238 HUMAN DISSECTION. ITS DRAMA AND STRUGGLE 



cinnati, were attracted to a scene, where an old man, in a horse 

 and buggy, was being chased down the street, followed by a 

 crowd of men, who were shouting and trying to catch him. When 

 the policemen called for him to stop, the man, who was "Old 

 Cunny," responded by whipping his horse, who was lame and 

 tired from drawing a heavy load. After sprinting, a patrolman 

 was able to grab the bridle of the animal and bring it to a halt; 

 the other took care of the driver. Two sacks, containing bodies, 

 were found in the wagon; one was that of a mature man, the other 

 a young boy ten to twelve years of age. 



Cunny was imprisoned and the two subjects turned over to 

 the coroner. On posting $300 bail, he was released but later, in 

 September, was indicted on five counts. There is no record of 

 his subsequent history with the law. On October 23, 1871, he 

 became a patient in the Cincinnati Hospital and died ten days 

 later. This wasn't actually the end of ''Old Cunny," because his 

 widow turned his body over to the Medical College of Ohio (now 

 the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine) and received 

 the unspectacular sum of |5 for it. His skeleton rests in the mu- 

 seum of that institution (Edwards, '54). 



Baldwin ('36) cites an incident which occurred while he was 

 teaching anatomy at Columbus Medical College during the last 

 quarter of the 19th Century. A mulatto, more white than Negro, 

 had been lynched by an angry mob because he was suspected 

 of raping a white woman. The body was turned over to the school; 

 when it arrived in the anatomical laboratory, it made quite an 

 impression because of its remarkable muscular development. An 

 agreement was immediately made with the students assigned to 

 dissect it, that the college would recompense them for turning 

 the skeletal parts over to them; directions were given to the dis- 

 sectors as to how the bones should be preserved. Later, these parts 

 were sent to a reliable firm in the east. Impressed by the mag- 

 nificence of the osseous parts, they wrote back that they would like 

 to give it special treatment rather than employ the ordinary boil 

 ing process for cleansing. Baldwin replied, giving them perm is 

 sion to treat the matter as they saw best. When the articulated 

 skeleton was returned, it was judged by all to be a remarkable 

 specimen and was used for many years in teaching anatomy. 



