It had, he said, opened
his eyes to the explanation of a fact which had puzzled him from his
boyhood. "In slaughtering animals, if the trachea was cut, scarcely any
haemorrhage resulted; while, if that was left untouched, full haemorrhage
occurred. By the Willardian theory, the fact is readily susceptible of
explanation. The blood, filling the trachea, suspended respiration, and
of course the impelling power of the blood was suspended, and the
haemorrhage ceased. The engine could not work without steam. When the
trachea was not cut, respiration went on, and kept up the circulation,
until the animal was nearly exsanguineous, and the powers of life gave
way." This fact was clearly ascertained by Dr. W. K. Bowling, the
well-known editor of the _Nashville Journal_, and able professor of the
theory and practice of medicine in the university of that place. He sent
me the Journal containing this welcome endorsement of my theory from one
who was, as Dr. Bowling assured me, "an observer of superior tact and
learning," known by his medical compositions as well in Europe as
America. Since that time (March, 1854), that Journal, though not
excluding articles which oppose, has been understood to be in favor of
the theory. Dr. Washington has written repeatedly, answering all
objections;[10] and he has, in the Journal (as I have been assured by
one of the Editors), "crushed out all that would take up his glove, and
is left in undisputed possession of the field--looking in vain for an
opponent.
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