The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1890-12-20
Horrible Case of Suspended
Animation Being Taken
for Death.
Uncommon Occurrences and Uncanny
Events on the Day OF the
Funeral Ceremonies.
Sickening Scenes Presented at the
Time Of the Disinterment
Of the Remains.

DENVER. Col, Dec. IA horrible
story of a man being buried alive while
supposed to be dead has come 10 light
here. On Sunday, Nov. 10, Louis Bren.
ner, 35 years of age, an employe of the
South Park Railway shops, was sup
posed to have died from ovarindulgence
In malt stimulants His funeral was set
for Dec. 2, under the auspices OF one OF
the local tribes OF Red 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 go, and became 30 unruly that
they had to be changed for another
team. When the cortege was ready to
move the horse OF Henry Speck, one of
the mourners, positively refused To
move and he was obliged TO procure
another animal 10 add 10 the list of un-
common and uncanny events. A run
away team crossed the funeral process
sion on the way to the Riverside ceme-
terry and coili1ed with buggy contain
Ing two OF the friends of the deceased.
The men escaped injury, but the buggy
was badly damaged. Arriving at the
the hearse by laundering attendants, to
the disgust of the mourners
Another and more sickening accident
awaited them. AS the coffin was being
lowered into the grave one of the ropes
broke, and for moment the people were
horritied by seeing the coffin standing on
end in the grave, According to the
burial services of the Red Men II II pro-
vlded for the liberation Of q dove from
small box placed on the coffin Just as 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 q feeling akin 10 super
stttious terror, some OF the mourners saw
the dove fIutter from its cage and alight
at the very edge Of the grave. It would
not take wings until frightened away by
the men who piled the dirt over the
narrow home of the supposed deceased
There were unusually thoughtful faces
in the procession that wended It's way
slowly from the city of the dead. The
more superstitlous began TO ponder over
the matter, and finally decided TO
disinter the romans. This work was
done one week ago last sun
day, and to their unspeakable
lid OF the coffin box was raised that the
coffin itself was split and the glass Ia the
cover was broken, as II the dead had
come to life, and I'm the unutterable
agony OF realization of his position had
struggled with the mad desperation of
hopelessness and helplessness to free
himself from the very grasp Of death
whose horrors can be but feebly imag-
ined by the living.
The coffin lid was raised. aud 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 so tightly clinched
that the finger nails had been sunk into
the flesh. Horror-stricken at the discov-
cry they had made, the friends first made
sure that life was indeed extinct, and
then replaced the lid Of the coffin, reiilled
the grave and left the place.