Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-07-11
SKULLS AND BONES.
The Chastity Collection in the Army
Medical Museum - Fragments of
Human Beings that Fill the Old The
afer ON 10th Sfreet-Why Frenchmen
are Proud Of their Skeletons, dc.

There is one place in Washington that very
fewsight-seers visit. It Is a museum with very
extensive and novel collection composed en-
tirely of fragments of dead people, and it occu-
pies the old Fords theater, on 10th street. in
which Lincoln met his tragic death. The once
gay theater is now associated with skeletons
and death. The first floor. where the pit was.
Is occupied by the clerical force of the medical
department of the army. The dress circle con-
tainS the library and a few articulated skele-
tons, while the peanut gallery, where the street
arabs used TO assemble at night to applaud the
acting and drop peanut hulls and orange peel
fngs on the bald heads in the pit. is given up
exclusively to the collection of fragments of
dead men. There is seldom anybody in the
museum except the attendant. At the entrance
Ia the library group of skeletons stand grin
ming sepulchral welcome. those in front sta adj
Ing in a careless attitude. too naked to be
ashamed while those behind leer over their
shoulders with an air OF familiarity that is of
fensfve TO person of delicate sensfbiIities
Near the door Is a sign and an index finger,
which tells the visitor that the museum Is up
stairs, and these grInning, gibbering skeletons
seem to feel "a cynical satisfaction in directing
the way To the upper room where are collected
the relies Of ruined man. One tall hne-Iookine
fellow stands with his foot on 81 skull The
rest stand with their toes turned in and their
long. honey myers spread out at their sides or
twisted together. Some of them are Young
spry. dandyiied skeletons, with head erect and
polished white fOreheads and "a full set of ,,re
white teeth, while others are hoIIow-chested
sEaggie-tDothed. Old creatures and others again
are black AMI shrivelled up like witches iInps
They all have that offensive familiar grin
which seems 10 say that they hope to know you
better later on.
Up stairs there are rows of glass cases all the
way around the wall and close together from
ea0t to west across the room. There are large
glass bottles, like preserving jars. Some have
human hearts In them; some hold the lungs
and liver Others hold kidneys. speens eyes
noses, ears or fingers of men VINO have been "A
long time dead. Among the spleens is that of
Guiteau, which * a third larger than any Of the
rest One case is devoted to arms and ie.s that
nave been a1nputated. and show how nice and
tIsE
Soine OF them are all lacerated ana torn To
pieces by gunshOt wOunds-InoSt of the exhibits
are the scraps of men picked up off the battle
Held One heart has two big ounce bullets i'm
bedded in il. Another has a deep cash in il
and near by IS a dirk-knife- Anothercas is de-
voted To horrible looking hands and feet put up
in glass jars All are swelIed up and Iac,iratad
some have the flesh torn away and the bone
and sinews left bare. a solitary thumb reposes
IN a small bottle. while little finger is crooked
up in another. An eye torn from its socket by
musket ball. Is soaked in alcohol; odds and
ends and ali sorts of fragments OF dead people
quilt.
But the chief part of the collection consists of
small fragments OF bones. There is the section
Of the backbone of Booth in a glass case not
many feet from the spot where he shot Lincoln
There are all sorts OF human bones shattered by
shot and shell. Skulls with great big lead balls
sticking in them: big bones wi IA Fragments of
iron shells crushing them into powder: Joints
broken apart by musket balls; there are skulls
ribs legs and arms shattered and shivered by
all sorts of missiles OF war, and in some eases
o.
gether- There are over nine thousand speci-
mems OF bones fractured in curious wavs by
shot There are plaster casts of different cuts OF
the human body that make the cases look like
butchers stall. Then there are more artit.n-
lated skeletons There is the great French skel-
eton. giant in proportions. every bone as W ita.
a. ivory, teeth all perfect like pearls turn
ed out, and palms OF the hands extended with
ali the grace OF "a dnnciI., In.Ster.
Look at those teeth, said one of the attend
ants 10 TIE STAR reporter He's proud OF
those teeth None but a French skeleton could
have teeth like that. You can always tell a
Frenehman by that There's y nkee. None
at ali. only one canine, and half the law
rotted away That's because they use too M I,ch
tobacco. If Americans knew how il ruined
their skeletons they wouldn't chew so much A
Frenchman has "A right 10 be proud OF his skele-
ton. L should be ashamed To be a skeleton
without teeth. That's mighty fne-lookine
woman there, and he busted the glass case
that protected set of deiicately fashioned
bones '.Shes French. See her teeth. like
pearls. If you want TO make a good skeleton
lake care of your teeth
These articulated ske etOns are the only act.
OTIS now on the stage that used To afford anuse-
ment To Abraham Lincoln, and their bony fin-
gers point out the spot where he met his death