American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-01-31
Burial Alive.

| a PARAGRAPH appeared in our impress
sion of January list in reference to an ex
traordinary circumstance, reported tC
have occurred in Missouri, where a child
was rescued from being buried alive when
actually in its coffin and on the way to
the cemetery. Justa year ago, a dreadful
| discovery, reported in the Ottawa Citizen,
drew attention anew to this subject. Fol
| some time the work of removing bodies
from an old to new Roman Catholic
cemetery had been in progress. In the
course of the progress the lid of a coffin
came off. 1t proved to be that of an uncle
of the gentleman who was experimenting
the removal, and the contents presented a
terrible spectacle. "The miserable occn-
pant had evidently lived in it. His face
| was contOrted into an agoniZed express
| sion; the arms were drawn up far as
the coffin would admit. and the head was
| twisted round to the shoulders, which APP
parently had been gnawed by the wretch
ed man himself" This apprehension of
being buried alive has been the bugbear
| of many eminent men. Prescott, the his
| torian, left instructions which were care
fully carried out, that his jdgular vein
should be severed, and, on the occasion
of Lord Lytton's death, we read in the
| London Times about that date: ''The
| coffin had been made, but the body was
not placed in it in consequence of a
curious Injunction contained in q paper
which, on his Lordships death, came into
the hands of his legal representatives.
According to this, he STIMULATES that after
| death, or presumed death. his body
shall be allowed to remain three days on
the bed, where he may be untouched,
after which medical men afe 10 examine
him to ascertain that he is really dead,
| and if so to certify accordingly" This
subject has excited so much attention on
the Continent as almost to produce lit
erature of its own. 1T is not to-day for
the first time" says DIR. Josat, writing in
1854, that too prompt interment begins to
receive attention. This sad subject has
on the contrary, been the theme of med.
itation to every true friend of humanity
But all, or nearly ali, have confined them
selves to drawing a frightful picture of
| instances in which premature burials
| have occurred, without troubling them
| selves about the means by which such
| dreadful events may be avoided" 1t ap-
pears that in France d physician OF the
Anglo-Saxon name of Winslow was the
| first who gave earnest attention to pre-
| ventive methods, and the circumstance
| that he had himself on two occasions
narrowly escaped burial alive, naturally
served to stimulate this gentleman's ef-
forts. He was followed by several of his
countrymen in works on the same Sub
tect. In Germany action was first taken
| in the matter by the celebrated Hufeland,
to whom m ~ mainly be attributed the
mortuary regulations now existing in that
country. Weimar, his native State, was
| easily induced to accept his projects of
reform, and Munich was not slow to fol-
low. About 1929 the authorities of
Frankfort-on- Main began to pay great
attention to the subject. With this end
the following arrangements were made:
On each side of vast chamber called the
watch saloon, arranged in order down its
length, are eight glass frames correspond
ing to as many cell-like partitions, the
flooring of which is lower by about
| metre than the floor of the saloon. Above
each frame, which is numbered, one sees
a bell; it is an alarm bell. This bell
communicates with the interior of the
cell by cylinder crossing the partition.
1t is set in motion by weight, relatively
very heavy, which is held by a sort of
little belt, of which the trigger or catch
is of the utmost sensitiveuess. To the
fingers of the corpse are fitted sort of
thimbles, connected with the alarm in
such way that on the very slightest
movement the alarm machinery, which
is of the most delicate and sensitive de-
scription, would feel the touch, and the
alarm would be given. When the cell is
well warmed and lighted, and everything
in order, the coffin is placed upon the
trestles, with the head on the same side
as the door, and, consequently, opposite
the window, which can be looked through
from the warm saloon When the corpse
has been stretched on its bier, as on
bed, the hands are laid side by side on a
little board placed across the region of
the stomach. They then proceeded to
apply the apparatus, after >having first
tried ii several times; each finger is fitted
with corresponding thimble, and the
hand is then extended upon the board.
In the watch chamber is established the
controller, to insure whose constant
watchfulness neither bed, table nor chair,
are allowed him, and attention is further
secured by his being obliged every half
hour to move the sort of indicator which,
in case of his emitting to attend to it,
would, by clever system of mechanism.
reveal his neglect. Immediately outside
the watch chamber, and parallel with
it, are two spacious passages into
which all the mOrtuary cells
open. The appliances for warming and
ventilating them are described as perfect
Let us suppose, says describer for argu,
ment's sake, a resurrection; the slightest
movement of the fingers of the supposed
corpse would make itself felt upon the
thimble, which, in turn, tells upon the
threat which communicates with the bell
L MS ALARMS tne Watcnman, who instantly
summons the physician, who hastens to
the cell, carries the patient into the
'chamber ofvivification," and administers
the necessary restOratives. Everything
that human care and ingenuity can devise
is here in case of accidents; so much so,
indeed, that it really seems almost disap-
pointing to learn that the bell has only
once been rung. Wit ,in three days those
signs of decomposition generally make
their appearance which are accepted as
the infallible indications of death. New
erthcless, instances have occurred of such
indications being much longer delayed
In the summer of 1910 young girl died
in France of pleuro- pneumonia who
after an exposure of eight days, during
the extreme heat of that season, continued
in state of perfect preservation in facD
every symptom about her favored the de-
fusion of a death-like swoon, and her
parents could not bear the idea of her
burial. 1t was not until the ninth day
that the fact of death revealed itself by
unmistakaOle signs. This very year "A
case somewhat of the kind occurred in
this country.
1t is not without a shudder says NJ
Thomasson, another French writer on
this subject, that l have read the account
of NJ. Hecquet, Surgeon Major of the
Military Hospital at Dunkirk, in refer
ence to the state of corpse. He says,
"As | opened the collins, one after an
other my eyes fell upon corpse still in
its entire state, lying upon the right side;
the head and knees were bent, and push
ing the right plank, while the bullock
and heels were pushed against the left.
They told me that the corpse had been bur