The Diary of a Resurrectionist, 1811-1812 Part 3

A somewhat similar account is given in the _Memorials of John Flint South_.[14] This method is also referred to by Bransby Cooper,[15] who states that it was told him by one "who fancied he had found out their secret, but had, no doubt, been deceived by some of them purposely."

Bransby Cooper also says that he asked one of the princ.i.p.al resurrection-men as to the feasibility of this method, and the man showed him several objections to it, and stated that "it would never do." This statement was made after the resurrection-days were over, when there could be no advantage in keeping the true plan secret. It must be remembered that there were some amateur body-s.n.a.t.c.hers, and that it was not at all unlikely that the regular men would tell to them a plan as full of difficulties as that quoted above. To make the tunnel as described, would be impossible, and it is somewhat difficult to see how grappling-irons were fastened to the coffin; a man could hardly get down a tunnel 18 in.

in diameter and 15 feet in length to do this; if he did succeed, his difficulties in returning must have been still greater. To pull a body out of the head or foot of a coffin, as described, is an impossibility. No allowance is made, either, in digging the tunnel for obstacles, in the shape of intervening graves or grave-stones. As regards the evidence on the surface of a grave having been disturbed, it would be greater in one opened in this manner than if the recently-disturbed earth had been again dug out. It would be impossible to get back into the tunnel all the earth dug out in the course of its construction, and this loose earth would at once attract attention. Generally, bodies were removed before the graves were finally tidied up, so that it was difficult to notice a fresh disturbance.

The writer of the Diary was a cemetery-keeper when he first began his resurrection proceedings; his _modus operandi_, in some cases, was to take the body out of the coffin, and place it in a sack, before he began to fill in the grave. Then, as he gradually threw the earth in, he kept pulling the sack to the surface, so that when his work of filling in was completed, he had the sack close to the top of the grave. He had then only to wait until night, when he was able, under cover of the darkness, to remove the body without fear of detection. When the resurrection-men had been successful in their night's work, they were glad to find a temporary shelter for the bodies, as near at hand as possible. This was generally an out-house belonging to one of the schools which they regularly supplied; the men were permitted to place the bodies there for the night, and to fetch them away the next day. This explains some of the entries in the Diary, such as "Took the whole to ----," and the next day, "Removed the whole from ----." Before removing any of the bodies, the men would find out exactly where they were wanted, and so would save much risk of being arrested with the bodies in their possession.

If the following broadside could be believed, the resurrection-men sometimes performed a valuable service to those who had been buried--

"MIRACULOUS CIRc.u.mSTANCE:

"_Being a full and particular account of John Macintire, who was buried alive, in Edinburgh, on the 15th day of April, 1824, while in a trance, and who was taken up by the resurrection-men, and sold to the doctors to be dissected, with a full account of the many strange and wonderful things which he saw and felt while he was in that state, the whole being taken from his own words._

"I had been some time ill of a low and lingering fever. My strength gradually wasted, and I could see by the doctor that I had nothing to hope. One day, towards evening, I was seized with strange and indescribable quiverings. I saw around my bed, innumerable strange faces; they were bright and visionary, and without bodies. There was light and solemnity, and I tried to move, but could not; I could recollect, with perfectness, but the power of motion had departed. I heard the sound of weeping at my pillow, and the voice of the nurse say, 'He is dead.' I cannot describe what I felt at these words. I exerted my utmost power to stir myself, but I could not move even an eyelid. My father drew his hand over my face and closed my eyelids. The world was then darkened, but I could still hear, and feel and suffer. For three days a number of friends called to see me. I heard them in low accents speak of what I was, and more than one touched me with his finger. The coffin was then procured, and I was laid in it. I felt the coffin lifted and borne away. I heard and felt it placed in the hea.r.s.e; it halted, and the coffin was taken out. I felt myself carried on the shoulders of men; I heard the cords of the coffin moved. I felt it swing as dependent by them. It was lowered and rested upon the bottom of the grave. Dreadful was the effort I then made to exert the power of action, but my whole frame was immovable. The sound of the rattling mould as it covered me, was far more tremendous than thunder. This also ceased, and all was silent. This is death, thought I, and soon the worms will be crawling about my flesh. In the contemplation of this hideous thought, I heard a low sound in the earth over me, and I fancied that the worms and reptiles were coming. The sound continued to grow louder and nearer. Can it be possible, thought I, that my friends suspect that they have buried me too soon? The hope was truly like bursting through the gloom of death. The sound ceased. They dragged me out of the coffin by the head, and carried me swiftly away. When borne to some distance, I was thrown down like a clod, and by the interchange of one or two brief sentences, I discovered that I was in the hands of two of those robbers, who live by plundering the grave, and selling the bodies of parents, and children, and friends. Being rudely stripped of my shroud, I was placed naked on a table. In a short time I heard by the bustle in the room that the doctors and students were a.s.sembling. When all was ready the Demonstrator took his knife, and pierced my bosom. I felt a dreadful crackling, as it were, throughout my whole frame; a convulsive shudder instantly followed, and a shriek of horror rose from all present. The ice of death was broken up; my trance was ended. The utmost exertions were made to restore me, and in the course of an hour I was in full possession of all my faculties.

"STEPHENSON, PRINTER, GATESHEAD."

It was quite necessary for the Committee on Anatomy to adopt some means to protect the resurrection-men who gave evidence before it; this was done by suppressing their names, and using letters of the alphabet to distinguish the witnesses one from another. Popular feeling was so bitter against these men that they were often severely handled by the mob.

Sometimes the mob made a mistake, and the innocent suffered for the guilty. In 1823 a coach containing an empty coffin was being drawn along the streets of Edinburgh; the people, suspecting that it was intended to convey a body, taken from some churchyard, seized the coach; it was with great difficulty that the police rescued the driver from the fury of the mob. The coach they could not save; it was taken through the streets, thrown over a mound, and smashed; the people then kindled a fire with the fragments, and danced round it. It turned out that the coffin was intended to convey to his house, in Edinburgh, the body of a physician who had died in the country.

On another occasion two American gentlemen, who were looking at the Abbey of Linlithgow after nightfall, were mistaken for resurrection-men, and a.s.saulted by the mob.

One of the witnesses, called "A. B.," but who was probably Ben Crouch himself, stated that twenty-three in four nights was the greatest number he had ever obtained. He added, "When I go to work, I like to get those of poor people buried from the workhouses, because instead of working for one subject, you may get three or four. I do not think, during the time I have been in the habit of working for the schools, I got half a dozen of wealthier people." Another witness, who is called "C. D.," but who was, without doubt, the writer of the Diary, stated that, "according to my book," in 1809 and 1810 the number of bodies disposed of in England was 305 adults and 44 small; but the same year 37 were sent to Edinburgh, and the gang had 18 in hand, which were never used at all. In 1810-11, 312 adults were disposed of in the regular session, and 20 in the summer, in addition to 47 smalls. In the Report of the Committee in 1828, it was pointed out that, at that time, there were over 800 students attending the Schools of Anatomy in London, but of these not more than 500 actually worked at dissection. The number of subjects annually available for instruction amounted to between 450 and 500, or rather less than one for each student.

The average price of an adult body was stated to be 4 4s. 0d. It may be here explained that a "small" was a body under three feet long; these were sold at so much per inch and were generally cla.s.sified as "large small,"

"small," and "foetus." The earnings of the resurrection-men may be gathered from the above entry. To take the year 1810-11, the receipts for bodies alone come to 1328 guineas; this is exclusive of "smalls," and probably also of the teeth, in which these men did a large trade. Teeth, in those days, were very valuable; the amounts received by some of the men for teeth only will be dealt with in the chapter containing biographical notices of some of the princ.i.p.al London resurrection-men. It may be here mentioned that on one occasion Murphy obtained the entry to a vault belonging to a meeting-house, on the pretence of selecting a burial-place for his wife. Whilst in there he managed to slip back some bolts, so that he could easily gain an entrance at another time; this he did at night, and got possession of teeth by which he made 60.

From the statements of the teachers it is most likely that 4 4s. 0d. is under the average price paid for bodies. It must be remembered, too, that this amount does not include the retaining-fee paid at the beginning of the session, nor the "finishing-money" which was demanded at its close.

The 1328 guineas spoken of above would be divided amongst six or seven persons, and this, for men in their position, was a large income. The biographical notes of the chief workers in this horrible trade will show that some few of them did save money. Taking them, however, as a whole, they were a dissolute and ruffianly gang; reference to the Diary proves their drunken habits, and there is more than one entry to show that they were often in pecuniary difficulties; so much so that on one occasion they were obliged to have recourse to Mordecai, the Jew.

It was quite useless for those who had just buried a relative or friend to depend either upon the custodian of the burial-ground, or upon the watch, to see that the newly-made grave was not violated. The resurrection-men often met with a guard, inst.i.tuted by the friends of the deceased, who would take it in turns to watch by the grave-side through the whole night; these friends were frequently armed, and were not afraid to use their arms if the resurrection-men gave them an opportunity. As a rule the body-s.n.a.t.c.hers made off when they found a guard in the cemetery; it was to their interest not to create a riot, and if they were strong enough to drive off the watchers, the latter could soon raise a tumult, whereby the bodily safety of the thieves would be endangered.

Matters did not always pa.s.s off so peaceably, particularly in Ireland, as the following extract from an Irish newspaper for 1830 shows:

"DESPERATE ENGAGEMENT WITH BODY-s.n.a.t.c.hERS.--The remains of the late Edward Barrett, Esq., having been interred in Glasnevin churchyard on the 27th of last month (January), persons were appointed to remain in the churchyard all night, to protect the corpse from 'the sack 'em-up gentlemen,' and it seems the precaution was not unnecessary, for, on Sat.u.r.day night last, some of the gentry made their appearance, but soon decamped on finding they were likely to be opposed. Nothing daunted, however, they returned on Tuesday morning with augmented force, and well armed. About ten minutes after two o'clock three or four of them were observed standing on the wall of the churchyard, while several others were endeavouring to get on it also. The party in the churchyard warned them off, and were replied to by a discharge from fire-arms. This brought on a general engagement; the sack 'em-up gentlemen fired from behind the churchyard wall, by which they were defended, while their opponents on the watch fired from behind the tomb-stones. Upwards of 58 to 60 shots were fired. One of the a.s.sailants was shot--he was seen to fall; his body was carried off by his companions.

Some of them are supposed to have been severely wounded, as a great quant.i.ty of blood was observed outside the churchyard wall, notwithstanding the ground was covered with snow. During the firing, which continued for upwards of a quarter of an hour, the church bell was rung by one of the watchmen, which, with the discharge from the fire-arms, collected several of the townspeople and the police to the spot--several of the former, notwithstanding the severity of the weather, in nearly a state of nakedness; but the a.s.sailants were by this time defeated, and effected their retreat. Several of the head-stones bear evident marks of the conflict, being struck with the b.a.l.l.s, &c."

[Ill.u.s.tration: MORTSAFE IN GREYFRIARS CHURCHYARD, EDINBURGH.]

Most of the disgraceful riots which took place in the burial-grounds, were not between resurrection-men and friends guarding a grave, but between two gangs of body-s.n.a.t.c.hers. In cases of this kind one gang would do all in its power to bring its rival into disrepute; the stronger party, after driving the weaker one away, would put the burial-ground into a most disgraceful state, and then give information against their opponents.

Besides watching, many other devices were tried to prevent the depredations of the resurrection-men; spring guns were set in many of the cemeteries, but these were often rendered harmless. If the men intended going to a certain grave at night, late in the afternoon a woman, in deep mourning, would walk round the part of the cemetery in which the grave was situated, and contrive to detach the wires from the guns. Loose stones were placed on the walls of the grave-yard, so as to make scaling the walls almost an impossibility; this was useless when the custodian had a house with a window looking into the burial-place. If entrance could not be obtained in this way, there was generally some other house through which the men could gain admission to the grave-yard. Mort-safes, or strong iron guards, were placed over newly-made graves for protection; some of these can be seen at the present day in the Greyfriars Churchyard, Edinburgh (see ill.u.s.trations).

[Ill.u.s.tration: MORTSAFE IN GREYFRIARS CHURCHYARD, EDINBURGH.]

Iron coffins were also used by some persons to protect their friends from the Resurrectionist. The following interesting advertis.e.m.e.nt appeared in _Wooler's British Gazette_ for October 13th, 1822:

"Many hundred dead bodies will be dragged from their wooden coffins this winter, for the anatomical lectures (which have just commenced), the articulators, and for those who deal in the dead for the supply of the country pract.i.tioner and the Scotch schools. The question of the right to inter in iron is now decided. Lord Chief Justice Abbott declared he wished they might be generally used; Justice Bailey declared that if the Ecclesiastical Court was to grant a suit for a fee, they, the Court of King's Bench, would grant a prohibition, knowing it had no such right. Sir William Scott, now Lord Stowell, decided and directed the interment without any extra fee, as this question was raised by an undertaker; those undertakers who have IRON COFFINS must divide the profits of the funeral with EDWARD LILLIE BRIDGMAN. TEN GUINEAS reward will be paid on the conviction of any Parish Officer demanding an extra fee, whereby I shall lose the sale of a coffin. The violation of the sanct.i.ty of the grave is said to be needful, for the instruction of the medical pupil, but let each one about to inter a mother, husband, child, or friend, say shall I devote this object of my affection to such a purpose; if not, the only safe coffin is Bridgman's PATENT WROUGHT-IRON ONE, charged the same price as a wooden one, and is a superior subst.i.tute for lead. Edward Lillie Bridgman, 34, Fish Street Hill, and Goswell Street Road, performs funerals in any part of the kingdom, and by attention to moderate charges insures the recommendation of those who employ him. Twenty-five private grounds within the Bills of Mortality receive them; dues from seven shillings to one guinea. Patent cast-iron tombs and tablets, superior to stone."

The advertis.e.m.e.nt is headed by a rough cut, showing the coffin[16] and the iron clamps by which it was fastened. There was another maker of patent coffins, who is mentioned by Southey in his ballad called _The Surgeon's Warning_. The ballad represents the fear of a dying surgeon, lest his apprentices should serve him after death as he, during his life, has served many other persons:

"And my 'prentices will surely come And carve me bone from bone, And I, who have rifled the dead man's grave, Shall never rest in my own.

"Bury me in lead when I am dead, My brethren, I entreat, And see the coffin weigh'd I beg, Lest the plumber should be a cheat.

"And let it be solder'd closely down Strong as strong can be, I implore, And put it in a patent coffin That I may rise no more.

"If they carry me off in the patent coffin Their labour will be in vain, Let the undertaker see it bought of the maker, Who lives in St. Martin's Lane."

[Ill.u.s.tration]

All the surgeon's wishes were duly carried out as regards his coffin; money was also given to watchers to keep guard every night over the grave.

The "'prentices," however, were able easily to buy the watchers, and so

"They burst the patent coffin first, And then cut through the lead, And they laugh'd aloud when they saw the shroud, Because they had got at the dead.

"And they allow'd the s.e.xton the shroud And they put the coffin back, And nose and knees they then did squeeze, The surgeon in a sack.

"So they carried the sack pick-a-back, And they carved him bone from bone, But what became of the surgeon's soul, Was never to mortal known."

The following extract from a Scotch paper shows the alarm felt for the safety of the newly-buried:

"RESURRECTION-MEN.--Curiosity drew together a crowd of people on Monday, at Dundee, to witness the funeral of a child, which was consigned to the grave in a novel manner. The father, in terror of the resurrection-men, had caused a small box, inclosing some deathful apparatus, communicating by means of wires, with the four corners, to be fastened on the top of the coffin. Immediately before it was lowered into the earth, a large quant.i.ty of gunpowder was poured into the box, and the hidden machinery put into a state of readiness for execution. The common opinion was, that if any one attempted to raise the body he would be blown up. The s.e.xton seemed to dread an immediate explosion, for he started back in alarm after throwing in the first shovelful of earth."

Friends and relatives often placed objects on the newly-made grave, such as a flower or an oyster-sh.e.l.l, so that they might be able to tell if the earth had been disturbed. These objects were generally carefully noted by the resurrection-men, and were put back in their exact places after the body had been removed and the grave re-filled.

In some burial-grounds, houses were built in which the bodies could be kept until they were putrid, and therefore useless to the resurrection-men. Such a house is still standing in the burial-ground at Crail.[17]

[Ill.u.s.tration: HOUSE AT CRAIL (Described on page 80). Over the door is the following inscription: "Erected for securing the Dead. Ann. Dom.

MDCCCXXVI."]

[Ill.u.s.tration: HOUSE AT CRAIL (Described on page 80). Over the door is the following inscription: "Erected for securing the Dead. Ann. Dom.

MDCCCXXVI."]

As a rule, the resurrection-men were able not only to supply the London schools from the grave-yards in and around the Metropolis, but also to send bodies to some of the provincial schools; the Diary shows that even Edinburgh received some of the proceeds of the work of this London gang. If, however, from increased vigilance or other causes, the supply of bodies ran short in London, recourse was had to the provinces. A case occurred some seventy years ago at Yarmouth. A man died, and was buried in St. Nicholas Churchyard. Not long after, his wife died also. On the husband's grave being opened, it was discovered that the man's body had been removed; this led to a panic amongst people in Yarmouth who had recently buried friends in that churchyard. Many graves were opened, and, in a large number of instances, were found to have been violated. This led to a regular watch being established over newly-made graves in the churchyard. It was the custom of the resurrection-men, when they had bodies to send from the country to London, to forward them so that they should, in outward appearance, correspond with the cla.s.s of goods exported from the place where the bodies had been obtained. If the goods usually came to London in crates, crates were used by the body-s.n.a.t.c.hers; if ordinary packing-cases, then the bodies were enclosed in like receptacles.

The proceeds of the exhumations at Yarmouth were probably packed in barrels, and came through Billingsgate.

In 1826 three casks, labelled "Bitter Salts," were taken down to George's Dock at Liverpool, to be shipped on board the _Latona_, bound for Leith; a full description of this transaction was printed as a broadside, of which the following is a copy: