Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1878-02-19
philadelphia Times, January 81

At seven o'clock on Sunday morning
Grape hung by the door of the dwelling
1913 Mary street. thoroughfare between
Carpenter street and Washington ave-
nue., in the Secoad Ward. The neigh
bors, who knew the story of a long and
painfnl illness, said "Poor Mr.. Schrack
has gone at lastv' Word was sent to
the doctor that he need attend his pa
tient no longer. The undertaken was Wis.
tied. In Old Swedes' GLORIA Dell
church Mr.. Schrack's death was an
nounced and the Sunday-school schol
ars commented upon the death of the
teacher they had learned to love.
At IL O'Clock, four hours later, the
Grape was torn down from beside the
dwelling in Mary street. The order
for the undertaken was ceuntermanded.
The doctor was told to hurry to his pa
tie ut. The Sunday-schcol scholars in
OLD Swedes' church were about passing
a resolution of coincidence with their
teachers orphaned boy when the pastor
Rev. S. B. Shines, was handed a piece of
paper bearing the single word hastily
written, "Revived." The neighbor-
hood was soon thick with rumors, all
having for their purport the coming Of
the dead to life. Among those who
had an inkiing of the facts it was gene
rally agreed that something not far
short of miracle had happened. The
story is o emarkable one.
J. Harry Schrack. once wealthy mer-
chant, lost nearly all his fortune by in
dorsing the notes of others, who were
either ingrates or were themselves unfor-
tunate. With his only son, his wife
and two children having died, he has
for some time past resided in neat lit
tie 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..
James III. Cantrell, expected his patients
death momentarily.
MIR. SCHRACK DIES.
Apparently Mr.. Schrack died at twen-
ty 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
it's 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 8
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 egroan.
A hurried examination developed the
fact that the man was not dead. The
body was wrapped in blankets and bot
ties of hot water placed between them.
Mr.. ShankIand hurried for the doctor,
and, returning quickly acted under the
instructions 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 lying at DEATH s
door, and who was terribly afflicted
with disease. was almost as sound and
well as ever ne was in his life. Mr..
slchrack dreaded the idea of his peculiar
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 bright
color in his cheeks, and looking like
anything but corpse. He is young
man, probably thirty years of age, a
good talker, and intelligent. He spoke
in a hoarse whisper, not the result OF
his illness, but caused by his catching a
slight cold in consequence of the per-
spiration he was thrown into by the re-
medies employed to revive him. He
spoke earnestly Of bis experience, but
was vivacious and smiling, and at times
iok,sd about the expression of the doctor
when he found him alive. He tells his
story as follows:
THE DEAD MANS STORY.
"Last September I had terrible at
tack of hemorrhage of the lungs, and
since tn en- have not been able to do
anything except for one period of three
but three weeks ago felt that was go
entire appe srance changed ; my appetite
was at once thrown off my stomach.
Last Thursday week I found I would
have to give up. I felt as though the
power of action in my limbs was leay-
ing me. was fearful of going to bed
and so I sat in a chair for tbr1 n1 ,n;yd n;d
and nights; | I'll then 70 rlff rdlfe, and asked to
= I.."o : TO bed. Wednesday night was
taken with something like chill and
spasms at the heart. After coming
through that seemed to revive until
last Saturday. Every hour during that
day [ experienced change. While the
right hand would be purple the left
would be white. When the left hand
became dark the right became white
again. The entire left side of my body
was numb and almost useless. About 9
o'clock on Saturday night my. eyesight
began falling me. L lost my hearing
and my speech became thick, my tongue
being greatly swollen. had fully made
up my mind that had to die. At about
4 o'clock on Sunday morning the tips
OF my fingers became like lead. My