Taylor she was comatose, her mouth was
surrounded by white froth, and the swollen tongue protruded from it.
Her face was bloated, her lips of a darkened hue, and her neck of a
brown parchment-color. About the level of the larynx, the epidermis was
distinctly abraded, indicating where the rope had been. The conjunctiva
was insensible and there was no contractile response of the pupil to
the light of a candle. The reflexes of the soles of the feet were
tested, but were quite in abeyance. There was no respiratory movement
and only slight cardiac pulsation. After vigorous measures the woman
ultimately recovered. Recovery is quite rare when the asphyxiation has
gone so far, the patients generally succumbing shortly after being cut
down or on the following day. Chevers mentions a most curious case, in
which cerebral congestion from the asphyxiation of strangling was
accidentally relieved by an additional cut across the throat. The
patient was a man who was set upon by a band of Thugs in India, who,
pursuant to their usual custom, strangled him and his fellow-traveler.
Not being satisfied that he was quite dead, one of the band returned
and made several gashes across his throat. This latter action
effectually relieved the congestion caused by the strangulation and
undoubtedly saved his life, while his unmutilated companion was found
dead. After the wounds in his throat had healed this victim of the
Thugs gave such a good description of the murderous band that their
apprehension and execution soon followed.

Premature Burial.--In some instances simulation of death has been so
exact that it has led to premature interment. There are many such cases
on record, and it is a popular superstition of the laity that all the
gruesome tales are true of persons buried alive and returning to life,
only to find themselves hopelessly lost in a narrow coffin many feet
below the surface of the earth. Among the lower classes the dread of
being buried before life is extinct is quite generally felt, and for
generations the medical profession have been denounced for their
inability to discover an infallible sign of death. Most of the
instances on record, and particularly those from lay journals, are
vivid exaggerations, drawn from possibly such a trivial sign as a
corpse found with the fist tightly clenched or the face distorted,
which are the inspiration of the horrible details of the dying
struggles of the person in the coffin. In the works of