The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-05-29
BURIED ALIVE
oYoRIEs TOLD OF LIVING PEOPLE
BEING PUT IN THE GRAVE.

BEING PUT IN ThE GRAVE.
The Number Of Wolf Authenticated Cases
IL smsiI-why Superficial Observer
Are Likely to he Nistaken-soms
Natural Explanations.
To be buried while only apparently dead
and to como back TO life in q coffin four feet
under earth Is OF course. a dreadful thing.
and the fear Of people TO meet this terrible
fate has at all times boon proportionately
strong. 1t has resulted in all kinds OF de-
signs and plans to enable persons In case OF
premature burial to inform the living world
Of the horrible mistake II we inquire into
the matter a little more closely. however,
we will lind that such fear Is unreasonable
In fact. our readers will 10 surprised TO hear
us ask:
Have people ever heen buried alive'
True. we cannot absolutely deny such 90
currences for several cases have been 10
ported under competent medical supervision,
but the number OF well authenticated cases
Il really 90 small that we must look upon
them as a thing extremely rarc In fact, It
would he safer to take the risk Of meeting
this accident for every person living upon
the globe this minute than to get on a train
for only one hour In the face OF these facts
We would naturally put the question:
Why Il 1t that such cases are reported or
believed to have taken place so oftenf
The answer to this is easy People who do
not know the wonderful working of the sys
TEN are liable to mIsinterpret certain rare
and abnormal manifestations They do not
remember that every rule has Its exceptions,
even as applied to the human organism; In
short. they do not fully understand the nat
ure OF death and hence will sometimes con-
found It with life We will he a little less
abstract to illustrate We often hear the
remark: II don't believe such and such
person Is dead Just remember how red his
cheeks we're. even up to the day OF MS
burial True the characteristic appearance
Of the dead is that waxy and pale aspect
known TO everybody However, the mere
manner Of dying may determine an excep-
ton to this rule So the face presents
blush coioration. where death has been the
result OF a disturbance In the functions OF
the lungs Tor, TO be more exact, OF the lesser
circulation Here We can enumeTate all
cases OF hanging, drowning. suffocation, coal
gas, poisoning. etc
OTHER EXCEPTIONS.
A still more striking, but also rare excep-
ton, occurs In people with habitually red
faces In their case bright arterial hue
may remain up to the time OF burial,
although death may he absolute in every
sense People also believe that hand held
up against a light denotes life as long as the
margin shows q reddish, semi transparent
aspect While this test 10 q reliable one, 1t
does not hold true In people dead With
dropsy Here the Transparency will be pre-
served in spite of death Another sign
formerly employed by medical men as In
fallible has spread among the public 1t 10
known that the application OF mustard to
the skin causes redness and blisters in the
living body We can therefore always con-
clude as to the persistence Of life whenever
such an application reacts Unfortunately.
however, the plaster might not show any re-
suits when life Is not yet extinct and recovery
Is still possible This has been observed in
cases Of extreme intoxication by means OF
narcotics, such as morphine The fact that
pricking of the skin is followed by the ap
pearance OF a drop Of blood Is often cited as
q proof for the existence of life. Now,
everybody knows that such Is possible also
some limited time after death, although the
manner Of appearing and the shape and
color OF the drop differ from that drawn
from a living body The peculiar signs men,
toned at the beginning Of this article, and
usually considered conclusive, also find
more natural explanations than the absurd
theory OF apparent death
body may change its original position
while being lowered into the grave Biting
in the fingers and scratches in the face may
Re due to rats infesting the grave yards;
noises referred to a coffin are usually the re-
suit Of an over excited imagination In fact,
there Is no sense more liable to deception
than addition, especially when we want to
hear Everybody remembers, perhaps, how
often he thought he heard the train arrive
when anxiously waiting for it
THRILLING STORIES
There is, however, good reason to think
that many OF these stories are manufactured
without the presence or observation even OF
any OF the above signs Ii is only natural to
the human mind that. with their profound
exciting power, they should be i'll equal de-
mand with the over and again repeated
ghost and snake stories IL would be pity
to leave them out from the list, when the
narrator can enjoy the pleasure OF seeing an
eager audience follow every motion Of his
trnost usually bep lips, aud then, how sub
lime to be looked upon as the witness, or as
even u moro interested party, Of such
thrilling experienced 1t IL worth the sacrifice
Of a little veracityl In fact, every careful
observer cannot fail to discover In the nu-
merous accounts the variations Of ono orig
inal, true or fanced case to suit the particu.
lar taste Of the author
But there " one pOst-mortem occurrence
which, at least to the laity, might at first
seem Incompatible with death. 1t IL some
times observed that dead people will change
the position OF certain parts So 1t IL seen
that after life has escaped the mouth 10 open.
because the lower jaw. following the Laws Of
gravity. hangs down dropping In some
four to twelve hours the mouth may be found
closed This II due TO the peculiar phenomr
enon known by the name rigor mortiA which,
being essentially a coagulation Of the muscle
substance, results in contraction aud the
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