The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1898-06-10
ONE SHELLS HAVOC.
A Surgeons Critical Review Of In
Juries Sustained by tho ~
Naw York'a Craw. z. /

New York, June 3.-The following ar
ticle by Assistant Surgeon Raymond Speer
on board the flagship New York, showing
the effect of the explosion of IA cent?
meter shell, appeared today in the Medi-
cal News:
During the bombardment of San Juan
de Porto Rico on May IL the New York
was struck by IA centimeter shell at a
distance Of about $500 yards. The shell
came over the stern of the ship and struck
an iron stanchion three inches In thick
ness, which was broken short off at the
point of contact. The shell went on for
Il distance of about fifteen feet and ex-
ploded in a wooden boat which was COW
cred with canvas. The boat was demol-
ished. the lighter planking being badly
ward against an iron steam winch. The
oars in the boat were broken and one
piece was driven forward along the spar
deck, but did no damage. The canvas
coverings the boat was torn and rent into
shreds BY the force of the explosion and
by splinters passing through it and then
caught fire, showing that canvas under
The shell itself burst into many pieces,
varying from the size of pea to large
pieces weighing about five pounds. The
direction these fragments took was for
ward, downward, upward and to both
sides, many of them going over the ships
side, others passing through the copper
yentilators and smoke pipes and doing but
little damage.
The fragments that went downward
and forward struck about the port S-inch
waist gun, where there were twelve men
stationed, killing one man and injuring
several others. The man killed, Wiede-
mark. was struck by piece Of shell
about two inches square by one inch
thick. 1t entered the left side of his neck
near the angle of the jaw, severed the
blood vessels, proceeded upward end
backward into his brain, probably injur-
ing the medulla, and lodged under the
skin just beneath the occipital protub-
erancc. The man fell forward, losing
consciousness Immediately. His respira-
ton ceased as soon as he was struck, but
his heart continued to beat feeb!y for
about FIVE minutes, when all signs of life
disappeared.
Another fragment of shell of about the
same size struck man named Fettman
on the anterior inner surface of the left
thigh about three inches above the knee.
and went through the limb, taking i
femur was shattered into numerous frag-
ments and the muscles were torn consid-
erably in the track Of the wound.
The effect of the missile on the bone
was peculiar in that the bone was not
only splintered for about three inches of
it's length, but it was also pulverized,
hundreds of minute pieces of bone being
embedded in the muscles. At the point
of exit there were shreds of tissue pro-
truding from the wound, showing that
the ragged piece of steel drew muscular
fibers and fascia along with it. The leg
was operated on anG a portion of the
femur resected, the splinters and crumbs
of bone were removed, the fragments
were trimmed off and wired together and
being put up in frustrated plaster
dressing. The wound at last accounts
was healing by primary union, and there
is every reason to believe that the leg
will be saved.
Another man was struck in the left leg
by a piece of shell about one inch by one
inch. 1t entered the leg about it's middle
outer side, went inward and forward,
growing the anterior surface of the tibla.
The fragments Of bone were taken out
of the leg by the piece of shell.
There were several other minor injuries.
Pieces of shell struck several men, but
did no damage. One man felt something
hot on his breast, and on investigating
found a small piece of shell that had
burned it's way through his clothing and
reached his skin. The fragments Of the
shell were all hot, as was shown by burnt
wood and canvas. The men injured by
the shell all said they felt burning, sting
ing sensation about their wounds and in
some cases the clothing was scorched.
The shell receives great deal of heat
from the friction it incurs in leaving the
gun; some of the heat is lost through
radiation in its flight through the air; more
heat is developed on the impact of the
shell and still more energy takes the form
the fragments hot enough to set Ere to
wood. All 2of the wounds made by the
pieces of shell were asceptic, but they
all were sluggish jh healing, due to the
lowered vitality and burning of the in
iured parts.