Brookings weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1898-1903, 1899-02-09
BONES FROM oMDURMAN.
First Consignment of Dcrvish Skeleton.
Arrive In London. q

Arrive In London. 81
There has Just arrived in London
the first consignment of dervish skel-
etons from the battlefield Of Omdur-
man, says the London Daily Mail.
There is no outward and visible sign
In London Of brisk market in ana
tomical human bones. Indeed, public
sentiment might receive a shock were
central depot or building to be es-
taollshed for the necessary traffic and
barter in skeletons Nevertheless the
metropolitan skeleton market is steady
ana lucrative enough, though no sales
are advertised or auctions announced
10 secure constant supply of skele-
TONS up to the mark of trade stand
ards and technical requirements is not
an easy matter. For no bone. however
tlny, must be missing, since an incom.
plete bony scaffolding would be value
less TO the medical student. A wide
spread belief exists that skeletons are
obtained from the unclaimed bodies Of
workhouse and hospital inmates. To
some extent this is true, for such
bodies, after use in the dissecting.
room, furnish further useful object
lessons. But the number of un.
claimed bodies is small compared with
the demand for skeletons, so that deal
ers must go further afield in their
search for medical school material. A
big battle offers an obviously large
harvest OF skeletons, and already some
OF the dervishes killed at Omdurman
have found a market in one of the
London hospitals. 1t is only right to
state that there Is not the slightest
possible chance of British soldier
having been converted into a market
able skeleton. Due and careful pre-
cautions were taken to prevent such
contingency, so that any surviving
bones from the Soudan victory are
only those Of the fighting dervish. One
of the principal dealers in London
states that these fine, athletic dervish.
es make the finest skeletons ever put
On the bone market. II is not so easy
to insure supply OF well-developed
skeletons" he says. "for many of these
are obtained from the stunted. half,
starved type which ends it's days--un-
claimed and uncared form a casual
ward or hospital. The dervish offers
a rare opportunity in skeletons, end
though the expense of transport is
very great. the type of skeleton he
makes is sure to command a price
sufficiently high to cover the extra cost
OF freight. Only a small percentage
have come to London-the rest have
been distributed among TIE other large
European cities, such as Vienna, Berlin,
and Paris. Great care has to be taken
In selecting specimens from battle
field, for those with shattered or brok.
en- bones win not furnish an entire
skeleton. or course there is always
a sale for skulls and single bones, but
the aim of those who supply anatomic-
al dealers Is TO obtain entire and per-
feet skeletons, for these naturally bring
higher price. After the Franco
Prussian war the skeleton trade bade
fair to be oyerstocked, and dealers
held back their surplus stock, lest
prices should be too much cut There
was not a single German skeleton OF.
feTed-it is always the vanquished who
come to an anatomical end. It's
curious thing" continued the connois-
seur in bones, that the skeletons Of
Frenchmen should be so much whittier
than British bones"