New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-12-13

10 New.York A. the age Of twen'y-iour, ha'ine
realized the old proyerb in regard t. his money
Easy come. easy co." and without sny pecuni-
airy resources, except some old de''s' ley IN Tue
hands Of en- sgeDt in Connecticut for coHecuon.
The world was all before him. But be never ios'
.ish. Of his destiny After many inehe;:lal at
tempts 10 find his proper sphere, fortune becomes
propitjcus and places before him his FIRST dazzling
speculation in the longevity OF toe Old negro
woman J,ice Uerh. His latent talents now ex-
handed in I'll bloom. The mOdHs opsrGafi 10 his
case is given at length. showing toe unbounded
fertility Of resource by which the smallest mate
rails could be metamorphosed into the most popu-
lar of exhibitions. Tie triumphant success OF
.Joice Heth ,ealed Btrnum's fate lie had got
the tate of blood and could not again 90 back.
The depouement Of this tragco-cOmi,o perform
ance is thus related
On tie ols, Of February, 1896 my brothers nsfses
and sleigh stopped q the door OF my bos'ding-nense
in New. York. The driver sauded me letter RON
my brother pnlo, stating that Aunt Joice was no
NOR She did AZ his hpu,e on Friday night, me
10th ard her body was then in the sleigh. having
been conveyed 70 New York for me to dispose OF as
thought proper. az once determined TO nave u re-
Turned TO Bethel and inferred in cur village burial
ground though for tbs present !, was placed ID
small room Of which hal the key.
The rext morniog called on an EN- nent surgeon
who upon visiting Joice a, Nibos, hai expressed q
desire to institute poet moTtem examination II sne
should ole in THE country. | sgreed that be should
have the opportunity il unfortunately e sho1id occar
while she was under my protection. now informed
of nv promise. ! admitted il, and immediately pro-
ceeded 10 arrange Tor the examination 10 take pace
on The following day.
In the meantime mahogany cofiu and plate were
procured snd taken TO the hall where the examination
! vas TO take place. large number OF physician
students ana several clsrgymen and editors were
| present. Among the last named ciSss was Richard
Adams Locke, author of the Celebrated Moon HOAX
who WIS at that tine Editor Of he Ner- f0.S Sun.
An sbsenee of ossfcaon of the arteries in the I'M
mediate ion OF the heat deemed oy the dissec
tor and most of the gentlemen present an evidence
/ against the assumed age of Joice.
When all had Withdrawn ptiDg ths surgeon, MS
particular friend Locke, Lyman ard myself, the sur
geon remarked, addressing me, that there was ;u!e,
some mistake Ia regard 10 The alleged age OF JOlcsi
that instead Of being l6l Yeas Old she was pr0OaOy
stated to him. in reply, what strictly rls, that
had hired Joice in perfect gooo faith and relied
upon her appearance and the documents As evidence
of the truth of her story. The gentleman had
examineo her when alive on exhibition ~ Ntblo = lie
reoined that be had doubt had been deceived me
matter that her personal appearance really did ini
cate extreme longevity, but that the documents must
either have been forged else they applied to some
other Individual.
L. man, who vas always ready for joke, no matter
what the cost at whose expense here ma lie re-
mark regarding the inability OF the faculty 70 decide
with much precision IN regard 10 case OF this kind
HIS observations wounded the feelings oi the surgeon,
taking the of his friend Lscke, they LETT tue
hall fear in Lot very good humor
The Sun Of the next day FEB. %, 1885, contained
al editorial, written of course by Locke commencing
as follows
PosEDThe oes examination Of the BODY of Joice iieth
yesterday resulted in the Of one Of the most preeou,
huubuss cTedulOls community"
Mr.. Locke then proceeded 10 give scientific &C.
count of the dissection and the reasons he had for
dou biting her story.
Here let me say word in reply to the captious,
who may claim that was over credulOus in accept.
ing the story Of Joice and her exhibitor alter Of
fact. assert, them that when Joiee Heth was liy-
ing never met with six persons out of the many thld-
sends who visited her. who seemed TO DOUBT the claim
of her age and history. Hundreds Of medical men
assured me that they thought the staiemen, OF her
age was correct, and DR.. Rogers himself n his part
ing conversation above noted, remart ed u me that
be expected 10 have spoiled half & dozen kniyes in
seyeFiDg the ossifcation in the arteries around The re-
ei0n OF the heart and chest. Indeed, Mr. Locke
plainly indicated bis belief in her story, by toe fol
loving remarks found in the editorial from which !
make the above extract:
,6e euric.it, hieh P1ompted il the eton We felt
hSgsn the peSn S Ga Jos hth should Ssse es
her t5s me cd sss snd III, pubic curiosity %aa she mad
Washn0ta"
not exceed seventy five or eighty years.
When The Sun newspaper appeared, and the
account OF the posmor,em examination was resd,
thousands of persons who had seen her when alive,
much estonished. '.There must be mistake"
SAID che, for her very appearance indicated her age
10 have been at least hundred and twenty "She
could not have been less than hundred, ssid
others while still others believed she quite
old a. represented.
In this state of the public mind, Lyman determined
to put a joke upon james Gordon Bennett OF The
Herald. He therefore called at Benefits Office and
told him that we had been humbugging DIR. Rogers,
that in fact Joice Heth being exhibited in
Connecticut, and that the body which had been dis
seced as hers was that Of an old negress who had
Gently died st Harlem. Bennett swallowed the bait,
hook and ALL He declared it was the best hoax he
ever heard of, ecpsDg Lockes 81 moon hoax entire
ly, and he proceeded 10 jot down the details they
were invented by Lymsns fertile BRAIN
This editorial preface of The Herald introduced the
account of the dissection as it appeared in The Sun
and Bennett suboined the comprehensive coument
Thus far the Joce Heth hoax, for the veracity of
which We have names and certificates in our posses
sOn."
Upon reading the article from The Herald lsrge
portion Of the public believed it, and consoed them.
selves by saying, All, sure the old woman was
considerably more than eighty. The article In The
Herald makes the matter all clear"
Locke insisted that he had not been humbugged,
and Bennett persisted that he had and offered to lay
a wager of several hundred dollars that Joce was
really alive and then being exhibited in Connecticut
After while the editor Of The Herald, finding him
self bOaxed cried still the louder that he was right
and published several fictitious certificates purporting
to have been written and signed by persons residing
in Harlem, corroborslng Lymans story of poor
Aunt Nelly"
In September of the same year. while was absent
at the SOUTH Bennett met Lyman in the street. and
preceded to blow him sky high for having i'm
posed upon him. Lyman laughed; he sad he only
meant 1t as harmless joke, and that now, as a
recompense for the imposition he would furnish Ben
al ne rfs