The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-05
EANCIES
: AS TO BURIALS
Strange Devices Patented in Connection
with Funeral Ceremonies.
PLAN TO PREVENT B0DY.sNATCHING
What Is known as the Coffin Torpedo
Is Introduced Into the Coffin and
Expiodes When the Coffin is Tam.
percd With..Other Unique Ideas.

ented device In the line Of burial APP
pliances. 1t Is introduced into the cas-
ket before the latter is closed, the ar
rangement being such that any attempt
to force the receptacle open will re-
lease a spring. strike percussion cap,
and set off the bomb This means al
most sure death to the unsuspectlnS
grave robber, whose industry the in
vention in question is designed to dis
courage. b.. 80
Live people do a great deal of think
ing about death, If one Is to judge from
the immense number of patents that
have been granted for inventions hav-
ing relation to the tomb They run up
into the thousands. and not q few of
them are weird and grisly enough to
make the flesh creep. Among the most
interesting are the so-called life sig
nails" These are contrivances intended
to secure the release of persons prema.
turely inferred. There can be no DOUBT
that to many human beings the fear
Of being buried alive some day Is a
haunting dread through life.
All of the patented devices for life
signals have one feature In common
hand of the supposed corpse. In each
case 1t Is intended that any movement
shall set off an alarm of some kind.
One contrivance employs q small red
flag, which shoots up from the grave
and displays itself above ground II re.
quired. Another is called a grave an-
nunciator." A disturbance in the cof-
fin closes an electric circuit and springs
an alarm in the watch house of the
cemetery. The superintendent takes
note of the number of grave indicated
by the alarm. and proceeds without de-
| lay to dig up the victim.
! Yet another species OF apparatus Is
| operated by spring catch which
throws open the lid of a tube extending
from the coffin to above the ground,
thus admitting air. At the same time
bell Is set ringing. On somewhat
different principle Is an Indicator in a
| glass case. to be placed on top of the
grave and communicating by wires with
the alleged defunct below. If the lat
ter moves at all, a needle shows it..
| Most elaborate of all such devices Is
one in which wire is attached to a ring
on the thumb of the corpse. The
| slightest movement of the hand pulls
trigger which starts a clockwork me-
chanism. This sets off an alarm and
at the same time puts In operation a fan
| which forces air down q tube into the
coffin. There Is second tube provided
with a lamp and reflector so arranged
that one may look down and see the
face of the deceased. After a reason
| able period has elapsed, the tubes are
to be withdrawn.
The practical value of contrivances
of this kind is impaired by the fact
that the bodies of people really dead do
| frequently move in their collins by rea-
son of causes wholly normal. To this
circumstance Is largely due the wide-
spread belief In the frequency of prema-
ture interments. During the late civil
war many soldiers were said to have
been buried alive, being merely in a
stupor arising from loss of blood or ex-
haustion. Corpses have often been
| found turned over, as II they had
walked up and tried to get out In 9TH
er cases the tongue has been discovered
protruding from the mouth, as IL from
suffocation. and there have been stains
from bleeding on the clothing. 1t is
now known that such phenomena are
occasioned by the expansion of the
gases of putrefaction. Bleeding often
occurs after death.
MANY KINDS OF COFFINS.
Glancing over the record of patents,
one finds mention of an astonishing
variety of materials for collins. One
| inventor proposes to make burial cask-
cts out Of blown glass, the mortuary
receptacle being in two halves, united by
a strip of rubber SO as to be air tight.
| There are collins moulded out of paper,
pulp, collins of artificial marble, cof-
fins of wire coated with asphaltum, cof-
fins lined with artificial stone, collins
of pOtter's clay, collins Of celluloid, cof-
fins Of hard rubber. and cement collins
filled in with excelsior and glycerine for
a perservative. One of the queerest
cofIins Is manufactured out of a mix
ture of plaster of paris, cork dust, ami
NAL hair, dextrine, Indian red and
! water. tits warranted light and dur
able -s.
Ordinarily. the main thing sought in
collins seems to be that they shall pre-
serve the body as long as posible-in
| other words, extend the processes of
decay over as great length of time as
! practicable. The idea does not seem
very good sense and 1t Is interesting to
find that some inventions look the op-
poste way. One patented perishable
burial casket is composed of glue. resin,
linseed oil, and whiting. The moisture
of the earth quickly disintegrates the
substance. leaving the corpse exposed
to natures resolvent action. Another
| style of coffin is a mere skeleton frame
with a covering of plaster of paris, dex-
trine. carbonate of silver and other ma
terials properly mixed. This coating is
very hard in the air, but Is soon dissolv-
ed when exposed to moisture under
ground.
Equally worthy of note is an inflam-
mabe coffin, made of highly combusti-
BILE materials 1t is designed for use IN
the crematory. helping, instead of re-
sisting. the process Of combustion. A
coffin of open wickerwork has the same
purpose as those of perishable fashion,
/. G.. to expose the inclosed body to
contact with mother earth. Another
style of burial case is made in the shape
of human form, being cast out of
metal in two parts which fit together.
One inventor proposes to fill his alright
casket with preservative gas. A 'por-
table vault" intended to hold a coffin,
is of iron. with catches inside so ar
ranged that the receptacle can not be
opened. If grave robbers should sue
coed in carrying 1t away on truck,
they would have great difficulty in fore
ing it open. -
Glass collins are no. novelty: they
were patented in England in 1S47. They
were not new. even then. for 1t is known
that the Egyptians used them over 1000
\ years ago. Ancient Egyptian collins
Were frequently stained to represent
L do. Irf nr ir dor, Ss.--