A STRANGE AND HORRIBLE STORY.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 3125, 9 April 1883, Page 2

A STRANGE AND HORRIBLE STORY.

The “ Times’ ” Geneva correspondent writes as follows :—A Swiss, settled in Russia, sends to the ,f Bund" a strange story, taken from a paper published at Samara, of a man being buried alive, for the accuracy of which the writer says that he can personally vouch. The story, besides the horror of it, shows how helpless the Russian system of government renders the people for whose benefit it is designed, and how utterly bureaucracy has crushed in them all spirit of initiative and independence. The other day, so runs the account, a man was buried alive in Samara. His name was Tichonoff, and he had been employed as a waiter in a machine depot. He drank heavily on a holiday and had an epileptic fit. For a long time thereafter he lay quite still and showed no sign of life, which led his wife and kinsfolk to conclude that ho was dead. This happened on St. Silvester’s Day, and to avoid keeping the supposed corpse in the house three days (for on a Saturday preceding a festival no body can bo buried), it was decided to lay him in the ground that very night after vespers, and arrangements were made accordingly. The body was removed to the cemetery church, where the priest read the service for the dead. While this was going on (the coffin being uncovered) some of the bystanders noticed what seemed to be drops of sweat on the dead man’s face, but this appearance being attributed to a few snowflakes which hud fallen during the passage to the cemetery, he was laid in the grave withoutmoreado,and the hour being late very little earth was thrown over him. When the grave-digger went early next morning to the cemetery to complete his work he heard a sound as of groaning and struggling in the newly-made grave. Instead of forthwith releasing the poor wretch, the man ran to the priest to ask leave to disinter him. This request the priest refused, on the ground that he dare not touch a body once buried without permission of the police. On this the sexton informed the man’s wife of what had come to pass, and they went together to the chief of the local police. This gentleman said it was quite out of his power to give the required authorisation, and referred him to the archimanprite, who also, professing to be as equally powerless, referred them to the procurator. In the end the agonised wife procured the authorisation without which nobody would act, and returned to the cemetery. But it was too late ; five hours had elapsed since the gravedigger first hoard the groans, and the supposed corpse was now dead beyond all doubt. The poor fellow succumbed only utter a mortal struggle. He had turned quite round in his coffin, and in his despair bitten his fingers, torn his flesh, and rent his clothing. The fatality is duo to no other cause than.tho senseless formalities

which prevail in every branch of the Eussian administration. MadameTichoni ff is suing the priest wiio refused to let the gravedigger disinter her husband, for damages, on the ground that he caused the latter’s death by too slavishly obeying the letter of his instructions.