Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-01-06
Has Skull Trepanned to Re-
cover Lost knowledge Of
% Years of Blank Mind,
and Loses Is Years.
DOES NOT KNOW j
HIS OLD FRIENDS
Since Operation Incidents
of Past Eighteen Years
are Now Blank; Business
Career Successful. .a

Career Successful. r
The first twenty-five years of tho
life Of Jacob Marsh, Richland mer-
chant, was made blank when he was
struck by q pair of knucks in May,
1893. The past eighteen years are now
q blank to him, but he recalls early
days Of his life most wildly. The ire.
panning of his skull, from which. he
has just recovered, accomplished the
unusual result Of returning to tho
man his early recollection, but robbed
him Of all memory of happenings since
being struck with the brass kunckles
In the hand of his assailant. +;
Yesterday Mr.. Marsh came to OF.
tumwa and had to be introduced to all
his numerous friends here with whom
he had done business and who he had
met socially during several years past.
He dropped into the Wilson imple-
ment house on West Second street,
and when greeted by Mr.. Wilson and
others in the store he failed to show
signs of recognition. Thinking that his
old friend and business client was jok-
Ing Mr.. Wilson exchanged pleas
antry with him, but failed to elicit any
recognition Notwithstanding that tho
firm of Wilson & Bowlin negotiated a
trade of a farm. of 313 acres near
Selma for the business in Richland
that Mr.. Marsh now owns. Previous to
the visit to the Wilson store, Mr..
Marsh called on the firm of Jaques &
jacques, who have been his attorneys
during the past eighteen years, and
was shown Captain Jaques, who
handled his legal business. Addressed
by Mr.. Jaques, whose face and name
he had forgotten, he did not recognize
the attorney and when the introduc-
ton was completed he explained, to
Mr.. jacques that he had undergone an
operation on his skull that erased the
past eighteen years from his memory.
It was in the Wilson store that he
related his story in an interview while
seated among number Of his friends
with whom he had just renewed his
acquaintance after a number of intro
auctions. These represented persons
who had formerly done business with
him and for him, also an old neighbor
near whom he lived when he resided
on the farm in Davis county, near
Selma, the recollection of which is
an entire blank to him, although he re-
sided there for year and half and
until going to Richland to run the bust
ness traded for his farm through the
efforts Of Wilson and Bowlin.
. Tells Of Cause.
ut was a blow on my head with a
pair Of brass knucks near Evans,
Iowa, about the middle OF May, 1893.
that is responsible for my condition.
For the past eighteen years l have
not known what took place previous
to that time. I was % years of age
and my home was in Iowa City where
! was employed by, John Tobek, a
stone contractor who was engaged In
construction work for railroad, the
Rock Island, think We were build
ing stone bridges and doing general
stone work from Washington to Oska-
loosa and Knoxville Working with me
was another Iowa City man named
Jim Dunn, who, learned later, Is one
of the Maybray gang sent up for
term in the federal prison at Leaven-
worth, 1t was this man Dunn. fellow
I knew as a boy in Iowa City and
worked with, went to dances with, and
thought was a friend, who caused the
trouble In my head. The whole mat
ter was started by my answering a
question asked me by another work
man as to how long I had been en-
ployed by the contractor. I said l had
worked for Contractor Tobek for a
year before and Dunn interposed with
the statement that it was few days
only that I had been working. When
/ contradicted him he struck me with
out my realizing what happened and
the last / recall is seeing Dunn run
ming away from the ditch where we
were digging. My best recollection
now is that the blow was struck while
we were working somewhere between
Harvey and Evans.
Had Sick Spells. +
After I got we'll enough to work
again, / resumed my labors with
Tobek until early fall. Following the
injury, however. frequent spells Of
sickness came over me and gradually
became worse. At first l would lose
nv eyesight and hearing and part
Oh Iuy SpcOCu ludAS II-NONCloPCu ~
strong that would lose all sight, hear.
ing and speech and the last few spells
I had became unconscious. Now this
may seem strange to you, but what I
am telling you now Is really hearsay,
for have depended on my wife and
my papers to acquaint me with what
has taken place these past eighteen
years. Until the operation all Of this
was clear to me, but the time previous
to the injury was a blank. r.
Tumor on Skull.
THE operation took place in a pri.
vate hospital at Richland where my
skull was trepanned. The injured part
of the skull was raised and the sur.
geon removed a tumor THAT grew to
the under side of the skull and
pressed on the brain. and also affected