Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-02-12
--R1 -
AFTER DECAPlTATION.
What Passes In the Brain of a Man Whose
Head Has Been Cut OF.

What Passes In the Brain of a Man Whose
Head Has Been Cut Off.
In the second part of his interesting
volume, which treats of the decapita-
ton of human beings, DR.. Loye says:
What passes in the head of decapi-
tated human being?" Is there any fact
in the oft-repeated story that the head
lives for some moments after it has been
separated from the body?" and in con-
nection with this belief DR.. Loye quotes
a terrible story told by M. Petigand
about an Anamite who was beheaded by
the sword, in 1885, at Saigon. The
place of the execution was the Plain of
the Tombs, a vast sandy tract serving
as cemetery to the Anamites and the
Chinese. Four Anamite pirates, taken
with their arms in their hands, were
to be beheaded. The chief of the
ife-energetic, muscular, brave, with
out boasting, and firm to the last, had
attracted my special attention, and I de-
cided to make my observations on him
only. His head fell down at the dis
lance of about yard and quarter from
where | stood. 1t did not roll in the
usual way, but stood with the surface of
the wound resting on the sand-a posi-
ton by which the hemorrhage was acct
this moment | was terror-struck at see
ing the eyes of the doomed man fixed
frankly on my eyes. Not daring to be-
lieve in conscious manifestation, I
went quickly to one side of the head ~
ing at my feet, and l found that the
eyes followed me. Then [ returned to
my first position; still the eyes went
with me for short distance, and then
quilted me quite suddenly. The face ex-
pressed at that moment conscious
agony, the agony of person in state of
acute asphyxia. The mouth opened
violently as if to take in breath of air,
and the head, thrown off it's equilibrium
by the motion, rolled over. This con-
traction of the maxillary muscles was
the last sign Of life. Since the moment
of decapitation, from fifteen to twenty
seconds had passed. DR.. Loye also re-
lates the following story, taken from
the archives of an Austrian police Off
Ger, and relating to an execution said to
nave Gdk0u place III vienna IN lOSU: a
well-known bandit named Schauenburg
was caught, together with four of his
associates, and they were all condemned
to death. They were already on their
knees, ready to submit to their fate,
when Schauenburg addressed the Judge,
asking that his four companions might
be ranged in single file in front of him
at distance of eight feet from each
other. eff" he said, ''after l am be-
headed, get up and walk to the first of
my comrades, will you pardon him?"
The Judge thought he was pretty safe in
complying with the request. but if /
walk up to the second, the third and the
fourth, will you pardon them also?"
The judge replied that he would obtain
thei, pardon from the Emperor. The
partisan was satisfied, bent his head,
received the mortal blow, and his head
rolled down; but, to the great surprise
of the judge and the spectators, the body
got up, walked alone, passed the first,
second, third and fourth of the con-
demped men and fell down. The occur
renee was told to the Emperor, who, ac-
cording to promise. pardoned the four
criminals Pail Mall Gazette.