The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-12-22
HE CAME TO IN THE GRAVE.
Tho Horrible Death of u Man in the City
--.----- Of Denver.

In0 hOfrlDl0 De0th Oh u MAN In the City
Of Denver.
DENVER, Dec 2l.-A horrible story of a
man being buried alive while supposed to
be dead is published here. On Sunday,
Nov. 30, Louis Brenner, thirty-fve years of
ago, an employe of the South Park railway
shops, was supposed to have died from
over-indulgence in malt stimulants. His
funeral was set for Dec. 2, under the aus
pices Of one of the local tribes of Rcd Men.
There was nothing unusual about
the services until the coffined body
was placed in the hearse. Then, for
some unexplained reason, the horses, which
had been used for this purpose for years.
refused to 60 and became SO unruly that
they had to be changed for another team.
When the cortege was ready to move. the
horses of Henry Speck, one of the mourners
positively refused to move, and he was
obliged to procure another animal. 70
add to the list of uncommon and uncanny
events, q runaway team crossed the funeral
procession ON the way to Riverside ceme.-
terry, and collided with buggy containing
two of the friends of the deceased. The
men escaped injury. but the buggy was
badly damaged.
Arriving at the cemetery the coffin was
tendants, to the disgust Of the mourners.
Another and more sickening accident
awaited them. As the coffin was being low
cred into the grave one of the ropes broke,
and for n moment the people were Mortified
by seeing the coffin standing on end in the
the Red Men it is provided for the liberation
of dove from q small box placed on the
coffin, just AZ the first handful Of dirt is
thrown into the grave. This was finally
done after the coffin had been properly
placed in the grave. With feeling akin to
superstitious terror. some Off the mouners
saw the dove futter from it's cage and alieht
at the very edge of the grayo. It would not
take wing until it was frightened away by
the men who piled the dirt over the narrow
home Of the deceased.
There were unusually thoughtful faces in
the procession that wended its way slowly
from the city Of the dead. The more super
stitious began to ponder over the matter,
and finally decided to disnter the remains.
This work was done a week ago last Sunday,
and to their unspeakable horror they dis
covered as soon as the lid of the coffin box
was raised, that the coffin itself was split
and the glass in the cover was broken. as
il the dead had come to life, and in the u.l-
utterable agony of q realization of his posi-
ton, had struggled with the mad despera-
tion of helplessness to free himself from
the very grip of a death whose horrors can
be but feebly imagined by the living.
The coffin lid was raised and the full
horror burst upon them. The body was
lying on its face. The Innings of the coffin
had been torn to shreds, the hair was
pulled out Of the head, the arms were
bent and the hands 60 tightly clenched that
the finger nails had been sunk into the
flesh. The face of the dead man was dis
torted from the awful struggle through
which the man had passed and the cheeks
showed that in his FRENZY the men en-
tombed alive had dug his nails deep into
them. Horror stricken at the discovery
they had made, the friends first made sure
that life was indeed extinct and then re-
placed the lid Of the coffin, reflled the
grave and left the place.