was a marvel
Gus success, for ut the foot Of this tiny
tunnel lay the piece II bomb, which
was easily plucked out with q pair Of
tweczers. 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.
IL was over a year before it healed,
and during that time he wore q rubber
drainage tube. But il was several years
before he was able to do any manual la
Dor. Meanwhile he watched the anarch.
lists trial. kept in touch with his COM
rades ut the station and was detailed for
light service. Then for three years he
drove u patrol wagon and afterward
served rs n messenger on the force. For
n couple Of years he was officer ut the
Goodrich school, and two years ago he
was appointed ut the Carter Harrison
public bath, where his star awes unruly
bathers. largo and small. He draws
regular salary for his service, and rs
long rs he lives he will have q pension
The laws provide for this.
Whitney is handsome man, with
large gray eyes and brown mustache.
Suffering has given his face the charac.
tcristics Of scholar rather than a man
OF muscle. His conversation with ply.
sicians have given him a scientific
knowledge Of anatomy. which Is per.
haps not so remarkable considering he
Is the only man in the world who has