The herald., 1898-06-04
WnfNASHfLLE
THERE'S DANGER OF DAMAGE TO
SHIPS AND MEN
Surgeon Spear Describes Some Effects
Of the mbardment of San
Juan de Porto Rico

NEW YORK, June 3.-The following ar
ticle by Assistant Surgeon Raymond Spear.
on board the flagship New York, showing
the eeffect of the explosion Of IA c. M.
shell appeared today in the Medical News;
During the bombardment of San Juan de
Porto Rico on May IL the New York was
struck once by IA c. NJ. shell at dis
tance of about $500 yards. The shell came
over the stern of the ship and struck an
iron stanchion, three inches in thickness,
which was broken short off at the point
of contact. The shell went on for distance
of about fifteen feet and exploded In q
wooden boat, which was covered with can.
vas.
The boat was demolished, the lighter
planking being badly splintered and driven
downward and forward 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 covering on 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 cam
| vas under such conditions will not stop
| splinters.
| The shell itself burst into many pieces,
varying from the size of pea to large
pieces weighing about five pounds. The de
rection these fragments took was down.
ward, upward, to both sides, many of them
going over the ships side, others passing
through the copper ventilators and smoke
pipes and doing but little damage. The
fragments that went downward and for
ward struck about the port eight-inch waist
gun where there were twelve men sta.
toned, killing ore and injuring several oth-
ers The man killed. Widemark, was struck
Dla
nv one inch thick It entered the left side
of his neck near the angle of the jaw,
severed the blood vessels, passed upward
and backward to his brain. probably In
turing the medulla, and lodged under the
skin Just beyond the occipital branch. The
man fell forward losing consciousness i'm
mediately. His respiration ceased as soon
as he was struck. but his heart continued
to beat feebly for about five minutes, when
all signs of life disappeared.
| Another fragment of the shell of about
| the same size struck a man named Fett-
man on the anterior surface of the left
thigh about three inches above the knee,
and went through the limb, taking back
ward and downward course. The femur
was battered into numerous fragments and
the muscles were torn considerably in the
track of the wound.
The leg was operated on and portion
lof the femur resected. the splinters and
crumbs of bone were removed, the frag-
ments were trimmed off and wr' together
and through and thorough drainage estab-
Ilished, the limb being put in fenestrated
lplaster dressing. The wound at last ac-
counts 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 she'll about one inch by half
an inch. It entered the left leg about the
middle on the outer side, 1t inward and
forward, growing the an. ior surface of
the tiba. The fragments of bone were taken
out of the leg by the piece of she'll
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 investigation found
a small piece of shell that had burned
its 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, singing sensation
about their wounds, and in some cases the
clothing was scorched.
Il The shell receives a great deal of heat
from the friction II incurs in leaving the
lgun; some of the heat is lost through radi-
alton in its flight through the air, more heat
is developed on the impact of the she'll and
still more energy takes the form OF heat
when the missile explodes, making the frag-
ments hot enough 20 set fire to wood All
Of the wounds made by the pieces OF the
shell were aseptic, but they all were slug
gish In holding, due to the lowered vitality
and burning of the injured parts.