This is Bob Myers from the Historical Society of Michigan with a Michigan history moment. Come quickly, the messenger cried to the doctor. A man had been shot. The accidental shooting occurred on Mackinac island in 1822. Alexis St. Martin, a French Canadian voyageur and employee of the American Fur Company, had been hit by a shotgun blast at close range. The load of duck shot tore through his side from the rear, broke ribs, blew through his stomach and exited the right side of his chest. Dr. William Beaumont, the United States army surgeon stationed at Fort Mackinac, reached the scene within a half hour. He cleaned the wound, pushed a protruding portion of the stomach and one lung back into the chest cavity, and tried to make St. Martin comfortable. The doctor held out no hope. In the days before antibiotics, chest wounds like this one were almost invariably fatal. Dr. Beaumont waited for St. Martin to die, but St. Martin didn't die. The patient experienced fever, coughing, and difficulty in breathing, but he gradually improved. After a month, his appetite returned and the wound slowly healed. In 10 months, St. Martin could walk around and do light work. After a year, he was back to normal, except for one thing. Despite Dr. Beaumont's best efforts, the hole in St. Martin's side refused to close. It created a fistula, an opening directly into his stomach. It dawned on Dr. Beaumont that a golden opportunity lay before him. In the 1820s, no one understood how the process of digestion worked. He began a series of experiments that lasted for the next decade. He lowered bits of food into St. Martin's stomach on a string and drew them out at various intervals. Among other things, he confirmed a theory that gastric juices contained hydrochloric acid and that they were secreted by the stomach lining. St. Martin was not an enthusiastic guinea pig, but Beaumont secured his cooperation by paying him to work as his servant. In 1838, Beaumont published the account of his experiments. It is recognized today as one of the greatest contributions to medical science of the 19th century. Alexis St. Martin married, fathered several children, and died in 1880 at the age of 78. Dr. Beaumont died in 1853. Michigan's Beaumont Health System and the United States Army's William Beaumont Army Medical center honor the memory of this pioneering physician. This Michigan history moment has been brought to you by michiganhistorymagazine.org.