Interesting Medical stories from history

 I finished reading "The Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt" today.  I've looked forward to picking it up each day when I've had some spare time. His life was incredible and full of miracles, courage, and diligence. I'm am SO thankful for the powerful examples history blesses us with! I always left my moments of reading his work feeling strengthened and determined to lengthen my stride. I discovered today that the entirety of his book is available online for free at  www.parleyppratt.org. I recommend perusing it next time you're bored. I assure you it's much more worth your time than surfing Youtube, watching pranks or celebrity news.

One chapter near the end of the book discusses the fates of a few Missouri mob men that tormented early LDS church members. I thought it was very interesting.

 ****Warning! This is not for those who have a weak stomach or are eating right now! Come back later! You'll thank me!****

The following paragraphs are excepted from Parley's book. For a bit of background, the Captain Lawn mentioned was one of Joseph Smith's guards from the Illinois militia that accompanied him to Carthage jail. Governor Ford dismissed Captain Lawn and his troops to return home, leaving Carthage Jail in the care of the Carthage Greys militia. This is where the story begins:

"Captain Lawn and his troops had marched about twelve miles towards home when the news reached them of the martyrdom! At this he exclaimed: "O that I had known of this massacre, so soon to transpire! I would have remained, and, when the first ball was fired at the Smiths, I would have fired the second through the body of the villain who fired it or died in the attempt." A man named Townsend, living in Iowa, near Fort Madison, was one of the mob who assaulted and forced in the jail door. The pistol discharged by Joseph Smith wounded him in the arm, near the shoulder, and it continued to rot without healing until it was taken off and even then it would not heal.

About six months after he was shot Mrs. Lawn saw his arm and dressed it. He was then gradually rotting and dying with the wound. He stayed over night with Mrs. Lawn’s father, and groaned through the night without sleeping. He asked the old gentleman what he thought of Joseph Smith being a Prophet? He replied that he did not know. "Well," said Townsend, "I know he was a Prophet of God! And, oh, that I had stayed at home and minded my own business, and then I would not have lost my life and been tormented with a guilty conscience, and with this dreadful wound, which none can heal!" He died two or three months afterwards, having literally rotted alive!

James Head, of McComb, was also one of the murderers at the Carthage Jail; he was heard by Captain Lawn and others to boast of it afterwards, and Captain Lawn drew a pistol and chased him; but he ran away. He was always gloomy and troubled from the time he helped to murder the Smiths, and frequently declared that he saw the two martyrs always before him! He had no peace.

A colonel of the Missouri mob, who helped to drive, plunder and murder the Mormons, died in the hospital at Sacramento, 1849. Beckwith had the care of him; he was eaten with worms a large black headed kind of maggot–which passed through him by myriads, seemingly a half pint at a time! Before he died these maggots were crawling out of his mouth and nose! He literally rotted alive! Even the flesh on his legs burst open and fell from the bones! They gathered up the rotten mass in a blanket and buried him, without awaiting a coffin!

A Mr. (unreadable name in manuscript), one of Missouri mob, died in the same hospital about the same time, and under the care of Mr. Beckwith. His face and jaw on one side literally rotted, and half of his face actually fell off! One eye rotted out, and half of his nose, mouth and jaw fell from the bones! The doctor scraped the bones, and unlocked and took out his jaw from the joint round to the center of the chin. The rot and maggots continued to eat till they ate through the large or jugular vein of his neck, and he bled to death! He, as well as Townsend, stank so previous to their death that they had to be placed in rooms by themselves, and it was almost impossible to endure their presence, and the flies could not be kept from blowing them while alive!"

This is possibly THE worst way to die.

This reminded me of the death of King Herod, quoting from the writings of Josephus.

"But now Herod's distemper greatly increased upon him after a severe manner, and this by God's judgment upon him for his sins; for a fire glowed in him slowly, which did not so much appear to the touch outwardly, as it augmented his pains inwardly; for it brought upon him a vehement appetite to eating, which he could not avoid to supply with one sort of food or other. His entrails were also ex-ulcerated, and the chief violence of his pain lay on his colon; an aqueous and transparent liquor also had settled itself about his feet, and a like matter afflicted him at the bottom of his belly. Nay, further, his privy-member was putrefied, and produced worms; and when he sat upright, he had a difficulty of breathing, which was very loathsome, on account of the stench of his breath, and the quickness of its returns; he had also convulsions in all parts of his body, which increased his strength to an insufferable degree."

I think it's interesting to observe the repetition of afflictions here. In my Microbiology class, I've been assigned to give a lengthy presentation on flesh-eating bacteria, or necrotizing fasciitis. It's one of the least curable illnesses (the only hope for cure is to simply REMOVE any afflicted body parts, and hope it doesn't spread further.) and one of the most detestable illnesses. The symptoms of this are present in most of these stories. I really pity those men who died such a death. It makes me ponder on manifestations of divine justice.

I will decline to offer whether or not these instances were God-given punishments, since we can not ever presume to know His plans or timetable for justice. I still think it's very intersting that the man who tried to kill Jesus died very similarly to the men who tormented our prohpet Joseph Smith. I think there is a 'bigger picture' here.