The San Francisco call., 1896-08-05
Twice Pronounced Without Life,
but a Neighbor Prevents
Interment.
HER BODY RIGID AS a CORPSE.
She AwakenS From a Weeks Stupor
and Eagerly Pleads for
Food.

PORTLAND, Or, Aug. AIRS Mary s
Albertson, young widow owning small
dairy near this city, has unusual cause tc
be thankful that she is alive. A grave had
been prepared for her, and but for the in
reference of a neighbor she would have
suffered horrible death by suffocation in
3 casket under six feet of earth. Twice
she had been pronounced dead by physi-
clans and attendants, and all arrange.
ments for her funeral were completed.
But she emerged from her deathlike
trance at last, and is now on the road to
recovery. Hers is most remarkable case.
Mrs. Albertson was taken sick with a
mild attack of typhoid fever. Two weeks
ago last Sunday was the first time she
ventured out since her illness, and on that
day she came to this city to attend church.
That night she again was taken sick. and
her attending physician pronounced it q
relapse of the fever.
Mrs. AlberTson continued to grow more
feeble from day to day, until o'clock in
the morning of the 9th of July, when
she seemingly passed away. Preparations
were made to bury her on the 29th, but as
her body was being placed in a casket the
corpselike rigidity forsook it, and it be-
came as limp as in life.
Frank Thurman, who had had many
years experience as a hospital nurse in
Denmark, was present at the time, and he
opposed the burial of the woman under
those conditions, An electric battery was
applied to the seemingly dead woman. 1t
produced muscular twitchings and hec-
tic flush IN her cheeks, but nothing more.
Thurman, however insisted that Mrs. Al
bertsoa was In trance, end his positive
refusal to allow the body to be innumed
until more conclusive evidences of death
became apparent almost created q row.
On Friday noon, while Thurman and
friend, William Olsen, were gazing upon
Mrs. Albertson, who had been taken out
of the casket and placed back on her bed,
they saw healthy color coming and GO
ing in her face. Shortly after that her
fingers slightly moved, but the eyes re-
manned closed. DR.. Vernon was sum-
moned as quickly as possible, but when
he arrived the face had resumed its death
like pallor and the body was as rigid as
when he first declared that life had aban-
doned it. The doctor remained in the
room couple of hours, at the expiration
OF which time the phenomenon repeated
itself. The doctor had taken the precau-
ton to bring his galvanic battery with
him, and this he at once utilized.
The effect was almost incredible. In a
half-minute Mrs. Albertson moved her
right arm and pressing her hand to her
brow she uttered low moan. This salts
fed DR.. Vernon that life was not extinct,
and the galyanic battery was applied
every hour or two on that and the follow
ing day without producing any more
satisfactory results. The last application
of the battery was made at o'clock yes
terday morning, when Mrs. Albertson
opened her eyes and in a weak voice said:
"Oh, I'm so hungry"
Restoratives were close at hand. and
the battery was kept in operation for
another half-hour, when the woman.
without assistance, sat upright in her bed.
The occurrences of the preceding week
were blank to her, excepting the placing
of her body in casket. She says she was
conscious that she was to be buried alive,
but was unable to give any sign to escape
from that horrible fate. Within the past