Daily Iowa State Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1859, 1858-08-05

One or two New England papers are ar
guing the question, who killed Magee "a
murderer who was hanged in Boston u
few weeks ago, but whose body exhibited
evidence Of life and vitality at the subse
Guent dissection. A report of the post
mortem examination. published in the Dr. d.
cal and Surgical Journal, suggests the idea
that Magee was not killed by the hangmans
rope, but the scalpel of the surgical opera.
tor; that enough life remained after the
hanging for proper appliances to have
famed itself into an active flame. The re-
port says
"The body was lowered at % minutes
past 10, at which time careful examina
tioat of the chest revealed no percetble
sound or impulse Of the heart A small
space under the left enr seemed to have es-
capped active compression go that some cir
culation might have continued through the
carotic and lugular Of that side.
AT few minutes past | /. DIR. Ellis com
menced the autopsy, at the house Of recep-
ton The body was pale and the skin mot
tied. A small ecchymOsis was noticed Just
before the line of the cord on the right side.
The right sterno- cledo muscle was rdetured
through one-half Of the thickness. No lei
son was discovered in any of the other soft
parts of the neck.
''At ll:30 slight but regular pulsatory
movement was observed in the right sub
clavlan vein. Upon apply ing the ear to
the chest this was ascertained TO proceed from
the heart Itself, Which gaze distinct and re-
guar single beat, with slight impulse, so
times minute The chest acas then opened
and tie heart exposed, withou, in any way
arresting the pulsatory movements The
right auricle was in full aud regular motion,
contracting and dilating with beautiful dis
hnchess andenergy. At II clock the spi-
nal cord having been previously devided,
the number of contract'ons was 40 per min
ute, having continued with only short in
PERMISSION regularly up to this tine.
'Ihe peculiar movements of the anterior
wall Of the right auricle gradually but oc-
casionally occurred, either spontaneously,
or excited by a passing current of air, until
3 1 o'clock. They could at any moment
be excited by the point of the scalpel
cat l.45 the movement still continued
without stimulus. Five were noticed in a
minute with corresponding intervals. At
40 all automatic movements ceased. but
the part still responded to the stimulus of
the knife. At 80 deep irritation Of the
same kind was followed by slight move
ments. The irlitabiity was most mark
at the lower part, where the venc cavm en-
ter the auricle. AT 3.lS all movements
ceased. On opening the heart, it was found
to be perfectly normal. The left ventrical
was contracted, the right not. No coagula
We're found.
"Dr. Ainsworth remarked that all the ap.
pearances usually observed in cases of hang
ing were there wanting, and thought that
the first effect of the sudden fall was pow
ertul conclusion of the brain, which paral-
yzed the body, Us in cases whera blow or
tall Is received upon the extremity of the
sacrum, and that death occurred afterward
from strangulation.
"Dr. Clark expressed the opinion that as
there was no lesion of any important organ
resuci:ation might possibly have been ac-
colnplished by artificial respiration DC, if
efforts to that end had been made immedi-
ately upon the lowering of the body from
the scafiold-that is, within half an hour
after he fell"