Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-05-23
WAS HE MURDERED :?
Bishop the mind Reader Said to
Have Been Dissected While
in a Trance.
A Horrible Example cf the Hurl
Burly method in Which the
New York Doctors Act.
HIS MOTHER BROKEN HEARTED.
The strangest Chapter in the History of a
strange Man.

MS MoIHfk BROKEN HEAkTtD.
The strangest Chapter in the History OF a
strange Man,
NEW YORK, May 20.-Funeral ser
vices over the remains Of Mind Reader
Bishop were held at Grace Church TO.
day. The remains were inferred In
Greenwood cemetery.
New Yory Herald: The death Of
Washington Irving Bishop promises
to develop into as great and mysterious
asensa'ion ss was his life. II will pro.
badly never he kpown whether the
man was really dead or not when the
doctors dissected him. The gentlemen
who performed the operation are, OF
course. positive that life had flown and
Dr., Irwin asserts that the infalliblesi u
Of death. rigor mortls, bad set In. But
DIR. ID. c. Spiizka, who is universally
conceded to he the greatest authority
in this country on the diseases from
which Bishop is alleged to have died
told me last night that the rigidiiy Of
the limbs produced by cstalep.y could
be easily mistaken for rlgor mortis
and that there Is no test by which
death can be absolutely estab-
lisbed and that persons in a cata-
leptic trance such rs Bishop is
known to have frequently been in
before have frequently been declared
dead. Many cataleptics, in fact. are
known 10 have been buried alive.
Other physicians corroborsted DR..
Spitzks's statement and sll condemned
the holding ofthe autopsy so soon after
death and without the consent of the
dead mans relatives.
Besides this IL Was entirely illegal
even II the man was dead, aud the
grand jury may take hand in the
matter uP6er section 800 of tbe-pensl
code.
No authority is given by law cover
ing the case Of Bishop and justifying
the doctors in their proceedings. II
was clearly coroner's case. as the
man died within twenty-four hours
after DR.. Irwin was called in. and
only by the eoroner's orders could an
autopsy have been maze without the
consent OF Bishops wife or mother.
Blu, the most horrible phase Of the
case is presented. of course. by the
possibility tnat Bishop may have been
alive when he was being cut up, with
sll bis powers Of speech and movement
psralyzed, but seeing and hearing all
that was going on. This shocking
possibility is breaking the heart Of his
poor old mother, who is firmly con-
vinced that her son was in trance
and that the doctors killed him. The
old lady did not learn until yesterday
that the autopsy had been performed,
and since then her sufferngs have
been pitiful.
They murdered my poor boyn she
mosned yesterday when / called on
her at the Hoffman house. II know
they did. Oh! 1t was q cruel outrage
and 1t should have been impossible In
a free country like this. My poor,
poor boy If they bad only let him
alone be would have been all right
again in day or two. l know he
would. / have seen him again and
again In a condition where everybody
said he was dead, but knew better.
Once, some years ago, when he was
rtterly prostrated by the work OF saw
ing q number OF lives at the Tay dis
aster, he was IN trance for three
weeks. But the Scottish surgeons
were more mercIful than these, his
murderers. They spared him.. II
will kill me. this cruel work, but ]
will find strength aud life enough
TO bring these men--these butchers
to justice, II there is any to be had. /
will sacrifice everything ] have got In
this world aud all that / expect tc
punish these heartless doctors. MY
son has implored me again and again
Mother, do not let any surgeons
knife touch me after they declare me
dead. Make them wait until deeom-
position has set in I promised faith
fully, but these cruel men took sdvsn-
tage Of my absence to do their fiendish
work. Irving even carried . card
usually, asking that II anything hap-
peped to him his body should not be
mutilated, but all this availed moth
Ing. My address In Phlladelphia wss
public property, but they were AFRAID
to telegraph me or hIs wife for permis-
sion, these doctors; they were afraid
we would refuse, and they wanted bis
brain 20 they cut him up alive through
criminal stupidity. ] am subject 70
ths same cataleptic frances In which