Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1889-01-25
DIR. TANNERS IDEAS.
HE TALKS OF PREMATURE BURIAL
AND SUSPENDED ANIMATION.

LIfe-The Doctor Convinced That Man
Can Hibernate.
Eight years havo conc since Dr. II. S.
Tanner performed his wonderful feat of
fasting forty days and nights in Clarendon
hall, in New York city For sixteen DAYS
he touched neither water nor fool After
the sixteenth day he began to drin,: water.
and subsisted on this alone during the n.
naming twenty four days of his fast.
Inc public has not heard much of the
plucky little doctor for the last few years
but not long ago he turned up in Chicago,
bright and clipper, splendid specimen
or man in perfect health, and with O.
rotundlty OF form Indicative rather of tho
bon vivant than of man who eats only
Two meals day in summer and only ono
in winter.
''Whero have you been keeping vour.
self. doctorY" asked reporter, after
friendly greetings had been exchanged.
have just returned from New Mex.
lco' where have been for nearly four
years, pursuing certain Investigations of
scientlhc nature. | am much Interested
In the subject of suspended animation or
counterfeit death. | am convinced that n
tar greater percentage of people arc
buried alive than even those who have
ever given the matter much thourht
would be willing to believe In no co1u.
try in the world are the dead buried with
such criminal haste. | may say, as in the
United States have been looking into
this subject more or less for the last
twenty-five years, and the evidence Layo
accumulated is startling. tell you, it is
murder, horrible murder. and it is high
time some agitation was started for the
Of rtp 4
the subject of the burial of the dead.
TIE MOVEMENT Il; EUROPE.
The principle of life is so subtle. con.
tinued the doctor. that man with all his
science knows nothing about It; and the
only safeguard against the awful crime
Of burying alive those we lovo lies in the
precautions that arc taken against com
hitting their bodies to the tomb before
decomposition has set in. That is the
only unmiStakabe sign that death has
finally taken place. The people of Uol.
land were among tie first to awaken to
the Importance of this subject, and in
1854 society was organized in Amster.
dam for the purpose of looking into cases
where death seemed counterfeit rather
than real. In less than four years they
had resuscltatcd-saved from cntombmcnt
alive-no less than $50 persons In 1868
the authorities at Milan and Venice, and
those at Hamburg. followed the cxamplo
set by Holland. and littlo later similar
societies were formed at London, Paris
and Glasgow. AS q result of the work and
investigations of these societies, among
the members of which were some of the
foremost scientists of the times, it has
been proved that In n great number Of
cases where every known test had been
applied and preparations made for tho
burial tho subjects had recovered These
experiences led Professor Moriuc. of the
University of Rome, to offer u prize of
1900 francs for the best essay on apnar
ent death; and the Marquis d'Oucho left
20, 600 francs to be used in discoverlnr tho
best means that could be applied in &C.
tecting the counterfeit of death And so
III all countries statistics collated on this
subject are startling, as revealing the
danger OF premature burial"
Now don't you think" asked the
doctor, that this is O subject that peo.
pie should discuss, should DO walked up
aboutY
What remedy have you to offer,
doctor?'
Simply this: hold-and it certainly
cannot be successfully ontradicted-that
the setting in of decomposition is the
only certain sign of death In the alb
sence Of this burial should be DELAYED
weeks and months. if necessary, for SO
long as there is 10 decay life may hang by
a feeble thread, and, by that subtleness
of which | have already spoken, tho re.
covcly be spontaneous.
THE DOCTOR WILL. HIBERNATE
another discovery that have made"
said the doctor, "is that alternating cri.
mails do not use their lungs during tho
period of Information. For several Years
have been studying tho habits of this
class of animals. and, do you know, |
am about convinced that man can hibcr.
nate"---
Hero the reporter must have looked the
incredulity he felt, for the doctor fastened
to explain: Take the bear for example;
its organs of respiration arc the same as
mans, and t hibernates for months with
out food or drink. | havo also been
studying tho philosophy of tho adopts
who used TO be able to 60 into the death
trance at will. Their preparation for this
was long fasting, and the trance condi-
ton following was. in my opinion, q sea-
son Of Information. an studying row
with Il view of making some experiments
in this limo, and the time may come when
will er:hit myself TO be sealed up in an
mir tight coffin and laid away until such
time "3 shall designate for it to DO
opened"
Bat, doctor, yoa will not expect to
come out of test lillo that alive, will
your"
Yes, indeed, was tho earnest reply
Il have twice been near tho portals of
the tomb in my studies Of this subject of
life principle and of suspended animation,
AID irlaly believe can so still nearer
that can to ali outward appearances DO
dead, aad, remaining that way for
length of time, can still como back liv-
ing witness of tho truth of my theories
and Investigations.
Speaking of his fast, he said; Tho
fact =. with most people tho body rules
tho mind, while tic reverse should be tho
casc-thc mind should control the body.
Appetite, and it may be o depraved one,
clamors for this or that desired article,
and people rush off to crafty it. When
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