Fig. 93. (S. 1–2.) Quartzite knife. P. D. Winship’s collection, Park Rapids, Minnesota.
“An attack was made by Indians near Pecos River, Texas, September 1, 1870, in which one man was killed, one escaped, and the patient received an arrow-wound in the head and three gunshot flesh-wounds. Seven days later he was admitted to the hospital at Fort Concho, Texas, having traveled part of the distance on foot. He complained of soreness from the gunshot wounds, but spoke lightly of the ‘scratch’ made by the arrow on the side of his head. The gunshot wounds healed, but cerebral complications developed. An effort was made to reopen the wound in the temple, which proved unsuccessful on account of the resistance of the temporal bones, and doubt as to the cause of the existing symptoms prevented the surgeon from making a free incision. The case terminated fatally September 19, and the autopsy revealed the real injury to have been caused by the entry of the iron arrow-head half an inch from the external incision.
“A Mexican was killed by an arrow in an Indian fight seventy-five miles northwest of Fort Concho, Texas, February 22, 1868. He was treated by W. M. Notson, Assistant Surgeon, United States Army, who reported:—
Fig. 94. (S. 1–1.) Seven chipped objects. In the centre is a peculiar object with wide shoulders and angular sides. This form is found in the East, but is not common. Its purpose has never been satisfactorily explained. The object to the right with straight sides and point made angular is also seldom found save east of the Mississippi River. Why it was made in this form is not known. Material: jasper. H. K. Deisher’s collection, Kutztown, Pennsylvania.
“‘When I opened the skull I found an incision extending clear across the opposite hemisphere, touching the dura mater just above the tentorium. The dura mater was stained, but I could find no mark on the skull. When I made the post mortem I found the arrow-head in the brain. When the patient was hit, he seized the arrow-shaft with both hands and pulled it out, then dropped and remained unconscious until he died, about six hours after.’
“Private John Krumholz, Company H, 22d Infantry, was wounded at Fort Sally, South Dakota, June 3, 1869, by an arrow, which, entering at the outer canthus of the left eye, penetrated the skull two inches, and is supposed to have passed between the skull and the dura mater. The operation for extraction, which was immediately performed, consisted in sawing nearly through the skull with a Hey’s saw, in close proximity to the arrow. Recovery was rapid, the soldier returning to duty later.
“Private Snowden, 14th Infantry, was one of a party surprised by Apaches, March 22, 1866, while en route from Maricopa Wells to Fort Goodwin, Arizona. He was struck in the back of the head by an arrow, which penetrated the skull, and nine days later reached Maricopa Wells, weak and fatigued, but unimpaired in intelligence. He believed the arrow-point to be within the cranium, since, in pulling on the shaft after receiving the injury, nothing but the shaft responded. The usual treatment was being given with success, when in examining the scalp there was discovered a small tumefaction over the parietal side of the left occipito-parietal suture. Pressure caused the issue of a small quantity of serous matter from the cicatrix of the arrow-wound. This was enlarged, and a probe passed into it was made to feel along the fissure in the bone, when it struck something metallic. The cranium was laid bare by a crucial incision, and with considerable difficulty a hoop-iron arrow-head one and three fourths inches long and one half inch in breadth was withdrawn from the brain. About a dram of pus followed it. After the operation the right side of the body was observed to be paralyzed. The patient’s condition fluctuated, but the first week in May his improvement had been such as to cause belief in his ultimate recovery. On the 7th he ate something which disagreed with him, and gradually grew worse until the morning of the 13th, when death ensued. The post mortem showed that the brain tissue to the extent of three fourths of an inch around the track of the arrow-point was softened and disorganized.
“Private William Drum, 14th Infantry, was wounded in a fight with Apaches, November 11, 1867. One arrow entered over the malar bone of the left side of the face, and passed along the lower border of the orbit to within half an inch of the nose. Another arrow entered through the tendons of the latissimus dorsi muscle on the right side, and passed directly backward toward the spine under the deep muscles, penetrating two and one half inches. On the 19th the arrow-point was cut out, the parts healed by first intention, and on December 3 the patient was returned to duty.