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NEW YORK TIMES
March 30, 1885

CRISIS THROUGH WHICH HE PASSED YESTERDAY. IN GREAT DANGER FOR SEVERAL HOURS. THE FAMILY AT HIS BEDSIDE AND PHYSICIANS SUMMONED

General Grant yesterday passed the most critical and uncomfortable day since his illness began and in the early morning hours it was feared by his friends that relief from his sufferings was at hand at the sudden change. When Dr. Douglas left his patient late on Saturday night, General Grant appeared to be comfortable and he complained less of pain than usual. His last afternoon ride seemed to have done him good, and the doctor left him sunk in a light sleep, which was not particularly uneasy. At about 11 o'clock yesterday morning, however, the General began to toss restlessly in his sleep. He awoke, gasping for breath, and with a painful choking sensation in the throat. The family was summoned to his bedside at once, and instantly every window in the house was ablaze with light, so that those passing in the early morning by his window concluded that the General was dying. Messengers were hastily sent for Drs. Shrady and Shrady.

Until the arrival of the doctors, which was shortly after 1 o'clock, the family stood around the bedside of the General, fearing that any moment might be his last. The valet stood by the hall door, waiting anxiously for the carriages of the doctors, and the door flew open to admit him before Dr. Douglas had reached the top step. He found General Grant suffering from a secretion in the throat which he was unable to dislodge and which rendered his breathing extremely difficult. Dr. Shrady reached the house soon thereafter, and the two doctors began to labor to put an end to the alarming trouble, which, had it not been for the prompt measures, would have ended the sufferer's life.

The usual remedies failed and the doctors used more vigorous specifics. Just before 3 o'clock, the General suddenly sprung from his bed, overcoming the restraint of his colored valet, Harrison, and exclaimed in a choking voice, which was scarcely audible, "I can't stand it! I am going to die!" The struggle and effort to speak were too much for his enfeebled frame and the reaction followed quickly, and he sank back on the bed, gasping. Soon after, under the influence of a powerful drug the doctors had administered. he began to breathe more easily and in a few minutes after 3 o'clock, he sank into a peaceful sleep, from which he did not awake until 7 o'clock. When he awoke, the General seemed to be suffering less, though he was very weak.

At 9 o'clock, Dr. Douglas issued the following bulletin: "The General is now awake and is preparing for breakfast. He is very weak, and his condition is such that a consultation has not not been scheduled for today. He passed a bad night and we all feared he was dying this early morning. He is under the influence of chloroform and, of course, resting more easily, but that is not the natural rest which would give us hope that we so need after passing such a night of anxiety with him.

At 2:25, the doctors all reached the house once more and all four had a consultation which lasted half an hour. They all agreed that all that could be done was being done, and that the immediate threat which fell over the patient early in the morning had been safely bridged over. When Dr. Barker left the house, he was asked if the General was dying. He said, "No, I think not. he had a spasm of the throat last night and there was an obstruction between the nose and the throat which caused him great difficulty in breathing. For an hour or so he was in a pretty tight place, but is now much relieved. I don't think there is any present danger. The attack last night has made him very weak."

At 9:15 p.m. the doctors were again summoned n a hurry. "No, the General is not worse," was the expert opinion given to the reporters, "but he always fee;s easier to have the physicians near him. This is natural for sick people. Don't think the General is frightened. Quite to the contrary, but he seems anxious to have everything fully explained to him. There is no change in his condition to warrant our being sent for and now the General is resting quietly. At midnight, the family and the tireless and faithful Colonel Fred were sent to bed to get some needed rest.

Dr. Douglas remained by the patient's side. The family felt more at ease to have him there. the condition of the General's throat was not so good as they would like to have seen under the circumstances and they will say very little about the cancer. In fact, it is difficult for them to make a thorough examination as is necessary for them to say anything about it. The General is disinclined the past 24 hours to have his throat disturbed. When Dr. Shrady left the house at a few minutes before midnight, he told reporters that the prospects were good at the patient rallying in a day or two.

 

 

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