Текст книги "Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years "

Автор книги: Майкл Эсслингер

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Alcatraz on Trial

The Life of Henri Young

(Author’s Note: There is a long running debate as to whether Young is correctly referenced as “Henri” or “Henry.”  His inmate case file provides references to both, and most origin documents refer to him as Henry. However, Young signed his name as Henri, and his attorney James M. MacInnis also referred to him both verbally and in written form as Henri. As a result, he is referenced as Henri throughout this chapter.)

Henri Young

In 1941, the name Henri Young would saturate newspaper headlines, with stories portraying the prisoner as a casualty of the strict and unrelenting regimen on Alcatraz. Young’s trial for the murder of fellow inmate Rufus McCain quickly turned into a debate over the appropriateness of confinement practices on Alcatraz. In the end, Warden Johnston found himself on the witness stand defending his correctional staff against allegations of physical and psychological abuse.

The premise that Henri Young was in fact a non-violent and passive inmate driven to murder by his years of confinement, allegedly in moldy and damp underground dungeons, was completely erroneous. In Warden Johnston’s personal memoir of his life at Alcatraz, he described Henri Young as an “alert, shrewd, intelligent, cunning, conspiring criminal with the exhibitionist’s desire to dramatize his position and relate his misdeeds.”  Young’s inmate file contains an unpublished and unfinished autobiography that he penned after the trial. His memoir reveals a horrendously disturbed and deeply troubled life, with torrid tales of youthful crimes, sexual obscenities, and many painful memories. He claimed to have witnessed the brutal suicide of a relative at only thirteen years of age. Henri Young would become one of the most incorrigible inmates ever to reside on Alcatraz.

Henri Theodore Young was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 20, 1911. He described his own early life in a memoir he began writing during his years in prison:

I was born of Helen E. Young in Kansas City, Mo. Father David E. Young was present. Preceeding [sic] me by 2 years was one girl, Ruth E. Young. Additions were made to our family by one younger girl Naomi and one still younger boy David C. Young. This completes my family.

The true sequence of my earliest memories is hazy to me, but mother told me of fighting with a neighbor woman over some toys her boy and I had some trouble... Another time a cousin and I received a spanking for urinating in a garden. Then appears a ghastly white-faced boy who seemed delighted in eating caterpillars. This was repulsive.

We moved from Kansas City to northern Missouri. On a farm there father worked as a laborer. The owners and our family lived in one house. I one day drew a funny picture on the wall of the owners compartment in blue crayon. I would not admit to it.   The woman owner was most gracious and I refused to become angry. Here was also a Negro woman cook from whom I would not accept food. 

Father bought me a pony. This pony would head for his home each time I got on him. Mother came from a small stream dragging a turtle behind her on a rope, She cooked it. It was delicious. Our family moved from this place to a rickety old farm of our own. Once my uncle Bob whose farm was adjacent beat his horses terribly in full view of our farmhouse. I stood in the window and watched that, but God has been kind enough to obliterate all details of that horror... During hog killing time father became angry because his revolver would not shoot. He killed the hog with an axe. On the fence post nearby he placed the bladder of the hog commenting that “dried out it would make a good baby rattle”. 

I was definitely hurt when my parents one night removed pigeons from the cote, killed them and made me hold their warm bodies. I feel that pain now...

Young’s memoir also indicates that his family lived in extreme poverty. It reveals that there were many mealtimes without enough food to go around the family table, that Henri only had one pair of trousers, and that he even had to wear his sister’s dresses while his mother washed his clothes. In one instance, he recalled spending time at an aunt’s impoverished home. He wrote that it was “filthy,” and that “hogs and chickens walked about inside the rooms.”  To make matters worse, a war was raging within the walls of his family’s home. From his earliest childhood, his mother and father engaged into intense bouts of fighting. Henri recalled one fight so fierce that out of desperate fear he slept all night under the house. His aunt Amelia would later claim that Henri had learned his future trade of burglary through the encouragement of his father. His parents divorced when Henri was only fourteen, and during this period his school grades steadily declined until he ultimately failed nearly all of his courses. He later admitted to harboring deep resentment over his family’s breakup and his adult writings show that he was still troubled over the disintegration:

I loved mother, but then I hated her being so stately and elegant away from home to drop into a complacent attitude in our home. She had class, but would use it only on occasions, which threw her into painful blunders. Did she work to save that home? I know, know, know she did. But father, she did not know how to work. Neither did father. The marks of respect they should have observed were lacking. She hurt me often by denouncing my “false pride.”

When Henri was seventeen, his mother remarried. Her new husband, Ammie Payne, had six children from a previous marriage, two of whom Henri refers to as “blunted mentally.”  This new marriage was extremely painful for Henri. He clearly adored his mother, and constantly referred to her kindness and immense beauty. But by his own admission, he carried a profound and unwarranted bitterness towards his new stepfather. There were ten children under one roof and Henri confessed that this caused him a feeling of shame and embarrassment. However, Ammie was in fact quite good to Henri. He taught him how to drive his car and worked hard at being a good role model – but Henri did not reciprocate. Instead, he began stealing Ammie’s tools and selling them cheaply for spending money. He also started spending more and more time away from home. He later would comment: “I seemed separated from my family.”  He left home permanently at age nineteen.

After short stints of odd jobs, Henri and his friend Elmer Webb rode freight trains out west to California. Young toured the Pacific Corridor as a drifter, eventually joining a traveling carnival where he worked in an animal sideshow for a middle-aged English couple. He indicated that he liked the work, which consisted of helping with show preparations, setting up the tents and selling tickets. But after working for half a season, Henri lost interest in the carnival and started taking on odd jobs while continuing to rove westward. He worked for a brief stint cleaning fruit dying equipment and even spent time as a respected firefighter in Quincy, California.

On October 4, 1932, during an abrupt train stop in Miles City, Montana, Henri and his friend Elmer robbed a fellow drifter, leaving him tied and gagged in a boxcar. Two employees of the Pacific Railroad found the victim in a state of extreme hypothermia due to the near freezing weather. A 1935 police report describes how during his arrest, Young was asked if he had realized that the man could have frozen to death if the two workers hadn’t found him in time. He is quoted as stating: “He was a degenerate and I didn’t think it would have been any loss to humanity if he had...” Young was sentenced to serve a term of fifteen months at the Dear Lodge Penitentiary in Montana.

Henri was released from prison in June of 1933, only to be arrested again on October 9 ^th. This time he was convicted of burglary in the State of Washington, and was sentenced to the Walla Walla Penitentiary for one year. Young served his time and was paroled on October 12, 1934. Only days after leaving prison, he obtained a gun and held up a man in the parking lot of the Pacific Hotel in Spokane, Washington. Young demanded that the man drive him to Cheney, where police spotted the car careening recklessly and gave chase. Young would make his first escape from the police in a hail of gunfire.

Young would take part in another kidnapping on October 26, 1934, when he and his accomplice Sherman Baxter, who he had met while incarcerated at the Montana State Penitentiary, abducted a man in Spokane. They drove their victim to a remote location in or near the town of Medical Lake, Washington, and proceeded to rob him. A beating him, they wired him to a tree, where he remained undiscovered until the following day. The duo painted their stolen car and drove to Portland, Oregon, where they picked up Jack Baker, a friend of Henri’s from his carnival days in California.

On November 2, 1934, the twenty-three-year-old Henri Young and his two accomplices robbed the First National Bank of Lind, Washington. During the hold up, Young forced cashier J.F. Gibson onto the vault floor while they searched for cash. The three men made off with $405.00 and were captured only 40 minutes later. In the arrest report, Young was described as being arrogant and boastful of his crime. The three young men stood trial and Henri’s accomplices were sentenced to serve 15 years at McNeil Island, while Henri was sentenced to 20 years.  Young’s days of freedom had now come to a halt...

*     *     *

Prison life at McNeil was tough, and Young’s own accounts describe violent fistfights and forced sexual encounters. He quickly became known as a difficult inmate and on January 14, 1935, United States Attorney J.M. Simpson wrote to the Attorney General, pleading for Young’s transfer to Alcatraz. Simpson wrote:

I think Henry Young is the worst and most dangerous criminal with whom I’ve ever dealt, although I have prosecuted and hung two individuals on the charge of murder. Young’s record is bad. He served a term of 15 months in the penitentiary at Dear Lodge, Montana, for the crime of robbery. The circumstances were very brutal.

Four months later E.B. Swope, Warden of McNeil Island and future Warden of Alcatraz, wrote to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, also advocating Young’s transfer to The Rock. Swope wrote that Young was “fomenting as much trouble as he possibly can.”  He went on to describe Henri further:

I am sure that we are going to have more or less trouble with him. He is vicious, unscrupulous, and is a fomenter of trouble, but still has enough ingenuity to keep undercover. I would very much appreciate that if a transfer is going to be made, that it be done at an early date.

Young Arrives at Alcatraz

Henri Young was considered one of the most incorrigible inmates ever to serve time at Alcatraz. His extensive conduct reports depict a volatile and hostile nature.

Henri Young arrived on Alcatraz on June 1, 1935, as inmate AZ-244. Just one month later, Young would receive his first write-up for misconduct. Young and inmate Francis L. Keating were reprimanded for talking loudly during mealtime, which was strictly forbidden. His menacing attitude would only intensify under the strict regulations at Alcatraz. Young’s first trip to solitary confinement began on July 17, 1935, when he refused to shake out clothes during a work assignment in the laundry. He was also put on a restricted diet, which usually consisted of one full meal a day with two additional servings of bread and water.

Young’s arrogant and belligerent attitude only grew worse during his imprisonment on Alcatraz. On January 21, 1936, Young was written up for the following violations:

JOINING IN STRIKE, SUSPECTED OF SABATOGE, Having been reported by Jr. Officer Dixon as having dumped 400 lbs. of vegetables in the vegetable room of the kitchen basement, before walking out on the strike, he was immediately placed in open “D” Block, in a day or two later confessed dumping the vegetables.

– C.J. Shuttleworth, Deputy Warden.

Young would be identified as one of the leaders of the general work strike and three days later he was written up as “a noisemaker, insolent, and constantly trying to keep other prisoners from going to work.”  Henri Young had solidified his reputation as a troublemaker and his antics were infuriating to the correctional staff. He would routinely yell threats, bang his tin cup against the cell bars, and throw items (including feces) from his cell.

After spending almost four years on Alcatraz, Young joined in a failed escape attempt with fellow inmates Doc Barker, Dale Stamphill, William Martin and Rufus McCain, on January 13, 1939. Young acted as a lookout while Martin and McCain quickly cut through the bars – the same bars that had been termed tool-proof. The attempted escape resulted in significant injuries of Stamphill and the shooting death of Barker. Rumors began circulating through the prison that at the last moment, McCain had revealed that he couldn’t swim just when they made it to the water’s edge, and had begged to turn back as soon as they launched their makeshift raft in the rough bay waters.

Young and the other conspirators were placed in the upper solitary cells in A Block. An entry in Young’s conduct report states that he was moved from A Block to D Block isolation cell #587 on January 27, 1939, with continued loss of all his privileges. An official hearing on the escape resulted in Young forfeiting all 2,400 days of his statutory good time. His record does indicate a brief period in which no disciplinary action was taken. This lasted until July 9, 1939, when he again incited a disturbance, which was described as follows: “Loud yelling, pounding, cursing and attempting to throw water upon an officer. This prisoner was yelling and pounding the front of his cell with the frame of his bed.”

Henri Young’s cell in the Solitary Confinement Unit, located on the upper tier of A Block. This photograph was used during Young’s murder trial, in an attempt to illustrate the harsh confinement practices at Alcatraz.

Contemporary photos showing the interior of the upper A-Block solitary confinement cells.

Attorney James MacInnis is seen here on the upper tier of A Block, examining the closed-front solitary confinement cells.

Rufus McCain, the Alcatraz inmate murdered by Henri Young.

Rufus McCain

Rufus Roy McCain was a thirty-seven-year-old offender who seemed to share many traits in common with Henri Young. McCain was the youngest of seven children. His mother died of an unknown illness when he was only five years old and his father remarried two years later, and moved the family to Broken Bow, Oklahoma. McCain’s Alcatraz records reflect that he didn’t get along with his stepmother, whom he later claimed had mistreated him, and that as a result he was constantly in conflict with his family.  He left home at the age of eighteen and took a job in the oil fields as a driller. McCain claimed to have lived a normal life in a middle class household, working for the same company until he was thirty-two years of age. His file indicates that he drank liquor frequently, and that his only recreational activity was watching motion picture shows.

McCain’s first brush with crime occurred in 1931, when he robbed some Indian gravesites, taking valuable relics including jewelry and ceremonial artifacts.  For this crime he was sentenced to serve one year at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. McCain’s prison time was served uneventfully and upon his release, he was unable to find employment. In late 1932, he robbed a bank, hoping to secure enough money to live comfortably until he could find work. He then committed another bank robbery in Oklahoma, and was quickly captured and sentenced to serve twelve years in the Arkansas Penitentiary. Rufus McCain was considered by the prison staff to be very resourceful, and he succeeded in making his escape in April of 1935. On May 14 ^thhe stole an automobile with accomplice Samuel Marion Day, and using firearms, they held up the Idabel National Bank in Oklahoma for $2,600 in cash. The two convicts kidnapped two bank cashiers as hostages and Sam Day was killed in a fierce gun battle following the robbery.

McCain was committed to the Federal Penitentiary at Leavenworth on July 11, 1935. He was subsequently transferred to Alcatraz on October 26, 1935, as a result of his violent outbursts and classification as a high escape risk. McCain had lived a normal life into his thirties, but he had since developed into a violent prisoner. In May of 1938 he attacked inmate Ralph Sullivan with a knife fashioned out of brass. The knife was seven inches long, with edges resembling “a razor’s edge filed to a sharp point,” and the handles were wrapped with electrical tape. McCain was quickly spotted with the knife by correctional officer J.J. Lapsey, and he was stopped before he could inflict any injuries. He continued to build a record of violent acts and rebellion against his guards, and therefore he was no stranger to the solitary confinement cells in A and D Blocks. His conduct report would eventually begin to show similarities to Henri Young’s. The two reports show several identical date entries for offenses and misbehavior.

There is no official documentation indicating a reason for the enmity that developed between Young and McCain. Rumors and subsequent trial testimony from other inmates would indicate that McCain had been making death threats toward Young following the failed escape. There were also the tales of McCain panicking during their escape attempt while in the water with Young, and begging to return to shore to reinforce their raft. Many would later state that Young directly blamed McCain for their capture and the death of Barker. Whatever the case may be, their animosity would result in a violent confrontation on August 29, 1939.

McCain had earned back work privileges, and had been given a job assignment as an orderly in D Block. On that day, as McCain passed Henri during his noontime lunch break, Young pulled out a dagger and lunged at McCain. Officer Joe Steere witnessed the altercation, and quickly slammed the cell door closed before Young was able to inflict any serious injury on McCain. Young was placed in isolation in D Block, and then transferred to an isolation cell in A Block on September 15, 1939. Less than two months later, Young was written up for violating the silence rule. Associate Warden E.J. Miller revoked his yard privileges for one week after Officer Richard Dennison reported that there had been “continued talking even when I was known in the vicinity.”  On December 15, 1939, prison officers conducted a search of Henri’s cell, and their findings would again place Henri into isolation. Officer M.A. Amende wrote in Young’s conduct report:

CONTRABAND IN CELL. While searching this inmate’s cell at 2 P.M. this date, I found a brass dagger hidden in the mattress. This weapon was fashioned from a brass plunger used to flush toilet. Report #1898 by M.A. Amende, Jr. Officer. ACTION: Denied any knowledge of the weapon. To be placed in solitary confinement on restricted diet and to forfeit all privileges until further orders. E.J. Miller, Associate Warden.

On September 15, 1939, Young was transferred to A Block with a small group of other inmates, and here he was moved into improvised isolation quarters. Fourteen months later, Henri Young was released back into the general population and given an immediate work assignment as a janitor in the furniture factory, which was then located on the top floor of the Model Shop building.

On December 3, 1940, the feud that had been smoldering between Henri and Rufus McCain finally turned deadly. Henri, now twenty-nine years of age, fatally stabbed McCain on the second floor of the Model Shop Building.

Young later provided his own account of the slaying in trial testimony. He stated in part:

That morning I went into breakfast. McCain was sitting across the room from me. He sneered at me and ran his finger across his throat. He meant he was going to cut my throat. I had a chill. It was like a cold, clammy snake had been put under my skin. When I went out, my head was burning. I went to my cell and got my coat and hat. At the foot of the steps I saw McCain. He made a filthy remark. I stopped and looked at him. Everything seemed to go blank. I went away.

The events of McCain’s Murder are also described in several accounts given by correctional officers who filed reports on the incident:

Memorandum

December 3, 1940

To: J. A. Johnston, Warden

From: E. J. Miller, Associate Warden

Re: ATTACK OF YOUNG #244-Az on Mc Cain #267-Az 12-3-1940.

Attached are copies of reports from the following officers relative to the attack by Young #244-Az on McCain #267-Az this date:

Junior Officer R. F. Spencer

Junior Officer Marshall G. Rose

Senior Officer Frank W. Mach

Paul M. Pone, Foreman Clothing Factory

Junior Officer Wesley C. Hicks

Lieutenant H. W. Weinhold.

At approximately 10 a.m. this date Officer Ordway in the Captain’s Office received a telephone call from Officer Pringle, Model Roof Patrol, that there was trouble in the Tailor Shop. Officer Ordway relayed the message to the Associate Warden and then the Associate Warden sent Officer Ordway to the work area. Lieutenant Weinhold called from the Tailor Shop and stated to the Associated Warden that #267-McCain had been stabbed in the abdomen by another inmate, Young #244, who came down from the Model Shop.

Lieutenant Weinhold stated that the wound was bad and immediately a truck was sent to the work area to take inmate McCain to the Hospital. In the meantime Dr. Ritchey and Dr. Green were notified that an inmate had been stabbed and McCain was checked into the Hospital about 10:05 A.M.

The associate Warden tried to get a statement from McCain but could secure nothing of value.

E. J. Miller

Associate Warden

Copy

Alcatraz, California

December 3, 1940

Mr. E. J. Miller, Associate Warden

Subject: Inmate Young #244-Az Leaving Model Shop at 10:00 A. M.

From: R. F. Spencer, Junior Officer

At ten A.M this date I made my count as usual, and every man was at his particular job and accounted for.

Immediately after making check I returned to stockroom where we were taking monthly inventory. Hardly, had I started working when upon hearing a whistle blast I stepped to a window to see what was wrong, I saw at first glance Officer Mach struggling with the above-named inmate on the landing in front of shoe factory.

I went down and took charge of inmate Young and Mr. Mach returned to his shop. Within a few moments Officer Rose relieved me of my charge, taking him to the cell house, I returning to my post.

Respectfully submitted,

/S/ R.F. Spencer

Junior Officer

Copy

December 3, 1940

Subject: Statement on inmate #244 (Young).

To: Associate Warden E. J. Miller.

Sir:

This morning, while on duty as a Work Area Officer, I was making my rounds of the Work Area Shops. At 10:00 A.M. I was in the Mat Shop, when I heard a whistle blowing, I ran out of the shop to see what the trouble was. I saw Mr. F. Mach’s assistant, he told me that a stretcher was needed, as he thought he had an inmate dying in the Tailor Shop. I obtained the stretcher from the Work Area and I returned with it to the Tailor Shop.

Lt. Weinhold who had arrived on scene, ordered me to take Young #244 to the cell house. This I did without further trouble from Young.

Respectfully,

/S/ Marshall G. Rose, J.O.

Copy

November 3, 1940

To the Associate Warden:

I was on the third table sewing with my back to the Office. I heard a scuffle and a moan, turned around and saw McCain on the floor and Mr. Mach scuffling with Young and had an arm lock on him. At first I thought it was a fistfight, then I saw a knife in Young’s hand and Mr. Mach called my attention to it. I took the knife away from him and while Mr. Mach, Mr. Hicks took Young out with the assistance of Mr. Rose and Mr. Spencer. I called up the Hospital to send a Doctor or an ambulance to the Tailor Shop. Lieutenant Weinhold was in the shop, before Mr. Rose came, I turned the knife over to Mr. Mach. This happened approx. ten a.m.

/S/ Paul M. Pone

Copy

MEMORANDUM

Alcatraz, California

December 3, 1940

To: E.J. Miller, Associate Warden

From: W.C. Hicks, Jr. Officer

Re: Stabbing of Rufus McCain #267

At 9:55 A.M. I entered the Tailor Shop and reported to Mr. Mach. He was just about to take a count as he said he took it a little before the hour. After the count, Mr. Mach suggested he show mw around the Shop.

We had just started (between 10:00 and 10:05 A.M.) and he was showing me some pattern when I heard someone shout “hey, Ruf.” Turning around, I saw Young #244 standing with a knife in his right hand and McCain fall to the floor.

Mr. Mach immediately grabbed him and threw him against the wall and at the same time twisting his right with the knife down to his side. He then called to Mr. Pone and to myself to get his knife. Mr.Pone got the knife in his hand and I found another slipped under his belt in front.

I ran out to the yard for help and while out on the stairs Mr. Mach brought out Young to the top of the stairs and Mr. Spencer (who had come up by this time) and I held him while the other officers were coming. The knife I found on Young I turned over to Mr. Mach.

/S/ Wesley C. Hicks

Alcatraz, California

December 3, 1940

To:                   E.J. Miller, Associate Warden

From:              W.C. Hicks, jr. Officer

Re:                   Stabbing of Rufus McCain #267

At 9:55 A.M. I entered the Tailor Shop and reported to Mr. Mach. He was just about to take a count as he said he took it a little before the hour. After the count, Mr. Mach suggested he show me around the Shop.

We had just started (between 10:00 and 10:05 A.M.) and he was showing me some pattern when I heard someone shout “Hey, Ruf, Hey, Ruf.” Turning around, I saw Young #244 standing with a knife in his right hand and McCain fall to the floor. Mr. Mach immediately grabbed him and threw him against the wall and at the same time twisting his right with the knife down to his side. He then called to Mr. Pone and to myself to get his knife. Mr. Pone got the knife in his hand and I found another slipped under his belt in front.

I ran out to the yard for help and while out on the stairs Mr. Mach brought out Young to the top of the stairs and Mr. Spencer (who had come up by this time) and I held him while the other officers were coming. The knife I found on Young I turned over to Mr. Mach.

/S/ Wesley C. Hicks

Memorandum to the Warden:

Re: 267-Az, McCain, R.R.

The above captioned Inmate was brought to the Hospital at about 10:00 today, on a stretcher. It was found that he was suffering from an extensive wound of the right side of the abdomen. This wound was about five inches in length and entirely through the abdominal wall. The omentum was exposed and partly protruding. There was considerable oozing of blood from several points on the omentum. He was suffering also from shock. He was given immediate treatment to combat the shock and steps were taken to stop the bleeding. In the meantime Passed Assistant Surgeon George H. Hunt was called from the U. S. Marine Hospital in San Francisco and he came at one to the Island and an anesthetic and the abdomen explored to determine the extent of the damage. It was found that no viscus was cut through but there were many bleeding points found in the region of the Hepatic flexure of the colon, in which neighborhood there was a hematome. All bleeding points found were ligated and the wound closed with drainage down to the peritoneum. The patient was returned to his room and shock treatment was continued with the administration of fluids and stimulants to support pulse.

As this is written at 2:45 P.M. the patient is still in shock and has a great deal of pain. His pulse is small and slow but his color is fairly good and he complains of great tenderness over the abdomen. Stimulation and fluids will be continued and sufficient narcotic to control the pain. This injury was received at the hands of another inmate. This man is still in a very critical condition and the prognosis is extremely guarded.

Respectfully,

Romney M. Ritchey, Surgeon (R),

Chief Medical Officer

United States Public Health Service

U. S. Penitentiary, Alcatraz, California

November 4, 1940

Memorandum to the Warden:

Re: 267-Az., Mc Cain, Rufus (Deceased)

The following statement is made to include the several verbal and written reports we made to you yesterday regarding the above captioned Inmate.

At about 10:00 a.m. yesterday the above captioned former Inmate was brought to the Hospital on a stretcher. He was pale and his skin was moist and his shirt was bloody and he was holding with both hands a mass which was protruding from a large opening in the abdomen. He was placed on the table and a hypodermic was given for the pain. The wound was cleansed and inspected and he appeared to be in severe shock from the exposure of the abdominal contents. Bleeding points in the omentum were tied off and active shock treatment instituted. His general condition did not greatly improve but it was imperative that further investigation of the possible injury to intestines be undertaken. This was done by Passed Assistant Surgeon G. H. Hunt, USPHS, of U. S. Marine Hospital, San Francisco.

No penetrating wound or any viscus was found by considerable oozing of blood from the posterior surface of Omentum. The abdominal wound was then closed with drains into the sheath of the rectus muscle. During this procedure he was given intravenous glucose solution and when returned from the Operating Room his condition was considered fair considering everything, but the pulse was slow and weak. He continued to receive shock treatment and stimulation and some sedative to combat the pain, but by 2:00 P.M. his pulse was only 40 and very thready. He then appeared to rally a little and his pulse returned to 78 but still very small and weak. At about 3:00 P.M. he began to fail again with labored respiration and beginning cyanosis and in spite of continued efforts to relieve him of these symptoms, he died at 3:30 P.M. December 3, 1940, approximately six hours after the injury was received. The cause of death was surgical shock caused by a penetrating wound of the abdomen with internal injuries to the Omentum.