The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1876-07-24
BURYING ALIHE.

eutt"r OF tue Saratoga SenttncL died at Green-
Field, ~ Y, and his will, which WIS fun Of oc.
centricities, ended with the following request
NIB A5oce an tsfngs sce that ev nv measure be re.
sorted to pr wig tlat an dead, dead. DEAD, before
1 placed In cOfin
Mr.. Young seems to have been haunted. like
many others, by morbid fear OF being buried
alive, mainly, no doubt, from the dreadful
stories occasionally circulated, which affirm
that such accidents have really happened. The
| idea OF returning to consciousness, after q
temporary lnsensibiiity, and finding oneself
shrouded. cofflned and consigned to the earth
| or locked up In a tomb, with only corpses for
companions, aud doomed to a slow death by
starvation and surocation, Is horrible enough
to shake the nerves Of the stoutest, ifit be adj
mltted az one OF the possibilities. 1t has been
the staple OF many sensational stories, which
are reproduced In a variety Of forms, and serve
TO keep up painful kind of apprehe n sion, like
that which worried the mind OF Mr.. Young.
But, as a matter OF fact, these accounts are,
nearly ell, utterly unworthy OF credit. They
originate nobody knows how, are re- peated with
out the least sense Of responsibility, and, In
nine cases OUT OF ten, will not bear any serious
examination. They are like the familiar stories
that appear with tolerable regularity every year
or two. OF the girl who has a live snake DON'T
ciled In her stom ach, or the man who has acci-
dentally swallowed a water lizard and can't get
rid OF him. To one sense, the most interesting
peculIarities Of these narrowing tales are the
avidity With which they are circulated and be-
leved, the fulness and apparent precision OF
their det iils, and the Insignificant quantity of
truth that serves for their foundation. Some
years ago DIR. Bouchut, OF Paris, undertook to
trace by personal Investigation the source and
accuracy OF several reports Of this kind, as they
aDDoared In tina dntlv
the SPOT himself, or applying to the local
authorities for Information. A few examples
will serve to show the result.
In the issue Of La Presse for December s, 1s48.
there appeared among the current news the fol-
lowing notice;
c, Inst TseS case Of premature burial occurred at
mss6a VINO was bene Oured suddenly awoSe from his
,etpa.gy &C the sound Of me earth falling upon . eof
hsd happened 20 MIN that he instantly sprang up and
cemetery.
few days afterward DR.. Bouchut received
the following note from the Mayor of Cluny:
MossIEuRi have the honor to inform you that the
having taken place At cluay, is completely false. The
Of the dean OF ,se son up "a en ne s
named Wallet The authorizes having heard OF runOr
iass TeseveG n quarrel eishs days before Dr.
the lie iouHd Rat ss was pS 81 acas
eurlsy there being no external marks OF violence
circulation, tanning the report OF tho
a nouPs After g da "a funeral ,as hea
TOOK pisce Ia the usual manner, ami was net accom-:
respect. ANkDEE BRuYs Mayor OF cluuy.
In the Constitta on'sl of February 20 OF tho same
year. a case was reported as having happened In
Paris, as follows:
on sunday morning last N. NIderer. feather mer
for sever days suffered severe crisis, which, to ali
sick oeciared with the usual formaiities. and
On M"nd AZ e 0 '"f rhe 20 take RSse
ing 60 NJ. Niderers COMPANY IA the National Guard,
como, ihey noticed what seemed q be cement ia
the features OF the dead man, sud feeling of the
preeordl 4 reeioo they found the heart beating They
s,narsy x which DC had been plunged Tor four
haa the Satisfaction q seeing tue preparations tails
This circumstantial account was rectiaed by
the municipal auth critics la the following man
merit
% inions med on the ssa Instant az oclOek
Wa. reported at toe Mayors office the day AZ
verdcaion half past Ii. Especial palms we're tkSn
IN the performance OF this duly, tor the that
, was ssaly dead A1o no. 'hsisadiss he mad been
pss'; Seds ssrs : s warm! -.
Mayors Office; In consequence Of this the Mayor OF
the funeral until tSe h and ss SoSy aer the
c certain and s g. e Sd 20
PAEIs. Feb. 2s, 1919. JAceuEr.
Ninth District
A third extract Is from the Limoges news
paper of April Il, ls45. We condsnse somewhat
from the original, in which the story Is given
with considerable dramatic application:
goisse on the kxcideuil road, zarmed BY
a Sey m sDaae mat sp91s o. Il s9oH S
l1erre " said tine villagers He was buried yesterday,
supposed dead and Lard out for t~enu-four hours,
They to the cemetery and listened. when they
heard au eTy; apparenty coming out OF the ground
ne grave ana zoos on. the coma, where they ioaad
dIoD, especially his hsnds feet so Violently d he
sirussled IN bis narrow cell TO make himself Dy
out q his cotn ana had ali the stteSuon aud succor
aor @e He lived hardly IN than Ses u 1f
the Enclosure OF the cemetery.
The facts In this case turned out to BIO very
different:
ArooIssE Msy IT, 1si5.-Honsienr: The affsir re-
ported tn .be Limoges newspaper Of the sl' nit Ia
n this village but at Lanouae, near by. Il appears
as usual after the lapse OF tseniyiour hours thai
the SEXTON Who was somewhat the worse for wine I'M
need MN That the person ne had buried moi dead
the body was disinlerred Informed by their a.
reclun; but nOtung found ind that tue de-
ceased nad siyen the least sign of lite after burial
Inc fable reported IN tue newspaper had therefore,
as can sscerIan II entirely at varsnce with The
facts. WIN much respect, LAFoN LAPoUYADE,
Mayor of Angosse Department Of Dora gne.
DIR. Bouchuts book is entitled "Traite des
signes de la Mort" and was published at Paris in
lS4e. II was the successful competitor for a
prize offered twelve years before under the
auspices OF the French Academy OF Sciences,
the committee OF award corsisting OF Dumeril,
Andral, Series. MaGende, and Rayer, all names
Of the highest repute In medical science. The
object proposed was two fold. First, TO ascer-
tain what ground, II any, existed for public APP
prehenslon in regard TO premature burlals; and
secondly, what measures, u any, were requisite
for their prevention. More or less une asiness
had been excited on this subject some years
before by injudicious publications, and In Ger
many IL had reached to such an extent that In
several towns "mortuaries," or reception dead
houses, were erected where the bodies Of
deceased persons were to be kept without
burial until such time as the signs OF putrefac-
ton should become manifest. NJ. Beylard In
ls47 visited the mortuary OF Mayence, situated
like Others Of its class. within the walls OF the
cemetery. AT that time there were two bodies
In the reception chamber, each with the hands