"The whole of this paragraph must now appear a tissue of
inconsequence and incoherence. All experience does not show that
'drowned bodies' require from six to ten days for sufficient
decomposition to take place to bring them to the surface. Both
science and experience show that the period of their rising is,
and necessarily must be, indeterminate. If, moreover, a body has
risen to the surface through firing of cannon, it will not 'sink
again if let alone,' until decomposition has so far progressed as
to permit the escape of the generated gas. But I wish to call
your attention to the distinction which is made between 'drowned
bodies,' and 'bodies thrown into the water immediately after
death by violence.' Although the writer admits the distinction,
he yet includes them all in the same category. I have shown how
it is that the body of a drowning man becomes specifically
heavier than its bulk of water, and that he would not sink at
