The following process is intended to preserve bodies without the use
of ice, merely until the time of the funeral may arrive. Sometimes,
this ceremonial may be delayed for three or four days, or until some
member of the family, who may be at some distance, can arrive. It is
also intended to take the place of the cumbrous refrigerator, and
substitute for the labor of removing ice, carrying the box to and
from the residence, the more simple and less laborious process of
injecting the abdominal viscera.
The first step to be taken upon arrival in the chamber of death, is
to create a current of fresh air, by lowering the upper part of a
window, or of a couple of them, if there be no transom light over the
door.
Next, remove the body from the bed and place it on a cooling board;
this board ought to be elevated about one foot at the head; also, the
head of the body should be raised at an angle of about forty-five
degrees; this disposition of the body will allow the fluids contained
in the circulatory system to go down of their own gravitation, and
leave the face, neck, and upper part of the body uncongested, and
therefore free from the purple spots that gradually discolor the face
and neck.
The head is raised on the cooling board at the proper elevation as
directed above, by means of a head rest attached to the cooling
board, and provided with a catch resting on a cog scale, which allows
the rest to be raised or lowered at will.
The mouth must next be firmly closed by means of a ligature, tied
firmly round the head and passed under the apex of the chin; this
ligature should be kept in place until the rigor mortis has firmly
set the jaws together.
A great improvement for the above purpose upon the old way of tying
a cloth or a handkerchief round the head, is to use a band of some
wide, elastic fabric, of which several sizes must be kept on hand,
as when this ligature presses too tightly it leaves upon the face,
especially on fat persons, unsightly wrinkles.
The eyes must next be attended to; the lids must be brought together
firmly, avoiding at the same time interference with the lashes or the
creation of wrinkles of the skin on the corners; then fold up neatly
some small pieces of linen, well saturated in the following solution,
which is also to be used to moisten the face with:
Alum, 8 ounces; Corrosive Sublimate, 2 ounces; Water, 1 gallon.
The linen pads should not exceed the size of a quarter dollar, and
thoroughly saturated in the above solution before applying to the
eyes. The face, after washing with soap and water, should be well
moistened with the same solution, and a cloth laid carefully and
evenly over the features, so as to come into direct contact with
every part of them; this cloth must be kept moist with the above
solution, and remain over the face until such time as the body is
placed in the coffin, when the cloth may be removed previous to the
lid being closed. This solution should be diluted with one-half water
for use on children or persons whose skin is very fine. It must also
be kept from a very strong light, in a glass bottle, and should, when
used, never be mixed in a metallic vessel, but in a bowl, cup, or
some dish of queens-ware or china.
The next step to be taken consists in preventing frothing or purging
from the mouth and nostrils; also keeping down generation of gases,
and swelling of the stomach and bowels.
For this purpose an incision about 4 or 5 inches in length is made in
the abdomen, above the transverse arch of the colon; this incision
will reveal the colon and upper part of the large intestines, also
the stomach, a little to the left.
If the bowels are distended with gas, puncture first the colon and
some of the smaller intestines, and, after expelling the air by
firmly pressing on the abdomen, inject into the bowels about eight
ounces of the following solution: Dissolve in one gallon of water as
much alum as the water will take up, shaking at intervals; then pour
off the clear liquor, and add to it two ounces chloride of zinc and
two ounces corrosive sublimate. Keep this injecting solution in a
cool, dark place.
The bowels being injected, the stomach must be emptied of its
contents by puncturing its walls, and by pressing gently upon its
outer surface in a downward direction; the matter contained in it
will be forced out into the pleural cavity, and can then be either
sponged or scooped out; the stomach is then to be injected in a
similar manner as the bowels; some of the injecting fluid may be then
poured between the interstices of the bowels, about (6 or 8 ounces),
and some cotton batting be laid evenly over the bowels; this cotton
should be well saturated with the solution after it is properly
laid in its place. The lips of the wound may then be neatly brought
together and sewed up.
It will be readily understood by the above described operation, that
no gases can be generated in either the bowels or the stomach, as
the injecting fluid in those parts of the viscera will effectually
prevent their formation; and this being the case, the purging at the
mouth and nostrils, which is the result of the escape of gas driving
out the contents of the stomach, is avoided. The expansion of the
abdominal viscera, or the bowels, is also prevented by the same cause.
In some instances, when the body is that of a stout, fleshy person,
or especially when some length of time has elapsed from the time of
death until the undertaker has been called in, and particularly if
the body has been reclining in a horizontal position, the face, neck
and shoulders, will be found highly congested with blood; the face,
in fact, may be swelled and of a purple appearance, owing to the
extravasation of blood into the capillary vessels under the skin.
In such cases, and after the body has been removed and placed into a
proper position on the cooling board, if the blood is not carried to
some lower part of the body by its own gravitation, it may be found
necessary to cut into the jugular veins on either side of the neck,
an incision about one quarter of an inch in length; through this
opening the congested blood may be let out, and the face will soon
recover its original color. This process, which occupies about twenty
minutes, will be found preferable to the use of ice, especially
when the corpse is at some distance from the undertaker’s place of
business; or when it would be almost impracticable to carry a large
and cumbrous ice box, besides the labor and bustle occasioned in the
house of mourning by the carrying in and out of the box, ice, etc.
It is also well understood that this process can not be applied where
the corpse is that of a person who has died of some contagious or
infectious disease. Besides the danger to the operator in this case,
it is not customary to retain for any length of time the remains of
those who may have died from the effects of an epidemic.
To the solution for injecting, as given above, must be added one
ounce of creosote to the gallon of liquid, when the preparation is to
be used in warm weather.