The herald., 1893-01-16
BLACK JOHNS SKULL ON A SHELF
The Wishes of the Suicide Par
italy Carried Out.
Some Points About His chronological
Development.
TIE Curious Collection of Physician
A Skull that Was Claimed A fter
Long Time-DiGculties
Of = Skull Coll tector.

logging house on South Spring street, a
few weeks ago, he left an elaborate state
ment o. the IS wives whom he had mar
ried and deserted. One of the requests
he made in the copperplate document
he left behind him was that his body
should be taken charge of by the San
Francisco Examiner, and be turned over
by that paper to some medical college.
No attention was paid to this request by
the Examiner, and the body was buried
in this city at the expense of the county.
Before the interment, the head of the
strange being whose life history as mar
rated by himself excited 40 much Curl
osity, was removed from the trunk and
turned over to DR.. VIM. ID. Babcock of
this city for scientific purposes. Thus,
while the complete wishes of the sui
eide were not carried out, still his head
became the property of physician.
1t is rather curious thing, the pres
ervation of a human head. 1t goes
through process of curing just as any
other animal product.
"Black Johns" head, it was not a
p'khbiJ SOJOCps 4N6tuIhllN tll6T6 WAS
Che appearance of clean skull, srch as
is presented in lecture room. In fact,
one would be inclined to make the same
remarks that Hamlet made when he
picked up Yorick's skull, which the
grave'digger had turned out with his
spade-that it smelled bad.
1t 30 happened that a HERALD re-
porter saw the head before DIR. Babcock
had started to work on it.
The sight was not pleasant, and even
the desire to know just how much of the
suicides strange history was true, could
not dispel feeling of disgust.
Since that time DIR. Babcock buried
BLACK Johns" head in the ground and
let it remain there until day or two
since, when he took it back to his office.
Nature had in the meantime loosened
up the integumenta, and it was an easy
matter to clean it.
When the reporter called on the doc.
tor yesterday the skull reposed quietly
enough on little cushion upon table.
1t presented the same appearance that
may be seen any day in medical COL
lege, and unless it had been known that
the small object had once contained the
brain OF very eccentric individual it
would have excited very little interest.
AS matter of scientific inquiry
BLACK Johns" skull, in the opinion OF
DR. Babcock, does not show any abnor-
NAL formations. In fact, the head is an
exceedingly wellshaped one. The
chronological contour shows perceptive
faculties somewhat more largely devel-
oped than usual, and there was every
indication OF intellectual powers. The
bones in the forehead are not thin
through the temples, and the eye sock
cts are wide apart. The prominence of
the bones over the eyes, where the seat
OF the imagination is claimed by phren-
ologists, show somewhat larger than in
the average human skull, and as far as
the skull itself is concerned it does not
show any indication of the passions
which led to the tragic fate of the llys-
tefious individual, who took his ownl life
and bequeathsd his body to physicians.
DIR. Babcock secured the skull for the
purpose of studying the eye and ear
formations, in which he is greatly inter-
ested. He said that he had never seen
skull in which the bone formations
were more perfect than in the skull of
"Black john" There did not appear, as
far as he had studied the head, any in
dications of disease, and his investiga-
tions had only heightened his interest
in the peculiar fellow. who, although
yet young man, had so deliberately
shuff1ed off his life because he was tired
of it.
DR.. Bsbcock has quite collection of
skulls, and timorous person might
very easily have shock to his nerves if
he happened in there in dim lig bit, and
saw the eightless sockets staring
at him. Amongst other skulls
he has one of full-blooded Yuma In
dian, which presents characteristics
largely divergent from those of the skull
before mentioned. In the Indian skull
the frontal development is very slight,
and the width OF the head at the tenn.
pies is much less than in that OF the
Caucasian.
The doctor picked the skulls up and
handled them with such familiarity that
it made shivers run down the back of
the reporter, as finger would be in
serted in an eye-socket and skull would
be chucked about as if it was a piece of
wood.
The doctor has had some curious ex-
periences in the collection of skulls. It
is not everyone who has a desire
to figure on the shelf of a
physician after his demise, and
it is quite difficult to secure specimens,
although his success has been quite
phenomenal. Upon one occasion an
unknown man died in the city and his
skull was given into the possession of
DR.. Babcock, the remains receiving
burial at the hands of the county. Some
time after this the relatives of the man
traced him to Los Angeles and finally
located his grave. They also ascertained
that the head had been given to
physician. After making number OF
inquiries, it was learned that the
physician was DR.. Babcock, and
the relatives, who had come on
to Los Angeles, called upon
him at his Offices. Sure enough be had
the skull all nicely mounted and it
stood with others in his collection
Naturally enough the relatives could
scarcely trace anv familiar features, but
when the doctor pointed it out there
was considerable emotion displayed. OF
course he made no objection to it being
taken away. The grave was opened and
the skull was placed with the rest OF the
remains.
This is the only incident of this kind
that has occurred to the doctor, but
ever since that time he has been some
what careful about whose skull he takes
Should Be Arrested.
THE POPULAR DRMAND-Who? What should
ad A n dEGnnn-