The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-11-15
FOUND ALIVE IN HIS GRAVE.
Joseph Dyer Revives When Dug Up
by Medical Students.

Joseph Dyer EtcyIVeS ~ ncn DuS d
by Medical Students.
New York World.
PORTLAND, Me, Nov. 10.-An evening
paper published a sensational story based
on the alleged return to life of a young
man after he was laid in his grave. Four
teen months ago Joseph Dyer, 90 years
old, was thrown from wagon and re-
ceived injuries from which he died, as
was supposed. He was buried in Ever
green Cemetery. Young Dyer left q
mother and father, and was engaged to
be married to a lady who is now EN-
ployed in a family in this city. Some
weeks ago young Dyer's mother and the
young lady received a mysterious hint
that ii would be well to discard mourn
ing dresses and bonnets, for Joseph was
probably not dead after all, and might
be expected to come back any day. Act
ing on this advice the women gave up
wearing black.
Some days ago suspicion concerning
Joseph's death became 50 strong that the
grave in Evergreen Cemetery was open
ed. There was the identical coffin in
which Joseph had buried, but there We're
no signs of the body in it. Tha corpse
had been removed, but in what manner
it was impossible to tell. There beng
no necessity for keeping an empty cof-
fin buried, young Dyers parents took the
coffin home with them. A day or two
ago Mrs. Dyer stood by the coffin relat-
ing the circumstances, as far as she kne"
them, to a neighb0r, when the door
opened and Joseph appeared alive and
well, saying: Don't open the coffin,
mother, for here | am" Then ensued q
remarkable scene. The mother threw
herself into the arms of her rcsurrected
son and Joy of the family knew no
bounds The young lady TO whom Dyer
was engaged was summoned, and the
young couple renewed their promises of
love.
Naturally enough the first question
asked after the first joyful exclamations
were over. was s'How did you come to
life?" Young Dyer remembers nothing
of being put in a coffin and buried alive.
The first he recollects since the accident
happened on Portland bridge is being
with friends who treated him well. 1t Is
related that some young doctors, said to
belong in Brooklyn. dug up the body for
the purpose of dissection. The fact that
young Dyer was the victim OF an aCci-
dent made his body more desireable for
medical uses than if he had been dis
eased. When the doctors came to oper
ate on the body they discovered signs of
life. They Immediately set to worl, to
bringing the young man to his senses.
and after time succeeded. It was long
before he began 20 give evidence Of COM
plete recovery, and the students We're
afraid he might die in earnest on their
hands. Gradually he got well, and the
circumstances of his strange burial and
resurrection were told to him The
Young man is reticent about where he
has been, and what he has been doing
since his recovery. This is not ccnsid-
cred strange, as the medical men who
got possession of his body in SO unques-
tjonabIe a manner would hardly care to
have their names known. Young DYER
IS now about his ordinary farm business
and is apparently undisturbed by having
gone through the forms Of death and
burial, and having had SO narrow an es-
cape from being smothered in his grave