Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1867-07-26
Death by Spontaneous Combustion.

FHA- EAs
Some weeks since brief statement
was published in regard to the death
of drunkard in Indiana, as it was
alleged, from spontaneous comnpus-
ton. The Indianapolis journal pub
fishes the following particulars Of the
case:
1--WE are indebted to DR.. NJ. l..
Whitcside, dentist Of this city, for the
particulars of a most singular and
appalling catastrophe that occurred
yesterday morning in the town of Co
lumbus, about forty miles south of this
city, on the Madison railroad. About
eight o'clock the attention of some
citizens Oh the street was attracted
to the liquor shop of a German by
the name Of Andrew Nolte, by a llght
smoke issuing from it. He had long
been known to be very incorporate
man, and recently, it was supposed
in consequence of his wife leaving
him and applying for a divorce on ac-
count of his confirmed drunkenness,
more constantly and beastly drunk
than usual. On entering, they found
him dead behind the counter upon a
board which was used to keep his
feet off the wet floor, with his head
near a whiskey barrel. His clothes
were still burning. His lips had
been entirely burned away, leaving a
ghastly hole in which his tongue was
seen burned to a crisp, as was the
inside of his mouth and his throat.
His nose was also burned, as if by
fire coming out of his nostrils. The
remainder of his body was scorched
where the burning clothes had touch
ed, but showed no other indication
Of fire. The hands were drawn uE
to the mouth as if to close it, or shut
off some dreadful thing from it
There was no fire in the room thai
DR.. Whiteside could see, and certain
ly none near the horrible corpse. A
revolver was found beside it, but al
the charges were in it, and no marks
of injuries, except from fire, were dis
covered, so the death could not hav,
been caused by suicide. But if it haC
been, the lips burned entirely off, ant
the crisped tongue, throat and nose
would have been more inexplicablt
as the fire was manifestly Of yer
recent conference.-the clothes still
burning-and it could not have bee
applied after death by some othe
person without detection, or som
mark or other that would indicat
where the flame came from, and hoy
it was used. But il it could hav
heen thus applied, it is impossible
believe that it was. for there could b
no motive to burn a dead man, esp,
cially about the mouth and nose. TIL
same fact of the singular charactC
and locality Of the burning, involyin
only the air passages, precludes a
ideas Of death by violence. n
murderer or robber would try to XII
man by setting him On fire, or if l.
should, he would not and could NJ
put fire to his mouth and nose onl,
No hypothesis of murder seems to
tenable, and that of suicide is eve
more absurd We must therefor
conc ude that death was caused b
81 ont ReouS combustion, or by tn
burning of infammable gases, gene
ated in the whiskey-rotted carcas
and escaping by the lungs and a
passages. This might have bee
caused by an attempt 70 light a ciga
with match or other fame.
There are several authenticate
cases Of spontaneous combustion c
record, as our physicians know
Dickens has cited q few in justifc
ton Of the incident which forms s
llightful a scene of his BLEAK Hous,
but we question if a more clear
marked case than this at Columb
has ever occurred. We may no
that he had on a soldiers blouse,
flannel under-shirt, and cotton owe
shirt, and that his hair was not bur
ed"