The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1883-11-22
ALIVE IN HER COFFIN
Singular Case OF Restoration from Mos
Horrible De

Singular Case OF Restoration from Mos,
Horrible De
a young lady OF Wisconsin lately had
terrible experience which it is possible
for mortal to suffer. Only the merest
accident prevented her from being buried
alive in full consciousness of the horri.
BILE fact. We have read fictitious ac-
counts of people being immured before
death, but this is the first authenticated
instance that has come under our notice.
A distinguished physician of this citv
who has now retired from active practice'
while travelling in Wisconsin stopped for
a night in n small village. A friend and
former pupil called to see him, and du.
ring the evening mentioned a yery sin.
gular case which he had been lately
treating. The young lady, his patient.
30 he Informed DR.. bad died yerv
suddenly three days before, but after she
was prepared for the grave and laid in
her coffin she presented such natural
and lite'like appearance that he was
unwilling to have her inferred. The
family insisted that she was dead, but q
young gentleman to whom she had been
engaged demonstrated so decidedly that
the intermcnt was postponed AFTER the
minister and friends had assembled on
the second morning. On tho third morn
ing the burial was again deferred. For
though the body lay perfectly motionless
IN TIE caskct without evincing any sign
OF lie, they hesitated to put It in the
ground while it continued to look so
natural. The young physician had used
every means the. he know of to restore
animation If there was life left, or if
possible to detect Ecaie sign of II
Nothing which he had tried had discoy.
cred sny sign of remaining vitality, and
they had at length determined to DELAY
the burial no longer. 1t was TO be on
the next morning, the morning of the
fourth day. The young physician re.
morrow and look at the body.
The following morning" says DR..
-, II accompanied my friend to the
home where the body of the young lady
lay. When we reached the house the
friends of the family had already arriv-
ed and the officiating minister had gone
through part Of the service in the room
where the body lay, prayer 1 think it
was, and the family had taken their last
farewell of q beautiful girl. When I
stepped in the room the undertaken had
the rasket lid in his hands ready to screw
1T down. No sooner did I see the face
In the casket than felt sure that life
was not extinct. There was not the
faintest pulse that could detect, but
when l laid my ear close upon her breast
l was confident that heard the slightest
heart beat. So certain was then that it
was case of catalepsy that 1 did not
hesitate Il moment to apply the proper
remedies. Imag inc if you can the scene
when the young lady uttered suddenly
piercing scream and rose up in the
coffin. 1t was the most awful note of
agony that hope ever to hear. The
room was filled with friends besides the
family and domestics. Several ladies
tainted outright. Some screamed and
went into Mysteries, the servants ran ont
into the yard, and confess that though
was expecting to see her revive, nv
own nerves were so shaken by the sud
denness of the occurrence that It wos
with the greatest difficulty that I could
stand. Her face, too, which a moment
before had worn that sweet smile of
peaceful sleep, yrithed as she rose up ia
the most dreadful contortions. 7 have
never seen q face depict SO much terror
and agony. 1t seemed as if all the men
tai suffering which she had endured
through those four terrible DAYS and
nights found vent in that one cry and
look. In few moments her pent-up
feeling found relief and she then got ont
OF The collin and down from the table
with very little assistance. Dy this time
the tumnlt in the room had in measure
subsidized, and che chen tolI 1s what was
the most fearful part of the whole ex.
perience-t she had been perfectlv
conscious during the entire time She
had heard all that was said and knew all
that was going on around her. She had
felt herself being shrouded and laid in
the coffin, had heard her friends weeping
over her before the coffin lid should close
upon her forever, and thought she should
surely be buried alive. Meanwhile.
though she tried her utmost, she was
unable to move or utter O sound. Her
friends look upon her IS gisen back to
them from the grave, and, indeed, in the
country around it is reported really did
raise her from the dead, and after / left
they told me that the country people
flocked in in crowds to see me. What
the young lays feelings are it is useless
to try to imagine, and what they were
during the four days and nights in which
she lay in the coffin waiting to be buried
alive are too terrible to contemplate"
DIR. -- will not allow his name to
be mentioned in connection with this in.
cident; but knowing him personally we
are able to vouch for all that he told us.
He is of the opinion that premature
burial is very rare, but thinks it occurs
sufficiently often for people to be guard.
ed against it Washington Post.