Rapid Disorganization of the Human Body . 337 
respondents can assign a cause for this strange event, 
which does not appear to be generally known, and may 
point out a remedy for preventing a more serious confla- 
gration. I am, sir, your obliged humble servant, 
It. Teed, 
Lancaster Court, Strand, 
11 September, 1810. 
Rapid Disorganization of the Human Body 
On the night of the 16th of March, 1803, in one of 
the towns of the state of Massachusetts, the body of an 
elderly woman evaporated and disappeared from some 
internal and unknown cause, in the duration of about one 
hour and an half. Part of the family had gone to bed, 
and the rest were abroad. The old woman remained 
awake to take care of the house. By and by one of the 
grand- children came home, and discovered the floor near 
the hearth to be on fire. An alarm was made, a light 
brought, and means taken to extinguish it. While these 
things were doing, some singular appearances were ob- 
served on the hearth and the contiguous floor. There 
was a sort of greasy soot and ashes, with remains of a 
human body, and an unusual smell in the room. All the 
clothes were consumed ; and the grandmother was miss- 
ing. It was at first supposed she had, in attempting to 
light her pipe of tobacco, fallen into the fire, and been 
burned to death. But on considering how small the fire 
was, and that so total a consumption could scarcely have 
happened if there had been ten times as much, there is 
more reason to conclude that this is another case of that 
spontaneous decomposition of the human body, of which 
there are several instances on record. It is to be regret 
ted the particulars have not been more carefully noted, 
* Tilloch, vol 14. p. 96, 
