Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-10-14
THREE DAYS in A COFFIN.
T''s G'ewsome Experience OF Lawyer D,
Catzleptio Trance.

TIE Giewsome Experience OF q Lawyer In
Catzleptio Trance.
ut was horrible horrible. sir-I lay In
that coffin alive, and Just as conscious OF
what was going ON around me as I am at this
moment. have always been Of hysterical
temperament, and ON one grievous occasion
had lain In cataleptic state for twenty-four
hours This last time | lay for three DAYS
perfectly conscious, as I said before, but to
all appearances as dead as Cesar"
The speaker was well known attorney Of
St. Paul who related the story Of his thrilling
experience with catalepsy conditionally that
his name be withheld from publication.
ut has been said,n continued the hero OF
this blood curdling adventure, "that there
are tnfallible signs which denote death, and
are unmistakabls 20 tho practiced eye Of the
medico. deny that such Is the case, and no
one has had better opportunity Of Judging
than have When I died, or rather when
three OF the best known medical men In Bos-
ton asserted that | was dead, had been for
three days previous 10 my supposed demise
In a condition OF violent hysteria bordering
almost ON insanity, owing 10 the death OF
sister whom loved 70 distraction. At the
expiration OF that time subsidized into the
condition | have previously described Ny
death was attributed by the learned disciples
OF Asculapius 70 disease Of ths heart The
three old fogies held consultation over me.
and heard them discuss the advisability Of
Post-mortem exaSnination, there being a
slight dllggrcnse~ OF opinion among them as
to what was the actual cause
AT this time was lying on board, per-
fectly rigid, and fully realized the fact that
should be buried alive II | couldn't brace
up and explain matters within the next few
hours. l Immediately blessed my mother
n g.. st..i- Ifa,r
old butchers 20 go for me with their knives.
That's all that saved me, I tell you This
seems a wild story, but Just the same it's a
true one. Why, ] can even remember laugh
hg quietly 10 myself 70 think that the win
dows had been opened all around the room.
IL was devilish cold weather too, but could
not feel the cold much. / knew, however,
that those windows had been opened TO pre-
vent the decomposition OF my III used frame.
How did get out OF the fix Well It was
just by the skin OF my teeth. When tho un-
a dertaker and his fool assistant brought the
coffin and was lifted into It knew at once
1. that ths.cQitn was too short and Just ached
ks $780,, It couldn't speak a word 10 save
II Hwas tongue tied hadn't control Of
Hourthscle The merest accident In the world
prevented my being buried alive I had been
lying In the awful condition have described
for over three days when the beast OF an un-
dertaker came around again b. screw up the
Il coffin
A tack had been left sticking out from the
II drapory gracing the interior OF the sarcoph-
II agus, and the fellow Ia the coffin business
commenced a series Of vicious labs at Il with
sharp edged screw driver. On one Of these
the instrument struck n nail head and, flying
OH at a tangent, took me on the Jaw with
considerable force The blood spouted forth,