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Show DR. TANNER'S IDEAS, Premature burial and Suspended Sus-pended Animation. THE SUBTLE PRINCIPLE OF LIFE, , The Doctor Oonvinoed That Man Can Hybernate. Eight years have gone since Dr. H. S. Tanner performed hia wonderful feat of fasting forty days and nights in Clarendon hall, in New York city. For sixteen days ho touched neither water nor food. After the sixteenth day ho began to drink water, and subsisted on this alone during tho remaining re-maining twenty-four days of his fast. Tho public has not heard much of the plucky little doctor for the last few years, but not long ago he turned up in Chicago, bright and chipper, a splendid specimen of a man in perfect health, and with a rotundity of form indicative rather of tho bon vivant than of a man who eats only two meals a day In summer and only one in winter. "Where have yon been keeping yourself, your-self, doctor?" asked a reporter, after friendly greetings had been exchanged. "I havo just returnod from New Mexico, Mex-ico, where I have been for nearly four years, pursuing certain Investigations of a scientific nature. I am much interested 1 in the subject of suspended animation or j counterfeit death. I am convinced that a far greater percentage of peoplo are buried alive than even those who have ! ever given the matter much thought : would be willing to behave. In no coun-i coun-i try in the world are the dead buried with such criminal haste, I may say, as in the United States. I have been looking into this subject more or less for the last twenty-five years, and theevidencel have accumulated is startling. I tell you, it is murder, horrible murdor, and it is high time some agitation was started for the purpose of securing needed legislation on the subject of the burial of the dead. THE MOVEMENT IN EUROPE. "The principle of life is so subtle," continued con-tinued the doctor, "that man with all his science knows nothing about it; and the only safeguard against the awful crime of burying alivo those we love lies in the precautious that are taken against committing com-mitting their bodies to the tomb before decomposition has Bet in. That is the only unmistakable sign that death has finally taken place. The people of Holland Hol-land were among tho first to awaken to the importance of this Bubject, and in 17G4 a society was organized in Amsterdam Amster-dam for the purpose of looking into eases where death seemed counterfeit rather than real. In less than four yearB they had resuscitated saved from entombment alive no less than 150 persons. In 17u8 tho authorities at Milan and Veniee, and those at Hamburg, followed the example Bet by Holland, and a little later similar societies were formed at London, Paris and Glasgow. As a result of the work and Investigations of these societies, among the members of which were some of the foremost scientists of the times, it has been proved that in a great number of cases where every known test had been applied and preparations made for tho burial the subjects had recovered. These experiences led Professor Morhie, of the University of Rome, to offer a prize of 1,000 francs for the best essay on apparent appar-ent death; and tho Marquis d'Ouche- left 20,000 francs to be used in discovering the best means that could bo applied in detecting de-tecting the counterfeit of doath. And so In all countries statistics collated en this subject are startling, as revealing the danger of premature burial." "Now don't you think," asked the doctor, "that this is a subject that people peo-ple should discuss, should be waked up about?" "What remedy have you to offer, doctorf "Simply tliis: I hold and it certainly eannot be successfully contradicted that the setting in of decomposition is the only certain sign of death. In the absence ab-sence of this hurial should be delayed weeks and months, if necessary, for so long as there is no decay life may hang by a feeble thread, ond, by that subtleness of which I have already spoken, the recovery re-covery be spontaneous. THE DOCTOR WILL HIBERNATE. "Another discovery that I havo made," Baid the doctor, "is that hibernating animals ani-mals do not use thoir lnngs during the foriod of hibernation. For several years have been studying the habits of this . class of animals, and, do you know, I am abont convinced that man can hibernate" hiber-nate" i Hero the reporter must have looked tho Incredulity ho felt, for the doctor hastened to explain: "Take the bear for oiamplo; Its organs of respiration are tho Bame as man's, and it hlbornates for months without with-out food or drink. I have also been Btudying the philosophy of tho adopts I who used to be able to go into tho death trance at will. Their preparation for this was long lasting, and the trance condition condi-tion following was, in my opinion, a season sea-son of hibernation. I am studying now with a view of making some experiments In this line, and tho time may come when I will permit myself to be sealed up in an air tight coflin and laid away until such timo as I shall designate for it to be openod." "But, doctor, you will not expect to come out of a test like that alive, will you?" "Yes, indeed," was the earnest reply. "I havo twice been near- the portals of the tomb In my studies of this subject of life principle and of suspended animation, and I firmly behove I can go still nearer that 1 can to all outward appearances bo dead, and, remaining that way for a length of time, can still come back a living liv-ing witness of tho truth of my theories and investigations." Speaking of his fast, lie said: "The fact. Is, with most people tho body rulci the mind, whila the reverse ohould be the case the mind should control the body. Appetite, and it may bo a dejwxved ono, clamors for this or that desired article, and peoplo rush off to gratify it. When I began my forty days' fasting I said to my fftomach: 'Iiere, old fellow, I have a )ob for you. I want you to take a good on(r rest, and I want no gmmbling about it.' That settled It. At 10 o'elook of tho last day of my fast, when I had only two hours to go, a littlo child that was ha the room where I was tlirust a ripe peach under un-der my noso. If Adam was tempted as I was then I do not wonder that he fell. I had so little longer to go without eating that I relaxed my will power, and truly my greatest suueriugs were during tho last two hours of my fast." Chicago Tribune. |
