ARSENICAL POISONING FROM SMELTER SMOKE. 
305 
“ The morbid process is ushered in by sneezing, and the ordi¬ 
nary symptoms of nasal catarrh. Pain accompanying it appears 
to be very slight, and it is certain that many of the men were 
unaware of the perforation.” 
Dr. Legge’s detailed statement shows that 7 of the 18 work¬ 
men referred to had perforation of the septum. In one the per¬ 
foration was 34 by ?4 inch in size ; in another J4 by 34 inch, and 
in a third 34 by 34 inch. The dimensions in the other cases 
were not given. 
Dr. Stevenson said with regard to the local effects of 
arsenic: (8) 
“ I have seen numbers of men in tanneries who were affected, 
that is to say, they got their cheeks affected, and their eyes, their 
lips and their genitals, from handling them with unclean hands 
when urinating, and they got troublesome sores. * * * I saw 
a man once who had his cheek perforated by such a sore.” 
These various observations serve to give a very clear idea of 
4 . j - -fr • r „*'.?• __ . ... ft 
the local effects of arsenic, of its activity in causing ulcerations, 
and of its great tendency to cause sores, ulcers and perforations 
in the nostrils of the workmen who are employed in factories 
where there is much arsenical dust. 
6. Was there sufficient arsenic in the crusts and tissues of 
the Deer Lodge Valley ulcers to indicate that these lesions were 
due to arsenic ?—Notwithstanding all the evidence which has 
been presented indicating that the nasal ulcers of the horses in 
the Deer Lodge Valley were due to the irritating effects of the 
arsenic contained in the smoke dust, it seemed important that 
actual analyses should be made of the crusts and tissues of the 
ulcers in order to prove the presence or absence of arsenic in the 
lesions. If it were present even in small quantities, it would be 
a strong confirmation of the theory that the ulcers were produced 
by this poison. Accordingly, samples were taken from a number 
of horses; some consisted of the thick crusts alone, which were 
removed from living horses; others of the crusts and floor of 
the ulcers, which were removed at the time autopsies were made. 
These samples were analyzed by Harkins and Swain with the 
following results:(9) 
