Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1874-06-03
For the Freeman.
Human Bodies Preserved.
FACTS FROM INVESTIGATION
C.sr OF prrR1F1cArIoN.

for the purpose of removing them and having IN I'm
cn and int inst to fns Mr.
Bateman with i've other men after renewing the clay
to o thu ee eo they
dons Owing to the Teat 70 w rss et eT fee
disane as Alter ropes each
hey eTsfa to ns nd ii
ton by shoveling clay underneath Then they would
il this way until they had it on top of the ground
even required the combined strength OF four men
to raise one end ..,.
After their eEertions in getting the box became
question among them a to What Gon6 maze h aes
sna
taf a of he oS a
perfect form of the deceased The color OF the
from these the features and form we're
f even eo II as Was IL 5o
preservation Without mentioning the fact to any
ad It conseysd to Cemetery
where it required the combined efforts OF seven men
sized man WEIGHING about 70 pounds me man %no
gives il his opinion that weighed nearly 200 lbs
but Mr. Bateman thinks that 500 or 1909 lbs would be
the extreme weight.-[Rutland Herald
1t is quite common to see statements like
this in newspapers. True as regards pres
ervation, but conveyinga false impression
as to the cause. We think in justice to the
reading community the above should be
corrected, and such correction will stand
good in all other cases.
For more than fifty years the combined
efforts of scientists have failed to find the
} least portion of the soft parts of any warm
blooded animal that has been petrified.
Our reasoning powers teach us to believe
that man would be the last in that class to
! petrify, as his flesh most readily passes into
decomposition. Mr.. Dyer was not petriied
His weight was not greater than it was
when buried. The boards of the box
would be watersoaked, and the clay might
find its way inside of it, and also increase
the weight, yet the above statement is
doubtless double the actual weight Of all.
As regards the appearance of the body ii
was doubtless correct, only it was not stone,
and it is in no stage of petrifaction. From
this exposure it will soon decompose.
To substantate the above statement, /
will speak Of a few cases | have investiga-
} ted. When the DO lies were removed from
the old burying- ground at St. Johnsbury to
to make room for the Court House, a Mr.
/ Prescott, noted as the first mail-carrier in
, this section, was found preserved, and
pronounced petrified. Hon. \. G.. Chad
wick. then editor of the Ctied0niafs, made
sufficient examination to satisfy himself
and published Il statement about it i'll his
paper. | wrote him the improbable ma
ture of the case, and he replied that it was
true, substantiating his Statements by the
sworn statements of two respected citizens
of St. Johnsbury. They testified that theil
examination was very thorough, and thai
they were unable to dent, or break the
body with their shovels, or hammer; stat
inc that it gave IL ringing sound when
l.
1 have convicted in any of our courts. ve
upon the second disinterment it was founC
to be Incorrect. Many of the citizens o
St Johnsbury We're present at the seconl
4 examination: and all there know that til,
L body was simply in a good state of pres
, ervation.
| will now pass five other examinations
made under the same undoubtel testimo
ny. Gin one case ut least twenty men ex
/ amined the body, and We're all ready t
/ swear it was stone, vet 1t was only preser
V walton y to one that | have recently inves
a tigated, where the testimony was of sucl
/ a nature that it was indisputable, until tn
5 second examination made ut Brandonl las
: week, by Prof. j. II. Huntington of Han
+ over, Dr. Dyer and Hon. \. w. Goss {
e Brandon. ami myself, settled the question
e that all the witnesses were mistaken, an
that no petriftcti0n existed.
: But You ask, what WAS the testimony
4 1t was first from Mr.. j. Thomas, sexton q
Pittsford, who disinterred the body, bu
found il in perfect form, though the coffi
= and grave clothes were all gone; it havin
: been buried about twelve years. He PIC
;. cured help. and then rs he states. drille
= two holes each side of the neck. putin
!, in iron dogs, to which a rope was attached
In this way the body was raised on end.
box slipped under it, and it WAS remove
to the new cemetery.
/ The men assisting certify to the same
= and Rev. Mr.. Carpenter, a Baptist clergy
man, was also present and pronounced til
II same true. The drilling was thought to b
lie into stone, ana all were ready to thus sui
d stantiate; vet it was only state of pre>el
:, walton as before spoken Of and the drllin
, done could only have been into this pre-
IL served flesh, which was no harder tina
Of tallow, unless it progressed into bone
# Thus it is with all cases. the preservatio
= is simply from Il change of the flesh t
adipocere.
That this may be more fully understood
le | will sttte that adipocere is Il waXv sui
e stance of light cream color into whic
IS the fat and muscular fiber of dead animal
d are sometimes converted, by long INNER
h sion in water, or by burial in moist places
II in early spring, or i'll wet seasons.
:, This substance was first discovered an
d described in 1897, and decays in Il fe,
lie hours upon exposure to the atmosphere
o tmay be artiticially formed in few week
, by immersion of bits flesh in Il solution @
IS pierre acid, or even in spirits.
I. But as yet it is safe conclusion to re
is port the truth, that no soft parts of an
n human body have ever been found petri
Y fled; vet such petrifactions have been as
siduouslv sought after for many wears
Thousands of cases in different parts of til
globe, under the most favorable circum
{ stances for petriflctiOn, have been investi
y gated, and I'LL found upon such investiga
O ton to be adipocere. Pretended petrifac
II tions have been exhibited bat they wer
always statues, cut from the stone by som
ingenious rogue that wished to humbu
Is somebody, and was too often succe>sfu
IS for a time, as with the Cardiff giant. and tn
~ so-called Indian boy, recently exhibited i
several large places in New England.
Mr.. Dyer was indeed petrified, that petr
Dt faction would bring more than its weigh
is in silver. and ii would require body
10 guard, even in the quiet town of Rutlan
:: to keep it buried. Such a specimen woul
10 be valued higher than Jewels, and woul
n be a relic more rare than anything ths
= exists on earth Truly y0urs
, III. A. CUTTING, NJ. D..
State Geologist, Vt.
Lunenburgh, June /, 1874
Y BOwDOIN CoLLEGE.-This " down-east
e college is having much trouble with re
e fractory students. A system of militar