The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-12-28
FACTS ABOUT BULLETS.

the nature of wounds both Of entrance
and of exit. In the Spanish-American
war there were numerous cases in
which the Mauser bullets Of the Span
iards went clear through the bodies
Of our soldiers, infiicting a wound that
was slight and readily healed. The
velocity had the effect OF making the
bullets pierce the flesh without max
ing ragged wounds at either entrance
or exit A wound Of entrance. even
in this connection, is invariably smaller
than the bullet, which Is due to the
involuntary contraction Immediately
after the ball enters the flesh 4 re
fattening Of bullet by striking a bone
might tend TO increase its diameter.
If it was originally one-quarter of an
inch in size by twO-thirds OF an inch,
and thus caused a jagged exit wound
In actual experience by the local hos
pltal surgeons, most Of whom have had
to deal with wounds made by lead bull
ia,-s mostly from revolver shots, it has
bNen demonstrated that the entry
point is usually as small as the bullet.
and often smaller. The edges Of the
skin are folded in after the bullet and
the flesh about the wound is not torn
The great trouble in murder trials is
that experience has shown that the
variation in wounds inflicted by hull
lets Of the same CALDER. and even
from the same weapon. vary so great
" under circumstances almost iden-
teal that the appearance Of the wound
offers very poor basis on which TO
either convict or acQuit an accused
person. The fusing OF the bullet dur
ing its passage through the barrel OF
the weapon must be considered. as
must its change Of size and form in
passing through the air consequent on
this fusing. its further deformity on
striking the muscles or bones Of the
body and its loss Of weight and change
OF. shape in its final stages OF fight
A leaden bullet will lose appreeiably
in weight by being fired, and the form
O. the barrel may tend to reduce its
size. In rifle some Of the lead IS
/ taken off by the grooves. The friction
also heats and tends TO partially melt
the outside Of the ball. and because OF
this change its shape in the air.
One peculiar fact about a bullet is
that it viii very often make a wound
of entry smaller than the projectile
itself. even in so brittle a substance as
glass. This point was Of vital i'm
portance in a noted New York case,
where a woman was killed by a bullet
/ fired through pane Of glass. Her
husband was arrested, and part Of
| his defense was that a bail from his
rifle could not have killed her, because
the hole in the glass was smaller than
! the calibre Of his bullet A series OF
experiments was made. in which bull
J lets from rife of that size were fred
/ through a pane of glass, making hole
so small that a bullet of natural size
could not pass through it
Another strange fact about bullet
4 is That il viii often pass through inter-
vening clothing. making a hole that
! can hardly be noticed. and yet carry
on its point circular piece CT cloth.
The carrying of bits Of clothing, hair
or dirt into wounds in such q manner
greatly enhances the dangers Of per
/ itonitis. Were X not for this latter
contact the bullet would not be near
y 50 dangerous. as its rapid fight
and heating makes it practically ster-
lie