Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1870-11-10
MisfeIIaaroas,
NV First Skel eton.


There is something connected with
the studyof medicine that awakens with
in the duilest student desire for some
thing more than mere book Information.
He will take up the skull, for instance,
and turn it over thousand times, ex-
anime every minute opening through
which some Insignificant nerve or artery
wends itsway. 1t is TO him an interest
ing strueture-ne object of silly fright
or girlish dread Then again, the world
in general, look upon medical men as
hard-hearted wretchess wanting that
natural feeling for their fellows that be-
longs tothose whosfsve not thus school
ed themselves in naifferen CT: It is true
that steady hands and steady heads
must be quite free from superstitious
terror, but still, physicians donot neces-
sarily lose their nature as human beings.
The following story will illustrate to
some extent the character of the study
with which the medical student may
possibly have TO deal.
Inthe year 1s5-, while pursuing my
studies under DIR. Il, in the city of
l., 1 was afflicted with that same
spirit of curiosity and love of adventure
that have led many. a student of medi-
cine into difficulties he would gladly
have escaped fnomr l..
wanted a subject, as the doctors call
it. L wanted to try my scalpei upon
human flesh and verify the descriptions
L had been going. over for the past six
months. { knew that the laws of the
State forbid my securing and treating
body as surgeons would do openly and
respectfully, if our laws had some sense
ofjustice and propriety about them, so
L resolved to do the only thing left for
me-steal a subject. Itmay, look GRIM
inal to some, and most any one has but
little desire to be cut up, boiled up,
scraped and wired together, inereiy to
crafty some boys peculiar whiln, and
finally make somebody's closet a per-
manent habitation; yet, we regard ply
siciaus justified in using every means
save taking 1ifeTto inform themselves
upon this most important, yet most
mysterious of all professions, While
waiting foroan opportunity, 1 learned
that sudden death had occurred about
two miles from town, and IFset about to
accomplish nay yobject-secure the body.
Too poor'fosempIoy any one to perform
this disagreeabie work and knowing
II
also thatthe utmost secresy was neees-
sary, 1 resolved to do it myself L might
here make the remark, but not with any
object of bringing down the wrath of our
people upon the heads Of the members
of my profession, that many more bodies
suffer an earlier resurrection than is in
tended by their friends. Abernathy,
the great English physician, once in
conversation with a friend, who was de-
claiming against the resurrectionists,
said that he would wager his friend
that in case, of his death he had no Sc
curity of resting in his grave. Such
were the means at the hands of the cele-
brated surgeon that he could transfer
the dead body of any one to his dissect-
ing room within very brief time.
dead men tell notales,n and the sur
geon is safe. u .--..s.a '
knew whera the corpse was to lie
buried, and informed myself as to the
particular spot in the churchyard. The
grave was beneath the heavy tresses of
q weeping willow, and it seemed as if
the night-wiud played WITH the long
leafy branchlets, and sighed farewells
The same evening or rather night after
the burial, 1 sailed forth to nay gloomy
work. This was my first work as res
urrectionist, and ! will assure you ssy |,
last. With ashoyei an d sack made
my way out oftown after everybody had
gone to rest. The night was sufficiently
dark for my purpose and was not long
in passing over the distance. Ofcourse
all the old stories of graveyard ghosts
fitted through my brain but such things
to me no longer assumed substantial
forms. Not even the phosphorescent
vapors that occasionally lit up grave
in the distance and assumed thousand
shapes in Imagination, could divert me
from my design. INTENDED TO be more
respectful toward the dead than the
"body snatcherss of flfe' East, whof
merely drill hole at the head of The
grave, and drop rope with q hook
which catching in the jaw of the corpse
enables them to drag it-fortil without
much digging. The loose dirt 1 managed
to throw out in about an hour, and by
means of some hard lifting, raised the
coffin from its bed and threw it out of I
the grave. Replacing the outer box
with the fragments of the coffin, for 1
broke it up in taking out the body, y
1lled up the grave to- Conceal my work.
Dropping the body into my sack quite
unceremoniously took my departure.
The corpse rweighsd, perhaps, ,-ohe huRd-
red and t@enty pounds, but before Z I
reached my room supposed it to be near
ton. The way back was long weary
tramp. The roads Were evaded, of
course, and after the hard work at the
grave, the heavy load almost exhausted
me. But somehow, without any encoun-
ter, succeeded in reaching home. I
dragged the body up to my room, threw
it on a kind of lounge that stood at
one side, and threw myself on my bed
not far from it. So completely exhaust
ed was I, that almost instantly fell
asleep. How long slept l do not know,
but was awakened by singular noise
somewhere in the room. turned TO-
ward the place where L had laid my ,
subject for dissection