The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1901-05-16
RARRISON'S SAD ORDEAL
tx-PaESlOENT FOUND FATHERS
BODY IN A CiSS5CTlNC ROOM.

" ent lhere TO Try 10 Find tne ho''J W
an Humble German Which Had Eeen
| .tolen - Persisted in His Search, and
| Was Greatly Shocked at His Discovery.
The death of former President Ben
jamin Harrison has recalled to few
| residents of this city, writes Cincin-
| natl correspondent Of the New York
Sun, a 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
cd 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 man who was part of the IN
cident he was relating to a group OF
friends the night after General Har-
rison'5 death, because she knew he
was influential, a 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
were unmistaka5le 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-
rison, who promised to do what he
could to help her, as he was coming
30
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-
matt 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 thsy 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 disssct-
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 Gel
lar, in which the bodies were kept,
| was directly under this. The subjects
were lifted from the cellar to the top
floor by a 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 it's 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 tho aperture from the floor
below the naked body of an old man
A rope was tied around the neckand in
this was a hook attached to the rope
that served to lift the bodies upward
General Harrison had been through all
sorts of experiences that evening with
the bodies of so many kinds that we
had seen. He had never flinched OF
hesitated to examine closely enough tc
see if he had found the missing hus-
band of his old friend. He was not
an emotional man, but changed color
at the sight of the body that came into
view. It's head had already beer
shaved for the dissecting table. HI
spoke a few hurried words to the con-
| 4.l,o +Lot pono of TIC hoard Tho of.