The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-11-01
THE MYSTERY OF LIFE.
STRANGE EXPERIMENTS IN SUSPEN-
SION OF ANIMATION.
A Convicted Communist Restored to
Life After Having been Dead for
Three months-How Curious People
May Go to Sleep and Wake UP In tho
Next Century.
Correspondence of the New York World.]

May Go to Sleep and Wake UP In tho
Next Century.
rOorrespondence of the New York World.]
PARIS, October IL.
While the Germans we're marching from
victory to victory over French territory, a
German professor In the University Weiss-
NIGHT was conducting series of researches
upon muscular contraction, which have led to
most unlocked for and important results. 1t
has long been known that certain minute
animals may be preserved for months, or even
years, in as dry state cs the insects pinned
TO the showcase of q museum, and finally re-
cover their life on being moistened with
water. The animals denominated tardigrades
and rotifers are most conspicuous tor the
possession oil this faculty of revivca-
| iIon. These creatures inhablt the moss
| in our forests and even that on the
procured by, psychologists for the purpose of
investigating the endowment In question.
They may be dried at the temperature of boil
ing water, set aside In their crisp and dead
state for an Indefinite period, and when again
nolstened they move, breathe, feed, propa,
before deslccation overlook their manifesto
lions OF Vitality. has long been known that
in the dry season of tropical countries reptiles
remain taken 10 earth as dry and solid as
burnt brick, manifestlng no sgns of life, and
resume their activity when the rainy season
has liberated them from their prison. The
accounts often heard of living toads and other
reptiles having been broken out CT the solid
rock of the earth by the hammer OF the quar-
ryman have their origin In facts Of the nature
Of those above cited. q.
Professor Muller, OF Weissnlcht, in expert
mentIng upon the muscles of the higher quad
rupeds, dogs. rabbits, &C., found that muscles
separated from the body of the animal might
be kept tor long periods In stale OF suspend
ed vitality and be restored to their contractile
state 30 as to respend to electrical currents or
even to Irritation of their nerves. As the
muscle OF O dog, rabbit, or OK passed Into the
dry state 1t contracted more slowly, Ike That
of q reptile, an eel or turtle, for Instance, and
finally lost the faculty, of contraction alto
bring 1t back after long periods OF lEaction to
Its original active and living condition by
method which he had discovered. He reason
ed that II he could secure this result on the
muscles Of an unmIulated animal, at the
same time preventing the coagulatlon Of the
dead for an Indefinite period and be re-
stored to life and activity by appro-
pirate means known to psychologists. He
succeeded In deeiccatlng, or 1t should more
properly be called Notwithstanding, through
abstraction of blood and subsequent eVapora-
ton from the skin, the bodies Of bats, moles,
cats, dogs and other vertebrate animals, and
after keeping them dry and torpid for
months he restored them TO life. This he did
frequently In the presence of few of his
friends, among whom were some of the most
distinguished savans OF Germany but LOT
some reason the matter was held secret,
probably In order to guarantee to the discov-
~ rtvhk o<Hfr
men are exceedingly, II not chill dllshy, ten
acIous.' It having been demonstrated that
the higher animals might, by the Mullerian
process, be desIccated and restored 10 life at
the will Of the experimenter, ne was Induced
by Professor Hundefat, German agrege OF
aatssPPtdn sfs PdFin fsalfS lfS6nss Dasrsohs
and Richeraud, the most Influential of
the psychologists OF Paris. It was the
period of executions OF Communists,
ditIon OF society In France, had little
dificulty In obtaining from N. Theirs permis-
sion To Try the method upon two noted Com
munIsts under sentence Of death for the mas
sacre OF hostages, named Dodu and Brun, on
the ground that should they be restored 10 lue
again after three months the Thlers Govern.
ment would no longer require their death, and
thew could be required to emgrate to America.
Dodu was stout and muscular; Brun tall, thin,
and bloodless; both thoroughly brutaiized, as
might have been expected from their poili-
cal antecedenta, have only meagre details
of the method employed. as, from the interest,"
excited in the result Ia Bruins case, II is al.
most Impossible to obtain access 10 any one OF
the sa7ans present, either at the first steps In
desicoatlon o. at the revivdcation. 10 my
next hope 20 forward the entire history OF
this marvellous achievement OF science.
It was at the Veterinary School OF Abort,
near Paris, where some Of the most Important
discoveries in physiology have been made,
that the entire treatment OF the tWo Commu-
mist criminals was conducted. The process
consists mainly In removing all the blood from
the blood vessels and Injecting In Its place be.
fore the heart has entirely ceased TO beat q
solu,ion of chloride of calx. This latter sub
stance prevents, as ] have been assured by
Professor Rlcheraud, that complete, rigid aes-
location which breaks up and disturos tne
small divisions of the body, or tlesnea. on lne
In the same relations TO one another which
they bore during life, thus permitting the res
toration of their reciprocal action when mols-
ture ia restored 1t also prevents the coagula-
lion of the blood, aud 80 obvlates the oostruc.
tIon of the circulation, which ID the cnlet
obstacle 10 the restoration OF lie 10 the higner
animals. As 10 man two-tbirds of the weight
of lhe BODY Is composed Of muscular tissue,
and as the action of muscular tissue Is the
main Visible element In vitality, the bearing
of Professor Muller's experiments on muscles
upon the problem now first resolved WILL at
once be seen. The heart itself is but hollow,
powerful muscle, of sleepless activity.
The prisoners were paced IN one OIL lDe
dead houses, or dissecting rooms, on wooden
tables; chloroform was administered, as both
eagerly craved 1t, and they were bled I'LL the
movements OF the heart were very falntly au-
dible 10 the ear placed over 1t on the chest.
The solution OF the calx was then injected Into
an artery In the arm, and the mingled blood
and solution was again distracted until the
heart ceased to beat. Currents OF warm, dry
air were then admitted into the room from the
furnaces designed for heating In winter, the
fires being kept in full blast for many days.
This was continued until the body gradually
shrlyeIed, the skin becoming yellow like
leather, It did not crack or break when
plnched up, but resumed its smoothness when
the pressure was removed. The eye balls be-
came yellow and opaque. One-third OF the
original weight of the body was lost In the case
| of Dodu, little over one fourth In the case Of
Brun. In this state they remained at moderate
temperature, the fires in the furnace having
| been brought low, until the prescribed
three months had elapsed. Not The slight
est tendency to putrefaction was observed,
owing to the preservatiVe virtues OF the calX
| In the presence of savans mentioned and of
certain officials designated by the govern
ment, among whom were the keeper of the
prison OF La Roquette and the Prefect OF
| polIna tho nrocess of reViyificatiOn was COM