EARLY HISTORY OF ANATOMY IN NEW ENGLAND 187 



dertaken. In such cases, a man was employed to sit beside a grave 

 from dusk to dawn; a shotgun was a necessity, to be used for pro- 

 tective or offensive purposes. This was kept up for ten nights, at 

 the end of which, it was believed no one would want the body 

 for dissection. His job was a vulnerable one in some respects. At- 

 tempts might be made to ply him with whisky either before or 

 after he reached his post. In the former case, he might sleep off a 

 jag after arrival. A few tales exist where a watchman was either 

 bound and gagged or fired upon with bird shot. 



The technique of grave robbing was complex and required 

 much cunning to prevent detection, even after the job was com- 

 pleted. Notification of a prospective burial was usually sent by 

 a former medical student in code either by mail or messenger, 

 not directly to the head of a medical school, but to an apothecary, 

 in on the deal, who would hastily impart the information to an 

 anatomist. The grave had to be spotted and surrounding land- 

 marks noted in daylight, so that it could be easily identified at 

 night. This needed a person to do the reconnoitering. A proper 

 conveyance was a necessity; the driver was instructed to appear 

 on the scene of activities at a specified hour. Suspicion would be 

 aroused if he loitered near the cemetery. At least, two able- 

 bodied men were required to do the disinterment. Because friends 

 of the deceased often marked the grave with stones, sticks or 

 flowers, arranging them into a specific pattern, the surface of the 

 grave had to be studied carefully so that such identifying marks 

 could be restored. 



In addition, two large tarpaulins were needed. All the ex- 

 cavated soil was thrown on one so that none would be left on 

 the grass as a telltale sign. The actual digging was performed at the 

 head end of the coffin, which could be determined by the place- 

 ment of stone-markers, in a space about three square feet until 

 the casket was reached. It was not usually difficult because the 

 soil was loose, the grave being recently dug. By boring a row of 

 holes into the fore end of the lid, it could be easily broken be- 

 cause the boxes were poorly constructed. The use of a saw or 

 hatchet was contraindicated because of the noise factor. 



Removal of the corpse was done by means of a hook placed 

 under the chin. It was then placed on the second tarpaulin. An 



