The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1889-02-28
BURIED ALIVE.
Terrible Instances Of Being EntOmDsd
Alive.


women are annually taken to their
graves" Were 1t possible to get at the
truth the victims in this country alone
might be numbered by many scores
possibly by hundreds.
Mr.. G. Eric Mackay, in BelgrdViG, gives
O very interesting article on the subject Of
Premature Burials," in which he points
out how difficult 1t is to discern death
from state Of trance-indeed, he goes 30
far as to claim that the difference has
never been clearly understood by the
generality Of mankind. The article calls
attention to several instances Of prema-
ture burials on the continent Of Europe
instances which involve stories Of trance,
the semblance Of death holding its sway
over the human body for hours and days,
and not merely for minutes, as in the case
Of ordinary fainting fits. In his opening
remarks the writer says:
'rIn days when land is dear, and burial
rights less sacred than the rights Of build
ers and contractors, cofins have been
opened with the pickax, in the act Of con-
verting cemeteries into streets and gar
dens. Here grave has been discovered
whose inmate has turned in it's shroud /;
here q corpse clutching its hair in q
strained and unnatural position; dead
men and dead women lying in their
graves as the dead never lie in Christian
country at the moment Of burial" Mr..
Mackay gives an account Of q young and
beautiful woman, who, it is supposed.
died Of excitement at the prospect Of be-
ing married. When the first shoyelful Of
dirt was thrown on the coffin a strange
noise was heard from the inside. The
coffin was unscrewed, but too late, the
girl was found in an attitude Of horror
and pain impossible to describe, her eyes
wide open, her teeth clenched, her hands
clutching her hair; but life was extinct.
An instance showing the utter depravity
Of the Italian undertakers and grave dig
gers Is given in which they actually tried
to snatch the body Of a lady from friends,
one Of whom thought she was not dead as
they were about to drag 1t from the bed,
the dead body" moaned, and soon aft
erwards was thoroughly revived by q
medical practitioner Of the neighborhood,
and lived to tell the story Of her escape
from the tomb. A learned cardinal in
Cured the displeasure Of the king, and,
on being rebuked, fell to the ground, to
all appearance, dead. It was decided that
the unfortunate cardinal should be en-
balmed, but when the surgeons began
their operations the patient awoke, but
too late, for the wounds were mortal. A
case Is given in which young lady arose
out Of her coffin and appeared before the
family at supper, "pale and frightened,
but fair to see as before DEATH" The
doctor, the priest, and the undertaken
saw the error Of their way, but the priest
alone made amends, by officiating at the
young lady's wedding year after he had
preached her funeral sermon. Petrarch,
when q middle aged man, lay twenty
hours in a trance, and narrowly escaped
~ s Duu An,e' w nAve oisen neAiu
buried alive and released from her pain
full position by robbers, who broke open
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