The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1869-04-03
From Packards Afoathly.J
Curiosities of Death.
By n. S. DODGE.

A physician of nearly forty years exten
sive practice in Massachusetts recently
stated, as the result of his observation, that
at the time of death, there was never any
unwillingness to die. This remark beins
made in the presence of the Rev Dr. Add
son, of Trinity Church, Washington City
called from him the reioinder that he be
lieved il to be true; and he cited, as an il
lustration, the case of a young man. in the
full possession of all his powers, physical
and mental, strack, at his hotel, but few
hours before, with mortal disease, and in
formed that he could not live till night who
accepted the inevitable, as if prepared for it
by some subtle process of nature, with en-
| tire calmness Death is so dreadful TO
| those who look on, that it is natural to
transfer the feeling to the one dying But
IN all cases where acute pain is not wear
ing out life, careful diagnosis will show
| both the approach and presence of death to
| be positively p!easant-as pleasant as the
approach and presence of sleep. OF course
this does not include violent death And
yet capital punishment, wounds received
| from casualties or in battle, drowning, starv-
ing. freezing or being torn by wild beasts,
cause, when productive of death, less pain
than is usually supposed. DR. Adam Clarke.
the commentator, was recovered from
drowning. He states, "All my views and
ideas seemed instantly and entirely changed,
and L had sensations of the most perfect
| felicity that it is possible, Independently of
rapture, for the human mind to feel. l had
no pain from the moment l was submerged; /;
a kind of green cDlor became visible to me;
multitude of objects were seen-noE one
of which, however, bore the least analogy
to anything had ever beheld before.
Captain John Vaughan Graham, of the
royal navy, who went down in the George,
and was resuscitated after more than three
hours inanimatiOn. states that he 1" had no
sense whatever of sufocation He saw the
sun shining through the water, and had
dreamy feeling that he should see it no
more. But be felt no fear, nor any desire
for rescue. He had delight in cropping at
the bottom of the water, and a feeling of
anger towards those who drew him out
There was no pain, and the "reminiscences
of all the events of his life produced pleas
urable sensations"
DR.. Livingstone, the African traveller,
gives the following account of being seized
by lion, aud of his sensations " Starting
up and looking half around, | saw the lion
just IN the act of springing upon me. l was
upon little height; he caught my shoul-
der as he sprang, and we both came to the
ground below together Growing horribly,
dog does a rat The shock produced a
stupOr similar to that which seems to be
felt by mouse after the first shake of the
cat. 1t caused a sort of dreaminess in
which there was no sense of pain nor feel
ing of terror, though quite conscious of all
that was happening 1t was like what
patients partially under the influence of
chloroform describe, who see all the opera
tions but feel not the knife This singular
condition was not the result of any mental
process. The shake anuihiated fear, and
allowed no sense of horror in looking
around at the beast This peculiar state is
probably produced in all animals killed by
the cGrnirOra, and, if so, is a merciful pro
vision by our benevolent Creator for lessen
ing the pain of death. Turning round to
relieve myself of the weight, as he had one
paw on the back of my head, saw his
eyes directed to Mebalwe, who was trying
to shoot him. His gun missed fire, and the
lion Immediately left me"
1t is not quite certain that dying at the
stake Is intensely painful after the first
scorch of the flames If it were, it is hard
ly possible to account for the endurance Of
some of the English martyrs. Bishop
Hooper lived in the fire forty-iye minutes,
and died with perfect calmness. His legs
were charred and his body blistered before
the pile was entirely ignited-the wind
blowing the flames aside, and the fire being
twice re-fed with faggots. Ridley at first
struggled in agony, but afterwards became
quiet as if the sense of pain were gone
Robert Smith, being well nigh half burned,
and clustered together like black Goals, sud
denly rose upright before the crowd, lifted
up his arms, as if in defiance of his enc
mics, and clapped his hands together. IL
deed 1T Is not certain that excessive bodily
pain does not end towards death In positive
pleasure. Nearly all the martyrs, whether
Catholics or Protestants, succOmbed at first,
and afterwards were either patient or full
of rapture. 1t is recorded of TheOdOsius,
OF Bythlnia who was so exquisitely tortured
for his religion that he nearly died, that
when asked how it was possible to endure
such torment, he replied, "At first | felt
some pain, but at once there stood by a
young person who wiped away my sweat
and so refreshed me with cold water that /
no longer suffered"
he grOaDs and screams of the wounded
and dying on the attle-feld are well
enough In poetry, but have no existence as
a matter of fact. An exclamation in a
ordinary tone of voice, upon first being
shot, request made to a cOmrade TO be
helped out of the way, and sigh or two,
long drawn, as the breath leaves the body, !
sum up the noise made by the dying from
wounds received in battle
The mere act Of dying is seldom, in any
sense of the word, a painful process. 1t is
true that some persons die In a state OF
bodily torture, as in the case Of tetaRus
that the drunkard dying of deIiriuns trenens
is haunted by terrific visions and that the
victim of that most horrible of all diseases, |
hydrophobia, in addition to those peculiar
bodily suferings from which the disease de-
rives its name, may be in state of terror
from the supposed presence of frightful OBJ
Jects which are presented to him as realities,
even TO the last But the general rule is
beyond all doubt, that both mental and /
bodily sufferings terminate before the |
scene is finally closed
During the frightlu1 days of the French |
Rpvolutinu vrbe1 Iaa6a faII I'M sooros