Buried Alive for Four Days.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 2, Issue 324, 21 April 1881, Page 2

Buried Alive for Four Days.

A very strange circumstance occurring in the vicinity of Snicarte, Mason County, 111, has attracted the attention of a great many, and is, at the least, a most miraculous affair. On February 17 a woman, by the name of Mrs Banks, to all appearances died. About four weeks previous to this she had given birth to a child, and was apparently well, with the exception of the nursing sore mouth, from the effect of which she had grown quite weak, so much so that her husband thought it was necessary to call in a physician, but she objected, insisting upon waiting a few days longer, thinking that she could manage the affliction without the aid of a physician. She soon afterwards, and very suddenly, sank away, and to all appearances gave up the ghost. The body was kept till the next day about two o’clock p.m., when it was inclosed in a coffin and taken to the grave-yard, followed by a great many mournful friends. In laying her out her arms were tied together above her elbows with a strip of cloth, so that her hands would retain a position across her breast. At the grave some of her friends wished to view her remains, and the coffin was opened so that they might do so. On removing the lid over the glass they could not see through the glass for the moisture on it, and it was then seen that one of her hands was torn loose from the band and was lying by her side, and her arms were as limber as one alive. The circumstances bore upon the minds of several present, but still they could not entertain any notion but that she was dead. Her hands were again placed in position across her breast and re-tied with the same strip of cloth, and she was buried. After returning to their homes several of the parties who had noticed the singular appearance at the grave commenced to talk the matter over, and they soon raised a doubt in their minds that she was not dead; about five o’clock that same evening several went to the grave and took the body up. On opening the coffin they found fresh moisture on the glass of the coffin-lid, and her hands were again broken from the strip of cloth that bound them, and they were both lying by her side, and instead of her limbs being in the least rigid, they and her fingers were flexible. Notwithstanding all this, they could not convince themselves but that she was dead, and she was again reburied. The matter was generally discussed in the neighborhood, and by the following Sunday the excitement had grown so strong that it was decided to re-exhume her the following day. The next day, Monday, after she had slept beneath the sod for four days and nights, she was again resurrected and taken to her home, where she has been slowly but gradually mending. Her friends entertain the strongest hopes of her recovery, which, if she does, will be a remarkable occurrence, long to be remembered by the people of Snicarte. The way in which the affair was managed was, to say the least, very singular.