The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-12-14
HE PUT HIMSELF
INTO A GRLVE
And Filled Dirt and Rock on
Top of the Coffin.
VICTIM OF A MANIA
Wrote a Letter to the Sexton
to Rescue Him.

New York, Dec 15.-The New York
Herald says:
To go to a country church yard in the
middle of the night, garb himself in the
robes of dead and lie down in newly
dug grave is the strange. grewsone mania
OF John Marc Baddollet, now in BayvIew
asylum, Baltimore, where as a remanded
v.olator of the law he is spending thirty
days in lieu of fine of s25 and costs
John Hinkle. the sexton Of St. John
/ Protestant Episcopal Church, Waverly.
exhumed Badollet Sunday morning, Nov
10, from grave which the sexton had dug
Ia preparation Of the funeral of Mrs. Vim.
/ Prince. As Badollet was lifted from the
coffin box, bound hand and foot. he was
turned over TO the police, TO whom he
made conflicting statements and at last
/ confessed that he had buried himself.
/ Or this confession, and prosecuted by the
rector and vestry of the church, he was
fined by Acting Justice Reed, at the
/ Northern police station and committed in
! default on charge of Decorating a
/ cemetery
Mrs Prince died Thursday night. Sex
| ton Hinkle dug the grave Friday morn
ing in the Prince lot, Immediately in the
rear of the church and Lear the fence
that separates the burial ground from a
vacant lot. On Saturay morning he
placed in position the wooden box into
which TIE coffin was to be lowered. He
was assisted in the work by William
Ray. Learning on Saturday that the
funeral would not take place until Sun
dow aff he vIu ha
CT the grave box. About dark Saturday
evening he passed the grave and found
ey erything intact His later experiences
are best told by Sexton Hinile himself.
Asked for an exact account of the strange
events he said:
Sunday morning after the service,
probably about quarter after eight, l
went to the grave and saw that some one
had thrown lot of earth and several
large pieces of rocks in it. called Rev.
Mr.. Morgan's attention to it. I went TO
breakfast and hurried back to clear out
the dirt. Henry Ray went with me. Then
for the first time I noticed white rag in
the dirt the box cover.
While Ray and myself were standing
beside the open grave we heard a voice
coming out of the grave
Help it cried. Please take me out
81 this box
Then the voice came again, muffed but
distinct Please take me out of this box
Ray said, there IS somthing wrong.
Somebody is in that box alive. You run
for an officer and l viii tell Mr.. Morgan"
L thought that if a man was impriso-
ned there he would be suffocated, so
took a shovel and began to clear away
the dirt and rock from the cover There
must have been three or four hundred
pounds of it. The reception box fitted into
the grave closely and the cover could
not be moved sideways l managed to
slip the lid back toward the foot about
two inches. in order to give the occupant
o. the box air. l then waited for an officer
to arrive. All this took about twentp
minutes and it was twenty minutes past
nine o'clock when Ray returned with
Patrolman Grove
Hinkle, Ray and Crow got the cover
off the the box with some difficulty and
saw man lying in the narrow grave
box, completely filling it. He seemed
to be clothed in white and a black calico
81 read was over him from his knees
Almost to his chin.
" Iltn iiIleu from the grave IL was lOuliu
that his hands were tied as well as his
feet and that, other than the shroud and
a pair of thin undergarments, he wore no
clothing. His hat one sock and belt
were found hanging on nearby tree.
The remainder of his clothing had been
relied into bundle and placed under his
head for a pillow. An enyelop addressed
to Grave Digger" was found beside him.
In broken English the man begged his
rescuers not TO ask him TO talk, as he was
too i'll and weak He was assisted to the
rectory and coffee was given him. The
shroud was made of muslin in the shape
OF bag with a draw cord at the top
which closed it about the neck. on the
font was neatly printed in ink:
JAMES NJ. BERNARD
October 4. 1S52-May Il. 1902
a black rubber tube. somewhat larger
than an umbrella cover, closed at one
end. with q flap OF muslin and two long
strings attached at the other was
also in the box. and newly made burgee
This latter was the regular triangle shape
OF those that float from mastheads Of
ships. and on It was printed:
JAMES A BARNARD
1S52-lSse
The man told the officers after much
questioning.
About ten years ago I knew an old
German named Mayer have forgotten
his first name-who vas in the Almhouse
in Wilmington. He died and some Of
his relatives asked ne ~ hear tn. exuan-