To learn more about Dr. Beaumont, click on this link.Focus on Dr. Beaumont's early years, medical training, and military service.
If your individual assignment is to script an interview with Dr. Beaumont, use the information you learned in the previous article to do so. Your interview should contain approximately five questions and at least three minutes long when performed. Make sure to refer to the Five W's chart before starting your interview.
Now that we know more about Dr. Beaumont, let's learn how Alexis St. Martin comes into the story.To learn more about how St. Martin and Dr. Beaumont's lives intersected, read the Traverse Magazine Article "Mackinac Island. June, 1882" and click on this link.
If your individual assignment is to write a news story about what happened to St. Martin, use the information you learned in the magazine article, lecture on the digestion process, and the link above to do so. Your story should have a beginning, a middle, and an ending. Be sure to fill out and refer to the Five W's chart while writing your news story.
14 comments:
Me: Well, I could see that you searched the digestion system from St. Martin's unclosed stomach.
Dr: Yes, I did.
Me: that brought big news to all the doctors. tell me the hardest things that you did during the experiment.
Dr: Well, firstable, having a experiment with the living human is really cruel. St. Martins was keep trying to escape from my experiment.
Me: Oh, I see,,, though if you were the method that getting an experiment, you would feel really uncomfortable,,
Dr: Yeah, but it was good chance to learn about how digest system works and now because of that experiment everyone knew how digest system works.
Me: yeah, everyone feel really thanks to you. Well thanks for the time today.
Dr:sure, ask me if you have any questions any time you want.
Mr: Yeah, bye
WB:May I ask you some questions that I was wondered while I was reading a story about you
Dr.Beaumont:Yes, feel free to ask me
WB:What was the hard thing about observing on the alive person?
Dr.Beaumont:It was really hard because end of the observing, the guy started to stressed about my observing and when people got stressed, the digestion system slows down therefore, it was hard to obseve the digestion
WB:oh I didn't know you had those kind of problem. The book only talk about how you did the observing.
Thanks for your coperation.
Dr.Beaumont:It was pleasure to help you
Matthews Persuades St. Martin to return
Report by Eva
Date: 3/5/2008
In July, 1827, W. W. Matthews found St. Martin who had been missing for about 2 years. During 2 years, Dr. Beaumont kept trying to look for St. Martin and asked friends in the American Fur Company to keep looking for the truant St. Martin until W. W. Matthew appeared.
W. W. Matthews was a businessman who went to tour Canada every winter to hire voyageurs to work as workmen, boatmen, and guides. He succeeds in finding St. Martin who was married, lives in La Chalaupe and was very poor. Matthews wrote a letter to Dr. Beaumont, informing him of the whereabouts of St. Martin; in reply Beaumont gave him expenses for contacting St. Martin and gave him authorization to bring him back if possible.
Matthews answered as follow: “There will be difficulty in getting him (Alexis) back at any reasonable price, providing you will employ his wife!”
Matthews finally persuaded St. Martin to return to the U.S. In August, 1829, Martin brought his wife and two children to live with Dr. Beaumont’s family, so Dr. Beaumont had a chance to continue observing Martin’s stomach. In return Dr. Beaumont paid Martin $300 per year.
“I Hope My Father Still Cares about Us!” cries a 10-year-old girl.
On June 6, 1822, a French- Canadian fur trader, Alexis St. Martin was shot in his abdomen and was sent over to surgeon Dr. Beaumont. He had in a serious illness and everybody thought he would die soon.
In the same year of August, St. Martin is still alive, but on his stomach where he got shot, there was a fistula about the size of a hand. The tissue was covering half of his wound like a flap. Dr. Beaumont was surprised that he could lived. The surprising thing was that he could see the process of digestion.
Dr. Beaumont thought he had an opportunity to observe the digestive processes and began experiments on St. Martin. During that time, he found out many things about digestion and published a book. He poured a lot of time into those experiments.
As a doctor, Dr. Beaumont was very curious about human digestion and he spent a lot of time on this, so he couldn’t see his family often. Dr. Beaumont’s younger daughter, Lucretia Beaumont (10) reported, “I really miss my father. I see him maybe only twice a week. Before he started this experiment, he always came back to house before dinner, and we ate dinner together, but after he started the experiments he always come back late at night.” She also said, “After St. Martin came to our house everything changed so much. I really don’t know why father is pouring so much time into him. Sometimes, I wonder if he still cares about our family.”
(reporter Yoomin Shin)
“In support of challenging for Medical study and friendship."
Date : 03/06/08
Report by Yerim Kim
In 1822, surgeon William Beaumont treated a fur trader, Alexis St. Martin, for a gunshot wound of the abdomen. St. Martin recovered but Beaumont was unable to experiments through the opening. Dr. Beaumont’s work proved to be of great importance in the study of the human digestive system. A remarkable service by Lovell was the encouragement and official assistance, which he gave to Surgeon William Beaumont in the study of gastric physiology. Joseph Lovell who was the first surgeon general of the army. Surgeon Joseph Lovell made known his intentions that he believed that physicians should increase medical knowledge. In the early 1830 His friend, Dr. Lovell, the surgeon general, gave him most valuable assistance made it possible for him to study in Washington for a period of time. Before the book published, Lovell had received a letter from Dr. Beaumont asking about a decision to publish a full report of the St. Martin case about correction, suggesting that the article be published in some reputable medical journal. Dr. Lovell replied with adding his comment “the cure is a full demonstration of the wonderful powers of nature and highly credible to yourself. Agreeably to your suggestion, I shall send it to the Medical Recorder for publication, altering it only so far as may be necessary to introduce a part of your letter relative to the present state of your patient.” In 1833, Beaumont published Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juice and the Physiology of Digestion, a book based upon his research on St. Martin. Joseph Lovell muttered to say that they had an absurd happening. After the book published, they had an unexplained error, it appeared under the title: “A case of wounded Stomach, by Joseph Lovell, Surgeon-General, U.S.A.” Later in the year the journal published an apology for the mistake. Dr. Beaumont and Joseph Lovell observations revealed more about digestion in the human stomach than had ever before been known, and his work was immediately praised in both the United States and Europe. Lovell’s office have been begun the collection of medical literature that was to become the Library of the Surgeon General’s Office.
The Great Experiment of the Process of Digestion
Date:March 6, 2008
By Bo-Kyung, Hwang
Dr. William Beaumont who was a young army surgeon, discovered the process of digestion of human at the fort on Mackinac Island. St. Martin who was a voyageur, had the gunshot in his abdomen with a hole. The accident happened in June of 1822. Dr. Beaumont was able to see digestion. Many people thought that St. Martin could died, however, it was a miracle that Alexis St. Martin survived. This gave Dr. Beaumont a change to discover the first of many experiments to learn the digestive process. By that time, no one knows about the digestive process of human body. He treated St. Martin and searched and studied for digestive process from St. Martin’s stomach. He siphoned out fluids and retrieved food with a spoon to see how it had changed since entry. He discovered that the human’s stomach has the gastric juice which contains the hydrochoric acid. The food entered the mouth and it went down to the stomach, this dissolves the food before passing it into the small intestine. He found it takes about 3 to 3 and half hours for this to happen. The interesting fact that the hole in St. Martin’s abdomen wasn’t closed, also meats and cereals were easier to digest than vegetables. Moreover, Dr. Beaumont discovered the effects of emotion on digestion when St. Martin had bad or good emotion. Dr. Beaumont published his findings in Medical Recorder. In 1833, 11years later, Dr. Beaumont published his book Experiments and Observation on the Gastric Juice and the Physiology of Digestion.
The experimentation made on a live men’s body
My husband made researches on St. Martin and he brought him to live in our home for free.
Everything started 12 years ago on June 6 1822 when St. Martin was shouted in the abdomen and my husband took care of him.
They did not know one another and they what is very strange did not speak the same language.
Dr. Beaumont like every doctor wanted to cure his patient which he did, but something very strange happened with St.Martin hole in the stomach, it healed in way that he could live and eat, but he was left with permanent hole in his stomach.
Dr. Beaumont saw this like opportunity to find out something more about the process of digestion.
He was ambitious and in one way forced St. Martin to allow my husband to do researches on his stomach hole.
The hole was big enough to put food in it and to see what was happening with the food when it was in contact with St. Martin gastric juice.
Dr. Beaumont was so dedicated to his job that sometimes he forgot to go home, to eat to, to sleep, to do the normal things in life.
He was doing researches on the process of digestion for about 12 years and he published book based on his medical recorder.
He stopped doing researches because his patient St. Martin escaped from him, with saying that it was enough torturing and experimenting on his hole.
But still Dr. Beaumont was the first doctor to do make researches and find out about the process of digestion.
Interview with Dr.Beaumont.
(by Bo-Kyung, Hwang)
Bk: Hello, Dr. Beaumont. How are you today?
Dr: I am fine, thank you.
Bk: To begin with, what kind of job did you have at the Straits of Makinac?
Dr: I was an army surgeon. Then treated and took care of people who had accident.
Bk: How was the St. Martin’s situation when he got gunshot?
Dr: Well, first of all, St. Martin got gunshot in his abdomen. That time, his situation was really serious. The shot had fractured two ribs, ruptured the lower part of the left lung, and lacerated the stomach. He had a big hole in his abdomen. Then, I applied a carbonated, fermenting poultice of flour, hot water, charcoal, and yeast to the wound made St. Martin comfortable for his last hour. I thought and everyone thought St. Martin would die. However, St. Martin didn’t die. I was really surprised with that happening.
Bk: Wow, That’s really interesting. I couldn’t believe that St. Martin survived. Did the big hole close?
Dr: Actually, the hole didn’t close. So, I could see the whole digestive process through the St. Martin’s abdomen. I really surprised and shocked because no one knows how the human body digests the food by that time. I thought to discover the digestive process is a good experiment. Then, I stated the great experiment of human digestive process.
Bk: So, what did you discover through the experiment?
Dr: I wondered that where the foods are goes through, so I put meat into St. Martin’s stomach. The interesting thing was that the food goes to the stomach and mixed with gastric juice. Also, I found that the gastric juice was Hydrochloric acid. That appears in the stomach only when food is being chewed of when it enters the stomach. Then the foods are goes into the small intestine that breaks food down into really small piece of food. And then, the piece of food goes into anus.
Bk: How did St. Martin think about this experiment?
Dr: well, I don’t know about his feeling exactly by that time, but I am sure that he didn’t like the way of experiment. I mean, he seemed very angry with this experiment. St. Marin might have thought that I was using him for the experiment. Later, he ran away from my hospital. hahaha
Bk: How was the St. Martin’s personality?
Dr: He was an alcoholic and he was violent. I discovered another interesting thing that when St. Martin was angry, the digestive system didn’t work well. Oppositely, when St. Martin was in a good mood, the digestive system was being active.
Bk: Dr’s findings were published in the Medical Recorder.
Dr: Yes. The Medical Recorder that is a well-known medical journal. Most physicians read my experiment, and accepted. Also, they wanted to find more interesting occurences from human body.
SJ : Hello Mr. St. Martin. I’m a reporter Sunjoo Park. Would you mind if I asked some question?
Etienne : Of course! I’m here for answering your question. I’m ready.
SJ : How was your feeling when your brother got shot?
Etienne : My brother’s wound was actually very serious. Normally most of people would be dead if bullet totally through their stomach from 3 feet away. Everyone and Dr. Beaumont said he is going to die and so did I. Dr. Beaumont was just doing his duty as a doctor such as reforming bones, and applying paltice. I have a hatred of Dr. Beaumont but I appreciate about his good treatment. I was very confused at that time. I didn’t know that the gun discharged by accident so I freaked out and tried to find a person who shoots my brother. A couple of hours later, one of my friends, Stuart, told me what happened and then I could be calm. I was also confused because Dr. Beaumont kept saying difficult medical language.
SJ : When Alexis’s hole never closed, and Dr. Beaumont suggested observing his stomach, What was your opinion and Alexis’s opinion?
Etienne : I disagree with Dr. Beaumont because I was very doubtful about Dr. Beaumont. We couldn’t communicate a lot because of our difference of language. He used English and I and my brother used French patois. We didn’t understand each other so I didn’t event know that what Dr. Beaumont wanted to do with my brother. However my brother wanted to give again his favor so that kind of obligation made him agree. Maybe Alexis thought that there were nothing difficult thing in experiment.
SJ : During the experiments, What was the hardest thing for your brother to live with hole in stomach.?
Etienne : First of all, whenever he ate something, foods were leaked out. So he had to lie on the bed for several hours and he couldn’t bend his body. Can you imagine? If you don’t band your body with bandage, your foods run out of your body all the time. It was extremely uncomfortable. Also so many people knew about his stomach and came to look at it. People treated him like monster in circus. One day soldier were mocking at my brother and I shouted at them. These things happened whole my brother’s life. Dr. Beaumont’s experiments also made him stressed out. Alexis drank a lot and became violent. He was always angry, sensitive, and nervous. His emotional problem was made him exhausted and he ran away a few times.
SJ : Were Dr. Beaumont and Alexis friends? How was their relationship?
Etienne : I heard that Alexis complained about Dr. Beaumont’s attitude. Alexis was always poor but the doctor didn’t pay for providing stomach. He said that he didn’t have money for Alexis but later he found out that he earned some money and became famous through his book. We couldn’t get any profits for that although the book was all about Alexis’s experiments. We were not very educated so maybe Dr. Beaumont lied to us sometimes and he didn’t respect my brother at all. Alexis was so poor so he needed house for his family and Dr. Beaumont provided his house. That was only the reason why Alexis stayed with him for 10 years.
SJ : I heard that you didn’t tell anybody where is Alexis’s grave. Why you don’t tell people and make people grieve for Alexis?
Etienne : Well, I still don’t want to say where grave is because I want to let him alone. We laid his corpse under the sun for several days to make it decay so that nobody can recognize him. We buried in 8 feet under the ground and put some rocks. This was the only way that I can protect him from autopsy and another experiment.
SJ : Thank you for answering my question. I helped a lot to understand point of St. Martin’s view.
A man who lived miserable life with mysterious hole
By Sunjoo Park
On June 6, 1822 Etienne’s brother St. Martin got shot in the American Fur Company’s retail store on Market Street. As a result of this happen, St. Martin had a permanent hole in his stomach. This hole helped his doctor to study the process of digestion. However Etienne was furious the continuing interest about this hole which caused his brother’s miserable life.
St. Martin and his brother Etienne lived on the Mackinac Island as fur traders. When St. Martin’s gun discharged, the bullet smashed his ribs and made a large wound in his abdomen. Dr. Beaumont came quickly and treated him well, although he thought that he is going to be dead soon.
However St. Martin, a healthy 28 year-old-man, recovered from every illness except a 3-inch hole in his stomach. Dr. Beaumont could not close this hole, so he had to wrap him with bandage in order to prevent leaking foods. After two years taking care of St. Martin, Dr. Beaumont suggested that he conduct experiments on his stomach.
Etienne strongly disagreed with this plan because he was doubtful about Dr. Beaumont’s experiments. Dr. Beaumont and St. Martin brothers spoke different languages so they did not communicate well and Dr. Beaumont could not explain what he wanted to do. Later they had difficulty in communication occasionally and their relationship was not a friendly.
Etienne and Alexis St. Martin were obligated to Dr. Beaumont so Etienne could not stop him when Alexis decided to participate in experiments. For several years Alexis St. Martin was stressed out because of so many experiments and his ridiculous hole in stomach. When Etienne saw that soldiers were mocking at St. Martin’s stomach, he screamed at them. “If they do not let my brother’s stomach alone, I will have to kill the whole brigade.”
While Dr. Beaumont had experiment, Etienne often persuaded Alexis to come back home. After 10 year with Dr. Beaumont, Alexis finally escaped from Dr. Beaumont and lived with his family. Etienne said that Alexis was always poor because Dr. Beaumont did not give him anything. Etienne was also furious about the way that Dr. Beaumont treated his brother. Etienne regretted for letting him to be victim of Dr. Beaumont’s experiments. When Alexis was dead, Etienne and his family left Alexis’s body in the sun in order to decompose his body. Etienne carefully said that he buried him 8-feet deep in the ground so that nobody could find Alexis’ grave. According to his interview, it was the only way that he could protect his brother from more experiments and autopsy.
Dr. Beaumont was great person who found process of digestion, but on the other side St. Martin have being forgotten behind Dr. Beaumont’s accomplishments. Without St. Martin’s sacrifice, Dr. Beaumont might not succeed in experiments. Alexis and Etienne St. Marin never abate a pain inside their mind. I am sorry for Alexis’s miserable life, and I think that it’s time to think about the other side of brilliant achievement.
Reporter: Excuse me. Are you Saint
Martin’s wife Marie Joly?
Marie Joly: Yes, I am. Who
Reporter: Ohh, I am from Interlochen Arts Academy and now, I am writing about an article about St. Martin’s life. I just want to ask some questions to you about the St. Martins? Is it okay?
Marie Joly: Sure, what is your question?
Reporter: What did you think about Saint Martin, when you meet him the first time?
Marie Joly: I was really surprised such as miracle. Many people thought he is not normal person and they escaped from him. But I was not, because when I look at him, I came across my blood brother.
Reporter: Why you came across your brother?
Marie Joly: I had one younger brother 5years ago, but he had to leave house to become a soldier. Every man under ages 18 to 65, had to join the war and my brother was one of them. I believed that my brother will come back to the house safety but he did not. His closet friend John was with him in the war and one day, I got a letter form John. That letter said that my younger brother got shot on his abandon and he could not wake up again.
Reporter: I am so sorry about it.
Marie Joly: That’s okay, several years already elapsed. So when I saw Saint Martin, I felt I should help him as my younger brother. It was the first time to see him in my hospital; I am working in the hospital as nurse. Saint Martin was very sensitive person because he had too much stress. His mind needed to take rest so I tried to offer him comfortable environment.
Reporter: How could you meet Doctor Beaumont in New York?
Marie Joly: He sent some people to find Saint Martin and his people found Saint Martin.
They wanted to take Saint Martin in New York, but I said that I will take him there. I did not want to make him stressful.
Reporter: When Doctor Beaumont said that he want to do experiment on Saint Martin’s abandon, how was your feeling?
Marie Joly: At first, I was angry because Saint Martin is not an experimental animal. However, when I heard the Doctor Beaumont’s experiment, his experiment will help a lot of other patients. So I asked my husband to join the experiment.
Reporter: How was the experiment going?
Marie Joly: It was pretty good. Doctor Beaumont said that it was better than before. Saint Martin took rest in Canada and this rest gave him health condition.
Reporter: I see. Thank you for your time. Your information helped me a lot. I think I can write good article.
Marie Joly: You welcome. If you have more questions, you can ask me later.
Reporter: Thank you
Experiment of Digestion in New York
Alexis St. Martin signed Doctor William Beaumont’s one year experiment program
In Mackinac Island, June 1822, Alexis Saint Martin was shooting accidentally on his abandon. That time, many people believe that he is impossible to alive. However, Doctor Beaumont saved Saint Martin’s life and Saint Martin was alive with a hole on his abandon. That hole never closed and Dr. Beaumont can see organs of St. Martin’s body such as lung and small intestine. Dr. Beaumont wanted to do experiment of digestion on St. Martin’s stomach and St. Martin decided to offer his stomach to Dr. Beaumont. There were many kinds of experiments were processing, After several times, St. Martin started to get stress from Dr. Beaumont’s experiment. St. Martin often needed to stay up during five hours and theses experiments made St. Martin tired. Finally St. Martin ran away from Dr. Beaumont and he went to Canada.
St. Martin met Canadian girl Marie Joly and they were married. In 1832, December 1st, St. Martin, Marie Joly and Dr. Beaumont met in New York. Dr. Beaumont wanted to do one- year experiment program on Saint Martin. When St. Martin heard Dr. Beaumont’s suggestions, he did not want to sign it. However, his wife Marie Joly encouraged him to join the experiment and Saint Martin agreed with Dr. Beaumont’s program on September, 1832. They were staying in New York and Washington during a year. St. Martin usually wanted to give up but Marie Joly was always with him. Dr. Beaumont did experiment that which kinds of food can digest and on March 1st 1833, he completed every experiment. St. Martin was a person who sacrifices himself for medical science.
YM : Hello, Nice to meet you.
Lucretia : Hi, Nice to meet you, too. It is so beautiful out today, isn't it?
YM : Yeah. and thank you for participating in my interview.
Lucretia : Oh. no problem.
YM : So can you introduce yourself little bit?
Lucretia : Sure, My name is Lucretia Beaumont. I'm second daughter of William Beaumont, my father. I have one sister and one younger brother.I'm 10 years old.
YM : Thank you. What do you think about your father?
Lucretia : I like my father very much. He is very nice to all of us. but these days, he is getting quite busy and we don't talk alot. I think it is because of St.Martin.
YM : So you mean you don't like St.Martin?
Lucretia : yeah. kinda because he takes all time of my father.
YM : Well thank you for sharing your information.
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