Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1886-12-09
WORK At TIE M0RGUE.
WHERE THE CoRPSES COME FROM
AND HOW DISPOSED OF.
People Who Come for the Purpose OF
Identifying u Missing Friend or Rela-
tive - When Autopsies Are Allowed.
Photogrnp hing the Dead.

Identifying a Missing Friend or ReIa-
tive -- When Autopsies Are Allowed.
Photographing the Dead.
The days business at the Morguc begins at
z o'clock in the morning The earliest busi-
ness in the day is the reception of the bodies
OF such persons as have died in Bellevue hos
pital in the early morning hours. Those that
have died during tho 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 takes charge The hospital
attendants wash and prepare The bodies so as
to make them prescntable Ey the time they
have been put into pine collins Il call from
police station for a city hearse may possibly
b. heard. These calls, however, are rather
less than might readily be supposed, hardly
averaging more than one day That is ex-
planned by the facts that the victims of san
culinary affrays Of the night have generally
been disposed of in some way hours before
this time; that the businesses involving 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.
-AtNHu a pNIpth llt Val NUS lluSplttlio, OLuti
than Bellevue, telephone for the city hearse
to come and gather in their friendless dead,
who, however, will hardly average more than
one per diem from all
THROUGH THE DAY TIME
From the time that the routine morning
work already specified is over until evening
there is ample employment about the morgue
for the keeper, his assistant and helper,
without any waste time to spend in rat shoot
ing, which has been enormously represented
in newspaper paragraph as the favorite di
version. There arc not many rats about the
morgue, although some are ITO doubt in the
piling underneath it, as they are all along the
river The vermin are not allowed to get al
the corpses here, and there is no food supply
to tempt them to this locality
Every hour in the day persons come to tht
morguc in mingled fear and hope of identify
ing among the numerous bodies beneath tn
long row of loose coffin lids some missing
friend or loved one. Where Identification
occur the proper entries are made, and tn
collins, having been closed, are sent away Il
undertakers for care and private burial
Dead bodies are liable TO be brought in from
all sorts Of places by the police and by citi
zens at all hours of the day and night Til
cornners have TO be notified of cases in whcl
inqucsts are deemed necessary, and the hodie
prepared for post murtem examinations an
cared for aftervard. II is also frequently
part Of the keepers duties To see that autor
sizes arr allowed to physicians on requests Q
friends, and 10 give such aid as may be neces
sary to facilitate such operations Autopsie
are also made upon the bodies of those VIII
| lie in Bellevue hospital, if the physician
| deem the cases Of sufficient scientific interes
! to warrant the trouble
THF RIGHT OF AUTOPSY.
According 10 the division of the hospital i
| winch the death occurs. the right of autops
belongs to ono or another of the medical co
| lcg"s- If in the first division, it goes TO th
| College Of Physicians and Surgeons. if in tn
| second, to the University college; if in tn
third 10 Bellevue Hospital Medical colleg,
| and If in the fourth, it is deemed to belong I
| outside practitioners though, as a gCneri
thing, the Post Graduate college seems I
| have the preference. If the case Is one this
is of any particular interest TO students, IL
| organs. or parts that are deemed desirab
| for purposes Of lecture Illustration, are di
sc,ted out and carried of by the doctor VII
makes the autopsy, after which the body
closed M, and either delivered to friends
buried al the rity's charge
Sometimes photographs have to be taken
dead persons who cannot be kept, but who,
Is hoped. may he identified if their counterfe
pr,-sentmcnts are held for the inspection
visitors. Such an incident occurred on Thur
day last In presence of the reporter, who vi
finding out about the things he is now tellin
In the narrow area between the morEue al
The high brick street wall, Bob, the hclpe
under Keeper Whites direction, set two CHI
drcn's collins upon end against the wall at Il
,rd Of the area. put two more little coffi
across upon them, and over all threw ding
beet Then. unrolling bundle Of dir
n.uslm that had been lying upon table nea
hn brought to Wow the object to be pilot
-raphed II WAS mans head. Some u
known man. well clad. but without a cent
= lis pockets, had laid his neck upon a rail
the New Haven railroad track, and the whct
Of a passing train had guillotined hinr
brick under the base of the skull held I
head in a natural posture on the sheet: The
was no distortion of the featurcs-mCrely {
placid calm Of sleep. Nj. o q. Mason. I
photographer who has a studio in the he
ptal building, in consideration Of his TAXI
the morgue pictures, came and placed
camera in position, remarking us he did
5 that, Notwithstanding the thousands Of de
/, folks pictures be had taken here, this W
: the first time he had ever been called upon
, | photograph detached head York Su
A Good That Fruit Does