Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-05-16
Saved From The Tomb
A Young st. Louis Woman Narrowly
Escapes Being Buried Alive.
4 Startling Story.

Startling Story.
Sr. LOUIS, Moan afternoon paper
prints sensational story of remarka-
BILE case of catalepsy reported from South
st. Louis, the name being suppressed for
the alleged reason that the victim is so
weak that the excitement certain TO be
aroused by knowledge OF her identity
and consequen calls by curious neigh
bors would be fatal. The story is to the
effect that Young married woman, 25
years of age, was in her coffin and about
70 be token out for burial, when her hus-
band saw her arm move, ordered her to
be taken out of the coffin at once, called
In two physicians, who, after an examina-
ton, pronounced life not extinct, and be-
gan a process of resu5citation. Their eff
forts were successful, and the woman
was in a short time brought back to con-
seriousness. This story was obtained from
her sister, young married woman, who
lives at 721 South Fourth street. The
sister related the following facts in con-
nection with the strange case:
"Last Monday my sister, who had been
sick but few days, died. as far as we
could see, and the attending physician
PRONOUNCED HER DEAD,
and her husband proceeded to make ar
rangements for the funeral. A coffin was
secured, and when the supposed corpse
WAS dressed it was laid in the cuffia. The
intention was to have tbs funeral Tues
day afternoon. Friends of the family
visited the house, and mourned over the
body from which the spirit had, as all be-
lieved, departed. On Tuesday afternoon,
short time before the closing of the
coffin was to have taken place, my brother
in-law was standing beside the bier look
ing on the face of his wife, when mis- little
boy came into the court and said: ~ want
to look at mamma" Just then the arm
of my sister moved. Her husband saw it
and was naturally very much startled. He
informed those in the room in an excited
manner of what he had seen, and my sis
ter was at once taken from the coffin and
placed on a bed and two physicians sum
moned.
"They placed a glass in front of my
sisters face and could at once perceive
the signs of breath upon it; they then
began to work with her, and after a short
while more positive signs of life began to
appear. She kept breathing better all
the time, al d finally she became conscious.
THE MOST TERRIBLE
about it all is that she knew perfectly
everything that gong on around her.
When she was being dressed for burial
she realized what was being done, and
tried her best to show signs of life, but
could not do SO. When she was placed
in the coffin an awful feeling of what was
to be her doom came over her, and she
says she tried to scream and thought that
she succeeded, but of course she did not.
"When she came to she realized to Us
the mental torture she had experienced
during the time her trance lasted. She
said:
"'Where we're you all when 1 scream
ed?'
"We told her that she had not scream
ed or we surely would have heard her.
"'Well,' she said, Il surely tried to
scream often, and thought that once 1
had succeeded in uttering Shrek
'When she was lying in the coffin she
tried to move, but failed until her little
child came running into the room and
asked to see her. Then her arm cramped,
and her husband, who was standing by
the coffin, fortunately happened to see it.
Had he not, she would certainly have been
buried alive"
The story was further corroborated by
A. Hartwig, grocery keeper at No. S27
South Fourth street, who Said he saw the
girl who told the story, dressed in black
and crying, going by his store Monday,
and when his wife asked her what the
matter was, she said her sister was dead
and she was going to the funeral. She
afterwards told them the story of her
sister being Brought back to life. All
efforts to ascertain the name of the wo-
man who came so near being buried alive
or the names of the physicians in attend
anee have thus far failed.