The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-09-11
POINTS In GARFIELD CASE
AS IN M'KINLEY'S. SURGEONS COULD
NOT FIND THE BULLET.
Thought They Had Traced Its Course.
but the Autopsy Showed They
Had Been Mistaken.
New York Sun.

New York Sun.
The attempt to assassinate President Nc
Kinley, and, above all, the failure of the
surgeons to locate the second bullet, of
course turns the thoughts of every one to
the plight of President Garfield when he
lay for eleven weeks and more suffering
from the effects of Guiteaus bullet, the
whereabouts of which the surgeons failed
to discover until the knife laid bare its
course at the autopsy.
General Garfield was shot at $3.50 o'clock
in the morning of Saturday. July ?, 1881, in
the ladies' waiting room of the Baltimore
& Potomac Railroad. in Washington. while
he was walking arm in arm with James
q. Blaine. lie was taken first to a private
room i'm the station. and thence removed to
the White House. He had been shot twice,
first in the right arm, just below the shout
der. and the second and fatal time in the
back. just above the right hip and near the
kidney. The surgeons who were hastily
summoned probed for the bullet without
success, but announced that it's course had
been downward and forward into the groin.
and that the wound was serious, but not
likely to be fatal. The wound in the arm
did not amount to much. save for the pain
il caused. The President retained con
sciousness and when he reached the White
House he dictated a telegram TO Mrs. Gar
field, who was at Elberon. When he was
shot down he was on his way 10 meet her
in Jersey City, whence, with some members
New England.
President Garfield's recovery from the
shock of the wounds was very gradual
Later attempts to find the bullet failed, but
there We're no signs at once of serious in
ternal hemorrhage and there was little ex-
ternal bleeding Both of these symptoms
developed later i'm the afternoon, with vOm-
itng, and at 1880 oclock the physicians said
that the patient could not recover a for
mer physician OF General Garfield said
that the President had very few chances.
The President maintained his courage, kept
clear head and continued cheerful
through Sunday, but he asked the doctors
to tell him if he was going to die. Hopes of
the medical men rose on Sunday, but on
Sunday at midnight they had vanished.
Serious Inflammation had set in during the
evening and at clock Vice President
Arthur was awaiting summons to the
White House to take the oath of office.
THE SURGEONS ERROR.
BY noon of Monday the doctors had re-
lieved the pain. which till then had been
constant and which the patient had com
planned of all the time as being in his legs
and feet. 1t was due TO the injury Of the
nerves supplying the extremities. One New
York surgeon said after the President $
death that these pains he complained of
showed that there was trouble i'm the sciatic
muscle region and that this indication
should have led the surgeons to make an
incision there which would have let out the
pus which afterward caused so much trou-
BILE At o'clock on Sunday afternoon Gen.
Garfield said he felt better than al any time
since he was shot. He had then pulse Of
10 temperature 100 and respiration "a The
tina N
nounced had only demonstrated that the
bullet was I'm the neighborhOod of the liver.
From then until the autopsy disclosed
their error the surgeons spoke of the Presi-
dents wound as having pentrated the liver
and statistics were evoked for ilustra-
tion of the chances OF life with such a
wound 1t was found that OF l60 or 10 cases
OF similar liver wounds I'm the civil war,
rwenty-three were treated successfully
| The great danger In President Garfield
rase was acknowledged TO be. as in the