Story Column.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume III, Issue 190, 17 August 1901, Page 1

Story Column.

Bits from the L6ng» bush. 0— — : ;. A THE BAMBOOZLING .OF TEE BANKER A RESURRECTIONIST STORY.

(By our Contributor “N.”)

The story I have to tell, I had from an old exciseman or ganger, as Vve calleii him to Scotland, Irehr to a time when there Was a great deal of excitement and ipdignation ag du-fc a of men called resurrectionists or body-snatch irs, dug up newly-buried corpses, and sod them to the doctors for anatomical purposes. Any one with common-sense knows that the doctors mu st have subjects for dis'oetion, so as to gain 'athocoa.;h knowledge of toe wonderful mechanism of the ho man body and itV various diseases. In "colleges where medioal students are taught they must , have a constant snppiy of subjects for dissection, Ic is not my purpose te say how that supply is managed nowadays because I really do not kqow for certain. ■ Possibly, those dying in the numerous charitable institutions, hospitds, ancl asylums, without file ids or relations to , take charge of the bod es, may be handed over to the doctors. I have heard it said that there have been instances of poor hard-ups who, for a *mm in hand, mort- : gaged their bodies to the doctors. At the time of ray story there were charitable instituti-ms and asylums, and the colleges depended for a great many of their subjects on these purveyors who stole.them where they could get them It was duly w.thin certain areas where this was going on—say, within twenty or thirty miles of the principal cities where medical students were t-ained, and it Was generally in quiet country churchyards where these ghouls or bodysnatchers did th-dr work. In churchyards armed men were set to watch for a week after a funeral by the relatives of the deceased ; but it. Was hard ’tb get men bold enough to spend a whole night in a churchyard, even if aimed men with a gun.’ They might be brave and boastful iu daylight, but superstition had a deepsr hold in those days, and anything with a white sheet round it would send them in flying terror, I have heard of on« instance where the vvatcherk fired ut the Minister’s old white pony that had strayed into the churchyard at night, threw their guns away and rail for their lives. In some chu'chyards the coffiins were dimly.fixed to the bottoiis of. the grave with strong irons. In others, again, a house was built, roo£ and all of solid masonry, in whiob coffins could bo kept .for a certain time bofora U ral interment, I remember wh in a boy following a funeral to a churchyard in a neighboring parish where I saw a pondarous .wrought iron cage lying in a corner’ Ou asking about it I was told it was a relic of the body-snatching dayd, coffins were locked up in it for a oertaih time. There were many gruesome anti s->me amusing Htotios afloat when! was & b >3 about the doings of the watchers and the bo 1y snatchers. I read one story, but it is so long ago that I have forgotten the particulars, and dau only give the gist of it as a specimen. If I remember rightly,. two medical students who ark game, tor any mischief hearing of a funeral hi a quiet op an try churchyard hired a nig und went out that sumo night, and managed to dig up the body. As everyone knows a gig is just seat for t wo, and there is not room for a body iu the- boot. But they had their plans laiih they had brought a spare great cokt .dir cloak and h it. They put these on the body and sot it up between them on the . seat so that they looked like h. party ol three at night. They hid to pass ah inn or publio.bouse on tbs way horfie, am 5 ! fooling very cold themselves and having a cold companion, they thought they would be better of something to warri them up, so they tied up the horse and loaving*their companion sitting.m the gig wont inside. Two young men oaifik up the road alunst immadiatelv «n' spoke to the party iu the gig a>m v>fc «>' reply. They spoke again,, biu i, r». no reply, they weht up to see what v<; ; wrong, and found oat at ohee the .-tiiu of matters. They wore brlgh*. youth*. - and it did hob take them a rimuhte tu v plan whit to do, Tuey quickly took out the body and laid ’it behind hedg«. J taking off the coat, an I hat, 1 of them pdtb on and mounted the gqp seating himself t stiffly in the centre. " Tbe other one hid tb watch developmen' 4 Our two fvitnds came, out, unhitched 1 heir horse and drove away. Ofliey wei% in high g’ee after being Warmed anil with the success of their night’s exploit They. weVeiplanning' how they. woulik -dtvidp the body among the resit of lh£ folfo'wtf,'7 ( who /V tag, Jrhh ha&a great deal df a’gumehjb anootl’thk t'ol the Atudfeutfl* work a * *