DAVE KIRK AGAIN ON THE WARPATH.

Southern Cross, Volume 5, Issue 40, 8 January 1898, Page 3

DAVE KIRK AGAIN ON THE WARPATH.

HE VANQUISHES HIS OPPONENT. A WONDERFUL FEAT FOR ONE 12 MONTHS AGO CONDEMNED FOE LIFE TO A SICK BED. RESTORED VITALITY DUE TO DR WILLIAMS’ PILK PILLS FOR PALE PEOPLE. He was unable to stir hand or foot, unable even to move, a victim of spinal disease, pleurisy, dysentry, complete paralysis of the body, and last, but bv no means least, locomotor ataxia, a ’terrible complaint which utterly prostrates the human frame and destroys the power of the will ; so much so that the common functions of nature are performed by a power extraneous to the will. Such was the condition of Dave Kirk after v bis terrible accident on the Scotch College Grounds, Melbourne, about a

year ago. His left heel had to be removed, and 32 stitches were inserted in that part of his foot ; 18 were placed in his right leg. His injuries also included a smashed kneecap, which had to be lifted. He was taken quite unconscious from the scene of his accident to the Melbourne Hospital, where everything likely to afford relief to the patient was brought into play, but the grave looks of the surgeons in attendance plainly indicated that they entertained but slight hopes of the young man’s ultimate recovery. Altogether, seven surgeons had to do with the sufferer, who was reduced to a very weak and comatose state after nine operations had been performed on him. Mortification set in in parts of the lower limbs, and artificial means had to be employed to draw off the urine. The system was washed internally four times every day with water and carbolic acid, the stomach being cleaned out by means of a tube. Injections were also largely employed. An eminent member of the profession expressed it as his opinion that Kirk would never again rise from his sick-bed. For seven trying months of pain and suffering poor Dave lay ’twixt life and death. How Dave Kirk, Victoria's largest scratch crack, came down a terrible smash whilst training is a matter of history to all lovers and admirers of the wheel. His was a singular case, and one which must have afforded play for the physicians’ skill and experiment, yet it remained for Dr Williams’ Pink Pills to effect a radical and complete cure. For seven months Dave Kirk was bed-ridden,in the Melbourne Hospital. At the expiration of that time he left, and managed to get about on crutches, though with great difficulty only. At this juncture his friends, firm believers in the wonderful healing properties of Dr Williams’ Pink Pills for \ Pale People, brought their influence to bear, and Dave started on a course. The most satisfactory results followed. ‘ Gradually,’ said Kirk, when speaking to our reporter, ‘ the sense of numbness began to disappear, and the extremities acquired by degrees their wonted healthy glowand warmth. While under treatment in the hospital the sense of feeling entirely disappeared, so much so that when the surgeons would put a needle into any part of my body I was absolutely insensible to the fact. To be sure of the absence of the sense of touch, the doctors would conceal my visiqn, and then question me as to the part they were piercing ; but my answers clearly proved to them that I was absolutely bereft of all sensibility ! I received a shock from a powerful galvanic battery —a shock so strong that the operator declared it to be half a volt more than be had given to anyone in the institution for 40 years —but was utterly unable to feel its effect. ‘ After a month’s trial of Dr Williams’ Pink Pills I was able to throw aside my crutches. But one of the most powerful effects of the pills was the restoration of functional health. Bowel troubles had been a terrible trial to me ever since the day I met with the accident. Regularity in this direction was perfectly set up, and I am now, after four months’ taking of these pills, in the enjoyment of perfect health.’ PRACTICAL PROOF OP RESTORED VITALITY. (See Melbourne Age of 23rd Sep- ■ tember.) One of the bicycle-thieving fraternity hired a machine from Dave, and, of course, failed to return it. A few : days agd Kirk, who had been keeping a strong'look-out, spied his man, and I without more ado made for him. His • opponent, a powerfully built fellow i and of much heavier weight than he, > resisted, and blood flowed freely on ; both sides but the victory was ■ Kirk’s. After a severe battle, he i, lifted the thief up bodily, placed him l in a cab, and took him to the lock- ? up. Could greater and more con vinci ing evidence of restored vitality be i expected or given ? We venture to

say not. Dr Williams’ Pink Pills restored to the sufferer the power he had lost. They cured him of his terrible injuries and sufferings, and enabled him to ‘do battle ’ victoriously with a bigger man than himself. Kirk is able to trench a large garden, and daily walks two miles to his place of business, 471 Elizabeth street, North. The renowned athlete never fails to give the whole credit of his recovery to that wonderful remedy discovered by Dr Williams. The following articles, which appeared in the Melbourne papers a year ago, will illustrate the terrible condition Dave Kirk was in after the accident; — Extract from the Melbourne Argus: —‘ Everyone has heard of Kirk, the crack racer. About a month ago be met with an accident whilst training, and has been in the Melbourne Hospital ever since. The medical authorities say that he will never ride again, as his spine has been so badly hurt that he will likely be paralysed for life.’ Extract from the Herald . —‘ Dave Kirk, residing at the Coffee Palace, Victoria street, North Melbourne, sustained severe injuries this afternoon through falling from his bicycle while training on the track at the Scotch College ground. The tire of his bicycle burst, and Kirk was thrown violently to the ground. He was removed in a cab to the Melbourne Hospital.’ The latter extract appeared in the Herald on the afternoon of the accident, October 9, 1896. The former appeared in the Argus about a month later, after the physicians and authorities had placed him under treatment, and discovered that his injuries had resulted in paralysis, spinal disease, and locomotor ataxia, and that he was entirely beyond theii aid. His case was accordingly, by the physicians who examined him, pronounced in- | curable, and they told poor Kirk that he would never rise from his bed again. Dr Williams’ Pink Pills have a remarkable efficacy in curing diseases arising from an impoverished condition of the blood or an impairment of the nervous system, such as rheumatism, neuralgia, partial paralysis, locomotor ataxia, nervous headache, nervous prostration, and the tired feeling arising therefrom. They are genuine only with the full name, Dr Williams’ Pink Pills for Pale People, and are sold in boxes encircling which is a blue warning label. The outside wrapper is of white paper, and is printed in red ink. Our repeated warnings may seem a trifle superfluous in the eyes of the reading public, but they were never more needed than now, and the frequency with which they appear is attributable to our desire to afford our customers every protection. Imitators are in every corner of Australasia, and many vendors are endeavouring to pass off a hurtful substitute, as it means a larger profit to them, and the public would do well to avoid them, for they would just as readily dispense impure drugs. Dr Williams’ Pink Pills are obtainable from all leading chemists, or from the Dr Williams’ Medicine Co., Wellington, N.Z., who will forward, post paid, on receipt of stamps or post : order, one box for 3s, or half a dozen r for 15s 9d.