Dodge City times. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1876-1892, 1884-06-12
BURIED ALIVE.

BURIED ALIVE.
Of all the horrible and appalling
calamities that can befall mortal man
we can imagine none more ghastly than
that OF being buried alive, and we'll au
thenticated records have placed beyond
doubt that It has occasionally hap.
pened. The case of the lady whose
ring, cut from her finger by midnight
violators of her tomb, was the means OF
saving her from dreadful fate, ha,
been often told. Her son, the eminent
NJ. L., born many years after his
mother had been buried, was the ply
stefan and friendyOf the family of the
writer, one of whose earliest recollec.
sions is the hearing the story from the
dips of an aged relative, while forming
one of group of small listeners gath
cred round and hanging with bated
breath ON the narration. Oh ldren love
to have the same stories told over and
over again in the same words. They
like to know what is coming to watch
with thrills of expectation for each de
tail. And these details, graphically
given by one who had them from the
very actors in the scene, were weird
and vivid. The vault at midnight the
cutting off of the finger the CHASTITY
terror of the rullians, when tie dead
woman sat up in her coffin and blood
began to tow--the familiar knock COM
ing to. the house -door in the dead of
night, heard by terrified maids. who,
thinking their mistress's ghost was
there, buried their faces, trembling. in
their pillows. The beIeaved husband
lying sleepless in his grief, heard it,
too, and started at the sound. .'lf nv
dear wife were not gone" he thought,
81 should say that was her knock" and
when, more family, il again -smote his
he was confronted with the resuscitated
woman. All this was listened to with
an interest intensified by the fact of its
being true. --r--.-
A curious coincidence respecting this
event is that an exactly similar story is
recorded in the annals OF the family of
the Earls OF acknowledgements. In them
we read that the mother of Richard
Edgcumbe, created first Baron in 1742,
being at the time young and childless,
died, apparently, at Their seat, Cothele,
near Plymouth. She was buried with \
valuable ring on her finger, and the
cutting this Oil by viOlatOrs of the tomb,
as in the case of Mrs L.. restored
her to consciousness. Five years after
wards she gave birth to son.
In the year 1888 4 remarkable in
stance of burying alive occurred at
Cambray, in France. NJ. MarbOis. a
farmer residing at Sissy. in that neigh
-borhood, had-reared large family,
and acquired by his industry and good
"a conduct wealth and consideration, so
that he was chosen churchwarden of his
parish, aud appointed Deputy Mayor.
He had lived in harmony with his fam
lily until the subject Of a marriage his
eldest son wished to contract became
the cause of quarrel, and brought on
fierce disputes between him and his
children. Marbois was man ofyiolent
passions, opposition made him frantic;
and on one occasion, when the dis
pute ran higher than usual, che be-
came SO Infatuated that he rose up
and pronounced fearful malediction
upon his family No sooner had the
words passed his lips than his whole
frame suddenly collapsed; his face grew
livid, his eyes fixed, his limbs, stiffened.
and he fell to the ground. Medical aid
was called in; but all puisaEion had
ceased. Soon the body became cold,
and his death was decidedly pronounced
the cause, a stoppage of the heart's
action produced by violent excitement.
This occurred on the 18th OF January;
and on the 10th the interment took
place. There had been a severe frost,
ho VI ho, 49, No.
prevented the grave from being proper
ly dug. It was therefore left shallow,
with the intention of deepening it when
the thaw should come. BY the 23d the
ground became sufficiently softened,
and men were set to. work to raise the
body and finish the grave. On lifting
the coffin they fancied that they heard
a sigh, and on listening attentively they
found the sounds OF life repeated.
Breaking open the coffin, and perceiv-
ing that faint actions of tpulsation and
respiration were going on toa certain
extent, the men hurried OIL with the
body to the house of the parish doctor.
by whose efforts Marbois was at last
restored to consciousness.
When the resuscitatcd man was able
to recall what had taken place, he be-
came overwhelmed with contrition, re-
garding the fate from which he SO mar
/ rowly escaped as the deserved punish
ment of his sin. He sent for the clergy
man of Sisoy, whom he entreated to
mediate with his children, expressing
anxiety to make peace with them and
to recall his malediction. The result
was a return to mutual understanding
and the re-establishment of harmony in
the household.
The distinguished physician Sir Hen
ry Marsh used to describe an event
which occurred at the beginning of his
medical career, many years before he
had reached the eminence to which he
afterwards attained. He was called in
by the family doctor-a country practi-
tioner-to attend upon Colonel H,
struck down suddenly by apoplexy.
The tit was severe one. All efforts
to save the sick man proved unavail-
ing; he never rallied, and at the end of
a few days, to all appearance breathed
his last. On the morning of the funeral
the two medical attendants deemed it
right, as a last attention, to 90 and
take leave OF the remains of their pa
tient before the coffin was screwed
down. The family doctor, a joviai
ford parsonage, on whom professional
cares sat lightly, had been friend, and
oft-times boon-compauion, of the de-
ceased. A bottle of port and glasses
stood on q table near the coffin.
'.Ab. my poor friend!'' he said. pour
ing out bumper and tossing it off;
this was his favorite drink. Rare
wine. too. He knew what was good,