Says Dead May Live

SAYS DEAD MAY LIVE.

Amazing Claims of an Indiana Physician

He Offers Proof of His Theory

"Volatile Magnetism" Is Held by Dr. C.W. Littlefield, Who Asserts Power to Restore Life, to Be the Secret of Animal Existence-Says He Resuscitated Drowned Boy. 

  "I can bring back the dead to life. "I did bring back to life a boy who was pronounced dead by doctors and who in reality was dead.

"I have numberless times restored consciousness to dogs and cats after they had been dead two hours and after rigor mortis had set in."   Astonishing statements these, but they are made in all seriousness by Dr. Q. V. Littlefleld, a well known and reputable physician of Alexandria, Ind., says the Chicago Record-Herald. Dr. Littlefield makes these declarations:

  First.- Life is not dependent upon organic function as a principle.

Second.- It may be infused into organic bodies even after the organs have ceased to perform their legitimate offices.

Third.- Where death has been due to causes which have not impaired or injured or destroyed tissue formation or torn down the structure of vital organs life may be recalled when it has become entirely extinct. This is equivalent to saying "the dead can be brought to life." But as is obviously necessary the doctor qualifies bis assertion with the declaration that his methods of necessity are imperative where death has been caused by physical damage, whether apparent or hidden, which admits of no natural repair. The physician asserts that the secret of life is volatile magnetism.   

"Volatile magnetism" is a term the experimenter does not define, but it exists, he asserts, in the free atmosphere, is drawn into the body through the lungs at once absorbed and held in bounds until chemical combination has occurred through the medium of mineral agents always present in normal animal tissue. When a person is dead, of course, respiration ceases, and the volatile magnetism cannot be drawn into the lungs.

   How then can it be supplied? Therein lies the accomplishment of Dr. Littlefield. He has discovered a compound which, he declares, is an exact reproduction of conditions existent in the human body. This compound has common salt as its basic chemical. The salt is saturated with oleoresin and is allowed to stand exposed for I several hours in an atmosphere of free ammonia. The product is reduced to a powder. lt is this powder which, the doctor claims, brings back the dead to life.

To prove his theory the investigator has operated extensively on dogs, cats, flies and bees, and invariably he has been successful.

  Within half a dozen -minutes after the first signs of reviving have appeared the animal displays signs of a normal condition. Half an hour later, to all appearances, the subject is in quite as healthy a condition as before its life was taken.

   A strange feature of the experiments thus far conducted is the fact that no animal yet resuscitated has appeared gratified at its awakening. Invariably the animal displays the most decided anger and resentment, and Dr. Littlefield bears many scars on his hands and face in testimony of this strange manifestation. Cats, especially, have evidenced their chagrin at the potency of the reviving powder, displaying more than dogs, rats, mice or monkeys a greater illness shortly after recovering.  Eventually, as a rule, they develop symptoms due to the contact with the water and the effect upon their lungs. An application of the powder internally, however, relieves them almost immediately of all dan gerous symptoms.

  Upon only one occasion was the potency of Dr. Littlefield's theory tried upon a human being. This was several years ago, when bis discovery had not been put to severe test. Upon this occasion a boy who had fallen into the water through the ice was given up as dead by physicians summoned to restore lite by the usual artificial means. Dr. Llttlefield, however, secured permission to make an attempt to resuscitate the lad, and taking the body to his laboratory, a mile away, immediately submitted it to the powder treatment. In fifteen minutes, together with a continuance of the other means of restoring life, the boy revived and evinced no unusually abnormal symptoms.