The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1875-10-29
lowing figures show the total vote cast in
the years given:

lowing figures show the total vote cast in
the years given:
1872. Secretary Of Sta'e 90. ...... $685.. 5l9 76i
1879, President ...... go. ..... go. :. .629 Az
1873, Governor go. ..... .... ...... .. .448,874
le74, Secretary OF State ... go: ...... .467 AZ
1915, Governor.... ..59l on
1t was the general belief that the Octo
Der vote would be very full one, but
few thought it would exceed the lasl
Presidential vote, and none that it would
reach such high figure.
Well Authenticated Cases Of the Cen
sumption of the Human Frame by
Eervent Heat.
lCincinnati Commercially y 49,
Some years ago story, supposed to be
ono of those convenient, made-up stories
which help to fill out the bottom Of q
newspaper column, went the rounds oi
the press, and died away at last in the ex.
treme rural districts, about the spontan.
eous burning up of an old Tennessee
topper. It was said that he put coal OF
fire upon his pipe to light it, and while in
the act of blowing this coal to ignite the
tobacco, his breath took fire, kind OF
blue fame and dense smoke curled up,
and in minute or two, the smoke clear.
ed away, and all that was left Of topper,
pipe, breath and all was heap of ashes.
Nobody seriously believcdthc story Of
the Tennessee topper, and yet when one
comes to look into the matter he will find
that in different parts of the civilized
world cases Of spontaneous combustion of
the living human body are on record,
which are as we'll authenticated as the
battle of Bunker Hill. Medical men have
been acquainted with such facts for years.
Moreover, cases in which persons have
thus anticipated purgatory, and at the
same time disposed OF their bodies by in.
voluntary self cremation, are by no means
so uncommon as one might suppose
Various medical books mention numbers
and numbers of them, about which there
can be no shadow Of doubt.
The causes Of such an extraordinary
phenomenon as the spontaneous burning
up of live human being was at first an
impenetrable mystery. Juries summon
ed in these cases readily arrived at the
nearest and easiest way out Of the diff
Guilty, and decided that it came by "vis.
itation of God and even now, when Wis
itations Of God are not supposed to be so
frequent as they used to be, the mystery
of spontaneous combustion is not yet
wholly solved by science. This much is
certain, however; it occurs to elderly
persons of intempcratc habits. -~ Both
very fat and very lean drunkards are
liable to be burnt up. Thirdly women
particularly are apt to be taken out Of
the world IN this awful manner.
Death from spontaneous combustion,
or, as it used to be called, "preternatural
combustion by visitation Of God," is al
most instantaneous. One moment the
fortunate individual is a live human
being; the next moment is heap Of
ashes and . bad smell, with perhaps al
item or two of half.consumed head c.
foot to tell what had been. There IS
but one we'll established instance in which
the spontaneously consumed person lived
long enough to narrate how he was at.
tackled. That individual was Roman
Catholic priest, Father Bertholi.
Father Bertholi retired to bed one
evening in the house of relative. A few
moments after, "a strange noise. mingled
with cries, was heard from the roem."
The people of the house rushed in, and
beheld Father Bertholi standing on the
floor, surrounded by strange, Pickering
fame, which receded as they came near,
like Z will.o'.the-wisp. A surgeon was
called, who found the skin of the right
arm and Of the back loosened and hang
ing down.
The patient lived four days, and died
an most horrible manner, too horrible
to describe. The only account he coald
give of the attack was that he had sud-
denly felt a blow upon the right arm, as
if he had been struck with club. On
looking at his right arm he saw spark
Of fire hanging to his sleeve, which in
stantly was burnt of his arm. His cap
was also burnt off, while his hair was not
scorchcd. In this case there was no fire
or light in the room.
One case Of ':preternatural combustion"
which occurred something over sixty
years ago, served an excellent purpose to
our good friends the Methodists, who
printed it far and vide and made truly
awful example Oft. The medical man
who records this case is at pains to state
in the beginning that he does not depend
solely for his facts upon the Methodist
Magazine, or even upon the Wesleyan
minister. who first told the story, but
that it was confirmed from other sources.
The story of this truly awful example is
abolt thus:
Near two o'clock one night the keeper
of ar sims house in Limerick was awak.
cned bv one of the inmates in great
alarm. There was something fearful
going on in his room, the person said.
The keeper. Mr.. O'Neii, hastened to the
spot, and found lying in the middle of
the floor burning human body, which
vas all over Of the color Of rcd.hot coal.
In the ceiling just above was large hole,
on fire around the edges, through which
it appeared that the fiery red-hot body
had burned its wav and dropped down
into the room of the inmate below. The
person occupying the room above was an
old woman named Mrs. Peacocke, who
was not only hardened sinner, but an
iinveterate drunkard besides. Mr.. O. Neil
rushed up stairs and burst open this
hardened old sinners door. In this room
he found to his CONSERVATION no Mrs.
Peacocke, but only = hole in the floor
through which Mrs. Pcacocke had burn
ed her way to the neither regions.
What only added to his horror was
that in Mrs. Peacocke's room there was
found no sign of candle, candlestick or
fire, except . few Goals which had been
rakc1 together and covered with ashes,
to keep it through the nj 3ht, and which
| remained nnd,stnrhed an uncovered in