Semi-weekly Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1897-1901, 1901-09-17
POISONED BULLET?
AUTOPSY A SURPRISE
DIABOLICAL CHARACTER
or CRIME STRONGLY SUSPECTED.

Path or bullet Gangrened for Full Le"eth
an Inch IN Circumference = Kidneys
Toru-Presi dent Doomed From First
No Science Could Have s"yed Him
,;,ugr.ns Would Have ovsThowsd
Stomach In One Day More.
The autopsy on the President was per-
formed saturday with II Physicians present.
The result Is stated in this official bulIetlh'
The bu,et which struck oser the breast bone
did not pass through the skin anu u'' ''''o
harm. -, ,o,i, 90
the other bullet passed through both walls OF
the stomach near lis lower border. Both ho'cs
we're found 10 be perfectly Oscd by the slltches,
but the tissue around each hole had become
gangrenOus, , .to t,lia,
passed into the back walls of the aOdom II, MT
ling and tearing the upper end OF the hluney'
This portion OF bullet track wa5 also eahsten'
GUS the gangrene involving the pancreaS,
There was no ign of peritonitis or dlsease VI
other organs The heart walls were very thlh.
There was no evidence OF any attempt at re-
pair ON the part of nature and death Iesuiteu
from the gangrcne which affected tae St0ihacn
around The bullet wound, AS well a. the TISSUES
around the further course of the DuIlet. 49,
Death was unavoidable by any surgical or
medical eatment and was the drect result VI
the bullet wound,
DR. Mann says in supplementary s'a,e-
ment: "AlI the tissues through when the
bullet passed were dead. This is very re-
markable indeed. The area OF the dead ile.h
in the stomach was perhaps as great A. Il sii-
yer dollar In circumference. DR. Wasdin. the
marine hosp ital expert. wa, strongly incIlhea
to the opinion that the bullet had been pol
soned.'
The result of the autopsy is a surprise Not
even the doctors had suspected the presence
of gaugrene along the track of the wound,
and none of them mad known that the bullet
struck the kidneys. After all the ~ years
progress in surgery and medicine since Car
fields day. OF which 80 much was being said
has amounted to nothing in graphing WIN
President McKinley's case. GarleIds ph!eI.
clans, ii now appears, were no more lsnoraht
of the real condition of their patent thah
were the physicians of Mckinley
The report OF the autopsy has again gwen
rise TO the theory limited al day or two AFTER
| the President was shot, that CHolgoSZ. III or
der to insure the accomplishment o, MS pur-
pose, poisoned the bullets which he ilred'
! The gangr .nc found ia the path OF the Dulltt
is thought by DR. Wa,din to DE strong en-, ~,
dence In support OF this view. Dr Wasuin
is considered an expert of high standing IN
the marine hospital service, and his OPINION
! should be valuable. ,
| A chemical ahl bacter illogical examina,
| ton of the remainin. bullets IN tne pislol
will, however, confirm or demollsh tn's tueo'
| nv and such All examination WEI undoupttu-
| " be made at once by the authorities. Inc
poisoned bullet theory might Of course, acI,
count for the sudden 'and puzzling reversal
OF President McKinleys condition Just when
the physicians laid such great stress upon MS
improved condition and gave such strong
hone of hi, recovery. The bullet itself was
not found. although an hours search wa,
made for it. The N-ray appliance wa. not at
hand for the use Of the physicians and the To-
cation of the bullet viii forever remain q
mystery.
The report speaks Of lack of evidence OF
repair work on the part Of nature. BY that
statement fine doctors meau that the genera
system Of the patient failed to respond to the
demand made upon it for revval from the
shock suffered by the shooting. IT was due
probably to a low state of vitality, not to
poor health. mind you, but to a system tina,
was considerably run down and needed res
and regeneration.