News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-06-06
LIFE IN THE SEVERED HEAD.
The Survival of Consciousness After
Decapitation Proven.

A volume has just been published at
Paris i'll which DIR. Paul Loye, under
the title of " La Mort par la Decapita-
ton, studies the question as to whether,
after dccapitation, consciousness survives
for a short time in the severed head
and physical suffering is felt IN both
parts of the executed body.
Every time n head falls under the
sword or executioner's AK, says Dr.
! Loye, the imagination of the spectators
/ has, in the physiOgnOmy of the victim,
! looked for proofs of the survival of will
and consciousness. The eyes turned,
which was sign of pain the lips
moved, which showed that they wanted
to speak; the mouth opened, III order
to bite, in Il kind of fury. There is not
a movement of the face which has not
been interpreted as mark of the con-
tinuation of feeling. And ever since
the guillotine moved down the heads of
multitudes during the reign OF terror,
scientists have stood around the scat
fold, bidding all their humane faculties
vanish, and concentrating their whole
intellect ON the one question, "DOes
consciousness remain after the victims
head is severed from the body?"
In connection with his belief DR.. Loye
quotes terrible story told by M. Petit
gand about an Anamite who was be-
headed by the sword i'll 1876 at Saigon
"The place of execution was the
Plain of Tombs, a vast sandy tract, serv-
ing as cemetery to the Anamites and
Chinese. Four Anamite pirates, taken
with their arms in their hands, were to
be behcaded The chief of the band, q
man in the prime of life, energetic,
muscular, brave without boasting, and
firm to the very last, had attracted my
special attention, and L decided to make
my observations on him only. Without
losing sight of him for single moment
/ exchanged few words in n loud voice
with the officer in charge, and noticed
that the patient was also looking at me
with the liveliest attention. The prep
arations having been completed, l took
my stand at the distance of about two
yards from him. He knelt down, but
before bending his head he exchanged
rapid look with me.
"His head fell down at the distance
of about yard and a quarter from
where 1 stood. 1t did not roll in the
usual way, but stood with the surface of
the wound resting ON the sand, posi-
ton by which the hemorrhage was ac-
cidentally reduced to q minimum. AT |
this moment l was terror stricken at |
seeing the eyes of the doomed man fixed
frankly ON my eyes. Not daring to be-
lieve in conscious manifestation, L
went quickly to one side of the head
lying at my feet, and 1 found that the
eyes followed me. Then L returned to |
my first position; still the eyes went
with me for short distance and then
quilted me quite suddenly. The face
expressed at that moment a conscious
agony, the agony of a person in state
of acute asphyxia. The mouth opened
violently as if to take in a breath Of air,
and the head, thrown off its equilibrium
by the motion, rolled over. This con-
traction of the maxillary muscles was
the last sign of life. Since the moment |
of decapitation from fifteen to twenty |
seconds had passed.