The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-02-08
RUDE SEA SURGERY.

The operation performed for appen- dicites on Hop Ling fireman aboard the steamship satsuma just in from | Yokohama, is the most remarkable in the annals of surgery. For a pair of tin-s shears did duty as a surgeons knife, a redhot soldering iron served to cauterize the cut, it was sewed up with a sail-needle, and the only an- aesthetic employed was potato sack drawn over the mans head
 Chief Engineer, Brand, who relieved Hop of his troublesome appendix in this effective if somewhat unprofes- sional manner, is not, so elated over his anatomical exploit as one would expect; for it appears that according to the unwritten law of the Orien 1 whoever saves Chinaman's life makes himself thereby responsible for the support not only of the one saved but of his wife and family as well.
 The Ling household, 1t seems, is a fairly numerous one. There are Ling's three better halves, Ping, Cling and Wing; then there are Ringa Ling, Chinga Ling, Dinga Ling and Singa Ling, Binga Ling, Ting Ling and-but why go on to enumeratic the rest.
 Enough has been said already to show why the chief engineer is unai- terably opposed to the idea of stand ing in loco parents to such a family.
 But ignorance is bliss; and neither he nor Captain Chubb had any pre- monitory warnings of evil when Chop Suey, the cook, came to them one morning and said that Hop Ling was "velly sick"
 Me tink um die" said Chop when he had made an end of his recital.
 One look at Hop as he lay notion less on his figured quilt below in the flremen's quarters showed that the cook was not far wrong. Two or three of the flremen off duty, who were ab- sorbed in their eternal game of fan tan, said, yes, that Ling was 'velly sick man." and went on playing; for the Chinese are fatallsts, and hold it sacrllege to attempt to thwart the workings of destiny. If sailor falls overheard no other Chinese will throw him a rope; if he seessh man with a knife stealing up behind another to stab him, he gives no warning; 1t Is a part of their creed v
 Captain Chubb, however, too a less fatalistic view of the matter, and brus- quely ordered two of the crew to carry Hop on a board into the mess-room for the purpose of more convenient diagnosis.
 q am strongly of the opinion" said he to the chief engineer, that this man is suffering from appendicitis We will now proceed to see if my sup position is correct" e
 i"Aye, aye sir" saids Brand, bi doubtfully. Tt may weel be as v say sir; but I'm sair minded to thinE it's mair likely he has an ingrowin tumor, sir, of the intestines." We shall see, we shall sec" re- turned Capt Chubb shortly. "Mr Pyecroft, will you kindly oblige mt with potato sack?'
 An hempty one sir?" asked the be- . wildered sailor.
 Yes, yes, empty of course, snapped the captain. We must have a bag of some sort to envelop tht head, It is always done in operations 5 of this sort"
 } Ling, now quite assured that hi last hour had come, and accepting thu end with true oriental resignation, wal laid out on the mess-table, and thu l mysterious growth on his right sid' carefully examined by Capt Chubl l and the chief engineer.
 Ut is as I said" the captain an
 nounced, triumphantly. The man
 has an enlargement of the appendix
 The chief engineer said nothing, bu , it could be seen by his contracted ! brows that he was not convinced, ' Looks to me, sir" ventured Pye a crott, 'iige'e ad swallowed a cocoa . nut, or some such thing, sir; but i
 you says hits is happendicks w'ot tn trouble with 'im"--- 'It mus he removed at once." brok l in the captian decisively. "Pyecroft bring the tin-shears and a soldering $ iron"
 "A wot, sir?' gasped the sailor. 5 "A soldering-iron," repeated tn 7 captain. 'The wound must be prop f erly cauterized. Get a sail-needl and bit of thread, too, while your t about it.'
 And so Ling was divorced from hi appendix, the chief engineer perform l ing the task with the same skill ant thoroughness he would have used il making repairs on his engines, whil
 Capt. Chubb and the astounded Pye
 croft rendered what assistance the! f could.
 , When the last stitch was taken il
 Hop Lings side he was removed t his lowered quialt again, whence h, arose after a few days of dreamy con valescence, to resume his interrupted , duties in the stokehold. , All this may sound more like ; medical students dream than the SO Der truth; but if you do not believe it go down to pier SS, East River, wher, the Satsuma lies, and ask Chief En gineer Branch to show you the tin ao5 soIdarfog-{ro, rau