HUMAN DISSECTION IN SCOTLAND-A.D. 1500 TO 1958 159 



a peculiar ailment. This was before he moved to London. Taking 

 two students with him, he rowed across the river Forth at Queens- 

 ferry, to the village of Rosyth. On reaching the desired spot, they 

 were successful in raising the subject, which they put in a sack; 

 feeling tired from their exertions, they put the bundle behind 

 a hedge and sauntered to a neighboring inn to partake of some 

 refreshments. 



To the astonishment of the trio, a drunken sailor staggered 

 into the tavern, with their bag on his shoulder. The man was 

 babbling that he undoubtedly had discovered a valuable treasure, 

 since he saw three men dig it up and hide it. When they saw 

 the discoverer open the sack, Liston and his aides prepared them- 

 selves for a hasty retreat, but everyone else was ahead of them, 

 rushing through the door in dire panic. Taking their time, the 

 amateur resurrectionists reclosed the sack, transported it to their 

 anchored boat and proceeded leisurely back to Edinburgh CWat- 

 son, '36). 



Sometimes it took a great deal of strategy in order for body 

 snatchers to acquire the material they knew, by previous ex- 

 perience, would provide a large fee. Such was the case of a country 

 lad, with hydrocephalic disease, who had developed an enor- 

 mously large head. The case had attracted the attention of many 

 physicians who thought in terms of collecting a rare osteological 

 specimen. After the boy's early death, which was inevitable, the 

 body was buried in a cemetery located on the shore of the Firth of 

 Forth, not far from Edinburgh. His grave was guarded nightly 

 by paid, trustworthy watchers who were cognizant of the prize 

 underneath their feet. It was not considered necessary to take 

 precautions in daylight. Special agents of Dr. Liston were unable 

 to obtain the specimen by means of bribery, which was usually 

 successful. Many weeks passed and the resurrectionists retired 

 from the scene, apparently leaving the watchers as the victors 

 in the contest. Later, one evening, at dusk two smartly dressed 

 men, looking like gentlemen, smoking cigars, drove up to the 

 chief lodginghouse of the village and informed the stableboy 

 that they expected a package to be delivered and deposited in the 

 box part of their cart. They then disappeared. Not long after, 

 a third person in the drama, dressed in impeccable livery, ap- 



