The Penn's Grove record., 1884-05-10
Burke and Burking.

ated by an lriShman named Burke,
who, in the early part of this century,
in Edinburgh, Scotland, used to clap a
pitch plaster over his victims face and
thus smother him. He had high cheek
bones, eyes gray and set deep In his
head, with short and stubby nose, thin
hair and side whiskers sandy, and COM
plexiOn freckled and cadayerous, The
woman, his accomplice, was of middle
size, thin and spare, la%rge-boned. Her
features were long and sharp, and the
upper part Of her face out Of proper
ton with the lower. She wore a small,
gray velvet bonnet, greatly worn, a
| printed cotton shawl, and soiled cotton
| gown. When Burke and his accom-
plice were placed on trial, the judges
were Lord Justice Clerk and Lords
Pitmilly, Mackenzie and Meadowbank.
Messrs Patrick Robertson and Cock
burn appeared for the prisoners. There
was a large amount of testimony, but
the jury after being out fifty minutes,
brought in a verdict of guilty for Burke,
but mot proven" for the woman.
January 80, 1929, he was sentenced to
be hanged. Before the execution of
the sentence Burke made a ~sickening
confession. He SAID he met Hare last
Halloween, when he and Helen Nc
DOugai met Hare's wife, Margaret
Lard, in the street. They had dram,
and Burke told Laird that he was going
to the west country to seek work as a
cobbler, but Hare's wife suggested that
they had a small room in their house
which might suit him and McDougal,
and ne went to work in Hare's house,
working there at cobbling An old
p~ensioner named Donald lived in the
same house; he was in bad health, and
died suddenly. A short time before
this his quarters pension was due. He
owed Hare $50, and a day or two after
Hare proposed that his body be sold TO
the doctors, and Burke should get a
share of the price. Burke said it would
be impossible to do it, because the man
would be coming IN with the coffin
directly, but after the body was put in
the coffin and the lid nailed down,
Hare started the lid with a chisel, and
he and Burke took out the corpse and
concealed it in the bed, andput tanners
bark into the box and covered it with a
sheet, and mailed down the lid of the
coffin and carried it away for interment.
Burke and Hare went in the evening to
the yard of the college and saw a
person like a student there. When
they told him that they had a subject to
dispose of the young man referred them
TO DR.. Knox. After arranging matters
satisfactorily with DR.. Knox's assist
ant, Mr.. Jones, Burke and Hare went
home and put the body in a sack and
carried it to Surgeon square, where
they laid it in an upper room upon a
dissecting-table The shirt was on the
body, but no questions were asked, and
Burke and Hare were paid 81 los.
Hare took 81 IS. and Burke got e3 IS.
for the job.
Early in the Spring of 1923 a woman
from Gilmorton came to Hare's house
as a nightly ledger, he keeping seven
beds for dodgers She was a stranger
and became very merry with Hare
they drank together. Next morn
ing she was very i'll, and Hare then said
to Burke that they could smother or
choke her, and sell her body to the
doctors She was lying on her back in
bed, and quite insensi5le with drink.
Hare clapped his hand on her mouth
and nose, and she neyer stirred. Burke
then helped Hare lift her up and un-
dress her and put the body in an old
chest. They then went to DIR. Kuox's
young man, telling him that they had
another subject. He sent a porter to
meet them in the evening back of the
and Burke and Hare carried the
chest to the back of the castle, and
thence to the class room in the college.
The corpse was cold and stiff, and DR..
Knox came in and approved of it being
SO fresh, but did not ask any questions.
The next was a man named Joseph
A. Miller, who had been lying ill in the
lodgings. He got some drinks from
Burke and Hare and became very i'll.
SO the two partners in the now thriving
business procured a small pillow and
laid it upon Joseph's mouth, and Hare
lay across the body to keep down the
arms and legs, and the poor man died
of sulfocation. Joseph was duly sold
to the surgeons, as had been the other
murdered victims, In May, 1873, an
cd woman came to the house as a
lodger. She was the worse for drink
when she came and grew drunken under
their scientific treatment. Finally they
strangled her, and sold the body in the
same manner as before. Indeed, DR..
Knox seems to have been a very enter
prising person in his profession. Next
an E~nglishman from Newcastle-on-
Tyne lodged there for some nights. and