American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1866-06-09
Restoration of the Apparently Dead
to Life.

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Boston the last part of the eigh.
teenth century. The panic was SC
universal that wives fotsook their
dying husbands, in some cases, and
mothers their children, to escape the
contagious atmosphere of the city.
! Funeral rites were generally omitted.
The "death carts" " sent into every
part Of the town, We're SO arranged
as to pass through each street every
half hour. At each house known to
contain a victim Of the fever they
rang bell, and called, Bring out
your dead. " When the lifeless forms
were brought out wrapped in tarred
sheets, put into the carts, and car
ried to the burial place, unaccompan-
led by relatives. In most instances,
in fact, the relatives had fled before
the first approach of fatal disease.
One of my fathers brothers, re-
siding in Boston at the time, became a
victim of the peStilence. When the
first symptoms appeared his wife
sent the children into the country
and herself remained to attend upon
him. Her friends warned her against
such rashness. They told her it
would be death to her, and no bene-
! fit to him, for lie would soon be too i'll
to know who attended upon him.
These arguments made no
impression upon her aiiectionate
heart. She felt that it would be
lifelong satisfaction to her to know
WHO attended upon him if he did not. |
She accordingly stayed and watched
with unremitting care.
This, however, did not avail him. !
He grew worse and worse, and finally !
died. Those who went round with
the dead carts had visited the cham
ber and seen that the end was near. !
They now came to take the body. |
His wife refused to let it go. She
told me she never knew how to ac- |
count for it, but though he was per
tectIy cold and rigid, and to every |
appearance quite dead, there was a
powerful impression on her mind that |
life was not extinct. The men were |
oy ercome by the strength of her
conviction, tho their reason was OPP
posed to it. The half hour again
came round, again was heard the sol
emn words, Bring out your dead. "
The wife again resisted their impor-
tunitieS but this time the men were
more resolute. They said the duty
assigned to them was a painful one,
but the health of the city required
punctual obedience to the orders
they received; if they ever expected
the peStilence to abate it must be a
prompt removal of the dead; and i'm
fUmigation Of the infected
apartments. She pleaded and plead
ed, and even knelt to them in agony ,
OF tears, continually ' saying -" am ;
sure he is not dead. " The men re- {
presented the utter absurdity of such !
an idea but finally, overcome by her
tears, again departed.
With trembling haste she renewed :
her efforts to restore life. She raised :
his head, rolled his limbs i'll hot fan ]
mel, and placed hot irons to his feet. !
The dreaded halt hour again came
round and found him as cold and rig =
id as ever. She renewed her entreat- |
les so desperately that the messengers
began to think little gentle force
would he necessary. They accord
ngly attempted to remove the body y
against her will, but she threw her a
self upon it, and clung to it with t
such frantic strength, that theycould +
not easily loosen her grasp. Impress {
ID by the remarkable energy of her '
viii, they relaxed their efforts. To f
al their remOnStrances she answer I
ID; "lf you bury him, You shall +
bury me with him." At last, by dint
If reasoning on the necessity of .
he ease, they obtained from her /,
Promise that if he showed no signs "
II life before they again came round c
he would make no further OppOSi- d
ion to the removal. - -
Having gained the respite, she -
lung tie watch upon the bedpost, n
nd renewed her efforts with redoub- il
ed zeal. She placed hOt kegs of wa L