Year: 1879

indianapolis Herald


1t was after eleven when the
Professors of Physiology and A
natomy with four students came
up. The reporter gave such ac-
curate proofs of knowledge of
what was up that it ended III his
being invited to witness some
experiments that were about tc
be performed to demonstrate GER
tain mooted questions regarding
the physiology of the brain and
spinal cord, as well as the power
to resuscitate persons drowned
or hanged. The dissecting rooms
"a suit Of not very large rooms
were crowded with'narrow red
tables, upon which were twenty
or thirty bodies in various stages
of dissection and decomposition.
The stencil, while not very great,
was, when accompanied by the
sight, simply sickening, and cur
reporter wished his Judgment
had not been over-ruled by his
professional curiosity.


1t was soon arranged that the
Professor of physiology should
be assisted by the Professor CT
anatomy and four students. A
table and lamp were assigned to
our reporter in taking notes.
The rest of the party quietly O.
pened and arranged the various
instruments: two batteries { Bum
son's), one six and the other SIX
teen cells, were regulated Tor
work. A tripod about eight feet
high, with a Sayers apparatus for
lifting the body, was placed over
a bath tub, which was covered
by blanket to keep in the steam.


All eing,ready, we surround
ed the tub, as the cover was re-
moved, to have a view Of the
body of a man who at twenty
minutes past twelve had been de-
cbaring his innocence at the jail,
and who had fallen through the
hangman's trap. The head and
beard had been shaven; the face
was not so black as when expos
ed to view at the undertaker's III
the afternoon; the hot bath had
so softened the distorted features.


All things being ready the Pro-
fessor adjusted the head straps
of the Sayers apparatus and COM
menced drawing upon the cords
which pass over a series Of pull
leys at the top of the tripod.
The body of the murderer was
thus drawn upward at full length
by the head, until the toes rest
ed in the tub. Instantly the as
sistants rubbed the body briskly
with coarse towels for two min
utes, and then wrapped it, from
the shoulders down, with warm
blanket.


81 DESIRE" said the Professor,
"to reduce the dislocation OF
the bones of the neck by this
hanging by the head. This
man died simply because the
second bone of the neck was
pulled away from the first, which
is like a thin, fiat ring, support
ing the skull. This second bone
has tooth-like prominence, or
pivot, upon which the head turns.
If this pivot is pulled out, that
is suspending all the vital force
which should keep this man alive,
the pivot is pressing upon the
spinal cord, and that pressure
produces paralysis of breathing,
and the heart becomes crowded
with clotted blood, and all the
machinery becomes stopped"


During this time the two Pro-
fessors were drawing the body in
various directions, and were ma
nipuIating the head and neck
without success. The body was
then removed to a table and
placed upon It's face, with the
arms drawn up under the fore
head, when the Professor of a.
natomy, with a narrow chisel,
made a cash in the neck where
it joins the head, and with two
short, quick blows from mallet
split the two upper bones that
were pressing upon the cord, like
cutting a ring that had become
too tight. After this was ac-
complished the body was turned
upon its back. Taking up the
detached nozzle of large bel