Idaho County free press. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho Territory) 1886-current, 1889-01-11
DIR. TANNERS IDEAS.
HE TALKS OF PREMATURE BURIAL
AND SUSPENDED ANIMATION.
The Dead In This Country Are Buried in
Criminal Haste--The Subtle Principle Of
Life-The Doctor Convinced That Man
Can Hibernate.

Can hIDernate.
Eight years have gone since DR.. II. S.
Tanner performed his wonderful feat of
lasting forty days and nights in Clarendon
hall, in New York city. For sixteen days
he touched neither water nor food After
the sixteenth day he began to drink water,
and subssted on this alone during tho re
naming twenty-four days of his fast
The 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
of u man in perfect health, and with
rotundity of form indicative rather of tho
bon vivant than of man who eats only
two meals day in summer and only one
in winter.
Where have you been keeping your
self, doctor?" asked a reporter, after
friendly greetings had been exchanged.
Il have just returned from New Mex
leo, where | have been for nearly four
years, pursuing certain Investigations of
Il scientific nature. | am much interested
III the subject of suspended animation or
counterfeit death. am convinced that u
tar greater percentage of people are
buried alive than even those who have
ever given the matter much thought
would be willing to believe In no coun-
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 | have
accumulated is startling. tell you, it is
murder, horrible murder, and it is high
lime some agitation was started for the
purpose of securing needed legislation on
the subject of the burial OF the dead
THE MOVEMENT IN 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 love lies in the
precautions that are 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 Hol
land were among the first to awaken to
the Importance of this subject, and in
1864 a society was organized in Amster-
dam for the purpose of looking into cases
where death seemed counterfeit rather
than real In less than four wears thew
had resuscitated-saved from entombment
alive--no less than 100 persons In 1868
the authorities at Milan and Venice, and
those at Hamburg, followed the example
set by Holland, and a little later similar
societies were formed at London, Paris
and Glasgow. AS result of the work and
| lnvestl @atlons of these societies, among
the members of which were some of the
| foremost scientists of the times, it has
been proved that in great number of
cases where every known test had been
applied and preparations made for the
burial the subjects had recovered These
experiences led Professor Moriue of the
| University of Rome, to offer prize of
! l,500 francs for the best essay on appar-
ent death; and the Marquis dOuche left
2O,OJO francs to be used III discovering the
best means that could be applied in de-
tecting the counterfeit of death And SO
IL all countries statistics colated on this
subject are startling, as revealing the
danger of premature burial"
Now don't you think" asked the
doctor, that this is subject that PEG.
pic should discuss, should be walked up
NboutY'
What remedy have you to offer,
| DOCTOR
simply this: HOLLAND it certainly
cannot be successfully contradicted-that
the setting in of decomposition is the
only certain sign of death. In the alb
senco of this burial should be DELAYED
| ",
long as there is no decay life may hang bv
Il feeble thread, and. by that subtlcness
Of which | have already spoken, the re.
covery be spontaneous.
THE DOCTOR WILL HIBERNATE.
Another discovery that | have made, "
said the doctor, lis that alternating ami
mails do not use their lungs during the
period of Information. For several years
| have been studying the habits of this
class OF animals, and, do you know, |
i'm about convinced that man can Liber.
aate'-
Here the reporter must have looked the
ncrcdulity he Ielt, for the doctor fastened
20 explain: Take the bear for example;
its organs of respiration are the same as
nan S, and it hibernates for months with
put food or drink. | have also been
studying the philosophy of the adopts
who used to be able to go into the death
rance at will. Their preparation for this
,7as long fasting, and the trance condi.
ton following was, in my opinion, q sea
son of Information. am studying now
With a view of making some experiments
IN this line, and the time may come when
| will permit myself to DO sealed UP in an
III tight coffin and laid away until such
time as | shall designate for it to be
opened
'But. doctor, you will not expect tc
come out of test like that alive, will
your
Yes. indeed" was tho earnest reply
Il have twice been near the portals Of
the tomb in my studies of this subject OF
life principle and OF suspended animation
and firmly believe | can go still nearer
that can to all outward appearances be
dead, and, remaining that way for {
length Of time, can still come back liv
ia Mitness Ct to truth Of my theories
and Investigations. "
Speaking of his fast, he said: 9Th,
fact is, with most people the body rules
the mind, while the reverse should be the
case--tho mind should control the body
Appetite, and it may be dcpraved one
cla.aor5 for this or that desired article
and people rush off to crafty it. Wher
| began my forty days fasting said tt
my stomach: Here, old fellow, | have
job ior YOU | want yoa to take goot
long rest, and | want no grumbling about
it. That settled it. At 10 o'clock of til,
last day Of l3v fast when | l.s6 onlv tvf