, 1866-06-14
esta, I have not souzht To be- premature,

esta, I have not sought to be premature I
have right to expect THAT you will not be,
so far 1t least Is an conce1ned, and that
you will not. At least, frat place me In csr-
tain position. snd then rcproach mo for being
In IT.. Any evidence that 1t may be proper
for me TO give will not be Withheld from 4
competent tribunal
Very respectfully,
Your ob't serv't,
". A. PHILLIPS.
TIE PR0DST AUTOPSY.
A FeIon's Body oh ths Surgeons table
H"w IL n MADE to Contribute ~ Tho
CAuee If SeErpce
[From tue Philadelphia IpquIrrr, Jnae Ill
Although the hour appointed by the faculty
Of Jefferson Medical College for the dissectlon
Of Anton Probst,s body WAS suppressed by
the Journals, In deterence to their expressed
wish, yet the spacious lecture room of the in
stitution was snroused With hundreds In. ad-
dltion to the regular collegiate class
At four O'Clock the corpse was laid on,the
revolving table iu the middle OF the room, SO
That from the circling benches rising tier
above tier every spectator had an excellent
view Of the operation. The body that, when
cut down, was only dlsco1ored on the lips aud
around the throat, WIS now swollen aud the
face was p1trid co1ored.
Dr. William H. Pancoast, demonstrator Of
anatomy In the institution, was the operator
and lecturer. He was assisted In the entire
examination by Drs- Hutchlns, Taylor and
Andrews, all OF whom are connected with the
College clinics and anatomical rooms; A
number Of other distinguished medical gen
tlemen were present, among whom were Drs-
Hunt, Packer, Eebinger, Jewell, Coad md
Cohen. A p1as+er cast, taken from the head
shortly after aeath, was ;, exhibited, and vas
Prof. William H. Pancoast delivered the
Introductory lecture, nud conducted the post
Mortem- He stated In his opening remarks
that 1t was necessary to have these c1amina-
tions in order to advance the Cause OF science.
They were important also in enabling med
Icai men 10 give correct and we'll balanced
conclusion In rcgnrd to the causes Of death,
and In this respect 1t was important In med
ico-legal point OF view. 1t Is OF value to decide
definitely whether party dead has been the
victim Of auother's violence or has been the
cause Of his own death. Thus the principal
object 10 View was to ascertain what caused
the death Of the man whose body lay before
them. They all knew that he had died OF
hanging, but hanging might cause death in
various why's. Death in the cases Of persons
who had died by the rope might result from
autfocation Or strangnlatfou; it might result
1rcm dis1ocatfon Of the vertebtsn of the neck,
or It might be caused by o nervous shock.
To ascertain how the subject before him came
to his death would be the object of inquiry,
both for the sake Of science and as an aid to
medical jurisprudence.
Professor Pancoast stated that he, In COM
pnny with Others, had met Probst in his cell
before the execution, and found him man
apparently in full health, with a bright eye
and rosy complexion. His face was not
bad one, and there WAS nothing to Indicate
to the observer that he was before an assas-
sin. His pulse was examined, md was found
was led out to The galiows. The pulse wns
counted, and found to beat seVenty.eight.
After his death, and after hanging thirty
minutes. be was again examined. First,
powerful galyanic battery WIS applied, but
with little effect except upon the delicate
and thirty minutes, and up to that time
organic lite was found still renaluing. His
eye WAS examined by the aid of powerful
electric spark, In order to ascertain IL there
was any trace Of any picture upon the retina
If there was picture of that which he last
faculty were convinced that the idea was
pretty theory and nothing but theory.
Professor Pancoast referred to the furrow
Of the cord around the neck, and the pecu-
liar parchment appearance OF the face, char
acterfstfc Of those who have been hung.
Where the knot Was, under the ear, there
vas no discoloration, showing that the COM
preston caused by the rope did not extend
entirely around the neck. On opening the
neck there was no 1acezation Of the struc-
lures discovered. The jugular vein WIS DIS
cal change was in the sterno eleido masfoI-
deus, and yet this man weighed one hundred
and seventy. slI pounds, sufficient, one would
think. to tear everything in this locality.
There is not eyen d tearing of the delicate
veins. Ithad been published that the verte-
brE was dtsloeated. but this was not 30.
The cavity ot the chest was examined, dis
closing the strong muscular development of
the man, and the presence Of myers Of tat.
The chest, stomach and bowels being opened,
and their contents exposed, they were all
found to be in a healthy condition. The lungs
caused by want Of air. The lungs presented !
the usual healthy appearance. The heart was
not In the least conEested on the right side, |
where congestion Is usually found in cases Of |
this description. The stomach was large, and |
although be took breakfast two hours aud /
empty, dcnoting wonderful digestive powers.
The brain, strange to say, showed no evil
tlcnce of congestion. It was an ordinary,
healthy brain. One of the ventrfcles was
opened, and although slightly congested, not
ncar so much go as Is ordinarily found In post
ounces, or four ounces less than that of /
Green, the Maiden murderer, which was con-
sidcrably below the average size.
It surprised the medical men present that /
there was no congestion Of brain, lungs, or
breast; that there WIS no distocation Of the |
spre. ~ The MIN % "as dsaa, ana le md a { evi-
IDENTIFY died quickly and easily; yet I'LL the
signs Of strangulation aud sutlocalion in con:
gested organs were wanting, while the verte-
brsn Of the neck remained intact. What,
then. killed him: The lecturer was clearly
Of the opinion that death had been caused By
the nervous shock incident to the fall aud
the compression OF the nerves md arteries,
and sufiocatlon. In man OF bis weight the
shock would be enormous, and 1t had super
the blow that killed him. To be sure,
there WIS the deep indentation aud the ex-
ternal discoloratlon caused by the fatal rope
but, supposfng case to arise In medical jur-
[spFudcnce where these external signs would
be wanting, and all Of the internal evidences
Of the cause Of the death Of this man, who
tra1ict the idea Of death by the rope. 1t
was nice question for the scientific, aud 1t
might be yitslly important to the cause Of
Justice.
DR., Pancoast narrated number Of INSTANCES
u QeAla Dy QauHluEy Dy way Oh illustrating !
lls subject. He spoke of numerous cases
where persons had been resuscitated after
having been hanged until they were apparent
y dead. In every case the subject declared,
after he had been recalled to life, that he had
experienced no pain whatever IN the hanging |
Dr.. Pancoast characterized the skull Of Pfobst
s not Of unusual thickness, an evidence o..
4ir intellectually, while he was Of the op>a.
on that the size and weight Of the brain were
no indications Of intellectually or of its op-
oosite- The lecturer referred to the current
tory that Probst was O man Of particularly
wicked and british aspect. He could not
,gree with this estimate of his appearance,
considering him q rather Misunderstanding
el1oiw, Of q strangely anamolous character,
III interes ting examination, that will, no
louht, be hereafter au oit.quoted standard In
cientidc, medical and judicial circles, con-
fpued two hours. Subsequently the autopsy
vas continued in private, until lis completion
t two O'Clock yesterday morning.
Tha county Will be at no cost Tor the inter-
nent of this murderer. His skeleton will be |
Mounted aud wlied, and will be preserved for
yer In the anatomical museum of Jefferson
,ollcge.
A B1GAM1ST IN TROUBLE.
1e marrieS Two Wives In illinois,
meets one Of them ut the Chicago Fair
Ills Violence NJ Discovery.
Firm, Nnrn1noyt Esvotto 1tth 3r.et