The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1910-12-08
HIS BONES MOBILE APART
A RAILROAD MAN WHO HAS HIS
BODY LITERALLY PATCHED
TOGETHER.
Whenever Barney Baldwin Lies Down,
His Vertebrae Slips out Of Place.
II He Wanted to Raise Right
Hand His Left Would
Bob up.
QUITE CLIPPER ALTHOUGH HE is
ALL TORE UP.
Extract from New York World. Sun
day, February &c, 1851

(EXtract from New York World, sun
day, February &c, 1851
Bernard Baldwin, a railroad man,
was all broken up in a railroad acc,
dent at Birmingham Ala, about year
ago. His neck was broken and so was
his right arm, both legs and five ribs,
his watch was crushed out of sight
into his bowels and an iron bolt was
driven into him with force enough to
break his collar bone. He was uncon-
scious for thirty-six hours, was totally
blind for fourteen days, was compelled
to lie on a water mattress for 127
days, and was confined TO bed nearly
six months. Since that time he has
never lain down. He is now stopping
with his wife, very lively pretty
young woman who comes from Bridge
port, at the Murry Hill hotel His
head is held above his shoulders in
an iron mask The mask hangs from
a bracket which has its support in a
steel vest. The arm, which was bro
ken at the elbow, has been made as
good as new by the insertion Of sill
yer point.
Baldwin is a powerfully built man,
he is as hearty and cheerful in his
manner as could be desired. In con-
versation with a World reporter last
evening, he said:
AT the time of the accident, which
occurred last March. | was yard mas
ter of the Louisville & Nashville
railroad at Birmingham, Ala. | am
not a southerner by birth, but was
born not thirteen blocks from this ho-
tel. My mother is living here now,
but she does not know of the accident
or of my being hurt, because | do not
want to make her worry, so you see
cant go to see her looking as | do.
The accident was caused by an engine
becoming unmanageable and smashing
into a string of cars. | was knocked
off caboose and dislocated my shoul-
der by the fall, then six cars and an
engine passed over me. In trying to
save myself, | threw my arm over the
brake beam of the caboose. 1t threw
me against frog, breaking my right
arm at the elbow and my left leg at
the ankle. My right leg was twisted
up in the footboard of the engine and
broken in two places; the ash pan of
the engine broke my neck and five
ribs, three on one side and two on the
other. The sixth cerebral vertebrae
of the neck was broken and the joint
between the sixth and seventh was
split. | was unconscious for thirty
hours and totally blind for two weeks
They had not the slightest hope of my
living, but | had good constitution
that was never poisoned with whisky.
81 had just ghost of a chance to
recover, and | made the best of it, but
| am the only man that ever got over
a broken neck. I was paralyzed for a
while, but they got that out Of me by
electricity. | can't lie down on ac-
count of the vertebrae not having knit
yet. When | try to lie down it slips
out of place and presses on my spinal
column, and that puts me in stupor
was out of my mind for four months
after the accident. | could not go to
sleep, but every night about 10 o'clock
would go in trance that would last
for two or three hours. | would know
what was going on around me, but
would lose all control of the muscles
of my body. When | came out I'd
feel as fresh as if Id had good sleep
I've got so now | can sleep a little,
and knock out about three hours that
way every night.
81 had time of it when | began to
get back the use of my limbs. If |
wanted to walk across the room when
I'd try to start | couldn't, and then
when | did get started I'd go in a hur-
ry. If | tried to raise my right hand
the chances were the left would pop
up instead. I'm over that now. I'm
a well man except little nervous, as
you see, and not able to keep still
long. I'm lame, too, in one leg, and
my head hangs crooked. The pain left
is in my spine. 1t reminds me of a
bottle of water with q bubble in it,
The bubble goes slowly up my spine,
| jumps the break in my neck and goes
into my head, then it breaks out into
my ears. | don't know whether I'll
ever be wholly grown together or not
| When | ask the doctor if I'll ever be
able to take off my mask and get a
good nights sleep in the old way, they
! tell me to ask them something easier
! I've been to a good many of them all
over the country, and a good many of
| them are afraid to meddle with me.
DR.. Sayer of this city has examined
| my machinery more than once, and
he is going to try to hang my head on
a little straighter. He said to me to-
day: Barney. you're the greatest curl
osity in the world, and you've got all
us doctors in a snowbank.' The man
who patched me up was a rough old
fellow named DR. James B. Luke, in
Birmingham, where | was hurt. How
| am able to live puzzles all the doc |
tors, and one of them, DIR. Sankfield /
Of San Francisco, has offered me s1O- |
coo for my body when | am through |
with it,"
Detroit Free Press, Dec. G, 1897.
Wonderland is reaping a rich har- |
vest this week. due to the drawing .
powers of Barney Baldwin, the man /
with a broken neck. His engagement .
closes tomorrow evening.
Copyrighted 1888 by Barney Bald