Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-02-18

NEYN and 4 dozen bucketsful
!. ! :
of brains would hardly
NJ, = Si,N fill the cerebral cavity.
E'K The aspect Of 1t 10
MS IN LIiE rather startling, be-
'WhusEa VA cause it is made to
M 81st-L initiate real Uranium
W. az perfectly possible
" in all respects, though
It is only a model on an enlarged scale in papisr
mache.
Inc museum has thousands OF real skulls,
many OF which are those Of soldiers killed dur
ing the war Of the rebellion. Agents were sent
from Washington to collect them on the battle
neids OF Gettysburg, Antie.am and the Wilder
ness, as well as all sorts Of other bones-the
object being to illustrate the effects of gunshot
wounds. One curiosity of this sort is fore
arm and hand. shot off above the elbow, which
the owner went back and recovered from the
scene OF conflict several months later Even
more interesting is a steel breast plate worn BY
q confederate officer at Gettysburg. 1t is
pierced by two bullets, one of which killed him
During the war contractor made to Secre-
tary Cameron a proposition to supply breast
plates for the Union soldiers at so much thou
sand After he had used mp much valuable
time In expatiating on the merits of his protec-
tive armor the Secretary said:
you will guarantee 1t bullet proof?"
contract
VERY we'll, then. +" said Mr.. Cameron. "Just
put on the sample you have been showing me-
and stand on the other side Of the room while
1 try few shots at you with this pistol II you
remain unhurt shall be convinced Of the use
fulness Of your breast plate"
strange to say the contractor refused to &C
cede to the suggestion, and no armor was pro-
vided for the federal soldiers. 1t seems rather
odd that as weapons used in war have become
more deadly men have abandoned the use of
means for protecting the body.
GRUEsoNE ExHIBrrs
In an out of the way corner Of the museum,
not exposed to public view, is the brain Of
Guiteau, the assassin Of President Garfield. 1t
n preserved in glass jar filed with alcohol.
The physicians who performed the autopsy
found signs on the organ of IN inflammation Of
long standing, which implied more or less
mental arrangement. in another receptacle is
some Of the arsenic that was put in a bouquet
Gay before his execution. The attention OF the
guards OF the death watch was attracted by
white powder sprinkled upon the flowers, and
they took them away
John Wilkes Booth, the assassin Of President
Lincoln, Is Likewise represented by gruesome
mementoes. piece Of his spinal column is
preserved, showing the injury it received from
the fatal bullet of Boston Corbett, April 26,
1869 There is also a fragment of the wounded
spinal cord in bottle Of alcohol Booth wac
shot through the neck, surviving for few
hours in great agony. Another bottle holds ak
inches Of the rope with which Capt. Henry
Wirz was hanged November 10, 1865. The death
penalty was inflicted on account of his fiendisb
cruelty to Union soldiers imprisoned at Ander-
sonviile. He murdered several OF them. A
number OF the Grand Army veterans who were
here last autumn had stories to tell OF the beat
ings and other tortures which they saw him
infct.
One Of the most interesting relics is a SQUARE
piece Of tanned skin from the chest of a soldier.
On 1t are tattooed a grouping of flags and dag
ger. Close beneath the pictured dagger is q tn
angular hole made by e real dagger thrust into
the victims heart by an angry Mexican. Near
by is a human skull with the left temple trans
liked by an Indian arrow head. This has a
strange history. On September /, 1870. stage
was attacked by Comanches near Bellos river,
lex. There were two passengers one was
killed and the other escaped. or the guard of
three soldiers one was killed. another got away
unhurt and the third was wounded The last
though wounded in the head, arm, leg and
breast, made his way on foot I6o miles across
the plains to Fort Conchas. There the roor
fellow died. and the post-mortem examination
showed that an arrow head had pierced the left
temporal bone, entering the brain. That it
should not have killed him instantly was aston
ishing. The Uranium was sent to the museum
at Washington.
Some Of the accidents which happen to peo-
pies skulls are very remarkable. One Of these
on exhibition is a complete wreck, the whole
top part Of it being smashed to pieces. This is
the result Of an encounter between two negroes
who fell to butting each other such being
fayorite African form of the duello. One OF them
was young. while the other was old. The old
mans head was crushed in. killing him. The
moral to be drawn from this fact is that elderly
persons should refrain from butting, because
the caranium is much thinner in old age than
in youth. the bone wasting gradually like the
rest OF the body. The same thing is true Of all
the bones. OF this an illustration Is afforded
by the skeleton Of q woman who was over
seventy when she died. 1t weighs less than
three pounds. though her osseous framework
would probably have tipped the scales at twelve
pounds thirty years earlier. But her bones had
degenerated until their substance was largely
composed OF gelatinous matter, and the soft
parts being dissolved out by the processes for
preserving them, q mere she'll was left, as light
as paper. 1t 10 true that this was an unusual
case.
STRUCK BIT LIGHTNING.
Another skull shown is that OF man who was
struck by lightning. The bone exhibits o very
small fracture, while the electric fluid has
made only a little hole like pin hole in the
''dura MATER which is the membrane that
covers the brain. But the brain itself, which
il also preserved, is seen to have been ali
torn to pieces. Respecting the victim people
often AK thoughlessly, ibid he die2'' They
put the same query with regard to many
other specimens, II the exhibition OF q
persons Uranium or backbone were not suhi-
cient evidence of his non-suryival There are
some Peruvian skulls in the museum, obtained
from ancient mummies. which show signs of
trepanning during life and of subsequent re-
covery. These are Of extraordinary interest,
because 1t il known that the race which spread
over all Of Europe in the prehistoric age Of pol
ished stone prscticed such trepanning extern
sively. Many hundreds Of this crania have been
dug up which bear marks Of operations Of this
kind, disks Of bone having been sawed out by
flint implements and removed. 1t is supposed
that this may have been done a. a religious
rite. Sometimes the same person was tre-
panned several times at different psrioda The
same custom 10 followed today in parts of
Montenegro.
An object Of historic importance ID the fourth
vertebra Of the backbone of the British
General Braddock, who was killed in Virginia
July Q. 1766. Eight vertebre, belonging to an
unknown individual, are also shown, strung on
| a troa roOt which Sraw throuOh than, foilo~-