Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1897-07-02
CAME BACK TO LIFE.
An Indiana Man Tells How II
Feels to Be Coffined.

William Gray, OF washington
county, Indiana, has just been
snatched from the most horrible
death the human mind can con-
cei7e. Within a few moments OF
the time fixed for his burial, he
sat up and quietly told the unS
dertaker that his services would
not be required. Had not the
supposed corpse returned to LIE
so suddenly another tragedy
would have been added to the
many laid at the door of our
system of burial. Here is writ
ten by his own pen the first ac>
count of this remarkable exper
fence:
"3efore I begin to tell the
details of how l cahhe near being
buried alive, only a few days ago,
would like to say that | am a
plain man, without much educa-
ton, SO if you expect any fine
description in my writing, you
will most likely be disappointed.
/ intend simply to describe as
nearly as | can the horror Of my
feelings, and l have no doubt
that the bare facts themselves
will be sufficiently interesting
without being dressed up by
fine language. The frightful
agony OF mind | passed through
will be enough, am sure, to TT
me for the task of describing it
all, for not for a moment has
one detail left my mind; in fact,
| suppose it is now implanted
on my memory forever.
"When | died-for was dead
according to the doctor-there
were present at my beside the
following people, all of WASH
ington county, Indiana: Mary
+. Gray, Jennie Shields, Mary
A. Shields, Robert Shields,
William Bartle and James Bartle.
All of these will swear to the
truth of what say, and SO will
the doctor, DR.. Ellrod, of Hen
nysville, Clark county, for am
sure that the mind of every one
present received a shock that
will remain with them for a life>
time. Even now they all look at
me as if wondering whether 1 am
really alive or All just a walking
spirit, and if it was not all so
dreadful l could laugh at the
whole affair.
Il am a farmer, and was born
IN Washington county forty
four years ago. | have been sick
ly for several years--you must
excuse me if l keep saying l
died, for | am firmly convinced
that l passed through the ex>
perienCe OF death. | was first
taken i'll last month, being seiz-
ed with a kind of collie or cramps.
At first thought little Of it,
but after a day or two the pains
grew so bad that I sent for DR..
Ellrod. He lives ten miles away
| explained to him how | felt,
and he gave me some medicine
and it did ME no good, and soon
my pains were awful. l began to
feel hot about the head, and
could not remember things very
well, and for two days | lay in
some kind Of fever. The doctor
came twice a day, but | grew
worse, and one day toward the
end of the month the family
gathered around my bedside. and
l could see by their grieved faces
that they thought was going to
die.
There was no shock i'll the
news. 1t seemed as if had known
fo1 years that | was going to die,
and then l felt my limbs growing
colder and colder, and realized
that the end was at hand. First
the chill struck my feet, and it
extended up my limbs, and then
from my finger tips TO my body,
until | felt as if an icy hand was
just about to grip my heart, and
that when that was doEe should
be dead. My pain was gone, but
in its place was a haunting dread
that seemed to swell my veins
until l thought that | should
become a maniac before l died
So much agony of mind was