Wilson - Minta
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Saturday, 7 Feb. 1891 Edition
Last Wednesday night, Minta, the 14 year old daughter of Harmon Wilson and wife at 408 Lafayette Avenue, to all appearances, died. The arrangements were made for the funeral to take place yesterday morning at 10 o’clock and Mr. Voris, the undertaker in consideration of all matters injected no embalming fluid into the body, merely using a preparation to preserve the face as life like as possible. Thursday evening a most remarkable change took place in the appearance of the corpse. A healthful glow suffused the face, the lips became a cherry red, the flesh was slightly warm and the muscles of the body, which had been at no time rigid, became as supple as in life. She appeared as one lying in a sweet and dreamless sleep, and so natural was her appearance that all those present united in declaring her to be alive and merely in a trance. The funeral was postponed until evening and several physicians were called in to make an examination. Doctors Hutchings and Ensminger, who called first, pronounced that no life was present and stated that she had really died Wednesday night. The other doctors who followed expressed themselves likewise, but no one explained the appearance of the corpse. No change taking place in the body, the funeral was again postponed until this morning at 10 o’clock. Several neighbors kept vigil at the house during last night and no change was noticed in the apparently sleeping child. Her color had the ruddy tinge of life and health, the flesh was warm and flexible and the rigidity of death was wholly absent when the funeral hour again arrived today. Decomposition had not set in even to the slightest degree even though the body had not been embalmed. Notwithstanding the verdict of the physicians, the family decided that the funeral should not take place this morning and that it would be postponed until they were thoroughly satisfied that the girl was dead.
At best the case is a strange one. The death was the result of an abscess which breaking through stopped the action of the heart. In view of this fact, her family hope that the stoppage is merely temporary, and that in time the cunning machinery of life will again perform its function. Their anxiety is terrible to behold, and the suspense into which they have been thrown is fearful.
A large number of persons have visited the home and viewed the remains. All unite in declaring the body’s appearance most wonderfully life like. The sensational reports that the girl opened her eyes during the night, and that the heart can at times be felt to flutter are untrue and nothing beyond the life like condition of the body warrants the belief that she is in a trance.
At four o’clock the appearance of the corpse was unchanged and the time for the funeral was not set. If there is a change before tomorrow afternoon the time of the funeral will be announced from the several pulpits.
Source: Crawfordsville Daily Journal Monday, 9 Feb. 1891
In Saturday’s Journal mention was made of the case of Minta Wilson concerning whose death there was so much doubt on account of the remarkably life like appearance of the corpse. Saturday evening the body was taken from the coffin and a greater part of Saturday night and yesterday morning was passed in fruitless attempts to restore what appeared to be suspended animation. The feet were bathed in hot water and mustard poultices freely applied to various parts of the body which was worked with before a hot stove. All efforts were in vain and the spark of life which seemed to linger failed to burn. A female faith doctor, Mrs. St. John Roosa, refused to believe that death was present even after the others had given up in despair. She prepared a warm concoction containing whisky and other stimulating ingredients and poured it down the child’s throat hoping that it might succeed where other remedies had failed. Nothing came of it, however, and finally Dr. Gott arrived and opened several veins.
The result of this experiment only confirmed the former opinion of the physicians that the child was dead. No blood flowed from the opened veins and all postmortem appearances were exhibited. The body was then replaced in the coffin and hot irons were applied to the feet.
At 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon, although there was no apparent change in the appearance of the body, the parents became reconciled to the belief that death was really present and decided to announce the funeral for 2 o’clock this afternoon. The body has not yet begun to decompose and the same suppleness and color are present. Mr. Voris, the undertaker, states this is due to the embalming fluid which was not applied internally but externally.
An autopsy was made this morning by three physicians, and it was found that the girl had been dead from the first. An abscess had completely enveloped the left lung and knotted the right so that no doubt of the death could exist. The only wonder being that the child had lived so long. The funeral took place this afternoon at two o’clock.
In consequence of the excitement which has been caused by the death of Daisy Wilson (aka Minta Wilson), I deem it due and beneficial to the public that I should make a statement of her case. On the 30th ult., I was called to see Emma Wilson, a younger sister of Daisy, who was suffering with erysipelas. Mrs. Wilson called my attention to Daisy, whom she said had been sick for four months with en enlargement of her chest and cough. I examined her and found that the upper part of the left chest was bulged out. She was pale and thin, presenting the appearance of a person with consumption. I diagnosed abscess of the left lung and prescribed tonics. On Sunday, Feb. 1, three days after my first visit, I found her in bed with a high fever, temperature 103 ½, and very sick at the stomach, which symptoms continued, in spite of medicine, unto Wednesday night when she died. I was called by the family again on Friday afternoon, they having come to the conclusion that Daisy was not dead. Dr. Keegan accompanied me and we found that with the exception of a want of rigor mortis or stiffness of the body and a redness of the lips, nothing peculiar, she was cold in death. The public knows the rest. Today the parents requested a postmortem and accordingly Drs. Rankin, Ristine and myself proceeded to make it. We found first a large abscess in the upper part of the left lung, in fact the lung was entirely destroyed. The right lung in consequence of pressure from the amount of matter in the left lung was almost entirely destroyed. In the second place we found at least a quart of serum or bloody water in the chest which explained the high fever. It showed that with the rest of her trouble, she had pleurisy which was the cause of her fever. This was certainly enough to destroy life and it shows how useless it was for her friends to expect her to return to life. The body showed that decomposition had set in some time ago.
Feb. 9, 1891. B. F. Hutching, M. D.