Historic%20Yorkshire

164
YORKSHIRE RESURRECTION MEN.
operations and processes of the resurrection men themselves,
and thence pass to the notice of specific
instances of their nefarious trade in Yorkshire. In
one of Samuel Warren's works an account is given of the
manner in which the graves were opened and the dead
abstracted, but the description of the process as there
given is not accurate, thoughit coincidedwith the popular
belief. This was that the " body-snatchers " removed
the whole of the earth from the grave, and, having
arrived at the coffin, forced off the lid, then takingout the
body. The true account of the process really used is
given in the great authorityon the subject generally,the
work we have quoted;in which it states that the above
method was not used, as it would have occupied too
lengthya period, and exposedthe workers to greatchance
of detection. Usually, therefore, to avoid this they only
cleared away the earth above the head of the coffin,
taking care to leave that which covered the other portions
as far as possible undisturbed. As soon as about onethird
of the coffin was thus exposed,they forced a very
strong crowbar,made of a peculiar form for the purpose,
into the crevice between the extreme body of the coffin
and the lid, which latter, by using the lever as one of
the first order, they generally pressed up without much
difficulty. It usually happened at this stage of the proceedings
that the superincumbent weight of the earth on
the other portion of the coffin lid caused it to be snapped
across at a distanceof about one-third of its length from
the fulcrum of the lever. As soon as this hadtakenplace,
the body was drawn out, the death-gear removed fromit,
and replaced in the coffin, and finally the body tied up
and placedin its receptacle to be conveyed to its destination.
There was seldom any difficulty in extricating a
body by these means, unless the lid happened to be
sufficiently strong to resist the force of the lever; this,
however, scarcely ever occurred in the coffins of the
poorer classes, and to these the resurrection men principally
directed their attention.