Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-10-24
LOCATED
BY X-RAY IN I.
R. RIGHT CHEST
BALL FOUND TO BE FLATTENEp
AND EMBEDDED IN SHAT
TERED RIB.
BLOOD POISONING ONLY FEAR
injury Announced to Be Healing Nor
mally With No Infection lndl-
cated-conditlon Described
as "very Satisfactory"

Mercy Hospital, Chicago.-The bull.
let wound inflicted in Theodore Roose-
velt's chest Monday night, it was Off
cially announced for the first time,
is healing normally without infection
The statement that no complica'
tons have shown themselves was
made after a day, during which the
first successful X-ray picture which
has been made of the wound in the
colonel's chest was examined by the
surgeons.
The fact was developed that the
would-be assassin's bullet fractured
the colonel's fourth rib.
The missile remains imbedded ap'
parently in the bone. The fracture.
however, it is stated, will not affect
the patient and will heal without
treatment.
This description, given out by DR.
McCauley, vas the first given to the
public by the physicians. He said
the bullets path through the chest is
..acerated to some extent by the bat
tered lead, but that there was little
confusion and no extensive area Of
bruised and ex~travasated surrounding
tissue.
"The bullet did not mushroom as
might have been expected" said DR..
McCauley, "for that reason it cut a
comparatively small hole in the skin
and did not reduce a large portion Of
the nearby tissues to pulp as is the
case in a soft bullet that mushrooms
in animal tissue after it hits a bone.
81 think the bundle of papers
checked it and the spectacle case for
some reason failed to spread the bull
let much.
"The wound is about big enough to
put your finger in at the surface and
does not appear OF get very much big.
ger. | would call it a clean wound.
"The skin is torn at the surface in
a ragged way, but not badly, and
there is little bruising.
"There is not a sign of %supuration
in the wound.
1.-THE flesh is in good condition and
seems to be healing without any evil
dence of complication. If there were
pus forming deep in the wound, we
would know it at once by an unusual
rise of temperature"
DR.. McCauley added that it now Is
certain from the X-ray pictures that
the bullet has MOI entered or injured
the pleural cavity, removing a grave
possibility in the case.
He pointed out the normal condi
ton of the patient as indicated by the
official chart taken at 10 p. m.
DR.. McCauley's statement was Civ
en- after leaving the colonefs room
and after a consultation with the 9th
er surgeons. He confirmed previous
announcements that no attempt would
be made at present to remove the bull
let, which is not expected to hinder
the healing of the fractured rib.
This case" he added, will not be
like that Of the late President McKin
ley, whose sudden hopeless turn tool
the public by surprise. There is moth
ing to be expected here, but if any
thing in~the way Of dangerous symp
toms do develop they will be made
public at once"
Among the kilograms received by
Col. Roosevelt during the day were
from the king of England, emperor OIL
Germany, king of Denmark and Sill
Conan Doyle.
Several hundred messages weer re
ceived from all parts of the world.
1t will be necessary to set Col
R~oosevelt's fractured rib or put him
in a plaster of paris bandage, accord
ing to DR.. Terrell. Fractures of the
rib seldom are set unless the bone is
out of place." said DIR. Terrell. "This
n is not extensive enough to call
for treatment of that sort"