Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1886-08-12
ASTONISHING EXPERIENCE.

1
ASTONISHING EXPERIENCE.
On the evening Of Juno IS, 1865, George
Wellington, an Indiana farmer, had gath.
ering of friends at his house. He was man
42 years of age, and Of robust health, and on
| this evening it was noticed that he was in
particularly good spirits. Af'er the guesis
| had departed he remarked 10 his wife that
he felt more like singing and dancing than
going TO bed. They retired about 1:3O
o'clock, and she was asleep before midnight
The farmer was always out of bed at s
o'clock, but on the morning following the
party the wife awoke at 6 and found him
still sleeping. When she attempted to
arouse him she discovered that he was dead.
doctor was sent for, and he arrived in the
| course of au hour to pronounce it case OF
heart disease. He said the man had been
dead three hours when the wife awoke. The
| undertakes came and prepared the body for
burial. 1t was remarked that the corpse re.
taired life.like appearance, and that mono
of the limbs grew rigid, but the two other
physicians called in vigorously combatted
| the idea that he was in trance and might
| be restored TO life. Nevertheless, the wifc
and sons had q secret hope that death had
not really come TO Lin, and the funeral was
put two days later During the interval
the corpse WAS constantly watched for signs
of returning animation, but nothing occurred
to delay the funeral arrangements.
The burial was TO take place in q country
graveyard, and most of the vehicles gather
ing at the house belonged to farmers.
Tie usual ceremonies took place over
the dead, ard the coffin was brought
out and placed in the hearse. While
the procession was forming n team
attached to an empty wagon came down the
road, running away. The wagon collided
upset and the ccliu flung out. Four or five
men ran to pick it up but before hand
had touched it q voice was heard saying:
For Gods SAKE, let me out of this ~
The people at first moved back in alright,
| tut as the voice continued to address them
the cctliu was lishted and opened, and
Wellington was found struggling TO get out.
With little assistance he pulled himself
out of tho box and walked into the house
and sat down in Il chair. In half an hour
| be had bis clothes On and was moving
around among the amazed people, to whom
| he related this experience:
II did not fall asleep until some lime after
midnight. When l awoke the clock was
striking 5. | made move to get out Of bed,
| hut, to my great Amusement, could stir
neither hand nor feet | had the full use
! of my ears, but could not open my eyes.
argued at first that l was not yet wide
awake. but when my wife shook me and
called me by lny name aGd could not re-
spond by even moving an cyeid, became
satisfied that was in trance. My mind
was never clearer, and my hearing was
painfully acute. made effort after effort
| TO throw off the great weight which
seemed TO be holding me down, but |
could not bend toe or crook finger.
However, it was only after the doctor
had pronounced me dead that | felt
any alarm. Up to that time it had seemed
as if could soon manage to get rid of the
weight. Had pistol been fired in the room
| am sure the spell would have been broken.
| After the doctors ultimatum | felt that
should be buried alive. But WAS | alive :?
All of sudden this query flashed across my
| brain, and | WAS troubled more than | can
tell YOU AS had never died before how
was to know the sensation? Could The
dead hear and think? Was the mind of q
corpse in active operation? 1t was prob.
lem could not solve.
mot word was spoken near me which
did not catch and fully understand. There
was great deal of weeping, and failed to
satisfy myself as to the cause. | had died,
| but it did not seem as if this was a sufficient
excuse. When my wife bent over the coffin
| and sobbed and grieved and refused to be
| com forted, did not feel bad with her. On
| the contrary, her action surprised me. When
| the two other doctors pronounced me dead
| made up my mind that was dead, and
that the end had come. l had been taught
| TO believe that the spirit of the dead ascend
ed to heaven and that the dead were dead
in mind as we'll as body. 1t wss base de-
| ception felt Indignant that it was so.
''As an instance of the acuteness OF my
hearing, lot me explain that after | was
placed in the coffin the receptacle was NOV
| ed over to an open window in the parlOr,
| where it was supported on saw-horses. Two
| of NV neiehbors took seats on wagon box
in the BARNARD, fully 200 feet away, and for
an hour conversed Of my death in ordinary
tones of voice. l did not miss one word Of the
conversation, as both afterwards admitted
| I could hear every tick of the kitchen clock
and much Of the conversation Of the women
in the up stairs rooms. On the night pre-
yious to the funeral, about half past ten
o'clock, and while the two men sitting ul
with the corps were reading, heard two
men climb the fence into the barnyard
cross the yard and enter the barn. Ate,
few minutes they came out, and heard
the jingle of something carried by one o
the pair. 1 could not make out what wa:
going on, but learned afterward. The two
men stole q horse from field opposite my
barn, and they entered my premises II
search of blidle.
IT heard the people assemble for the fun
eral, and as caught word from this on'
or that one identified them by name t.
myself. listened closely to the sermon
but when the minister spoke OF me coui'