The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1895-08-29
A FREAK or seHEAMBunSH.
Digging she Bsay From the Grave
Einas His wife Alive. -

Dsgstng she Bsdy From the Grave
Finas His wife Alive. -.
A strange psychological phenomena is
puxzling the residents of Mcdonald, q
small settlement just across the line In
Pennsylvania. says Burlington. N. T.,
special to the st. Louis Republic.
Thomas Wilcox came to this place sew
eral years ago from st. Louis and pur-
chased farm. Mrs. Wilcox health was
not very good, but the couple were re-
markably devoted to each other. Wilcox
is q somnambulist and ofttimes at night
his wife would dream OF certain spot or
place, and he, a. under influence beyond
his control, would arise and 60 to the
scene II 1t was near by. He could never
give any explanation OF his action and
was apparently much surprised when he
awoke.
During q recent thunder storm light
ming struck the Wilcox house and passed
through the room in which Mrs. Wilcox
was sitting. Though no marks Of the
fluid could be found en- her person, she
had been struck, and the result proved
apparently fatal. Her husband was
Frustrated with grief and refused to be-
lieve her dead, saying he felt continually
as il she were alling him. He maintained
that life still remained in the body, and
the corpse was kept for burial four days.
Then the friends insisted on funeral,
and the remains were laid to rest. After
the services, Wilcox, who had passed
three sleepless nights, fell into an ex-
hausted slumber, in which his friends
left him.
Shortly after midnight he entered q
somnambulistic state. and arising from
the couch, went to shed where, he pro-
cured . spade. Then he made his way
to the cemetery squarter Of mile distant,
where he began frantically digging at his
wife's grave. The earth was loose and
it did not require much labor. As he
neared the casket the nerve tension in
creased, and dropping his spade he be-
gan digging with both hands. When
the onter covering Of the box was re-
moved, with superhuman strength be
wrenched loose the cover Of the coffin,
and placing his arms around the body,
raised Il to sitting posture. There was
faint gasp. the corpse opened its eyes,
gave an ear piercing shrek and fell back
into the casket. The shrek awoke Will
COZ and he found himself standing in an
open grave over the body of his wife.
The ends Of his fingers were raw and
bleeding where he had scraped the soil
from the casket. There was the rustic
Of piece Of cloth, and then it dawned
upon him that his wife was alive.
Quickly he carried her to q neighboring
farm house, where the frightened in
mates administered such restoratives as
they had at hand.
When Mrs. Wilcox was sufficiently re-
covered she said the last she remembered
was sitting in a chair in the room of her
house until she was awakened by an op-
pressive effort to breathe. Trying to raise
her hand 1t came in contact with the cof-
fin lid, and then the awful thought fash
cd over her that she was buried alive. In
that one moment of supreme agony she
concentrated all her efforts and made
one great mental call on her husband for
help, and tainted away. Mr.. Wilcox re-
members nothing Of the occurrence from
the moment he retired until he found
himself standing in his wife's grave.
Physicians say the electric bolt stun
ned, bat did not kill, though the trance
was so like death as to be indistinguish.
able. They claim that the resurrection
was the result Of mental teIegraphy, the
thought Of the wife impressing itself upon
the mind Of the husband.