Victoria Cosner - Missouris Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine

Missouris Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine — read online for free the complete book (whole text) full work

Below is the text of the book, divided by pages. System saving the place of the last page read, allows you to conveniently read the book "Missouris Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine" online for free, without having to search again every time where you left off. Put a bookmark, and you can go to the page where you finished reading at any time.

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

1234567...29

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2015 by Victoria Cosner and Lorelei Shannon

All rights reserved

Images are courtesy of the authors unless otherwise noted.

First published 2015

e-book edition 2015

ISBN: 978.1.62585.612.8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015946490

print edition ISBN 978.1.46711.888.0

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the authors or The History Press. The authors and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

To my late brother, Bob (Victoria)

To my kids, Fenris and Roxy (Lorelei)

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thanks to Brick Autry and Walt Bush from Battle of Pilot Knob State Historic Site; Henry Sweets of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home Museum complex; Linda Coleberd, CEO and general manager of the Mark Twain Cave; John Maurath at the Civil War Museum at Jefferson Barracks; Dominic Winslow at the First Missouri State Capitol State Historic Site; Dr. David Dean at Grand Canyon University; Troy Taylor of www.prairieghosts.com; Lauren Clontz at the McDowell House Museum; and, as always, our families and fellow VAAMPS for putting up with us all these years.

INTRODUCTION

The two young boys crept through the chill and dark of the cave. They had only one torch between them; the other had gone out when one of the boys dropped it in a puddle on the dank cave floor. The remaining torch guttered, throwing crazy shadows on the cave walls. Water dripped from the ceiling, threatening to douse the feeble light.

It was so quiet. When theyd first come in, they had been laughing and joking, shoving each other, boasting of their bravery. But as the cave got colder and darker, the oppressive atmosphere and the stale air suffocated their good spirits. Now they were alone with the dripping of the water and the occasional rustle of hidden insects scuttling in the darkest shadows.

Shes not in here, said one of the boys, the one whose torch had gone out. Its just a stupid story. Lets go.

Are you scaaaaared? jeered the other. His voice sounded way too loud in the still darkness. As he spoke, he realized that he was, in fact, very scared. His palms were sweaty in the chill cave air. His heart pounded.

Course not! came the shaky-voiced reply. Its just that

The words died in his throat.

What? asked the boy with the torch. There was no reply. His friend slowly raised his hand and pointed into a darkened alcove.

The cylinder was huge, suspended by a heavy chain from the ceiling, a good four feet from the floor. Firelight glinted red on polished copper, reflecting off the heavy rivets that held the thing together. It was perfectly still, but the flickering torch made it seem to sway ever so slightly.

Illustration of Amanda suspended in her cylinder, by Cynthia Louise Who Shulman.

As one, the boys took a step forward, torch raised. The cylinder wasnt entirely copper, it seemed. A curved glass window began about halfway up its length. The container appeared to be filled with a murky fluidand something else. A pale shape hovered in the liquid dark.

The boys looked at each other; neither one wanted to get any closer. But more than that, neither one wanted to look like a chicken. They crept forward, holding the torch as high as it would go.

They knew what was supposed to be in there. After all, they had come to see if it was true. But nothing prepared them for what they saw. Suspended in the liquid was the pale face of a young girl, maybe a year or two older than they were. Her eyes were half open. Once bright blue, they were now dead and dull. Her hair drifted around her like a black spider web. Her lips were parted, as if she were about to speak, perhaps to whisper secrets from beyond the veil of death. One hand had drifted up in front of her chest, where it hung like a pale spider.

Slowly, the boys stepped back. The kept their eyes on the girl in the cylinder. They didnt dare look away. One of the boys tripped on the rough cave floor and fell onto his backside with a mostly stifled scream. The other boy grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the alcove. Hurrying more than was probably prudent, they went back the way they had come, silent and sweating until they finally saw daylight.

It would be weeks before either of them would speak of what they saw. By then, it had taken on the surreal quality of a nightmare. But it was real.

Or was it?

When you visit the Mark Twain Cave, you wont be shown the exact spot where a half-mad father suspended his daughter Amanda McDowells corpse in the hopes of preserving her beauty. Its in a part of the cave that is inaccessible to the public. But the guides all know the stories by heart. Theyll speak of the unrest and horror in Hannibal when the townsfolk realized that the girl hadnt been given a Christian burial. Theyll tell you about the local ruffians who boasted of pulling Amandas corpse out of its suspended tomb to stare into her dead eyes.

Some even claim to have seen Amandas ghost.

Amandas story was well known at the time it happened and has stayed part of the mythology of Hannibal and St. Louis for over 170 years.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, aka Mark Twain, certainly knew about it. And based on original research that has never before been published, we will reveal the strong connection between Samuel Clemenss family and that of Dr. Joseph Nash McDowell, the father of Amanda McDowell, legendary maiden of the cave.

A copy of an original daguerreotype of Dr. Joseph Nash McDowell by John H. Fitzgibbon. Courtesy of the Missouri History Museum, circa 184555.

Chapter 1

MEET THE DOCTOR

In my time the person who owned it [the cave] turned it into a mausoleum for his daughter, age fourteen. The body of this poor child was put in a copper cylinder filled with alcohol, and this suspended in one of the dismal avenues of the cave.

Autobiography of Mark Twain

Visiting the quaint, historic town of Hannibal is a must for any fan of Mark Twains works, especially for fans of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Building after building reminds you of Samuel Clemenss childhood memories. Story after story draws you into 1840s Hannibal. Walking through the streets and landmarks of Clemenss youth, you cant help but feel transported back through time. From painting the picket fence to rafting down the river, you can trace the footsteps of the beloved characters Tom and Huck. But you may not want to follow them everywhere.

Next page

1234567...29

Light

Font size:

↓

↑

Georgia Tahoma Arial Verdana

Reset

Interval:

↓

↑

Bookmark:

Make

Similar books «Missouris Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine»

Look at similar books to Missouris Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine. We have selected literature similar in name and meaning in the hope of providing readers with more options to find new, interesting, not yet read works.

Michael Kube-McDowell

Odyssey

Victoria Cosner

Missouris Murderous Matrons: Emma Heppermann and Bertha Gifford

Sean McDowell

ETHIX: Being Bold in a Whatever World

Josh McDowell

How to Be a Hero to Your Kids

Ken Marks

Haunted Hannibal: History and Mystery in Americas Hometown

Josh McDowell

Friendship 911 Collection: My friend is struggling with.. Thoughts of Suicide

Erin Jeanne McDowell

The Book on Pie

McDowell

Its Happening

McDowell

10 Commitments for Dads

Cosner Victoria

Missouris murderous matrons: Emma Heppermann and Bertha Gifford

Josh McDowell

2004;1999;

Josh McDowell

My Friend is Struggling with...Thoughts of Suicide

Discussion, reviews of the book Missouris Mad Doctor McDowell: Confederates, Cadavers and Macabre Medicine and just readers' own opinions. Leave your comments, write what you think about the work, its meaning or the main characters. Specify what exactly you liked and what you didn't like, and why you think so.