Chapter II: Part 2

Upon these appearances we have a few observations to offer, especially as they have given origin to some important questions; and first, with respect to _the presence of water in the stomach and lungs_, than which few indications, connected with the subject of drowning, have given occasion to greater controversy.[33] For since it hath been observed that water is rarely found in the stomach or lungs of a person who has been submerged after death, it was inferred that the presence of that fluid in these organs necessarily proved that the individual must have been plunged into the water during life. As a general proposition this may be admitted as correct, although it is liable to certain exceptions with which the medical jurist ought to be acquainted; we may, for instance, suppose a case, in which the submerged person may be so plunged at once under water, as to have been suffocated without his previously coming to the surface, and when _asphyxia_ has taken place, the powers of deglutition, on which the presence of water in the stomach wholly depends, are at an end; or we may suppose that the party in question faints from terror; a remarkable instance of this kind is quoted by _Foderè_,[34] from _Plater_, of a young woman, who having been condemned to be drowned for infanticide, fainted at the moment she was plunged in the water, and having remained for a quarter of an hour under its surface, recovered after being drawn out.[35]

With respect to the presence of water in the bronchiæ and lungs, we may observe that, in the violent struggles of a drowning man, a certain portion of water generally passes the epiglottis; and being immediately mixed with the air and mucus of the trachea, constitutes that frothy mucus, which we have described as being so highly characteristic of this species of violent death; although we are not to conclude with _Larrey_, that it is the immediate cause of dissolution in such cases. The quantity of water, however, thus forced into the pulmonary structure, is extremely small, for its entrance is powerfully opposed by a spasm of the muscles of the glottis;[36] were it to occur in any considerable quantity, and to appear in its fluid state, instead of that of froth, the influence would clearly be, that _it had passed in after death_.

Although the presence of this frothy matter must be considered as a strong presumptive proof that the person found in the water had perished by drowning, the converse of this proposition is by no means established by the absence of such an indication.

_The buoyancy of the human body_ is another point in the history of Drowning, which has occasioned much discussion; and in solving the problem, so highly important in its forensic relations, _whether a body found in the water, had been drowned, or thrown in after death_, it has been considered by some physiologists as capable of affording a certain degree of presumptive evidence, although we are inclined to attach but little or no importance to such an indication. The specific gravity of the human body, under ordinary circumstances, is very little greater than that of fresh water, so small indeed is the difference that, when the lungs are inflated, a man will float[37] with little or no effort, if he have sufficient self possession, and does not attempt to raise too great a portion of his body out of the sustaining fluid;[38] but, when the air of the lungs is expelled, and probably, at the same time, a certain quantity of water is taken into the stomach,[39] the body becomes specifically heavier, and the victim sinks. It may be assumed as a general rule, that no newly drowned body floats, although many facts have been adduced in support of a contrary opinion; the naval custom of loading the dead bodies with weights, before they are consigned to a watery grave, is not for the purpose of sinking the corpse, but for preventing its rising after the process of putrefaction has commenced. The period during which a body will remain at the bottom cannot be very accurately determined, as the change does not take place until a sufficient quantity of air be generated to buoy it again to the surface; in the melancholy instance of the loss of the Royal George, the dead bodies were observed ascending to the surface of the sea, on or about the fifth day. The general position of a body which has thus risen, provided there be no external or adventitious circumstances to change it, is such, that it floats nearly immersed, the face, arms, and legs hanging downwards, and the loins being uppermost; this is the form which the body must mechanically and hydrostatically assume, if the sustaining power of generated air be, as it generally will, in the cavity of the abdomen, where putrefaction is more likely to commence; for the head and limbs are generally[40] specifically heavier than water, while the trunk, especially if inflated with air, is somewhat lighter.

It has been said that a position, different from that which we have just described, will take place where the person has been strangled, and the body then thrown into the water; for in this latter case, it is contended, that the lungs will be distended with air, and that consequently, the sustaining power must be in the thorax; in support of this opinion the story of the appearance of _Caraccioli_[41], Admiral of the Neapolitan navy, has been ingeniously adduced; this unfortunate man was hanged in pursuance of the sentence of a court martial, and his body was committed to the deep in the usual manner; thirteen days after which, while the King of Sicily was walking on the deck of Lord _Nelson’s_ ship, he suddenly exclaimed with a yell of horror—“_Vien! Viene!_”—The Admiral’s corpse, breast high, was seen floating towards the ship; the shot that had been attached to the feet for the purpose of sinking it, not being sufficiently heavy. This may perhaps be explained by supposing that the corpse was stiff before it was immersed, in which case, the centre of gravity being exceedingly low on account of the shot tied to the feet, he must have floated upright, wherever the buoyant power from generated air might be situated. At all events, we feel no hesitation in at once rejecting the proposition, for the support of which it has been brought forward; the fact is that, in relation to gaseous contents, the lungs are the same in strangled, as in drowned persons; for in both cases a quantity of air is forcibly expelled from them before dissolution.

2. BY HANGING:

The suspension of a person by means of a cord, or some other ligature, round the neck, by which death is produced by closing the trachea, and preventing respiration.

Although we are in this case bound to admit that the immediate cause of death is suffocation, yet we cannot deny that other injuries are often produced by hanging, such as

1. _Pressure on the vessels._
2. _Pressure on the nerves._
3. _Fracture of the spine, and dislocation of the odontoid process._

1. _Pressure on the Vessels._—The red and livid hue of the face of persons killed by hanging, very naturally induced a belief that _Apoplexy_[42] was the immediate cause of death; while it is evident that the pressure on the jugular veins must necessarily so prevent the return of blood to the heart, as to produce an accumulation in the vessels of the brain: _Dr. Hooper_ has a preparation of the brain of an executed criminal, in which blood is seen extravasated among the membranes; and various other cases have occurred, where dissection has clearly demonstrated the existence of those vascular congestions and sanguineous effusions, upon which apoplexy is supposed to depend; but this merely goes to prove that apoplexy occasionally takes place from hanging; it does not establish the fact of its being the common cause of death on such occasions.[43] _Gregory_ made the following experiment to shew that it is to the interception of air that death is to be attributed; after having opened the trachea of a dog he passed a slip knot round the neck, above the wound; the animal, though hanged, continued to live and respire, the air was alternately admitted and easily expelled through the small opening; but as soon as the constriction was made below the orifice, the animal perished. _Mr. Brodie_ hanged a dog, and as soon as it became insensible, the trachea was opened below the ligature, upon which he breathed, and his sensibility returned.

2. _Pressure on the Nerves of the Neck._ Although the pressure of a ligature on the nerves of the neck cannot be considered as the immediate cause of death in hanging, yet _Mr. Brodie_ has very justly observed, that if the animal recovers of the direct consequence of the strangulation, he may probably suffer from the effects of the ligature upon the nerves afterwards. _Mr. Brodie_ passed a ligature under the trachea of a Guinea pig, and tied it tight on the back of the neck with a knot; the animal was uneasy, but nevertheless breathed and moved about; at the end of fifteen minutes the ligature was removed; on the following morning, however, the animal was found dead. On dissection no preternatural appearances were discovered in the brain, but the lungs were dark and turgid with blood, and presented an appearance similar to that which is observed after the division of the nerves of the eighth pair; I do not, observes _Mr. Brodie_ (_Manuscript Notes_) positively conclude from this experiment that the animal died from an injury inflicted upon the nerves of the eighth pair, but I think that such a conclusion is highly probable; and it becomes an object of inquiry whether a patient having recovered from hanging, may not, in some instances, die afterwards from the injury of the _par vagum_.

3. _Fracture of the Spine, and Dislocation of the Neck._ The death of a hanged person may occasionally take place by the luxation of the cervical vertebræ, and the consequent injury of the spinal marrow; this effect will be more likely to happen in heavy persons, and where the culprit suffers on a drop that precipitates him from a considerable height. It is said that _Louis_ discovered that of the two executioners in Paris and Lyons, one dispatched the criminal condemned to be hanged by luxating the head on the neck, whilst those who perished by the hands of the other were completely strangled.

An animal, when first suspended, is observed to make repeated but ineffectual attempts to inspire; violent convulsions of the whole body then ensue, but which are not to be considered as the indications of suffering, for they arise in consequence of the dark coloured blood having reached the brain and spinal marrow; and the animal at this period is necessarily insensible; hanging does not occasion a painful death.[44]

The lips, nose, and all those parts in which the hue of the blood can be observed, exhibit a dark colour; the countenance is distorted, the eyes protruded, and frequently suffused with blood, the tongue is also forced out of the mouth, and sometimes wounded, although it has been observed that this phenomenon will entirely depend upon the position of the rope, for that when it presses above the thyroid gland the tongue will be pushed back, in consequence of a compression upon the _os hyoides_, whereas if the pressure be applied under the _cricoid_ cartilage it will have the effect of thrusting out the tongue. Blood is sometimes discharged from the ears. It is not unusual for the sufferer to void his urine, fæces, and even semen, in _articulo mortis_. The fingers are usually bent, the nails blue, and the hands nearly closed; and the whole physiognomy exhibits a highly characteristic appearance.

“But see, his face is black and full of blood,
His eye-balls further out than when he lived,
Staring full ghastly, like a strangled man,
His hair uprear’d, his nostrils stretch’d with struggling,
His hands abroad display’d, as one that grasp’d
And tugg’d for life, and was by strength subdu’d.”

_Henry_ VI, _Part_ ii, _Act_ iii, _s._ 2.

The dissection of a hanged person exhibits the same phenomena as those described under the history of drowning, with the exception of the absence of water in the _bronchiæ_. With respect to the quantity of air found in the lungs, much discrepancy of opinion has existed. _Dr. Goodwyn_, in his experiments on respiration, found that the lungs of a person who had died from hanging, contained double the quantity of gaseous contents of those who had died a natural death. This result, however, is certainly not correct; for there is always, as we have already stated, a very forcible expulsion of air from the lungs in the act of strangulation, and they are accordingly found almost empty after death. _Mr. Coleman_ hanged an animal, and then secured the _trachea_ by a ligature, and removed the lungs; when, upon receiving their gaseous contents in the hydro-pneumatic apparatus, he found their quantity was very far less than that which would have been collected under other circumstances.

3. BY MANUAL STRANGULATION.

Whether strangulation be induced by the suspension of the body by the neck, or by a ligature drawn tight, or by any other pressure upon the trachea, the physiological phenomena of death are the same; where, however, the person has died from manual strangulation, the marks about the neck will probably be more evident, and the discolouration will correspond with the marks of the fingers and nails; and we may also expect to find traces of violence upon the chest, for since the weight of the body is not obtained in such a case, additional force becomes necessary to consummate the fatal act. On opening the bodies of those who have been taken off by manual strangulation, _Dr. Smith_ thinks that the usual appearances of this kind of death may not seem so conclusive as in other cases: an opinion in which we feel inclined to coincide; for in consequence of the greater resistance of the sufferer, the functions of respiration and circulation may continue in some measure for a longer period than in drowning or hanging, which must be considered as more summary processes of suffocation. In the case of a woman who had been thus strangled by two men, _Littre_ found the tympanum of the left ear lacerated, whence flowed about an ounce of blood; the vessels of the brain were unusually turgid, red blood was extravasated in the ventricles, as well as at the base of the cranium; the lungs were distended and their membrane vascular; not more, however, than an ounce of blood was found in the right ventricle of the heart, and it was fluid and frothy, like that in the lungs; this circumstance deserves particular notice, and can only be explained by supposing that the respiration and circulation were not at once arrested, but that the unhappy sufferer was enabled to inhale air, at intervals, during the protracted struggle[45]; and yet in certain cases, death may be very easily occasioned by manual strangulation, of which the murder of _Dr. Clench_, in the year 1692, may be adduced as an example; this gentleman was strangled in a hackney coach by two men, while driving about the streets of the city, without the coachman having the slightest knowledge of the transaction, until he afterwards found him quite dead, kneeling down with his head on the seat, and a handkerchief bound about his neck, in which was a piece of coal, placed just over the windpipe.[46]

4. BY SMOTHERING.

In this act the transit of the air into the lungs is prevented by forcibly closing the nostrils and mouth. It is very obvious that such a mode of destruction can very rarely occur in an adult; for a comparatively feeble resistance will be sufficient to overcome the assailant in such an attempt. It may, however, occur accidentally; it is not difficult to imagine that a person, in a fit of intoxication, may be unable to extricate himself from a position in which he might fall, and in which respiration could not be performed. In children this mode of suffocation is less rare, and it may be either the result of design or accident, to which we shall have occasion to refer, when treating the subject of Infanticide.

5. BY THE INHALATION OF AIR DEPRIVED OF OXYGEN.

There are many gases, the inspiration of which occasions death; some of these act simply by excluding oxygen, while others exert an absolutely deleterious action in consequence of the specific powers which they possess. It is exclusively to the first species that our attention is at present to be directed; the latter will constitute matter for future consideration, under the title of _Aërial Poisons_.

It is a fact too well established to require any discussion, that _oxygen_ is the only principle which is capable of producing the necessary changes in the blood, during its transmission through the lungs; and that, accordingly, whenever atmospheric air is deprived of this principle, it is no longer capable of supporting life, and the animal immersed in it instantly dies. It is thus that death takes place from exposure to the fumes of charcoal[47], to those of lime-kilns, to the atmosphere of cellars, caverns, wells, and dungeons.[48]

The asphyxia from privies, drains, and common sewers, depends upon a different cause, and will be considered under the head of _Sulphuretted Hydrogen_, in the history of poisons.

The fatal effects of confined air in a small and crowded room, were fully exemplified in the year 1742, when twenty persons were crammed in a part of St. Martin’s round-house called the _hole_, during the night, several of whom died; the surgeons on that occasion gave it as their opinion, that when the doors and windows were shut, the place could not support twenty persons for three hours without danger of their lives. A trial took place at the Old Bailey in consequence; but we have not been more successful than _Dr. Gordon Smith_ in our search for its report. The medical jurist would be called upon, on such an occasion, for his opinion as to the nature of the deteriorated air, the causes of its accumulation, and whether it was adequate to the production of the alleged effects; and possibly, whether the fatal consequences might not have been averted by judicious caution, or active exertion. The most awful exemplification of the fatal effects of confined air is, however, recorded in the interesting narrative of what happened to the English in the _black hole_ at Calcutta; and which we shall briefly relate in this place; as it involves some physiological phenomena to which we shall hereafter have occasion to refer.

It was in the month of June, 1756, that the Viceroy of Bengal laid siege to Fort William, the English factory at Calcutta. _Mr. Holwell_, assisted by the factors and the garrison, defended this post with extreme bravery; but was at length obliged to surrender. There were at this time remaining in the fort, an hundred and forty-five men and one woman. The whole of this unfortunate company, many of whom were wounded, and several very dangerously, were shut up the same night in a small prison only eighteen feet square. This prison, which is now better known in England by the name of the _black hole_, was enclosed by strong walls, and had only two small windows at one end, secured by iron grates. In this confined situation, which allowed only a space of about eighteen square inches to each individual, the heat and want of fresh air soon excited the most horrible effects; the prisoners, in a state of despair, began by attempting to force open the door, but in this they were unsuccessful. Mr. _Holwell_, who was placed near one of the windows, was more at his ease than the rest, and was consequently more cool and tranquil; and he recommended his companions to be quiet and orderly, and not to exhaust their strength by useless efforts. This advice produced some little calm, interrupted, however, by the groans of the wounded and the dying. The heat increased every moment. Mr. _Holwell_ recommended them to strip off their cloaths, as a means of acquiring more space; this was accordingly done, but with no great relief; they attempted to improve this by fanning the air with their hats, but even this was too painful a task for men who were worn out by the fatigue of the siege, and the heat of this dungeon. Another of the company was for their kneeling down, that they might have more air. They all readily agreed to do this; and to rise together in order to avoid confusion. This was done several times, but every time the signal was given to rise, the number of those who had strength enough to obey it diminished. There were constantly some remaining on the floor, who were unable to get up, and these were trodden to death by the survivors. All this happened during the first hour of their imprisonment. At nine o’clock in the evening they began to complain of excessive thirst, and to renew their efforts to open the prison door, and to tempt the centinels to fire upon them. Some of those who were farthest from the window became at once furiously delirious. The cry for water was unanimous. The guards brought water, and _Holwell_ and two of his wounded friends received it at the window in their hats, and were going to pass it on to the rest; but so eager and tumultuous were the efforts of the crowd to get at this water, that _Holwell’s_ two friends were suffocated, the water was spilt, and _Holwell_ saw himself surrounded with dead bodies, who had either been crushed to death, or died for want of fresh air.

Hitherto the commander and benefactor of these unfortunate people, had been treated with some degree of respect, but now all distinction began to be forgotten; the whole company eagerly threw themselves towards the windows, and seizing the iron bars, some of them got even upon his shoulders. He was so borne down by this enormous weight, as to be deprived of all power of motion; he implored the pity of those who were upon his head and his shoulders, and requested them to let him go and die at the bottom of the prison; this request was readily complied with, every one was desirous of succeeding to his place, and without much difficulty he reached the farther end of the dungeon. The third part of these unhappy people were already dead, and they who were still alive pressed so eagerly towards the windows, that _Holwell_ found himself somewhat freer in his new station; but the air was so corrupted, that his breathing soon became extremely difficult and painful. Unable therefore to support this, he attempted once more to make his way to the windows; and leaning on a heap of dead bodies, he now resolved to wait patiently for death. In this situation he remained about ten minutes, and then he experienced such a pain of the breast, and so violent a palpitation of the heart, that he was obliged to make one more attempt towards getting a less fatal air. There were five rows of his companions between himself and the window; his despair carried him through four of these. The palpitation of his heart now began to abate, but he felt inexpressible thirst, and cried out for water; but the water seemed to increase instead of alleviating his thirst; he therefore resolved to drink no more, and rather chose to suck the moisture from his shirt, which seemed to afford him some relief. A young man quite naked, who stood before him, eagerly seized the sleeve of his shirt, and for some moments deprived him of this salutary refreshment. It was not yet midnight. The small number of those who were left, were transported to the greatest excess of rage and despair. They all called aloud for air, because the water that had been brought to them afforded no relief. Soon after this the noise suddenly ceased. The greater part who were living laid themselves down, deprived of all their strength, and peaceably breathed their last. Others aimed at getting into _Holwell’s_ situation; a Dutchman mounted on one of his shoulders, and a black soldier on the other. In this situation he remained till two in the morning, when he gave up his place to a marine officer, who was soon forced out of it by the Dutchman. The officer retired with _Holwell_ to the other corner of the prison, and in a few moments afterwards died. _Holwell_ himself was soon deprived of sense, and from that time till sun rise we have no account of what passed. One of those who remained alive, at five in the morning, drew forth _Holwell_ from the heap of dead, and found in him some signs of life; about that time the Viceroy inquired whether he was still alive; he was told, that if the door was immediately opened, it would, perhaps, be possible to recover him, and orders were accordingly given for this purpose. But the door of the prison opened inwards, and they who were within it, and living, were deprived of all their strength, so that more than twenty minutes elapsed before the dead bodies were removed, which prevented the door from being opened.

At a quarter after six o’clock, there came out of this melancholy dungeon three and twenty persons, the remains of the hundred and forty-six who had entered it on the preceding evening.

Upon the events thus related we have to remark, that no advice could be more judicious than that given by _Holwell_ to his companions in the early part of their imprisonment—“to be quiet and orderly, and not to exhaust their strength by useless efforts.” Nor can we imagine any measure more calculated to increase the sufferings of their situation than that which was subsequently proposed, and adopted, by another of the company, “to fan the air with their hats, and to kneel down and rise together, by a simultaneous motion.” It has been satisfactorily established by physiological researches, that the demand for oxygen, in an animal body, will be in proportion to its expenditure by muscular exertions.[49] Whenever, therefore, circumstances may render a supply of air deficient, we shall best economise that which we possess by perfect quiet. _Lavoisier_ says, that a man, under ordinary circumstances, consumes 1300 or 1400 cubic inches of oxygen in an hour, but he found that if he is engaged in raising weights the consumption is at the rate of 3200 in the hour.

Infants appear to be less able to sustain the deprivation of oxygen than adults; and in some cases on record, life has been destroyed by circumstances that we should have _a priori_ considered as hardly adequate to such an effect. A case is related of a child, who was suffocated by some drunken men having repeatedly blown out a candle, and held the smoaking wick under its nose. The faculty of Leipsic investigated the circumstances, and declared the death to have taken place in consequence of suffocation. (_Valentini Pand: Med: Legal: Sect: 2._)

6. BY OTHER MODES, NOT INCLUDED IN THE FOREGOING SECTIONS.

We have already stated that if the muscles of respiration be paralysed, the animal can no longer breathe; and it dies in a state of suffocation. There are several mechanical modes by which such a condition may be produced; a person buried in a heap of ruins, although his head should be free, will perish from the pressure of the surrounding rubbish preventing the due action of the respiratory muscles. It was in this way that criminals who obstinately refused to plead, often died under the pressure of the weights that were heaped upon their bodies.[50].

There is a mode of suffocation, described by _Galen_, as being practised by the slaves when brought into the presence of the judges or executioners; it consisted in swallowing their tongue, by which it is said they voluntarily terminated their own existence. Several more modern authors have noticed this incredible mode of suicide, as one that is resorted to by negroes: now to confute such an idea, we have only to shew the attachment of the muscles of this part, and the motions which they permit; equally absurd is it to suppose with other physiologists, that persons can occasion suffocation by a voluntary suspension of their breathing; for if such an attempt were even made, the effort would be ended when self-possession was once lost, for then the impulse of nature must instantly triumph over any struggle to oppose it. We are not, however, prepared to say that such an attempt might not, in certain cases, occasion such a cerebral congestion as to produce apoplexy.

The last cause of suffocation which we have to mention is mechanical obstruction, from the entrance of foreign bodies into the aperture of the glottis; instances of this kind are too numerous and familiar to require many observations: it is thus that _Anacreon_ is said to have perished from a grape-seed; _Gilbert_, the poet, terminated his existence in a similar manner; he was a man of great appetite, and in the midst of a festival went into a neighbouring room, but did not return to the great surprise of his convivial companions. He was found stretched on a couch without any signs of life. The assistance administered by his kind but uninformed friends was useless; on opening the body a small piece of mutton was found, that had stopped at the entrance of the larynx, and completely prevented the passage of air into this organ. In Oct. 1821, two inquisitions were taken at Mildenhall, before the Coroner of Bury St. Edmonds in Suffolk; in the one case it appeared that _John Harris_ had eaten some honey, from the honey-comb, and that a bee, having been concealed in it, entered the glottis, and occasioned almost immediate death by suffocation; the other case was that of an infant, _Mary Bacon_, who fell with her face upon a quantity of slacked lime, when a particle of it getting into the wind-pipe, produced inflammation of the lungs, and sloughing of the trachea, of which she died. We have no doubt but that persons, during the state of intoxication, or that of a spasmodic paroxysm, have often perished from suffocation, when the death has been attributed to other causes; if the stomach should reject its contents during a state of insensibility[51], such an occurrence is by no means unlikely. We have lately received the history of a case of this description, which occurred in the St. James’s workhouse, and fell under the particular notice of Mr. _Alcock_. The patient was seized after a hearty meal of pork with an epileptic fit, during which he died; when upon opening the trachea, it was found to contain a quantity of animal matter resembling the pork upon which he had recently dined.

8. DEATH BY EXPOSURE TO COLD.

That an animal must perish as soon as the temperature of the medium in which it lives ceases to preserve the blood in a state of fluidity, is one of those self-evident propositions which scarcely requires notice, much less explanation; but that a degree of cold not sufficiently intense to occasion any physical changes upon the constituent parts of the body should extinguish its vitality is a fact, whose history involves some of the most interesting questions of physiology.

The degree of cold, necessary for the production of its fatal effects, varies in a very remarkable degree with the strength and circumstances of the individual to whom it is applied, as well as with the rapidity of the cooling process. In some instances we find that man has endured an extreme degree of cold with but little inconvenience, whilst in other cases, we see him perishing from it in a temperature at which water even retains its fluidity. The interesting history of Sir _Joseph Bankes_ (at that time Mr. Bankes), Dr. _Solander_, and eleven others, on a botanical excursion to the mountains of Terra del Fuego; and more recently, the narrative of our enterprizing countrymen, in their voyage to the Polar seas, will furnish a good illustration of the former fact, whilst the melancholy fate of the Cambridge student, as hereafter explained, affords a curious and instructive example of the latter. _Animal heat_, as Mr. _Brodie_ observes, _is in some way or other dependant upon the integrity of the functions of the Nervous System_; and consequently the absolute degree of cold which an animal can bear with impunity will, _cæteris paribus_, be determined by his powers of producing heat; we must therefore cease to regard the fact as extraordinary, that an animal, which is under the influence of a deleterious narcotic poison, or in whom, from any other morbid cause, the powers of the nervous system are exhausted, may be destroyed by a diminished temperature, that would scarcely affect even the sensations of one, differently placed in relation to his nervous energy; thus it is with a person in the last stage of intoxication, in whom the powers of life are ebbing, in consequence of the previous state of morbid excitement; in the course of the last winter, two instances occurred of drunken persons being taken to the watch-house; where, there not being any charge against them, they were dismissed by the constable of the night, and perished in the streets. A military friend has lately communicated to us an instance, where out of a great number of troops who were exposed to intense cold, the only one who perished was under the influence of intoxication; and we learn from _Le Baume’s_ interesting account of the campaign in Russia, that similar results were observed during the disastrous retreat of the French army on that memorable occasion.

In our own country scarcely a winter passes without the occurrence of some event equally illustrative of this physiological fact; and it is highly important that the medical jurist should be able to appreciate its influence; those who perish in this manner are generally individuals of the most wretched condition, and will be found to have undergone much suffering and privation; by which their nervous energy had been too much exhausted to generate sufficient heat to counteract the diminished temperature of the atmosphere; an event of this nature occurred in London during the winter of 1819, when a man and his wife, aged persons, and poor, but not supposed, nor indeed proved to have been quite destitute, were found dead in their apartment, although food was discovered in the room, and money was in the pocket of the man: the night (28th of December) had been inclement, and there was neither bed nor fire in the miserable couple’s apartment. It appeared in evidence that they had been previously ailing. The verdict recorded that they had perished from the inclemency of the weather, in consequence of the destitute circumstances under which they were found.

It would seem that persons who are long exposed to intense cold do not suffer a painful death; they gradually lose their sensibility, become drowsy, and die as if through the effects of an opiate. Mr. _Brodie_[52] classes the effects of cold in the following order.

1. It lessens the irritability, and impairs the functions of the whole nervous system.

2. It impairs the contractile powers of the muscles.

3. It causes contraction of the capillaries, and thus lessens the superficial circulation, and stops the cutaneous secretion.

4. It probably destroys the principle of vitality, equally in every part, and does not exclusively disturb the functions of any particular organ.

These positions have been confirmed by experiment. Dr. _Chassat_ states that in an animal immersed in a cold bath, death may take place at 79° Fahr. (26 _Centig._), although it may be sometimes cooled down as low as 69° (17 _Cent._) before it dies; but, _cæteris paribus_, the animal dies sooner as the cooling is more rapid.

M. _Portal_ thinks that cold produces death by inducing apoplexy, and remarks that the examination of the bodies of persons who have died from cold, proves the presence of sanguineous congestions in the vessels and cavities of the body, and especially in those of the brain. Dr. _Cooke_, however, has remarked that “M. _Portal’s_ notions on this subject seem to want confirmation. Excessive cold undoubtedly produces, first drowsiness and afterwards a profound sleep, in which the unfortunate individual generally perishes; but we have not on record a sufficient number of cases with particular descriptions of symptoms and appearances on dissection, to enable us to say positively that cold kills by apoplexy.”

After death the blood is generally florid in the aorta, so that the animal does not die of suffocation; the heart sometimes contracts feebly after the muscular irritability of the limbs and intestines are nearly destroyed; the cerebral veins contain but little blood; the ventricles contain a small portion of fluid. Mr. _Brodie’s_ experiments coincide in most respects with those of Dr. _Chassat_, who uniformly found after death, the heart much distended with blood, as in Syncope, scarlet blood occupying the left side; and he also found that the heart ceased to contract before the diaphragm, so that he has seen the animal insensible, and gasp for breath, even after the chest was opened and the heart excised! The muscles were unusually florid, and the peristaltic motions of the intestines were generally observed to continue longer than the action of the heart. The voluntary muscles, he says, lose their irritability in different degrees, those of the legs before those of the thighs, and those of the thighs before the abdominal muscles.

DEATH BY THE AGENCY OF HEAT.

We have not yet a sufficient number of well reported experiments on the effects of heat on animals, to enable us to draw any satisfactory conclusions respecting the mode in which life is destroyed by this agent; although it seems probable that it acts by destroying the muscular energy of the heart and diaphragm.[53]

Mr. _Brodie_ placed a rabit in a basket in an oven, the temperature of which was not more that 150°, and it died in a few minutes without any apparent suffering; the heart was afterwards found distended with blood, on both sides, as in Syncope.

DEATH BY LIGHTNING.

It has been incontrovertibly established by the experiments of modern philosophers, that the phœnomena of electricity are identical with those of thunder and lightning. The human body is alike affected by both; and death, whether it be occasioned by the discharge of an electrical battery, or by that of a thunder cloud, exhibits effects precisely analogous.

Mr. _Hunter_ supposed that when death is thus occasioned, there is an instantaneous and entire annihilation of the vital principle, in every part of the animal machine; and that the muscles are therefore relaxed, and incapable of contraction, that the limbs do not stiffen[54], as in other cases of death, nor the blood coagulate, and that the body very speedily runs into a state of putrefaction. The experiments however of Mr. _Brodie_[55] will induce us to pause, and institute farther enquiries before we receive this theory as unexceptionable. It will appear that in the following experiments of this physiologist, an instantaneous extinction of vitality did not take place, but, on the contrary, the functions of the brain were those on which the electric shock exercised its primary influence. An electric battery of six jars having been charged with electricity, the shock was made to pass through a Guinea pig, in the longitudinal direction from the head to the tail: the animal immediately fell on one side, insensible, as if stunned; a convulsive action of the muscles of the extremities was observed, but did not long continue; and the function of respiration was not interrupted. In a few minutes sensibility was restored, and the animal recovered. A shock from a battery of nine jars was then passed in the same manner through another Guinea pig; the animal immediately fell on its side, exhibited a convulsive action of the voluntary muscles of the limbs, but uttered no cries, and although attentively watched, no signs of respiration could be discovered after the shock had passed through it. Three minutes afterwards, Mr. _Brodie_ opened the chest, and found the heart acting with regularity and vigour, about 80 times in a minute, and circulating dark coloured venous blood; the peristaltic motion of the intestines was likewise visible; and the muscles, when made the part of a galvanic circuit, readily contracted. In this experiment, observes Mr. _Brodie_, it is evident that the electric shock did not destroy the irritability of the muscular fibre, nor did it affect the action of the heart. _Death took place precisely in the same manner as from a severe injury of the head_; and the animal died, manifestly from the destruction of the functions of the brain; and, in this case, Mr. _Brodie_ has no doubt, but that if the lungs had been artificially inflated, the action of the heart might have been maintained, and the animal probably have been restored to life.

The nature and extent of the injury inflicted by lightning, depend upon the intensity and direction of the electrical discharge, and vary greatly in degree; by far the greater number of flashes are harmless discharges from one cloud to another, and the instances in which it strikes the earth are comparatively rare: when however this does occur, and it directs its course through a human being, it may expend its influence upon the surface, and produce partial or general vesications.[56] Sometimes the clothes of the person have been violently rent, and the metallic substances about them melted; or it may pass through the body, without including the clothes, and it may occasion death without injuring the organic structure of any part of the body: or it may pass through only a particular portion of the body, and produce local injury.

But it has happened that persons have been struck when the tempest has appeared to be at a considerable distance; this has been explained by Signor _Beccaria_, by supposing that it is a discharge of electric fluid from the earth, occasioned by the passing of a cloud that has just before, in the elemental strife, been rendered negatively electric. Lord _Stanhope_ distinguishes such a discharge by the name of the _Returning Stroke_.[57]

As a provision for personal security during a thunder storm, a few precautions are necessary, and we are induced to notice them in this place, as their history is necessarily involved in our enquiries concerning death by lightning. In the open air, shelter ought not to be sought immediately under trees, for should they be struck, such a situation would be attended with the most imminent peril: on the contrary, the distance of twenty or thirty feet from such objects, may be considered as affording a place of safety, for should a discharge take place, they will most likely receive it, and the less elevated bodies will escape. Any surface of water, and even the streamlets that may have resulted from a recent shower should be avoided, for being excellent conductors, the height of a man, when connected with them, is very likely to determine the course of an electrical discharge. The partial conductors, through which the lightning directs its course when it enters a building, are usually the appendages of the walls and partitions; the most secure situation is therefore the middle of the room, and this situation may be rendered still more secure by lying on a hair mattress, or even on a thick woollen hearth rug. The part of every building least likely to receive injury is the middle story, as the lightning does not always pass from the clouds to the earth, but is occasionally discharged from the earth to the clouds, as in the case of the “_returning stroke_;” hence it is absurd to take refuge in a cellar, as recommended by Dr. _Priestley_; indeed many instances are on record, in which the basement story has been the only part of a building that has sustained severe injury, the electric charge being divided and weakened as it ascended. Any approach to a fire-place should be particularly avoided, for the chimneys are very likely to determine the course of the lightning; the same caution is necessary with respect to gilt furniture, bell-wires, and moderately extensive surfaces of metal of every description.

DEATH BY STARVATION.

That a living animal body cannot long survive without the ingestion of alimentary matter, is too self-evident to require demonstration. Living bodies, says _Cuvier_, may be considered as a kind of furnaces into which inert substances are successively thrown, which combine among themselves in various manners, maintain a certain place, and perform an action determined by the nature of the combinations they have formed, and at last fly off in order to become again subject to the laws of inanimate nature.

It must, however, be observed, that there is a difference, depending on age and health, in the proportion of the parts which enter into the current, and those which abandon it; and that the velocity of the motion usually varies according to the different conditions of each living body; hence it follows, that the period during which an individual may exist without food, will be liable to variation. We have already stated (page 394) that, _cæteris paribus_, he will perish from inanition with a rapidity proportioned to his youth, and state of robust vigour; and we remarked in what strict conformity with physiological principles the poet _Dante_ had described the fate of _Ugolino_ and his family.[58] The same fact appears also to have been well understood by the ancient physicians;[59] equally evident is it that women are able to support abstinence longer than men. It has been also observed that a moist atmosphere contributes to the protraction of life, under circumstances of privation; this may depend, not only upon the fluid matter thus furnished to the body, but upon the non-conducting power of the medium, in relation to aqueous vapour; the ingestion of a very small proportion of water revives in an extraordinary degree, the animal perishing from famine, and prolongs his existence. _Redi_[60] instituted a series of experiments with the sole view of ascertaining how long animals can live without food. Of a number of capons which he kept without either solid or liquid food, not one survived the ninth day; but one to which he allowed water, drank it with avidity, and did not perish until the twentieth day. _Elizabeth Woodcock_, who was buried under the snow, near Cambridge, for the space of eight days, undoubtedly owed her preservation to the snow which she occasionally sucked.[61]

Those cases of extraordinary fasting, which are recorded in the different Transactions and Journals of almost every country, are to be generally regarded as gross impositions; we[62] have already exposed the fallacy of several of the more popular histories of this kind. Such impostors, however, in their attempt to delude the world, have unintentionally offered themselves as the voluntary victims of physiological experiment; for we have at least learnt from them how small a portion of aliment is sufficient to preserve the life of a human being; a fact which had never before been satisfactorily proved, however probable it had been rendered, by the recorded habits of many of the early Christians, especially those of the East, who retired from persecution into the deserts of Arabia and Egypt.

The sufferings of a person perishing from inanition[63] must be considered as the most acute that can befall humanity; and yet we have instances on record of their having been voluntarily encountered as the means of suicide; a very interesting and well-authenticated instance of this kind has been related as having occurred in Corsica;[64] and, as it is calculated to afford, at once, a history of the symptoms of Starvation, and an exemplification of their severity, we shall introduce a brief account of the case in this place. _Luc Antoine Viterbi_ was condemned to death as an accomplice in the assassination of _Frediani_, a crime which he denied to the last moment, and appealed against a sentence passed upon him by a Court composed of his personal enemies. Towards the end of November, _Viterbi_ (knowing his condemnation, and being confined in the prison of Bastia), resolved to die. To effect his purpose, he abstained from food for three days, and then ate voraciously, and to a forced excess, in the hope that, after fasting so long, he should thereby put an end to his existence; in this however he was deceived, and, on the second of December, he determined to starve himself to death; from that day nothing could shake his awful resolution, although he did not expire until the night of the 21st of that month. During the three first days, _Viterbi_ felt himself progressively tormented by hunger; under these circumstances a report was made to the public minister, who ordered bread, water, wine, and soup to be taken daily to his cell, and placed conspicuously in view. No debility was manifested during these three days, no irregular muscular movement was remarked, his ideas continued sound, and he wrote with his usual facility, but took no nourishment.

From the 5th to the 6th, to hunger insensibly succeeded the much more grievous suffering of thirst, which became so acute, that on the 6th, without ever deviating from his resolution, he began to moisten his lips and mouth occasionally, and to gargle with a few drops of water, to relieve the burning pain in his throat; but he let nothing pass the organs of deglutition, being desirous not to assuage the most insupportable cravings, but to mitigate a pain which might have shaken his resolution. On the 6th, his physical powers were a little weakened; his voice was nevertheless still sonorous, pulsation regular, and a natural heat equally extended over his whole frame. From the 3d to the 6th, he had continued to write; at night several hours of tranquil sleep seemed to suspend the progress of his sufferings, no change was observable in his mental faculties, and he complained of no local pain. Until the 10th, the thirst became more and more insupportable; _Viterbi_ merely continued to gargle, without once swallowing a single drop of water; but in the course of the 10th, overcome by excess of pain, he seized the jug of water, which was near him, and drank immoderately. During the last three days, debility had made sensible progress, his voice became feeble, pulsation had declined, and the extremities were cold. _Viterbi_, however, continued to write; and sleep, each night, still afforded him several hours ease.