The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-03-30

About six years ago there was studying at a
noted eastern medical university an extreme
ly bright and promising young fellow from
Tennessee. He was distinguished among his
fellows for his absolute fearlessness. Many
CHASTITY joke have they put up on him to
shake him from his pinnacle of courage, but
he remained undaunted They resolved to
give him mighty test. They dared him to
sit alone through the night in the dissecting
room in the presence of a corpse. He ac-
cepted the challenge.
Tho diSSecting room was long, narrow
chamber with door at each end, with sew
eral suggestive tables in the middle and rang
ing shelves of surgical instruments on the
walls
Into this room was brought the body of
man who had committed suicide Il couple of
days before. The body was laid on a slab at
One end of the room. At the other end was
a table, with a students lamp in the center
and covered with books Two loaded re-
volvers were laid on the table side by side.
The student had placed them there as pre-
cautionary measure But the men who were
testing his nerve took the bullets out of the
revolvers and replaced them with blank cart
ridges. Early in the evening the student en-
tered the room, examined the corpse, Lit his
lamp and sat down at his table and began to
read He became deeply absorbed in what
he was ading and was oblivious TO his sur
roundings. His fellows, who were watching
him through a crack in the door at the other
end of the room, took advantage Of his alb
sorption and one of them, clad in long
white robe, quietly entered the room and
took the corpse from the slab and placed it
underneath table. He then lag down on
the slab in the place of the corpse. The stu
dent, intensely interested in his book, heard
nothing and did not lookup.
He read on for another half hour, when he
heard a slight noise. He looked up and
ne turned white as he noticed one arm OF the
corpse slowly moving. he was totally I'M
suspicious of any trick The supposed corpse
slowly sat bolt upright. After a moment it
rose to its feet and stood perfectly still The
fellows, who were watching through the
farther door, noticed that the student was
deathly pale and seemed dazed. But he did
f1nt lose his nerve He jumped up, seized
revolver in either hand and faced the sup
posed corps6. The corpse took a long step
towards him, then slowly advanced The
student commanded it to stop. No response,
but the corpse kept advancing Again the
student, evidently crazed at the sight, COM
lmEnded it to halt. No attention was paid to
Nis demand, and the corpse was gradually
nearing him.
Tie youth, who was enacting the part of
the corpse, raised his hand, pretended to catch
the bullet Che had hand full of them, and
threw it back at the student. Again the lat
ter fired, and again and again, until he had
discharged the twelve cartridges. After
each shot the bullet was tossed back at him.
The pistols fell out of the students hands
and he dropped dead.
STORY FROM BUFFALO.
The following curious story is told by
well known gentleman of Buffalo:
I'm the summer of 1885 death took from
me beloved younger brother. He had lived
in my family almost ever since my marriage
and commanded from myself and wife double
affection, for he seemed to US both son and
brother. When living with US in health he
occupied two rooms, one large front room
with an outer door opening on the piazza.
Diagonally across from this-in the opposite
corner of the other side of the room-the door
opened from his bedroom into his sitting
room. The outer door of his sitting room
had venetian blinds attached to the outer
casing, thus allowing the door to be open
while the blinds could be closed and fastened,
giving increased circulation OF air while In
surfing against intrusion.