Directions to Observe in a More Obstinate Case.
When the body is to be kept longer, it is best to first empty the
stomach of whatever mucous or other substance can be got out of it. This
is done easiest by turning the body onto its side, with the head
drooping a little over the side of the bed or couch or whatever the body
may be lying upon, and by pressing with your hand upon the stomach a
portion of its contents will run out.
A washbowl or chamber, placed in a chair, is handiest for this purpose.
(And here I would say, it is always best to inject into the stomach
about one-quarter of a pint of the Preservative before attempting to
empty it, as this will so effectually deodorize the contents of the
stomach that no offensive odor or smell will arise when you empty it
into the vessel, thus keeping the room free from stench.)
Immediately after emptying the stomach, place the body in an inclined
position, with the head ten or twelve inches higher than the feet, as
before stated (preferably on the cooling board if you have one, and the
steeper the incline the better), and again inject with the syringe about
one pint of the Preservative into the stomach.
This, as before stated, will effectually prevent any further
fermentation or decay of any substance remaining in the stomach.
And as a further safeguard against any substance running out of the
mouth, and consequent staining of the pillow or lining of the casket, it
is well to stop up the throat with a little cotton. For this purpose you
should have an instrument (it may be of wood) made in the shape of a
spoon handle and about eight inches long; with this you can easily push
a ball of cotton saturated with the Preservative well down the throat.
This is a precaution that should _never_ be omitted when the body is to
be kept any great length of time, or when it has to be transported on
the cars or other conveyance to any distance.
It is well to stop up the nose in the same way, but it must be done very
neatly, so as not to show or change the appearance of it. Having thus
attended to the stomach, you will next bathe the face, neck and whole
body (if at all convenient), with the Preservative, using for this
purpose a large lather brush, which is better than a sponge or cloth, as
you can do the work much quicker and easier with the brush.
The rectum at this time should be injected with the Preservative and
stopped with a ball of cotton saturated with the same. _This should be
well done_, to guard against purging, and should never be omitted where
there is any apparent danger of purging, or where the body is to be
moved to any considerable distance before burial. Also puncture the
abdomen with the Gas-trocar, and inject through the Gas-trocar into the
cavity of the body around the bowels about one pint of the Preservative.
A large cloth or towel should also be wet with the Preservative and laid
over the chest and abdomen, covering it well over; and in order that it
will hold the moisture for several hours, it is best that the cloth
should be several thicknesses over the abdomen, and should be kept wet
with the Preservative by pouring from the bottle along the center of the
cloth from time to time as long as the body is to be kept, or during the
first two days when the burial is to take place on the third day, and if
the burial is to take place on the fourth, fifth or sixth day, this
cloth should be kept wet the first _three_ days, and when the body is to
be kept _ten or fifteen days_, this cloth should be kept wet
proportionately longer.
This part of the work should be remembered and well attended to, as it
is a well-known fact that decomposition and putrescence first makes its
appearance in the bowels and stomach.
It is here the Preservative does its most thorough work, as, by keeping
the cloths wet over the abdomen and stomach, the Preservative, to a very
great extent, _permeates the whole body_, and is a valuable safeguard
against bloating; and if bloating has not already commenced, it will
never make its appearance after you commence to use the Preservative as
above directed, and in very many cases it has been known to arrest and
reduce bloating by its use as directed. As much depends upon absorption,
the more of the Preservative there is applied externally, as above
directed, the better results there will be obtained.
The face, neck, ears and hands should be well bathed with the
Preservative, using the brush for this purpose, and if the ears have
turned black you can remove the color in five minutes by keeping them
wet with the Preservative, and pressing or squeezing them with your
hand, and it is always well to do this when they have turned very dark.
However, the cloths that you have before been instructed to wet with the
Preservative and lay over the face, neck and hands, will effectually
remove all discoloration or prevent its appearance.
These cloths should be well pressed down around the eyes, nose, neck and
ears, so as to be sure that the cloths touch every spot. The cloths can
be kept moist by applying a little of the Preservative from time to
time, without removing the cloths to wet them. These cloths should be
kept on from ten to twelve hours, after which they can be removed
through the day and replaced through the night.
If this process is kept up there will be a natural and life-like
appearance preserved, without the least discoloration, and the face will
look better at the end of the third or fourth day, or even a week, than
it did at death. In the FREE USE of this Preservative, the longer you
keep a body the better it will look.
The use of the Preservative in this way will not only preserve the body,
but will effectually purify and deodorize the room, driving away all
offensive smell, however bad it might have been at first, and perfectly
disinfecting the house of all possibility of contagion, thus insuring
safety to yourself and preventing further spread of the disease in the
family.
This entire process will take less than thirty minutes of your time. The
body should be kept in the inclined position from 20 to 30 hours, with
the head at least twelve inches higher than the feet, (the easiest way
to obtain this position is to drop the foot end of the board on the
floor), at the end of which time it can be dressed and placed in the
casket, but the dress should be left loose, so that the cloths over the
chest and abdomen can be wet from time to time with the Preservative, as
before directed, or you can insert the Gas-trocar through the clothing
and inject the Preservative in on to the body and thus keep the cloths
wet, and if kept in the casket over night, lower the foot end of it, as
before directed.
It is also well to leave directions with the friends to bathe the face
and neck once in two or three hours with the Preservative, using the
brush for that purpose, and the cloths should be replaced on the face
and hands during the night, as before stated.
A body treated in the foregoing manner can be kept for a _week or ten
days_ in any kind of weather (_the very warmest_) with perfect safety,
and with comparatively little trouble to yourself you will have
conferred a very great favor on the friends of the deceased, by thus
giving them an opportunity of looking upon the remains from day to day,
as often and as long as they wish, and also giving them all the time
they may want to arrange and re-arrange the dress, hair and flowers
preparatory to the funeral. It will readily be seen that this would be
_very much more satisfactory_ to any one, and much more in keeping with
the refined taste of the present day, than the practice of hiding the
body away to be _frozen_ in the UNSIGHTLY ICE BOX, which is always a
HORROR to the friends of the deceased.