The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-02-12
SKULLS N N


very few sight-seers visit. 1t Is a mu-
scum with g. very extensive and novel
collection, composed entirely of frag-
ments of dead people, and it occupies
the old Ford's Theater, on Tenth
street. in which Lincoln met his tragic
death. The once gay theater is now
associated with skeletons and death.
The first floor, where the pit was, ii
occupied by the clerical force of thu
medical department of the army. This
dress circle contains the library and q
few articulated skeletons, while the
peanut gallery, where the street arabs
nsed to assemble at night to applaud
the acting and drop peanut bulls and
orange peelings on the bald heads in
the bit. is given up exclusively to the
fragments of dead men. There is SCI
dom anybody in the museum except
the attendant. At the entrance ofths
library q group of skeletons stand
~orinning q sepulchral welcome, thoss
in front standing In acareless attitude
600 naked to be ashamed" willis
those behind leer over their shoulders
with an air OF familiarity that is OF
ipnsive to q person OF delicate sensh
Il tics.
Near the door is a sign and anindea
finger, which tells the visitor that tl;t
museums upstairs, and these grinning
Cibbering skeletons seem to feel acyni-
cal sa~tisfactionin directing the wayto
the upperroom where are collected the
relics Ofruined men. One tall fine
ING 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 twlstedt to-
gether. Some ofthem are young, spry,
dandifed skeletons, with head erect
and polished white foreheads and a
full set ofpure white teeth, while Others
are hollow chested snaggle toothed old
creatures, and others again are black
and shrivelled up, like witches imps.
They all have that offensive, familiar
grin which seems to say that they
hope to know you better later on.
Up stairs there are rows OF glass
cases all the way around the wall, and
close together from east to west across
the room, there are largeglass bottles,
like preserving jars. Some have human
hearts in them, some hold the lungs
and liver. Others hold kidneys,s pleens,
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 amputated, and show
how nice and slick the surgeons knife
and saw went through. Some ofthem
are all lacerated and torn to pieces by
gunshot wounds-most Of h eeXhibits
are the scraps of men picked up off
the battle field. 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. aAll are
swelled up and lacerated. Some have
the flesh torn away and the bone end
sinews left bare. A solitary thumb
reposes in a small bottle, while a lit5le
finger is crooked up in another. An
eye torn from it's socket by a musket
ball is soaked in alcohol; odds and
ends and all sorts offragments ofdead
people are collected there like the
scraps for a crazy quilt.
But the chief of the collection con-
slsts OF small fragments of bones.
There Is q section cff tic II of
Booth in a glass case not many feet
rom 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
ron shells crushing them into powder;
FONTS broken apart by musket balls;
there are skulls, ribs, legs, and arms
shattered and shivered by all sorts o.
missiles OF war, and in some cases the
lead and the bone have become wed
ded together. There are over 5000
speclmenes of bones fractured in cur
lous 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
artlculated skeletons. There is the
great French skeleton, a giant in pro-
portions, every bone as white asivory,
teeth all perfect like pearls, toes turn
ed out, and palms Of the hands e
tended with all the grace of a dancing
master.
Look at those teeth" said one OF
the attendants to the reporter. HE
= proud Of those teeth. None but q
french skeleton could have teeth like
mat. You can always tell a French
nan by that. There's a Yankee. None
~ all Only one canine, and half the
.aw rotted away. That's becausethey
use too much tobacco. ii Americans
NEW how it ruined their skeletons
n1ney wouldn't chew so much. A
rrenchman has a right to be proud OF
ais skeleton. / should be ashamed to
oe q skeleton without teeth. That's
mighty fine looking woman there,
and he busted the glass case that pro-