Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1901-06-28
HARRISON'S SAD ORDEAL
Ex-PRESlDENT FOUND FATHERS
BODY IN A DlSSEcTINC ROOM.

The death of former President Ben
Jamin Harrison has recalled to few
residents of this city, writes a Cincin-
natl correspondent of the New York
Sun, tragic incident in his career
which happened here not long after
the death of John Scott Harrison, his
father, in May, 1878. The man who
was later to be president had accept
ed the nomination for governor short
time previously and although he ran
1000 ahead of his ticket the Republi-
, cans were defeated. 1t was before he
had been elected to the United States
! senate. although that possibility was
already contemplated.
General Harrison had returned to
his native town of North Bend, 16 miles
from here, to visit his family and re-
new his old friendships in the place
of his birth. He had gone there from
Indianapolis, because it was already
rumored that he might be called to
Washington to serve his term as SEN
ator. During his visit to the little
Ohio town he was made much of by
the persons who had known him in his
youth and although his father had just
died he received many visits from the
country people; one of those who came
to see him was an old German woman,
whose husband had been buried re-
Gently.
"She came to see General Harrison"
said a man who was a part of the in
cident he was relating to a group of
frtn de, h. ,i,rIt
rison's death, because she knew he
was influential friend of her hus-
bands, and would help her in the
trouble that had come with her widow
hood. Her husbands body had been
buried in the little churchyard of the
village and few days afterward there
We're unmistakable evidences that his
grave had been tampered with In
vestigation showed that the body had
been stolen. There was immediate sus-
picion that it had been sold to one of
the medical colleges in this city, and
the woman wanted her husbands
friend to help her to recover the body.
'She told her story to General Har-
r1son, who promised to do what he
could to help her.. as he was coming
to Cincinnati the next day on his way
back to indianapolis. He agreed with
the idea that the body had been
brought here and sold for the pur-
poses of one of the clinics, and the
first thing he did on reaching Cincin-
natl was to consult with the chief of
police.
"The general and he agreed as to
the best means of conducting the
search. The chief got warrant and
sent constable with him and his
friends to all of the medical colleges
here. The first institution they went
there they found no signs of the body.
General Harrison knew that he would
be able to identify it and he spared
no effort in making the search thor
ough. Every body in the dissecting
room was shown to the party, and
when General Harrison told us that
he had failed to find any that looked
like the old German we moved on to
the three other colleges with dissect-
ing rooms. In none of these was there
any sign of the body for which we
were searching, although General
Harrison looked at every cadaver from
those which had just been brought in
TO those picked in the cellars down
stairs.
I'VE had about given up hope and
only the generals suggestion that we
return to the Ohio State college once
more led the party back there again.
We felt certain that there was no place
we had not seen, but when General
Harrison thought that it might pay to
look through the rooms again we all
went back willingly.
The dissecting room in the State col
lege was on the top floor and the eel
lar, in which the bodies were kept
was directly under this. The subjects
were lifted from the cellar to the ton
floor by pulley rope, which passed
through the different floors by means
OF trap doors cut on every landing: in
these were cut holes for the ropes.
We had walked up the staircase with
out noticing this rope, especially un-
til we reached the dissecting room,
and then understood from its appear
ance for what purpose it was used.
the constable in the party put his
hand on it just as we were leaving the
room and felt that it was taut; he sug-
gested to General Harrison that the
trap door be opened and that what
ever was on it be hoisted to the room
in which we were standing, in order
to see what it was.
The janitor of the building, with
one of the instructors, was showing
us through. He demurred at this sug-
gestion; but when General Harrison
indicated to him plainly that he
wished the rope pulled up the two
men complied. We stepped back from
the trap door, which was opened; the
janitor leaned forward and pulled
down the rope, which brought up the |
object attached to the other side.
Suddenly there shot into view
through the aperture from the floor
below the naked body of an old man.
A Id 4 IL