BURIED ALIVE

NZ Truth, Issue 946, 12 January 1924, Page 7

BURIED ALIVE

LAW RpRK Po§|_ PROOF Of DEAIH ALARMING CEMETERY TRAGEDIES Certified As Dead While Conscious Of Surroundings * The human mind can scarcely conceive a more dreadful death than to be buried alive. How often does this gruesome tragedy actually happen? Nobody can say positively, but the mere thought that it may happen frequently is enough to send chills of terror through all of us. It appears indeed probable that there 1 are many case* m which we cannot say with certainty that pre--5 mature burial does not occur. There is» however, no way or find- v ing out how often it does oocur. / ■

:In England many persona of the highest intelligence/including distinguished doctors and Judges, believe that burial alive Is a common fate and Wave shown their fear by directions m their -Will to make their death unquestionable before sealing them up m . t their tomb. ..,,■■• • So widespread is the fear of being buried alive.; that . a new law, introduced m the. House of Commons to guard people egainat the danger, provides for the appointment of public vcertifiers of death, who. must be mcdi- , cal : men. Either the doctor who at- ■ . tended the deceased m his last illness, or; a dpctor appointed . by the public* authoritiesr must certify the death, arid state .explicitly the causes of death. lie. : jnust- state, positively that Mi© knows ' the patient was hot m, a state., pf : ytranepr, ; : . : /:,'-, : .'• - '^ -,-- ■.■')",.■ . If "iJhie- physician" who .attehded the I .deceased gives the certificate, he must " i'hoye.'seen the deceased ""fit least twice ; wUh|n- eight days of \ his' death. Otherwlso.the public medical examiner must, be called m. The object of this pro 4 ' vision is to mqke. sure that the doctor knows .that it is not a cose of epileptic trance simulating death or some other dlspas.e m which apparent death is' Ukejft"' to occur. ' 'Some English reformers, think that; the new law does not go f.ar enough' ahd that \it should pi<o vide Borne positive m'easurei like severing the spinal cot?dVi'.Which wouM make death absolutely,, certain befdi'e burial. Against 1 this: -it is urged that such apreeautlon might result In killing many persons who Ttfere not really dead. ■■■■ TJxo new law has' received considerabfe/iijup^ort from the English medical profession; many members o£ which admit tho possibility of burial: alive, pry Sterison Hooker, one of the leading English neurologists, furnished some -interesting explanations why the appearance of death might be misieadlftlri~"'.-' '. ■*■' -■■•■'■ ' •• ' • " : inhere is a condition of trance," said Dr..JHooker, 'Vwhlclv m every superficial wafc. simulates death absolutely. The beating of the heart cannot be heard, even With the stethoscope; the breathing is so slight it cannot be deteoteM. The temperature is so low that it appears -certain that life is extinct. "Seeing such a person, most doctors would ' certify him dead. Meaniimo the dead person is perfectly (joriseious. He's6e» all that Is happening around him, including the preparation for his own burial. That must mean torture ' beyond expression, »■ : "Hid muscular system is paralysed. He cannot even flictfer an eyelid. But he hears the preparations to bury, him going on. '.'■•■'■'! "This experience actually happened to a woman friend of mine, who wan really -m a cataleptic trance a*T*a result of a long illness which . had ex* hausted her vitality. Her •doctor certified her as dead, not being familiar with tho symptoms of trance.

"Now, all the time this poor woman was conscious. She felt them measuring her for her coffin. She was aware they wew putting on her shroud and composing her hands for burial.

"She heard , them discussing the funeral plans. She felt them putting her Into the coffin. She experienced the misery of listening to her own funeral service.

"All this time she could make no sound, could not move a hattd,. m spite of her frantic desire to do so. Her muscular system was absolutely paralysed. ''The coffin was just about to be nailed down,, when her daughter noticed a faint quiver about the muscles of her throat. All the agonized striving and Struggling of her inner consciousness had just been able to produce' this little outward sign of life.

"The woman was taken out of her coffin mid put to bed. Stimulants were then given her, and she quickly regained consciousness, or, rather, the use of her muscles.

''She lived thirty years after that m very fair health." '

Those who are interested m burial reform have collected an impressive record of cases where persons were actually burled alive or were on the point of being buried. If the majority of these recorded cases really occurred then the number of unrecorded cases must presumably be far larger.

Dr. Walter R. Hadwen has collected no fewer than 884 authenticated instances of apparent death, which he divided as follows: Burled alive, 149; narrow escapes from burial alive, .219; dissected alive, 10; narrow escapes from dissection alive, 2, and burled ' alive, 1.

Howard Qllltat, an English millionaire, Who died recently, left orders m his Will that his heart should be pierced with a sharp ' Instrument to 'make sure ot his -death.

"Wherever old graveyards have been removed or examined," says the London "Law Times," "unmistakable proofs of premature burial have been disclosed.

"Bodies have been found turned upon -their faces, the limbs contorted, the hair dishevelled, the clothing torn, .the 'flesh mutilated and coffins broken by the inmates m their mad endeuvour to -escape after returning consciousness, to terminate life only m unspeakable mental and physical agonies. It may be said that every graveyard has its traditions, but the fucta ure carefully concealed lest they should peach the ears of the relative/?, or Incriminate the doctors who had with such confidence certified to actual death's which wero only apparent."

D.r. John Dixwoll and other reformers of Boston urge tho Massachusetts Logtalature to pass a law guarding against premature burial. Dr. Dlxwell says ho was once pronounced dead by physicians. He proposes a law providing against final burial until unmistakable decomposition has set m.

A' ''remarkable recent case of apparent denth was that or tho popular musical comedy actress, Anna Held. She '■"Suffered from a disease called multiple myeloma, a wasting of the marrow of the bones. Her long Ktruugl<; ngalnst this agonising dl«eu«e completely cxhauHted her vitality. • For tho hist week of her illness she was m a semi-conscious condition. At flvo minutes pnst four one afternoon the dying actress's daughter noticed that her mother's breath had suddenly stopped. She called tho attention of the attending physician, Dr. G. M. Ovorton, who declared that Anna Held wan dead.

The itupposed fact was sent out to tho newspapers and to many persons Interested. The condition of apparent death lasted over two hours. Them the watchers mourning by the side of the "dead" woman were amnxed to «oo h«r breath once more.

"Her eyes opened wide, hor bottom slowly rose and fell as she breathed again. Hor cheoka flushed with color," said ono observer.

The attending physician pronounced Anna. Held olive and a correction van sent out to those who received th« new*. But In the course of tho evening breath in* again ceased and all the ni^nit of death returned. The attendants continued to wntch for hourn. hoping ihut rtljrna ut life would show

themselves, but this time the physicians decided that final death had come. . • : :

' Some time ago, at Dallas, Texas, Peter Welk, a prisoner, was shot. The dootors pronounced him dead and he was removed to the morgue. A few hours later he suddenly" revived and made , a good recovery.

A peculiar form of the trance condition was exhibited by the murderer, Harvey Church, who was executed at Chicago last year. In this case Church deliberately disconnected his brain .from his body, so that he was capable of neither thought, feeling or suffering, although he detained the lower functions of life. .

The most reasonable explanation of .his condition was furnished ; . by Dr. Andre Tridon, the well-known psycho* logist. He explained .that the nerves which ca.rry sensation from the surface to tho great . centres of consciousness have gaps, over which the sensory messages must jump. The nerve ends have antennae which stretch- out lo catch messages as they leap the gap. Dr. Tridon reasoned that Church by an effort of will had caused these antennae to curl up no that they could not catch the messages.

Church was carried, to the gallows m tin apparently unconscious condition

. (General Manager, Christohurch Tramways.) "Cheerful at morn he wakes from short repose, , Breaks the keen air, and carols as he goes."—-Goldsmith.

and executed. His case is interesting as showing one of the various forms of apparent death that occur. A new mechanical apparatus han been devised to protect a person against ■ the horrors of premature burial. When the body is placed m the grave an electric device is connected with the right hand m such a way that the slightest tremor will set various agencies at work. In the first place a gong will ring m the office of a watcher and a semaphore will fly up over the Brave. When the watcher reaches the grave he listens at a telephone, installed m the tombstone, for sounds from the coffin. If the unfortunate person is conscious and struggling ho can tell him that everything will be all right m a few minutes if he will control himself. While grave-diggers are on the way, the watcher keeps m communication with the reviving man who is supplied automatically meanwhile with oxygen from a tank. This apparatus has the great advantage that it will relieve the person buried alive from the horror of feeling that he is beyond all help. If he should be conscious at the timo of his burial, but unable to give any sign of life he has the comfort of knowing that when the power of. action return* to him he has the means ready to hand of signalling his condition to the out* side world. / The Hindu fakirs are said to attain a state of "suspended animation." It is a condition m which all the •bodily functions apparently cease, althottrn the potentiality of life still remains. Some believe that there is a real cessation of the vital functions—breathing, heart action, circulation, etc. — while others assert that the functions ure m a state of extremely low active ty, difficult to perceive. The Hindu fakir, wishing to pass into this condition, composes himself Into a very calm and impassive state. His friends then turn his tongue back into his throat, stop his nose and ears with wax and perform certain "other uctH for him. After this the subject can exist without Jfoo-d, water .or air, and romatn apparently lifeless for many months and can oven be buried under the earth. At the end of v certain time his friends revive him and he is n« much alive as ever. This strange- procedure has formed the basin of many romantic stories. In Robert Louis Stevenson'tt fascinating novel, "The Master of Italian* trae," the, vllliitn. finding escape from his mortal enomloA Impossible, resort* to the Hindu method of burying himself alive. Hlh friends, however, full to disinter him at the proper time, with the result that the Master regains consciousness while atill burled and dies a horrlbtu death.