"Notes on Arrow Wounds." In: American Journal of the Medical Sciences, new series, No. LXXXVIII [Volume 44], October 1862, pp. 365-87.

BILL, Joseph H.

Published by Philadelphia: Blanchard & Lea, 1862., 1862

About this Item

2 leaves of ads, 1 leaf, pp. [295]-612 (pp. 581-612 are ads.); plates II-IV. Original wrappers. Top & bottom of spine worn. Stain along bottom 1" of front wrapper. Stain along bottom 2" of ads at back and on rear wrapper. Signature of former owner(E W Hale M.D.) on front wrapper. Entire October 1862 issue offered. First Edition. Garrison-Morton 2166.1: "The definitive work on American Indian arrow wounds suffered by U.S. troops and settlers in frontier warfare during the Western expansion of the United States. Bill eventually developed an instrument for extraction of arrows. . . ." "Bill graduated from Jefferson Medical College in 1858, and in 1860 was commissioned a first lieutenant and assistant surgeon in the United States Army. He was assigned to posts in the far West, including Fort Craig, New Mexico, where this article was written. Because of this report's large amount of information it can be considered among the definitive works of American Indian arrow wounds. Bill provided a graphic account of the brutal nature of frontier warfare between southwestern Indian tribes and the troops and settlers who were appropriating Indian lands" (Rutkow, The History of Surgery in the United States, Vol. II, GSp106). "The first step in treating an arrow wound is removal. An intimate knowledge of Indians is valuable; different tribes use arrows of different lengths. The surgeon puts his finger down the length of the arrow until he finds its purchase. If it is in a bone great effort may be required to remove it. Bill developed a long forceps with a loop of wire to slide down the arrow shaft if it was imbedded beyond the reach of his fingers. In his career he saw seventy-six individuals wounded by arrows; twenty-nine of these died" (Freemon, p. 28). This journal issue also contains: FLINT, Austin, Jr.: "Experimental Researches into a New Excretory Function of the Liver, Consisting in the Removal of Cholesterine from the Blood and Its Discharge from the Body in the Form of Stercorine" (pp. 305-65, with 3 plates containing 15 figs.). Garrison-Morton 1005.

Seller Inventory # 13573

Bibliographic Details

• Title: "Notes on Arrow Wounds." In: American Journal of the Medical Sciences, new series, No. LXXXVIII [Volume 44], October 1862, pp. 365-87.
• Publisher: Philadelphia: Blanchard & Lea, 1862.
• Publication Date: 1862
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Good