BURIED ALIVE. (Savannah (Ga.) Advertiser.)

Waikato Times, Volume III, Issue 163, 24 May 1873, Page 3

BURIED ALIVE. (Savannah (Ga.) Advertiser.)

"With all the reierenre due to the dead, and with every possible regard for the feelings of the living, which in no way-wfrnld. we harrow up unneeessanh , we state, and believe, that »ot unfrequentlv there arc instances where human beings are buried ah\e ' To be auro this itt uncommon, but h\ no means an impossible circumstance, as i.icts hare shown Under the sod in the various grnvcj.irds of the land ma\ be further evidence of this kind. In cemeteries that hiue'been dug o\er, find the remains of the dead e\hu>ned, there have been tound in coffins, nailed and screw ed tightly together, bodies of skeletons that were turned over on their sides or faces, sometimes with the knees drawn up, the joints distended, the hands clenched, the arms thrust against the coffin's narrow sides, the fingers twisted in the hairs of tho head, the eves glaring, the teeth ground together, the head doubled under, and many indubitable prools that the last deatli struggle did not take place before burial, but that alter tue cofliu had been laid away in the shades of the tomb, or lowered in the deep, solid earth, then and there a fierce, agonising, desperate, lonely, and hopelesi contest for life was waged into exhaustion! In the old public burial ground in the city of Brooklyn, when «a general exhumation was made to enable the ground to be diverted to streets ami building lots, the writer saw no less than eight of such instances. One of these was ewdently that of a young lirnle, dressed in wedding garments of the richest white aatin, with a bridal veil, and ring of a ostly style and quality, and all the evidence ot wealth, refinement, and station of life. The remains were supposed to Live been buried about twenty yeais previously Tho cotiiu plate was gone, and in tho really indecent haste of the heartless contractor and biutish labouiers, who mthlessly toie and tossed the relics up, there was not the faintest clue to the identity. But upon exanrnation it was discovered that the skeleton was twisted and displaced (as no shock of the exhumation could have caused) and the garments giasped as in a. vice in the clenched finger bones, bhowing conclusively that a teinhc stiuggle had taken place in the last nauow house and home of the lovely, y^thful, eaiJy loved and kst bii-ie. Even the long raven trP*ses, which were as glossy and peifect as ever, were bit" fast m the fleshless teeth as though with the final, •lespauing, smotl ered cry and gmsp of death ! Numerous instances ot a similar natuie have transpired in different places. A most hcait-rending instance of this kind has just been repoittd at this office. The information appears to be truthful, and the circumstances narrated appear probable. On Thursday of last week a coloured man died (or was supposed to have died) and great lamentation was made over the body b\ the relatives and friends. The corpse was laid out, the limb* composed, the eyes closed, and the features were exceedingly natural. As is sometimes the custom, the so-called mourners were provided with victuals and intoxicating liquor, which they plied themselves with until surfeited and drunk. Noisy and indecorous demonstrations of grief were made until the third day (Saturday) when tdc brother of tlie supposed corpse became incensed at the disgraceful proceeding, and determined to bnry it at once. The other folks reinonstiatcd, declaring that the body was yet warm, and perhaps not dead. But he insisted, as he said, because he would prefer to bury it than ha\e a continuance of the shocking demonstrations. Accordingly the remains weie deposited temporarily in a receiving vault. Yesterday the vault was opened, and the coffin brought out for permanent burial elsewhere, when it was noticed that the st rung screw s w hich had been tightly driven in three days previous were strained, and the top of the coffin prized half open Tremblingly, and with the most dreadful anticipation, the box wa* opened, and horrible — most horrible to relate — the body was found turned and twisted over, the face downward, one hand clutching the hair of tho head, and the other reaching out, with the nails driven into the wood ; the teeth clenched, the eyes glazed and distended, and even the feet mvmg evidence of having been used in the last hopeless and frightful effort to escape suffocation! These are the fact* as narrated. The name of the victim was Andrew Dow.