St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-10-19
PREM1rUEE -RERIALS

PREMATURE BURTALS
The hasty burial of deceased persons can
not be too seriously discouraged There is
too much evidence to doubt that preventive
burials occur in cases where there is only
suspended animation instead of death. The
burial of person before life is extinct is
too dreadful for calm contemplation. The
! greatest caution in this point should be OBJ
served. Even expert physicians cannot al
ways correctly decide in such cases. Time
only can decide, and sufficient time should
be allowed to pass after apparent death, to
decide the case beyond the possibilities of
doubt. The case Of the Rev. Mr. Tenront,
of New Jersey is az authority on this point.
After severe sickness he was thought to
have died. His funeral was arranged for,
and the hour of burial arrived. At the in
stance of a young physician who doubted
| his being dead, the burial was postponed.
The burial hour again arrived, aud at his
earnest beseechings, it was again postponed.
The funeral ceremonies were again about to
I proceed, when the ardent physician begged
for further delay. 4 brother of the supposed
deceased, became angry and denounced the
! physician for tamperlng with the corpse
Nothing daunted the physician begged for
one hour more of delay. and then agreed to
! give it up. Within that hour Mr.. Tennont
opened his eyes with a terrific groan, which
struck with Consideration the numerous per-
! sons present, who had come to witness his
! burial. He lived many years, and the church
where he preached is standing to this day.
Another distressing feature in regard to
/ tho I'm nj pf tba b,,yi OF In
/ dead is the freezing process which is so often,
! perhaps always applied, while the bodies are
still warm, and there are cases where it is
! known beyond a reasonable doubt that the
patient was literally frozen to DEATH instead
Of dying Of disease. 1t has become so fixed
Il fashion to put bodies on ice that the friends
of the deceased fear the opprobrium OF their
neighbors if they do not comply with it. The
consequence is that when death or apparent
death takes place, some toO-ready member of
the family, or friend of the deceased, rushes
at once to the undertaken instead of to the
physician. Competition in business will not
permit of the undertaken being a laggard
when summoned. A box filed with ice is
placed in his ever-ready wagon, and, as too
frequently happens, before the warmth OF
life has entirely left the body the chill of the
ice hastens the chill of death or weakness of
disease. The friends of the deceased feel
wonderful satisfaction pervading their grief
at having complied with the demands of
fashion.
The physician, whose duty it is TO fur
| nish the certificate OF death, is too frequent
~ not called upon until after the undertake
er has done his duty. In many cases he
does not see the dead body Of his patient at
at all. He is notified through the undertake
era man perhaps Of reputable Standing
that his patient is dead, and the necessary
certificate to procure a burial permit is re-
quested. On this certificate the Board of
Health grants the permit, and .he poor Wet
| i'm who perhaps has been frozen to death, is
marshallcd away to his long home, followed
by mourning relatives and sOrrowng friends
who feel that they have done their whole du-
ty by the deceased. A physician of Newark,
1 y. j., furnishes a couple of instances illus
trative of this feature. One was the case of
woman afflicted with a lingering disease.
The physician WAS called in 10 consult about
the case. The woman was in no immediate
danger of death and another consultation
was appointed for the following day. The
physician says:
When we called we found Grape upon the door.
. On entering the house We were told that the
woman had died some few hours previously
/ Knowing from the nature of the disease that the
patient was Liable TO fall into a faint, and in her
weak condition assume all the appearance Of
! death. we both believed that it simply sus-
I pended animation and not real death, over which
d famlly mpUrniur Whof
/ horror when brought into the presence of the
! body to fnd it siffened with cold from the ice
/ upon which it was liil. he certainly dead
/ but have always believed was frozen to death
one victim out of scores who meet with the same
I end
/ The same physician relates another case
( where he had been attending, occasionally.
a lady afflicted with paipitation of the heart
Persons so affected frequently pass into
condition OF coma, where only faint or hard
" perceptible pulsation can be detected.
Respiration seems at an end. In fact. they
appear dead. Afterwards animation will be
restored completely, and the person will en-
/ tirely recover In this case there was no
yalvular or organic disease Of the heart The
trouble was with the pcriclrdium, and syn
/ cope was liable to result closely resembling
death. The physicians story is:
This lady who lived on Cottage street. one
afternoon exclaimed to her servant: II feel
/ f7iut.' Immediately she sank into a chair APP
parently liteless. The nearest physician was
called. He examined her casually. fct Of her
f. pulse, placed his hand over her heart, and saw
. ing she was dead, left the house, The sudden
ness Of the shock caused the relatives desire 10
/ have the remains with tn N a. long a. possible
/ The undertaken sent for; and when / called
lhaTmg been requested, as = regular attending
physician. to give = certificate of dearh) the body
was frozen in ice; but the peculiariti of her
/ trouble, together with peculiar changes which
/ the undertaken said had come over the face OF
{ the deceased, suffusou of blood about the tenn
I pies, and other indications, which were mention
ed ~ having been noticed, have convinced me
that the woman was frozen to death, and but for
undue haste might be living to-day.
No doubt can exist that these are only
samples OF many instances where bodies are
placed on fee before life is extinct an their
doom sealed. Less haste is urged in placing
. in the hands OF undertakers the bodies of
persons supposed to have died. Too much
precaution cannot be exercised Proper de-
lay is the safer course. Even physicians.l
they have done, may make great mistakes
Never hasten funeral and burial ceremonies.
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