Year: 1874

TO the Editor ofthe Nec FORK San:


There have been so many comments in
the papers, and receive SO many letters
which it is impossible for me to answer in
reference to the curious case Of petrifaction
which recently came under my notice, that
] am constrained 10 write an account Of
the whole affair, giving at the same time
my hypothesis as explanatory of the ra-
tionale.


Mr.. Frederick Haller is by profession a
lawyer. He early acquired, however, quite
a fondness for the natural sciences, espe-
cially geology. He has perhaps the lar
gest and most complete geological cabinet
in Louisiana. Whenever he wishes to
relieve himself from the dry details of law
he withdraws himself into his q Rock
Study" as he calls the apartment whore
he keeps his cabinet and books relating to
science, and there passes many hours in
experiment, in reading, and in manipulai-
ing the geological and archaeological
collections which, through a period Of
nearly thirty years, he has drawn together.


Having married early in life, some FIVE
years ago he lost his wife and gave up his
household affairs to an elderly maiden sister.
Something over month ago he married
again, taking as his bride beautiful and
charming young girl of sixteen. As ply
sician to her fathers family and an intimate
friend was an honored guest of the mar
riage ceremony.


On the morrow after the wedding Mr..
Haller took his young bride to his residence,
splendid mansion in the suburbs Of the
village. She was accompanied by num-
Der Of her female friends who were to
spend the day with her. while he, having
business Of Importance at his Office in town,
promised to return as speedily as he could
dispose of the business. The bride, being
installed in her new home, cared TO take
little notice of household matters for this
first day of matrimonial life, preferring to
amuse herself with the friends who had
come over with her, knowing that the do
mestic affairs were in good hands.


At about one o'clock she and some three
or four of her most intimate friends went
into Mr.. Haller's Crock Study" already
mentioned, to look over the cabinet Of
curiosities, where they amused themselves
in frivolous gayety, such as young and
thoughtless girls would indulge in, harm
less and innocent to all appearance. Among
the curiosities which Mr.. Haller had gath.
cred were several round boulders brought
from Arkansas These boulders on being
broken present in the central space crys-
talline formation, and are usually not
much larger thar, the double fists. One
Of these, however, was unusually large,
measuring twenty-one inches in circumfar-
ence. Frequently the internal surface,
always hollow, contains water, or rather
concentrated solution Of silica in water.
This fact was known to one Of the young
ladies, who mentioned il. At once they
all began to wonder whether there was
water in the large boulder. Two Of the
smaller ones had been broken, showing in
the centre large crystals, and had contained
water, according to the assertion Of the
young lady who had gained her information
at some other time in previous visit


At once it was proposed to break the
large one, and several Intellectual attempts
were made by them with geological
hammer always present. They called to
their aid colored man, a servant on the
place, who was requested to break open
the rock, as they called it. He readily
assented, being willing to thus render his
first service to the new mistress. A pitch
er being placed underneath the boulder as
the man held it, one sturdy blow of the
stalwart arm cracked it, and the fluid
within ran out and was collected in the
pitcher, scarcely losing drop, there being
half pint of it. A few additional blows
opened the boulder, presenting large, fine,
transparent crystals of quartz. These were
much admired, and other friends were
called from the parlor to look at the nov
city.


The bride, without ever giving it
thought, conceived the notion Of drinking
the water from the boulder. She poured
most of it into a glass tumbler, nearly
filing it, and lifting Il to her lips she drank
first to the health Of her husband, then to
that of the unmarried friends in the room,
wishing them shortly TO be happy brides
like herself, and drained the glass, all being
done so quickly that no one had time to
interfere or to think that any consequences
might follow.


At first it was thought that no harm was
done, and it was considered fine Joke
and much merriment was made. But in
few minutes the youthful bride complain
ed Of excessive pain in the stomach, and
she began to realize the rashness Of her
action. A messenger was sent in haste
for her husband and myself Mr.. Haller's
Office being near my own, we received the
message almost simultaneously; and we
rapidly drove together in my buggy to his
house. When We arrived she was dead.
period Of fifteen minutes having elapsed
from the time Of taking the fatal draught
to the time Of extinction of life. They
were just laying her out on our arrival.
To my surprise found she had grown in
that short period so rigid as to render it
difficult to straighten her limbs. In the
course Of three-quarters of an hour her
entire body became as hard and inAexible
as bone.


| pass over the grief and copsternation
Of the husband and the family as something
too sacred for remark, combining myself
exclusively to the scientific facts. Il was
plain that something akin to ossifcation
had taken place. On more minute exam
ination and inquiry found that the
dissolved silica she hae take. into her
stomach had been absorbed and transmitted
by the chylopoietic apparatus aud blood
vessels throughout the system, and that
her whole body was petrifaction


The case being so singular and so sudden
the husband and the brides family con-
sented to partial post mortem examine
ton, other medical men coming TO my
assistance. We found il impossible to cut
through any portion with our scalpels.
DR.. Ferguson broke his scalpel in the FIRST
attempt. We were able only to break
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