Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1874-06-18
An Exciting Race-The Story of a
Grave Robbery.

In town Of Northern New York
poor man went TO his grave by a
disease of the brain, concerning which
the local medical authorities differed
widely and acrimoniously. In fact
two particular physicians, who had
long been professional rivals, so radi-
cally disagreed as to the exact charac
ter Of the case that, when he whose
treatment prevailed could not save the
patient. the other did not hesitate to
allege that the sick man had been de-
stroyed by ignorant mismanagement.
When respectable practitioner casts
such an imputation upon member Of
his own professional school, he should
be pretty confident Of his ability to
prove it, and the accuser in the present
instance was not unaware Of his imper-
ative obligation to substantiate
his accusation. But how was that to
be done? He had firmly maintained
that the disease in question was caus-
ed by tumor, and that the removal
of the same by an operation would
save the patients life. His rival in
sisted that there was no tumor, and
consequently did not perform the
operation Now, how was it to be
practically demonstrated that the tu-
NOR did exist if the patient was in his
grave? There was but one way Of
doing that, the doctor adopted it.
On Christmas Eve, near midnight,
when lights shone from homes far and
at hand, and the snow lay crisply on
the ground, the professional disputant,
whose truth and standing were at
stake, as he considered, in the matter,
took a confidential student Of his with
him in the sleigh to the graveyard,
where had been placed the hapless
subject OF dispute, and rapidly and
silently disinterred the poor body and
placed it in the vehicle. The whip
was given to the horse, and away
started the sleigh on the snowy road
to the surgery.
But scarcely had the desecrators Of
man last resting place got under way
with their ghastly prize when the muf-
fled beat Of horses hoofs somewhere
in the darkness behind them told them
that they had been watched and were
being pursued, Sharper fell the
whip, and the spirited young animal
before the sleigh went like the wind !
yet still the pursuing hoof-beats sound
ed through the keen air, showing that
the pursuer was well mounted. Turn
ing from the main road into a by-way,
or short cut, leading through swamp
y piece of woods, the fugitivcs man
aged to gain. enough distance to stop
the sleigh moment just at the edge
Of plank bridge, over frozen wood !
land stream, and stretch q rope across
the dark and narrow road. This done
they were off again for the surgery
close at hand, with the gallop Of the
pursuer coming sharply again to their
ears. Pausing once again beyond the
bridge to hear presently the collision
of the coming horseman with the un-
seen rope, crash, cry Of wrath, the
two men carried the body TO the
house and triumphantly deposited it
on the dlssecting table.
Then, thinking of nothing but his
own dlscredited diagnosis of the dis
ease and the glory it would be to
prove it true, the daring practitioner
set to work with bis Instruments.
Carefully shaving one side Of the head
and cutting through the scalp over
the spot where the principal pain had
been, he bored with his trephine
the skull until a circular but
ton of bone, about as large as cop
per cent, was removed, and, behold
there was, indeed, the tumor? But
the strangest scene OF the curious
drama was yet to cone, and may be
best described in the doctors own
words: "With no small degree of
selt-satisfation | threw down my in
struments and was going down stairs
when | heard a faint. sigh. AS ,
kneeled by the dead mans side and,
candle in hand, gazed anxionsly into
MS pallid features, he feebly gasped :
and raised his eyelids. My God
Could it be reality? Eagerly the ,
slender thread of life was seized upon, ,
md hour by hour, day by day, week ,
by week, it was strengthened into a
cable of cable of perfect health"
In other words, the supposed dead
nan, whose disinterment had occurr-
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