The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-06-15

the windows had been opened all around
the room 1t was dsvilish cold weather,
700; out could not feel the cold much. l
knew, however, that those windows had
oeen opened to prevent the decomposition
OF my lll-used frame. How did / get out
Q. the hxE Well, it was just by the skin
Si my teeth When the undertaken and
MS iool assistant brough the coffin and l
was lifted into it, knew at once that that
comm was too short, aud Just ached to say,
80, out couldn't speak word TO save my
lie. l was tongue-tide; hadn't control Of a
muscle. The merest accident in the world
prevented my being buried alive. I had
Deen lying IN the awful condition / have
described for over three days, when that
BEAST OF an undertaken came round again
TO screw up tbs lid.
tack had been left sticking out from
the drapery grazing the interior OF my
sarcophagu7, and the fellow in the coffin
business commenced a series of vicious iabs
at IL with sharped edged screw-driver
On one or these occasions the instrument
struck a Iiail-head, and flying Off at a tan
gent TOOK me on the jaw with considerable
force: The blood spurted forth and / in
sbantly regaIned the use of my limbs.
wanted to knock seven kinds of blue fire
out OF the collin man, and was out of that
IN no time. The undertaken skipped. but l
put 1t all over his assistant, l am ashamed
10 say, Tor the man was too Mortified at nv
resurrection TO defend himself in the least,
Now you can just bet I am as healthy a
man mar, as the most OF them nowadays, and
I've issued strict orders that in the event
OF my death L am not to be buried until an
artery has been opened and my decease alb
solutely proved"
A well Known st. Paul physician speaks
OF catalepSy as one of humanity's ills which
Is now receiving more attention than has
ever before been accorded it. "Catalepsy,"
ne says, seldom or never attacks people of
sluggish temperament. 1t is a form of hys-
terra, and is peculiar to persons of hyster-
lcal disposition. People get some very Gu
rlous notions about the length of time, for
instance, Tor which person may lie under
six feet of dirt, in a state of catslensv
without death ensuing. III tell you an in
cldent, few years ago there died at the
hospital In this city man about so years
OLD. He was one of those daylight seepers.
according to his own statement. and wa
held the body four days before the inter
ment occurred. OF course, the man was
shaved before being buried, and when saw
him In the coffin his face was as smooth as
an infants. The man was buried in Oak
land cemetery and news was sent to his
wife IN Chicago, who, by tie way, is now
resident OF THIS city, apprising her of the
fact
A few weeks later the lady came here
from Chicago, and not liking the place
where the body lay, she ordered the re-
mains exhumed. The lid was wrenched off
the coffin in the operation, and by the
great Scottl the fellow had raised beard
an inch long since his inteIment. The dead
mans wife remarked that ne had not been
given decent burial, and like a fool I as
sured her that her husband had been clean
shaved and buried like Christian. That
settled it. The woman at once asserted
that her husband WAS buried in a fit of cata-
lepsy, and that be must have been alive for
week for his beard to grow that long.
Reasoning was useless, and | believe the
lady holds to her original idea to this day.
Now the hair on dead body Will continue
to grow for many days after life is extinct
and this fact has in many cases given rise
to the supposition that people have been
buried alive: No, sir; in my opinion cases
of burying alive In this day and age of ths
world are few and far between, although
there are conditions under which such a
thing might occur.