Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-16
SOLVES PROBLEM
OF RAISING DEAD
SM0THERED ANIMALS ARE
RESTORED TO LIFE
Medical Men Greatly Interested In
the Invention; Works Like the
Human Heart, Says
Professor Poe
Special to The Herald.

NOHFOhh, va, Marcn l0-AlmoSt
sightless and eml-paralyzed, Professor
George Poe, living the life of a recluse
on baokwoods farm in Norfolk county,
claims to have solved the problem of
raising the dead by means of his res
pirator," as he calls the machine which
he has invented for the purpose. Tests
of 1t have already been made in the
presence of Norfolk and Portsmouth
city physicians, asphyxlated or smoth-
cred dogs and rabbits being the sub
jects. In each case the animal, after
being pronounced deau by the physi-
clans, was brought back to life by Pro-
fe ssor Poes device, and soon afterward
was frolickipg around in the full joy
of living.
A 1O-year-old boy Arthur Ostrander.
son of the man with whom Professor
Poe lives acted as his eyes and hands
in the construction of the machine,
which injects the air of life into the
lungs as 1t pumps out the deadly gases.
The inventor claims that the machine
will resuscitate persons killed by as
phyxiation, poison or drowning; prevent
death by an anesthetiL while a patient
is being operated upon; prevent Infant
asphyxla" at birth; make drunken men
sober in few minutes; revive men
in cases where the neck has not been
broken; prevent freezing to death even
| in the Arctic.
Prof. Poe had long been studying the
problem, when does life really leave
the body?" One day, while he was
| illuminating the centennial of 1876, an
employe brought in trap containing
a huge rat. After the rodent had been
killed the professor said: "Stand aside
l h. q. ~
He pumped oxygen into its lungs until
he actually did revive it, so that it
leaped from the table and escaped in
| a hole.
Revived Young Sister
This encouraged Prof. Poe, and he re-
doubled his efforts to ascertain the
exact moment when life ends. His in
terest in 1t was stimulated by the fact
that young sister who had been pro-
nounced dead from typhoid fever and
placed in her coffin had revived within
two hours of the time set for burial
and lived to be mother of a family.
Several years ago Prof. Poe, stricken
with paralysis, was advised by his ply
sicians to live in the country. He went
to Norfolk county, and 1t was while in
seclusion on the farm of his friend, A.
c. Ostrander, that he evolved his arti-
fetal respiration apparatus. The boy
| Arthur, of whom the professor was
fond, assisted in assembling the model
and in doing what the professors dim
eyes and palsied hands could not ac-
complish.
The professors model is simply that
of the human heart. The problem in
, the case of persons drowned, suffocated
or dead through anesthetics was to re-
move the fluid or the poisonous gases
from the stomach or lungs, and at the
same time pump life-giving oxygen in.
So Professor Poe began experiments on
what he calls double larnyx tubes and
two tubes to connect the nostrils-one
for the inlet and the other for outlet
Studying the reaction Of the heart, he
saw that it was that of a double
cylinder, or, rather, two cylinders;
right and left ventricals and right and
left auricles. With the assistance of
young Ostrander he built a working
model in line with the construction Of
the heart, a simple machine with two
cylinders, each having an inlet and an
outlet valve. The plungers of each
cylinder are made to work stimuli
taneously.
Restores Drunken Man
The machine will in very few min
utes sober up drunken man who has
fallen into a stupor. 1t is the slow
respiration caused by liquor that makes
man drunk" BY the help of the
respirator the respiration would be
quickened, and, the poison thus carried
out of the system, mind and body once
more would resume their normal state.
Thomas Black, retired business
man Of Norfolk, on being shown the
plans, obtained permission to exhibit
them to DR.. Francis M. Morgan, a
physician of Norfolk. DR.. Morgan i'm
mediately saw that 1t promised to be
an immense boon to humanity and he
induced the professor to demonstrate
it before a committee of Norfolk
county and Norfolk city doctors. They
witnessed the smothering of rabbits
and dogs to the point of what they
declared on their professional honor
| was absolute death, and then saw
them resuscitated.
DIR. Morgan yesterday described a
demonstration given in his office by
Prof. Poe and his machine in the pres
ence of himself and DR.. j. p. Jackson
and DIR. N. G. Wilson. On the operat-
ing table was the little brass machine,
composed OF two small cylinders about
a foot high and six inches in circum-
ference, with pump handle. Pipes
led from q tank of oxygen to the ma
chine, and from 1t tubes fitted with
nostril pieces were to be fastened to
a rabbit.
Rabbit Breathes Naturally
The rabbit was put on the table and
one of the doctors injucted two grains
of morphine into it's leg, after which
four ounces of ether was given. OF
course the rabbit was dead after this,
and the doctors applied every known
test to discover signs of life. No life
was there and the doctors agreed that
life was positively extinct.
Then Professor Poe applied the tubes
to the rabbits nostrils and pumping
out the poisons with one cylinder and
pumping oxygen into the lungs with
simultaneous movement of the valves,
within three minutes the rabbit, but
lately dead, was breathing naturally,
and within six minutes 1t was running
around the room. 1t showed no sign
Of nausea, proving that the ether was
entirely out OF the system.
Next a dog was placed in box con-
tanning a heavily charged atmosphere
of acetylene gas one of the most pol
| sonous gases known, and smothered