, 1874-01-02
HIGHLY MIRACULOUS.
a Ksride turned to Stonc---A Louss1~
ana Physician's Story OF MaF'c'-
orx f.axr of human PetrifnctioIs.

a F9ride turned to Stonc-~-A Loufs1-
MN Physician,s Story of q Marvel
o1,x Casc OF human PetFifaction'
From, tic Ntr York Sun.
Srn: There lave been so manT comments IN
tho papers, and receive go many letters which
=; "a ;rnossible for mo to answer in reference to
the curious case Of petrifaction which recea1ly
canon nnder nv notice, that am constrained 10
wTito An account Of the whole affair, Givin;; at
the same time my hypothesis as explanatory OF
the ratlona1e. .-.-,
Mr.. Frederick Hallcr is BY profession lawyer.
Ho early acquired. however, quito = tondness = ior
tho natural sciences, especially s.eo4ss. He Hss
perhaps the largest and most com!'1t 10 GEOLOGICAL
cabinet in Louisiana Whenever nS WISHES u .,s r.
leye himself from the dry details 81 iaw he with
draws himself into Ills ''t:ock Study, as be Calls
tho aDartmont where he keaps his cabinet and
hooks relating to science. and there passes many
hours il experiment. in reading. aud IN manlpa-
lating the geological and paleontoloelcal col!ec-
! tions which, through perlod OF aeaf'y tnitt'
| years, he has drawn together. ...
Having married early in life. aome i've years
| ago he lost his wife and gave up his nousohold
| affairs to an elderly maiden sister Something
his br,do beautiful aud charming young girl
Of 1G. Az phyeicinn to her fathers family and
| au intimate friend Iwas an honored glest 1t
| the marriage ceremony. I am fure never saw
more beautiful aud happy bride. No one could
| have dreamed OF the strange late WHICH a"3itcu
| her
! On tho morrow after the wedding Mr. Ha1ler
| took his young bride to 1b residence, 6 splendid
/ mansion in the suburbs OF tho vllla5a. Sne was
! accompanied by number Of her female friends
| who were to spend the day with her, while he,
| having business Of Importance at his Office ln
town, promised to return az speedily as he could
| dispose OF the business. The bride, being H.
t stalled in her new home. cared to take little
notice Of household matters for this first day OF
matrimonial ]ilo, preterring to amuse herself
i frIartfa WIN HlI come With her.
| knowing that the domestic a1aHs we're IN good
| hands.
/ At about o'clock she 6nd sonlo three or four
her most intimate tI.eoas arcsG wGns aeIo
| toned, to look over the cabinet Of cutioslties,
/ where they amused themselves in frrvolous
gaiety, such az young. and thoughtlesss
girls would indulge in, hafrnless aud
ties which Mr. Halic7 Lal gathered were several
round bowIders brought from Arkansas. These
| bowlders, on being brokeu, pre6eas III the central
| space crystalline formation. ana are nsuasIy
not much larger than the double fists. One OF
| 1hese however, Was unusually large, measuring
twenty-ouo inches in circumference. Frequently
the internal surface, always hollow, contains
water. OF rather a concentrated solution OF silica
in water Tuis fact WAS sknowa to one Of the young
ladies', who mentioned it: At once they al he-
| gan to wonder whether there was water III the
! large bow1der. Two OF tho smaller ones had
| been broken showing III the centre 1asGe crys-
tails, and had contained water, according to the
assertion Of the young lady who had gained her
information at soma OTTER tune IN q previous
| Writ.
! At once it WAS proposed to break the large one,
| and several Intellectual attempts we're Mado ~
them with geological ha1ntier alTsys present.
They called 10 thoir aid coored man, servant
| on the place, who was requested to break open
tho rock. as they called it. He readily asaented,
being willing 70 thu5 render hls first SERVICE to
tho new mistress. i pitcher being placed IN
do.neath tho bowlder as the man held il, ono
sturdy blow OF his stalwart arm cracked It, aua
tho 1luid within ran out and was collected IN tue
pitcher, scarcely losing drop, there being, hall
| mint of it, Il few additional blowa opened the
bowlder, presenting large, tine, transparent
CRYSTALS Of quartz. These were much admired,
aud other friends were called from the paElor 20
| lock ut the novelty
The bride, without over giving it thought,
conceived the notion OF drinking the water from
tho Lowldor. She poured most OF it into glass
tumblcr. nearly filling it. and, lifting It to her
Inns, she drank first to tho health OF her bus
band, then to that Of the unmarried friends in
tile room, wishing them shortly 70 be happy
| brides like herself, and drained the g1ass: all
being done so quickly that no ono hal time to
interfere or to think that any consequences
1t 4rsr it WINS thought that no narm was done,
ard it -..s considered fine joke. AMI much 1ncr-
rimont was made. Dut in few moments the
youthful bride complained Of excessive pain in
the rashneas of hor action \ messen-
ger ives sent in haste for her hus-
Bad end myself. Mr. ualler's office being
near my OWL, VIC received the message almost
simultaneously, ard We rapidly drove together
10 my buggy to his house. When NO arrived
she was dead. pcrodof fifteen minutes having
clansed from the time OF taking the fatal
drauslt to tho ti.na OF extinction OF hfe- They
were Just laying her out Oh my a1r1val: 70 my
surprise, found she had grow, IN that ahor'
ncriod 40 rigid as 10 render difficult to straight
en- her limbs. In tho coursa OF tEreo.q11aItere
Of an hour her whole body became as hard and
int2cxible as bono.
nass over the grief and CONSERVATION OF the
husband and family as something too sacred fe1
remark. couhning myself exclusively to tue
scientific facts II was plain that something
azi,, to ossiicatlon had taken place: On more
miu1,te examination and inquiry, found taa'
tho dissolved silica she had takcn INTO Eef sson'
ach had been absorbed and transmitted by the
chslopoietic apparatus and b;ood.Vesse!f
throughou tho system, and that her whole body
| was a petr1factioD.
Thc case being SO singular and so sudden, the
husband anu the brides family consented to 8
post mortem examination. other medical men
coming to my assistance. We found it lnpossl
ble to Gu. through any portion with o1lr scalpois
| Dr.. ferguson broae his scalpel in tho first at'
sen1pt. We we're able only to break througt
tho chest with ha.chot, tiuding extreme dlth
Guilty in entering the thoracle cavity. the con
tents being Ill soldihed. The heart was
found as 1irm and solid az stone
resembling . piece Of cornelian IS te
both color and consistency Entosing tht
abdominal cavity only BY means OF repeaset
blows OF the hatchet, wo found the contents OF
tho stomach, the food, the bile: tho liver, ane
other uoghboring organs, solitliiied, It is need
less to say We found it impossible to remove
anything, except iu fractured pieces. , ing ar:
teries ald veins were perfectly 11sid. tho blooo
itself being turned to stone.
U.;in. satisfied ourselves Of the stony char
ac:er Of tic entire body and its conteuts, 1t WAS
delivered to the family and inferred. Some sus
picions having been aroused that there m1Gh
have been poison in the pitcher which contained
tie silica solution, ali the Witnesses have beer
! sworn and have testified under oath.
Alv first object IVES to secure the remains O.
tho solution Of silica LETT in the pitcher, ther'
being ABOUT an ounce, which carefully put init
vial, corkius closely. polficns OF this ha''
been ya1iously tested, the res;lt each tune show
ing simply very strong solution or e11ca II
pure water. The few drops which had been lei
! il tho tunbler, exposed to evaporation became
in d short time, q hard, clear concrete rcaoalb
ling 1liut, OF, rather, transparent quartz, Yield
ipg sparks on being struck against steel.
| The pathology in this case, while 1t If yer.