Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Letter of the Day: April 27
34, 585 (presumably a Smithsonian number)
Washington, April 27, 1874
Dear Doctor.
I send you a letter from a correspondent in Florida, who seems to have struck a vein. Please return this as soon as you have perused it, + let me know whether you can authorise (sic) him to expense any money, say, ten, twenty, or thirty dollars or more, in excavating for the skulls + skeletons of dead Indians.
Very truly yours,
Spencer F. Baird
Dr. Geo. A. Otis
Army Medical Museum,
Washington
(a note written on the letter says ‘no enclosure was rec’d’)
Washington, April 27, 1874
Dear Doctor.
I send you a letter from a correspondent in Florida, who seems to have struck a vein. Please return this as soon as you have perused it, + let me know whether you can authorise (sic) him to expense any money, say, ten, twenty, or thirty dollars or more, in excavating for the skulls + skeletons of dead Indians.
Very truly yours,
Spencer F. Baird
Dr. Geo. A. Otis
Army Medical Museum,
Washington
(a note written on the letter says ‘no enclosure was rec’d’)
Monday, April 26, 2010
Installed AAOS exhibit at Russell senate office building
From the Museum's press release:
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE AND UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, BALTIMORE TO FEATURE 'WOUNDED IN ACTION: AN ART EXHIBITION OF ORTHOPAEDIC ADVANCEMENTS'
Washington, D.C. – March 31, 2010: "Wounded in Action: An Art Exhibition of Orthopaedic Advancements," an exhibit of art works inspired by experiences with the wounds of war, will have its first major installation at the National Museum of Health and Medicine in Washington, D.C. and the University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB), in May 2010, after a one-week exhibition in a United States Senate office building in the nation’s capital. "Wounded in Action" is produced and organized by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), which premiered the exhibition at its annual meeting in New Orleans in March.
"Wounded in Action" celebrates those who have had orthopaedic injuries as a result of serving our country during a time of war. From World War II to Korea to Viet Nam, from the Gulf War, to Afghanistan to Iraq, thousands of uniformed service members have suffered severe musculoskeletal injuries. Their stories are told through the art on display in the installation. The exhibition also recognizes orthopaedic surgeons who, throughout history, have risked their own safety to care for military service members, to save lives and limbs, to advance medical treatments, and to conduct research and learn from war in order to better treat those who sustain orthopaedic trauma.
"Wounded in Action" will see its Washington, D.C. premiere at the Russell Senate Office Building the week of April 26-30, 2010.
In May, the entire juried exhibition will be concurrently installed in two locations in the Baltimore/Washington region: at the NMHM in Washington and at UMB’s Health Sciences/Human Services Library and Southern Management Corporation Campus Center, in downtown Baltimore. Both locations will be open to the public and the exhibition is available free of charge. (See below for specific exhibition information.)
"The intersection of medicine and the humanities is central to this exhibition and we’re honored to partner with AAOS and the University of Maryland, Baltimore in offering the public the opportunity to engage this important show," said Adrianne Noe, Ph.D., Director of the NMHM. "As a medical museum located on a military medical installation, we’re intimately familiar with the present-day consequences of war injuries. And, historically, our collections have played an integral role in the development of new and innovative technologies to improve the quality of life of wounded warriors and their families."
NMHM has a considerable interest in documenting advances in prosthetics and orthopaedic surgery, with hundreds of objects included in the Museum’s Historical Collections. Instruments that document the history of amputation range from Revolutionary War-era amputation knives to Civil War-era surgical kits and modern 20th-century stainless steel amputation saws. A large collection of artificial limbs, dating from the post Civil War era to modern examples, is also in the collection and on display in the Museum’s Civil War medicine and battlefield surgery exhibits. Highlights include a circa 1850 G.W. Yearger Artificial Leg, the first patented artificial limb; two artificial limbs made by American POWs during the World War II; and an Otto Bock C-Leg issued to amputees wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. The history of total joint arthroplasty is represented by a mock-up of the Jules Pean's artificial shoulder implant of 1890; a collection of joint prosthetics developed by the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City; and the prototype UCI Total Knee.
"Statistics on war injuries are stark and startling – but by telling personal stories of the men and women who have demonstrated extreme courage, endured extreme loss and persevered through a healing process – we hope to truly honor our troops," said AAOS President John J. Callaghan, MD. "We also honor the orthopaedic surgeons and all who serve as military medical caregivers. "Wounded in Action" not only is a collection of artwork, it also is a collection of stories of both pain and renewal."
"As Maryland's public academic healthcare center, UMB is delighted to be partnering with AAOS and the National Museum of Health and Medicine to bring this provocative exhibit to Baltimore," said James L. Hughes, MBA, Vice President, Office of Research and Development at UMB. "By portraying the challenges in repairing war’s assault on the human body and spirit, the artwork will inspire the thousands of healthcare students, clinicians, and researchers at UMB and throughout Greater Baltimore."
Letter of the Day: April 26 - the Peabody Museum sends thanks
Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology
Harvard University
F.W. Putnam,
Curator of the Museum,
Cambridge, Mass, Apr 26 1876
My dear Dr. Otis
Many thanks for your kindness in sending me the negative which arrived today. I have sent it to Mr. Edwards without unpacking + shall have a proof from him at once. If it turns out all right would you like copies for your own use? If so I will have some sent you with the compl.[iments] of our museum as I shall have a number printed on large sheets for special distribution.
We shall greatly value the large photograph you propose sending as all we have now is one of the Cabinet rig which you sent in, which I framed + hung in the museum.
You will be pleased to know that we begin our new building at once, so I hop e in time to have a chance to arrange the museum as it should be. I shall be very much pleased to see you here + and you will kindly send me word when you are to be or in advance, for as I live in Salem + and not at the museum every day I often miss parties here unless they let me know when they are coing.
I congratulate you as arriving so near to the end of your editorial work on the big volume. It was a great undertaking + I fully know the time + attention required for such work. I hope to have some good photorelief figures of the California skulls to go in my report, and I shall be very thankful to you for the use of your measurements as you propose..
Faithfully yours,
F.W. Putnam
To Dr. G.A. Otis, U.S.A.
Curator Army Medical Museum
Washington, D.C.
Letter of the Day: April 26 - the Peabody Museum sends thanks
Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and Ethnology
Harvard University
F.W. Putnam,
Curator of the Museum,
Cambridge, Mass, Apr 26 1876
My dear Dr. Otis
Many thanks for your kindness in sending me the negative which arrived today. I have sent it to Mr. Edwards without unpacking + shall have a proof from him at once. If it turns out alright would you like copies for your own use? If so I will have some sent you with the compl.[iments] of our museum as I shall have a number printed on large sheets for special distribution.
We shall greatly value the large photograph you propose sending as all we have now is one of the Cabinet rig which you sent in, which I framed + hung in the museum.
You will be pleased to know that we begin our new building at once, so I hop e in time to have a chance to arrange the museum as it should be. I shall be very much pleased to see you here + and you will kindly send me word when you are to be or in advance, for as I live in Salem + and not at the museum every day I often miss parties here unless they let me know when they are coing.
I congratulate you as arriving so near to the end of your editorial work on the big volume. It was a great undertaking + I fully know the time + attention required for such work. I hope to have some good photorelief figures of the California skulls to go in my report, and I shall be very thankful to you for the use of your measurements as you propose..
Faithfully yours,
F.W. Putnam
To Dr. G.A. Otis, U.S.A.
Curator Army Medical Museum
Washington, D.C.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Letter of the Day: April 25 - tuberculosis
Here’s a sad case of a soldier from the 37th US Colored troops who had a horrible case of tuberculosis that was everywhere but in his lungs.
SS 8259
Post Hospital, Fort McHenry
Baltimore, Md. April 25, 1866
Bvt Major & Asst Surgeon
DeWitt C. Peters, U.S.A., Post Surgeon
Fort McHenry, Md.
Sir,
I have the honor to transmit herewith the Ante & Post Mortem History of Private James Turpins Co. F, 37 U.S. C Troops, Age 23 Years, who died in this hospital April 109, 1866, of tubercular caries of spine, the pathological specimens of which was forwarded to the Army Medical Museum, Washington, D.C., April 20, 1866.
This patient was admitted into this hospital Feby 20, 1866 from the Hicks U.S.A. General Hospital suffering at that time with a severe pain, much increased upon pressure over the region of the Lumbar Vertebrae, attended with loss of motive power in lower extremities, with which was associated great constitutional debility and scrofulous cachexia. He stated that he had first contracted his sickness while in Hospital at Fortress Monroe, Va. With Frostbitten feet; that it had commenced with pain in the back which increased from day to day until he was unable to use his lower extremities, an abscess had formed and had been opened by the attending Surgeon shortly after his admittance into this Hospital. This opening continued to discharge profusely a quantity of very fetid and cloudy pus; at times he was considerably troubled by incontinence of urine. About three weeks before his death another larger Abscess formed lower down over the Junction of last lumbar vertebra with sacrum which being laid open discharged about a pint and a half of fetid cloudy pus followed by a quantity of yellow inspirated matter in which little specks of necrosed bone could be seen, carious bone could be felt through both of these openings. He continued to grow weaker from day to day, and was found dead in his bed by the night nurse early in the morning of April 10, 1866 after having eaten his supper as usual the night before and without having any convulsions or other symptoms of nervous irritation except the paraplegia.
The treatment consisted essentially in the administration of alturatives and tonics calculated to support the vital energies together with a good nourishing diet.
On Post Mortem examination the body was found much emaciated; rigor mortis not well marked.
Brain.
The dura-mater normal; pacchionian bodies much larger than normal. About three ounces of purulent fluid escaped from subarachnoid space upon opening the dura mater. Vessels of the piamater somewhat congested, the surfaces of the arachnoid and piamater in surarachnoid space were covered with a thick layer of yellowish pus, which was especially marked in the situations of the so-called anterior and posterior subarachnoid spaces and between certain convolution on the uppers surface of the hemispheres in these last situations little leaks had formed in some cases in the sulci which were filled with a thick cloudy pus. This matter on microscopical examination was found to contain a large quantity of half disintegrated tubercular matter. The anterior horn of the left [illegible] ventricle contained about two drachmas of pus of the same character as that found in other parts of the brain. The third ventricle also contained a small quantity of purulent matter. The fourth ventricle was found full of pus which seemed to have effected an entrance by breaking down the membranes forming the inferior boundary of the ventricle. The fifth ventricle was unusually large. The choroid plexuses of all the ventricles was much engorged with blood. No tubercular masses could be discovered in the brain substance or in any of its membranes. The substance of the brain was of normal consistence; the entire surface of the spinal covered was covered with pus. Brain weighs 39 ounces.
Lungs.
The pleural surfaces were absent upon the left side of their upper part; both lungs were every where crepitant [ie made a crackling sound] except a portion of about 2 inches in width along the anterior edge of the upper and middle lobes of right lung. This portion was of a leaden color, tough, fibrous, non-crepitant and of a greater specific gravity than water. No tubercules could be found in either lung but the surface of these organs was every where speckled over with melanotic matter. The bronchial glands were of normal size but infiltrated with pigmentary matter. Right lung weighed 11 ½ ounces. Left lung weighted 9 ½ ounces.
Heart.
This organ was somewhat enlarged, its muscular substance being hypertrophied; valves normal, cavities filled with whitish fibrous clots, the upper surface of that occupying the right auricle was distinctly grooved by the passage over it of the blood from the venae cavae. Heart weighed with clots 17 ounces.
Liver.
Had a yellowish brown color. Under the microscope numerous fat granules were found in the cells of this organ; weighed four pounds and one ounce.
Gall Bladder. Filled with bile of a greenish yellow color.
Spleen was of normal appearance, weighed 5 ½ ounces.
Kidneys, somewhat congested, right weighed 6 ounces, left 4 ½ ounces.
Suprarenal capsules normal, weighed each 2 drams.
Pancreas. Natural. Weighed 3 ½ ounces.
Intestines and Stomach.
The mucus membrane slightly infected in some portions, mesenteric glands were enlarged and contained in some cases deposits of tubercular matter. About 8 ounces of yellowish serum was found in the peritoneal cavity.
The lower dorsal, lumbar, sacral, coccyxal vertebrae were all diseased and in some places extensively destroyed by caries; in the lumbar region the ulceration of the vertebrae had proceeded to such an extent as to have eaten its way into the spinal canal and through the theca and forcing its way up the canal, as the man lay on his face, accounted for the presence of pus in such large quantities over the whole surface of the spinal cord and brain and throughout the ventricles of the latter organ and also offered an explanation of the patients sudden death. The lymphatic glands in the inguinal and pelvic regions were infiltrated with cloudy pus.
Pus was also found beneath the sheaths of both psoas major muscles having destroyed the greater portion of their muscular substance. Carious abscesses were found of the fifth rib on the right sight and of the second and forth of the left side at the point of junction with their respective cartilages. The end of the sternum was also carious as far up its junction with the cartilage of the fifth rib. The pelvic bones were studded with spots of caries.
I am, Major, Very Respectfully,
Your Obedient Servant,
Henry McElderry
A.A. Surg. U.S. Army
SS 8259
Post Hospital, Fort McHenry
Baltimore, Md. April 25, 1866
Bvt Major & Asst Surgeon
DeWitt C. Peters, U.S.A., Post Surgeon
Fort McHenry, Md.
Sir,
I have the honor to transmit herewith the Ante & Post Mortem History of Private James Turpins Co. F, 37 U.S. C Troops, Age 23 Years, who died in this hospital April 109, 1866, of tubercular caries of spine, the pathological specimens of which was forwarded to the Army Medical Museum, Washington, D.C., April 20, 1866.
This patient was admitted into this hospital Feby 20, 1866 from the Hicks U.S.A. General Hospital suffering at that time with a severe pain, much increased upon pressure over the region of the Lumbar Vertebrae, attended with loss of motive power in lower extremities, with which was associated great constitutional debility and scrofulous cachexia. He stated that he had first contracted his sickness while in Hospital at Fortress Monroe, Va. With Frostbitten feet; that it had commenced with pain in the back which increased from day to day until he was unable to use his lower extremities, an abscess had formed and had been opened by the attending Surgeon shortly after his admittance into this Hospital. This opening continued to discharge profusely a quantity of very fetid and cloudy pus; at times he was considerably troubled by incontinence of urine. About three weeks before his death another larger Abscess formed lower down over the Junction of last lumbar vertebra with sacrum which being laid open discharged about a pint and a half of fetid cloudy pus followed by a quantity of yellow inspirated matter in which little specks of necrosed bone could be seen, carious bone could be felt through both of these openings. He continued to grow weaker from day to day, and was found dead in his bed by the night nurse early in the morning of April 10, 1866 after having eaten his supper as usual the night before and without having any convulsions or other symptoms of nervous irritation except the paraplegia.
The treatment consisted essentially in the administration of alturatives and tonics calculated to support the vital energies together with a good nourishing diet.
On Post Mortem examination the body was found much emaciated; rigor mortis not well marked.
Brain.
The dura-mater normal; pacchionian bodies much larger than normal. About three ounces of purulent fluid escaped from subarachnoid space upon opening the dura mater. Vessels of the piamater somewhat congested, the surfaces of the arachnoid and piamater in surarachnoid space were covered with a thick layer of yellowish pus, which was especially marked in the situations of the so-called anterior and posterior subarachnoid spaces and between certain convolution on the uppers surface of the hemispheres in these last situations little leaks had formed in some cases in the sulci which were filled with a thick cloudy pus. This matter on microscopical examination was found to contain a large quantity of half disintegrated tubercular matter. The anterior horn of the left [illegible] ventricle contained about two drachmas of pus of the same character as that found in other parts of the brain. The third ventricle also contained a small quantity of purulent matter. The fourth ventricle was found full of pus which seemed to have effected an entrance by breaking down the membranes forming the inferior boundary of the ventricle. The fifth ventricle was unusually large. The choroid plexuses of all the ventricles was much engorged with blood. No tubercular masses could be discovered in the brain substance or in any of its membranes. The substance of the brain was of normal consistence; the entire surface of the spinal covered was covered with pus. Brain weighs 39 ounces.
Lungs.
The pleural surfaces were absent upon the left side of their upper part; both lungs were every where crepitant [ie made a crackling sound] except a portion of about 2 inches in width along the anterior edge of the upper and middle lobes of right lung. This portion was of a leaden color, tough, fibrous, non-crepitant and of a greater specific gravity than water. No tubercules could be found in either lung but the surface of these organs was every where speckled over with melanotic matter. The bronchial glands were of normal size but infiltrated with pigmentary matter. Right lung weighed 11 ½ ounces. Left lung weighted 9 ½ ounces.
Heart.
This organ was somewhat enlarged, its muscular substance being hypertrophied; valves normal, cavities filled with whitish fibrous clots, the upper surface of that occupying the right auricle was distinctly grooved by the passage over it of the blood from the venae cavae. Heart weighed with clots 17 ounces.
Liver.
Had a yellowish brown color. Under the microscope numerous fat granules were found in the cells of this organ; weighed four pounds and one ounce.
Gall Bladder. Filled with bile of a greenish yellow color.
Spleen was of normal appearance, weighed 5 ½ ounces.
Kidneys, somewhat congested, right weighed 6 ounces, left 4 ½ ounces.
Suprarenal capsules normal, weighed each 2 drams.
Pancreas. Natural. Weighed 3 ½ ounces.
Intestines and Stomach.
The mucus membrane slightly infected in some portions, mesenteric glands were enlarged and contained in some cases deposits of tubercular matter. About 8 ounces of yellowish serum was found in the peritoneal cavity.
The lower dorsal, lumbar, sacral, coccyxal vertebrae were all diseased and in some places extensively destroyed by caries; in the lumbar region the ulceration of the vertebrae had proceeded to such an extent as to have eaten its way into the spinal canal and through the theca and forcing its way up the canal, as the man lay on his face, accounted for the presence of pus in such large quantities over the whole surface of the spinal cord and brain and throughout the ventricles of the latter organ and also offered an explanation of the patients sudden death. The lymphatic glands in the inguinal and pelvic regions were infiltrated with cloudy pus.
Pus was also found beneath the sheaths of both psoas major muscles having destroyed the greater portion of their muscular substance. Carious abscesses were found of the fifth rib on the right sight and of the second and forth of the left side at the point of junction with their respective cartilages. The end of the sternum was also carious as far up its junction with the cartilage of the fifth rib. The pelvic bones were studded with spots of caries.
I am, Major, Very Respectfully,
Your Obedient Servant,
Henry McElderry
A.A. Surg. U.S. Army
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Photo of the day, April 24
Inspecting clothing for vermin. 04/24/1918. France. Inspecting clothing for vermin, Company E, 28th Infantry. Cooties. Reading shirts. 129-Y8-T.
Letter of the Day: April 24
This one comes from an accession file we recently had scanned.
A.M.M. 6753 and 6754 Sec. I and 855 Sec VI
Fort Larned Kansas
April 24 1877
Surgeon General
U.S. Army
Sir
I have the honor to enclose herewith a receipt, taken from the A.A.Q.M. of this post for one box addressed to Surgeon General, U.S.A.
The box contains the following articles which may possess enough value to go in the Army Medical Museum.
Dr. Woodward {1. Skeleton of Jack Rabbit (young) roughly dressed.
2. “ “ of Beaver “ “ “
3. “ “ Musk Rat “ “ “
4. Carcass of Pouched Gopher in alcohol
855 Sec IV{5. Rectum and Scent Sacs (in alcohol) of Skunk – with two vials of fluid taken from the same sacs by a dropping tube. Each vial holds the entire contents of one sac. No 5 in 2 paper boxes.
A.M.M. 6753 Sec I{6. Plaster cast of stump of B.F. Wyatt – the amputated portion of which was sent to A. Med Mus. In Jan. and was numbered 6735 Surg. Section. Red ink marks the outline (less rather than more) of the great sloughs which endangered Lisfranc’s operation (the one performed) and prohibited Syme’s. The cast shows the foot rather more oblique than it is when sitting or standing.
A.M.M. 6754{7. All the phalanges and half the metatarsus of the right foot and several of the phalanges of the left foot of Wm. H. Anderson, a citizen. Amputated Jan 31, 1877 for frostbite. Report of case enclosed herewith.
Very respectfully,
Your Obt. Servt
Francis H. Atkins
A.A. Surgeon
U.S. Army
Specimens received May 17 1877
A.M.M. 6753 and 6754 Sec. I and 855 Sec VI
Fort Larned Kansas
April 24 1877
Surgeon General
U.S. Army
Sir
I have the honor to enclose herewith a receipt, taken from the A.A.Q.M. of this post for one box addressed to Surgeon General, U.S.A.
The box contains the following articles which may possess enough value to go in the Army Medical Museum.
Dr. Woodward {1. Skeleton of Jack Rabbit (young) roughly dressed.
2. “ “ of Beaver “ “ “
3. “ “ Musk Rat “ “ “
4. Carcass of Pouched Gopher in alcohol
855 Sec IV{5. Rectum and Scent Sacs (in alcohol) of Skunk – with two vials of fluid taken from the same sacs by a dropping tube. Each vial holds the entire contents of one sac. No 5 in 2 paper boxes.
A.M.M. 6753 Sec I{6. Plaster cast of stump of B.F. Wyatt – the amputated portion of which was sent to A. Med Mus. In Jan. and was numbered 6735 Surg. Section. Red ink marks the outline (less rather than more) of the great sloughs which endangered Lisfranc’s operation (the one performed) and prohibited Syme’s. The cast shows the foot rather more oblique than it is when sitting or standing.
A.M.M. 6754{7. All the phalanges and half the metatarsus of the right foot and several of the phalanges of the left foot of Wm. H. Anderson, a citizen. Amputated Jan 31, 1877 for frostbite. Report of case enclosed herewith.
Very respectfully,
Your Obt. Servt
Francis H. Atkins
A.A. Surgeon
U.S. Army
Specimens received May 17 1877
Friday, April 23, 2010
Letter of the day, April 23 (2) and April 25 and April 27 and April 29 and April 30
A series of letters, well worth the time it takes to read them. Believe me, the punctuation is not mine.
G-5-A.F.R.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad Company.
West Jersey & Seashore Railroad Company.
Littlestown, Pa Station,
April 23rd 1901
Supt, Army and Medical Museum.
Washington, D.C.
I secured today, and am holding for advice from you, an embryo specimen, that in my opinion is worthy of a place in your collection.
The story of the specimen is as follows. On my way home to supper this P.M. I met Mr Isaiah Palmer, a man who cleans locomotives for us at this station, and as we met he unrolled a piece of paper he had in in [sic] his hand, saying, “where do you think I got this,[“] at the same time exhibiting an animal embryo, I told him I had no idea, he continued, “What do you think of a chicken dropping a thing like this” I was examining it and found it was a perfectly formed embryo animal, complete in every detail. He then related its history.
He had noticed that for a day or two there was some tissue projecting from one of his hens, and he supposed that she had ruptured her egg bag, as it is commonly termed, he remarked to his wife that they might as well kill her, as she would probably die at any rate, but did not do so. This P.M. when feeding his chickens, he noticed that there was something unusual projecting from this hen, hanging by a slender cord, he caught the hen, puuled [sic] the projection away, and found it to be the embryo above referred to. As this was so unusual, he brought it with him to his work, and when I suggested preserving it and sending it to where it would be effectually appreciated, agreed with me. As a consequence I now have the specimen, preserved in alcohol, and will send it to you without any charge whatever, if you think the circumstances of the case justify its being added to your collection. Of course I can understand a collection of specimens, such as yours must be undoubtedly authentic, and the specimen I offer is so unusual that unless you can verify its history it will be of no value, coming as it does from persons who are not known to you, and who have no reputation in scientific matters, therefore if you are enough interested in the matter to subject it to thorough investigation, I will be glad to aid you in any possible manner.
You will understand the specimen is offered to your collection entirely free of expense, if you so desire I will prepay the express charges thereon to Washington, D.C. My only requirement is, that you will make an acknowledgement that specimen was sent you free of charge and that I did not ask, or receive any compensation therefore. This I want to show such parties that might be inclined to think, that I secured the specimen from Mr Palmer and sold it to museum, or collection.
Dr E.K. Foreman, a respectable physician of this place, assisted me in preparing the specimen, and is also of the opinion that it is worthy of a place in your collection, as he is the family physician of Mr Palmer, the man who furnished the specimen, has examined it, and firmly believes its history, as given by Mr Palmer. Of course some of the persons to whom I spoke on this subject, pronounced it as impossible, but a recollection of what I seen in your museum, when on a visit to Washington, a short time ago, leads me to think, there is almost nothing impossible, in the was [?] of unusual freaks of nature. and while I did not see this specimen taken from the hen, I firmly believe the man is telling the truth in the matter, as I cannot imagine what reason he would have for doing otherwise, and he is not the kind of man that would tell a story of this kind as a hoax.
Respectfully
Geo W Fox
Agent P.R.R.
----------
[296]
War Department,
Surgeon General’s Office,
U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library,
Corner 7th and B Streets SW.,
Washington, April 25, 1901.
Mr. Geo. W. Fox,
Agent P. R.R.
Littlestown, Pa.
Dear Sir:
Your letter of the 23rd inst. in reference to a chicken embryo has been received. Please send the specimen in a box marked “Army Medical Museum, 7th & B streets, S.W., Washington, D.C.,” by express, charges to be paid at this Museum.
The specimen will be examined and you will be informed of the result of the examination with acknowledgement as desired by you.
Respectfully,
Calvin DeWitt
Lt. Col., Deputy Surgeon General,
U.S. Army
5174
-------
G-5-A.F.R.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad Company.
West Jersey & Seashore Railroad Company.
Littlestown, Pa Station,
April 27th 1901
Calvin DeWitt Esq
Dear Sir:
Noting yours April 25th, I send you by express this A.M. the embryo referred to therein. I am preparing a statement of details, which will be sworn to, by Isaiah Palmer and probably his wife also, who claim they positively saw this embryo, and accompanying matter, come from within the body of the chicken, claim there was connected to the umbillical [sic] cord (part of which remains connected to the embryo) at one end, a globe about the size of a huuled [sic] walnut, which on breaking the film, he found to contain matter resembling the white of an egg, next in order on the cord, was a mass of matter, which he describes as resembling fish eggs, then the animal, wholly, or partially enveloped in a sac, which when broken, also contained matter resembling the white of an egg, moved by curiosity, when he saw this unusual mass coming from the chicken, he proceeded to investigate, destroying, in his effort, what would probably have been invaluable in determining, what nourished this fo-etus, under apparently extraordinary conditions. [ed: whew!]
Mr Palmer has been closely questioned as to the possibility of his being mistaken on the matter, claims it is not a case wherein, this matter having been deposited by an animal as some place where the hen could set down on it while it was wet, and it having adhered to her feathers or body, afterward became loosed in his presence, and dropped from her, giving him the impression that it had emerged from her body. and as he is a plain unassuming man, with about as much education, as enables him to read and write, and whose reputation for veracity is good, and whose imagination is scarcely fertile enough to originate the above details.
Respectfully,
G.W. Fox Agent
---------
[Note in the file:]
April 29 1901.
This specimen is a mammal, apparently a new born kitten, and could not of course have come from a chicken.
D.S. Lamb
------
[Numbered correspondence 313]
War Department,
Surgeon General’s Office,
U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library,
Corner 7th and B Streets SW.,
Washington, April 30, 1901.
Mr. Geo. W. Fox,
Littlestown, Pa.
Dear Sir:
The specimen sent by you has been received, and found to be a mammal, apparently a new-born kitten which, of course, could not have come from a chicken.
Thanking you for your courtesy in submitting the specimen, I remain
Very respectfully,
Calvin DeWitt
Lt. Col., Deputy Surgeon General,
U.S. Army
G-5-A.F.R.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad Company.
West Jersey & Seashore Railroad Company.
Littlestown, Pa Station,
April 23rd 1901
Supt, Army and Medical Museum.
Washington, D.C.
I secured today, and am holding for advice from you, an embryo specimen, that in my opinion is worthy of a place in your collection.
The story of the specimen is as follows. On my way home to supper this P.M. I met Mr Isaiah Palmer, a man who cleans locomotives for us at this station, and as we met he unrolled a piece of paper he had in in [sic] his hand, saying, “where do you think I got this,[“] at the same time exhibiting an animal embryo, I told him I had no idea, he continued, “What do you think of a chicken dropping a thing like this” I was examining it and found it was a perfectly formed embryo animal, complete in every detail. He then related its history.
He had noticed that for a day or two there was some tissue projecting from one of his hens, and he supposed that she had ruptured her egg bag, as it is commonly termed, he remarked to his wife that they might as well kill her, as she would probably die at any rate, but did not do so. This P.M. when feeding his chickens, he noticed that there was something unusual projecting from this hen, hanging by a slender cord, he caught the hen, puuled [sic] the projection away, and found it to be the embryo above referred to. As this was so unusual, he brought it with him to his work, and when I suggested preserving it and sending it to where it would be effectually appreciated, agreed with me. As a consequence I now have the specimen, preserved in alcohol, and will send it to you without any charge whatever, if you think the circumstances of the case justify its being added to your collection. Of course I can understand a collection of specimens, such as yours must be undoubtedly authentic, and the specimen I offer is so unusual that unless you can verify its history it will be of no value, coming as it does from persons who are not known to you, and who have no reputation in scientific matters, therefore if you are enough interested in the matter to subject it to thorough investigation, I will be glad to aid you in any possible manner.
You will understand the specimen is offered to your collection entirely free of expense, if you so desire I will prepay the express charges thereon to Washington, D.C. My only requirement is, that you will make an acknowledgement that specimen was sent you free of charge and that I did not ask, or receive any compensation therefore. This I want to show such parties that might be inclined to think, that I secured the specimen from Mr Palmer and sold it to museum, or collection.
Dr E.K. Foreman, a respectable physician of this place, assisted me in preparing the specimen, and is also of the opinion that it is worthy of a place in your collection, as he is the family physician of Mr Palmer, the man who furnished the specimen, has examined it, and firmly believes its history, as given by Mr Palmer. Of course some of the persons to whom I spoke on this subject, pronounced it as impossible, but a recollection of what I seen in your museum, when on a visit to Washington, a short time ago, leads me to think, there is almost nothing impossible, in the was [?] of unusual freaks of nature. and while I did not see this specimen taken from the hen, I firmly believe the man is telling the truth in the matter, as I cannot imagine what reason he would have for doing otherwise, and he is not the kind of man that would tell a story of this kind as a hoax.
Respectfully
Geo W Fox
Agent P.R.R.
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[296]
War Department,
Surgeon General’s Office,
U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library,
Corner 7th and B Streets SW.,
Washington, April 25, 1901.
Mr. Geo. W. Fox,
Agent P. R.R.
Littlestown, Pa.
Dear Sir:
Your letter of the 23rd inst. in reference to a chicken embryo has been received. Please send the specimen in a box marked “Army Medical Museum, 7th & B streets, S.W., Washington, D.C.,” by express, charges to be paid at this Museum.
The specimen will be examined and you will be informed of the result of the examination with acknowledgement as desired by you.
Respectfully,
Calvin DeWitt
Lt. Col., Deputy Surgeon General,
U.S. Army
5174
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G-5-A.F.R.
The Pennsylvania Railroad Company.
Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad Company.
West Jersey & Seashore Railroad Company.
Littlestown, Pa Station,
April 27th 1901
Calvin DeWitt Esq
Dear Sir:
Noting yours April 25th, I send you by express this A.M. the embryo referred to therein. I am preparing a statement of details, which will be sworn to, by Isaiah Palmer and probably his wife also, who claim they positively saw this embryo, and accompanying matter, come from within the body of the chicken, claim there was connected to the umbillical [sic] cord (part of which remains connected to the embryo) at one end, a globe about the size of a huuled [sic] walnut, which on breaking the film, he found to contain matter resembling the white of an egg, next in order on the cord, was a mass of matter, which he describes as resembling fish eggs, then the animal, wholly, or partially enveloped in a sac, which when broken, also contained matter resembling the white of an egg, moved by curiosity, when he saw this unusual mass coming from the chicken, he proceeded to investigate, destroying, in his effort, what would probably have been invaluable in determining, what nourished this fo-etus, under apparently extraordinary conditions. [ed: whew!]
Mr Palmer has been closely questioned as to the possibility of his being mistaken on the matter, claims it is not a case wherein, this matter having been deposited by an animal as some place where the hen could set down on it while it was wet, and it having adhered to her feathers or body, afterward became loosed in his presence, and dropped from her, giving him the impression that it had emerged from her body. and as he is a plain unassuming man, with about as much education, as enables him to read and write, and whose reputation for veracity is good, and whose imagination is scarcely fertile enough to originate the above details.
Respectfully,
G.W. Fox Agent
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[Note in the file:]
April 29 1901.
This specimen is a mammal, apparently a new born kitten, and could not of course have come from a chicken.
D.S. Lamb
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[Numbered correspondence 313]
War Department,
Surgeon General’s Office,
U.S. Army Medical Museum and Library,
Corner 7th and B Streets SW.,
Washington, April 30, 1901.
Mr. Geo. W. Fox,
Littlestown, Pa.
Dear Sir:
The specimen sent by you has been received, and found to be a mammal, apparently a new-born kitten which, of course, could not have come from a chicken.
Thanking you for your courtesy in submitting the specimen, I remain
Very respectfully,
Calvin DeWitt
Lt. Col., Deputy Surgeon General,
U.S. Army
Letter of the day, April 23
This refers to a “cast of precocious development of the genitals of a boy aged 4 years” and I can't imagine any 4-year-old boy sitting still for that.
Dr. Ashford,
Office 1330 New York Avenue,
Residence 507 E St. N.W.
Washington, D.C.
April 23 1872
My Dear Dr
Please accept my sincere thanks!
I send with the Bandage &c. a plaster cast taken by Dr. Thos. Miller and Dr R.K. Stone of the genital organs in a child 4 years old.
Yours truly,
FA Ashford
Dr Otis-
Army Med. Mus.
1056 Sec IV [Anatomical Section]
Dr. Ashford,
Office 1330 New York Avenue,
Residence 507 E St. N.W.
Washington, D.C.
April 23 1872
My Dear Dr
Please accept my sincere thanks!
I send with the Bandage &c. a plaster cast taken by Dr. Thos. Miller and Dr R.K. Stone of the genital organs in a child 4 years old.
Yours truly,
FA Ashford
Dr Otis-
Army Med. Mus.
1056 Sec IV [Anatomical Section]
Plum Island, NY animal germ research facility, up for redevelopment
New Life for a Destination That Hannibal Lecter Once Chewed Over, By PETER APPLEBOME, New York Times April 21, 2010
Interesting article on informed consent and medical research
Tribe Wins Fight to Limit Research of Its DNA, By AMY HARMON, New York Times April 21, 2010
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