On February 27, 1866, the petition of M. Cornot was presented to the French Senate by M. de la Gueronnière, stating that a comparatively large number of persons are annually buried alive, which he supported by statistics. The author has tried to procure a copy of this petition, but these documents are not published by the State department.
The following appears in the Lancet, June 14, 1884, p. 1104:—
“BURIED ALIVE.
“Sir,—That this is an incident that does happen, and frequently has happened, has for some years past been my firm conviction; and during epidemics, particularly in the East, its possible contingency has frequently caused me much anxiety; and when the burial has, for sanitary reasons, had to be very hurried, I always made it a rule to withhold my certificate unless I had personally inspected the body and assured myself of the fact of death.
“The reason and necessity for extreme caution in such matters were impressed vividly upon me some years ago, when visiting the crypt of the cathedral at Bordeaux, where two bodies were shown, to whom, I think it obvious, this most terrible of all occurrences must have happened; and I am unable to attribute the position in which they were found in their coffins, and the look of horror which their faces still displayed, to any action of rigor mortis or any other post-mortem change, but simply and solely to their having awakened to a full appreciation of their most awful position. In the case of one of these bodies, which was found lying on its side, the legs were drawn up nearly to a level with the abdomen, and the arms were in such a position as to convey the impression that both they and the legs had been used in a desperate, but futile, attempt to push out the side of the coffin; whilst the look of horror remaining on the face was simply indescribable. In the other case, the body was found lying on its face, the arms extended above the head, as if attempting to push out the top of the coffin. In the year 1870 these two bodies were still on view; and the attendants used to dwell at some length upon the horrors of being interred alive. It appears that some years prior to 1870, in making excavations in a church-yard in the immediate vicinity of the cathedral, the workmen came upon a belt of ground that apparently was impregnated with some antiseptic material, as all the bodies within this belt, to the number of about two hundred, were found to be almost as perfect as when they were buried; of these a selection appears to have been made; and at the time I mention about thirty or forty were exhibited, propped up on iron frames, in the crypt of the cathedral. The impression left on my mind at the time was that; if out of two hundred bodies so discovered there could be two in which, to say the least, there is a strong probability of live interment, this awful possibility was a thing that should receive more attention than is generally devoted to it.—I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
“H. S.
“Bayswater, June 10, 1884.”
Protests against the present state of the law in France are very frequent. M. Gaubert in “Les Chambres Mortuaires d’Attente,” page 80, says: “During the monarchy of July petitions have not ceased to come in from all parts of France to the Chamber of Deputies.” PROTESTS OF GENERAL COUNCILS.For a great number of years, said the Deputy Varin, in the sitting of April 10, 1847, every year petitions having the same object (the prevention of premature burial) are presented to the Chambers and referred to the Ministry. What has been done, however? Nothing! Again M. Gaubert in p. 88, referring to resolutions of the General Councils of the Departments, observes: “That under the movement of protest, which we are examining and find particularly serious, is shown the widespread character which it assumes. It is, indeed, from all parts of France, and under every form, that the sad complaints of the public (for the prevention of premature burial) arrive at the office of the Minister of the Interior. Those protests adopted by the General Councils (of Departments) were not the less numerous nor the less conspicuous in important places. Many of those who take the trouble to petition or draw up resolutions have been prompted to action by melancholy experience of such catastrophes in their own families.”
M. Gaubert in “Les Chambres Mortuaires d’Attente” (Paris, 1895), pp. 193-195, says that in France there are in round numbers thirty-six thousand Communes, and it is beyond doubt that in every one of these will be found cases of premature burial. Communes with a population of eight hundred have even several. Dr. Pineau has recorded twelve in the single Commune of Fontenay-le-Comte in Poitou. In the large towns, especially in those which have great hospitals, the proportion is more considerable. In Paris, Dr. Rousseau, verificateur of the dead, in 1853 wrote: “Le médecin n’est jamais appelé que pour constater la mort apparente.” M. Gaubert declares that he would not be far from the truth in estimating the number of victims to apparent death at eight thousand a year, and asks if France be so rich in population as to be able to pay such an enormous tribute. Dr. Josat, lauréat de l’Institut, declares that a considerable number of people refuse to visit France through fear that they might be overtaken by apparent death and precipitately buried alive.
The Undertakers’ Journal, July 22, 1889, the editor of which has exceptional opportunities of knowing the true facts, observes: “It has been proved beyond all contradiction that there are more burials alive than is generally supposed. Stories of these cases are numerous. Five cases are reported on p. 85 of this same issue, one the wife of a well-known tradesman at St. Leonards, medically pronounced dead, but who revived before it was too late. Many undertakers could describe similar experiences.”