The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-03-14
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE.
BURIED ALIVE.
a Horrible Tale from Cemetery in Far
of Russia.

"A Ldle from a cemetery IN Eir-
Of Russia.
Geneva Correspondence London Times.
A Swiss, settled in Russia sends to the
Bund strange story, taken from the Viedo-
mosti, paper published at Samara, of man
being buried alive, for the accuracy of which
the writer says he can personally vouch. The
story, besides the horror OF it, shows how
helpless the Russian system of government
renders the people for whose benefit it is de-
signed, and how utterly bureaucracy has
crushed in them all spirit OF initiative and
independence. The other day, so runs the
account, man was buried alive in Samara
His name was Tichonoff, and he had been
employed as a writer in a machine DEPOT On
the fete day Tichonof drank heavily, and
had an epileptic fit For a long time
thereafter he lay quite still and
showed no signs of life which
led his wife and kinsfolk to consider that he
was dead This happened on st. Silverton's
Day, and, to avoid keeping the supposed
corpse in the house three days (for on the
Saturday preceding a festival nobody can be
buried1 it was decided to lay him in the
ground that very night after vespers, and ar
engagements were made accordingly The
body was removed to the church, where the
pope (priest) read the service for the dead
While this was going on (the coffin being un-
covered) some of the bystanders noticed what
seemed to be drops Of sweat on the dead
man s face; but this appearance being attrlb-
uted to few snowfakes which had fallen
during the passage from Ticho-
MOTIFS house to the cemetery, he
was laid in the grave without more ado,
and the hour being late very little earth was
thrown over him. When the grave-digger
went early next morning to the cemetery to
COmDletp his work ha hoard Of
groaning and struggling in Tichonoffs grave
Instead of forthwith releasing the poor
wretch, the man ran to the priest to ask
leave to disinter him. This request the priest
refused on the ground that he dare not touch
body once buried without the permission
of the police. On this the sexton informed
Ichonoifs what had come to pass, and they
went together to the chief of the local po-
lice. This gentleman said it was quite out
OF his power to give the required authoriza-
ton, and referred them to the Archi-
mandrite, and the Archimandrite pro-
iessed to be equally powerless, re-
ferring them to the Procurator In
the end the agonized wife procured
the authorization without which nobody
would act, and returned to the cemetery.
8ut 1t was too late; five hours had elapsed
since the grave-digger first heard tine groans,
and Tiehonoff was now dead beyond the pos
si6ility of doubt The poor fellow sue
cumbed only after mortal struggle. He
had turned quite round in his coffin, and in
his despair bitten his fingers, torn his flesh
and rent his clothing This fatality" says
the Niedomost lis due to no other cause
than the senseless formalties which prevail
IN every branch of Russian administration"
Nine. Tichonoff is suing the priest who re-
fused to let the grave-digger disinter her hus-
band for damages, on the ground that he
caused the latter's death by too slavishly
obeying the letter of his instructions.