The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1878-02-09


Came to Life-An Astonished Doctor and
a Disappointed Undertaker-The Sup
posed Dead Mans Sto,y of His Expert
ences in the Other World.
From the Philadelphia Times.l
At 7o'clock on Sunday morning crap.
hung at the door of the dwelling 123
Mary Street. The neighbors who knew
the story of long and painful illness
said: "Poor Mr.. Schrack has gone at
last!" Word was sent to the doctor
that he need attend the patient no Ion
ger. The undertaken was visited. In
Old Swedes' GLORIA Dei) Church Mr..
Schrack's death was announced and the
Sunday-school scholars commented up
on the death of a teacher they had learn
ed to love.
At II o'clock, four hours later, the
Grape was torn down from the dwelling
in Mary Street. The order for the un-
dertaker was counterman1ed. The
doctor was told to hurry to his patient
The Sunday-school scholars in Old
Swedes' Church were about passing a
resolution of coincidence with their
teachers orphaned boy when the pas
tor, the Rev. S. b. Shines, was handed a
piece of paper bearing the single word,
hastily written: {" Revived" The neigh
borhood was soon thick with rumOrs.
Among those who had an inkling of the
facts it was generally agreed that SOME
thing not far short Of a miracle had
happened. The story is, indeed, a re-
markable one.
j. Harry Schrack, well-to-do mer-
chant, lost nearly all his fortune by in
dOrsing the notes of others, who were
either ingrates or who were themselves
unfortunate. With his only son, his
wife and two children having died, he
has for some time past resided in the
neat little house on Mary Street, above
Front. For the last four months he has
been seriously ill with nervous spasms
of the heart. During the latter part of
last week he himself gave up all hope of
living, and the attending physician, DR..
J. H. Cantrell, expected his patients
death momentarily.
MIR. Schrack died, apparently, at
twenty minutes of o'clock on Sunday
morning. His limbs became cold and
rigid, his lips colored purple, and around
his mouth was the blue mark generally
supposed to betoken death. A hand
mirror was placed over his mouth, but
its shining surface was not dimmed.
His friends and neighbors who stood
around pronounced him dead and griev-
ed for him. A few hours afterward the
body was completely stripped, that it
might be prepared for the undertaker's
hands. Before washing the corpse it
was necessary to remove it from the
bed. A neighbor, Mr.. Charles Shank
land, lifted the body, when, to his alarm,
he distinctly heard a feeble groan.- A
hurried examination developed the fact
that the man was not dead. The BODY
was wrapped in blankets, and bottles of
hot water placed between them. MIR.
Shankland hurried for the doctor, and,
returning quickly, acted under the in.
structiOns he had received until the
doctor arrived. In short time Mr..
Schrack had regained consciousness,
and was sitting up in bed. More than
that, the man who before was living at
deaths door, and who was terribly
afflicted with disease, was almost as
sound and well as ever he had been in
his life.
MIR. Schrack dreaded the idea of his
case being made public, but, if the par
ticulars were to be related, he said he
would prefer narrating them himself,
SO that the statement might be correct.
A Times representative yesterday found
him sitting up in bed, with a bright
color in his cheeks, and looking like
any thing but corpse. He is
young man, probably 80 years of age,
good talker and intelligent. He spoke
IN a hoarse whisper, mot the result of his
illness, but caused by his catching
slight cold in consequence of the per-
splratlon he was thrown into by the
remedies employed to revive him. He
spoke earnestly of his experience, but
was vivacious and smiling, and at times
joked about the expressions of the doc
tor when he found him alive. He tells
his story as follows:
"Last September had terrible at
tack OF hemorrhage of the lungs, and
since then have not been able to do
any thing, except for one period of
three weeks. My health at times was
lair, but three weeks ago felt that |
was going fast. My flesh left my body.
My entire appearance changed. My |
appetite was gone. Every thing swai- |
owed was at once thrown off nv stom-
lch. Last Thursday week l found |
would have to give up. felt as though
he power of action in nv limbs was
eavlng me. l was fearful of go
ng to bed, and so l sat in a
hair for three days and three nights. l
hen made up my mind that / would
AVE to die, and l asked to be put to
'ed. Wednesday night 1 was taken
With something like chill nd spasms
t the heart. After coming through
hat seemed to revive until last Satur-
lay. Every hour during that day ex-
'erienced a change. While the right
and would be purple the left would be
Thite. When the left hand became
ark the right became white again.
he entire left side of my body was
umb and almost useless. About 9
clock on. Saturday night my eyesight
cyan failing me. lost my hearing,
nd my speech became thick, nv
'ngue being greatly swollen. had
lily made up my mind that I had to
lie. At about 4 O'Clock on Sunday
forming the tips of my fingers became Z
Ike dead. My sight was now entirely
one. My stomach was terribly swollen,
nd was greatly infamed. Each sue
'eding cramp was more severe and
'ached higher up into the stomach. All
he passages of my throat seemed to be !
osed. Shortly before Z O'Clock ask I
to be moved to the foot of the bed. (
y head had scarcely touched the pill |,
W when l exclaimed: Throw me
yer? and them found myself in an
her land. The vision looked upon {
as the most beautiful that man ever
w. It would be impossible for me to !