The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-05-08
THE SURE TEST OF DEATH.
TANNER ON SUSPENDED ANIMATION.
The Famous Faster Declares That De-
composition - the Only Positive Sign
That Life Has Left the Body
Some Interesting Cases.

CHICAGO May 4-Dr Tanner. the famou
faster is in this city. lie is interested in the
question of suspended animation and this led
to a conversation with him in regard to the
case of the young woman, Wilhelmina Stahl, o
Jefferson park, whose body showed no signs of
decomposition when buried yesterday though,
according to scientific tests, she had been dead
ten days.
Dr.. Tanner said: There is positively only
one sure test of death and that is decOmposi-
ton, and an advanced stage of that ANY other
test applied by a physician is absolutely use
less and proves nothing. / see that the doctors
who had been waiting on Miss StahI cut the
tibeal arteries to show the relatives that circu-
lation had stopped, and TO prove conclusively,
as they supposed, the death of the patient.
Well, now, if that girl happened to have been
in trance, as we say suffering from suspended
animation, why, then, so soon as she revived
she would bleed to death in few minutes, and
the doctors who perpetrated that fendish out
rage would be virtually murderers.
Il take 1t that what may say on this subject
would have little weight, because the en-
lightened public Is aware Of the utter unre-
liability of doctors decision that person is
dead. The cases of suspended animation, in
which the facts were discovered too late, are
entirely too numerous. They speak for them
selves. Here this young woman in Jefferson
has now been apparently dead nine days, and
still no sign OF decomposition appears. What
can this mean but one thing, and that is, that
from some cause decomposition has been kept
oil; life IS all that would do that outside the
OF embalming fluids, which have never been
used in this case so | am told have case
in my mind where the body of young man was
buried in a haste, and in three years the body
was removed and found to be not decOmposed.
The physicians considered that factstrange, and
laid the body on the dissecting table 10 study
II. An incisiOn was made with q scalpel, and
instantly the man rose, being thoroughly
resuscitated. He lived for yesrs, too.
Il had the pleasure last fall of interviewing
lady near indianapolis. who came to life after
fourteen days of suspended animation. Her
little brother chung 10 her against the will of
the parents. Six doctors came in and made
their usual tests, and at last il ws5 considered
foolish TO keep the body any longer. The boy
threw himself upon his sister and said they
should not put her into the ground. Mind you
six physicians had declared her dead.
No, no, sir, she is not dead cried the
brother.
Accidentally she pushed aside the bandage
which held her jaw in place. 1t fell, and the
people in the room saw IT, The brother saw it.,
too, and noticed that his sisters tongue was
slowly moving.
see. see he cried she is alive
They all saw and were Mortified.
What do you want, sister? asked the boy
Water, water came the answer from the
woman supposed TO be dead.
They gave her water and she revived, and is
still living, having since married. i had talk
with her shortly after am making this sub
ject my special study, and tell you it horrifes
me to learn all that is going OIL.
at is impossible to tell what person is so
constituted as TO be liable to fall into a trance
therefore, friends ought not 10 rely on the mere
word OF physician. Ii does no harm 10 wait a
few days. AS long as the body maintains a
good appearance it will hurt nothing to delay
the burial. From the beginning OF this year 1
kept account OF the cases OF suspended ANNA
ton discovered and reported in the papers.
They averaged one a week in the United States.
That is fact which should cause physicians to
be very careful when they pronounce patients
dead"