Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1847-04-08
Extraordinary Case Of Adipocerc.

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The following account of female converted in
to a solid. uncorrupted substance, we copy from
the N, Y. True Sun. The Sun contains many
facts connected with this singular case, from which
We CLEAN the following
The body was disntered the middle Of last
month from the ancient place Of sepulture al the
corner OF Broadway and Twelfth streets, lately con.
veried into ground for speculation and modern i'm.
proyemeni. The name Of the dsinterred female
was Friend, hearty married lady who died sud-
denly at the age of 6S, during the month Of Feb
ruary. 1880. Subsequently her husband was bu.
ried close by her side, though not so deep by per-
haps six inches. Children and other relatives have
since been consigned TO the same few yards square
of earth, aud Two or three of her children we be-
lieve, were buried over their parents.
There they remained until few weeks since,
when the new order Of things that had arisen in
relation 10 The property of the yard rendered il
necessary that they should be remoyed-Mrs F.
having occupied what she supposed would have
been her last resting place till the sounding Of the
last trump, just seventeen years, lacking few days
On the removal Of the remains Of the children
nothing out Of the usual course of nature was dis.
coverable aud tue corpse OF the father too, had
returned 10 mother earth, "dusi TO dust" The
coffin Of Mrs T. exhibited no indications OF decay
1t as solid when first placed in the ground !;
and on raising il, it proved extraordinarily heavy.
During the removal, the lid of the coffin became
displaced, mud an astonishing spectacle presented
ITSELF The face and neck of Mrs f. exhibited all
the funess which it possessed in life, aud, indeed,
the cheeks we're somewhat larger, and, with the ex.
ception Of the absence Of the eyes, there was not
the slightest appearance of decay. The surface
however, was covered with a thick, 6lmy white
mould, and upon removing il, the skin pre-.
senied the fairest, purest surface seen on ala
bastsr The flesh was as solid aud hard as the
purest sperm, and as perfectly free from dsagreea
BILE odor On further examination her whole per.
son was found to be in the same wonderful state of
preservation body aud limbs presented the same
hard. undecayed appearance.
The intelligence of this astonishing discovery
spread rapidly amongst those who had known Mrs
F. and were acquainted with the family and il
snon reached the ears Of some Of the medical fac.
ulty, who came to see for themselves what, under
the circumstances, appeared incredible, and for
which they are now wholly unable to account
We understand. however, that several of the most
distinguished of the faculty in the city are making
the case the subject Of elaborate investigations and
will give their conclusions or specualions to the
public in due season.
During the process Of removal both Of the feet
became nutnled. and The Fragments as well as the
fracture, present the appearance Of dry, crumbled
allow, does also the substance of one of the legs
punctured above the ankle. The spots on the
face from which the mould became removed. now
present dark appearance; but we noticed several
small spots on the bosom, where the skin was bare
and where 1t presented purely white and polish.
cd surface as piece Of white satin.
A few days after the dsiniermeni of this won
der, MIR Friend made preparations for its reinler.
ment at Harlem. aud actually re-buried il; but
alarmed by indications which gave him loo good
reasons TO fear that IN great danger OF reno.
val Tor purposes Of either scientific or specializing
nature, he very properly had il taken up, aud con-
veyed back TO his house, and with the original cof
I'm enclosed IN handsome mahogany case, with
lid entirely Of glass, where ii now lies the subject
Of great interest TO numbers who visit il daily
Although both in this country and Europe
number Of cases Of adpoceraton, the subjects Of
which presented an appearance very similar to this
of Mrs Friend, are recorded, they have oil been
found under circumstances and in situations which
afforded 10 the scientific means Of satisfactorily ac.
counting for the phenomena. But no precedent is
known to our faculty which at all assiinates with
this case OF over 200 dead bodies inferred in the
same burial ground, that of Mrs Friend is the only
one which has not returned To the dust from which
il sprung. Hers has remained untainled by disso-
luton whilst all around-her husband by her side
and her children above her-have become food for
worms" Even the cap upon her head was partial
ly decayed, whilst the dark ribbon bows which Sc
cured and ornamented il, retained net only their
forms, but the colors almost as perfectly as when
they were placed upon il