The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-11-11
CHASTITY RELICS
Novel Collections i'm tho Army Medical
Museum at Washington.


Museum at WashingtOn'
There is one place in Washington that
very few sight-scers visit. 1t is a museum
with 4 ve"y extensive and novel collec.
ton. composed entirely of fragments Of
dead people, and it occupies the old
Ford's theatre, on Tenth street, in which
Lincoln met his tragic death. The once
cav theatre is now associated with skelc-
tons 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 contains the
library and a few articulatcd skeletons,
while the peanut gallery, where the
street arabs used to assemble at night to
applaud the acting and drop peanut hulls
and orange Feelings 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
of the library a group of skeletons stand
grinning a sepulchral welcome, those in
front standing in a careless attitude,
''too naked to be ashamed" while those
behind leer over their shoulders with an
air q familiarity that is offensive to q
person of delicate sensibilities.
Near the door is a sign and an index
finger, which tells the visitor that the
museum is upstairs, and trese grinning,
gibbering skeletons seem to feel a cyni-
cal satisfaction in directing the way to
the upper room where arc collected the
relics of ruined men. One tall, fine
looking fellow stands with his foot on a
skull. The rest stand with their toes
turned in and their long, bony fingers
spread out at their sides or twisted
together. Some of them are young.
spry, dandiied skeletons. with head erect
and polished white foreheads and a full
set of pure white teeth, while others are
hollow-chcstcd, snaggle-toothcd, old
creatures, and others again are black and
shriveled up, like witches imps. They
all have that offensive familiar grin,
which seems to say that they hope to
know you better later on.
Upstairs there are rows of glass cases
ali the way around the wall, and close
together from cast to west around 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, spleen, eyes,
noses, ears or fingers of men who have
been a long time dead. Among the
spleens is that of Guiteau, which is a
third larger than any of the rest. One
case is devoted to arms and legs that
have been amputatcd, and show how
nice and slick the surgeons knife and
saw went through. Some OF them are
all lacerated and torn to pieces
by eunshot wounds-most of
the exhibits are the scraps of men
picked up off the battlefield. One heart
has two big ounce bullets imbedded in
it. Another has a deep cash in it and
near by is a dirk knife. Another case is
devoted to horrible looking hands and
feet put up in glass jars. All are swelled
up and lacerated. Some have the flesh
torn away and the bone and sinews left
bare. A solitary thumb reposes in a
small bottle, while a little finger is
crooked up in another. An eye torn
from it's socket Dy a musket ball is
soaked in alcohol; odds and ends and
all sorts of fragments of dead people arc
collected there like the scraps for Il crazy
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 with fragments of iron shells
crushing them into powder; joints
broken apart by musket balls; there are
skulls, ribs, legs, and arm shattered
and shivered by all sorts of missiles
OF war, and in some cases the lead
and the bone have become welded to-
gether. There are over 5000 speci-
mems of bones fractured in curious ways
by shot. There are plaster casts OF
different cuts of the human body that
make the cases look like a butchers
stall. Then there are more %articulated
skeletons. There is the great French
skeleton, a giant in proportions, every
bone as white as ivory, teeth all perfect
like pearls, toes turned out, and palms
Of the hands extended with all the grace
of a dancing-master.
"Look at those teeth" said one of the
attendants to the reporter. Gle is proud
of those teeth. None but q French skel-
eton could have teeth like that. You
can always tell a Frenchman by that.
There's a Yankee. None at all! Only
one canine, and half the jaw rotted
away. That's because they use too much
tobacco. If Americans knew how it
ruined their skeletons they wouldn't
chew so much. A Frenchman has a
right to be proud of his skeleton. 1
should be ashamed to be a skeleton
without teeth. That's a mighty fine
looking woman there" and he busted
the glass case that protected a set of del
icately fashioned bones. "She's French.
See her teeth; like pearls. If you want
to make a good skeleton take care of
your teeth"
These articulated skeletons are the
only actors now on the stage that used
to afford amusement to Abraham Lin
coin, and their bony fingers point out
the spot where he met his DEATH WASH
ington Star.
A. To,So TV0-