Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1881-01-20

/
present hospital, and / was student
| myself, but an assistant surgeon also.
in cases of emergency, and that is how
| came TO sleep in the building.
The room | occupied was in the
northeast corner, on the third floor.
1t was large room with two windows
IN front and one at the side. My bed
was placed in the northwest corner,
and at the southwest corner was the
door which led into the hall. / am
thus particular rs to the details. because
a remembrance of them will enable
you to better understand my story.
1T was my privilege at that time to
engage In some outside practice, and
one night was called some distance
III the city to see a patient. | had oc-
cupied my own time in going and re-
turning, and thus it was that reached
my room III the hospital about eleven
O'Clock in the evening.
Then, as now, was "A devotee Of
tobacco, ana it was with sense of
relief and qualification, that | lit my
pipe and lay down upon the bed to
smoke. 1t is indistinct in my memory
how long | lay there, but it must have
been half an hour, and all my senses
were rs acute and active as ut this
moment.
Suddenly permitted my hand and
arm to fall over the edge OF the bed,
and to my establishment another hand
closed upon mine with vise-like grip,
1t was Il cold, bloodless hand, and
recognized in all its outlines the hand
of a corpse Though | say it myself, |
had the reputation in those days of be
ing Il young man of great personal
courage, and | Immediately regained
my wonted equanimity, but before |
could fully recover from my astonish-
ment, the hand was gone.
"All the superstitious tales of a life
time crowded into my brain, and | lay
there wondering from what ON earth
that queer circumstance could have
originated. With desperation-fo |
was growing Il little nervous-l reached
down and felt about the floor for the
hand, but it could not be found, and |
was still more mystefed. Again and
again reached under the bed as far AS
possible from my reclining position, but
each time without success.
This constant failure to renew my eN-
perience with the bloodless hand nerv-
ed me to my usual composure. Then
| arose and proceeded to make an in
vestigation, and | was not at all sur
prised to find underneath the bed the
lifeless body of man. Though the
room was quite dark, l could almost
distinguish its features, and | knew
that it must be a man about forty years
of age. The body was partially dress
ed, but from the waist up there was no
clothing.
my familiarity with dead bodies
was of long duration, and l was no
longer bothered with superstitious
doubts or fears, except as to the one
fact that the lifeless hand had certainly
reached out and closed upon mine; but
that fact | dismissed from my mind
upon some physiological reasonings
satisfactory to myself, and thought |
could not be frightened again.
"How the body came into my room
and underneath my bed was the next
inquiry. That question, however, could
be easily solved, for the hospital stu
dents were more mischievous and
more daring than now, and | resolved
that they had done this work to fright
Ell me. | laughed quietly ut the fruit
gan making arrangements to remove
the body.
at taxed all my strength to drag the
corpse from underneath the bed. Then
| thought | had better have some as
sistance from the porter, and to call
him / stepped to the door.
''To my surprise, the door was bolt
ed from the outside, and knew IN n
moment that | was doomed to an all
nights companionship OK dead body.
| could have secured assistance from
the outside by alarming the neighbor-
hood, but then | would have confessed
myself the frightened victim of a prac-
teal joke, and from such an admission
| revOlted.
II was rapidly growing nervous now,
for the dark, shadowy outlines of the
corpse seemed to rise up from the floor
and follow me about the room. The
more | pinched myself to wake my
fast receding courage, the more | real
lied that an undetinable terror was
creeping over me-a terror that would
not be shaken off.
AT this juncture | determined to
light lamp and keep my yiSils at
least by the aid of a lamp. With this
idea in view. felt all over the table
and upon every conceivable shelf, but
no lamp could be discovered, and |
saw again the thoroughness of the trick
played upon me. The lamps had been
removed nv the students