St. Louis Post-Dispatch from St. Louis, Missouri • Page 13

SUNDAY MORNING ST. LOUIS POST-DISPT'CH DECEMBER 19, 1897. 1 4 I CHIGHGO If) OCULIST REHDS 'PERTH IN EYE VEIN He Has Haunted Morgues Applying His Ophthalmoscope to the Eyes of the Dead, Verifying His Discovery of the One Test Which Shows Death to His Satisfaction. A TRITE and unfailing test of death; a means by whieh burial alive may be made an impossibility it is a thing Jonj sought by scientists and one which a Chicago man believes he has discovered. Dr.

Chalmers Prentice has found how, he ays, to read death in the human eye, to tell by the appearanee of veins and arteries whether life has departed or a spark yet remains, and to tell it with absolute certainty. For centuries man hns heen haunted with the fear that he will wake up in the tomb to a realizing sense of his awful position. This fear was always present with th? late Kmma Abbott, and the will of the prima donna directed that a dagger be plunged into her heart as soon as the attending physician should be satisfied that she was no more. In Germany, and in some other European countries, the expedient has been hit upon of connecting a finuer of the dead with a string that is brought to the surface and attached to a 11. A watchman la always and is charged with Instantly eilium-lng the body should the hell ring.

While this is all right in theory, in pra-tice, so far as can be learned, it has never saved a life. In this country, and in France and En-Eland, a plan has been adopted that is more rational, although barbarous in tho extrtme. it ij to provide mortuary chambers where the bodies of the recently deceased are kept for a certain time, or until all possibility of revival is pat. Hut it has been objected that this method is inhuman. since a person, if only in a trance, would in all probability be killed without recovering consciousness, owing to the chill and damp of the surroundings.

And then, even should the unfortunate man or woman survive these conditions and come to life, the horror of the situation would be sufficient to dethrone reason, if not to kill with shock. A French scientist recently suggested that the presence of the spark of life might be detected by the of the X-ray. Much credit has been given to this theory. Still, while the conclusions of the French sivant may be correct, they have not yet been rroved, and an almost unsurmountjble obstacle to the extensive use of this method lies in the difficulty of providing the apparatus at the time and place required. It is therefore a matter of more than slight importance if Dr.

I'rentice has succeeded in establishing an unvarying test of the presence of life In suspected death, lieing an oculist, the doctor was naturally In a position to be impressed with phenomena of the eyes of the dead that would pass unnoticed by the general practitioner. It is known to the medical fraternity that the blood vessels and veins of the retina of the eye are the least noinishod of any In the human body. For that reason feeble circulation ought immediately to be noticed, where it exists, when an examination is ma le of the retina by means of an ephthal-moscope. During life the arteries and veins that Interlace in the retina, which Is the sack that immediately incloses the vitreous humor or liquid of the eye, have a distinct characteristic. Examined by light thrown into the eye by the ophthalmoscope the arteries are seen to contain bright crimson blood, while the veins contain the darlc blood.

The two shades of fluid may be seen ramifying the retina at the posterior or back part of the ball of the eye. The eye of a person with the breath of life in him must present this appearance even though blind. In case of a man whose eye had been Injured to such an extent that an opaque film had grown over the cornea no ray of light could penetrate hence of course the coursing of blood In the veins could not be seen. But naturally, life or death cunnot be told by the eyes unless the subject has eyes. Ir.

Prentice said he noticed that the eyes of the dead Immediately after dissolution took on an entirely different and unmistakable aspect. Within a few moments the distinction between the color of the blood in the arteries and the veins entirely disappeared. In fact so rapidly docs the change take place that the doctor found that in many cases the phenomena occurred absolutely simultaneously with death. The fluid in arteries and veins he found to have been transformed into a uniform pinkish color, due to the fact that circulation had stopped and the blood could no longer secure aeration In the lungs. Recognizing the Importance of this fact.

Dr. Prentice began twenty years ago to make an exhaustive Investigation. He systematically visited the morgues and hospitals of various cities, and examined the eyes of many thousand dead persons. At first he feared that there might be numerous exceptions to the rule, but as the years passed and experience ripened he came to the belief that the rule was in fallible. He recorded all of hi experiments and scught for and wide for lisht.

He entered into extensive correspondency with medical men. To put his theory to practical trst ha doctor tried to find ease, of animation. But such cases are exeeeJinglr rare in ary one physician' practice, although a considerable number in the aggregate are reported. He was unsucces.ful until a comparatively recent date, when ha learned of the death of a your. CWmaa under circumstances that caused the attending physician to doubt whether It wera not a case of suspended animation Dr.

Prentice' was called into consultation and at once produced his ophthalmoscope. The ophthalmoscope is a little Instrument designed to enable one to look Into the eye. It is especially designed, for examining tha retina. In its simplest form the lisht la condensed into the eye by means of a concave mirror, through a small hole. In the center of which the observer looks Int the eye.

Dr. Prentice, according to statement, threw a strong light into the eya of the young German by means of this Instrument, gazed steadily through the aperture for half a minute, and aaJd: "The man is alive." The family of the young man was over. Joyed, the family physician was mystified. The reason for Dr. Prentice's verdict waa pointed out the physician, although by no means satisfied, agreed to await the outcome.

The body was kept in a warn place and a watch Instituted. The result proved the correctness of Dr. Prentice's words. At the end of the fourth, day the young man opened his eyes. Ha recovered and is still alive.

These drawings represent the veins and arteries of the retina, magnified many times. The arteries are represented as white, corresponding to the bright crimson blood that fills them during life. The veins are represented black, corresponding with the dark blood, on its way back to the heart. During life the retina has the aspect of the left hand drawing. In death the distinction in color between veins and arteries disappears, and they appear as in the right-hand drawing, veins and arteries are represented as white.

THE RETINA IN LIFE. THE RETINA IN DEATH. The Story of George Hayward, Who Was Buried as Dead and Awoke on an Operating Table, After an Ordeal Through Which Few Men Could Pass and Live. Embalmers in Missouri Are Seeking to Have a Law Passed Which Will Compel Doctors to Make Tests to Prove That Their Patients Are Dead. (mi flT WmS0k M' MwMVjmk ifiWMiMfSW GEORGE HAT WARD of Independence, was buried sixty-three years aso.

He lived to tell the tale and is stili living. Of ail the ghastly preparations for consigning him to the tomb he was conscious. lie knew when he was placed In tho coffin. Between his half-opened eye-lids he saw the faces of his sorrow-sng relatives bending over him. He felt the jolting of the wagon as he was borne to the cemetery.

Sensibility did nut leave him even when he was lowered into the grave. He heard the clods of earth falling upon the iid of his coffin. Then there was a blank. Hayward was born on a farm near the village of Marshvllle, Gloucestershire, Engl-ind. He reached the ago of 8 with less than the usual aiiotment of juvenile ills.

His greatest pleasure was go with his older brothers to the fields. "I don't know if it Is done now." said Mr. Hayward, "but in those days the large yard about an English farmhouse was strew with straw ach fail, which was allowed to lie thfre and rot till spring, when it was carted away to the fields for fertilizer. "My brothers and a hired man were doing this. The horses were not driven by means of reins.

They were guided ar.d controlle.l by the voice. "As the men worked I raced and played about the horses' heads. The men used hop-picks, which are like heavy pitchforks, scatter the straw. I got too near and was sttuek in the head by the hired man's pick. One of the tinea penetrate.

1 the skull. You can see the scar yet. "It did not hurt much, hut I felt very dizzy. I was taken home. The next day I still felt a little dizzy, but wis playing about usual.

1 went to the ceilar nr.d was surprised to find that in the semi-darkness I could see beit than in the outside light. I feit queer. "I had siclc ulwunvj weeks when I sank into a flrcisny, semi-somnoU-nt condition. "'He is I heard some one say. "I tiled to teil them I was not dead.

My tongue would not obey me. I tried to rite, but the power of motion was gor.e. "llv oldest brother, with whom I was a great favorite, had er. away from heme. He arrived after my supposed death.

His grief was very great. I saw his fa -e as he came and bent over me. I heard his sobs and the voices 01 the others who, forgetting their own anguish, tried to console him. "The lid was fastened urn. The metallic sjunds grale.l harshly on my ears.

There was darkness. I realized what it meant, but still I did not despair. At times PHYSICIANS and undertakers alike agree that In many cases the certainty of death is not fully established and that in most Instances the return furnished the City Health Department is not as capable of proof as should be required. Dr. Karges the mortuary clerk, sits in his dingy office at the City Hall.

Day after day his high old-fashioned desk is littered with so-called certificates of death, leaves that fall unceasingly from the tree of life. "How do you know those people are dead?" Dr. Karges was asked as ne thumbed a batch of certificates. "The doctors say so," he answered. "They ought to know.

Sometimes they don't though. I suppose I have issued burial permits for live people. Some of them may-have been buried alive. I venture to say, though, that in most cases if a man is not dead when the doctor makes out his certificate he will be dead when the undertaker gets through with him, supposing that he Is embalmed. Whero the embalming process la not used the possibility of burial alive is often present." The embalmers' organization secured the present State law governing and licensing embalmers In Missouri.

Its members realize that existing laws are inadequate, in that they do not clearly define who shall be responsible for the accuracy of certificates of death. They will endeavor to have the law of 1895 amended so that an em-balmer's, as well as a physician's, certificate will be a necessary preliminary to burial. The Chairman of the State Embalmers' Board, M. H. ALEXANDER, is a St.

Louis undertaker. "The present law, or rather lack of law, with regard to the certification of death, i3 a disgrace to a civilized community," said Chairman Alexander. "A physician is rarely at a patient's bedside at death. He usually leaves the house when he pronounces the case hopeless. He has no persona! knowledge that the patient dies.

Sometimes he Is so informed by the undertaker, more often by a member of the patient's family. Occasionally he does not know it until he sees crepe on the door or reads a death notice in the paper. The embalmer, on the contrary, is in a position to know with absolute certainty whether death has taken place. It is his duty to apply tests for death before proceeding with preparations for burial. He should know the tests and be qualified to pass on the result.

"The sounding of the heart is in most cases a sure test, but when animation is suspended the heart beats so feebly its action cannot be detected by ordinary means. a feeling of fear came over me, but it was followed by the calm of utter indifference. "Then I felt the coffin go down, down, and settle Into place uz the bottom of the grave. At that time coffins were not inclosed in boxes. The damp clods of earth fell on the coffin lid with an awful rumble.

The sounds became fainter as the hole was gradually filled. "Tnon there was silence. "Still I did not fear. The terrible loneliness Impressed me more than anything else. The air became stifling.

Oblivion crept over me. "I felt the coffin being raised and borne away. The lid was rt moved and I was lifted out on a table. My eyelids were still slightly parted. I saw several men in long aprjns about me.

The shroud was stripped from me and two of them picked up knives. "They seemed to have been disputing over what caused my death. Then they disagreed over the point at which to begin cutting. One of them stepped to the head ct the table and forcing my Jaws apart, drew out my tongue. The violent action caused the lids of my eyes to open wider.

"He started back with an exclamation of surprise. "The other man had the po nt of his knife pressed against my body. I felt it pricking my skin. "Look out, you fool, he is said the one who had made the discovery. 'Look at his eyes." "The other looked.

Tou are he said, and dropped the knife. "I was brought back to full consciousness and taken home. I gradually recovered. I will be 71 my next birthday. I have ten children.

"My rescue was due to the fact that the doctors dls-aqrreed as to the cause of death. To settle the controversy they dug up the body the same day I was buried. My family were so overjoyed at my rescue that they JM not blame the doctors for violating the grave." "Do you think many people are buried alive?" "Lots of them. I have naturally taken great interest in the subject. I have read books relating to it, and I am sure that before the days of embalming it was a frequent occurrence.

For good reasons few of the cases become known." Hayward is a member of the Church of Latter Day Saints. He is a jeweler. He Is held In the highest respect by tho people of Independence. His veracity Is unquestioned. Nobody who knows him doubts hi3 story.

A small mirror held before the mouth will show a da-posit of moisture If life Is present. The blister test is the best of all, and I believe It is absolutely reliable. A taper is held to the bottom of the foot. If death has taken place the skin burns and cracks like parchment. When life Is not extinct the heat will cause a water blister.

This test is absolutely reliable except in cases of dropsy or drowning. "I always make one or more of the tests before preparing a body for burial. Of course, where the body is embalmed, the process In Itself will cause death. For that reason, care should be taken to determine whether the subject Is dead before injecting the fluid Into lha arteries. "I have had occasion to use the galvanic test but once, and on that occasion 1 saved the life of a man who had been pronounced dead.

He was a Waverly (Mo.) tinner. He apparently died suddenly at a hotel. Three uoctors applied a galvanic battery. One of them pronounced him dead, after en hour's work, and the others left. I was called in to prepare him for burial.

The battery had been left in the room. I applied it and rubbed one of the poles up and down the man's spine. At the end of an hour and a half he opened his eyes and gasped. I administered stimulants. That night he ate supper with me in tha dining-room of the hotel." H.

H. WAGONER, one of St. Louis oldest under, takers, does not agree with Mr. Alexander. He said: "I do not believe it the duty of an undertaker to mtk a test for death In all cases.

As a rule the evidence ot death is so apparent that a test is unnecessary. When doubt exists a test would be advisable, but such cases era extremely rare. I believe that the certificate of a reputable physician can be relied on In every case." Dr. Otto Sutter, Superintendent of the City Hospital, has seen death In all its forms. "There is but one absolutely reliable test for he said, "and that is decomposition.

The ordinuary practitioner is not often called on to make tests for death. When he Is he usually finds the undertaker has been there before him. I believe undertakers should be required to get the physician's permission before embalming a body. They are at all times too hasty. I am not blamln the undertakers.

Custom Is wrong, that Is all. "Of the tests for death I should place the heart-beat test first, and next to that the application of a galvania battery to the muscles. If life is present the muscles will contract, a flexion of the limbs resulting." GEORGE HAYWARD, WHO WAS BURIED ALIVE. ELECTRICAL DEVICES PROPOSED TO PREVENT DEATH EROM PREMATURE BURIAL. 11 filPll pllli As aa precaution electri A St.

Loulsan who has stuJieJ the problem proposes that the buriei casket be connected electrically with a gons anJ indicator In a watch house so that the slightest movement by the burleJ person wouM sounJ an alarm anJ Indicate to the watchman tbs number of the ftrave. would te placed so that the same Impulse which sounds the gonj; would light them. Valve la air tubes, closed until the gong sounds, are opened by the same current of electricity. i.