When
called to him upon his receiving the fatal wound, I found him
half sitting on the ground, supported in the arms of Mr. Pendleton.
His countenance of death I shall never forget. He had at that
instant just strength to say, 'This is a mortal wound, doctor;'
when he sunk away, and became to all appearance lifeless. I
immediately stripped up his clothes, and soon, alas I ascertained
that the direction of the ball must have been through some vital
part. His pulses were not to be felt, his respiration was entirely
suspended, and, upon laying my hand on his heart and perceiving
no motion there, I considered him as irrecoverably gone. I,
however, observed to Mr. Pendleton, that the only chance for
his reviving was immediately to get him upon the water. We therefore
lifted him up, and carried him out of the wood to the margin
of the bank, where the bargemen aided us in conveying him into
the boat, which immediately put off. During all this time I
could not discover the least symptom of returning life. I now
rubbed his face, lips, and temples with spirits of hartshorn,
applied it to his neck and breast, and to the wrists and palms
of his hands, and endeavoured to pour some into his mouth.
When
we had got, as I should judge, about fifty yards from the shore,
some imperfect efforts to breathe were for the first time manifest;
in a few minutes he sighed, and became sensible to the impression
of the hartshorn or the fresh air of the water. He breathed;
his eyes, hardly opened, wandered, without fixing upon any object;
to our great joy, he at length spoke. 'My vision is indistinct,'
were his first words. His pulse became more perceptible, his
respiration more regular, his sight returned. I then examined
the wound to know if there was any dangerous discharge of blood;
upon slightly pressing his side it gave him pain, on which I
desisted.
Soon
after recovering his sight, he happened to cast his eye upon
the case of pistols, and observing the one that he had had in
his hand lying on the outside, he said, "Take care of that
pistol; it is undischarged, and still cocked; it may go off
and do harm. Pendleton knows " (attempting to turn his
head towards him) 'that I did not intend to fire at him.' 'Yes,'
said Mr. Pendleton, understanding his wish, 'I have already
made Dr. Hosack acquainted with your determination as to that'
He then closed his eyes and remained calm, without any disposition
to speak; nor did he say much afterward, except in reply to
my questions. He asked me once or twice how I found his pulse;
and he informed me that his lower extremities had lost all feeling,
manifesting to me that he entertained no hopes that he should
long survive.
