The Diary of a Resurrectionist, 1811-1812 Part 1

The Diary of a Resurrectionist, 1811-1812.

by James Blake Bailey.

INTRODUCTION

The "Diary of a Resurrectionist" here reprinted is only of a fragmentary character. It is, however, unique in being an actual record of the doings of one gang of the resurrection-men in London. Many persons have expressed a wish that so interesting a doc.u.ment should be published; permission having been obtained to print the Diary, an endeavour has been made to gratify this wish. To make the reprint more interesting, and to explain some of the allusions in the Diary, an account of the resurrection-men in London, and a short history of the events which preceded the pa.s.sing of the Anatomy Act, have been prepared.

The great crimes of Burke and Hare drew especial attention to body-s.n.a.t.c.hing in Edinburgh, and consequently there have been published ample accounts of the resurrection-men in Scotland.[1] For this reason, Edinburgh has been omitted from the present work.

As to the genuineness of the Diary there can be no doubt. It was presented to the Royal College of Surgeons of England by the late Sir Thomas Longmore. In his early days, Sir Thomas was dresser to Bransby Cooper, and a.s.sisted him in writing the _Life of Sir Astley Cooper_.

At the suggestion of Lord Abinger, it was decided to introduce an account of the resurrection-men into the book. The information for this was partly obtained by Mr. Longmore from personal communication with some of the resurrection-men, who were then living in London. One of these handed over portions of a Diary he had kept during his resurrectionist days. This was preserved for some years at Netley, and was afterwards presented to the College, as stated above. A few extracts from the Diary were printed in the _Life of Sir Astley Cooper_.

The information respecting the resurrection-men is very scattered; the two most useful works for getting up this subject are the _Life of Astley Cooper_ before mentioned, and the _Report of the Committee on Anatomy_ published in 1828. Most of the detailed information has to be sought for in the newspapers of the period. The accounts there given are, however, generally of such an exaggerated character that it is often very difficult to arrive at the truth. When any fresh scandal had given prominence to the doings of the resurrection-men, the newspapers saw "Burking" in every trivial case of a.s.sault. If a child were lost, the paragraph announcing the fact was headed, "Another supposed case of Burking." Reports of the most ridiculous character were duly chronicled as facts by the newspapers of the day. Sometimes over a hundred bodies were supposed to have been found in some building, and it was expected that several persons of eminence would be named in the subsequent proceedings. Search in the papers nearly always fails to find any further mention of the case.

In reading these accounts it must be remembered that "Burking" did not always mean killing a person for the purpose of selling the body, but it referred to the mode adopted by Burke and Hare in killing their victims, viz., suffocation. Elizabeth Ross is called a "Burker," and may be found so described in Haydn's _Dictionary of Dates_. She murdered an old woman named Catherine Walsh, but in the report of her trial there is no evidence of her having attempted to sell the body.

The broadside here printed is an excellent example of this exaggeration.

The facts are so circ.u.mstantial, that it appears as though there could be no mistake. Enquiry at Edinburgh, however, shows that no such case occurred. Mr. A. D. Veitch, of the Justiciary Office, has very kindly made search, and can find no record of Wilson's supposed crimes. Had the statements in the broadside been true, there is no doubt that this case would have been referred to in books on Medical Jurisprudence. Poisoning by inhalation of a.r.s.enic is rare, and Wilson's would have been a leading case. There would also have been great opportunities for studying _post mortem_ appearances, as it is stated that three bodies were found in Wilson's possession. Search through the chief books on the subject has failed in finding any reference whatever to this case.

"BURKING BY MEANS OF SNUFF.

"_The following Account is of so serious a Nature that no one can be too cautious how they receive Snuff from Strangers._

"It appears that, on Monday se'nnight, a man, named John Wilson, was apprehended at Edinburgh on a charge of Burking a number of persons by introducing a.r.s.enic into snuff kept by him. He had long excited the suspicion of the police of that place, but so deep-laid were his diabolical schemes that he eluded their vigilance for a considerable time, until Monday last. When, on the moors, on that day, between Lauder and Dalkeith, practising his dreadful trade, it appears that the victim of Wilson's villainy was a poor man travelling over the moor, whom he accosted, and offered a pinch of snuff. He took it, and it had the desired effect. The next individual whom he accosted was a labouring-man breaking stones, who was asked the number of miles to Edinburgh; when answered, he then offered his snuff-box to the labourer, which was refused, alleging that he never used any. Wilson urged him again, which excited the man's suspicions, but he took the snuff, and wrapped it up in paper, and carried it to a chemist at Dalkeith, who a.n.a.lysed it, when it proved to be mixed with a.r.s.enic. The police were then informed of Wilson's villainies, who went in pursuit of him, and after a search of him for several days was at length apprehended at a place three miles from Edinburgh, driving rapidly in a vehicle like a hea.r.s.e, which, on examination, contained three dead bodies. They were recognised from their dresses to be an elderly man, and his wife and son, who were seen travelling towards Lauder the day before.

"Wilson was immediately ironed and conveyed to Edinburgh, and a sheriff's inquest was held on the bodies. After an investigation of nearly two hours a verdict of Wilful Murder was returned against John Wilson, who was fully committed to the Calton gaol to take his trial at the ensuing sessions.

"Wilson is described as a desperate character, and of ferocious countenance. He is supposed to have been two or three years in this abominable practice, and to have realised a considerable sum in the course of that time. His career is now stopped, and that justice and doom which overtook a Burke and a Hare are his last and only portion.

"LINES ON THE OCCASION.

Of Burke and of Hare we have heard much about, Yet Burking's a trade that was lately found out-- Their plans of despatching were wicked indeed, 'T was thought of all others that theirs did exceed; But the scheme first invented of Burking by snuff, May yet be prevented by taking the huff, For if strangers invite you to take of their dust, Decline their kind offers--refuse them you must; And would you be safe, and keep from all evil, Shun them as pests as you'd shun the d----l; By these means you'll live, avoiding all strife, Shunning snuff takers all the days of your life.

"_Printed for the Publishers by T. KAY._"

The difficulty of getting reliable information is increased by the incomplete nature of most of the newspaper records. In many cases there is an account of a preliminary examination of some of the men who were arrested for body-stealing. The report states that they were remanded, but further search fails to find any subsequent notice of the case. It is often impossible to fix who the men were who thus got into trouble, as they nearly always gave false names: unless they were too well-known to the police who arrested them, they invariably did this.

For the photographs, from which the ill.u.s.trations of the house at Crail are taken, the writer is indebted to the kindness of Prof. Chiene, of Edinburgh.

THE DIARY OF A RESURRECTIONIST

CHAPTER I.

The complaint as to the scarcity of bodies for dissection is as old as the history of anatomy itself. Great respect for the body of the dead has characterised mankind in nearly all ages; _post mortem_ dissection was looked upon as a great indignity by the relatives of the deceased, and every precaution was taken to prevent its occurrence.

It would be beyond the scope of the present work to attempt a history of anatomical teaching; as will be pointed out later on, the resurrection-men did not come into existence until the early part of the eighteenth century.

In Great Britain the study of medicine and surgery was much hampered at this date by the scarcity of opportunities by which the student might get a practical acquaintance with the anatomy of the human body. A knowledge of anatomy was insisted upon by the Corporation of Surgeons, as each student had to produce a certificate of having attended at least two courses of dissection. It is unnecessary to point out the wisdom of this condition in the case of men who were to go out into the world as surgeons, and, consequently, to have the lives of their fellow-men in their hands. The attendance on the two courses of dissection could be evaded, and this was frequently done. The Apothecaries' Hall had no such restriction, and, consequently, many men went thither and received a qualification to practise, although they were quite unacquainted with human anatomy. The work of such 'prentice hands one trembles to think of; whatever experience these men did gain was obtained after they began to practise, and so must have been at the expense of their patients, who were generally those of the poorer cla.s.s in life.

It was pointed out by Mr. Guthrie, that in the then state of the law a surgeon might be punished in one Court for want of skill, and in another Court the same individual might also be punished for trying to obtain that skill. Before the Anatomy Committee, in 1828, Sir Astley Cooper narrated the case of a young man who was rejected at the College of Surgeons on account of his ignorance of the parts of the body; it was found, on enquiry, that he was a most diligent student, and that his ignorance arose entirely from his being unable to procure that which was necessary for carrying on this part of his education.

When bodies were obtained for dissection it was generally by surrept.i.tious means; the newly-made grave was too often the source from whence the supply was obtained. At first there was no direct trade or traffic in subjects by men who devoted all their efforts to this mode of obtaining a livelihood. The students supplied their own wants as they arose. Mr. G. S.

Patterson told the Committee that at St. George's Hospital the students had to exhume bodies for their own use.

In the _Diary of a Late Physician_ Samuel Warren has given us a chapter on this subject, which he calls "Grave Doings," and which is probably founded on fact. The object in the expedition here recorded was, however, rather to obtain a valuable pathological specimen, than to get a body for dissection. Writers of fiction have made use of body-s.n.a.t.c.hing, and have given a gruesome turn to their stories by making the body, when uncovered, turn out to be that of a relation or friend of some one of the party engaged in the exhumation. Such a tale is recorded in the _Monthly Magazine_ for April, 1827; there a sailor is pressed into the service of some students who were anxious to obtain a body. The subject was safely brought home, and, on being taken from the sack, turned out to be the sweetheart of the sailor, who had just returned from sea, and, not having heard of his girl's decease, was on his way to greet her after a long absence from home. Truth and fiction often agree. There is a case on record of a child who had died of scrofula, and whose body was brought to St. Thomas' Hospital by Holliss, a well-known resurrectionist. The body was at once recognised by one of the students as that of his sister's child; on this being made known to the authorities at the hospital, the corpse was immediately buried before any dissection had taken place.

In vols. 1 and 2 of the _Medical Times_ there is a series of articles, ent.i.tled "The Confessions of Jasper Muddle, Dissecting-room Porter." These papers are signed "Rocket," but were written by Albert Smith.[2] One of the articles contains an account of a handsome young lady who came to the dissecting-room late at night, and begged for the body of a murderer executed the previous day, which was then being injected, ready for lecture purposes. In the _Tale of Two Cities_, d.i.c.kens has given us a good study of a resurrection-man in the person of Mr. Cruncher. Moir in _Mansie Wauch_, Lytton in _Lucretia_, Mrs. Crowe in _Light and Darkness_, and Miss Sergeant in _Dr. Endicott's Experiment_, have also used the body-s.n.a.t.c.her in fiction.

As long as the Barber Surgeons kept to their right of the exclusive teaching of anatomy, there was small need of bodies for dissection. This right the Company jealously guarded. On 21st May, 1573, the following entry occurs in the records, "Here was John Deane and appoynted to brynge in his fyne x{li} for havinge an Anathomye in his howse contrary to an order in that behalf between this and mydsomer next."[3] As late as 1714 this rule was put in force against no less a man than William Cheselden.

The entry in the books of the Company runs as follows, "At a Court of a.s.sistants of the Company of Barbers and Surgeons, held on the 25th March, 1714. Our Master acquainting the Court that Mr. William Cheselden, a member of this Company, did frequently procure the Dead bodies of Malefactors from the place of execution and dissect the same at his own house, as well during the Company's Publick Lectures as at other times without the leave of the Governors and contrary to the Company's By law in that behalf. By which means it became more difficult for the Beadles to bring away the Companies Bodies and likewise drew away the members of this Company and others from the Public Dissections and Lectures at the Hall.

The said Mr. Cheselden was, therefore, called in. But having submitted himself to the pleasure of the Court with a promise never to dissect at the same as the Company had their Lecture at the Hall, nor without leave of the Governors for the time being, the said Mr. Cheselden was excused for what had pa.s.sed with a reproof for the same p.r.o.nounced by the Master at the desire of the Court."[4]

By the Act Henry VIII., xxii., cap. 12, provision was made for the Company of Barbers and Surgeons to have the bodies of malefactors for the purpose of dissection. This part of the Act was as follows: "And further be it enacted by thauctoritie aforesayd, that the sayd maysters or governours of the mistery and comminaltie of barbours and surgeons of Londo & their successours yerely for ever after their sad discrecions at their free liberte and pleasure shal and maie have and take without ctradiction foure persons condempned adjudged and put to deathe for feloni by the due order of the Kynges lawe of thys realme for anatomies with out any further sute or labour to be made to the kynges highnes his heyres or successors for the same. And to make incision of the same deade bodies or otherwyse to order the same after their said discrecions at their pleasure for their further and better knowlage instruction in sight learnyng & experience in the sayd scyence or facultie of Surgery."

The "foure bodies" could not always be obtained without difficulty; despite the precautions of the Company private anatomy was, to a certain extent, carried on, and the bodies of malefactors had a market value. The following entries from the _Annals of the Barber Surgeons_ are ill.u.s.trative of this:

"6th March, 1711.[5] It is ordered that William Cave, one of the Beadles of this Company, do make Inquiry who the persons were that carryed away the last body from Tyburne, and that such persons be Indicted for the same.

"9th October, 1711. Richard Russell, one of the persons who stands Indicted for carrying away the last publick body applying himself to this Court and offering to be evidence against the rest of the persons concerned It is ordered that the Clerk do apply himself to Her Majesty's Attorney Generall for a Noli p'sequi as to the said Russell in order to make him an evidence upon the s{d} Indictment and particularly ag{st} one Samuell Waters whom the Court did likewise order to be indicted for the said fact."

Often there were riots caused by the Beadles of the Company going to Tyburn for the bodies of murderers. This rioting was carried to such an extent that it was found necessary to apply for soldiers to protect the Beadles.

"28th May, 1713. Ordered that the Clerk go to the Secretary at War for a guard in order to gett the next Body [from Tyburn.]"

The dissection of these bodies was made known by public advertis.e.m.e.nt. The following is from the _Daily Advertiser_ of January 15th, 1742: "Notice is hereby given that there being a publick Body at Barbers and Surgeons Hall, the Demonstrations of Anatomy and the Operations of Surgery will be at the Hall this evening and to-morrow at six o'clock precisely in the Amphitheatre."

In 1752 it was ordered that bodies of murderers executed in London and Middles.e.x should be conveyed to the Hall of the Surgeons Company to be dissected and anatomized, and any attempt to rescue such bodies was made felony.

In 1745 the Barbers and Surgeons, who from 1540, until that date, had formed one Company, separated, and the latter were incorporated under the t.i.tle of "The Masters, Governors, and Commonalty of the Art and Science of Surgery." To the Surgeons naturally fell the duty of dissecting the bodies of the malefactors handed over for that purpose. The building of the Surgeons' Company was in the Old Bailey; there was, therefore, no difficulty in removing the bodies from Newgate. In 1796 the Company came to a premature end through an improperly const.i.tuted Court having been held. It was attempted to put matters right by a Bill in Parliament, but there was so much opposition from those persons who were practising without the diploma of the Corporation, that the Bill, after pa.s.sing safely through the Commons, was thrown out by the Lords. In the following year attempts were made to come to terms with the opponents of the Bill, and finally it was agreed to pet.i.tion for a Charter from the Crown to establish a Royal College of Surgeons in London. These negotiations were successfully carried out in 1800, and the old Corporation having disposed of their Old Bailey property to the City Authorities, the College took possession of a house in Lincoln's Inn Fields, the site of part of the present building.

During the debate in the House of Lords on the Bill just mentioned, the Bishop of Bangor, who had charge of the measure, sent for the Clerk of the Company, and informed him that a strong opposition was expected to the Bill, on account of the inconvenience that would arise from the bodies of murderers being conveyed through the streets from Newgate to Lincoln's Inn Fields. To remedy this a clause was proposed, giving the College permission to have a place near to Newgate, where the part of the sentence which related to the dissection of the bodies might be carried out.

That this difficulty of moving the bodies was not a fancied one, the following extract from "Alderman Macaulay's Diary" will show: "Dec. 6, 1796. Francis Dunn and Will. Arnold were yesterday executed for murder and the first malefactors conveyed to the new Surgeons' Hall in the Lincoln's Inn Fields. They were conveyed in a cart, their heads supported by tea chests for the public to see: I think contrary to all decency and the laws of humanity in a country like this. I hope it will not be repeated."[6]

Just at this date the Corporation were removing from their old premises to Lincoln's Inn Fields; the last Court in the Old Bailey was held on October 6th, 1796, and the first at Lincoln's Inn Fields on January 5th, 1797.