Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1875-02-26

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not shelved contained ful-grown skele-
tons of men, women and children strung
on wire. In the centre Of the room was
a table about ten feet in length and
raised about two feet off the ground. 1t
was covered with black oil cloth, and
one end Of it was raised for the purpose
of affording resting place for the heads
of corpses laid on this, the dissecting ta-
BILE
Upon re-entering tho room the stu
dents lost little time in proceeding about
their work 1t was not a novelty by any
means that they were about to enter
upon, and yet they one and all manifest
ed 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 mus
cular development. No marks of vio-
lence were to be seen about the corpse as
it lay stark naked upon the death cloth,
and the face bore pleasant expression,
as if the passage from life had been ac-
complshed without pain or vain regret.
After placing the body in a proper po-
sition, with the head upon tho raised
elevation, the students Invested them
selves of coats and hats. rolled up their
shirt sleeves and fastened them above the
elbow, adjusted clean looking clothes,
reaching to their wastes, about their
uecks. 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 dozen
large cleaning instruments, including
knives and saws, were introduced and
laid upon chair placed within reaching
distance of the table.
9 guess we'll find out now if old
Jake Higgins was crazy or not when he
made the will, 2 said one of the students;
to which another replied:
. Yes, indeed, we will It's no great
i interest to us; but If there is going to be
u fight over that ten thousand dollars of
his, there will be some satisfaction in
knowing for ourselves whether his real
wife was entitled to it, or whether it
should 60 to the children Of his mistress,
as he willed it. Do you know what the
trouble was between him and his wife n
This remark being addressed to the
third member of the party, he answered:
know no more than any one.
Higgins WAS queer old Dutchman, and
would have his toddy; in fact, that's
what killed him as we all know, of
course Well, it's my opinion that his
will was made very recently, and the
money left to bis old gals children, be-
cause his wife was given to quarreling
with him about drinking
AT this instanta tremor passed through
the corpse; a second and third sue
ccedcd; a wild Shrek followed, and with
a cry Of most soul-curdling agony, the
supposed dead man leapcd from the Ia
BILE. The students, afTrighted to death,
could only gather in corner and gaze
at the apparition
| Shrek after shrek followed, and the
sufferer tore the bleeding scalp from be-
fore his eyes, and glured about him with
fruthiDg mouth and looks Of demoniaca
ferocity. When his eyes at last rested
upon the students. he uttered sbriek,
more appalling than its predecessors,
and rushed upon them. He seized upon
the one who held his body in position
with grip Of iron be clutched his
throat, and with giants power bore
him to the floor.
Il was question of life for the stu
dents or death for their assalant. The
man who had the knife realized the situa-
ton upon the instant, leaned forward and
plunged the knife to the hilt in the heart
Of the unfortunate wretch With a hor-
rible cry he sank upon the body of the
half-strangled student, and IN an instant
cold SILVER that convulsed his frame,
told that indeed he was dead man.
Now that the deed was done, the stu
dents looked at one another US if one and
all were stupefed
Then, with the bloody knife above his
head, the man who had committed the
act called upon bis companions to swear
an oath Of eternal secrecy then and there
With their left hands clasped together
and .heir right hands on high, the three
men swore eternal fidelity to each other
in the great and damning secret that
tDuct iOfCftf tHCff tdFptT. MS
done, the body was again wrapped up in
the sack. A large supply Of combusti-
BILE material was then concentrated in
the room and the torch applied. Ere
the flames had time to spread the guilty
men we're on their way homeward
The fire did its work effectually in de-
stroying the evidence of the crime.
There were no living witnesses save the
three participants One ofthese. Alfred
Burgess, was killed at the battle Of Pitts
burg Landing while serving as a sur
geon in the Union army; Robert Craw-
ford, the man whose sturdy right arm
bad driven home that weapon Of death,
was killed upon an Illinois railroad 10
July, 1869 and Orson Holmes. the last
actor 10 the drama. died but few weeks
ago in Parsons, Kansas. II is from
little weekly paper published in that
place, that bis confession. giving all the
details Of the horrible affair, as related
above, was obtained.
A doctor was attending punstcr who