DROWNED PERSONS.

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Suspended Animation and Resuscitation.

Drowned Persons. — When a person lias remained above a quar-ter of an hour under water, there can be no considerable hopes ofhis recovery. But as several circumstances may happen to havecontinued life, in such an unfortunate situation, beyond the ordin-ary term, we should never too soon resign the unhappy object tohis fate, but try every method for his relief, as there are manywell-attested proofs of the recovery of persons to life and healthwho had been taken out of the water apparently dead, and whoremained a considerable time without exhibiting any signs of life.

The first thing to be done, after the body is taken out of thewater, is to convey it as soon as possible to some convenient placewhere the necessary operations for its recovery may be performed.In doing this, care must he taken not to bruise or injure the bodyby carrying it in any unnatural posture, with the head downwards,or the like. If an adult body, it ought to be laid on a bed, or onstraw, with the head a little raised, and carried on a cart or onmen's shoulders, and kept in as natural and easy a position aspossible. A small body may be carried in the arms.

In attempting to recover persons apparently drowned, the prin-cipal intention to be pursued is, to restore, by gradual means, thenatural warmth, upon which all the vital functions depend, and toexcite these functions by the application of stimulants, not only tothe skin, but likewise to the lungs, intestines, &c.

A high degree of heat will not be necessary ; a moderate de-gree will be sufficient. If the weather be under the freezing point,and the body, when stripped, feel cold, and nearly in the samecondition with the water that is frozen, it will be necessary at first torub it well with snow, or wash it with cold water ; the sudden ap-plication of heat in such cases having been found very pernicious.In a short time, however, warmth must be gradually applied.

Though cold was by no means the cause of the person's death,"yet it will prove an effectual obstacle to his recovery. For thisreason, after stripping him of his wet clothes, his body must bestrongly rubbed for a considerable time with coarse linen cloths,as warm as they can be made ; and as soon as a well-heated bedcan be got ready, he may be laid in it, and the rubbing should becontinued. Warm clothes ought likewise to be frequently appliedto the stomach and bowels, and hot bricks, or bottles of warm wa-ter, to the soles of his feet, and to the palms of his hands.

After the restoration of heat, volatile spirits should be frequent-ly applied to the nose ; and the spine of the back and pit of thestomach may be rubbed with warm brandy or spirit of wine. Thetemples ought also to be chafed with volatile spirits ; and stimulat-ing powders, as that of tobacco or marjoram, may be blown up thenostrils.

To renew the breathing, in the absence of a better apparatus, astrong person may blow his own breath into the patient's mouthwith all the force he can, holding his nostrils at the same time.When it can be perceived by the rising of the chest or belly thatthe lungs are filled with air, the person ought to desist from blow-ing, and should press the breast and belly so as to expel the air