Rensselaer Republican, Volume 13, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 July 1881 — Doctors Greatly Puzzled. [ARTICLE]

Doctors Greatly Puzzled.

New York Sun. On the afternoon of Jan. 26 Mrs. Catherine Crave of 4 Charlton street was sh,ot in the head by William Sindram, who had been compelled to leave the house for non payment of board. The ballet entered the left temple and remained in the wouiid. She died last Sunday evening at 7:19, 4j months after the shooting. The case has attracted much attention. Dr. W. E. Forest, who attended Mrs. Crave, says that although some surprising recoveries from wounds to the upper portion of the brain are recorded, yet he believes that so long a Kriod of vitality after a wound in the se of the brain is unparalelled. Dr. Forest’s office is directly opposite Mrs. Craves dwelling, and he saw her immediately after the shooting. He says: “There was a remarkable absence of prostration from the first She did not fall when shot, but leaned her head in a corner, and, if she lost consciousness at all, it was only momentarily. At least two teaspoonfuls of brain matter oozed from the wound, but her control over her motions was not disturbed, and she could talk rationally. The fever that followed was not greater than always follows a gunshot ’ wound and this gradually abated, and her general health and appetite returned. During the first two weeks there were some indications of a shock to the brain —manifested in the dilation of the pupils of her eyes and in'a nervous irritability—but there were never any symptoms of paralysis, such as would follow compression of the brain. She was thoroughly in the possession of all her faculties, and after the first shock was over all htr bodily. functions went on with vigor.

During the first two weeks she partook of moderate nourishment, such as warm milk with a little brandy, beef tea, &c.,and the treatment was similar to that adopted in cases of congestion of the brain. I put ice packs to the head,' and combated the fever. Afterward, when her digestion seemed strong and her appetite was restored, I administered remedies calculated to support the system, such as iron and beef. The treatment of the case has no significance. It was her extraordinary natural sustained her. Her appetite was She could eat oysters by the quart, and would consume a bottle of wine a day. Meanwhile there was an orifice three-fourths of an inch in diameter In her temple, and a strong light directed in it disclosed the surface oi the brain. The wound suppurated freely until about four weeks after the injury, when the wound on the temple ceased, to discharge, and the flow came from the ear. Water injected into tbe ear came into the wound in the temple. “Notwithstanding this evidence of the spread of inflammation and the breaking down of tissue, her mental power seemed unimpaired. About two months after the shooting she complained of intense pain in the right side, and about three weeks latep an abscess was developed. The immediate cause of her death was the exhaustion of her physicial forces from the wasting effects of [the abscesses.” The autopsy increased the surprise of tbe physicians that she should have survived so long. Tbe bullet, ragged in shape and broken into three pieces, ’ was found lodged just in front of the spinal column below the base of the brain. It had perforated the base of the skull, close to the interior tube of the ear, scooping out a portion of the base of the cerebrum. The brain was found to be in a healthy condition, except in the portion immediately surrounding ihe bullet hole. The ordinary result of suchk wound, iffnot immedi-* ately fatal, would be for the inflammation to spread through the brain substance. In this the inflammation had extended downward the whole length of the neck, but had not yet entered the cavity of the chest. This abscess would soon, of .itself, have E roved fatal had not the other one rokeu out. The latter abscess was found to extend from behind the kidneys on the right side, down into the right thigh. The abscess in the head and neck was the di ct result of the wound. The lower abscess were the result of septic absorp n. Thesurvival of the patient for so long a time with such Injuries makes the case one of the most extraordinary on record. A member of the family said that until recently Mrs. Crave expected to get well. Toward the last her appetite failed, and during the last three days she took very little nourishment. She remained conscious until Sunday morning. She was 51 years and 5 months old. She had been a very large, strong woman, weighing upward of 160, pounds, buthad become emaciated. She was of German nationality. A Coroner’s jury will probable be impanelled this morning. Sindram, after shooting Mrs. Crave, ran into the street pistol in band. He was collared by a little man, and held despite bis threats and remonstrances until a policeman arrived. It has never been found out who this man was, and he has not been seen since. Sindram uas committed to the Tombs to await the result of Crave’s in juries J