The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-02-22
Buried Alive
\ HORRIBLE TRUTu-SECRETS OF THE
TOMB-A CASE IN SAVANNAH.

TOMB-A CAsE IN SAVANNAH.
From the Savannah Daily Advertiser, Jan. lO.l
With all the reverence due to the
dead, and with every possible regard
for the feelings Of the living, which in,
no way would We harrow up unnecesSa-
rily, we state and believe that not I'M
frequently there aye instances where
human beings are buried alive!'
TO be sure this is an uncommon but
bynO means an impossible circumstance,
as facts have shown. Under the sod in
the various g%ravpyards of the land may
be further evidence of this Kind. In
cemeteries that have been dug over, and
the remains of the dead exhumed, there
have been found in c~Otfins, nailed and
screwed tightly together, bodies or
skeletons that were turnedOyerOn their
sides or faces, sometimes with their
knees drawn up, the joints disteRded,
the hands clcnched, the arms thrust
against the cofiin's narrow sides,
the fingers twisted in the hairs of
the head, the eyes glaring, the teeth
ground together, the head doubled
under, and many other indubitable
proofs that the last death struggle did
not take place before burial, but that
after the coffin had been laid away in
IIlC SIlGLNCS O1 InC lO1IIDs VI HOW cItl III
the deep, solid earth, then and there Il
fierce, agonizing, desperate, lonely and
hopeless contest for life was wagcd unto
exhaustion!
In the old public burial ground in the
city of Brooklyn, when Il general ex-
humatiOR was made to enable the
ground to be diverted to streets and
building lots, the writer saw no less than
eight such Instances. One of these was
evidently that Of n young bride, dressed
in wedding garments of the. richest
white satin, with a bridal veil, and ring
of costly style and quality, and all the
evidences of wealth, refinement and
station in life. The remains were sup
posed to have buriedabOut t~wenty''yCarS
previously. The cotfin-platc was gone,
and in the really indecent haste of the
heartlCss contractors and british labor
crs who ruthlessly tore and tossed the
relics Hp, there was not t~hefaintcst clue
to the identity.
But upon examination, it was discOv-
cred that the skeleton was twisted and
displaced, rs no shock of the exhuma-
ton could have caused, and the gar
ments graSped, as in a vice, in the
clcnchcd finger bones, showing con-
clusively that q terrific struggle had
taken place in the last narrow house
and home of that lovely, youthful, ear
ly loved and lost bride. Even the long,
ave t~resses, which were rs glossy and
perfect as ever, were bit fast in the
t~lcssless teeth, as though with the final,
despairing, smOthCred cry and gasp of
death.
Numerous instances of a similar ma
ture have TRANSFERRED in different places;
at Boston and New YOrk-in the "pOt-
ter's fields Or pauper burying grounds,
where the poor and unknown wretchcs
of charity and public hcartlessness were
hurried from their uncontrolled, dying
beds andthrust TuthlesSly, headlOng and
alive into shallow graves, OF rather
hOles-are plenty of such evidences.
The homeless, friendless, helpless and
speechless u~nf0rtunates, striker with
deadly disease, are not likely to have
any mercy or charity from human
ghOuls who are. hired at contractors
prices to get rid of them!
The inhuman sentiment then and
there prevalent is:
"Rattle their bones
, Over the stones,
They're poor WretChea.
That nobody OWns!"
Our reputable physicians are always
, careful to avoid any such horrible DOS
: sibilities. They examine and pronounce
{ upon the bodies Of their patients, and il
is very rarely that they can be mistaken
: But there are those who Oftentimes arc
mere QuaCks or pretendeTs in the pro,
: fessiOn, and who, especially in the cast
Of poor or obscure patients, care very
/ little about the matter.
> There is but one safe and sure way il
l the matter it is never to permit buria
, until decomposition certainly com
, mences.
5 A most heart-rending instance of thi,
l. kind has just been reported at this Office
J The infOr1nants appear to he truthful
Z and the circumstances narrated appea
: probable.
3 On Thursday Of last week a coloret
man died Tor was supposed to hav,
died) and great lamentatiOn was mad
g over his body by the relatives an
friends. The corpse was laid out, tn
f limbs composed, the eyes closed, anC
n the features were exceedingly natural
f As is sometimes the custom the so
called mOlrners were provided witt
n victuals and intoxicating liquor, Whicl
= they piled themselves with until sur
e feited and drunk. Noisy and indeco
t rous demonstrations of grief were mad
until the third day Saturday when tn
h brother of the supposed corpse becam
l. 1IICcllSSN ~ GlAO ulSSLlCCluI IIUCGCulu
and determined to bury it at once.
The other folks demonstrated, declar
e ing that the body wa yet warm, an
perhaps not dead. But he insisted, a
he said because he would prefer to bur
it than to have a continuance @
the shocking demonstrations. Accord
ingly the remains were deposite
temporarily in a receiving vault.
Yesterday the vault was opened an
the coffin brought out for permanen
burial elsewhere, when it was notice
d. that the strong screws which had bee
driven in three days previously wer
Y strained, and the top of the coffin prize
J. half open. @#
Tremblingly, and with the mos
dreadful anticipations, the box wa
it opened, and, horrible, most horrible
n relate, the body was turned and twiste
# over, the face downward, one han
If clutehing the hair of the head, the othe
reaching out, with the nails driven int
y the wood; the teeth clenehed, the eve
glazed and distended, and even I'll
feet giving. evidence of having bee
e used in the last hopeless and frightf1
:" effort to escape s~uffocation!
These are facts as narrated. TIL
name Of the victim was Andrew Dov
What can be More horrible than tn
instance, at our very doors2