{ "id": "e8e2c6b69bf587f849508194facec2cca918ea75", "text": "X. An Account of a Book, Entitled,\nJoh. Conradi Beckeri, Phil. & Med. D. Tractus\nAlsfeld. Medici Ordin. Paradoxum Medico-Legale de\nsubmersorum Morte sine pota Aqua, aliquot Cadaver-\nrum sectionibus detectum, & e principiis mechanicis\nillustratum. Cui adjicetur Dodecas Observationum\ncircumstantiis curarum rarissimarum. Giessæ-Hasso-\nrum. A. MDCCIV.\n\nThis Author having made several Experiments about\nDrowning, and being dissatisfied with the various\nOpinions that were held concerning it, was induced to\nwrite this present Treatise, in which he relates these fol-\nlowing Cases, as Matters of Fact.\n\nHaving catch'd a Cat, (says he) and designing to make\nsome sport with her, I took a Board with a hole in the\nmiddle, and putting the Tail through, I fastned her very\nwell to it, then put her afloat into the River, and by a\nString held the Board from being carried down by the ra-\npidity of the Stream; afterwards I sent in a well mettled\nCur after her, who made very pleasant sport; but the Dog\nbeing tired with worrying of the Cat, was sucked into a\nWhirlpit, sunk down, and never came up again alive. By\nthe help of a Boat, after an hours search for him, we\nfound him, and then carried him home to Dissect him.\nThe Abdomen appeared to be a little extended, as did like-\nwise the Stomach and Intestines in a small measure; but\nthat which was the greatest cause of our wonder, there was\nno Water found in either of them. The Lungs were like-\nwise extended, but in no greater a degree than the Stom-\nor Intestines, and lookt exactly as those do in Dogs that are hang'd. We made an Incision into the Trachea, whereupon they sank down immediately. This at first made a great noise, the Physicians were amaz'd at it, and, in short, every one much wondered how a Dog could be drowned without Water. This our Author tells us was the first occasion of his dissenting from the Antients in Cases of Drowning.\n\nThe next Observation he gives us, is of a Countryman, who having been missing for some weeks, was afterwards found drowned in a very shallow place. The Body being clean'd from Mud, some Livid Spots appear'd externally, tho we could not perceive any violence had been used; Then we proceeded to open the Abdomen and Thorax; in the Abdomen the Intestines appeared to be full, after we had tyed up the Gula and Duodenum, that we might more easily judge of the Contents of the Stomach, we took it out, and by the weight of it judged there must needs be a very considerable quantity of Water in it; neither were we mistaken in the quantity, but upon cutting into it, it appear'd to be the Liquor he had been too freely drinking of; we thought there might be much about the same quantity in the Lungs, by reason of their great extension; but it happen'd we were out in our guessing, for no sooner did we cut into the Trachea, but the Wind rushed out, and the Lungs sunk down that very moment. Now had I perceived that any violence had been used, I should certainly have concluded that the Person had been killed, and after he was dead was thrown into the River; but we understood by some present with us, who told us, that they saw the Deceased at a Fair very much in drink (which was the last time that ever he was seen alive) and fancied, that in passing over that River (which he could not avoid) in his way home, he unfortunately fell in; and indeed the contents of his Stomach proved what they said to be true. This Observation did not only throw down the Hypothesis.\nof the Antients, but made me believe that those who in\nthe wrong, who deny'd any person to be suffocated under\nWater, without they find a quantity in the Lungs or Stomach; it appear'd as certain as could be, that this person\nwent into the Water alive, and yet there was no Water\nfound either in the Tissues or Substance of the Lungs.\nThe Liquor he had been too freely drinking of an hour or\ntwo before he dyed showed itself plainly in the Stomach and\nIntestines.\n\nThe next Subject the Author tells us of, was a Woman\nwho unfortunately fell into a Well; after the Body was\ntaken out there appeared several large Contusions, there\nwere two upon each Arm, about the breadth of two Fingers, but longer, which lookt as if they had been made\nwith a Stick; the Blood was extravasated between the Os\nBregmatis and Panniculus Carnosis on the Left Side. There\nwere two Fissures on the Os Frontis, and one on each Or-\nbit of the Eye. Under the Pia Mater of the Left Side we\nfound some black Grumous Blood; the Stomach and In-\ntestines were distended, which upon Incision sunk down;\nthe Lungs were cut into in several places, but not the least\ndrop of Water was found in them. Now if this Woman\ndid tumble into the Water alive, it's plain she dyed for\nwant of Respiration; but if the Fall occasion'd her Death,\nit proves those to be mistaken, who think that Water can\nget into the Passages after Death.\n\nA man after 5 days search was found standing upright in\nthe bottom of a Fish-pond; he was carefully taken out and\nviewed, and not the least mark of any violence appeared.\nI myself, with the assistance of a Surgeon, opened the\nThorax and Abdomen; the Intestines were very much di-\nstended, and contained in them a whitish Liquor like\nChyle; The Stomach was so swelled as induced the Specta-\ntors to think it was full of Water; we tyed up both the\nOrifices, and took it out, that we might more easily mea-\nsure the Contents: It was so very light, that none but\nthose that handled it could ever have imagin'd it; after-\nwards\nwards we opened it, and a great blast of Wind rushing out, it sunk down again immediately; neither was there any more than six ounces of a whitish Liquor in it. The Lungs were so distended with Wind as to fill up the whole Cavity of the Thorax; we pricked, and cut into them, but not a drop of Water came from them. The Man had the Character of a poor honest harmless Fellow, and therefore could not well be suspected of being murder'd, and the posture of his standing made every one conclude that it was the darkness of the Night that occasioned his losing his Way and Life at the same time. And as we have all the reason in the World to believe that this person was stifled alive under Water, so we may see how fallacious that standing Rule of the Antients is, who allowed no person to be drowned, without considerable quantities of Water, both in the Lungs, Stomach and Intestines.\n\nAfter the Author hath given us these Experiments, he proceeds to answer the Objection that was made, of persons recovering by being set upon their Heads; and afterwards to show why it happens, that in drowned persons the Water is seldom found either in the Lungs or Stomach. For which we refer you to the Book itself, containing besides twelve uncommon Observations of different Cases.\n\nPrinted by Sam. Smith and Benj. Walford, Printers to the Royal Society, at the Princes Arms in St Paul's Churchyard, 1706.\n\nERRATA,\nIn Philosoph. Transact. Numb. 302,\n\nPage 2077. line 21. read explicatè sibi. line 25. r. inde extrò. line 28. r. legatur. line 30. r. indagator.", "source": "olmocr", "added": "2026-01-12", "created": "2026-01-12", "metadata": { "Source-File": "/home/jic823/projects/def-jic823/royalsociety/pdfs/103019.pdf", "olmocr-version": "0.3.4", "pdf-total-pages": 5, "total-input-tokens": 7794, "total-output-tokens": 1914, "total-fallback-pages": 0 }, "attributes": { "pdf_page_numbers": [ [ 0, 0, 1 ], [ 0, 1499, 2 ], [ 1499, 3468, 3 ], [ 3468, 5483, 4 ], [ 5483, 7032, 5 ] ], "primary_language": [ "en", "en", "en", "en", "en" ], "is_rotation_valid": [ true, true, true, true, true ], "rotation_correction": [ 0, 0, 0, 0, 0 ], "is_table": [ false, false, false, false, false ], "is_diagram": [ false, false, false, false, false ] }, "jstor_metadata": { "identifier": "jstor-103019", "title": "An Accouut of a Book", "authors": "Joh. Conradi Beckeri", "year": 1704, "volume": "24", "journal": "Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775)", "page_count": 5, "jstor_url": "https://www.jstor.org/stable/103019" } }