The Saint Paul globe., 1903-07-26
Wrests From Nature the Proc
ess of Transf ormine Human
Bodies Into Stone-Uses Air
tight casket and Chemicals.

sculptured sarcophagi, the process OF
DR.. Rosett is not one of mummification,
but turns human flesh into heavy white
stone 1t is the method used by the
supreme alchemist, nature. to petrify
organic matter, that is initiated by the
scientist in his laboratory. Scores,
hundreds and often thousands of years
are required by nature. DR.. Rosett can
change, and has changed, in his labo-
ratory, human bodies and parts OF hu-
man. bodies, into glistening silicon IN
from four to six months. The length
Of time varies with the condition of the
subject at the time Of DEATH the char
acter Of the drugs given in the last ILL
ness having much to do with determfn-
ing the length of time necessary for
the chemicals used to work upon the
flesh.
Surprised mature.
This modern wizard worked for two
years and half before he finally sue
ceeded in surprising nature at her Sc
cret 1t was about eight months ago,
while he was taking a postgraduate
course OF Johns Hopkins university in
Baltimore that his efforts were finally
crowned wuth success. The success
came as a surprise to himself, as he
ayers.
DIR. Rosett was first attracted to the
study of preserving dead bodies while
he was a student at the university of
Maryland, in Baltimore. He deter |
mined, if the expenditure of time and
labor would avail, that he would sue
ceed where. so many hundreds had fall
ed through so many hundreds of years.
Almost at the outset he discarded all |
thought of seeking to- discover again
the methods of embalming used by the
ancient Egyptians. He was after
some thing that would last as long as
the eternal hills themselves, and would
preserve al the outlines of the body
in an unsunken condition. The Egyp-
tian mummies crumble. He was after
something that would last as long as
the stone collins in which they were
incaSed.
Thus it was he thought to spy upon
nature and surprise the working Of
the chemic laws through. which she 4
laborssin the very process Of petifac-
tion.f In sthes brtefest possible phrase, i
heseforces" the slow natural method Of
turning flesh INTO stone. The body
upon which he is to work is put into an
alright vessel of glass or enanneieds
ware and the chemicals which are
used are introduced.
Organic Matter Displaced.
It is kept ina IsmPerature of about
80 degrees RheauIner. {. Gradually the
molecules of f1esh-or organic matter
are displaced, and for every particle
is substituted like infinitesimal
bulk of inorganic matter. If the pro-,
cess were done all at once the body
could mot refain it's outer fern. All
the time the subject is in the alright
vessel. no matter how long it remains
aitEis in soft eondi tion. 1t is only on
exposure to the air that it hardens,
and the older it grows the harder it
becomes. The main Ingredient en-
ployed in the compound is silicon di-
oxide in liquid form.
AT present DR.. Rosett has in his
possession at his residence, 339 South
Pryor street, the perfectly preserved
body of an infant, and a number Of
parts Of bodies. DR.. Rosett moved
from Baltimore to Atlanta only a short
time ago, and the body of the child,
which was yet in the process Of petri-
faction, was spoiled by the removal.
1t is necessary, to insure perfect re-
Suits that the body be taken before the
cessation of cell life in it. Decomposi-
tion must not have set in. zBoCh S that
have been preserved several weeks on
ice may give good results. AS the body
becomes inorganic it can never be
affected by the bacteria which causes
decomposition once it has been put
through the process. In the Egyptian
mummies decomposition was prevent
ed for a marvellous length Of time be-
cause of the exclusion of air and the in
Productions of noxious chemicals into
the body which yet contained organ
&c matter. Modern methods fembalm-
ing depend mainlYsGQn the introduce
ton Of arsenic or some other poison in !
imical to the bacteria.
Beats Egyptian Method.
BY the method of preservation prac-
ticed by DR.. Rosett. there is nothing Of
f<1-. .I~
on, and thus decay is impossible. The
inefficiency of embalming in imitation
of the ancient Egyptians, themselves
inferior to the new discovery, is well
exemplified by the manner in which the
body of Abraham Lincoln, which re-
poses in a vault in Springfield ILL.,, has
decomposed. A few more years and
there will be nothing left of it. AT the
time of President McKinley's death
$4,000 was offered to any scientist who
would produce method of properly
preserving the body; there were no
acceptances. At that time DIR. Rosett's
experiments were only a few months
under way, and he had little hope at
that time he would be so soon sue
cessful.
This modern magician who has found
the secret Of Transforming the body Of
a man into everlasting stone-a statue
of hinself-was born at Vitebsk, Rus
sia, of Hebrew parents, thirty-five
years ago. His father was, and is yet,
a manufacturing chemist. The study
of science even form his early child
hood, amounted to a passion with him.
When he. was still lad his parents
removed to the city of Ekaterinburg,
in the state of Perrin, on the Siberian
frontier. There he received his early
education and prepared himself for the
study of chemistry,l In Russia the
doors of higher education are not
open to members oe;the Hebrew race;
only about per cen. of the Jews who
take the preparatsf9 scourses are per-
mitted to enter the universities.
A Modest Man.
It was this restitution that moved
DR.. Rosett to come to America. He
went to Baltimore, Where he devoted
himself to the pursuit of scientific
knowledge. He is-a- graduate of the
University of Maryland, and has taken
a postgraduate course at Johns Hop
kins. 1t is due to che delicate health
of his wife that he has come to At
lanta to practice 1medieine and con-
tinue his scientific researches Per-
sonally he is very modest, and dis
claims any great credit himself for the
discovery of the thing which has baf-
fed scientists for centuries
Another man might have found it
just as WELL" he says. Many men