The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-01-26
( DAILY, $40 A YEAR.
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HEUSER'S STRANGE WISH
HE WnLED THAT HIS HEART BE
CUT OUT AFTER DEATH.


When His Wife Died He Stuck Knife
into Her Bosom-Others of His Fam
lily Were Tortured by the Thou ht or
Premature Burial.
BALTIMORE, Jan. % One OF the
strangest scenes ever witnessed in this city
took place yesterday afternoon in a small,
gas-lit room at 214 South Sharp street. II
was the partial carrying out Of the dying
injunction Of a well-known apothecary and
physician in South Baltimore, who In his
last Will and testament had directed that
his heart should be removed from his body
after his death, in order that his dissolu-
ton might be an assured fact.
The person who made this peculiar ante.
mortem request was Or. Charles +. Heuser.
The circumstances connected with his
CHASTITY directions for the disposal OF his re-
mains make his story and that Of his fam
lily very remarkable one. DR.. Heuser was
born In Germany. but had lived Ia Balti-
more for thirty-five years.
He was a surgeon In the federal volunteer
service during the war, and after the great
struggle closed he practiced medicine ON
South Sharp streer. Advancing years and
failing health induced him TO relinquish his
practice and open q drug store. For ten
years past he has occupied the first floor OF
the house at 2l4 South Sharp street as
store, and had sleeping apartment on the
second floor.
Some years ago DIR. Heuser married Miss
Susan Colburn, daughter OF a well-known
Baltimore physician. She died about eight
years ago at 343 West Lombard street,
where DIR. Heuser was residing. A beauti-
full daughter was left by her, who is now an
inmate of Mount Hope insane asylum.
DIR. Heuser was looked upon as a rather
eccentric parsonage by some of the residents
IN the vicinity OF his store, but the Misses
Crone three maiden ladies, who occupied
the remaining portion Of the house, say
quieter man than he never lived.
STRANGE CLAUSE IN THE WILL
DR.. Heuser was a consumptive and for
the last month had been complaining, aud
last Wednesday was found dead In his
room.
A will was found TO have been left by the
deceased, In which no requested that bis
heart be taken from his body In the pres
ence Of witnesses on the day of his death,
aud that his remains be afterward cremated,
the ashes TO be distributed among his
friends. He also stipulated that the Rev.
Il. A. Colburn Of Churchville, Hartford
county, a relative Of his wife, should con-
duct the funeral service.
The strange clause in the will concerning
the heart of the dead physician caused
somewhat OF q sensation, but his friends
resolved to carry out his wishes as nearly as
possible. August Weber, cashier OF the
German Bank OF Baltimore, and one Of the
bast-known Germans in the city, is relative
of Dr. Heuser's late wife. He aud Thso-
dore Stableian, "a Wholesale fruit dealer at 12f
South Charles street, set about having the
directions contained in the will complied
With. DR.. George w. Benson, Of SIG Hans
over street, was asked to perform Ethe
operation. He refused to cut out DIR.
Heuser's heart, having been intimately ac-
quainted with him in hfe and naturally
disliking the task OF mutilating bis corpse,
especially as he thought 1t a useless precau-
tion, as there was no doubt that the eccen-
trio physician was dead. The services OF
DIR. Adolph Boehm were, however, secured.
and the operation performed.
THE WISHES CARRIED OUT
Yesterday afternoon at 4 o'clock DR.. Bsr-
nard T. Meyer and his son, Samuel Meyer,
who Is a student at the Baltimore Medical
College, the three Misses Crone and DIR.
Boehm gatlered in the little room in which
DIR. Heuser had died. The curtains were
lowered and the gas lighted. On an oper-
ating table In the middle Of the room lay
the body of tho dead man.
It was partially clad. In few words
DR.. Boehm explained the solemn duty be
had been called upon to perform by the
sacred request of the dead Then be barred
the bosom of the corpse, and, taking sharp
knife, he cut away the flesh. The ladies
shudderingly turned their faces from the
sight. A few dexterous cuts and DIR.
Boehm had reached the heart. Severing
its attachments to the body, he removed it
and held it up. dripping with blood in his
hand. And IL was then replaced in the
body, DIR. Samuel Meyer produced a
needle and thread and sewed up the OPEN
ing, and the witnesses left the room. The
first portion OF the Wills peculiar provision
had been carried cut.
CREMATION FOLLOWS.
This afternoon the body was placed In
coffin and transferred in hsarse to Loudon
Park Cremstory;, The remains were fol-
lowed by two hacks containing the few
mourners. The fires In the crematory at
Loudon park had been lighted early this
morning, and the furnace was at q white
heat when the body was placed In the cradle
and the doors of the oven closed on il at
precisely o'clock.
IL took about two hours for the body to
be reduced to ashes. The ashes will be dis
posed Of as directed in the will.
The strange request of the physician Is
accounted for by one woo knew him well,
from the fact that he had entertained bor-
ror OF being buried alive.
He often talked on the subject, and would
say that he wished to be creInated. his
fear of premature burial was increased af-
ter a talk he had with Virginia physician.
who said that in number of cases he had
seen corpses disinterred which showed that
the persons had come to life after burial.
Some of the bodies were drawn up in the
collins or lay on their sides dreadfully con-
torted.
Resolved upon escaping premature burial
by having his body cremated, be determined
to avoid the possibility of being buried
alive by the singular expedient mentioned.
HE PIERCED HIS wIFE's HEART.
A circumstance that adds additional
interest to the singular ceremony yesterday
is the fact that DR.. Heuser, after his wife's
death, drove knife into her heart to pro-
tect her from the possibility Of being i'm
INJURED alive. he had frequently told the
story Of this affair himself, and said it was
the most terrible duty he ever had to per-
form to thrust the cold steel INTO the bosom
or the woman he loved as she lay ON the
bier before him, yet he could not think OF
letting her run the awful risk OF coming
back TO life in her grave.
Another singular circumstance is that
many members of DR.. Heuser's family have
had their hearts pierced or their veins and
arteries cut after death. The fear of pre-
mature burial seems to have pervaded the
whole family and led TO the utmost pre-
cautions being taken to insure escape from