The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-07-20
NERVE AS THE
DOCTOR SEES IT
ONE NEVER KNOWS JUST WHERE
HE WILL FIND 1T.
The Big Hulk Of q Man. and the Little
Why Bundle May Have Equal
FOrtitude.


ct don't know" said an army surgeon
who recently returned from Cuba, whether
it's because some men feel pain less acutely
than others, or whether they have greater
powers to resist physical torture, but the
fact is, under the knife no two men behave
alike. Even since 1 was in college 1 have
felt interested in studying mans nerve, and
my only safe conclusion SO far is that
nerves have nothing to do with fortitude.
l have seen great hulks of men whom no
one would suspect OF having, nerves lie
serenely down on an operating table only
to collapse and faint with the arst incison
OF the knife. On the other hand have seen
little bundles Of skin and nerves fight like
wildcats with the nurses who held them
down until, as the operation progressed.
they Gained to the extent of voluntarily
lying still without even a twitch. Such
1ncisfons, of course, were SO slight as not
to require the administering of anesthet-
les. In Brooklyn l once saw case OF
nerve where / least expected to find It.
The patient-a tall, emaciated, haggard-
looking man-was a foreman in copper
sheet factory. He had been working pair
OF steam shears that cut with each stroke
through an inch thickness Of copper plates
like so much cheese. The first known of
the accident was when the superintendent
came along and saw the floor about the
machine and the machine itself spotted
with pools of blood. The operator who was
running the shears was hard at work,
though blood was fast dripping from a
soiled rag with which he had covered his
hand
Whats wrong. Mike? asked the super
intendent
Cut off some OF my fingers, sir an
swered the other, pointing to four fingers
the floor
Then what are you doing here? Get
out and doctor and be quick about it..
Then. sir how am l to fill this hurry
order by noon?
"'Out with you, anyway
''The man came to me and, of course,
had to amputate the fingers a second time
before l could bandage them properly. He
refused ether chloroform, and refused
even chair unnecessary. During the
operation he watched each stage Of the
proceedings, and all he said to speak
about the time he might have to lay off
from work Finally he helped me to adjust
the bandages, and when he left asked me
to wrap his sOled rag over the new ban
dages, because he was going back to work
and thought he would like to keep the new
rag nice and clean for Sunday. l learned
that he actually did return to work on the
steam shears, and in the end was happy
because his company did not dock him for
the two hours he spent in my office.
Another case remarkable for the excru
ciatng agony suffered by the victim was
ing in the Delamater Iron Works. He had
stumbled in half sitting position, into
pot of melted iron. Some one, OF course,
must have jerked him out almost instantly,
else he would simply have disappeared in
the molten mass if he had been wax
candle. AS it was, nearly all the mesh on
one hip and part of the thigh was burned
OFF, l was the surgeon of the ambulance
that took him to the hospital. The poor
fellow was hurt so frightfully that his ar
rival caused no little excitement in the
ward to which he was sent. AS result of
this wrong ointment was applied to the
wounds. and the mistake was not discovered
until the end. Then it necessary to
remove the application before applying the
proper remedy Up to this time the old
man had been lying on one side, almost in
q faint but as the cooling ointment came
to his relief he opened his eyes.
9" 'Bize' he said, I've caught me second
wind: I'm Irish, 1 am, and l eats sand for
me breakfasht,' and then at intervals he
joked, not lightly, but with the ashy face
and set teeth of gritty man en- the verge
of collapse. oh, bize! an to think I'm er
orphan! l say. doctor, me son, how long
before | can sit in me barouche fur trip
up Fifth avenny? The poor old fellow had
a ride shortly after, but it wasn't in
barouche up Fifth avenue.
my most interesting experiences as you
may imagine, were in a hospital in Cuba,
l arrived there a little too late to see
much of the real work. Down there they
treat all kinds of cases in hospitals, from
leprosy to transient callers who wish
tooth pulled. In our own part of the
world we imagine that no negro ever has
bad teeth, but down there you would be
surprised at the number Of black patients
who present themselves to have their teeth
yanked. Every morning, between and 10,
is tooth pulling seance, and between 20
and 80 negroes of all shades and ages, and
men and women, sit on long bench wait
ing for the official tooth puller to appear.
l have counted many as 40 patients on
the bench on the veranda, and the way the
head nurse in that hospital pulled teeth
was amusing and instructive Promptly at
9 o'clock the nurse appears. He is armed
with only two pairs of forceps, one rusty
pair for those who come up to his expecta-
tions. He begins a. one end after having
collected his money. Into mouth go the
forceps and tooth drops to the veranda.
One step to the next patient and into an
other mouth go the forceps, etc. The for
cepts are wiped only after the last tooth
has been drawn. Water is in pump In
the back yard. The most notable part of
the whole proceeding is that not a sound
of pain has escaped a patient and you can
safely say that the pain Of having a tooth
drawn is no less intense than that Of most
surgical operations.
"A coolie was brought to hospital from
an outlying plantation. The coolie. who
was dressed III Wullc HuSIlu duu lAC III
variable turban. had fallen out of an orange
tree, hurting his left arm. He had spent
two days coming down a river in canoe
through the broiling sun, and his arm was
swollen badly. He was feeble with pain
and sleeplessness, and as he tottered into
the Office and salaamed, agony was written
in every line of his brown face One of the
assistant surgeons, a native doctor and sup
posedly white man, took charge of the
case on the spot, and, after talking in
dialect to the coOle, barred the swollen arm
and began to feel the bones and joints.
The coolie WINGED at every touch, and
figured there would be a scene. The assis-
tant was one of the few big, powerful chaps
that l met in Cuba, and after satisfying
himself he stemmed one hand against the
patients shoulder. and, grasping the poor
fellows wrist with the other, pulled with
all his prodigous strength me coone
writhed and his face distorted, and his
mouth opened as if he must cry out in pain
but not word escaped him. 1t was none
of my business, as I was not connected
with that particular hospital, but when,
after three efforts, the supposed dislocated
Joint did not snap into place, and when
saw the appealing look and the large clear
ears coursing down the silent sufferers
cheeks, l suspected something. I know it
was not professional ethics, but l was
touched by that coolies fortitude and
interfered. l grasped the mans wrist. One
twist told the trouble
doctor, don't you know that mans
radius is broken? l asked.
"'Is it?' he returned. I reported at once
to the house surgeon, and shortly after
there was one less example of Spanish in
competence in hospital on that island
Tn t;,po tho black man will he able tn relv