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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



dry, the clothing quickly ripped open so as to expose the chest and 

 waist, and two or three quick, smarting slaps given upon the stomach 

 and chest with the open hand. If the patient does not at once revive, 

 a bit of wood or a cork is placed between his teeth to keep the mouth 

 open, he is turned upon his face, a large bundle of tightly rolled cloth- 

 ing is placed beneath the stomach, and the operator presses heavily 

 upon his back over the bundle for half a minute, or as long as fluid 



Fig. 13. The First Step taken, by which the Chest is emptied of Aie, and the Ejection 



of Fluids is assisted. 



flows freely from his mouth. (See Fig. 13.) The mouth and throat 

 are then cleared of mucus by introducing into the throat the end of a 

 handkerchief wrapped closely around the forefinger ; the patient is 

 turned upon his back, under which the roll of clothing is placed so as 

 to raise the pit of the stomach above the level of any other part of the 

 body. If an assistant is present, he holds the tip of the patient's 

 tongue, with a piece of dry cloth, out of one corner of the mouth, 

 which prevents the tongue from falling back and choking the entrance 

 to the windpipe, and with his other hand grasps the patient's wrists 

 and keeps the arms stretched back over the head, which increases the 

 prominence of the ribs and tends to enlarge the chest. The operator 

 then kneels astride the patient's hips and presses both hands below the 

 pit of the stomach, with the balls of the thumb resting on each side of 

 it and the fingers between the short ribs, so as to get a good grasp of 

 the waist. (See Fig. 14.) He then throws his weight forward on his 

 hands, squeezing the waist between them with a strong pressure, 

 counts slowly one, two, three, and, with a final push, lets go, which 

 springs him back to his first kneeling position. This operation, which 

 converts the chest of the patient into a bellows, is continued at a rate 



