Broe - John
Source: Crawfordsville Weekly Journal 30 August 1895
Seeing you have not received the true facts in the case of John BROE, we will give them: John Broe was a Swede who lived with his wife and two children on the farm of Silas Hendricks, 2 ½ miles south of Wingate. He was a hard working farmer 30 years of age, a son-in-law of Frank Beedle of Richland Township. On the 18th of July he was harvesting hay and putting it into the mow of his barn. After hoisting a forkful the hayfork caught and did not return as rapidly as it should. He pulled on the trip rope to bring the fork down. The rope broke and Brow lost his balance and fell from the load to the ground, lighting on his head and shoulder, separating the joints and really breaking his neck. He was carried to the house but did not die although his whole body below the broken joint was apparently paralyzed. The doctors exhausted their skill in trying to readjust the broken joint so that the pressure on the spinal cord would be relieved and the body regain its normal condition but without avail. His mind was apparently unaffected and he did not complain of any pain. In this condition he lay day after day and the flesh on his body began to die and decay. This was removed from time to time until the bones in some parts of his body were bare, but all without pain so completely was the sense of feeling cut off. In this condition he lingered until 4 o’clock Sunday evening when he died. After death decomposition was so rapid that it was necessary to bury the remains on Monday at 10 a.m. Funeral services were conducted at the Christian Church by Rev. Trotter and interment was at the Wingate cemetery. - kbz
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Jouranl Friday, Aug 9, 1895
A weird story comes from a reliable source at Waynetown. It is to the effect that a Swedish farm hand on the place of Silas Hendricks 3 miles north of Waynetown is living with his neck broken. The young man was hauling hay several days ago and fell from the load breaking his neck. Strange to relate he did not die as expected and is still alive. He is kept on a hard surface and is utterly without feeling below his head. He can talk and seems well enough except for his complete paralyusis. It is not anticipated that he will ultimately recover, however. - klz
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Friday, August 23, 1895
John Brogh, the young Swede of Wayne township who had his neck broken some 3 weeks ago by falling from a load of hay died Sunday.. His funeral occured Monday. Brogh was a man of wonderful vitality and lived 3 weeks from that alone. All his body below his neck was numb and apparently dead although of course there must have been some heart action. He could not take food and there was no chance of his recovering from the first. He lived for 3 weeks, however, strapped to a hard board and was conscious most of the time although unable to talk. The case was one of the most peculiar of the kind ever met with and a post mortem would likely develop something of interest and value to the medical profession. - kbz
Source: Crawfordsville Weekly Journal Friday, 16 August 1895
The case of John Brogh, the young Swede who some two weeks ago fell and broke his neck, is attracting considerable attention from the fact that he still lives and is apparently no nearer dead than when he met with the terrible accident. It was some three (two?) weeks ago when, on the farm of Silas Hendricks, in the west part of the county, he fell from a load of hay and was picked up with his neck broken. It was naturally supposed that he would die at once, but when he had lived some two days, the doctors rigged up a novel pallet for him. He is strapped to a wide board and by a system of weights and straps is so placed that his head cannot roll to one side. He is perfectly conscious but has no particle of feeling below the neck. In fact an operation removing an old sore on his leg was performed on him and he was wholly unconscious of it. He recognized all about him but cannot talk. The doctor told him some days ago that he could not recover and he manifested his understanding of the statement by winking his eyes and making a wry face. The case is attracting great attention in the country but no one seems to understand it exactly. -- s