Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1904-05-26

others, or that the valley of the great
lakes contained race of people who
practiced trephining, while the sur
rounding tribes did not, as the
Kabyles or northern Africa do at the
present day. Michigan appears to
have fewer mounds than the other
states Of the union. But, although the
mounds have been everywhere exam
ined, there have been very few ire
pinned skulls found outside of this re-
gion.
II is a remarkable and very interest
ing fact that the artificial openings in
all the American skulls have been
found near the vortex. They have
rarely shown any evidences of cicatri-
cation, and for those reasons are gen
orally believed 10 have been trephined
for religious rather than for surgical
purposes" However this may be, the
net result Of the investigations hither-
to made has been to lead to the con
clusion that the valley of the great
lakes once contained a people who
practiced surgical trephining.
Were Artists in the Business.
1t has been critically observed that
the missions found in the wall Of the
Inca skull" from Peru appear to have
been made with some cutting instru-
ment, something like an engraver's
burin. and not with a saw" In dis
cussion which recently look place on
{ .aa T. GfV inff
Horsley showed photographs of three
American specimens of skulls so
treated. He regarded the traces as
saw cuts They were all in the frontal
region. and the conditions, taken in
connection with the other evidence
now available, gave, according to this
observer, reasonable ground for be
ieving that the Peruvian operation
was probably done for headache"
The very interesting fact that ire
phining practices, such as would APP
pear to have been used in prehistoric
times are at present Familiarity carried
cut in far-off Pacific and South Sea
islands, has recently been demon
strated before the anthropological in
stitute Of Great Britain and Ireland. |
In New Britain the operation is per
formed for fracture only. The instru |,
ment used Is formed from a piece of !
shell or a fake of obsidian, and the /
operator is the wizard, or "tenapa-
pait." of the tribe or district. A blow
of a sling-stone is the usual cause of
tho fractura whicb oal1c for tho onara.
ton. the sling being the most formida-
ole weapon used by the pugnacious
natives in their tribal fights, and "a
smooth stone as large as a pullet's egg
being thrown with Moderate accuracy
but considerable force" Death almost
invariably ensues in cases which are
not promptly treated.
How II Was Done.
The procedure is after this manner:
A V-shaped or Y-shaped incision is
made over the seat of fracture. and !
while assistants hold back the scalp
any loose fragments are picked out
with the finger nail The other por-
tons involved in the fracture are then
scraped, cut and picked away, leaving
the brain exposed to the size of half a
crown; then, all loose pieces having
been removed the scalp is carefully
laid down and the wound bandaged
with strips of banana stalk about four
inches wide. These strips are, when
dry, Of a spongy nature the water
which formerly filed the cells being
replaced by air; moreover, the inner /
surface is silky to the touch and Forms !
an admirable dressing for tender sur,
faces. II is astringent in its action |
and nonahsorbent, all discharge escap-
ing below the bandage. Sometimes a
few bruised leaves are applied before
bandaging. The patient is generally
insensihle from the time of the injury !
and If consciousness returns during
the operation soon faints away again. .
In five or six days the bandages are
renewed, and in two or three weeks a
complete recovery is the result The |
number of deaths is about 20 per
cent, most of these resulting from the
first injury and not from any compli.
cations after the operation. Nearly
all the deaths take place during or i'm. /
mediately after the operation, and | |
am assured that il patient once be-
comes conscious he never fails to
make a good recovery"
The writer of this report recently
discovered that in New Ireland the op-
GRAFTON is also performed in cases of
epilepsy and for some cases of insan. !,
ity which are attributed to pressure
on the brain, He has in his possession
one skull which has been successful.
y trephined in no less than five
Places
THE plIzzI r ar prneAAA,,,S,