The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1889-05-04
SHE AROSE FROM DEATH.
A ST. LOUIS WOMAN WHO JUST
ESCAPED BEING BURIED ALIVE.
She Is Pronounced Dead by Physicians,
Placed In Her Conn, When the Voice
OF Her Little Son Awakens Her-she
Lives.

ST. LOUIS, No., May 3.-An afternoon
paper prints a sensational story OF case
oil catalepsy reported from South st. Louis,
the name being suppressed for the alleged
reason that the victim was 30 weak that
the excitement certain to be aroused by a
knowledge ef her identity and consequent
calls by curious neighbors would be fatal.
The story is to the effect that young mar
ried woman, twenty-three years OF age,
was in her coffin and about to be taken
out for burial, when her husband saw her
arm move. He ordered her taken out Of
the coffin at once and called in two physi-
clans who, after an examination, pro-
nounced life not extinct, and began pro-
cess OF resuscitation. Their efforts were
successful and the woman was in
short time brought back to consciousness.
This story was obtained from her sister,
young married woman, who lives at II
South Fourth street. The sister related
the following facts in connection with the
strange case
Last Monday my sister, who had been
sick but a few days, died, as far as we
could see, and the attending physician
pronounced her dead, and her husband
proceeded to make arrangements for the
funeral. A coffin was secured, and when
the supposed corpse was dressed it was
laid in the coffin. The intention was To
have the funeral Tuesday afternoon.
Friends Of the family visited the house,
and mourned over the body from which
the spirit had, II was believed, departed.
On Tuesday afternoon, short time be-
fore the closing OF the coffin was TO have
taken place, my brother-in-law was stand
ing beside the bier looking on the face Of
his wife when his little boy came into the
room and said: 81 want TO see mamma"
Just then the arm OF my sister moved.
Her husband saw il aud was naturally
very much startled. He informed those
in the room in an excited manner OF
what he had seen, and my sister was at
once taken from the coffin and placed on
a bed and two physicians summoned.
They placed glass in front of my sis.
ter's face, and all could at once perceive
the signs OF breath on ii. They then be.
gan 10 work with her, and after n short
while more positive signs OF life began to
appear. She kept getting better all the
time, until finally she became conscious.
The most terrible feature about il all is
that she knew perfectly everything that
was going on around her. When she was
being dressed for burial she realized what
was being done, and tried her best to show
signs Of life, but could not do so. When
she was placed in the coffin an awful feel
ing OF what was TO be her doom
came over her, she says, and she
tried TO scream, and she thought
that she had succeeded, but, OF couse
she did not. When she came 10 and 70.
lated TO us an account OF the mental tor
ture she had experienced during the time
her trance lasted. she said: "Where
were you all when l screamed" We
told her that she had not screamed or we
surely would have heard her. "Well,"
she said, 81 tried 10 scream and thought
that once had succeeded in emitting q
shrek" When she was lying in the
coffin she tried TO move but failed until
her little child came running into tho
room and asked TO look at her. Then her
arm cramped, and her husband, who was
standing by the coffin. fortunately hap.
pencd 10 see IT, Had he not she would
have been buried alive.
The story was further corroborated by
Mr.. Harlwig. a grocery keeper at S27
South Fourth street, who said he saw the
girl who told the story, dressed in black
and crying, going by his store Monday,
and when his wife asked her what the
matter was she said her sister was dead
aud she was going 10 the funeral She
aiierward told them the story OF her sister
being brought back TO life. All efforts 10
ascertain the name Of the woman who
came 80 near being buried alive or the
names Of the physicians in attendance
have thus Ear inilcd.