Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-01-24
AFTER TWENTY YEARS.
A Winter Nights Tragedy la ~ Haunt
ed HOuse-The HideOus Dissecting-
KOom-The Corpse Comes ts life
Under the Torture Of the X niTe.

| Koom-The Corpse Comes ts aife
Under the Torture of the Knifc.
One cold night in December, in the
year 1852, three young medical students
met for q purpose in "a third story back
room of an unoccupied brick dwelling
| house, located on Market street, in
Louisville, Kentucky. The building
had been vacated for nearlya year and
had the reputation of being haunted.
What gave rise to that tevil report will
appear in the course of this narrative.
The students were in the year of their
studies that bring them their longed
for diplomas, and as they sat in this
room drinking from bowl of hot
punch that had been carefully prepared
by one of their number, they canvassed
the many eventful incidents of their
course at college, and speculated upon
what the future had in store for them.
The castles they built In. the air were
Of the most brilliant description, and
A KNOCK AT THE STREET DOOR
That brought forth an echo from cellar
to garret of the dismal, cobweb-lined
building failed to draw their attention.
1t was repeated, and with joyful cry
of There's Limpy jack accompa-
panied by a step on the hall that EN-
phasized the remark, one of their
number called his comrades attention
to the circumstance. They appeared
to know the signal and to anticipate
no further repetition, as they hurriedly
left the room and went down stairs,
one of the trio leading the way with a
lighted candle in his hand. On reach
ing the ground floor they did not go to
the front door, but with one accord
passed into what had once been the
dining-r0om of the families who had
occupied the house. Here they found
a door that led to the cellar. Opening
this door they descended in the same
order. The cellar was damp and moi
some, and was place only fit now as
habitation for the vermin that
swarmed it. Picking their way eau
tiously, stepping from plank to plank
Of the loose flooring that covered the
earth, and causing muddy water to
every step, they at last reached an OBJ
ject that appeared to be nothing more
than a sack of neglected potatoes.
Upon lifting the sack, however, the
head and shouldersof 5.lAJ
A HUMAN BODY
Emerged from it and fell to the ground.
Reversing the sack Instantly, in which
operation his comrades assisted, the
man VINO held it seized the mouth and
drew it together, after which he threw
the canvas over his shoulder and fol-
lowed in the wake of the man with
the tallow dip, while the third man of
the party came last and steadied the
CHASTITY burden upon the shoulders of
his lab0ring companions. In this order
and without word the party carefully
traversed the cellar and assembled the
steps leading to the deserted dining
room, Here they halted to readjust
the load that weighed heavily upon
the man who bore it, but the journey
was Immediately renewed and in few
moments the party were back againin
the comfortable room that they had
left. .n
The room was comfortable by COM
parison with the other apartments of
the deserted dwelling. A warm coal
fire was burningin a hearth of large
dimensions, and the odor of punch was
very agreeable to the senses. But
whatever the comfort nOn-profes-
sional man would have derived from
spending portion of a gloomy VIM
ter's night in such room, the feeling
would have speedily changed to one Of
horror upon beholding the surround
ings. The room was filled on three
sides with glass cases, some containing
i, ffNp pi ffar r,f oh ,nlx
others being free of obstruction in the
space from top to bottom. There were
eighteen of these cases. Each of these
with shelves, in them contained
HUMAN SKULLS AND BONES
That had been taken from the bodies
of which they had formed part, and
there were also q large number of spec
linens preserved in bottles filled with
alcohol. The heart, brain, liver, etc.,
were in this manner exhibited and
kept in their natural state. Others of
these cases contained medicines and
instruments used by medical men.
The cases that were not shelved con-
tanned full-grown skeletons of men,
women and children strung upon
wires. In the center of the roam was
table about ten feet in length, and
raised about two feet off the ground.
1t was covered with black 0ilclOth, and
one end of it was raised-fOr the pur-
pose of affording resting place to the
heads of corpses laid upon this, the
dissecting table.
Upon entering the room the
students lost little time in proceeding
about their work. 1t was not nov
city by any means that they We're
about to enter upon, and yet they one
and all manifested the keenest delight
in the job. The sack was laid upon
the table, loosened, and pulled away,
revealing the body of man perhaps
fifty years Of age. He had been tall
of stature and of great muscular de-
velopment. No marks of violence
were to be seen about the corpse as it
lay stark naked upon the death-cloth,
and the face bore a pleasant express
sion, as if the passage from life had
been accompanied without pain or
vain regret. After placing the body
in proper position, with the head
upon the raised elevation, the students
divested themselves of coats and hats,
rolled up their shirt-sleeves and fas-
tened them above the elbow, and ad-
justed clean looking cloths, reaching
to their wastes, about their necks.
They then brought forth from under
one of the glass cases cedar wood
box about one foot in width by two
feet in length. From this box about
u