240 HUMAN DISSECTION. ITS DRAMA AND STRUGGLE 



Most of the members of the anatomical departments through- 

 out the state met to discuss this unusual case and it was not long 

 after that a delegation representing them met with a committee 

 of the state legislature. It was decided that the medical schools 

 sorely needed dissecting-material and that adequate facilities for 

 obtaining it did not exist. A bill was introduced which was hur- 

 riedly enacted into law (1879). The act of body snatching be- 

 came a penitentiary offense, with a heavy fine attached; before 

 this it was simply a misdemeanor. This was instrumental in pro- 

 viding a more plentiful supply at the time. 



In the late fall of 1878, a body was stolen from the cemetery 

 belonging to the Columbus Hospital, by several students from 

 Columbus Medical College. This site had long been a common 

 ground for resurrectionists. While transporting it from the wagon 

 into the basement of the school, a policeman who was on beat, 

 accosted and interrogated them. The "gentlemen" body snatchers 

 were frank with their answers since they thought that everyone 

 understood the prevailing custom. The officer decided he had a 

 case against them and they were arrested. 



On learning of the situation, a college official put the body, 

 that of a young girl, in a cheap coffin, and deposited it in the 

 potter's field located in the south end of the city. Two men from 

 the hospital, Baldwin and Bailey, drove to the cemetery and found 

 the subject in a small, frame tool house. The lid of the box was 

 opened and it came off with an explosive force. The coffin was 

 full of flies and the sight filled the pair with horror. The girl's 

 face was distorted, her eyes were wide open and maggots were 

 rolling out of her mouth. The corpse was promptly returned to 

 its former resting place. Later, the policeman was discharged for 

 his stupidity (Baldwin, '36). 



Also, in 1878, Dr. Erwin Heyl, a young Columbus physician, 

 removed four subjects from a Zanesville cemetery, but was caught 

 with them in his carriage. He was brought to court and his trial 

 proved to be a mere formality. The judge sentenced him to one 

 year in jail, three months for each body, together with a fine 

 of $1,000. The doctor had little money in his possession but 

 his wife had some which she used in his behalf. A few months 

 later, when feelings had died down somewhat, she solicited a 



