Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1891-12-26
BURIED ALIVE.
STORIES TOLD or LIVING PEoPLs
BEING PUT IN THE GRAVE,

f0i trNG 1n%NCp
The Number Of Well Authenticated Ca.es
10 smaiI-why Superficial Observers
Are Likely 60 Be Mistskes-soms
Natural Explanations.
To be buried while only apparently dead
and TO come back % life in a coffin four feet
under earth rs. Of course. "A dreadful thing
and the fear OF people TO meet this terrible
fate has at all times teen proportionately
strong IL has resulted in all kinds OF de-
signs aud plans 10 enable persons Ia case Of
premature burial To inform the living world
Of the horrible mistake II We inquire into
the matter a little more closely. however,
we will find that such fear is unreasonable
In fact. our readers will he surprised to hear
US ask
Have people ever been buried alivei
True. we cannot absolutely deny such oc- !
currences. for several cases have been re- |
ported under competent medical supervision, :
but the uumber of well authenticated cases
B really so small that we mist look upon
them as g thing extremely rare In fact, 10
would he safer to take the risk of meeting
this accident for every person living upon
the globe this minute than TO get on a train
for only one hour In the face OF these facts
we would naturally put the question.
Why Is II that such cases are reported or
believed TO have taken place 30 oftenI
The answer to this is easy People who do
not know the wonderful working OF the sys-
TEN are liable TO mlsinterpret certain rare
and abnormal manifestations They do not
remember that every rule has its exceptions,
even applied to the human organism. in
short. they do not fully understand the uat-
ure OF death and hence will sometimes con
found It witt. life We will be a little less
abstract TO Illustrate We often hear the
remark. II don't believe such and such a
person Is dead just remember how red his
cheeks were. even up TO the day of his
burial" True. the characteristic appearance
Of the dead Is that waxy and pale aspect
known 10 everybody However, the mere
manner Of dying may determine an excep-
tion To this rule. SO the face presents Q
blush coioration. where death has been the
result OF disturbance in the functions OF
the lungs tor. 70 be more exact, OF the lesser
circusationl Here We can enumerate all
cases OF hanging. drowning, suffocation, coal
gas, poisoning. etc
OTHER EXCEPTIONS
A still more striking, but also rare excep-
tion, occurs in people with habtually red
faces In their case a bright arterial hue
may remain up To the time OF burial,
although death may be absolute in every
sense People also believe that a hand held
up against light denotes life as long as the
margin shows a reddish, semi transparent
aspect While this test IN reliable one, it
does not hold true IN people dead with
dropsy Here the transparency will be pre-
served in spite OF death Another sign
formerly employed by medical men as in.
fallible has spread among the public. IL is
known that the application of mustard to
the skin causes redns~s and blisters in the
living body We can therefore always con-
clude as to the persistence Of life whenever
such an application reacts Unfortunately,
however. the plaster might not show any re-
suits when life Is not yet extinct and recovery
is still possible This has been observed In
cases OF extreme intoxicatiou by means of
narcotics such as morphine The fact that
pricking of the skin Is followed by the ap-
pearance of drop OF blood is often cited as
a proof for the existence of life Now,
everybody knows that such Is possible also
some limited time after death. although the
manner OF appearing and the shape and
color Of the drop differ from that drawn
from living body The peculiar signs men
toned at the beginning OF this article, and
usually considered 50 conclusive, also find
more natural explanations than the absurd
theory OF apparent death
body may change its original position
I while being lowered into the grave. Biting
In the fingers and scratches in the face may
be due 20 rats infesting the grave yards;
noises referred to coffin are usually the re-
suit of an over excited imagination. In fact
there is no sense more liable to deception
than addition, especially when We want to
hear Everybody remembers. perhaps. how
often he thought be heard the train arrive
when anxiously waiting for il
THRILLING STORIES
There Is, however. good reason to think
that many OF these stories are manufactured
without the presence or observation even Of
any OF the above signs 1t is only natural to
the human mind that, with their profound
exciting power, they should be in equal de-
mand with the over and again repeated
ghost and snake stories It would be a pity
20 leave them out from the list, when the
narrator can enjoy the pleasure Of seeing an
eager audience follow every motion of his
tmost usually her lips, aud then, how sub
lime 70 be looked upon as the witness, or as
even q more interested party. Of such q
thrilling experienced IL is worth the sacrihcs
OF little yeracityi In fact. every careful
observer cannot fail 70 discover in the nu-
merous accounts the variations of one orig
inai, true or fancied case TO suit the particu-
lar taste of the author.
But there is one post-mortem Occurrences
1 which, at least to the laity, might at first
seem Incompatible with death. 1t IL some
times observed thas dend people will change
the position OF certain parta So IL Ia seen
that after life has escaped the mouth 10 open,
because the lower jaw. following the laws of
CAVITY, hangs down dropping In some
four TO twelve hours the mouth may be found
closed This is due TO the peculiar phenom-
enon known by the name rigor mortis. which,
being essentially coagulation OF the muscle
substance. results In contraction and the
latter IN movements or coursea part would
always be moved In the direction Of the
stronger muscles or the tlexorS While these
movements 60 on gradually and are hardly
visible we witness occasionally sudden or
spasmodic movements Thus knee may
suddenly rise up in bending itself. An arm
may sweep through the air with q quick
motion or the muscles Of the face may be
twitching The purpose!eSs and inco-ordi,