The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1882-12-21
What an DID, Grave Revealed.
from the Cincinnati ENQUIRER

! AS a general rule, after bodies have lain il
| the grave Tor long lapse OF years. an attemp
| TO dIslnteT them results ill The discovery q
| nothing more than lew OF The larger bone:
OF The skeleton and The skull with lis hideous
| array OF teeth and eyeless sockets A case
| has just been ueyeloped, however which
while IL does not present any facts that are moi
| already known To the scientific world. still
offers numerous points OF interest. Twenty
| three years ago The mother of Mr. Robert
| Leitch, owner OF the printing WORKS, II West
Eighth street, died suddenly at the then fam.
| lily residence, near Dupont, indiana DR.. s
Is. Lewis Was i'll Attendance, and pronounced
| the disease paralysis or apOpleXy-the latter
| probably, do she was quite tcShy. The boGv
| Was buried IN the cemetery az that place. MOI
| long SINCE Tie son determined TO unearth the
remains, Drlns them 10 Cincinnati and place
| them III the family lot in Spring Grove Gem
etery. The sexton who iii" the work uf open
ing The grave, Was pos y surprised when he
reached Tie collin v nd II Us perfect, almost
| as on The day II its SO reyerenty lowered to
| It's restlng-p pee. The ctsket Was lifted out,
aud all VINO had any connection with the
| work OF removal, remarked upon the extreme
heaylness OF ii. IL Was expressed here, and
SIX strong men found 1t no easy task 10 lift ii
Ill and out OF the wagon. The weight was
FULLY 500 pounds. The burial case is of the
peaked-top style, common III those days. The
cloth covering tor the outside still remains in
tact. A glimpse at the interior explained the
cause OF Lne object being 50 heavy. The body
Was found 10 Dc almost IN as good order, rs
regards form and outline, as On the day OF
death. The head had separated from the body
The features, with the exception that they
were withered In appearance, were well pre-
served The eyes We're but little sunken Ihe
bOnv D4rtecL with tui aln h.
the side ana the hands folded peacefully across
the breast, presented startling realistic APP
pearance The lower limbs were intact to a
point midway below The knee. There the
lett one presented the appearance OF having
decomposed ere the preserving process had be-
gun. Both the feet We're gone. Faint lines
here and there indicated Where the grave
clothes had been. The inner.llnng VI the
casket still remained, although the lapse OF
time had loosened IL from It's Iaslenings. The
body was black, except III one or Two places.
There it had scaled somewhat, and presented
the appearance OF wet plaster OF Paris. Not
the least oder was apparent. The form looked
10 be as solid as stone, but an examination de-
veloped the TACT that IL Was OF the consistency
OF wax and easily penetrated with the liz ger.
"A body WHICH has Undergone this CONVEX
sion, says the American Encyclopedia, may
be aIterM ard preserved Iur an Indefinite period
OF time without changing materially its form
or appearance. Inc conditions necessary to
produce the change are that Tie body musl be
buried IN molst pace, and one, says the author
quoted aDoYe, IN winch The waiter collects in
considerable quantities and remains standing
on Or about Inc level VI the coffin without be-
ing rapidly changed" Ihe nrst notable in
Stance oI The KIND was revealed With the dis
lntermenL Oh The bodies from the Cemetery of
The lnnocents, III PaIls, Ill 1857, and again in
The removal OF bodies from the old Potter's
field at the Junction ut Forty street and
Fourth avenue, New York, III 1S4y. The soil
in which Mrs. Lelich Was buried was red clay,
underlald with limestone, conditions pro-
pltlOus tor the process performed.
The case became nolstd abroad in Dupont,
and Mr. Lletch has been The recipient of nu-
merous letters from persons OF u speculative
turn OF mind One even went SO far as to
offer $500 cash for The body, which has now
been safely disposed OF.