The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-06-25
AFTER DEcAPrTATfoN.
An Extremely Interesting Question Tha
May Never Be Answered.


An Extremely Interesting Question That
May Never Be Answered.
The question of the duration of con-
sciousness in the brain of criminals al
ter execution by hanging or by the
guilIotine is being discussed with great
er interest than ever since Anastay, the
murderer of Baroness Bellard, paid his
debt to society. It Is said that this re-
markable criminal sent to his brother a
letter on the subject, as follows:
The separation of my body and that which
constitutes my thinking being cannot 50 soon
1 be ACCOMPLISHED believe there is q survival
Of about an hour. Come then, Leon, be present
| at my execution, and insist that my head be
given to you Call 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 legend of a state execution in
| England at an epoch when the ak and
block we're in use, which set forth that
after the instrument had fallen the
prisoner whose head was on the block
exclaimed: You have missed met" to
which the executioner replied with a
slight kick that sent the head rolling
| to distance. The story never gained
much credence, but is still worthy Of
| discussion. It's truth or falsity would
depend upon the possibility of the in
strument's being so thin and sharp that
the walls of the veins would not be dis
placed, in which case the circulation of
! the blood might continue for a few
seconds, and whether consciousness
/ I
vertebrn of the neck was severed. This
! last difficulty would be the greatest,
since utter Inconsciousness is supposed
! to be simultaneous with the severing Of
, the spinal cerd or the breaking of the
neck. In any event, scientists who
| have taken the trouble to study the
faces of the guillotined 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 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 experiments
as having the most mobile face and be-
| ing able to reproduce the movements
| which in rare cases have been observed
| in human subjects. Persons whom this
| treatment of dumb animals might re-
volt, are begged to remember that the
suffering is much less than in vivisec-
ton, since these methods of execution
are generally recognized as producing
| the least pain. The guillotine employed
| by DR.. Loye was similar to that used
for the execution of ordinary criminals
| in France. 1t consisted of a triangular
| knife or AK, surmounted by a mass of
! lead weighing over twenty pounds, aud
| falling over six feet upon the neck of
| the ANIMAL, which was severed at the
third vertebra. The phenomena OBJ
served We're similar to those remarked
by other French and by foreign savants
whose experiments have been less elab-
| crate.
At the moment the head was detached
| from the body the mouth opened wide,
as if the animal was making an effort
at inhalation. The tongue was applied
| to the lower part of the mouth and un-
derwent a brief period of agitation. The
eyelids were closed with light contrac-
tons: Then the eyes were opened and
oiled from side to side and top to bot
tom, the pupils in the mean time grad
| ually contracting. At the same time
| the jaws were opened and violently
| closed, and the face was rapidly con.
vulsed. This was followed by changes
at the corners of the mouth, vibration
| of the nostrils, trembling of the lips
and erection of the ears The ensemble
! of these movements constituted a series
of horrible gTimaces like those seen on
| the face of the guillotined and seemed
| to express the most intense agony. IF
| the cornea of the eye was touched the
| eyelids closed, but if an object, no mat
| ter 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 canse the slightest
| sensation. The pinching Of the tongue
caused slight shrinking of that organ.
! Although the pupil of the eye was con-
tracted. the approach of a light ndered
! the oriiice still smaller
These phenomena occupy about ten
! 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 con-
/ tract During this time, although the
! irritation of the cornea has caused
/ slight winking neither whistIin0 ia
/ the ear nor touching the tongue or
nostrils with ammonia or cologne has
| been able to produce any effect The
opening and closing of the mouth re-
sembles yawning, and are reproduced
! dozen times. after which the motions
/ gradually cease Then the cornea
/ loses its sensibility to the touch, though,
4 half a, minute having elapsed, the
! yawning is still active. The pupil Of
the eye dilates at the approach of light,
! but it does not contract, and the cornea
! loses its glistening appearance. At the
! end of two minutes the yawning aud
! other phenomena have ceased, ending
in mere contraction Of the fibres, and
the head takes corpse-lil1e look.
No experirnenter has been able to de-
eide whether the movements specified
were involuntary or attended with
some slight action Of the will No dog
ever responded by special movements 70
these efforts TO excite his senses. All
perception of external objects has en-
tirely disappeared at the moment of de-
capitation. as far as the observers have
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