Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-09-27


and then we began TO talk about cutting
up dead men We put hickory nuts in
our mouths so our voices would sound
different, so he wouldn't know us, and l
was telling the other boys about what
time we had cutting up the last man we
bought. | said he was awful tough. and
when we had got his legs off and had
taken out his BRAIN his friends came to
the dlssecting room and claimed the
body, and we had to give il up, but
saved the legs.
Il looked at Pa ON the table, and he be-
gan to turn pale, and he squirmed around
to get up, but found he was fast. l had
pulled his shirt up under his arms while
he was asleep, and as he began to move
took an icicle, and in the dim light of
the candles that We're sitting ON the
table in beer bottles l drew the icicle
across Pas stummick, and l said to my
chum, Doc. l guess we had better cut
open this old duffer and see if he died
from inflammation of the stummicl
from hard drinking. as the coroner sd d
he did. Pa shuddered all over wher he
felt the icicle going over his bare STUN
mick, and he said: For Gods sake, gen.
tlemen, what does this mean: l am not
dead
The other boys looked at Pa with
establishment, and l said Well, we
bought you for dead and the coroner's
jury said you were dead, and by the
eternal we amt gong to be fooled out of
corpse when we buy one, are we Doc:'
My chum sad not if he knowed hisself,
and the other s;udent said: OF coarse he
is dead. He thinks he Is alive. but he
died day before Yesterday. fell dead on
the street. and his folks said h had been
nuisance aud they wouldn't claim the
corpse. and we bought it AT the morgue.'
Then l drew the lcicle across him again,
and | said: i don't know about this,
doctor. / find that blood follows the
scalpel as l cut through the cuticle
Hand me the blood sponge, please Pa
began to wiggle around, and we looked
at him, and my chum raised his eyelid
and looked solemn. and Pa said: Hold
on, gentlemen. Don't cut into me any
more, and | can explain this matter.
This Is all a mistake. | was only drunk
1--WE went III Il corner and whispered
and Pa kept talking all the time He
said if we would postpone the hog kill
ing he could send and get witnesses to
prove that he was not dead. but that he
was a respectable citizen and had fam
lily. After we had a consultation |
went to Pa and told him that what he
said about being alive might possibly be
true. though we had our doubts We
had found such cases before in our nrac-
tlce east, where men seemed TO be alive,
but ii was only temporary Before we
had got them cut mp they Were dead
enough for al practical purposes. Then
l laid the icicle across Pas abdomen
and went on to tell him that if he was
alive it would he better for him TO play
;.:"t he was dead. cause he was such
Nuisance to his family that they did not
want him, and ! was telling him that |
had heard that in his lifetime he was
very cruel to his boy. a bright little fell
low who was at the head of his class in
Sunday school and pet wherever he
was known. when Pa interrupted me
and said: Doctor. please take that cary
ing knife off my stomach. for it makes
me nervous.
LAS for that boy of mine he Is the
condemndest little whelp in town, and
he isn't no pet anywhere. Now, you let
up on this dissecting business, and | will
make it all right with YOU. We held
another consultation, and then l told
Pa that we did not feel that it was do
ing justice to society to give up the body
of notorious drunkard after we had
paid $50 for the corpse. If there was
any hopes that he would reform and TT:
and lead a different life, it would be diff
ferent, and ] said to the BOYS: Gentle
men, we must do our duty Doc. YOU
dismember that leg. and | will attend to
the stomach and the upper part of the
body. He will be dead before we are
done with linn. We must remember
that society has some claims on us and
not let our better natures be worked
upon by the post mortem promises of a
dead drunkard. Then l took my icicle
and began fumbling around the abdo-
men portion of Pas remains, and nv
chum took rough piece of ice and be-
gan to saw his leg off, while the other
boy took hold of the leg and said he
would catch it when it dropped off.
well, Pa kicked like steer. He said
he wanted TO make one more appeal to
us, and we acted sort of impatient but
we let up to hear what he had to say.
He said if we would turn him loose he
would give lis $40 more than we paid for
his body and that he would never drink
another drop as long as he lived. TLen
we whispered some more and then told
him we thought favorably of his last
I
hand on the leg of a corpse we were
then dissecting that he would never
drink'acain, and then he must be blind
folded and be conducted several blocks
away from .e mssectlng room before
we could turn him loose. He said that
was all right, and so we blindfolded
him and made him take bloody oath
with his hand on a Diacp Of 100 that v.-a