Los Angeles herald., 1892-07-21
BEING DECAPITATED.
AN INTERESTING QUESTION THAT
MAY NEVER BE ANSWERED.

Are the Movements of the Head and
Face After Decapitation Involuntary
or Are They Attended with Some Slight
Action of the wnl--Some Experiments-
The question of the duration of con-
eciousness in the brain of criminals after
execution by hanging or by the guillo-
tine is being discussed with greater in
terest than ever since Anastay, the muir
derer Of Baroness Dellard, paid his debt
10 society. 1t is said that this remarka-
BILE criminal sent to his brother letter
on the subject as follows:
The separation of my body and that which
constitutes my thinking being cannot so soon
be accomplished. I believe there is survival
Of about an hour. Come, then, Leon, be pres
ent at my execution and insist that my head
be given to you. Cali me with your voice and
my eyes will reply to you.
This is but the repetition of popular
belief that has prevailed for centuries.
There is q legend of state execution in
England at an epoch when the ak and
block were in use, which sets forth that
after the instrument had fallen the per-
son whose head was on the block ex-
claimed, "You have missed mel" to
which the executioner replied with
slight kick that sent the head rolling to
distance. The story never gained much
credence, but is still worthy of discus
sion. Its truth or falsity would depend
on the possibility of the instrument
being SO thin and sharp that the walls
of the veins would not be displaced, in
which case the circulation of the blood
might continue for few seconds, and
whether consciousness might continue
for moment after the vertebrae of the
neck was severed. This last difficulty
would be the greatest, since utter un-
consciousness is supposed to be stimuli
taneous with the severing of the spinal
cord or the breaking of the neck. In
any event, scientists who have taken tho
trouble to study the faces of the guillo-
tined for few seconds after the fatal
stroke, or who have made experiments
with decapitated animals, do not favor
the theory.
Several French physicians, and among
them DR.. Paul Loye, now deceased, but
once q professor at the Sorbonne, have
experimental with dogs, using for their
hanging or decapitation machinery like
that employed in public executions
The dog was chosen for the ex-
periments as having the most mo-
bile face and being able to repro
duce the movements which in rare
cases have been observed in human
subjects. Persons whom this treatment
Of dumb animals might revolt are begged
to remember that the suffering is much
less than in vivisection, since these
methods Of execution are generally rec
ognized as producing the least pain.
The guillotine employed by DR.. Loye
was similar to that used for the execu-
ton of ordinary criminals in France. 1t
consisted of a triangular knife or ak,
surmounted by mass of lead weighing
over twenty pounds and falling over
six feet upon the neck of the animal,
which was severed at the third verte-
bra. Tho phunumena observed Wore
similar to those remarked by other
French and by foreign savants whose
experiments hauA hAe.- 1s,s olatoraUe.
At the moment the head was detached
from the body the mouth opened wide,
as if the animal was making an extraor-
binary effort at inhalation. The tongue
was applied to the lower part of the
mouth and underwent a brief period of
agitation. The eyeids were closed with
light contractions. Then the eyes were
opened and rolled from side to side and
top to bottom, the pupils in the mean
time gradually contracting. At the
same time the jaws were opened and
violently closed, and the face was rapid
ly convulsed. This was followed by
changes at the corners of the mouth, vi
bration of the nostrils, trembling of the
lips and erection of the ears The en-
semble of these movements constituted
q series of horrible grimaces like those
seen on the face of the guillotined, and
seemed to express the most intense ag-
ony. IL the cornea of the eye was
touched the eyeids closed, but if an OBJ
ject, no matter of what kind, was placed
before the eye there was no movement
Neither did crying nor whistling into
the ears of the dog appear to cause the
slightest sensation. The pinching of
the tongue caused slight shrinking of
that organ. Although the pupil of the
eye was contracted, the approach of a
light rendered the orifice still smaller
These phenomena occupy about ten
seconds, and are followed by a period of
repose continuing to the fifteenth or
twentieth second, during which the
mouth rests closed and the eyes open
and without movement. At the end of
this time the mouth opens and closes
quickly, the nostrils dilate and contract.
During this time, although the irritation
Of the cornea has caused slight wink
ing, neither whistling in the ear nor
touching the tongue or nostrils with am
monia or cologne has been able to pro-
duce any effect. The opening and clos
ing Of the mouth resemble yawning,
and are reproduced dozen times, after
which the motions gradually cease.
Then the cornea loses its sensibility to
the touch, though, half minute having
elapsed, the yawning is still active. The
pupil Of the eye dilates at the approach
Of light, but does not contract, and the
cornea loses its glistening appearance.
At the end of two minutes the yawning
and other phenomena have ceased, end
ing in mere contraction of the fibers,
and the head takes corpselike Look
San Francisco Chronicle.
e..