Buried Alive

Southland Times, Issue 10056, 5 January 1889, Page 3

Buried Alive

In Russia people are oftener than elsewhere condemned — uainlention&lly, of course — to ■ hat most gruesome of all deaths, of which ifi A Poe bad such unfeigned horror—burial alive. But the circumstances accompanying this frightful torture are seldom so cbarac eristic or to horrible as in the case of the wife of a peasant in the Government of Volhynin, on the borders of. Austria, who, according to the local journal Yolhynia, was lately buritd ia a comatose sta c. She was expecting soon to become a mother at the time of her supposed death. After the 'corpse' bad been kept the u«ual time, the parish priest, Kdnstontinoff, recited the prayers of tfao -burial service in the churchyard; the widower oast three bandf uls of earth on the coffin, and all departed except tbe g r ave-diggers. In fillii g np the grave the latter shovelled in an unusually large sod of hard earth, wbich stru--k the coffin with a lond hoise, and woke up the unfortunate woman from her sleep. The horror of her position at once dawned upon her. cried out in most piteous tones to tbe grave-diggers to rescue bei from a horrible death, She solemnly promisei them all b-r property if they would take her from the grave atd c ffin. The more she cried and entreated, the more strenutus were their endeavours to fill the grave ; and on leaving the churchyard, whtn their work was done, tbey still heard her cries and mo»nr, Tbey at occe hurried, off to her husband, who was surroundid wi';h gue«ts, drinking to the memory of the deceased. Having nla-ed what Lai taken place, the matter was di- - cussed by the guests and the neighbours, who soon came rushing in, and it was finally ie« solved (nem. cob.) that An evil spirit had taken possession of the deceased, and that, ia order to prevent her walking at night and disturbing the people, it was absolutely necessary to disinter her and drive an aspen stake through her body. The rair sent a deputation to the p r iest, asking permission to dieinter tbe body and perform this superstitious rite deemed necessary in all euch cases. Toe pope, borrifitd hurried off t_ the churchyard, and bad the body di«inte.red in the hepe of saving a life, but superstition had already got its viction— the woman was de«d but unmistakable s'gng thowed she had struggled hard to escape from tbe must horrible death the hunun mi.d can conceive.