Daily Republican., 1881-02-04
ROBBINH GRAVES.
Twelve ThonnRnd BOdt"s HiSsPCi.
ed tn the CIty of PhiIIsne eIphta

Twelve Th nnRBu BONIaA FiNkPcs-
ed tntBe GIty of PhiIISd eIphia
From the Phils. Record.
Information was lodged with tie
Coroner "Wednesday that The body @!
Mrs. Alice Donshue, g. year Of age,
had mysteriously disappeared from the
coffin, which had been emporaTIly de
posted at the Cathedral Cen esery
Mrs. pouahne died suddenly or F;i.
day, and By reQ guest the Co5oner allow.
ed the remains 10 be taken to the c-re,
terry until the iD4Uest was bed. The
keeper Of the burial grouCd made the
discovery on Tuesday that the cotGu
was Unteuauted.
Such things have occurred bs!orp in
Philadelphia, in tact they have been
OF frequent occurrence. Dean Bach
anan, who knew something about that
business, gives quite an interesting &C.
count of how graves hsvs been robbed.
A special act OF Assembly authorizes
the Coroner TO furnish to the medical
colleges such dead bodies Of known
persona as not claimed by relatives OF
the deceased. To secure an equitable
distribution the anatomists OF tie city
organized themselves into q society
and agreed TO spportion the bodies ac-
eordIng to the number Of pupils in at
tendance al the various schools. THIS
is q legitimate business. The bodies
are taken ont boldly and delivered IN
open day. II IS the despsiling Of the
graves which Outroges human in
snnct.
Usually there were cases ordered.
buchanan b declares that nearly all the
BurisI places in the sity are robbed,
including even the Roman Catholic
cemeteries, where the Church disci
pline is most rigid. Buchanan says :
"Oue day drove the city re5urrec.
zionist, James Campbell, over 10 QUE Of
these cemeteries saw him point out
the grave, pay cash, and saw him show
the grave digger wLe,e TO place the
body SO thsthe could get itat specified
hour. We got one body from him
which we had ordered--it was case Of
petri6ca.ion dning life.
"CampbcNl keeps tavern near Nine
teenth and Fit2Eateg streets. No med
ical faculty would Re complete without
a resurrectiOnist. was with Camp
bell one night in Mount Morish Gene
terry when the dogs got after bin.
Campbell never opened the entire
grave Ls usually suuck for the head
of the Cotfn, aud putting rope around
the head, would pull NJ the dead body.
THE man who keeps coLored bury
ing ground in West Philadelphia act.
ually takes the bodies out and keeps
them ready.
When the last trumpet blows, you
mark my words, there will be mighty
few, either in Biockley Pit or potter's
Field, to get up--no OyeFcrovding
there tina! Is certain.
"The deaths in the Aimehouse this
laat twenty three years have averaged
thirty per week. Now, suppose only
ont third OF these, or ten week, were
delivered to the anatomists, that wonI1
make $50 q year, and in twenty-three
years at least II, $50 dead bodies would
be cut up. 10 tell the honest truth,
there is not a bone nor the vestige of
body in lo,kley. A spit ~ or 100
feet long and Of variable depth is dug
on the brow OF the hill facing the
Schuylkill. Wednesdays and Sstur-
days we're burial days. The bOdiss
we're laid in this pit in rows, one pine
coffin lying on top of another, the lids
on, but not screwed down. Usually
arrived &rly with one or two
wagons. The coffin lids would be
taken off, one by one, the hodlts drawn
up with ropes. then taken down 70
the edge OF q little creek and loaded
up.
81 have been there often and taken
what We wanted before Campbell ar
rived. It's different now. The bodies
are taken ont in broad daylight. The
Coroner's subjects and others were
taken TO livery stable on Cherry
street, above Eighth, and delivered az
ter night. | have known Of bodies
that were raised right in the heart OF
the city.
"We always had plenty Of subjects,
because when Campbetl did not give
enough | could get them from BAlu-
mure, and opca in while we raised
one. On one Saturday morning Camp
bsli told me he had FIVE in the pit in
Blockley. We went out at O'Clock,
before Campbell, ard took them. One
Of these bodies we sent as present to
Trail, the water-onre man at Florence,
N. J. We shipped It as apples in saw
dust"
Handkerchief Extracts in bulk and