The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1899-08-18
SURE SIGN OF DEATH.
NO DANGER OF BURIAL ALIVE WHEN
IT SHOWS ITSELF.


Cases to Mistake the Living Fer the
Dead, There IL Little Chance Of Mis-
taking tho Dead For the Living.
Two recent cases of lethargic sleep in
Paris, both Of which narrowly and by a
mere accident escaped premature burial,
have induced the Partisan Medical col
lege to repeat the offer made some years
ago of a prize Of considerable value to
any one who will discover an unmistaka-
be test of death, which is evident and
practicable to the most inexperienced
person.
Medical men doubt II this prize will
ever be awarded. for they say, with rea-
son, that 1t is with death as with dis
ease-one cannot come to a decision with
any certainty without complete exami-
nation of the whole organism.
Except the abdominal discoloration,
the appearance Of which in winter is
frequently much retarded, there Is moth
ing in the actual state Of death which is
not closely simulated in the state Of GER
tain cases Of lethargic sleep.
Without appreeiable cause the body
becomes cold, the pulsations Of the heart
imperceptible, the respiratory organs
cease to initiate the throat, the face Is
pale and the pupil Of the eye fixed, as In
actual death.
This being the case, many nervous per-
sons are necessarily tormented by the
fear of being buried alive. .' r
No doubt some terrible mistakes have
been made, most frequently In countries
~, Las - " burial
of the dead, as in Italy, when the body
is consigned to the grave "a hours after
death and before certain signs have had
full time to manifest themselves.
Unquestionably danger lies in the i'm
mediate embalmment, which would at
once destroy any latent sparks of life.
For this reason the French Medical col
lege desires some infallible test which
can be put into practice Immediately on
the appearance Of death. Regarding this
a prominent physician says:
"With the present advanced knowledge
of the diseases of the nervous system,
a mistake should be impossible, and it
may be as positively asserted that suffi-
GENTLY evident signs do exist, and with
proper precaution no one need fear that
he may one day find himself alive in
coffin.
zone of the first signs Of dissolution
is the cessation of the cardiac pulsation,
and it has been established that when
the central organ has ceased to operate
for 20 minutes at the most life is ex-
tinct.
at is well to know that without en-
tirely ceasing the heart beat can be so
excessively weak that it cannot be de-
tected by the ear.
Circulation is suspended the instant
the hearts action is stilled, and any one
can ascertain this fact by very simple
experiment.
"If on living persons finger we tight
ly tie piece of string between the last
Joint and the joint of articulation, the
upper joint becomes rapidly violet, but
this is not the case with the dead, for
the whole finger retains its livid color
"There are three other phenomena
which occur speedily after death-yiz,
dilation of the pupil. the CLASSY appear
ance of the eye and the softening of the
eycball.
"The dilation of the pupil is a difficult
observation for persons unaccustomed to
such an examination. Furthermore, it is
transient, and the very fact of opening
the eye to make the observation may
obliterate the dilntion.
"No one, however, who has ever watch
ed the light Of life fade and disappear
forever from the eyes of some loved one
can fail to understand the terrible sig
niticance of this last phenomenon.
at is general rule that after death
the body becomes cold, but to this there
are certain exceptions, for in tetanus
Qockjaw), cholera and typhus the tenn
perature may rise many degrees during
the first few hours that follow death.
"Be that as it may, il the central heat
does not rise above 20 degrees it is GER
tain that life is extinct.
"rhe rigidity of the body produced by
the coagulation of the contents Of the
fiber, commencing in the jaw
and neck and pervadng the whole body
in variable order, presumes death.
"As every one knows, in the case of
hunted animals rigidty appears quickly.
The same detail has frequently been OBJ
served in the field of battle, when the
bodies Of soldiers who have been killed
in the heat Of the fight retain the exact
position they had during the combat, the
face expressing enthusiasm or terror.
"a singular case is cited during the
Franco Prussian war in 1870. An un-
fortunate guard mobile was decaptated
by a cannon ball while he was drinking
from his pauakn.
Some hours afterward, when the sur
geons were going over the field of battle,
they found the body in precisely the
same position. the hand holding the
panakin to the height Of the absent
mouth.
Equally strange was the sight Of the
headless body of Major Nolan-whose
enigmatic aud impatient message caused
the immortal charge Of the Light brigade
at Balaklava-riding erect in his saddle,
with his sword stretched aloft, for 80 or
40 yards.
II hardly think 1t necessary to COM
ment on the tests which consist of plac-
ing a mirror before the mouth of the
dead nor Of the firing by redhot irons.
The one infallible and unmistaka BILE sign
is the blue green tint which shows itself
on the right side Of the abdo-
men, and when this comes we may safely
lay our dead ones to rest in the full con-
victon that they are sleeping their last
sleep, for, although it is possible in some
cases to mistake the living for the dead,
there is but little chance of installing
the dead for, the living"
Live In Midnir.
The monks of the monastery Of st.