HE DIED BY INCHES.

Bruce Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 2646, 3 May 1895, Page 2 (Supplement)

HE DIED BY INCHES.

In speaking of the prevalence of para!;, si.s these times a Pomeroy physician remarked to a Tribune reporter recently that the most i trying time of his life was when he stood helplessly by and saw a Meigs County man die by inches of what is known as progressive paralysis. He was first taken in one big toe. In a short time the limb was ■ paralysed to the knee, and the disease crept onward as the irresistible tide. Two physicians were called, and all the known remedies were applied to stay the progress of the deadening attack, but in vain. Hour by hour death moved on its victim. The ■ patient was propped up in an arm chair , and fully realised his condition. He awaited • the end with the coolness and bravery of a , martyr. As the line of death crept nearer : and nearer his heart, he made calculations as to how much longer he could live I!e said : " Now it has reached the body," indicating the exact place with his ringer. In a little while he said: "It has reached the ; bottom of my lungs." Another short wait : and he said, faintly: "It has touched my j heart," and he fell over dead ! The man i literally died by inches, the torments lasting ■ about 24 hours. Nothing more horrible can ! be imagined than the family of that man and his physicians standing by powerless to help j him. Death was as certain as that a lighted , fuse will ignite a powder blast. Yet the j victim, in the full possession of his senses, | awaited the end calmly. His resignation ! and coolness in the face of certain death ■ were so remarkable that the informant says 1 he never can forget the occurrence. The ' man who died was John Hopkins of Racine. — Pomeroy (Ohio) Tribune. j