The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1889-07-06
LIFE IN THE SEVERED HEAD.

The Survival Of Consciousness After Dseapits'
tion Proven.
A volume has just been published
at Paris in which DR.. Paul Loye, un-
der the title of LA Mort par In De
capitation,' studies the question as
to whether, after decapitat;on, con-
scioushess survives Tor O short time
i'll Il severed head and physical suffer-
ing is felt in both parts of the execut-
ed body.
Every time u head falls under q
sword or under the cxecutioner's TX,
says Dr.. Loyle, the imagination Of
the spectators has, i'll the phys:oy,
homS IF the victim, looked for proofs
of the survival of will and conscious
ness. The eyes turned, which was IA
sign of pain; the lips moved, which
showed that they wanted to speak;
the mouth opened, hi order to bite,
lii d kind Of fury. There is not a
movement of the face viii III has not
been interpreted as a mark of the
continuation of feeling. And ever
since the guillotine moved down the
heads Of multitudes during the reign
of terror, scientists have stood
around the scnffold, bidding oil their
humane faculties vanish, and concen-
trating their whole intellect on the
one question. 'Does conscious
ness remain n.ter the victims head
is severed from the body?"
In connection with this belief DR..
Loye quotes a terrible story told by
NJ. Petitgand about an Anamite
who was beheaded by the sword in
1875 at Saigon;
The place of execution was the
Plain of Tombs, u vast sandy tract,
serving Us cemetery to the Ahamites
and the chinese: -Four Anamite
pirates, taken with their arms in
their hands, were to be bcheaded.
The chief Of the band, man in the
prime oflite, energetic, muscular, brave
without boasting land firm to the very
last, had attracted my special at
tention, and | decided to make my
observations on him only. Without
losing sight ot him for a single mo-
lnent 1 exchanged d few words in o
loud voice with the officer in charge,
and noticed that the patient was al
so looking at me with the liveliest at
tention. The preparations having
been completed, l took my stand at
the distance about two yards from
him. He knelt down, but before
bending his head he exchanged a
rapid look with me.
His head felldown at the distance
of about a yard and quarter from
where | stood. 1t did not roll in the
usual way, but stood with the sur
face of the wound resting on the sa I'd,
a position Ivy which the hemorrage
was accidentally reduced to a mini
mum. At this moment | was terror
stricken at seeing the eyes of the
doomed man fixed frankly on my
eyes. Not daring to believe in con-
scious manifestation, l went quickly
to one side of the head lying at my
feet, and | found that the eyes fol-
lowed me. Then | returned to my
first position, still the eyes went
with me for O short distance and
then quilted me quite suddenly.
The face expressed at that moment
a conscious agony, the agony of o
person in state of acute asphyxia.
The mouth opened violently as il
to take in a breath of air, and the
head thrown off it's equilibrium by
the motion rolled over. This con.
traction of the maxillary muscles
was the sign of life. Since the mo-
ment of decapitation from fifteen to
twenty seconds had passed. New
York Press.