The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-01-01

L efeu MN TOT moment 70 see whether
there was any lurking indications of in
idea.
You're joking" said.
NeFer was more serious in my life" re-
turned the doctor. "A nd Why not. That
body there IN the box only lacks two things
to make it again a living, sentient be-
ing
And these areP inquired, as my friend
paused for moment.
And these are water and--and the vital
spark. The water part of it is all right: as
Tor the other, that remains to be seen. You
can't imagine how such an absurd and i'm
possible Dotlen ever entered my head. Lis
ten and will tell you. When [ came
across that dried-up body in Death valley l
had no more idea Of experimenting with it,
as am doing now, than you have. Hooked
upon ~ purely as UNIQUE specimen of
mumnifcstion, but valuable only as an in
stance OF the peculiar effect au intensely dry
atmosphere has upon a living organism.
That uight l lay awake in my tent,
the mummy stretched upon the ground
almost by my eide. | was not in a sleepy
mood, and facts and problems 10 physi-
ology kept fitting vaguely across my brain,
when all Of sudden an inspiration seemed
TO strike me. This body here beside me-
l said 70 myself, is. 50 far as decay is con-
cerned, intact. 1t is simply dried up that
is all. All the water has been taken out Of
1t, but all its other component parts re-
main. That bag OF dried apples in the
corner OF my tent only wants soaking IN
water TO restore the fruit to its original
condition, jucine5s. flavor and all Why
should it not be so with this mummy here.
The human organism l argued, is made
up OF between three and four parts Of
water to one of all other iu-
gradients combined. Thus the brain con-
taius from 50 to 81 per cent. of water, the
blood u TO 50; the muscles. glands, carti-
lagos, arteries, fibrous texture, skin, nerves
cutlcle, hair, all contain water in quantities
varying all the way from 10 TO so per cent.
Even the bones contain from 10 TO 20 per
cent. OF water. A man Of $50 pounds
weight contains lie of water. Now sup
pose argued to myself, 1 could restore to
each part Of that dried up organism its
proper amount Of water why should not its
organs be again rendered fit to perform
their original functionsH
This train OF reasoning once started
there was no stopping it. From step to
step. from syllogism to syllogism + pro-
ceeded upon well known physiological laws,
never stopping until l had formulated a
plan for the actual revivihoation of the
mummy beside me- Morning still found
Inc awake and within two hours | was on
my way TO Panamint in the light wagon
along with the mummy and my other speci-
mems. That vas five days ago, and here l
am"
l could not help feeling admiration for
my friends enthusiasm, however absurd l
might consider the object upon which it was
exercised.
Now, the question is" he continued.
will you help me- viii you stay in this
house with me and do whatever tell YOU
until the outcome of the experiment., and
above all keep the matter strictly secret
Until give you permission TO make IL pub
licl There is not a soul in this city TO
whom I dare intrust such matter, whom
l dare take into my confidence, except your
self | think ! have a right to expect this
from you, without reminding you of the
little incident on the Neckar.n
DR.. Herzog had once saved my life In coll
lege days, during a skating expedition we
had taken up thu Neckar, when l fell
through an air hole In the ice and would
have drowned but for his timely assistance.
II wes his evident esrnestness, however,
coupled with natural scientific curiosity, in
which | am by no means deficient, that de-
cided me to accede to bis desires, and |
freely gave him tho desired assurances.
And now let US get TO work. he said.
81 see by the gauge ON the boiler that we
have a good head of steam. Now help me
with our aquarium" he added with smile.
That name suits It as we'll as anything
else, for it will hold good deal of water
before we get through with it."
Together we lifted off the heavy plate
glass slab which formed the top of the tank,
iv and the sides on which it rested having
been ground to steam joint so as to per,
init as little escape as possible. The doctor
then took hold OF an object that stood
against the wall, the purpose of which at
first failed to grasp. 1t was a plain, rectsn.
gular wooden frame, consisting of four
stout pieces of wood Joined at the corners,
and peerly of the same dimensions as the
tank. Across this frame, from side to side,
were stretched some thirty light and very
elastic india rubber bands, each about two
inches in width. This frame We placed
within the tank, its corners resting upon
supports about two feet high set In the cor
ners of the tank.
Now let us put our mummy In his little
bed. said the doctor jocularly, at the same
time tenderly lifting the body from the
packing box by the shoulders, while did
the same by the legs. | now oomprehended
the use of the frame with the transverse
elastic bands. for We laid the mummy gently
upon them, as upon hammock, without
its weight appreciably DETECTING them. The
body, In fact, would have turned the scale
at less than forty pounds.
He will weigh four times as much as he
does now within day or two,n remarked
the doctor, as he adjusted the position of
the body to his satisfaction. "Now for our
germictde.n
The doctor took from table circular
copper vessel resembling a soup plate, rid :
died with small holes like colander, with
larger holes bored through the rim or flange.
This he stuffed full of asbestos aud then
saturated the abestos with liquids from sew
eral bottles, principally carbolic and sali4
cylic acid. as be said. He then put on a
cover with set screws after the manner of a
cylinder heal aud provided with a central
orifce, which he screwed on to the threaded
projection Of the steam pipe within the
tank
This tank is to kill any germs or mi
crobes that are in our aquarium. and there
are billions upon billions of them at this
moment. Each atom of our steam passes
through this disinfecting chamber and in
Ave minutes there will not be living or
ganism left-not even ons with the latent
possibility of life. Now help me on with
the lid OF our aquarium.
Nov open the globe valve Of the exhaust
pipe so as to let the first of the steam pass
through" said the doctor, after we had adj
justed the ground Joints of the plate glass
lid, "and l will turn on the steam"
l did as desired, while the doctor manipu-
lated the valve at the steam end. With
Kissing sound the steam rushed through the
asbestos chamber, filing the tank with
white vapor, enveloping the body within
in an Uncomfortable mist and rasRin o ont in m