The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-11-17
THE MORGUE.
WHERE NEW YORK'S UNKNOWN
DEAD ARE RECEIVED.
Routine Of the Days work-Look
ing for Relatives and Friends
Corone,s and Doctor. PHO
toGraphing q Corpse.

tosraphing a Corpse.
The days business at the Morgue be-
gins at 7 o'clock in the morning, when
assistant Joe Fogarty comes on duty.
Within half an hour Keeper A. N. White
appears, and both remain until o'clock
IN the evening, when the establishment
IS left in care of the night watchman,
Capt. Donovan, until time for Fogarty to
appear again. The earliest business in
the day is the reception of the bodies of
such persons as have died in Bellevue
Hospital in the early morning hours.
Th.se that have died during the night
Capt. Donovan receives, but there are on
an average three to be sent down to the
dead house each day as soon as its
keepers take charge. The hospital at
tendants wash and prepare the bodies 50
as to make them presentable. By the
time they have been put into pine coffins
q call from police station for the city
hearse may possibly be heard. These
calls, however, are rather less than might
readily be supposed, hardly averaging
more than one day. That is explained
by the facts that the victims of sanguin-
ary affrays of the night have generally
been disposed of in some way hours be-
fore this time that the businesses in
volving likely chances of fatal accidents
have not yet got fairly to work, and that
it is rather too early in the day to find
bodies floating in the river. About 9
o'clock the various hospitals, other than
Bellevue, telephone for the city hearse
to come and gather in their friendless
dead, who, however, will hardly aver.
age more than one per diem from all.
1t may seem little strange that Belle.
vue's mortality should be so greatly in
excess of all the others combined, but
the explanation is not difficult.
In the first place, of those who die in
the other hospitals there are compara-
lively few who haven not surviving friends
to care for their remains otherwise than
by sending them to the city's dead
house and Potter's Field. In the second
place, it has been conclusively demon.
strated that it is tho established prac-
tice of young surgeons in the ambulance
service of several of the hospitals, wher
they are summoned to cases that they see
are likely to result fatally, to rush them
off to Bellevue Hospital. instead of tax
ing them to the institutions they repre-
sent, with q view of keeping down the
apparent mortality of the latter, and
this, it is gravely TO be feared, is not in
frequently done to the great and even
fatal harm of the unfortunate patients.
Every hour in the day persons come ta
the Morgue in mingled fear and hope OF
identifying among the numerous bodies
beneath the long row of loose coffin lids
some missing friend or loved one. Where
identifcations occur the proper entries
are made, and the coffins, having been
closed, are sent away to undertakers for
care and private burial. Dead bodies are
liable to be brought in from all sorts OF
places by the police and by citizens at all
hours of the day and night. The coro-
ners have to be notified of cases in which
inquests are deemed necessary, and the
bodies prepared for post-mortem exami'
nations and cared for afterward. It i
also frequently a part of the keepers du.
ties to see that autopsies are allowed td
physicians on requests of friends, and ia
give such aid as may be necessary to ia
cilitate such opecations. Autopsies ara
also made upon the bodies of those wha
die in Bellevue Hospital, if the physi
clans deem the cases Of sufficient scien.
tife interest to warrant the trouble. Ac.
cording to the division of the hospital in
which the death occurs, the right of au'
topsy belongs to one or another of tht
! medi :al colleges. If in the first division,
it goes to the College of Physicians and
Surgeons; if in the second, to the Uni.
versity College; if in the third. to Belle.
vue Hospital Medical College, and if in
the fourth. it is deemed to belong to out.
side practitioners, though as general
thing the Post Graduate College SCENT
to have the preference. If the case Il
one that is of any particular interest te
students, the organs, or parts that ar,
deemed desirable for purposes of lecture
llluetration, are dissectcd out and car.
ried off by the doctor who makes the au.
topsy, after which the body is closed up.
and either delivered to friends or buried
at the city's charge.
Sometimes photographs have to h
taken of dead persons who cannot bt
kept, but who, it is hoped, may be ider.
titled if their counterfeit presentments
are held for the inspection of visitors.
Such an incident occurred a short TINT
ago in the presence of the reporter whf
was finding out about the things he il
now telling. In the narrow area between
the Morgue and the high brick street
wall, Bob, the helper, under Keeper
Whites direction, set two children's cof
fins upon end against the wall at the END
of the area put two more little collins
across them, and over all threw dingy
sheet. Then, unrolling bundle of dirty
muslin that had been lying upon table
near, he brought to view the object to be
photographed. 1t was mans head
Some unknown man, we'll clad, but with
out cent in his pockets, had laid his
neck upon rail of the New Haven Rail
road track, and the wheels of a passing
train had guillotined him. A brick un'
der the base of the skull held the head in
a natural posture on the sheet. There
was no distortion of the fcatures-mere.
ly the placid calm of sleep. Dir. 0. q.
Mason, the photographed. who has
studio in the hospital building, in con-
sideration of his taking tho Morgue pic.
lures, came aud placed his camera in po'
sition, remarking as he did so that, not.
withstanding the thousands of dead
folks pictures he had taken hele, thii
was the first time he had ever been
called upon to photograph detached
head.-New York Sun.
IL IL