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diff --git a/old/54176-0.txt b/old/54176-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 470fc7f..0000000 --- a/old/54176-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,7881 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The cremation of the dead, by Hugo Erichsen - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: The cremation of the dead - considered from an aesthetic, sanitary, religious, - historical, medico-legal, and economical standpoint - -Author: Hugo Erichsen - -Release Date: February 17, 2017 [EBook #54176] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CREMATION OF THE DEAD *** - - - - -Produced by Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was -produced from images generously made available by The -Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: - - A MODERN CINERARY URN. - (Frontispiece.) -] - - - - - THE - CREMATION OF THE DEAD - CONSIDERED - FROM AN ÆSTHETIC, SANITARY, RELIGIOUS, HISTORICAL, MEDICO-LEGAL, AND - ECONOMICAL STANDPOINT - - - BY - - HUGO ERICHSEN, M.D. - - LICENTIATE OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS OF KINGSTON, - CANADA; MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE OF ORGANIZATION OF THE FIRST - INTERNATIONAL CREMATION CONGRESS; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE CREMATION - SOCIETIES OF NEW YORK AND BERLIN; FOREIGN ASSOCIATE MEMBER OF THE - HYGIENIC SOCIETY OF FRANCE; HONORARY MEMBER OF THE CREMATION SOCIETY OF - MILAN, ITALY; ETC. - - With an Introductory Note - - BY - - SIR T. SPENCER WELLS, BART., F.R.S. - - LATE PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND; SURGEON TO - THE QUEEN’S HOUSEHOLD; ETC. - - ILLUSTRATED - - _Delenda est inhumatio!_ - - DETROIT - D. O. HAYNES & COMPANY - 1887 - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - “Why should we seek to clothe death with unnecessary terror, and - spread horror round the tomb of those we love? The grave should be - surrounded with everything that might ensure tenderness and - veneration.” - - —WASHINGTON IRVING. - - “Die Leichenverbrennung verdient die Achtung, welche ihr um ihres - hohen Werthes willen im klassischen Alterthum gezollt wurde, auch - heute noch, da sie die einzige Art der Todtenbestattung ist, die - vor den schrecklichen Folgen der Verwesungsduenste sichert und das - bei der Leichenbeerdigung so oft vorgekommene Wiedererwachen im - Grabe verhuetet.” - - —J. P. TRUSEN. - - “Si nous sommes une statue - Sculptée à l’image de Dieu; - Quand cette image est abattue, - Jetons-en les débris au feu! - - Toi, forme immortelle, remonte - Dans la flamme, aux sources du Beau, - Sans que ton argile ait la honte - Et les miséres du tombeau!” - - —THÉOPHILE GAUTIER. - - - - - _Copyright, 1887_, - BY HUGO ERICHSEN. - - J. S. CUSHING & CO., PRINTERS, BOSTON. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TO - - WILLIAM EASSIE, C.E., F.L.S., - - Honorary Secretary of the Cremation Society of England, - - and - - DR. PROSPER DE PIETRA-SANTA, - - of Paris, - - THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED - - as a mark of high esteem, and in recognition of their untiring labor in - behalf of that greatest of all sanitary reforms, cremation, by their - sincere admirer, - - THE AUTHOR. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - PREFACE. - - -It is hardly necessary to explain the purpose of this work. It is an -appeal to the general public; a plea for the burning of the dead. The -period of fierce and fanatic opposition to cremation has passed, and -made way for a calm consideration of the subject. In 1874 a Persian -gentleman, then a resident of one of the Eastern States of our own free -and great republic, who wanted to have his wife cremated, was compelled -by an ignorant mob to resort to interment. Happily we are over that now. - -It is astonishing that the cremation question has not been taken hold of -by the literarians of our country; there is hardly a subject that -rewards its student so well as cremation, and future writers on -incineration, not hampered by the literary inexperience under which I -have labored, will reap a rich harvest indeed when they devote their -talent and time to the reform. - -I would counsel those who are in favor of cremation to immediately put -in writing their desire to have their body committed to the flames after -death instead of having it consigned to “dirt and darkness.” Such -written requests should be preserved in places where they can be easily -found after decease; for instance, in the writing-desk. If every -individual promotor of the reform, male or female, considering the -uncertainty of life, would follow this advice, cremation would speedily -prevail. - -I am sensible of the many defects of this book, but I trust that it will -be found to furnish some useful information which cannot well be -obtained elsewhere, besides proving an assistance to those who are -desirous of studying the question more fully. - -I desire to express my indebtedness to crematists in all parts of the -world for the valuable assistance I received from them in the -preparation of this volume. - -For all who like cleanliness, for all who love true sentiment, for all -friends of economy, for all who venerate their dead, and for all who are -not afraid of reform the following pages were written. - -It only remains to express the thanks due the following gentlemen for -permission to use illustrations without which this book would have been -decidedly incomplete: Messrs. Dodd, Mead & Co., Cyrus K. Remington, -Augustus Cobb, Albert Meininger, and Dr. M. L. Davis. - - H. E. - - DETROIT, Feb. 28, 1887. - - - - - CONTENTS. - - - CHAPTER I. - PAGE - - THE HISTORY OF CREMATION 1 - - - CHAPTER II. - - THE EVILS OF BURIAL; THE SANITARY ASPECT OF INCINERATION 66 - - - CHAPTER III. - - CREMATION IN TIMES OF WAR 129 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - THE PROCESSES OF MODERN CREMATION 140 - - - CHAPTER V. - - THE MEDICO-LEGAL ASPECT OF INCINERATION.—THE OBJECTIONS TO 157 - CREMATION - - - CHAPTER VI. - - BURIAL ALIVE.—CREMATION FROM AN ÆSTHETIC AND RELIGIOUS POINT OF 180 - VIEW - - - CHAPTER VII. - - THE ECONOMY OF CREMATING THE DEAD.—THE PRESENT STATE OF THE 224 - CREMATION QUESTION - - - - - INTRODUCTION. - - - DR. H. ERICHSEN: - -_Dear Sir_,—In reply to your request that I should write an introduction -to a work which you are about to compose on cremation, I am placed in -the great difficulty of knowing nothing of your book, not even having -seen its title-page or table of contents. It is quite impossible, -therefore, for me to say how far your views and my own may accord. But, -as I suppose your object is to bring before the people of America proof -of the evil effects to the living inseparable from the present mode of -disposal of the dead by burying them in the earth, as well as to show -how these evils may be avoided by burning dead bodies,—in a word, by the -substitution of cremation for burial, of purification for -putrefaction,—I have great pleasure in doing the little that is in my -power to assist in bringing a very important question of sanitary reform -before a thoughtful, intelligent, and advancing nation. - -I do not know how far I am right in supposing that with you in the West, -as with us in the East, a knowledge of sanitary science, of the -conditions which are necessary for the health of mankind, is still -confined to the comparatively few who may be called the well educated -class. Nor do I know how far this knowledge has been diffused among the -classes of your population who have received but little education. But I -do know with us it is the highest classes, in the sense of the best -educated classes, who are the most earnest in their efforts to -disseminate that branch of knowledge or science which, in the words of -_Parkes_, aims at rendering “youth most perfect, decay less rapid, life -more vigorous, and death more remote.” _Parkes_ is dead, but he still -speaks to us by his book, and he says:— - -“The disposal of the dead is always a question of difficulty. If the -dead are buried, so great at last is the accumulation of bodies that the -whole country round a great city becomes gradually a vast cemetery. -After death, the buried body returns to its elements. If, instead of -being buried, the body is burned, the same process occurs more rapidly. -A community must always dispose of its dead, either by burial in land or -water, or by burning, or chemical destruction equivalent to burning, or -by embalming or preserving. The eventual dispersion of our frame is the -same in all cases. Neither affection nor religion can be outraged by any -manner of disposal of the dead which is done with proper solemnity and -respect to the earthly dwelling-places of our friends. The question -should be entirely placed on sanitary grounds. Burying in the ground -appears certainly to be the most insanitary plan.” - -Parkes died before we had learned how perfectly and cheaply, how rapidly -and inoffensively cremation could be carried on; and he favored burying -in the sea rather than in the earth, whenever the distance was not too -great for transport. He knew well how impossible it is to prevent -graveyards within towns, or suburban cemeteries, from becoming sooner or -later a source of danger or nuisance to the living, how difficult it is -to find a suitable site and soil, sufficient space, and to secure proper -regulations and management. These difficulties may not be so great amid -your unlimited space as with us; but they must be an increasing evil in -and around your large cities. I trust, therefore, that your work may -assist in the more rapid progress of cremation as a substitute for -burial. - -With us the legal objection has ceased. It is now acknowledged by the -government, and has been decided by three judges that if cremation is so -performed as to create no nuisance, and incite to no breach of the -peace, it is not illegal. - -The religious objection has been answered by the _Bishop of Manchester_, -by _Canon Liddon_, and by the _Earl of Shaftesbury_. The bishop said: -“No intelligent faith can suppose that any Christian doctrine is -affected by the manner in which this mortal body of ours crumbles into -dust and sees corruption.” - -_Canon Liddon_ said, in a sermon at St. Paul’s Cathedral:— - -“The resurrection of a body from its ashes is not a greater miracle than -the resurrection of an unburnt body; each must be purely miraculous.” - -_Lord Shaftesbury_ said to me that any doubt as to the resurrection of a -body because it had been burnt was an “audacious limitation of the -Almighty”; and he asked, “What, then, has become of the blessed martyrs -who were burned at the stake in ancient and modern persecution?” - -The medico-legal objection that murdered or poisoned persons if burned -could not be exhumed, as is sometimes done if suspicion of foul play -arise after burial, is answered by the strict observance of proper -regulations before cremation. Much more complete medical certificates as -to the cause of death are required by the cremation society of England -than by any cemetery company; and in some cases, a post-mortem -examination is insisted on. In this way, cremation becomes a security to -the public against secret poisoning or any form of murder. - -The sentimental objection is that which can only be overcome by time and -education. When the people know how great are the evils dependent on -burial in the earth, even when this is done under the most favorable -conditions, how seldom these conditions can be secured, and, when the -knowledge becomes general that when a human body which would require -five, ten, or twenty years to slowly putrefy in any soil can in one hour -be cheaply and inoffensively converted into a white ash, public -sentiment must favor cremation in place of corruption, and for -putrefaction substitute purification. The same religious ceremonial -might accompany either mode of disposal of the dead. The ashes might be -dispersed to the winds, harmlessly buried, or preserved in urns near -monuments or memorial tablets in our cemeteries, or beneath or around -any place of worship, or in any family mausoleum, or in some park, -public garden, or any ornamental open space near a great city, as the -wishes of the dead or of the surviving relations and friends may prefer. - -Here, we hope the city of London will be the first municipal body in the -Kingdom to set the example in this sanitary reform. But, perhaps, the -impetus may be given by our American cousins and brothers. - - I am, dear sir, faithfully yours, - T. SPENCER WELLS. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - THE HISTORY OF CREMATION. - - Ye in the age gone by, - Who ruled the world—a world how lovely then - And guided still the steps of happy men - In the light leading-strings of careless joy! - Before the bed of death - No ghastly spectre stood—but from the porch - Of life, the lip—one kiss inhaled the breath, - And the mute, graceful genius lowered a torch! - - SCHILLER: _The Gods of Greece_. - - -Primeval man most likely disposed of his dead by carrying them into the -woods or leaving them anywhere above ground, a prey to animals of all -kinds. But soon the organs of sight and smell took offense at the -mutilated and decayed corpses, and they were buried. With the increase -of population it became necessary to render the dead innocuous to the -living, and then, perhaps, cremation was originally resorted to as a -means of protecting the living from the effects of corruption. - -In the early stages of the world’s history, when there was plenty of -available land, interment was of course a very cheap process, and -therefore often resorted to by the poorer classes, but persons of -intelligence and education always preferred incineration as the better -method of disposing of dead bodies. - -[Illustration: A ROMAN COLUMBARIUM.] - -In the gradual growth among scientists of the belief that cremation is -preferable to the present system of inhumation, is seen another instance -of modern civilization borrowing the ideas of the far-distant past. - -The pendulum by which the world’s age is measured swings in an immense -arc. Now, after thousands of years, the views of the leaders of human -thought are swinging back to that expressed by some of the earliest -peoples. - -Incineration is a most ancient practice. It has always been a matter of -difficulty to ascertain the origin of ancient customs. In the case of -cremation the historians have not been able to discover the date when it -was first practiced. The history of ancient cremation, however, can be -traced to nearly 2000 years before Christ. Incineration is regarded by -some authors as the outcome of the sun-worship of the Phœnicians. Their -solar god (Helios)—the Melikertes of the Greeks—was represented by them -as burning himself, whereby they wanted to indicate the ever-returning -solar year. Among the ancient nations, the sun was especially revered -and worshipped by the Persians, Egyptians, and the Sabian Arabs. At -Heliopolis, Phœnicia, and Palmyra, Syria, there were celebrated temples -consecrated to the sun. In some of the countries mentioned, horses which -were, on account of their celerity, regarded as symbols of the sun were -sacrificed to this celestial body. - -Some authors ascribe the origin of cremation to the self-immolation of -Hercules. Dr. Le Moyne, the founder of the first crematorium erected in -the United States, asserted that the first authenticated case of burning -the dead was the proposed incineration of Isaac, and that, although it -was not consummated, it was fully authorized by the Deity. In -consequence he argues that cremationists stand in the shadow of the -Lord, and that any one who opposes them commits a sacrilege. - -I do not believe that incineration, as some of its antagonists have -imputed, had its origin in a heathen religion, but I am quite certain, -from existing evidence, that it was originally resorted to upon sanitary -grounds, and as a means to protect the living against corruption. - -It may be possible that incineration owes its origin to the ancient -nomadic tribes that burnt their dead and carried the ashes with them. -Among agricultural peoples, those who died in war, and while hunting, -were sometimes consigned to the flames, either because the grave would -not protect them from wild animals, or because it was desired to return -the ashes to the relatives, who would keep them sacred. - -The origin of incineration, as appears from what I have said, is -surrounded with a great deal of obscurity. It is, however, an -established fact that the Orient was the birthplace of cremation. - -The Egyptians first buried their dead, then embalmed them, and, -according to Walker, at a period not stated, abolished embalming and -substituted burning. They performed incineration by placing the corpse -in an amianthus receptacle, which, remaining intact, kept the bones -apart from the fuel. - -The tombs of the Assyrians, discovered on the banks of the Tigris and -Euphrates, furnish us with unmistakable evidence of the fact that the -burning of the dead was not unknown to them. The same applies to the -Babylonians. The tombs of both peoples when explored were found to -contain urns holding human bones and ashes; these urns were often very -large, being sometimes of sufficient size to admit the body of an adult. -The Persians either burned their dead or dissolved them in aqua fortis. -Yet they also practiced burial in deep sepulchres that had niches in -which the bodies were deposited upon slabs. - -The Hebrews commonly interred their deceased, but incineration was -likewise practiced. The Mosaic code prescribed that those who -transgressed the laws of wedlock and chastity should be put to death by -fire. In I. Moses xxxviii. 24, we find the first evidence of this. The -third book of Moses, xx. 14 and xxi. 9, also bears testimony to this -fact. Thus we see that cineration was looked upon by this people of -antiquity in the early period of its history as a punishment for -offenders against the married state and chastity. It is barely possible -(deductions one may draw from certain passages in the books of Moses) -that the ancient Jews first stoned these disobedients, then burned their -bodies publicly, and finally erected a so-called mound of infamy over -their remains. - -But as we follow Hebrew history, we soon find that cremation was -transformed from a humiliating act of punition to the highest honor, to -a distinction that was only accorded to royalty. The first king of -Israel was cremated after the battle with the Philistines in Mount -Gilboa, where he and his three sons fell. The Holy Bible relates how, -when the inhabitants of Jabesh-Gilead heard of that which the -Philistines had done to Saul (I. Samuel xxxi. 12): “All the valiant men -arose, and went all night, and took the bodies of Saul and the bodies of -his sons from the wall of Beth-shan, and came to Jabesh and burnt them -there.” - -And verse 13 of the same chapter informs us: “And they took their bones -(_ossilegio_) and buried them under a tree at Jabesh and fasted seven -days.” - -Asa, king of Judah, was also consigned to the funeral pyre, as we glean -from II. Chronicles xvi. 14: “And they buried him in his own sepulchres, -which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the -bed which was filled with sweet odors and divers kinds of spices -prepared by the apothecaries’ art; _and they made a very great burning -of him_.” Of Asa’s grandson, King Jehoram, it is said that his people -cremated him not like his fathers, because he had furthered idolatry. - -On the other hand, Isaiah xxx. 33 refers to a large pyre that was kept -alight to consume the bodies of the deceased: “For Tophet is ordained of -old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large; -the pile thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the Lord like a -stream of brimstone doth kindle it.” - -Jeremiah (xxxiv. 5) prophesied of Zedekiah, another king of Judah, that -he would be burned with the same honors that attended the cremation of -his predecessors. And in Amos vi. 10, we find the following, which also -points to incineration: “And a man’s uncle shall take him up, and he -that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house,” etc. - -The last passage cited and the one mentioning the Vale of Tophet, are -construed by some writers as meaning that the ancient Jews had recourse -to cremation in great plagues; _id est_, for hygienic reasons. - -Now, although these quotations plainly show that the Israelites of old -did execute incineration, we also learn from them that the practice was -never general; at first confined to criminals, at last to kings. - -It is impossible to determine when the custom of burning the dead -originated among the Hindoos. It was always connected with religious -observances, and known to the people of India since the earliest times. -It was restricted to certain classes or castes: mainly to Brahmins and -warriors. The merchants, mechanics, and the tillers of the soil were -interred. Children under two years of age were barred from cremation, -and had to be buried in the earth. Some religious sects, however, were -an exception from this rule and executed cineration indiscriminately—for -instance the believers in Vishnu. When a Hindoo died away from home, or -when his body was lost and could not be found, his relatives instituted -a symbolical ceremony. They gathered 360 leaves of a certain shrub and -as many woolen threads. They were under the impression that the human -body consisted of 360 parts. Of the threads and leaves they formed a -figure, somewhat resembling the human form, which was wound round with a -strip of the hide of a black antelope, which had also been previously -wrapped closely round with woolen thread. This figure was then besmeared -with barley-meal and water and burnt as an effigy of the missing body. - -From India cremation extended to Europe, and was adopted by all -Indo-Germanic peoples. This was proven by Prof. Jacob Grimm in an -oration on the burning of the dead, delivered before the Royal Academy -of Sciences at Berlin, in 1849, in which the famous scholar highly -commended the ancient custom. - -In old tombs on the island of Malta, urns of a kind of clay containing -ashes, lachrymatories, several mortuary lamps (some of excellent -workmanship), and the model of a mummy, formed of a green -semi-transparent substance, were found. This discovery demonstrates that -the orientals who inhabited this isle of the Mediterranean in the -earliest times were in the habit of cremating their deceased. - -The Thracians were the next to embrace burial by fire. Of them -_Herodotus_ relates that they exhibited the corpse publicly for three -days, brought many offerings, and bewailed the deceased. At the -termination of the period stated, they cremated the body and then buried -the ashes and bones. After they had erected a mound over the remains, -they played gymnic games. - -From Asia, by way of Thrace, cremation reached Greece. Among the Greeks -burial was originally exceedingly primitive, as we learn from a law that -compelled passers-by to place a handful of earth upon the breast of -every unburied corpse. Interment undoubtedly preceded cremation in -Greece. _Heraclitus_ advanced the theory that everything in existence -was created from fire. Therefore he argued that all corpses must be -burned to free the soul from all material matter, and to return it to -its primitive elements. According to _Eustachius_ Hercules burned the -body of Argius, the son of Likymnios, 1500 years before Christ. He had -promised the father to return the youth, but when the latter fell in -mortal combat, nothing remained for him but to cremate Argius and to -bring home with him the ashes to the sorrowful parent. Hercules was -unquestionably the first to cremate himself. When he was tormented by -the pangs of approaching death, he built a pyre and ordered his servant -to ignite it. When the servant failed to set the wood afire, Hercules -descended from the pyre, kindled it himself and again mounted it to -await his fate. - -_Pliny_ was disposed to attribute the origin of incineration among the -Greeks to their custom of burning the dead on the field of battle, to -render them secure from the revenge of the enemy. - -Be that as it may, certain it is that incineration never became the only -mode by which the inhabitants of Hellas disposed of their deceased; -except in Athens, where it was practiced exclusively for some time. -Suicides, those who had been struck by lightning, and unteethed children -were not cremated, for it was the prevailing opinion that the pure -flames would have been defiled by them. - -[Illustration: GREEK FUNERAL URN.] - -Homer, that incomparable Hellenic poet (There is, I know, a dispute -whether the name Homer stands for one person or for a number of bards. -As far as I am concerned, I believe that Homer was an individual, a poor -mendicant perhaps, wandering all over Greece, singing or reciting his -heroic epics, and living on the grace of an admiring public. No -collection of bards could have possibly written the Odyssey and Iliad, -which are so uniform in character throughout.), has preserved for us, in -immortal verse, the records of the Trojan war, in which we find many -instances of cremation chronicled. The recent explorations of Dr. -Heinrich Schliemann on the site of Troy have demonstrated beyond a doubt -that the poems of Homer rest on a basis of actual fact. - -During the war that was fought for Helen the beautiful, it was customary -among the Greeks and Trojans to reduce to ashes the bodies of those who -had been slain in battle. Line 69 of the first book of the Iliad proves -that the Greeks burned their dead for sanitary reasons. - -The bodies of cowards, criminals, and slaves were not incinerated, but -left unburied, a prey for the beasts of the field and the birds of the -air. Agamemnon, the king, addressing his warriors warns them (_vide_ -Pope’s translation of the Iliad, B. II, L. 466) that, during battle:— - - “Who dares, inglorious, in his ships to stay, - Who dares to tremble on this signal day, - That wretch, too mean to fall by martial power, - The birds shall mangle, and the dogs devour.” - -Incineration was denied Ajax, one of the greatest Grecian heroes, -because he had slain himself in a fit of indignation. Hector’s defiance -of the Greek princes (Iliad, B. VII, L. 85) shows that it was also the -custom among the Trojans to burn the dead. There is further evidence of -this in the truce, between Priam and Agamemnon (_vide_ Iliad, B. VII, L. -898 and 450), for the purpose of burning the dead of both armies. -Homer’s narration of the burning of Patroclus, Achilles’ friend, gives -such an accurate description of the method then in use, that I will be -pardoned for quoting it here. The passage to which I refer occurs in the -twenty-third book of the Iliad, and is as follows:— - - “They who had the dead in charge - Remained, and heaped the wood and built a pyre - A hundred feet each way from side to side. - With sorrowful hearts they raised and laid the corpse - Upon the summit. Then they flayed and dressed - Before it many fatlings of the flock, - And oxen with curved feet and crooked horns. - From these magnanimous Achilles took - The fat, and covered with it carefully - The dead from head to foot. Beside the bier - And leaning toward it, jars of honey and oil - He placed, and flung, with many a deep-drawn sigh, - Twelve high-necked steeds upon the pile. - Nine hounds there were, which from the tables of the prince - Were daily fed; of these Achilles struck - The heads from two, and laid them on the wood, - And after these, and last, twelve gallant sons - Of the brave Trojans, butchered by the sword; - For he was bent on evil. To the pile - He put the iron violence of fire, - And, wailing, called by name the friend he loved. - - * * * * * - - ...They quenched with dark red wine - The pyre, where’er the flames had spread, and where - Lay the deep ashes: then, with many tears, - Gathered the white bones of their gentle friend, - And laid them in a golden vase, wrapped round - With caul, a double fold. Within the tents - They placed them softly, wrapped in delicate lawn; - Then drew a circle for the sepulchre, - And, laying its foundations to enclose - The pyre, they heaped the earth, and, having reared - A mound, withdrew.” - -These lines are from William Cullen Bryant’s translation of the Iliad, -and give one a very good idea of the cineration of a warrior. In times -of peace the favorite animals of the deceased were placed with him on -the funeral pile, and he was covered with costly robes and rugs. Not -infrequently the pyre was decorated with an abundance of flowers, and -rich folks had their trinkets and jewels thrown into the fire. The -weapons of warriors were consumed with them. The extravagance at -funerals finally became so great among the Greeks that special laws had -to be enacted to put a stop to it. Solon ordained, for instance, that no -more than three robes and one bull should be placed upon the cremation -pyre. After the bones were placed in an urn, the Greeks covered it with -the fat of the animals that had been slaughtered at the funeral -ceremonies, to protect it from the influence of the atmosphere. Many of -the celebrated men of Greece were cremated: Solon, Alcibiades, Timoleon, -Philopoemen, Plutarch, Pyrrhus, and many others. - -According to Pindar (Ol. 6, 23, Nem. 9, 54), during the combat of the -Seven against Thebes, funeral pyres were burning at each of the seven -gates of the city, to consume those slain in battle. The heathens, as -they are called, were not to be charged with any lack of respect to -their departed dead. On the contrary, the most tender sentiments -conceivable were attached to the practice of cremation. There was a -Theban regulation that no one should build a house without a specific -repository for the dead. - -Æneas and the other Trojans, who escaped with him from the burning city -of the hundred gates (as Priam’s capital was sometimes called), -introduced cremation (Virgil’s Æneid, B. IV, 7) into Carthage, if it did -not exist there previous to their arrival. It is possible that the -inhabitants of Carthage, which was one of the Phœnician cities in -Africa, derived the practice from the mother-country. At all events, the -tragedy of love, in which Æneas was involved, ended with the suicide of -Dido, who cremated herself. - -The eleventh book of the Æneas gives a description of an incineration -among the ancient inhabitants of Latium. - -Self-cremation seems to have been one of the favorite means of disposing -of one’s self in ancient times, especially among the royalty and -aristocracy. Both tradition and history report of many women, friends, -and servants who, of their own free will, mounted the funeral pyre with -the departed head of the family. Besides Hercules and Dido, already -mentioned, Sardanapalus, the last king of the Assyrians, burned himself -in the year 600 before Christ, because the Tigris had destroyed the -fortifications of besieged Nineveh, and the following also mounted the -pyre for the same purpose: Marpessa, Polydora, and Cleopatra (Vide -Pausanias, 4, 2), three noble women of Messenia, and Euadne, the wife of -Capaneus, who threw herself into the flames which consumed her husband. -The pyre of Sardanapalus, we are told, was very large and contained many -rooms, which were elegantly furnished, and in which the royal treasures -were heaped up, before the king entered them with his women, while his -servants set the pile on fire. It is well known that the widows of -India, until very recently, perished of their own free will in the -flames that consumed their husbands. - -Herodotus states that the women of the Thracians, in Eastern Europe, who -were probably of Germanic origin, frequently disputed among themselves -as to which of them should be allowed to ascend the pyre together with -the deceased husband. Œnone, the lawful wife of Paris, whom he had -forsaken to live with Helen the beautiful, forgot all her grievances at -the sight of his misfortune. When the man, whom she had formerly loved -so ardently, wounded by the arrow of Philoctetes, fled to her into the -Ida, she refused to cure him; but when the greedy flames, after death, -devoured his form, she voluntarily ascended the pyre to intermix her -ashes with his. Thus are the ways of the world; the noble deed of the -faithlessly deserted wife is hardly ever mentioned, but frivolous Helena -was made the subject of many works of art, and leads an immortal life in -the songs and poems of man. - -[Illustration: CREMATION IN CALCUTTA.] - -The ancient Etruscans practiced cremation, both before and after Etruria -became a Roman province; they, no doubt, adopted it from the Greeks, who -were first their rulers and afterward their close neighbors. The tombs -of Etruria were rich in art; the urns in which the ashes of the dead -were kept were either of alabaster or baked clay, the latter often being -decorated with tasty paintings. - -The ancient Latins, in turn, borrowed the practice of incineration from -the Etruscans. According to _Mazois_, some cinerary urns, found in the -neighborhood of Alba Longa, prove that the custom of burning the dead -was current among the original population of Latium long before any -recorded epoch of Italian history, for the place in which those urns -were detected was covered entirely over with dense layers of lava, which -apparently came from the mountain Albanus, a volcano, the eruptions of -which have long been buried in oblivion. The urns mentioned are -especially noteworthy, because many of them bear pictures of the -habitations of the earliest residents of Latium, which shows that -cremation was known to them at that time. Such a hut of the aborigines -of Latium was preserved for a long time in the capitol at Rome and was -regarded with great reverence. It is but natural that the Latins, on -becoming the founders of Rome, should have introduced incineration into -their new home. Pliny asserts that the burning of the dead was not -customary among the Romans of old, but Virgil describes it as a usage -that existed long before the foundation of Rome, and Ovid affirms that -the body of Remus was committed to the flames. - -Cremation was not in general favor among the Romans until towards the -termination of the republic. Pliny relates that Sylla (78 B.C.) was the -first of the patrician Cornelians who wanted his body to be burned; most -likely because he feared that his remains would be dealt with as those -of Marius had been treated, whose body was exhumed by the order of -Sylla, and thrown into a glutted general grave. During the decline of -the republic and the period of the empire, till the accession of the -Christian emperors, incineration was very popular in Rome; it was not -only general in the capital, but also in the provinces. Julius Caesar, -Antonius, Brutus, Pompejus, Octavius, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, -Nero, and Plinius were cremated. The ashes of Tacitus, the model of -historians, who was likewise consigned to the flames, were cast to the -winds in the middle ages by Pope Pius the Fifth, in order to punish the -heretic. Just think of it! a pontiff outraging a scholar’s remains to -punish him! Caligula and Tiberius were only partially burnt, because -they had been tyrants. - -At Nero’s obsequies it was but with difficulty that the train achieved -complete cremation. The Roman aristocracy looked upon partial cineration -as a great disgrace, which adhered to the respective family a long time. -Yet this infamy was often meted out to the poor and unfortunate, as we -shall see later on. - -During plagues cremation was compulsory in the city of Rome. - -It is not my intention to describe in detail the funeral rites of the -ancient Romans, because a description of cremation as practiced by them -may be met with in every encyclopædia. Moreover, a very good account of -incineration, as customary among the Romans of old, may be found in Lord -Bulwer Lytton’s “The Last Days of Pompeii.” - -It was the fashion at Rome to pour fragrant oils and balsams over the -corpse before the pyre was ignited, and to cover it with Cyprus boughs. -Previous to cremation, the corpse was enveloped in asbestos, to keep the -ashes of the body separate from those of the funeral pile. At times -locks of hair were sacrificed to the deceased. At last one finger of the -defunct was amputated, to make certain that death had taken place. -Everything being ready, the nearest relative present unclosed the eyes -of the deceased, and then lit the pyre with averted face. While the -flames rose to heaven, the favorite animals of him who was now being -consumed—dogs, doves, and even horses—were flung into the fire. Costly -robes and arms of the dead were consigned to the same fate. During the -early period of Roman history, prisoners of war were also committed to -the flames. - -The amount of spices, oils, and balsams destroyed at incinerations was -enormous. Pliny reports that Nero used up more myrrh, incense, and other -aromatics at the cremation of Poppsæa than could be produced by entire -Arabia in one year. - -While cremation was practiced in Rome, at the time of the empire, the -mourning garments were white; but when incineration was displaced by -interment, the raiment of the bereaved assumed a black hue, sombre as -death itself. - -The deceased poor of Rome (especially the women and slaves) were treated -shamefully after death. Martial avers that invariably one pile had to -serve for a large number. In times of pestilence, thousands were so -disposed of. A cremation-ground was provided for the indigent in a -wretched suburb upon the Esquiline Hill, which was inhabited by the -outcasts of society, the lowest prostitutes, executioners, necromancers, -and so forth. These localities were called _culinæ_ by the people, the -literal translation of which is “roast-places.” The attendants were -police-slaves, whose hair had been shaved off, and who wore a brand on -the bare pate. These, hurrying to and fro, placed the emaciated dead -poor upon one of the many funeral piles; hardly singed by the fire, they -were taken from it and thrown into a universal ditch. To every ten male -corpses one female body was added, which facilitated the cineration by -means of the great quantity of adipose tissue which it contained. The -funerals of the poor were generally held at night. - -The urns of the rich were of marble, bronze, and sometimes of gold or -silver; those of the poor were of baked clay or glass. Glass urns, -enclosed in others of lead, were discovered at Pompeii. The urns were -generally deposited in a tomb at the roadside or placed in the -pigeon-hole of a columbarium. - -These columbaria, surrounded by beautiful gardens, were situated on the -Via Appia, Aurelia, Flaminia, and Lavicana. The Appian Way was a -favorite resort of the fashionable Roman world; here, daily, -ever-changing life was seen; here the traveller took leave from the -remains of his ancestors; here, too, lovers met and unfortunates took -refuge. - -These columbaria were subterranean chambers which served (as I have -already explained) to hold the ashes of the deceased, the urns being -deposited in arched recesses, hewn out in the rock for the purpose. -These niches resembled pigeon-holes; hence the name, columbarium. The -rare beauty of these columbaria, which may yet be seen in the Eternal -City, led Nathaniel Hawthorne, our great romancer, to exclaim that he -would not object to being decently pigeon-holed in a Roman tomb. - -[Illustration: - - CREMATION IN SIAM. - - The late queen and her little daughter on the pyre. -] - -Campana discovered columbaria between the Porta Latina and the Porta San -Sebastiana, which are memorials of the time of Augustus. They contain -not less than 400 inscriptions on marble, commemorative of the dead, and -many urns of marble and terra cotta. - -In the city of the Caesars the ashes were placed in upright urns, while -in Greece the urns lay horizontally on the ground, and were covered with -rugs. In Greece the ashes were preserved in beautiful mortuary chambers -in the houses, a custom that also obtained at Rome to a certain extent. - -The great contrast between the cremation of the opulent and the poor -finally led to the re-introduction of earth-burial, which, however, -strangely enough, was coincident with the decline and fall of the once -mighty empire. - -The last Roman funeral piles expired in the fourth century, while the -Indo-Germanic nations practiced cremation till late in mediæval times. - -The Germanic tribes and the Celts (according to Tacitus and Diodorus of -Sicily) burned their dead without exception. The testimony of these -historians is confirmed by Ovid (Met., Lib. III, v. 619–620), who adds -that cremation was highly esteemed by these peoples. - -Tacitus (_vide_ Germania, Lib. 37), writing one hundred years before -Christ, relates that the ancient Germans preferred a plain funeral to -funereal pomp. Only the bodies of celebrated men were cinerated with -some ostentation on pyres built of certain costly kinds of wood. They -neither ornamented their funeral piles, nor did they use spices at -cremations. The arms of every warrior, however, and sometimes the -battle-horse, were burnt with him. An unadorned mound was raised over -the ashes, and nothing was left to mark the spot where one of their kin -had been laid to rest. Criminals were not cremated, but put to death, in -various ways; traitors and deserters were hanged to convenient trees, -and cowards drowned in swamps. - -The Thuringians burned their dead as late as the seventh century; the -Anglo-Saxons down to the end of the eighth century. The Swabians, -Franks, Lombards, Ostrogoths, Alemanni, and Burgundians disposed of -their deceased by fire till 740 A.D. Winfrid, or Boniface, the so-called -apostle of the Germans, in a letter refers to the custom of fire-burial -among the Saxons. Charlemange, who brought about the conversion of the -Saxons by fire and sword, made a special enactment against incineration. -The custom of cremation was so deep-rooted among the Saxons, that the -death-penalty had to be set upon its consummation in order to cause its -abolishment. - -The ancient Lithuanians and the forefathers of the present Prussians -were wont to consign their dead to the flames. When the ancient -Prussians were defeated by the knights of the Teutonic order in the year -of our Lord 1249, their vanquishers caused them to promise in writing -that they would henceforth, after cremating their deceased with horse, -armor, and weapons, collect the remains and bury them within the -churchyard, according to Christian usage. There is evidence to show that -cineration of the dead was extant in Western Prussia until after 1300 -A.D. - -Cinerary urns, containing ashes, were discovered near Dantzig, Prussia, -and in Silesia. - -In the course of forming a vineyard in the neighborhood of Wasserbillig, -near Trier, numerous graves were laid bare, in some of which urns were -found with the remains of cremated bodies; in others, skeletons. In the -former case the cinerary urns (_vide_ _Sanitary Record_) were surrounded -by chalkstone slabs; one of the skeletons was contained in a sarcophagus -composed of fourteen roof-tiles. Nine of them had the stamps of the -manufacturer, the same names being given as those of the manufacturers -who furnished material for the erection of the Roman church which forms -the basis of the cathedral of Trier, and for the Roman thermal baths at -St. Barbara. Judging from these circumstances, it is assumed that the -tombs date from the middle of the third century. In one of the graves a -small urn with the representation of a face was found. - -In Trier itself, a large glass urn, with cover and handles, was recently -unearthed. It is a relic of the Romans. When opened it was found to -contain bones. Beside this urn five vases of baked clay and several -ornamented lamps were found. - -The ancient Swiss were in the habit of cremating their defunct, till the -year 56 before Christ. - -Julius Caesar reports that the Gauls burned their dead with -sumptuousness. - -Several ancient glass urns, containing calcined bones, were recently -found between two round stones, in the vicinity of Chatenet, France. - -The Slavonians observed incineration from the earliest times to the end -of the fifteenth century. When one of their kings died, everything he -might need on awakening in paradise was placed with him on the pyre. -Beside intoxicating drinks, weapons, horses, falcons, male and female -servants, and his wives, his entire household—comprising the minister of -state, secretary, mate at drinking, and physician—was cremated with him. - -The Slavonian woman was invariably burned with the corpse of her -husband; but not _vice versa_, the husband with the remains of his wife. -When a bachelor died, single women were substituted for spouses. The -chronicles that have descended to us from the monks affirm that these -women longed for such a death, because they hoped to secure eternal -blessedness thereby. - -Large mounds, called Kurgani, were erected over the ashes of the -cremated. These mounds may be seen to-day in the boundless steppes of -Russia, where they afford a rest for the eyes from the monotonous -scenery. - -Eckehardt relates that, when Germany was invaded by the Hungarians in -925 A.D., he witnessed the intruders cremate the bodies of the slain -upon rack-wagons. - -The Bohemians practiced cremation as late as 1000 A.D. - -The Arab Ibn Forszlan, who was ambassador from his native land to the -Russians in the year of our Lord 922, states that he attended the -cineration of a man of rank, on the banks of the Volga River. Previous -to the cremation the deceased was interred, till the robes of state -requisite for the ceremony were finished. Then the ship of the dead was -drawn ashore, the defunct owner placed upon a bench, which had been -covered with gorgeous rugs, and supplied with food, intoxicating -beverages, and a number of slaughtered animals. Thereupon a young girl, -who had voluntarily offered herself for incremation (probably to be the -companion of the deceased in the other world), was led aboard and—after -singing a long chant to the people and drinking a goblet of -mead—strangled and stabbed at the same time. Then the ship was deserted, -and set afire by the nearest relative, who performed this sad office -with averted face. Thereupon every one present threw a burning piece of -wood upon the vessel, which was soon consumed. A mound was erected on -the site on which the ship had stood, in the centre of which a plank was -placed, bearing the name of the departed. - -Old German chroniclers mention the cremation of Attila, the king of the -Tartar Huns, who was burned while sitting—fully armed—upon his -war-horse. It is still an undecided question whether incineration was -general among the Huns, or only a royal honor. - -The Scythians and Sarmatians of old reduced their dead to ashes, as also -did the Kurds, till 1205 A.D.; and the Esthonians till 1225. - -Cremation was likewise practiced by the ancient Scandinavians,—more -especially by the Norwegians and Swedes than by the Danes. The national -Scandinavian epic, the Edda, mentions the funeral piles of Sigurdh and -Brynhilde. - -The ancient Britons disposed of their dead by fire. Some workmen engaged -in excavations in the bail within the boundaries of the old Roman city -at Lincoln lately came across a crematorium and a sarcophagus. In the -latter ten urns were found, which contained ashes and calcined bones. -The urns were of different sizes and shapes, and were all provided with -saucer-shaped covers. Only one of them, however, was extracted perfect. -The interior of the sarcophagus was lined with long, thin bricks, that -perished on being exposed to the air. - -The Mexicans of antiquity also cinerated their deceased. - -Incineration was practiced in India since the most remote ages, and is -now as much in vogue in this country as it was in the earliest times. At -Calcutta, Bombay, Madras,—in fact, all over India,—cremation is executed -daily. - -The Vishnavites burn their dead; the worshippers of Siva bury them, -deliver them up to beasts of prey, or throw them into the holy river -Ganges. Folks who are too poor to dispose of their deceased by burning, -also consign them to the waves of the holy stream. This is done at -night, since it is against the law. It is not unusual to see a whole -procession of corpses float down the Ganges, while crows feed on the -remains. - -At Calcutta, cremation is performed within the “Burning Ghât,” outside -the city, in a walled enclosure which is frequented by numberless -vultures and other birds of prey, near the Hoogly, as the Ganges is -thereabouts called. This place is seldom visited by the British -inhabitants of Calcutta; for they regard this rude cineration (properly -so) far too horrible to witness. - -By order of the government, a cinerator was built on the banks of the -Hoogly, which is used only by a part of the Hindoo population. The -Hindoos are hard to wean from their old-fashioned method of cineration -(which is substantially the same as that practiced by the ancient Romans -and Greeks), and, therefore, seldom make use of a cinerator, as Mr. -William Eassie was informed by the sanitary commissioner of Madras, -where a cinerary apparatus had also been erected. The commissioner, -however, was of the opinion that if the Siemens principle of a furnace -were exhibited before the educated Hindoos, they would very probably -adopt it. - -[Illustration: CREMATION AMONG THE TOLKOTINS OF OREGON.] - -Thanks to the efforts of the British authorities in India, imperfect -cremation is a thing of the past there. - -Cicero already relates that the widows of the Hindoos allow themselves -to be cinerated with the remains of their husbands. Self-cremation of -Indian widows does not occur nowadays; the barbaric custom has been put -down by the English. - -It was not before 1831 that the English government in Hindostan -attempted to abolish the practice of burning widows; and up to that -time, as Max Mueller observes, “women were burned wholesale, even in the -immediate neighborhood of Calcutta.” But the custom was probably not -exterminated before late in the sixties—1868 or 69. - -Cremation was practiced on the isle of Ceylon as late as 1841. - -The people of Burmah cremate their rich dead, and inhume the poor or -consign them to a stream. Persons of rank are embalmed before -incineration, and placed on exhibition in a convent or temple for six -weeks. At the funeral, the body is borne in a coffin on the shoulders of -men, who are preceded by female mourners chanting an epicede. The corpse -is followed by the relatives. When the slowly moving train arrives at -the pyre, which is commonly six or eight feet high, the remains are -placed upon it; the wood of the funeral pile is generally laid -crosswise, to bring about a stronger draught of air. The pyre is set on -fire by the attending priests, who pray before it until the body is -destroyed; then the bones are collected and interred. According to Mr. -W. Eassie, when a Buddhist priest of rank dies in Burmah, the body is -embalmed in honey, laid in state for a time, and then sometimes blown up -with gunpowder, together with its hearse. - -Miss Feudge asserts that the inhabitants of Pegu and Laos also cremate -their dead. - -In Siam, cremation has undoubtedly existed since primeval times. It is a -universal custom, practiced both by the common people and the -aristocracy; even the kings are incinerated. Crawfurd states that in -Siam the ashes are sometimes interred in the grounds surrounding the -temples, and a small pyramidal mound erected over them. - -When one of the Dayakkese inhabitants of Borneo dies, the body is -deposited in a coffin, and remains in the house till the son, the -father, or the nearest of kin can procure or purchase a slave, who is -beheaded at the time that the corpse is burned, in order that he may -become the servant of the deceased in the next world. The ashes of the -departed are then placed in an earthen urn, which is adorned with -various figures; and the head of the slave is desiccated, and prepared -in a peculiar manner with camphor and drugs, and placed near it. It is -said that this practice induces the Dayakkese to buy a slave guilty of -some capital crime, at fivefold his value, in order that they may be -able to put him to death on such occasions. - -Cremation is an established and time-honored usage in Japan, now the -oldest empire in the world. Here all incineration establishments are -under government control, and are to be found not only in all the chief -cities, but also in the provinces. The Japanese government, with shrewd -appreciation of the advantages of sanitary laws, has of late years -carefully fostered the practice. Since the earliest times, cremation is -universal among the Japanese. - -Before the introduction of Buddhism, the Shinto doctrine was the -prevalent system of faith and worship in Japan. This religion held -sacred, beside a small number of domestic gods, a long series of -celebrated historical personages, who were worshipped after their -decease. It taught that the mikado (emperor) descended from the gods, -and he was its clerical superior. This doctrine, of course, was not -favorable to cremation; and that accounts for the absence of the latter -prior to the introduction of Buddhism. Beginning with the year of our -Lord 552, attempts were made, with varying success, to establish -Buddhism in Japan. In 624, Buddhism was officially recognized; the court -bestowing the title of high-priest upon two priests who had come from -Hakusai. The new doctrine spread through the medium of the Chinese -literature that circulated in the country; and soon temples had to be -built to accommodate the converts. - -In 700 A.D., Dôsho, a high-priest of a temple at Nara, in the province -Yamato, ordered his pupils to burn his body after death, and it was -done. This was the first cremation in Japan. - -Three years later, the corpse of the empress Jito was incinerated; her -example was followed by 41 emperors and empresses, who occupied the -throne from that period till the beginning of the seventeenth century. -The last mikado whose body was burned, was Goyozei, who reigned from -1587 till 1610 A.D. At this time much attention was paid to the -doctrines of Confucius, which are as unfavorable to cineration as the -Shinto doctrine. - -In the ninth century Buddhism made considerable headway through the -efforts of Kobo, a priest. Up to the fourteenth century, however, -Buddhism remained the religion of the military and the aristocracy; the -common people knew nothing of it. It owes its adoption among all classes -of Japan, to the arduous labors of two missionaries, Shinran and -Nichiren, who became the founders of great sects, and who had their -corpses burned as an example for their pupils. - -Cremation is fast becoming general in Japan, burial more and more -obsolete. At the present time the number of bodies disposed of by -incineration is very great. - -The greatest number of believers in cremation are found among the Shin -and Yoto sects, likewise among the Zen, Tendai, and Nichiren sects; the -fewest, among the Shingon sect. Incineration is, however, not compulsory -among these religious denominations. In 1868, when the shogun -(commander-in-chief) was deposed by the revolutionists, when the mikado -re-obtained his former authority and the power of the almost independent -princes of the provinces was destroyed, the government attempted to -re-establish the Shinto religion. Among other measures they prohibited -incineration (July 23, 1873), claiming that it was contrary to the -Shinto doctrine. - -They soon discovered that it was impossible to carry out the -interdiction, and, therefore, revoked it (May 23, 1875), granting -thereby, as it were, religious freedom to Japan. - -The young generation of the Japanese physicians and naturalists regard -cineration from a sanitary standpoint, and constantly urge the -government to promote its interests on hygienic grounds. - -[Illustration: CREMATION AMONG THE THLINKETS IN ALASKA.] - -It must be conceded that the Japanese mode of cremation is by far -superior to the method of the Hindoos, who still adhere to the ancient -funeral-pile. The cost of incineration is small. The body is reduced to -ashes completely though slowly, and the process takes place in clean, -well-kept, closed buildings, in a manner which, as far as the simple -arrangements permit, offends neither the eye nor the olfactories. - -At Osaka cremation is carried on in stone furnaces, which are closed by -iron sliding-doors. There are three large crematories, situated at the -outskirts of the city; they are enclosed by high walls, and when seen -from a distance, if it were not for the chimneys 60 feet high, one would -take them to be temples. The principal crematory contains twenty large -furnaces, each of which is capable of reducing three bodies; thus it is -evident 60 bodies can be incinerated at the same time. The corpse is -placed upon an iron grate, the fire being underneath, and covered with a -straw mat, that has been previously saturated with salt water. -Incineration under these circumstances is said to be entirely -satisfactory. The cremations begin at 11 P.M., and are finished at 3 -A.M. - -At Tokio, and most of the other cities, a black earthenware urn is -fashionable; but in the province Totomi the ashes are placed in an urn -of red color. - -When the Asiatic cholera raged in Japan in 1877, the people were -compelled by the authorities to cremate its victims. But the sanitary -measure met with no resistance, its wisdom being recognized even by the -lower classes of the people. By the decree, making cremation obligatory -in times of cholera, the Japanese government has given an example of -sanitary legislation which should be imitated. - -Most of the books on cremation inform us that incineration was and is -not practiced in China. This is an error. Marco Polo repeatedly asserts -(Travels. New York: Harper & Bros., 1845. pp. 153, 155, 158, 159, 160) -that the Chinese wherever he travelled were in the habit of burning -their dead. - -On the other hand, Chinese historical works make no mention of the -practice, and burial is the almost universal custom at present. The -books in which the subject of cremation is treated only speak of it as -being practiced upon the bodies of Buddhist priests and lepers. - -In the last issue of the Chinese imperial maritime customs medical -reports, Dr. A. Henry contributes some remarks upon cremation in that -country. In only one of the many Buddhist temples at the town where Dr. -Henry is stationed, are the bodies of the inmates burned after death. -The method of incineration is commendable as efficient, æsthetic, and -inexpensive; but it is too slow except for Buddhist priests in China. In -the grounds of the temple is a small dome-like edifice, the interior of -which communicates with the open air by a small door only—a charcoal -kiln, in fact. The dead priest is placed in a sitting posture inside the -dome, and charcoal and firewood are piled around him; fire is applied, -and the door is shut until combustion is complete. Children are -sometimes burned, but for superstitious reasons only. When several young -children of a family have died in succession, the body of one of them is -burned, under the belief that the ceremony will insure the survival of -the next child born to the family. In these cases the body is simply -brought to an open field in a box, and placed upon firewood, which is -ignited. - -Although incineration is known in Corea, the most usual way of disposing -of the dead is by inhumation. Mr. Carles, in an official report of a -journey into the central provinces of Corea, says:— - -“At one village the remains of the body of an old woman who had been -eaten by a tiger, were being burnt in a fire of brushwood lighted on the -spot.” - -Cremation in America is not a novelty. When I began to investigate the -subject of cremation among North American Indians, I was at first quite -disappointed; and well I might have been, for Schoolcraft (History of -the Indian Tribes of the United States. Vol. I, p. 38) asserts:— - -“The incineration of the bodies of the dead was not practiced on this -continent, even in the tropics; and is a rite unknown to the tribes of -the United States.” - -Although slightly disheartened, I continued my search for information, -and was in consequence speedily rewarded. John McIntosh (The Origin of -the North American Indians. New York, 1853. p. 164) states:— - -“The bodies of those who die in war are burned, and their ashes brought -back to be laid in the burying-place of their fathers.” - -My studies in this direction, however, received the greatest impetus -through Dr. H. C. Yarrow’s excellent “Introduction to the Study of -Mortuary Customs among the North American Indians” (Washington -Government Printing Office, 1880, pp. 49 to 59), which was kindly sent -to me by the author, and from which I obtained much valuable -information. - -Dr. H. C. Yarrow affirms that cremation was performed to a considerable -extent among North American Indians, especially those living on the -northern slope of the Rocky Mountains; but also (as indisputable -evidence proves) among the more eastern ones. - -The Nishinams of California, the Tolkotins of Oregon, the Se-nél of -California, and the Cocopa tribe on the Colorado River, practice -cremation. - -The Unotello Indians of Oregon also incinerate their dead. On Oct. 9, -1884, several of them got drunk at Lastine, Ore., and engaged in a -bloody fight. One was cut to death, and two others badly slashed. The -Indians burned the body of their dead comrade, and held a war-dance -while the body was slowly consumed. - -Mr. George Gibbs avers that the Indians of Clear Lake, Cal., burn their -dead upon scaffolds built over a hole, into which the ashes are thrown -and covered. - -The Digger Indians have a queer custom; they mix the ashes of the dead -with gum, and smear them on the heads of the mourners. - -The Comanches also burn their dead. - -The Indian method of cremation is like that of the ancients; the corpse -is burnt on a pyre six feet high, amidst exclamations of grief and -sorrow, funeral songs and dances. - -Incineration is current among some of the native tribes of Alaska, -principally among the Thlinkets. - -In the summer of 1884, I received a letter from a former fellow-student -of mine,—Dr. Hugh S. Wyman,—who was then assistant surgeon in the United -States Marine Hospital Service, and stationed at Sitka, Alaska. This -missive contained the following:— - -“The Thlinket Indians cremate their dead in every instance except -one—that of the Indian doctor, whose body is never burned, but placed in -a sort of ‘cache,’ constructed of timber, above ground. Carvings of -images, etc., representing the family history, are made on the grave, or -a tall pole is erected by the side, with a red flag. With the body of -the doctor are placed all his personal effects. These are supposed to -remain undisturbed; but the empty appearance of the caches and the -skulless skeletons of the few graves I have visited, with a curiosity to -look inside, have led me to believe that the effects and body do not -always lie unmolested. - -[Illustration: - - INDIAN CINERARY URN. - - Found in Kentucky. -] - -[Illustration: - - INDIAN CINERARY URN. - - Found in Indiana. -] - -[Illustration: - - INDIAN CINERARY URN. - - Found in Georgia. -] - -[Illustration: - - INDIAN CINERARY URN. - - Found at Lake Nicaragua. -] - -“The cremation of a Thlinket takes place in open air. The body, after -lying in state for a few days, is taken out of the house through some -opening made for the purpose, never through the regular entrance. It is -placed on a pile of logs, which are ignited, and the corpse rolled about -with long poles until thoroughly consumed. - -“The ceremonies attending cremation vary very much, according to the -standing of the deceased, age, sex, and so on. - -“The only reason I have ever heard given by the Indians why they cremate -was that if not burned, the body would always remain cold in the happy -hunting-grounds. - -“I was unable to find out why they do not burn doctors. - -“I believe cremation among the civilized will necessarily become -generally practiced in the future, and without ideas of horror, when -people are more fully enlightened, especially in hygienic principles.” - -In recent times, the missionaries are trying to put a stop to cremation -in Alaska. This is a great mistake; and they will find it out before -long. The missionaries should endeavor to do what the English in India -have done and are doing still—attempt to substitute scientific -incineration for the crude ancient method of burning the dead on pyres. -And in this undertaking, I am sure, they would have the support of the -most intelligent among the Indians. The natives of Alaska, no doubt, -learned by some terrible, never-to-be-forgotten experience the dangers -and evils of burial in the ground; and, although their method of -obviating these dangers and evils is rude and barbaric, the principle -which impelled them to adopt cremation is right. - -The first Caucasian who was cremated in the United States was Colonel -Henry Laurens, who was the president of the first Congress, which -convened at Philadelphia in 1774; he was also a member of the military -family of General Washington. Laurens was of Huguenot descent, born in -Charleston, S. C., in 1724, and eminent as a statesman before and during -the Revolutionary War. He was educated in one of the best universities -of Europe, and although following the vocation of a merchant during many -years, he achieved great distinction as a writer on political topics; -his pamphlets on the public questions of the time received much -consideration. Appointed minister to Holland, he was taken captive on -the voyage thither by a British man-of-war, and was imprisoned for some -time in the Tower as a rebel. Among his visitors there was a friend of -other years, Edmund Burke, by whose influence he was finally set free. -One of Laurens’ daughters had, when a child, apparently died of -small-pox, but, being placed near an open window, she revived. Since -this occurrence, the colonel lived in constant fear of being buried -alive, and therefore requested his daughters, by an injunction and -detailed directions given in his will, to burn his body after death; his -fervent wish was carried out in his garden at Charleston, S. C., in -1792. - -The second to be burned was Mr. Henry Barry, who lived and was cinerated -in the vicinity of Marion, S. C. - -In the spring or winter of 1855, Count Pfeil, a German aristocrat, then -proprietor of a farm in the neighborhood of Milwaukee, attempted to -incinerate the corpse of his wife in accordance with her own request. He -accordingly erected a funeral pile in his own yard, on the soil that he -owned. When his intention to burn his wife became known among the -farmers in the vicinity, there was a great uproar; they finally went so -far as to march in a body to the residence of the count, and to declare -that they would mob him if he would dare to execute the cremation. He -then proposed, since the matter was creating a disturbance in the -neighborhood, to transfer the incineration to the lake shore. But the -prejudice of the farmers was so great that they would accept no -compromise. They finally petitioned the governor, and were successful in -obtaining a decree prohibiting the cremation. The count, disgusted at -the lack of our boasted liberty, interred his wife, sold his estate, and -departed for Europe. - -The third reduced to ashes in the United States was the Baron de Palm, -prince of the Holy Roman Empire, a native of Augsburg, Bavaria, who was -incinerated in the Le Moyne crematory at Washington, Pa., on the 6th of -December, 1876. The baron had died at the age of sixty-seven at New -York, in May, 1875, and his body had been immediately embalmed and -placed in the receiving vault of the Lutheran cemetery, where it was -kept until the Le Moyne crematorium was finished. - -On this day mentioned, many members of the secular press, and -delegations from various scientific and sanitary societies, assembled at -the crematory to witness the cineration of the defunct nobleman; many of -the leading newspapers of this country, and also of France, Germany, and -England, were represented. About 30 invitations had been issued, and -many members of the prominent boards of health were present. The fires -had been started at two o’clock in the morning. On opening the casket it -was found that the weight of the body had been reduced from 175 to 92 -pounds. At 27 minutes past eight o’clock, everything being pronounced -ready, the body, lying in the iron cradle and covered with a shroud -(which had previously been soaked in an alum solution, to prevent its -too rapid ignition), and decorated with flowers and evergreen, was -consigned to the retort, which was instantly shut. The actual -temperature of the retort could not be ascertained, as no pyrometer was -at hand; it was, no doubt, a little over 2000° Fahrenheit. Through a -small opening in the cast-iron door, which closed the retort, an -occasional glimpse of the interior was obtained, and the effect of the -heat upon the body observed. In about 15 minutes the aqueous vapor had -all been expelled, leaving the shroud completely charred, but still -retaining its form sufficiently to completely conceal the outlines of -the body. In an hour the outlines of the prominent bones were plainly -visible, and an hour later the incineration was complete, but it was -deemed advisable to continue the heat for four hours from the time the -body had been first placed in the furnace. When last seen, much of the -form of the body had remained, owing to the exclusion of the atmospheric -air. During the burning, the ordinary draft of the furnace was increased -by means of a fan-blower. The body was not removed from the furnace -until some 24 hours had elapsed, to allow the retort to cool. During the -entire process there was no offensive odor, either at the top of the -chimney or elsewhere. The cremation was entirely satisfactory, and -nothing of an unpleasant nature occurred. The residue left, after the -incineration was completed, was three pints of ashes, which were -carefully collected, and, after being sprinkled with perfume, were -deposited in an antique vase, which was delivered to the officers of the -Theosophical Society in attendance, of which the baron was a member. - -[Illustration: CREMATORY AT WASHINGTON, PA.] - -Forty bushels of coke were consumed in burning Baron Palm, the whole -cost of the operation being $7.04. - -In the afternoon a meeting was held at Washington, presided over by J. -Lawson Judson, Esq., at which addresses were made by Colonel Olcott on -the history of cremation; Rev. George P. Hayes (president of the -Washington and Jefferson College) on the bearing of the Bible and -Christianity upon the subject of cremation; Dr. James King on -incineration from a sanitary point of view; Dr. Le Moyne on the general -advantages of cremation; Boyd Crumine, Esq., who spoke of the popular -prejudices against this method of disposing of the dead; and Mr. -Nicholas K. Wade, who alluded to the mechanical necessities of a perfect -cremation. - -It is to be regretted that so many of the persons who attended this -incineration had a preconceived notion of the practice, which rendered -them totally unfit to judge of it. Being prejudiced from the beginning, -it is not at all surprising that they should have given unsatisfactory, -highly sensational, and misrepresenting accounts of the affair to the -world; but as Mr. W. Eassie pertinently remarks, the same thing has -occurred in every case of modern cremation up to the present time, and -will, no doubt, continue until the reform is more commonly practiced. - -The fourth body that was cremated in the United States was Mrs. Jane -Pitman, from Cincinnati, who was destroyed in the Le Moyne crematorium, -Feb. 6, 1877. The fifth disposed of by fire in America was Dr. Winslow, -of California, who was burned at Salt Lake City on the 31st of July, -1877, in a primitive furnace temporarily erected through his request by -the administrators of his estate. The sixth was a child of Mr. Julius -Kircher, who cremated it in his oven at New York City, in the fall of -1877. - -The Le Moyne crematory was closed to the general public Aug. 1, 1884. -After that date no bodies were received by the trustees of the -crematorium, outside of Washington County, for cremation. Bodies were -admitted to the Le Moyne furnace for incineration from all parts of the -country, only in order to carry out Dr. Le Moyne’s view of -reform—keeping the subject before the public. Since the interest -manifested by the people of the United States in the subject of -cremation is speedily growing, other crematories are building where the -public will be accommodated; and as the business increased to such an -extent that it occupied more time than the trustees could possibly -devote to it, they were compelled to limit the use of the crematory. -Hereafter, therefore, no body will be cremated in this furnace, who has -not lived within the county in which Dr. Le Moyne lived and died. And -whereas not one of the persons consumed in this crematorium (except the -owner himself) hailed from Washington County, we may presume that this -pioneer furnace of cremation in America has been closed forever. - -Of all the cremations which took place in the Le Moyne furnace, that of -Professor S. D. Gross, M.D., LL.D., attracted the greatest attention. It -was in accordance with his expressed wish that he was committed to the -flames. He more than once declared he had no desire that some “curious -impertinent” should, a hundred years hence, hand around his jawbone for -inspection and comment, and to avoid such a contingency he gave positive -directions for the burning of his body. Cremation as a mode of decently -disposing of the dead could receive approval from no higher source, and -in no more conspicuous manner, than in the disposition of his remains by -that means. Dr. Gross stood without a peer among his fellows; he was -venerated not only by the medical profession of America, but even by -physicians of foreign lands. He was to the profession of medicine what -Charles O’Connor was to the profession of law, and his deliberate choice -of incineration in preference to burial attracted wide and respectful -attention even in so conservative a class as doctors. Perhaps no man -ever drew breath who was better qualified to express an opinion on this -subject. Who is so well entitled to form a correct opinion as the man -who for nearly three-quarters of a century had the closest possible -relations with the dying and the dead? That his example gave a new -impetus to incineration there is no room to doubt. He sought to be a -teacher even after his death; he wanted to benefit his race even in his -decease. Perhaps he believed that others might follow where he led, as -they had done in life. Others will follow his example, and the work go -on until the present custom shall give way to the better one. It may be -long before that time comes, but come it will. - -On its way to Washington, Pa., the body was accompanied by Mr. A. H. -Gross and Dr. Horwitz. There were no ceremonies at the incineration, and -the remains were reduced to ashes in two hours. The ashes weighed about -seven pounds, were hermetically sealed in a tin box, and placed in the -coffin in which the body was carried to Washington. On reaching -Philadelphia the coffin was removed to the late residence of Dr. Gross, -and subsequently the ashes were enclosed in a marble urn about three -feet high, unornamented and without inscription, and placed beside the -coffin of Dr. Gross’ late wife in the family vault at Woodlawn Cemetery, -where the Rev. Dr. Charles Currie read the Episcopal burial service. - -Voltaire derided his contemporaries by declaring that they could not -protect themselves from the fatal power of the dead. But when the great -Revolution came along, overthrowing the then existing order of things, -and performing a painful but necessary work, the same France that had -listened to the voice of the great philosopher became aware of a means -that shielded from the dangers of the burial-ground—cremation. - -On the 28th of March, 1794 (28 Germinal, An II), the deceased republican -Beauvais, physician at Montpellier and member of the National Assembly, -was cremated in the Champ-de-Mars at Paris. The urn containing his ashes -was deposited in the archives of the nation. - -In the year V of the republic (1797), a motion by Daubermesnil, to -introduce facultative incineration, providing that the act would take -place outside of Paris, was rejected by the Council of the Five Hundred; -but in 1799 (year VII of the republic), a law was passed by the Seine -department in favor of cremation. Advantage was frequently taken of the -permission granted. At this time the Institute of France offered a prize -of 1500 francs for the best essay on the question whether interment or -cineration is preferable. In consequence, 40 dissertations were sent in, -and all of them demanded optional cremation. The prize was accorded to -two essays: those of MM. Mulot and Amaury-Duval. - -From 1856 to 1867, the French cremationists were led by M. Bonneau and -Dr. Caffe; the latter has retained the leadership till the most recent -times, and has done much, by his admirable expositions of the subject, -to popularize cremation in France. One point was brought out by him that -is deserving of mention here, namely, that one tempted to stray from the -path of honor and virtue may be restrained by the presence of ancestral -urns. - -Dr. Prosper de Pietra-Santa is to-day the foremost incinerationist in -France, a position to which he does honor and which he well merits. His -essays, first published in _L’Union Medicale_, are the chief -contributions to modern French cremation literature. In 1873, he issued -a complete manual of the subject, in which he deplored the absence of -popular sympathy with incineration in France. But the time will come -when France will recognize the value of the labors of this ardent -reformer, whose name is destined to occupy a most prominent place on the -roll of honor of his native country. - -The cremation society of France, the proper designation of which is “La -Societé pour la propagation de la cremation,” was founded in 1880, and -incorporated on the 23d of December of the same year. The late Edmond -About and Leon Gambetta—_L’illustre citoyen que la France a perdu_—were -members of this association. At present the society numbers 570 members. -Its principal object now is to obtain a law permitting cremation; when -this is secured, it will devote its funds to the erection of crematories -and the purchase of inventions which tend to simplify the process. - -According to Professor R. Beverly Cole, M.D., for many years past -cremation is not infrequently practiced in Paris, the retorts of the gas -factories being employed for the purpose. - -The first and only incineration in Belgium took place in 1798 or 1799, -when a certain M. Yoidel, a resident of Mons, cremated the body of his -child in the yard of his house, and preserved the ashes in a golden urn. - -The cremation society of Brussels was founded on the 28th of February, -1882, and numbers now over 600 members. - -The cremation society of Holland, which boasts a very complete -organization, extends over the entire kingdom by means of branch -societies. It was founded on the 28th of December, 1874, and -incorporated by the royal decree of Sept. 1, 1875. Over 1500 members -belong to it. The branch societies are located at Amsterdam, Rotterdam, -Nijwegen, Delft, Leyden, Shiedam, Zutphen, Dortrecht, and Harlem. Since -1876 a small periodical is published quarterly by the society of -Holland, containing occasional communications concerning cremation, and -detailing the proceedings of the society. The funds of the association -are in good condition, being mostly invested in government stock. - -The first cinerary furnace built in the German Empire was erected at -Dresden, Saxony, and put in use in 1874, when bodies were cremated on -the 9th of October and 6th of November; the wife of Sir Charles Dilke -was one of them. No incineration occurred in this apparatus since that -time, owing to a refusal of the Saxon government to permit the same. - -On the 6th and 7th of June, 1876, an international cremation congress, -which was attended by representatives from almost all countries of the -globe, was held at Dresden, and did much to promote the interests of -incineration in Germany. Many important resolutions were adopted, among -others that of forming an international committee to establish a journal -for the propagation of cremation. On June 7, the delegates witnessed the -cineration of several animals in a Siemens apparatus, which completely -reduced the animals experimented upon in one hour and one-half. - -[Illustration: - - INTERIOR OF WASHINGTON CREMATORY. - - The accompanying wood-cut represents that part of the crematory at - Washington, Pa., in which the incineration takes place. The numbers - refer respectively to (1) the incinerator, closed; (2) the fire-box, - open; (3) the ash-pit; and (4) coal-bin. The room, as will be seen, - is needlessly plain, and might with slightly increased expense in - building be made more attractive. An ornamental front concealing the - brick-work and the coal-bin would serve greatly to improve its - appearance. With a slightly different arrangement the fire-box and - ash-pit might be kept continually out of sight. If the incinerator - were turned end for end and made to open from the opposite side, - nothing would be seen by the friends of the deceased but its open - door and rosy light, which are most attractive to the eye. -] - -Cremation is now most extensively practiced in Gotha, in the new -crematory established by the municipal council of that city, which was -opened to the public on the 17th of November, 1878. - -The first cremation at Gotha came off on the afternoon of the 10th of -December, 1878, when Mr. Stier, a civil engineer whose embalmed body had -awaited the completion of the crematorium for some time, was consigned -to the furnace. Since the establishment of the crematory, over 500 -persons have been incinerated at Gotha, many of whom were from foreign -lands,—Russia, England, France, America, etc. - -Berlin is the center of the reform in Germany. The Berlin cremation -society has an enormous membership, and counts among its members many -persons of distinction. Altogether the society numbers 534 members, 45 -of them being physicians. - -Italy may be considered the pioneer of cremation in modern times; for -there, for the first time, incineration was practiced in a systematic -and improved manner, and in no land have the cremationists been so -active and energetic in advocating the reform as in this. - -From 1774 till 1874 cremation was advocated by Piattoli, Moleschott, -Coletti, Morelli, Du Jardin, Bertain, Castiglione, Pini, and Polli. - -Baron Albert Keller, who, though of German descent, was an Italian -citizen and a resident of Milan, and above all an enthusiastic patron of -cremation, deposited 10,000 lire for the cineration of his own body, and -directed that after defraying the costs of his cremation, the remaining -money should be used to form a fund for the erection of a building -exclusively devoted to the burning of the dead. When this nobleman died -in 1874, his last directions were carried out, and the cremation temple -which bears his name became, in accordance with the testament of the -deceased, the property of the city of Milan. - -The Italian clergy opposed incineration but very little. In the capital -of Lombardy a distinguished prelate even declared that the burning of -the dead is in no wise contrary to the dogma of the church; and here one -also can witness how priests accompany the body to be incinerated to the -_Tempio Crematorio_, where they say a last prayer: indeed proof of -tolerance and genuine Christianity. - -The Fourth Medical Congress held at Milan on the 5th of September, 1877, -endorsed cremation, stating that it is a veritable scientific progress -which has the advantage over inhumation in corresponding to the -exigencies of hygiene. It also expressed its conviction that -incineration in no way offends against the affection of families for -their defunct, the respect and veneration for human remains, and the -religions principles of the surviving. - -The Milan cremation society was organized chiefly through the efforts of -Drs. Pini and Cristoforis, the latter being elected president. As the -Polli-Clericetti apparatus in the crematorium had not given general -satisfaction, the gasometer behind the temple was removed, in 1880, and -suitable wings were built. Two furnaces were then erected, one being -built on the Gorini system, in which the ordinary cremations are -performed, and the other on the Venini system, where cremation of the -remains of persons who died from contagious diseases, and of strangers, -takes place. The building also has three columbaria, one on each side of -the crematorium, and an ordinary one in the vaults below. - -Owing to the success of the Milan crematory, crematoria were built at -Padua, Cremona, Varese, Lodi, Brescia, and Rome. A cinerary furnace was -also speedily erected in the hospital at Spezzia, by order of the -Secretary of the Navy; this apparatus was principally used for the -cremation of cholera victims. - -The urns holding the ashes of the cremated cannot be removed from an -Italian columbarium except by permission of the prefect of the province. -The urns must be tightly closed, and must bear the name of the deceased -and the date of his or her death. The ashes of only one body may be -placed in an urn, the reverse being strictly forbidden. Every cremation -is registered both by the board of trustees of the crematory and by the -civil authorities. - -Looking over the history of cremation in Italy, one needs must gain the -firm conviction that Dr. Gaetano Pini of Milan is the most ardent -cremationist in his native country. Whenever a cremation society was -organized there, the indefatigable doctor was on hand, giving advice and -delivering addresses, increasing the zeal of the advocates of the -reform, and encouraging its timid friends. Really, the amount of labor -performed by this gentleman is truly marvelous. Already the doctor is -reaping the fruits of his philanthropic work. Incineration is steadily -advancing in Italy, and is gaining popular favor rapidly, and Dr. Pini’s -name will be handed down to succeeding generations as that of a -benefactor of his land and people. - -Cremation societies now exist at Ancona, Asti, Bologna, Brescia, Capri, -Codogno, Como, Cremona, Demodossola, Florence, Genoa, Intra, Livorno, -Lodi, Milan, Modena, Novara, Padua, Parma, Pavia, Perugia, Piacenza, -Pisa, Pistoga, San Remo, Siena, Turin, Undine, Varese, Venice, and -Verona. - -In Spain, where the body of Merino, the man who attempted the -assassination of Queen Isabella, was burned in 1852, cremation has made -as yet but little progress, but even in this stronghold of Catholicism -it can point to friends. - -_El Anfiteatro Anatomico Español_ of March 15, 1874, contains an -admirable article on incineration by Don Federico Gilman. Two pamphlets -on the subject also appeared, one by Enrico Salcedo at Valencia in 1876, -the other by L. Gallardo at Madrid in 1878. - -The Board of Public Health at Madrid resolved in 1884 to request the -government to make cremation obligatory during epidemics, and to permit -incineration in all cases where the family of a deceased wish to dispose -of him so. - -Dr. Cervera, member of the municipal chamber of Madrid, proposed the -erection of a crematory temple in the new cemetery of that city. - -At Lisbon, Portugal, cremation is not only optional, but the authorities -of the city have even issued a decree making cremation compulsory in -time of epidemics. - -The cremation movement in Switzerland began in the spring of 1874. On -the 20th of December, 1878, the municipal council of Zuerich granted -leave to erect a crematorium on a ceded piece of ground in the new -cemetery of that town. I am sorry to say that a crematory has as yet not -been erected, owing to a lack of funds. This deplorable condition is due -to a great extent to the ridiculously small membership-fee and annual -dues of but two francs; yet, in spite of all this, success is sure to -come in the end, for even this lagging fund grows yearly. The society at -Zuerich now numbers nearly 400 members, and is (the fund dilemma -excepted) in a prosperous condition. Wegmann-Ercolani is its recognized -leader, and must be looked upon as the foremost champion of incineration -in Switzerland. - -In Austria the outlook for cremation is not favorable, but one need not -be surprised at that, for Austria is known to be one of the most -conservative countries in the world. - -In 1658, when several collections of cinerary urns were discovered in -Old Walsingham, Norfolk, England, Sir Thomas Browne, a learned -physician, came forward with a brilliant dissertation on cremation, -which still holds its rank among standard English literature. This -essay, conspicuous for the erudition displayed, was a singularly -powerful and idiomatic plea for incineration. The next to take up the -righteous cause of cremation in Great Britain was no less a person than -Sir James Y. Simpson, the eminent surgeon of Edinburgh, Scotland. He -demonstrated how easy it would be for his fellow-townsmen to maintain a -fire constantly on the hill of the Hunter’s Bog, near Edinburgh. But he, -too, only had in view the ancient pyre; therefore it is not astonishing -that his efforts were not crowned with success. - -It appears that about the year 1844, the sanction of the authorities of -the city of London was obtained for the cremation, within the City of -London Gas Works, of the dead of Bridewell Hospital; an arrangement was -also concluded with the city authorities for the incineration of bodies -of dead prisoners, and of the condemned meat and offal of the markets. -The project, however, met with so much opposition from certain churchmen -that it fell into abeyance. - -In modern times the gong of cineration was first struck by Sir Henry -Thompson, who had become enamored with incineration at the Vienna -Exposition, and who earnestly treated of cremation in a brilliant paper, -“The Treatment of the Body after Death,” in _The Contemporary Review_ -for January, 1874. This article, as might be expected, elicited great -popular interest, much approval from all classes of the public, and some -vigorous opposition. It was replied to, in the February issue of the -same periodical, by Mr. Philip H. Holland, the Medical Inspector of -Burials for England and Wales, whose statements and arguments, adroit -though some of them were, were properly refuted in the succeeding number -of the _Review_. Sir Henry fortified his arguments by citing some -experiments with the bodies of lower animals, which he had burned, with -little cost and no inconvenience, in a Siemens furnace. - -For many years prior to 1874, Dr. Lord, health officer for Hampstead, -continued to urge the practical necessity for the introduction of -incremation. - -The Cremation Society of England was founded on the 13th of January, -1874, and no sooner was it established than letters of encouragement -poured in from all parts of Great Britain, and there was a great influx -of new members and subscribers to its declaration. Every cremationist -must feel proud to know that among those who, under Sir Henry Thompson’s -able presidency, founded the society, were such men of distinction as -the late Shirley Brooks and Anthony Trollope, the well-known novelist. -The English Cremation Society was founded for the propagation of the -tenets of incineration, not for trading purposes, as may have been -supposed by some incredulous, ill-disposed, or ignorant minds. - -[Illustration: THE CREMATORIUM AT GOTHA.] - -In 1878, the society purchased an acre of ground in a secluded part of -St. John, Woking, in Surrey, especially adapted by position for the -purpose, and erected thereon a building, with an apparatus of the most -approved kind, for effecting cremation of the dead. After some -deliberation, the system of Professor Gorini, of Lodi, in Italy, was -adopted, since it was considered the best for the site, inasmuch as no -supply of gas is required to insure combustion, but only coal or wood. -It is to be regretted, that owing to a lack of funds, only the furnace -could be built, which standing alone in spacious fields, must present -rather a dreary aspect; must, I take it, appear far too realistic. It is -to be hoped that the society will, by means of large bequests or -sufficient contributions from the public, be placed in a position to -roof over the furnace, and to erect a chapel or a hall in front of it, -so as to accommodate the friends and mourners. The apparatus was next -tested by an experiment, which consisted of the burning of a portion of -the carcass of a horse weighing 140 pounds, that was consumed in two -hours, at a cost of a very small quantity of fuel. The ashes resulting -from the combustion were perfectly white, and weighed a little under six -pounds; not the slightest odor could be detected in the closest -neighborhood of the furnace, or even with the doors of the crematory -chamber open; and there was, moreover, no escape of smoke from the -chimney. The success of the system was established, and the possibility -of cremation without offence completely demonstrated. - -Since that time the place has been maintained in perfect order, but has -not been used, owing to a doubt raised soon after the date referred to, -as to the legality of adopting the process in England. A deputation of -the cremation society waited upon the Home Secretary on the 20th of -March, 1879, with a view of representing to the government their own -wishes in respect to the crematory at Woking. The Home Secretary -admitted that the proposed practice was unaffected by existing law, but -he had been advised that inasmuch as the registration of deaths in her -Majesty’s country had always been associated with burial, he was -constrained to conclude that cremation must first be approved by -Parliament, and that if persisted in, he saw no other course open than -to legislate against it. He further advised the council to introduce a -short bill into the House of Lords, and not to rely upon the opinions of -Queen’s counsel which had been obtained by them affirming that it might -be practiced. Thus the so-called Cameron bill originated. It is strange -that England, so far advanced in political freedom, should yet be so -deficient in intellectual liberty. Among the English there are doubtless -as many unbiased investigators as among any other nation, but both the -representatives of the people and the government present the deplorable -picture of solicitous embarrassment, and maintain an obstinate -conservatism when any question involving religion or ecclesiastical -rites comes up before them; any act that is not seconded by the Church -of England is rejected through non-support; any abuse which the -Established Church desires to retain cannot be removed. That this holds -true is evinced by the repeated failure of the bill permitting a widower -to marry his sister-in-law, notwithstanding that even the royal family -desire to contract such a marriage. Finally the bill was accepted by the -House of Commons, but has been since stubbornly rejected by the House of -Lords. - -Dr. Cameron’s cremation bill—providing legal sanction for the adoption -of cremation in Great Britain—was submitted to the House of Commons some -time in 1884—I do not remember the exact date. This bill, which asked -but for permissive incineration, a privilege that is readily granted in -all civilized countries of the globe, was rejected on the second reading -by a vote of 149 to 79. It is a solace to know that the minority -included the scientific men, men of such world-wide fame as Sir Lyon -Playfair, Sir John Lubbock, and many others. Mr. Gladstone, zealous in -his endeavors to serve the Church, brought the influence of the -Government to bear against the bill, pleading in excuse that it was -contrary to public opinion. Every well-balanced mind must conceive -instantly that the Premier might have reserved the expression of the -public will and opinion for Parliament, but that he wished to oblige the -Church of England. That Englishmen regard cremation from the same -standpoint as other people is proven by the 79 favorable votes that were -cast. - -Mr. W. Eassie delivered excellent addresses on cremation before the -first congress of the Sanitary Institute of Great Britain, held in 1877, -at Leamington, and before the congress at Manchester, in 1879, when he -exhibited the model of the Polli-Clericetti apparatus. In March, 1879, -the question of cremation was also presented to the House of Lords, but -without practical results. - -In August, 1880, Sir T. Spencer Wells, late president of the Royal -College of Surgeons of England, and Surgeon to the Queen’s Household, -read a masterly paper on incineration, entitled “Cremation or Burial,” -at the meeting of the British Medical Association, at Cambridge. At its -conclusion a memorial was drawn up, addressed to the Home Secretary, and -praying that permission be granted for the practice of cremation. The -address was as follows:— - -“We, the undersigned members of the British Medical Association, -assembled at Cambridge, disapprove the present custom of burying the -dead, and desire to substitute some mode which shall rapidly resolve the -body into its component elements by a process which cannot offend the -living, and may render the remains absolutely innocuous. Until some -better mode is devised we desire to promote that usually known as -cremation. As the process can now be carried out without anything -approaching to nuisance, and as it is not illegal, we trust the -government will not oppose the practice, when convinced that proper -regulations are observed and ampler guarantees of death having occurred -from natural causes are obtained than are now required for burial.” - -This memorial was signed by Sir T. Spencer Wells and many other -prominent physicians and surgeons, altogether by over one hundred -members of the association. - -On Jan. 13, 1884, an incident occurred that speedily wrought a -metamorphosis of the whole question regarding the legality of cineration -in the United Kingdoms. There is an eccentric physician of South Wales, -who is known as Dr. Price. He claims to be the nineteenth century -representative of the ancient Druids. His costume is green trousers, -white smock coat, and fox-skin head-covering. He is an educated -physician and a member of the British Medical Association. The Druids of -old burned their dead, and the child of Dr. Price having died, he -determined to dispose of her remains by cremation. He retired at -nightfall to a hill-top, where, placing the corpse in a cask of -petroleum, he applied the torch. The burning aroused the populace, who, -on nearing the spot, discovered its purpose. Amid much excitement the -charred remains were rescued, and the Druid doctor placed under arrest. -He was tried at the Glamorganshire Assizes, Cardiff, and acquitted. Sir -James Stephen, the learned judge, when charging the grand jury at the -trial, stated that Lord Justice Fry agreed in the views about to be -expressed by him. He reviewed elaborately all the authorities bearing on -the case, and, after discussing the methods of disposing of the dead in -ancient Europe, failed to discover any law, ancient or modern, which -forbids cremation, providing it be done in such a manner as to cause no -nuisance. - -This decision, of course, rendered the society free to act as it -pleased. Advertisements were immediately put in the newspapers, to say -that anybody could be cremated who would adhere to the rules formulated -by the society. Under these circumstances the cremation society felt it -a duty to indicate, without delay, those safeguards which they deemed it -essential to associate with the proceeding in order to prevent the -destruction of a body which might have met death by unfair means. They -were aware that the chief practical objection which can be urged against -the employment of cremation consists in the opportunity which it offers, -apart from such precautions, for removing the traces of poison or other -injury which are retained by an undestroyed body, and therefore framed -the sequent rules, which still hold good:— - -“1. An application in writing must be made by the friends or executors -of the deceased,—unless it has been made by the deceased person himself -during life,—stating that it was the wish of the deceased to be cremated -after death. 2. A certificate must be sent in by one qualified medical -man at least, who attended the deceased until the time of death, -unhesitatingly stating that the cause of death was natural, and what the -cause was. 3. If no medical man attended during the illness, autopsy -must be made by a medical officer appointed by the society, or no -cremation can take place. These conditions being complied with, the -council of the society reserve the right in all cases of refusing -permission for the performance of the cremation, and, in the event of -permitting it, will offer every facility for its accomplishment in the -best manner.” - -The Cremation Society of England owes much to its indefatigable honorary -secretary, Mr. William Eassie, C.E., whose propaganda for incineration -is not confined to the British Isles, but extends all over the world. I -am sure that his name will always head the list of those who have -promoted cremation in the country of Shakespeare, and in this respect -even place him over and above that illustrious surgeon and physicist, -Sir Henry Thompson. I would not, I am certain, experience the least -astonishment should I hear that Mr. Eassie sent some of his valuable -essays on cineration to some savage in Africa, for instance the king of -Dahomey, and that the royal negro, pleased with the idea, instantly had -several hundred of his subjects cremated before him, which, being a -complete success in every respect, led his dusky majesty to swear by all -the holy idols with which he is familiar that he too should be reduced -to ashes after death. - -Public sentiment reflected in the press of the United Kingdoms has been -almost unanimously in favor of cremation. Journals of all classes, -religious, fashionable, popular, Whig, Radical, or Tory, from the _Court -Circular_ to the _Rock_, from the _Times_ to _Lloyd’s Weekly Newspaper_, -have by a vast majority pronounced in its favor. - -The Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers have appointed a committee with -the view of considering the propriety of erecting a crematorium at -Ilford. - -The oldest case of cremation on record in Great Britain was that of a -widow, Mrs. Pratt, of George Street, Hanover Square, London. The lady -was burned, in obedience to directions given in her testament, in the -new graveyard adjoining Tyburn turnpike, on the 26th of September, 1769. - -[Illustration: - - THE CREMATORIUM AT MILAN. - (From Dr. Pini’s work.) -] - -On the 8th and 9th of October, 1882, the wife of Captain Hanham, and his -mother, Lady Hanham, wife of the late Sir James Hanham, Bart., of Dean’s -Court, Dorset, were cremated in a cheap temporary crematory, devised by -Mr. Richards of Wincanton. The furnace had been built under the -supervision of Captain Hanham himself. The coffins were placed on iron -plates, and fire bricks above the furnace, a chimney 22 feet high -furnishing the draught. The process lasted two hours, and was successful -in every respect. - -A year later, on the 7th of December, 1883, the captain, Thomas C. -Hanham, was reduced to ashes in the same apparatus at his residence in -Manstone, Dorsetshire. The incineration was public, and in conformity -with the last testamentary dispositions of the deceased. The cremation -was accomplished in 9 hours and 40 minutes. The ashes were deposited in -the family mausoleum. - -The Danish Cremation Society at Copenhagen was founded in 1881, and is -in a flourishing condition. It has several branch societies in the -provinces. Soon after its organization it numbered 1500 members; it now -counts 1800 members, among them 120 physicians. Several attempts were -made in Denmark to legalize incineration, but in vain: as there is, -however, no law prohibiting the act, the society is determined to -imitate the example of England, to execute incineration at their own -risk, and await further legislation. - -Mr. Per Lindell, a civil engineer, did much to popularize cremation in -Sweden. For many years he treated of the subject in the columns of the -_Norden_, a journal edited by him. It was through his influence that the -Swedish Cremation Society was established on the 31st of May, 1882, at -Stockholm, under the presidency of Colonel E. Klingenstierna. At present -the society numbers from 700 to 800 members. There is no law forbidding -incineration; the prospects are therefore very good. As soon as -sufficient money is on hand a crematory will be erected and put in use. -A society, affiliated with the central one, was recently organized at -Gothenburg. - -In the neighborhood of the new cemetery, St. Francisco Xavier, at Rio de -Janeiro, Brazil, a large space of ground has been assigned for the -erection of a crematory temple. Incineration will be practiced there in -order to lessen, if possible, the alarming rate of mortality in that -unhealthy place. Dr. A. Vinelli deserves great credit for his admirable -articles in support of cremation in the _Revista Medica de Rio de -Janeiro_ of 1878. - -In the Argentine Republic, Mexico, and Uruguay, a steady movement is on -foot in favor of the reform. The authorities in Mexico have already -granted permission for the construction of a crematorium on the Gorini -pattern. - -It is said that the government of Venezuela has also decided to erect a -crematory, wherein to reduce to innocuous ashes the bodies of persons -deceased of yellow fever. - -The idea to propagate cremation at Valparaiso, Chili, originated with -the Lessing Lodge of Free Masons, which, on the 6th of August, 1881, -directed a circular to the other Masonic lodges of the city, requesting -them to send representatives to a preliminary meeting. This meeting came -off on the 3d of December of the same year. Cremation was freely -discussed from every standpoint, but on the whole the meeting was not -followed by any practical result. - -On the last of December, 1881, a proclamation to organize a cremation -society was published in the journal _Il Mercurio_ by the committee -having the matter in charge. On the 20th of May, 1882, the Cremation -Society of Chili was formed under the presidency of Señor O. Malvini. -This society is in a flourishing condition, and now numbers over 200 -members. - -Towards the end of 1883 a committee to organize a cremation society at -Alexandria, Egypt, was formed by M. Lumel, who, unfortunately, died in -the same year. The committee, however, is still in existence, and is at -present occupied in realizing the ideas of M. Lumel. At Cairo Messrs. -Titus Figari and Cesare Praga labor to found a cremation society. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - THE EVILS OF BURIAL; THE SANITARY ASPECT OF INCINERATION. - - -The grave, hallowed by religion and the queen of arts, poetry, has -become to us the emblem of eternal rest—something that is beautiful; -something in which we may sleep long and well. The weeping-willow droops -its slender branches over it, sweet, fragrant flowers thrive upon its -soil, and the little birds perch there to sing their song. - -The rays of the sun often play upon the small earth elevation, and lend -additional beauty to the green foliage of the trees, the bright color of -the many flowers. - -But verily, we are like the sunshine—superficial. It is the great fault -of mankind to be satisfied with a film-like knowledge of things. To go -deeper, to dive below the superstratum, would mean to meet, perhaps, -with matters not at all pleasant; to become cognizant of facts never -before dreamt of. Consequently, the majority of men is content to remain -on the surface; content to know a little, but not all. - -Thank God, there are happily individuals left who descend to the bottom -of every question, scientific or social, and who daily enrich all -departments of learning. - -As regards the grave, let us first of all listen to him who has held -generations of folk spellbound; let us bow reverently before the opinion -of one of the masters among English novelists—Charles Dickens. - -[Illustration: - - THE CREMATORIUM AT CREMONA. - (From Dr. Pini’s work.) -] - -It is he who tells us in measured words that the grave is naught but— - - “Brave lodgings for one, brave lodgings for one, - A few feet of cold earth, when life is done; - A stone at the head, a stone at the feet, - A rich, juicy meal for the worms to eat; - Rank grass overhead, and damp clay around, - Brave lodgings for one, these, in holy ground!” - -The late Prof. Samuel D. Gross, M.D., one of the greatest surgeons the -world ever possessed, called burial a horrible practice, and maintained -that:— - -“If people could see the human body after the process of decomposition -sets in, which is as soon as the vital spark ceases to exist, they would -not want to be buried; they would be in favor of cremation. If they -could go into a dissecting-room and see the horrid sights of the -dissecting-table, they would not wish to be buried. Burying the human -body, I think, is a horrible thing. If more was known about the human -frame while undergoing decomposition, people would turn with horror from -the custom of burying their dead. It takes a human body 50, 60, 80 -years—yes, longer than that—to decay. Think of it! The remains of a -friend lying under six feet of ground, or less, for that length of time, -going through the slow stages of decay, and other bodies all this time -being buried around these remains. Infants grow up, and pass into -manhood or womanhood; grow old, and get near the door of death; and -during all that time the body which was buried in their infancy lies a -few feet under ground in this sickening state, undergoing the slow -process of decay. Think of thousands of such bodies crowded into a few -acres of ground, and then reflect that these graves, or many of them, in -time fill with water, and that water percolates through the ground and -mixes with the springs and rivers from which we drink. - -“People turn with dread from the subject of cremation. Why, if they -knew what physicians know,—what they have learned in the -dissecting-room,—they would look upon burning the human body as a -beautiful art in comparison with burying it. There is something -eminently repulsive to me about the idea of lying a few feet under -ground for a century, or perhaps two centuries, going through the -process of decomposition. When I die, I want my body to be burned. - -“Any unprejudiced mind needs but little time to reflect in forming a -conclusion as to which is the better method of disposing of the body. -Common sense and reason proclaim in favor of cremation. There is no -reason for keeping up the burial custom, but many against it; some of -the most practical of which are but too recently developed to need -mention. There is nothing repulsive in the idea of cremation. People’s -prejudice is the only opponent it has. If they could be awakened to a -sense of the horror of crowding thousands of bodies under the ground, to -pollute in many instances the air we breathe and the water we drink, -their prejudice would be overcome; cremation would be taken for what it -truly is—a beautiful method of disposing of the body. The friends of the -departed can do as they please with the remains. Take the ashes of a -wife or daughter and put them in an urn; place it on your mantelpiece, -or in as private a place as you please. Strew them on the ground if you -like, and let them assist in bringing forth a blade of grass. This would -be an advantage over the burial method, where human bodies only cumber -the ground.” - -This was said by a man who not only showed considerable ability as an -operator, and writer on topics of medicine, but who also was honored by -the famous universities of Cambridge and Oxford, receiving from them -academical titles never conferred except upon the most distinguished. - -We will take a spade (only metaphorically, of course) and investigate -the narrow pit which serves to hold all that is mortal of man after the -spark of life has extinguished. Now we remove the plants, the clinging -vines, the blooming flowrets. We throw the earth aside and finally lay -bare a coffin. A coffin? Something that must have been one in the remote -past. A sickening odor greets us. We step back to draw a breath of pure -air. At last we muster up sufficient courage to return to the grave. A -touch of the spade causes the top-board of the box to fall to pieces, -and there is revealed to the sight a spectacle that is horrible. The -ground around the body has been moist and non-porous; what has remained -of the corpse is only a mass of foul flesh in a state of putrefaction. -Is there anything more disgusting than such a sight? - -Shakespeare says in “As You Like It”:— - - “And so, from hour to hour, we ripe and ripe, - And then, from hour to hour, we rot and rot; - And thereby hangs a tale.” - -True! The tale that hangs thereby is illustrative of the carelessness -and ignorance of man alike. The grave has been at all times a kind of -box of Pandora, with this difference,—it did not require unclosing: -unopened, the grave sent forth its children—pestilence and death—to -decimate the ranks of the population of the globe. But all calamities -caused by burial have been endured by people with perfect indifference, -and it was not until modern times that any reforms were attempted at -all. But in spite of these so-called reforms, the murder of the living -by the dead has continued. The reforms I mentioned generally resulted in -the removal of cemeteries to the suburbs of cities. In this way the evil -effects of interment were deferred for some time, till the city -enlarged, and the population closed in around the burial-grounds. - -What is burial? For what purpose do we place the bodies of our dead in -the earth? It is the beginning of a chemical process—a process which -ends finally in the total dissolution of the corpse. The chemical -constituents of our body are returned to nature. Burial and cremation -are in a sense the same; in either case the body oxydates. The great -distinction between the two lies in the fact, that the burning in the -grave requires years for its completion, and is fraught with danger to -the living, whilst in case of incineration the body is reduced to its -primitive elements in the brief space of a few hours, and is -unaccompanied by anything that may do harm. - -Dr. A. B. Prescott, Professor of Chemistry in the University of -Michigan, has determined what elements of the human body are destroyed -or dissipated by cremation, and what remain in the ashes. In a letter to -the _Detroit Post_ he states:— - -“Of the 70 chemical elements or ultimate simples, known to man, 15 are -found in the human body. Of these, four—carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and -oxygen—are derived from the air, and in combustion, as in decay, they -return to the air again. These four in their various compounds make up -by far the greater part of the animal tissues. Of the remaining 11 -chemical elements, six are metals,—potassium, sodium, calcium, -magnesium, iron, and manganese; and five are non-metals,—sulphur, -phosphorus, chlorine, fluorine, and silicon. When combustion of the -tissues is completed, the six metals, in combination with the five -non-metals last named, are left behind in the ash. These were drawn from -the earth. There are about 19 chemical compounds in the ash so left, -compounds such as phosphate of lime, carbonate of lime, sulphate of -potash, chloride of sodium, etc. The greater number of the ultimate -elements contained in the living body are left behind in the ash, but -the proportional quantity made up by all these elements is, of course, -very small. In the first place, about two-thirds of the tissues consist -of water. The proportion of the ‘ash’ to the tissues varies from two per -cent in muscle and seven-tenths per cent in blood, to 66 per cent in -bone. The ‘ash’ left by combustion is very nearly the same, in kind and -in quantity, as the ‘dust’ left after the final completion of decay.” - -What is decomposition? How does it take place normally? Decomposition is -the decay of an organic substance, which is completely destroyed through -the influence of the atmospheric oxygen. Decomposition is facilitated by -moisture. The organic mass undergoing such change assumes a different -color and consistency and gives up carbonic acid, ammonia, and water; -the same products originate in the rapid destruction of an organic -substance by means of fire. - -Only those parts of the body (the bones) that can best resist the -influence of the air remain secure from decay a longer time; at last -they also crumble into dust and mingle with the rest. - -Wetness accelerates decay. When we hear the rain fall in the silent -night, we are compelled to think, shuddering, how the horrible process -of destruction begins in the grave of some beloved one whom we have -recently buried. - -The same stench that assails our nostrils when we approach a corpse that -has lain a long time above ground, meets us when we open a grave; the -same poisonous gases are evolved under ground from a decaying corpus as -upon the surface of the earth. It makes no difference whether the grave -we explore be that of a prime minister, upon which a magnificent -monument rears its costly shaft high into the air, or that of a common -criminal who tried to enjoy existence by spending three-quarters of his -lifetime in prison; the result remains the same: in each we find the -disgusting and sickening evidence of slow destruction,—a formless, -putrid mass of flesh, and sometimes numberless revelling worms. - -The conditions under which decomposition can take place are a certain -degree of moisture and a constant supply of air. When a corpse is -embedded in a soil that is very wet, a curious change takes place. There -is no decay, but instead a fatty metamorphosis, giving the body a waxy -appearance and preserving its original form. The result of this -transformation is called adipocere. The process by which the body is -changed into this stearine-like mass is entitled saponification, and is -not very well understood as yet by the scientists. Such preserved bodies -were found in the burial-grounds at Paris, Brussels, London, and many -other cities. - -[Illustration: - - THE CREMATORIUM AT VARESE. - (From Dr. Pini’s work.) -] - -In 1874, the cemetery board of the burial-ground at Zuerich, -Switzerland, discovered that the bodies interred in the graveyard since -1849 had not undergone decomposition, but had turned into adipocere. -This horrible discovery materially assisted the progress of incineration -in Switzerland. - -Tripp relates that when eight bodies were taken up in a cemetery near -Worcester, England, the soil of which was composed chiefly of gravel and -clay that was always very moist and at times so wet that the water had -to be pumped out of the graves, the undecayed body of a -nineteen-year-old girl was found which had been buried 51 years and had -undergone saponification; the other corpses were decomposed, also the -coffins, while the casket which had contained the saponified body was -preserved. - -I have seen but one saponified corpse. It was at the museum of the New -York College of Physicians and Surgeons; I have forgotten whether it was -a man or woman. But I still remember how I shuddered at the sight and -how I walked close up to the glass case to make sure that the waxy mass -within was a human being. - -It is superfluous to point out here that cremation puts a stop to -saponification. One need not be a chemist to know that a body cannot -turn into adipocere after it has been reduced to ashes. - -Whenever the earth of a graveyard yet contains enough oxygen for the -corpses deposited there, the dangers are very few; but whenever this is -not the case, the bodies of the dead undergo a horrible metamorphosis, -known as putrefaction, and become dangerous to the living on account of -the poisonous gases and other effluvia generated. - -We observe the same phenomenon in our stoves. When but very little air -is admitted into them, the combustion of even very inflammable material -remains incomplete; and stifling gases (for instance, carbonic oxide -gas) are produced. - -It is evident that a porous soil facilitates decomposition, the products -of which it absorbs and retains till they have entered into some -harmless combination. There is, however, a limit to its efficiency. When -it becomes overcharged with the products of decomposition, it can only -hold a small quantity of them; the rest are delivered to the water, -which permeates it and the air which passes over it. On the other hand, -it is clear that a very damp, non-porous soil into which the air cannot -enter favors putrefaction. - -A state of saturation is produced in the course of time in the best of -cemeteries by a continued system of overcrowding. - -Although overcrowding of cemeteries is confined almost entirely to the -countries of Europe, yet there are many American burial-grounds in -which this condition exists; and, what is worse, they are annually -multiplying. Some of these overcrowded graveyards are situated in -large cities, in the centre of a dense population. In these -churchyards it is impossible to dig a single grave without the -disinterring of the bones of one previously buried there. Imagine the -consequences of such a state! Isn’t it far better to remove the -possibility of future disease and danger at once than to allow it to -grow by degrees, till it assumes a terrible and fatal dimension? Isn’t -it better to refrain from the use of cemeteries entirely, and resort -instead to the clean, pure, and undangerous system of incineration? -Consider! Does it agree with our ideas of right and wrong to endanger -the lives of our great-grandchildren or their offspring by our methods -of disposing of the dead? For, by the time they appear on the stage of -this world, the burial-ground now sanitary will have become a -breeding-place of disease from overuse. - -When we remove burial-grounds to a distance, we only postpone the evil. -We insure our own safety, it is true, by so doing; but we encumber the -ground with most virulent seeds, and leave to future generations—to -those who come after us—a terrible crop of pollution, disease germs, and -death. Our own security from harm should not actuate us in this matter. -We should be wise enough to prevent the evil while we have the power, so -that our offspring will not justly reproach us for entailing upon them -such a terrible legacy. - -Among American cities there is none that needs a change of method in the -disposal of its dead as greatly as New Orleans, in Louisiana. - -Those that are mowed down by the grim rider of the white horse cannot be -buried there, owing to the excessive moisture of the ground which -surrounds the city and the proximity of the water to the surface. It is -impossible to dig two feet under ground without coming to water. At all -times the dead have been disposed of in a very careless manner in New -Orleans. It is related that during the yellow-fever epidemic of 1853, -when New Orleans had a population of 150,000 inhabitants, those that had -died of the dread disease were thrown into trenches not over 18 inches -or two feet deep, and covered with very little earth; so little, indeed, -that the first rain that came along washed it away. In a graveyard -situated in the central part of the city, were buried in this manner 400 -bodies, recent victims of yellow fever, and contaminating the air with -poisonous exhalations. The mayor of the city was asked to remove the -dangerous condition of the burial-ground. He replied, “That’s not my -business!” And the commissioner of streets, who was next approached, -answered in a like spirit. The state of affairs grew worse and worse; -and at last, even the negroes refused to act as grave-diggers. - -At present, they have a system of entombment in the Crescent City. These -tombs are in the municipal cemeteries, 35 of which are within the city -limits, giving them the appearance of a collection of bakers’ ovens. The -tombs are almost universally made of brick, and whitewashed. They vary -in size from 3 × 6 feet to 10 × 10 feet or 10 × 20 feet; there is a post -in the centre, which is surrounded by shelves, on which the body—that -is, the coffin—is deposited. There the dead rests for about a year, when -it becomes necessary to use the tomb for another corpse; then the -remains of the preceding occupant of the vault are rudely taken from the -casket and dashed head over heels into a pit, where they are left to -breed disease. - -What wonder, exclaims Kate Field, that yellow fever runs riot in New -Orleans, when the air reeks with the festering corruption of 35 plague -spots, exposed for six months of the year to a tropical sun! Think how -the death-rate of New Orleans might be reduced by abolition of -earth-burials! What better field for missionary work than our own “Sunny -South”? - -The unhealthfulness of these vaults is apparent to all, but, owing to -prejudice, no other disposition of the dead has been adopted. But sooner -or later the inhabitants of New Orleans must have recourse to cremation, -and burn their dead, as they were forced to do once during a cholera -epidemic, when 135 corpses were consigned to the devouring element. - -For 300 years English churchyards have been so full that, like the one -in Hamlet, Yorick’s bones have had to be dug out in order to put -Ophelia’s in. From time to time the attention of the British authorities -was directed to the shameful state of the cemeteries of the metropolis -and other places. In that case the matter was brought before Parliament, -the government ordered an investigation, a committee was appointed to -examine the grievances, the committee returned a report with the -testimony of witnesses, and the report was ordered printed. The report -commonly made a very large volume, which looked exceedingly pretty on -the shelf on which it was placed, but became dusty in a comparatively -short time from non-use. The excitement had quieted down, public opinion -and the press were pacified, Parliament was satisfied, and the condition -of the burial-grounds remained the same as before. - -The cemeteries of Paris, France, are in no better condition; the mould -in the old Cimetière des Innocents is literally saturated with corpses; -Montmartre and Mont Parnasse are overcrowded. As for Père la Chaise,—the -burial-place that has been praised in poetry and prose (the -resting-place of Racine and Molière), that has been adjudged the most -beautiful cemetery in the world,—Père la Chaise is packed with decaying -bodies. A cable dispatch dated Dec. 27, 1883, reported that the -municipal council of the city of Paris had resolved upon leaving those -that fell during the reign of bloodthirsty La Commune at Père la Chaise -for a period of 25 years. Ordinary cadavers must be dug up after five -years, to make room for their ghastly successors. - -In Portugal the soil has become so packed with corpses that an effort -was made to enact a law that after five years all interred bodies should -be dug up and subjected to cremation. This means that after the dead -have saturated the ground with disease-producing emanations, and have -exhaled nearly all their virulent effluvia into the atmosphere, -sacrificing the welfare of the living to superstition and prejudice, a -later incineration shall take place to save space. - -Of American cemeteries, I only need mention Pottersfield of New York, -the name of which is not spoken or heard by an American without an -involuntary shudder. Our graveyards are, of course, not like the -cemeteries of the Old World, where the exhumation of bones takes place -daily to make room for the recently deceased, but they will become so -unless the damaging prejudices are laid aside and something is done to -prevent such a poisonous and dangerous situation. In some of the old -cemeteries in our cities it has become impossible to dig another grave. - -Rev. John D. Beugless, D.D., thus describes the burial-grounds of New -York City: “Of the great cemeteries about New York, there is not one, -not even Woodland or Greenwood, in the public lots of which three or -more bodies are not put in one grave,—that of John Doe, who died from ‘a -bare bodkin,’ being sandwiched between those of Richard Roe and James -Low, who were victims respectively of small-pox and yellow-fever. In the -public or poor quarter of Calvary Cemetery a far worse state of things -obtains—more appalling than even the _fosse commune_ of Paris, for it is -the _fosse commune sans chaux_. A trench is dug, seven feet wide, ten to -twelve feet deep, and of indefinite length, in which the coffins are -stowed, tier upon tier, making a flight of steps, five or more deep, and -with not enough earth to hide one from the next. And this is our vaunted -‘Christian burial’ in this new country, with its myriads of broad acres! -What shall our children say of us, when they come, perforce, from stress -of space, to build their dwellings upon these beds of pestilence?” - -[Illustration: - - THE CREMATORIUM AT BRESCIA. - (From Dr. Pini’s work.) -] - -That is the way we, “the Christian nation par excellence,” treat -friendless paupers and criminals. Shame! shame! A dog is more decently -interred. - -The cemeteries of the city of Brooklyn occupy nearly 2000 acres of land. -A thoughtful eminent physician gives it as his opinion that the -prevailing southwest wind, blowing over these corruption festering -plague spots, carries to Flatbush the germs of typhoid fever and -diphtheria, and swells the death-rate of that city to its present -alarming magnitude. - -The more one considers cremation, the more one finds himself wondering -how it has come to pass that we practice interment, with its many faults -and dangers, and do not burn our dead. - -It is clear that overcrowding of burial-grounds must lead to evil -consequences. A ground that is saturated with putrefying material can -emit naught but poisonous odors, cannot fail to contaminate the purest -and clearest water, must vitiate any atmosphere. - -Incineration deserves the respect to-day which the ancients paid to it, -and is the only way of disposing of the dead so as to avoid the terrible -consequences of the mephitic graveyard gases, of the dangers with which -the ordinary mode of burial threatens us. - -The truth was taught us by the Tuscans some three hundred years ago. At -that time a whale was cast upon the shore of Tuscany. The inhabitants of -the surrounding country hastened to the spot, and removed the ribs of -the large fish, to hang them in the churches as a memento of the rare -occurrence. The flesh was left to rot in the scorching southern sun. An -epidemic of typhoid fever was the result; and when, ten years later, -another whale happened to strand in the same locality, the people, -having become wise by its previous experience, destroyed the monster by -chopping it to pieces, and burning these, one after another. - -There are many lurking dangers, ready to destroy the living, in the -burial-grounds of the present day. The mephitic vapors increase in -quantity as decomposition advances, and become far more poisonous than -either arsenic or prussic acid, if these were uncombined in their -natural state. - -These dangerous graveyard gases can spread to quite a distance, and -therefore can communicate the most malignant maladies at all times. Dr. -Ayr claims that they extend to a distance of a hundred meters; some -authorities assert that they reach sometimes twice the distance. This -occurs generally when the grave is air-tight above, and the surface -layer of the cemetery soil is imporous. Then the gas escapes where it -finds the least resistance,—at the sides,—and burrows along under the -earth until it strikes a cavity, and bursts into it, or diffuses into -the air. When the grave offers no resistance above, the gas enters the -atmosphere directly. Burial-grounds best fitted for cemetery purposes -should be feared most, for it is evident that dryness and porousness are -qualities which, although conducive to the rapid decay of a body, very -much facilitate the escape of gases. - -The danger is not obviated by deep burials. In that case the morbific -matter is diffused through the subsoil. If the inhumations are so deep -as to impede escapes at the surface, there is only the greater danger of -escape by deep drainage, and the pollution of springs and wells. Dr. -Reid detected the escape of deleterious miasma from graves more than -twenty feet deep. - -The danger from inhaling graveyard gases is great. - -Ramazzini relates how an avaricious grave-digger, by the name of Pisto, -met with instantaneous death on descending into a vault to steal the -shoes of a corpse; he was found dead upon the body. - -Lancisius (De noxiis palud. effluv. II, Ep. 1, c. 2, p. 152) states that -several grave-diggers died in a like manner after entering a newly -opened vault, which had been set under water by an inundation of the -Tiber, and in which the stagnant water had regenerated the virulent -gases. - -Unger gives an account of a case similar to that of Haguenot, reported -further on. A vault was reopened in a convent at Madrid, for the purpose -of depositing therein a fresh corpse. When the grave-digger was about to -descend into it, he fell down dead. Two other persons, who tried to save -him, shared his fate. - -Fortunatus Licetus (De annull, antiquitt. c. 23) relates that three men, -who went into a vault that was full of semi-decomposed bodies with the -intention of robbing, lost their lives. When the bodies were extracted, -they were found to be swollen and black. - -Th. Bartholini (Historiar. anat. rarior. C. IV, obs. 32, p. 296) made -experiments in Denmark which confirm these reports concerning the lethal -action of graveyard gases, and prove the especial danger from the gases -of the dead long pent up in vaults. He affirms that these noxious gases -often prove fatal, death being preceded by dizziness and fainting. - -The gases of Francis I operated with fatal effect upon the vandals who -broke open his coffin, in the time of the French Revolution, to rob it -of its treasures. - -Books on hygiene teem with examples of the lethal properties of an -atmosphere containing carbonic acid in excess. A familiar instance is -that of the passengers of the ship _Londonderry_, in 1848, 150 of whom -were shut up by the captain during a storm, in the steerage 18 × 11 × 7 -feet. Seventy of them died in an incredibly short space of time, with -convulsions and bleeding at the eyes and ears. - -Haguenot reports that, in 1744, the corpse of a monk of the Penitent -Order, who had been buried in a vault under the church, was exhumed in -the church of Notre Dame, at Montpellier, France. A man descended into -the vault to remove the cadaver, but, before he got quite down, he was -taken with convulsions, and fell unconscious into the vault, where he -died of suffocation. A monk went down to rescue him, but he too was -taken sick, and, on having been pulled out immediately, succumbed -quickly. A third, who had the courage to follow his example, fell dead -without being able to retire. The same fate was reserved for a fourth -victim,—a brother of the first. The bodies were pulled out with hooks; -the stench of their clothing was unbearable. Lights held near the -opening of the vault extinguished; dogs, cats, and birds, on being -brought in contact with the poisonous gases, died, with all symptoms of -a severe convulsion, in a few minutes. Some of the mephitic gas was -bottled; but when experimented with after two and one-half months, it -still had all of its dangerous qualities. - -In 1749, when new vaults and graves were made in the St. Eustachius -Church at Paris, France, cadavers were dug up and placed temporarily in -an old vault of the church, which had remained locked a long time. -Children coming to church to prepare for confirmation, and even adults, -fainted on entering the sacred edifice, and some had serious attacks of -illness. The same took place in St. Sebastian Church at Madrid, Spain, -in 1786; three times a grave burst open, in which, but a short time -before, a very corpulent lady had been buried. The horrible smell that -arose from this grave prevented the reading of the holy mass at the high -altar during a period of eight days. At one time the Parish Church of -Metz was so infected by the gases of a female corpse that it had to be -abandoned, and the divine service removed to another church. - -In 1841 two men who had some work to do in a grave in St. Botolph’s -Churchyard, Aldgate, England, died almost instantly on entering it. - -In the churchyard at Cobham, in Surrey, England, on account of some -changes in the church, some bodies had to be raised. The work of the -navvies was horrible beyond description, and dangerous beside. It was -performed very early in the morning, and was beset with difficulties. -Repeated doses of gin had to be given to the men to keep them at a kind -of work which they could only do under the influence of alcohol. Three -men perished in 1852, at Paris, from inhaling the gas that escaped from -coffins. - -Fourcroy affirms that grave-digging is an unhealthy and dangerous -occupation, and that all grave-diggers he examined showed symptoms of -slow poisoning. - -George A. Walker declared that no grave-digger ever wholly escaped the -influence of graveyard gases. Some of the men employed in this way have -noticed the peculiar smell of the gases on beginning to dig. - -Monsieur Patissier reports several deaths due to grave-digging; and Mr. -Chadwick asserts that the vocation of a sexton shortens life one-third. -Usually grave-diggers are heavy drinkers; they take to drinking to -resist the malignant influence of the vapors which arise slowly but -surely out of the cemetery soil, and to do away with any “maudlin -sentimentality” that may still linger in their hearts, and that might -interfere with their horrible work. - -On March 1, 1886, Marke Thornton, of Washington, Ga., met with a -singular death. His decease resulted from inhaling poisonous gas which -seeped through into a grave he was digging by the side of another. The -other men at work with him left the grave as soon as they detected the -gas, but Thornton, thinking there was no danger in it, remained and -died. - -The action of cemetery gases on the human body manifests itself in a -variety of ways. Sir T. Spencer Wells states that decomposing human -remains so pollute earth, air, and water as to diminish the general -health and average duration of life. - -Dr. Lyon Playfair affirms that the inspiration of graveyard gases does -not always cause one form of decay or putrefaction, but that it depends -entirely upon the organs attacked. Entering the blood, it produces -fever; communicated to the viscera, it gives origin to diarrhœa, and -may, Dr. Playfair thinks, even be the source of consumption. When the -irrespirable gas enters the respiratory tract, Dr. Southwood Smith -claims that it is conveyed into the system through the thin and delicate -walls of the air-vesicles of the lungs in the act of respiration. He -states that turpentine, for instance, if only inhaled when passing -through a room that was recently painted, will exhibit its effects in -some of the fluid excretions of the body even more rapidly than if it -had been taken into the stomach. Dr. Riecke thinks that putrid -emanations operate also through the olfactory nerves by powerful, -penetrating, and offensive smells. - -Cemeteries are breeding grounds as well as foci of disease and death. - -[Illustration: THE CREMATORIUM AT WOKING, ENGLAND.] - -Mr. Chadwick, in his “Report on the Practice of Interment in Towns” -(London, 1843), writes:— - -“The injurious effects of exhalations from the decomposition in question -on the health and life of man is proved by a sufficient number of -trustworthy facts. The injurious influence is manifest in proportion to -the concentration of the emanations. Sometimes it produces asphyxia and -sudden death. In a less concentrated state the emanations produce -fainting, nausea, headache, languor. If, however, they are often -repeated, they produce nervous and other fevers, or impart to fevers -arising from other causes a typhoid type.... As there appear to be no -cases in which the emanations from decomposing human remains are not of -a deleterious nature, so there is no case in which the liability to -danger should be incurred by interment amidst the dwellings of the -living, it being established as a general conclusion that all interments -in towns where bodies decompose, contribute to the mass of atmospheric -impurity which is injurious to public health.” - -The Italian physician Felix Dell’Acqua gives it as his opinion (in his -study on cremation), that graveyards infect the earth, the air, and the -water, and constantly endanger public health during an epidemic. Dr. -Polli proved that graves deteriorate the air we breathe and contaminate -the water we drink, by loading them with organic matter. - -Prof. Antonio Selmi, of Mantua, claims to have discovered organic germs -in the air above graves, which he called septopneuma, and which, when -injected under the skin of a pigeon, caused a typhus-like disease that -ended in death within three days. - -Specific germs may enter the atmosphere from the graves, which convey -the deadliest of maladies, being carried very far by the wind. But the -agent that makes cemetery gases so dangerous is carbonic acid. - -Dr. Parkes (Practical Hygiene), the eminent English scientist, says:— - -“The decomposition of bodies gives rise to a very large amount of -carbonic acid. Ammonia and an offensive putrid vapor are also given off. -The air of most cemeteries is richer in carbonic acid, and the organic -matter is perceptibly large, when tested by potassium permanganate.” - -It is a well-known fact that carbonic acid, when inhaled in an undiluted -state, causes death; it is fatal to all forms of life. When inhaled -diluted with air it interferes with the introduction of oxygen into the -body, and causes the carbonic acid, which should be eliminated, to be -retained. This, no doubt, prevents the proper tissue changes, and must -in time undermine the healthiest body by seriously affecting its -nutrition. - -Dr. E. J. Bermingham (Disposal of the Dead) says:— - -“The effect of constantly breathing an atmosphere containing an excess -of carbonic acid is not perfectly known. Dr. Angus Smith has attempted -to determine the effect of carbonic acid _per se_—the influence of -organic matter of respiration being eliminated. He found that three -volumes per thousand caused great feebleness of the circulation, with -diminished rapidity of the heart’s action; the respirations were, on the -contrary, quickened, and were sometimes gasping. These effects were -lessened when the amount of carbonic acid was smaller; but were -perceptible when the amount was as low as one volume per thousand.” - -According to Haberman, sensitive and nervous persons have been taken ill -when walking by a cemetery. - -P. Frazer, Jr., says: “A sexton and the son of a lady who died seven -days before went down into the vault. Both were affected with sickness -and nausea; one was affected for some years; the son had ulceration of -the throat for two years.” - -Mr. William Eassie affirms that, “according to a report of the French -Academy of Medicine, the putrid emanations of Père la Chaise, -Montmartre, and Montparnasse have caused frightful diseases of the -throat and lungs, to which numbers of both sexes fall victims every -year. Thus a dreadful throat disease which baffles the skill of our most -experienced medical men, and which carries off its victims in a few -hours, is traced to the absorption of vitiated air into the windpipe, -and has been observed to rage with the greatest violence in those -quarters situated nearest to cemeteries.” - -The most common diseases produced by graveyard gases are diphtheria, -throat and pulmonary affections, severe diarrhœa, and dysentery. The -number of cases reported is enormous. Many cases have been made public -by Drs. Parkes and Tardieu. - -Ramazzini (Maladies des Artisans, p. 71) asserts that sextons, whose -business often compels them to enter places where there are putrefying -bodies, are subject to malignant fevers, asphyxia, and suffocating -catarrhs. - -Fourcroy affirms that there are innumerable examples of the pernicious -effects of cadaveric exhalations. - -It has been stated that the carbonic acid generated by the decaying -bodies is taken up by the plants, shrubbery, and trees abounding in -cemeteries and their neighborhood. That excellent and well-edited -newspaper _Iron_ declares: “The consumption of vegetables whose roots -had been nourished by the defunct members of a family would hardly be -enjoyed by the survivors, unless, indeed, they possessed the philosophic -mind and robust appetite of the French gentleman who declared that, with -a certain sauce, ‘_on mangerait bien son père_.’” - -I do not believe that very much carbonic acid is absorbed by the -botanical burial-ground decorations; certainly not enough to prevent its -toxic action and the vitiation of the air. - -Many a time was premature exhumation followed by fatal consequences. - -In the church of a village near Nantes, France, the remains of an -aristocrat were buried in 1774. By accident some of the other graves -were opened, among them one which contained the corpse of a man who had -been buried three months before. An unbearable odor immediately filled -the church. Many persons who had attended at this burial were taken -sick; fifteen died in a short time, the first to depart being the -grave-digger who had opened the graves. - -Vicq d’Azyr states that an epidemic was produced in Auvergne, by the -opening of an old graveyard. - -Norman Chevers (European Soldiers in India, p. 404) refers to the -unhealthiness of the continent at Sukkur, India. Fevers of the most -malignant type were abounding, owing to an ancient Mussulman -burial-ground on which the station was placed. - -Tardieu, the eminent French physician and scientist, relates (Dict. -d’Hygiene, p. 517) that the excavation of an old cemetery of a convent -in Paris caused illness in the occupants of the adjacent dwellings. -Tardieu (Ibid., p. 463) compiled a very considerable number of cases, -not only of asphyxia, but of several febrile affections produced by -exhumation and disturbance of bodies. - -Bascom relates that when the parish church in Minchinhampton, England, -was rebuilding in 1843, the black earth of the cemetery surrounding it, -or what was superfluous, was disposed of for manure, being spread upon -adjoining fields. The earth was removed to change the grade of the -churchyard. The result was that an epidemic broke out in the -neighborhood. Children on their way to school took it. Seventeen deaths -occurred, and more than 200 children had measles, scarlet fever, and -various eruptions. - -It seems, however, as though the above figures are not quite correct, -for Mr. Eassie, who has lately made personal inquiries upon the spot, -insists that the mischief which resulted has been even understated, and -that the population was nearly decimated. - -Dr. Adalbert Kuettlinger brings forward the sequent case to prove the -deleterious action of cemetery gases. A very obese lady died during the -month of July, 1854. Previous to death she had requested, as a special -favor, that her remains be buried in the church to which she belonged. -This was granted and promised her. After her demise she was interred in -a vault of the church, and the next day the minister delivered the -funeral oration. It was very warm that day; several months before the -lady’s departure there had been aridity, and not a drop of rain had -fallen in a long time. The funeral sermon had been delivered on a -Saturday; on the following Sunday the Protestant clergyman preached to -an assemblage of nearly 900, who had come to attend the Lord’s Supper. -The warm weather still continued; many had to leave church during the -service to keep from fainting; many swooned away before they could -withdraw. In Germany people fast before they communicate. The sermon -lasted nearly one hour and one quarter, after which the bread was -consecrated and stood uncovered—according to custom—during the ceremony. -There were 180 communicants. One quarter of an hour after the solemnity, -before they had time to leave the church, more than 60 became ill; some -died in severe convulsions; others, who had placed themselves -immediately under medical treatment, recovered. The consternation among -the whole congregation and citizens was great. There was a general -belief that the wine used at the communion had been poisoned. The sexton -and some other individuals who assisted at divine service were -imprisoned. The next Sunday the minister delivered a severe sermon, and -pointed out several of his parishioners as participants in the -conspiracy. This enthusiastic sermon was printed and widely circulated. -The prisoners had to endure cruel treatment. They remained incarcerated -a whole week, and some, it is said, were tortured; yet they always -insisted upon their innocence. The second Sunday from the time of the -fatal occurrence, the city authorities ordered that a chalice should -stand uncovered on the altar one hour. The time had hardly passed when -it was noticed that the wine was covered with thousands of little -insects, which, by means of the sunbeams, were traced to the grave of -the corpulent lady who had been buried fourteen days before. Four men -were commissioned to open the vault and remove the coffin. When they -attempted this, two of them died at once, and the others were only saved -by the great efforts of the physician in attendance. The accused were -liberated, and the city council and clergyman begged their pardon. - -Rev. Dr. Render, in “A Tour through Germany,” says:— - -“Two of the crew of an American merchant ship went ashore near Canton, -to dig a grave to bury a dead shipmate. The spade struck and penetrated -a coffin of a man buried a few months before, and the discharge of gas -struck down both the sailors, who, though taken back to the ship, died -within five days.” - -I doubt that there is any one who will assert that it is delightful to -drink an aqueous solution of one’s own grandfather or great-grandmother, -yet there are many who do so. The emanations from our ancestors may and -do filter through the earth, and get into the water we drink. Think of -that! - -Wells, springs, and rivers are polluted by the infiltration of water -highly charged with organic matter. Often such water has been the cause -of fatal disease, yet nothing was done to guard against it. - -[Illustration: THE DORCHESTER-SHIRE CREMATION FURNACE.] - -Prof. Victor C. Vaughan, M.D., Ph.D., of the University of Michigan, in -a paper on “Water Supply,” read at a sanitary convention at Ypsilanti, -Mich., July 1, 1885, states:— - -“To show you the stupidity and recklessness of people, even in this -enlightened century, which is manifested concerning the contamination of -water, I must mention one other case. There is in the county of -Kalamazoo, in this state, a nice little village by the name of Richland. -It is situated in a most beautiful farming country. The farmers of that -region have grown rich on account of the fertility of the soil and other -special advantages. A few years ago the village board desired to select -a new site for a cemetery, and chose one within the village limits, and -within 30 rods of a well owned by an old physician, Dr. Patchin. I -always tell names in such cases, because they tell the truth, and any -one can investigate them. The old doctor objected to the location of the -cemetery so near his house and well, and as the result of his objection -there was a lawsuit; and if you will pardon me, I will mention something -of the condition of the land and some experiments that were made. There -were some 18 inches of rich prairie land, then below this some two or -three feet of hard-pan, below this there were 18 or 20 feet of gravel, -such as we have all through the southern part of Michigan. In digging -the graves the bodies would be put into this gravel. The gravel was so -loose and so moist that in digging graves it was necessary to put in -boxing to prevent the gravel from pouring in while the grave was being -dug. Below the gravel, and about 30 feet below the surface, was an -impervious bed of clay, with a slope from the cemetery towards the well. -It became a question now as to whether there was a possibility of the -contamination of this well from burying bodies in the proposed new -cemetery. I was called, and after studying the geological formation, -concluded that there was a possibility of such contamination. The well -was pumped dry twice a day, and on an average fifteen barrels taken from -it each pumping. To show how ridiculous some theories are that have been -advanced upon that subject, I will state that I was met in court with -this statement: that it would be impossible for any of the water or rain -falling upon this cemetery, 30 rods distant, to reach the well, because, -as was found in some old book, all the water that goes into a well is -that which falls upon a surface which will be enclosed in a circle whose -center was the mouth of the well, and whose radius was the depth of the -well. This statement was made independent of any lay of the land or the -geological formation, and without any consideration whatever of the -surrounding country. Fortunately this can be met very easily. Thirty -barrels of water were pumped from the well each day. We know the amount -of rainfall in Michigan per year, and we can calculate very easily the -number of barrels that would fall upon this surface enclosed in a circle -whose center was the mouth of the well, and whose radius was the depth -of the well; and as the result of such a calculation we find that the -amount of rain falling upon this surface during the year would not -supply the well more than two or three days. Returning home and -detailing the trip to Dr. Langley, he suggested that a direct experiment -might be made to see whether matter would pass from the proposed -cemetery to the well or not. He tested the water of the well for -lithium, a substance easily detected, found it was absent, then had a -salt of lithium sown over the proposed cemetery, and then examined the -water of the well each day thereafter; and on the eighteenth day after -the lithium was sown over the cemetery it was found in the water of the -well, showing that the water did unquestionably penetrate the soil, pass -down to the impervious bed of clay which was the watershed upon which -the water in the well collected, and thence into the well. -Notwithstanding proofs so positive as this, a learned judge in Michigan -dismissed the case, and allowed the cemetery to be located there, with a -possibility of poisoning a number of families. As a result, the families -of the neighborhood had to discontinue the use of their well-water.” - -Professor Vaughan holds that the popular belief that if water filters -for any distance through the soil it is purified, is an erroneous -belief, and cites a number of experiments made by himself, and numerous -cases, in support of the assertion. - -According to Dr. H. B. Baker, secretary of the Michigan State Board of -Health (_vide_ Report for 1874, p. 136), a terrible epidemic of -cerebro-spinal meningitis, that wasted the village of Petersburg in the -early part of 1874, was attributable to a spring five paces from a house -and 15 paces from a cemetery, which is on ground from 12 to 15 feet -higher than the level of the spring. About 18 paces from the spring was -a recent grave. - -Prof. R. C. Kedzie, of the Michigan State Agricultural College, to whom -some of the water was sent for analysis, concluded his report as -follows:— - -“The presence in these waters of unusual quantities of chlorides, of -ammonia, of albuminoid ammonia, of nitrates and nitrites, and finally of -phosphates, shows these waters to be very unusual in their composition. -We might account for the presence of all these substances if matters -very rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, _e.g._, flesh, were undergoing -decomposition in their vicinity, and the results of this decomposition -passed directly into this water. The fact that the spring is near and -lies below the level of the graveyard, that the well is in the midst of -an old Indian graveyard, gives much plausibility to this explanation. -The fact that the first person attacked with cerebro-spinal meningitis -in Petersburg used the water of this well, and that others who used the -spring water were attacked with the same disease, would very naturally -attract very significant attention to the composition of these waters as -having some possible connection with the epidemic.” - -For several years many residents of Nyack, N.Y., have protested against -the encroachment of the Oak Hill Cemetery property upon the thickly -populated portions of the village, objections being principally made on -sanitary grounds. Examination of the ponds and wells of the village has -demonstrated that they are being constantly polluted by the emanations -from the cemetery. - -Not long ago the _Detroit Evening News_ declared that the wells in the -neighborhood of Woodmere Cemetery do not catch the rainwater until after -it has been filtered through the thousands of graves in the cemetery, -filled with decaying bodies, and that no water is obtained in the -vicinity which is not discolored and has a brackish taste. After a heavy -rain the impurities are most pronounced. The residents of Woodmere have -long ago given over the use of water as a beverage. I do not blame them. -I would not like to drink fluid extract of dead man myself. - -The _New York Staats Zeitung_, a reliable German publication, of May 27, -1886, relates that a lawsuit of North Bergen Township, N.J., against the -Weehawken Cemetery Company, was tried the preceding day before -Vice-Chancellor Van Fleet, at Newark, N.J. The township demands that for -sanitary reasons the cemetery shall be closed at once and no further -burials permitted in the same. Several physicians testified to the fact -that diphtheria and other infectious diseases are endemic in the -township, and that they are due mainly to the unhygienic state of the -cemetery, which lies in the most populated part of the township. One -physician gave it as his opinion that numerous cases of diphtheria that -appeared among the little pupils of a school was caused by drinking -water from a well in the proximity of the cemetery. - -In an address on “Public Health, or Sanitary Science,” read before the -medical society of the state of West Virginia, May 24, 1882, Dr. T. S. -Camden says:— - -“The Board of Health report for 1879 gives the investigation of an -outbreak of diphtheria in Northern Vermont, which occurred in May, 1879. -In a school of 22 persons, 16 were prostrated in two days, one-half of -whom died. Upon investigation the cause of the outbreak was found to be -from the public drinking water from a brook into which had been thrown -the carcasses of dead animals. Another outbreak of the disease of great -virulence was caused by persons using water that was poisoned by the -dead carcass of an animal that had been buried 75 feet distant from a -spring. The grass in this instance showed by its luxuriance the trace to -the spring. After the germs were once developed in many of these cases -by drinking the polluted water, the disease was communicated to other -persons far removed from the cause of the primary outbreak. One -convalescent patient communicated the disease to six persons. Numerous -illustrations of the importance of sanitary regulations are given in -these epidemics.” - -Thus we have illustrations of the origin of diphtheria from putrid -animal matter; and, after the germs were implanted in persons, fatal -epidemics spread, and many lives were lost that could have been saved by -proper hygienic measures. - -Dr. Prosper de Pietra Santa, the most enthusiastic French cremationist, -and a man who has investigated everything pertaining to incineration -thoroughly, calls attention to the example of the villages of Rotondella -and Bollita. The burial-grounds of these ill-starred villages were -situated on the summit of hills that were beset with woods. They were at -the lawful distance, and to all appearances in a most favorable -location. Unfortunately, the springs from which the inhabitants were -accustomed to derive their water supply emerged from the base of the -hills which were surmounted by the woods. These springs were the result -of collections of rainwater, which, percolating through the earth of the -hills, became impregnated with the organic matter which the ground -contained. In the course of time, the drinking-water of these two -villages became so contaminated that it caused a frightful epidemic. - -Prof. Dr. E. Reichardt, of Jena (_Gesundheit_ I, No. 1), published a -large number of cases in which drinking-water was polluted by cemetery -emanations. - -Many cases are on record where water contaminated by graveyard -emanations, by poisonous fluids oozing through the soil, has proven -harmful to health. Numerous cases of typhoid fever sprung from this -source. Contagious diseases can also be communicated in this way. Riecke -and Galtie have compiled statistics of cases of typhoid fever and other -contagious maladies due to this cause that withstand the severest -criticism. - - “The rivers die into offensive pools, - And, charged with putrefaction, breathe a gross - And mortal nuisance into all the air.” - -[Illustration: CREMATION IN THE CASEMENTS OF PARIS DURING THE REIGN OF -THE COMMUNE.] - -Kate Field, the well-known author and lecturer, says: - -“These are times that are trying men’s and women’s bodies quite as much -as their souls. The zymotic diseases breaking out in what were formerly -healthy villages may set even the blindest to seek for causes; and -perhaps the most prejudiced may finally be forced to admit that one -great source of water contamination is the existence of multitudinous -graveyards contiguous to habitations. In my daily excursions on -horseback, which cover about 15 miles, I count seven graveyards perched -on hills, the occupants of the adjacent towns preparing for speedy exit -from this world by living below the dead and using well-water. Suggest -to them that the prevailing ‘malaria’ may be due to drinking up the -remains of their deceased ancestors, and a howl of ‘sacrilege’ rends the -air.” - -And in an admirable essay on cremation in the St. Louis _Daily -Globe-Democrat_ of July 12, 1885, this graceful writer, deservedly -noted, states:— - -“New England villages, once so free from ills, are taking on the airs of -invalids; and it is often a question whether families that remain in big -towns during the summer are not better off than their wealthier -neighbors, who hie to overcrowded so-called watering places, not -unfrequently returning with germs of typhoid fever in their systems, -that later breaks forth to their amazement, and for which they are at a -loss to account. They forget how they drank well-water, the springs of -which percolated through peaceful village graveyards. Man’s worst -enemies are his own superstition and ignorance. - -“I learned by terrible experience when very young the horrors of earth -burial. I now know its crime against the living.” - -Miss Field is not only converted to but convinced of incineration, -convinced that it is preferable to any other method; the moment a -cremation society was incorporated in New York, she became a member. - -Col. R. E. Whitman, U. S. A., remarks: “People who wonder at the change -that has come over our New England villages, the homes of a vigorous -ancestry, and deplore the advent of this mysterious ‘malaria,’ the -unseen vampire that sucks the red blood of the present generation, would -do well to look about them and see how the graveyards, old and new, have -grown in two centuries, how the town has surrounded them; how the water -supply is from the same old wells; how the town, never having arrived at -a magnitude seeming to demand a sewerage system, allows the refuse of -generations to mingle with the surface soil. It would be a theme worthy -of the magic pen of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Imagine his description of -water percolating through the grave of some despised Lazarus, feeding -the well of his life enemy, Dives, and compelling him daily to quaff the -poison his own cruel ignorance had distilled.” - -Undoubtedly many country towns whose cemeteries are in their midst are -drinking daily, despite the acknowledged impurity of the water, disease -and death. An English writer very pertinently remarks that “if the -formation of a deep sewer will suffice to drain dry the wells near its -line of march, then the sinking of a well near a burying-ground must -help to drain the latter.” - -Much complaint was at one time made in England, concerning the pollution -of wells by cemeteries. In Versailles, France, the water of the wells -which lie below the churchyard of St. Louis, could not be used on -account of its pollution. - -Deep wells have been found to be infected more than 600 feet from the -cemeteries. In France and in some parts of Germany, the opening of wells -within 300 feet of a cemetery has been prohibited. The reports of the -boards of health of Massachusetts and New Jersey give abundant evidence -that country graveyards often contaminate the water supply when the -wells are on a lower level. The Michigan reports also contain a -description of a case that occurred at Grand Rapids. - -A hygienic council held some time ago at Brussels decided that wells -could not be safely dug nearer than 400 yards to any graveyard, and that -even at that distance absolute protection was not certain. - -The constant prevalence of dysentery at Secunderabad, in the Deccan -(India), seems to have been partly due to the water which filtered -through an extensive burial-ground. One of the sources of water -contained, by analysis, according to Dr. Parkes, 119 grains of solids -per gallon; and in some instances there were 8, 11, and even 30 grains -per gallon, of organic matter. - -Sir J. McGrigor partly attributed the fatality of dysentery in the -Peninsula, at Ciudad Roderigo, to the use of water percolating through a -graveyard in which nearly 20,000 bodies had been hastily inhumed. - -Medical Councilor, Dr. Kuechenmeister, who examined the wells of -Dresden, Germany, discovered the water to be very impure, especially in -the new parts of the city, and in the vicinity of the so-called “French” -graves. The same results were arrived at in Zuerich, where it was -demonstrated that the typhoid fever epidemic of Auszerbuehl was due to -water rendered impure by cadaveric effluvia. - -In Philadelphia, three cemeteries, containing 80,000 graves, are so -situated as to be liable to drain into the Schuylkill, the -drinking-water of 1,000,000 of people. The diarrhœa prevalent during the -Centennial Exhibition in the Quaker City is said (by many eminent -sanitarians) to have been caused by burial-ground water drunk by -strangers unaccustomed to it. - -The monumental cemetery at Milan, which is situated upon a hill some 180 -yards to the north of the city, was proved to have been the cause of -serious illness in its neighborhood, produced by the contamination of -the wells in the vicinity. The water of the well of the Place Garibaldi -was analyzed by Professors Parvesi and Rotundi, who found it tainted by -organic matter. - -The Atlanta _Medical Journal_ states that two young ladies who drank -water from a spring situated on a hillside, near an old graveyard, -became severely ill. One was seized with pyæmia and diarrhœa, the other -with typhoid fever; both died. Cattle that drank of the water were also -made sick. - -Professor Pumpilly has made certain by recent experiments that sandy -soil does not prevent bacterial infection from entering a well situated -at a considerable distance from cesspools and cemeteries. Indeed, he -claims further that “dry gravel and coarse sand do not prevent the -entrance into houses built upon them of those microorganisms which swarm -in the ground-air, around leaky cesspools, near graveyards, and in the -filthy made land of cities.” - -Anent the idea that the gases and organic matters which arise from the -graves rapidly undergo changes by entering into new combinations when -brought into contact with the earth, Dr. John O. Marble, of Worcester, -Mass., says:— - -“The monstrous delusion that the mere contact of the corpse with fresh -earth renders it innocuous, and suffices for safe disinfection, is -dissipated by overwhelming evidence. I distinctly remember my boyish -scruples concerning the water of a well situated not fifty yards from -graves in the churchyard adjoining my father’s garden. This old ‘God’s -acre’ I have a hundred times passed, in my timid boyhood, in the shades -of night, with palpitating heart, and a pace rivalled only by that of -Tam O’ Shanter’s steed from witch-haunted Kirk Alloway to the ‘Keystone’ -of the ‘Brig o’ Doon.’ My father overcame my scruples concerning the -water by stating the belief then held, that the earth was a purifier and -a safe depurator, and that no harm could come to that well, 30 feet -deep, the pride and unfailing source of supply of the neighborhood. Yet -I, that same autumn, suffered a severe and nearly fatal attack of -typhoid fever, and another member of the family was similarly affected a -year later. The fever occurred when the well was low, and I have no -doubt, in the light of present knowledge of such dangers, that, -repulsive as is the thought, I drank water filtered through the bones of -my revered ancestors buried there, and that the polluted water caused -that illness. To those who criticise the advocates of cremation for -quoting ancient examples only, of harm from graves, this instance will -appear sufficiently recent and intimate.” - -Opponents of incineration, who lay great stress upon the disinfecting -powers of the earth, forget that the soil is easily saturated by the -emanations from the dead. Professor Presscott, of the University of -Michigan, says in regard to this matter:— - -“The purifying power of ground, like that of the air above it, is -limited and easily overcharged. If ground-air be loaded with more -putrescent vapor than it can oxidize, then poison is carried through the -porous earth.” - -Dr. William Porter, of St. Louis, Mo., has recorded the following case:— - -“A young man died suddenly from diphtheria, and was buried in the -village churchyard. At some little distance was a well, from which the -good church-goers drank freely each Sunday. Finally the water of the -well became fœtid, for the supply was infiltrated by the horrible -decomposition from this, the nearest grave. Was it not suggestive that -20 from that congregation died from diphtheria while this impure well -was in use? These people lived in mountain homes, in a pure atmosphere, -and though many of these cases were isolated,—far removed from -others,—yet in all the disease was alike virulent and deadly.” - -Churchyard emanations can penetrate almost anything; they have a -remarkable force. The chairman and superintendent of sewers of Holborn -and Finsbury division, London, claimed that putrid matter from -cemeteries over 30 feet distant had penetrated the cement and brick of -his drain. - -Several years ago, when Mr. Holland, the English government inspector of -burial-grounds, investigated the state of Tooting Cemetery, it -transpired that the drainage provided for the burial-ground was -insufficient; there was merely a system of surface drainage. In one case -(admitted by the cemetery board) a coffin was placed in a grave that -contained enough water to cover the head of it. The entire drainage of -the burial-ground was conducted into a ditch near by, which ended in the -river Wandle, from which the inhabitants obtained their drinking-water. - -Lefort (in a monograph to the Paris Academy of Sciences) points to the -possibility of well-contamination by neighboring cemeteries. In one -instance he detected, by chemical analysis, that a well was polluted by -a burial-ground 50 metres distant. - -[Illustration: - - RETORT - - LANCASTER CREMATORIUM -] - -The Parisian scientist M. Duchamp detected a spring that percolated -entirely through graveyards, picking up organic matter on the way, and -that tasted very strongly. - -Not a few analyses of water tainted by graveyard emanations testify to -the fact that it is harmful, nay, that it is extremely dangerous, to -those who consume it. Nor is the danger always apparent. In 1874 the -Broad Street pump at London, England, carried cholera to those who drank -its water; yet the latter looked clean, had no perceptible taste, and -was odorless. - - “The very witching time of night - When graveyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out - Contagion on this world.” - - —SHAKESPEARE. - -To the question, “Can an epidemic of any kind be caused by graveyard -emanations?” there is but one reply; the facts on record compel us to -answer in the affirmative. - -Dr. Buck, in his excellent work on Hygiene, writes: “It is impossible -for any one to say how long the _materies morbi_ may continue to live -underground. If organic matter can be boiled and frozen without losing -its vitality, and seeds 3000 years old will sprout when planted, it -would be hardihood to assert that the poison of cholera, or small-pox, -or typhus may not for years lie dormant, but not dead, in the moist -temperature of the grave.” - -Dr. Wheelhouse, of Leeds, England, says: “Do we not shun, and that most -wisely, the presence of those afflicted with infectious diseases as long -as they remain amongst us; and yet, no sooner are they removed by death -than we are content, with tender sympathy indeed, and most loving care, -it is true (but with how much wisdom?) to lay them in the ground, that -they may slowly dissipate their terribly infectious gases through the -soil, and saturating that, may thereby recharge the rains of heaven as -they filter through it, with all their virulence and terrible power of -reproduction in the systems of the living. I am not the thorough and -entire believer in the disinfecting and depurating power of the soil -that I once was, for terrible examples of its failure have, in my -judgment, come under my notice.” - -Often the site of an old grave is used to make a new one, and in -consequence earth is brought to light that is saturated with the -effluvia of corpses of those who, perhaps, have died of some contagious -or infectious disease. The crime that is committed by individuals when -they bury persons deceased of such maladies is pithily expressed by that -champion of modern cremation, Sir Henry Thompson, who says: “Is it not -indeed a social sin of no small magnitude to sow the seeds of disease -and death broadcast, caring only to be certain that they cannot do much -harm to our own generation?” But such is selfish human nature! - -The first to show the connection between epidemics and the process of -decomposition was Professor Pettenkofer, of Munich, Bavaria. He -demonstrated that the presence of putrefying organic bodies, air, -moisture, and warmth, in a porous soil, are the potent factors which -originate and develop pestilential germs. - -The great mortality, the severity, that attended in former times the -appearance of epidemics in cities where graveyards were situated in the -center of a large population, illustrates the deadly influence which -these “God’s acres” have. - -Saint Augustine pointed to the fact that epidemics are caused by -decomposing organic bodies. - -Forestus reported many cases of malignant fever caused by the emanations -of cadavers. - -Ambrose Paré, the renowned French surgeon, in 1562 demonstrated that a -malignant (pestilential) fever, then raging in L’Agenois, was due to the -putrid vapors arising from a neighboring well into which many dead -bodies, soldiers fallen in battle, had been thrown. - -Raulin (Observ. de Med.) relates how the section of a corpse at -Leicturm, in the plain of Armagnac, caused a frightful epidemic. - -A terrible pestilence, which decimated especially the lower classes, was -originated in Riorno (Auvergne) by the digging up of the ground of an -old cemetery, done to beautify the city. - -Jean Wolf, who reported upon an epidemic of malignant fever in 1731, -attributed it to putrefying animal remains. - -In 1752 a man who had died of small-pox 30 years ago was dug up in -Chelwood, a village near London, England. He had been buried in an oaken -coffin which, when taken up, was yet entire and could have been so -removed from the grave. But because the grave-digger could not handle it -properly he got impatient and beat in the cover of the casket with his -spade, whereupon immediately a mephitic smell arose that filled the air -to some distance. The corpse, which was to be deposited in a vault, had -been a person of consequence, and therefore not only the inhabitants of -his native village attended the exhumation, but a good many people from -neighboring places. But a few days after 14 persons contracted -small-pox, and within a short time the entire village was infected, only -two individuals enjoying immunity because they had had the disease. -Although the epidemic was of a light character, two persons died of it. -All those in the surrounding villages who had been at the exhumation -were also attacked by small-pox. - -Riecke adduces analogous cases, and relates that the opening of a vault -which contained a victim of small-pox was followed by the death of a -workman and the infection of another person. - -Maret is authority for the following statement: A fever, complicated by -gastric and catarrhal disorders, was prevalent in 1773 at Saulieu, -Burgundy; but few of those it attacked died. This was in the latter part -of February. On the 3d of March, a corpulent body, a victim of the -disease, was buried in the cathedral, and on the 20th of April -following, very near to the first, that of a woman who, in child-bed, -had succumbed to the fever. Maret reports that when the coffin was -lowered into the vault, the ropes slipped from the grasp of the men who -held them; the coffin fell to the ground and broke; a putrid fluid, that -filled the church with a most nauseating odor, oozed from it. Of 170 -persons who remained in the church from the time that the grave was -opened until the conclusion of the ceremony, 149 were attacked by a -malignant putrid fever, which, bearing many of the characteristics of -the prevalent fever, was undoubtedly the result of the vitiation of the -church. - -The city of Tacna, Peru, was yearly visited at certain times by a -pernicious fever, which caused many deaths. The cemetery was in the -center of the city. Finally, the dead were buried outside of the city -limits, and the fever disappeared. - -During the month of March, 1781, and the half-year preceding it, an -epidemic raged at Pasajes, Spain, which befell 127 persons, of which -number 83 died. This epidemic was attributed to the poisonous vapors -arising from the overcrowded vaults of the parish church. - -Trousseau mentions the case of a grave-digger who was attacked by -small-pox soon after opening the grave of an individual who had died of -that malady many years ago. - -Mr. Cooper charged an outbreak of small-pox in Eyam, Derbyshire, Eng., -to the excavation of an old cemetery. - -A dispatch from Montreal, dated Oct. 26, 1885, states that a -grave-digger of St. Sulpice, named Robitaille, made a grave next to -where a man who died from small-pox a month ago was buried. At the time -there was no small-pox in the village; but Robitaille, some days after -digging the grave, sickened and finally died of small-pox, making it -evident that he contracted the disease from the body of a man who had -been buried for a month. - -Recent scientific discoveries confirm the opinion long held by persons -endowed with common sense that the germs of many infectious and -contagious diseases retain their vitality and the power to spread the -respective malady in the grave and the layers of earth surrounding it. -By means of these germs, yellow fever, cholera, small-pox, splenic -fever, scarlet fever, diphtheria, and other diseases belonging to the -same category, can be communicated from the dead to the living, even -years after burial. Concerning splenic fever, which can be transmitted -from animal to man, the great French investigator and pathologist, Louis -Pasteur, says:— - -“Recently, we discovered the characteristic germs in pits in which -animals dead of splenic fever (charbon) had been buried for 12 years; -and their culture was as virulent as that from the blood of an animal -recently dead. Anthracoid germs in the earth of pits in which animals -have been buried are brought to the surface by earthworms; and in this -fact we may find the whole etiology of the disease, inasmuch as the -animals swallow these germs with their food.” - -The _British Medical Journal_ in 1880 commented on Pasteur’s great -discovery as follows:— - -“Pasteur’s recent researches on the etiology of ‘charbon’ shows that -this earth-mould positively contains the specific germs which propagate -the disease, and that the same specific germs are found within the -intestines of the worms. The parasitic organism, or _bacteridium_, -which, inoculated from a diseased to a healthy animal, propagates the -specific disease, may be destroyed by putrefaction after burial. But -before this process has been completed, germs or spores may have been -formed which will resist the putrefactive process for many years, and -lie in a condition of latent life, like a grain of corn, or any -flower-seed, ready to germinate and communicate the specific disease. In -a field in the Jura, where a diseased cow had been buried two years -before at a depth of nearly seven feet, the surface earth not having -been disturbed in the interval, Pasteur found that the mould contained -germs which, introduced by inoculation into a guinea-pig, produced -charbon and death. Further, if a worm be taken from an infected spot, -the earth in the alimentary canal of the worm contains these spores or -germs of charbon, which, inoculated, propagate the disease; and the -mould deposited on the surface by the worm, when dried into dust, is -blown over the grass and plants on which the cattle feed, and may thus -spread the disease. After various farming operations of tilling and -harvest, Pasteur has found the germs just over the graves of the -diseased cattle, but not to any great distance. After rains or morning -dews the germs of charbon, with a quantity of other germs, were found -about the neighboring plants; and Pasteur says that in cemeteries it is -very possible that germs capable of propagating specific diseases of -different kinds quite harmless to the earthworm may be carried to the -surface of the soil, ready to cause disease in the proper animals. The -practical inferences in favor of cremation are so strong that, in -Pasteur’s words, they ‘need not be enforced.’” - -[Illustration: - - FURNACE OF THE BUFFALO CREMATORIUM. - (Venini system.) -] - -Sir T. Spencer Wells pointed out, in his paper read before the British -Medical Association, in August, 1880, that the observations of Darwin, -“on the formation of mould,” made more than 40 years ago, when he was a -young man, are curiously confirmatory of the conclusions of Pasteur. In -Darwin’s paper, read at the Geological Society of London, in 1837, he -proved that, in old pasture-land, every particle of the superficial -layer of earth, overlying different kinds of subsoil, has passed through -the intestines of earthworms. The worms swallowed earthy matter, and, -after separating the digestible or serviceable portion, they eject the -remainder in little coils or heaps at the mouths of their burrows. In -dry weather the worm descends to a considerable depth, and brings up to -the surface the particles which it ejects. This agency of earthworms is -not so trivial as it might appear. By observation in different fields, -Mr. Darwin proved, in one case, that a depth of more than three inches -of this worm-mould had been accumulated in 15 years; and, in another, -that the earthworms had covered a bed of marl with their mould, in 18 -years, to an average depth of 13 inches. - -Professor Klebs, of Prague, Bohemia, discovered the bacteria of malarial -fever. They were called by him _bacilli malariæ_. His discovery was -verified by Prof. Tomassi Crudelli, of Rome, Italy. - -Dr. Robert Koch, of the Imperial Sanitary Bureau at Berlin, Germany, -detected the _bacillus tuberculosis_; there is no doubt, to my mind, but -that consumption can possibly be spread by the upturning of the soil of -a grave containing the victim of tuberculosis. - -The same gentleman, now professor in Berlin University, discovered the -_comma bacillus_ of cholera. He expressed his belief in its propagation -in the grave, especially when the latter is moist. - -Houlier and Feruel are responsible for the statement that, during the -prevalence of the plague in Paris in the beginning of the 18th century, -the disease lingered longest and was the most severe in the vicinity of -the “cimetière de la Trinité.” - -The _Detroit Evening News_, of Sept. 23, 1886, reports the following -case in which diphtheria was contracted from a corpse:— - -“Blanche Hunt, a 12-year old girl, died at Albion of malignant -diphtheria last week. Sophie Calkins, aged 13, died at Fair Haven, Vt., -of the same disease, contracted the week before at Albion. There are no -other cases in town, and these two girls are supposed to have taken the -disease at the cemetery, where they went into the vault containing the -remains of a woman sent there from abroad, who had died from what the -physicians called black jaundice. It is believed her disease was really -diphtheria.” - -As early as 1878, the Massachusetts State Board of Health—one of the -best in the world—showed that diphtheria is originated and diffused by -the emanations of victims of that disease. - -In 1875 the same high authority had reached similar conclusions -regarding typhoid fever. - -There is much evidence to show that cholera was repeatedly caused by the -excavation of the graves of those who had died of the disease, and that -it raged with special violence in the vicinity of cemeteries. - -Dr. Sutherland attested the fact that cholera was unusually prevalent in -the immediate neighborhood of London graveyards. This, however, need not -astonish us, when we consider that the soil of churchyards in some of -the poorer districts in London was raised two, three, or even four feet -in a few years. The great prevalence of epidemic diseases in some parts -of the city finally led to the formation of the Epidemiological Society -of London, under the presidency of Dr. Babington. - -When the cholera visited London in 1854, Mr. Simon asserted that if the -soil of the cemeteries in which the plague-stricken of 1665 were buried -would be upturned, it would make the prevailing scourge more virulent. -It was done in spite of his warning, and his prediction was verified. - -In 1826, when cholera made its appearance in Egypt, the French -government sent out medical officers to discover, if possible, its -origin. It was traced to an old and disused cemetery at Kelioub, a -village near Cairo. - -The outbreak of cholera at Modena, Italy, in 1828, was shown by -Professor Bianchi to be due to the upturning of the ground of -burial-yards in which victims of the plague had been inhumed 300 years -before. - -Nov. 12, 1836, Miaulis, the adjutant of Otto the First, of Greece, was -attacked by cholera, of which he finally died. The body was given in -charge of three men, who also assisted at the post-mortem examination. -On the third day after the funeral of the adjutant, one of the men, -Jacob Kuehnlein, 72 years of age, was taken ill, and died the following -day. The autopsy proved the disease to be Asiatic cholera. Three days -after Kuehnlein’s burial, the second of the men who had guarded Miaulis’ -remains, J. Stroehlein by name, aged 48, was stricken down by the -cholera, to which he succumbed within two days. - -Schauenburg (Cholera, etc., Wuerzburg, 1874, p. 8) gives it as his -opinion that decomposition is favorable to the development of cholera -germs, which means the propagation of the _comma bacillus_. - -The Italians do not only stand at the head of the cremation movement -to-day, but they recognized the value of that sure and never-failing -germicide—fire—as early as 1837; in that year thousands of the victims -of the cholera epidemic, then raging in Italy, were burned on the -seashore at Palermo. - -The report of the London Board of Health for 1849 directs attention to -the fact that the cholera was especially prevalent and fatal in the -neighborhood of graveyards. This, however, need not cause any surprise, -as the _London Athenæum_, to this day one of the most reliable journals -of the United Kingdom, states in 1850 that, during the prevalence of the -scourge, 500 bodies, dead of cholera, were daily interred, in addition -to those of other diseases. - -Professor Jaccoud, of the faculty of medicine of the University of -Paris, claims, in his “Pathologie Interne,” that there are three ways of -transmission of cholera, of which the third is by corpses. - -An employee of the French marine hospital at Therapia, near -Constantinople, was present at the autopsy of Marshal Saint Armand, who -had died of cholera, which was held in the amphitheatre of the -institution. A few days after the man succumbed to a severe attack of -_de choléra foudroyant_, which he had contracted at the post-mortem -examination. - -Dr. F. Bidlot, of Liege, Belgium, states that, in 1867, he was called to -a robust cholera patient who, when asked about the cause of his illness, -said that until noon he had worked at the grave of a person, dead of -cholera, who had been buried very superficially, since an exhumation was -to take place: when the body was disinterred, he was seized by an -illness which soon proved to be cholera. - -The following case was also reported by Dr. Bidlot. A nun who had nursed -cholera patients in a hospital died of the dread disease in the summer -of 1860. At 10 A.M. in the latter part of October she was exhumed. At -four o’clock in the forenoon of the same day Dr. Bidlot was called to -Dr. Romiée, who had attended the disinterment. He was found to be -suffering from cholera, and declared that his illness was owing to his -exposure to the emanations of the body dug up. - -Trinity Church graveyard, at New York, was the center of very fatal -prevalence of cholera at every visit of that pest from 1832 to 1854. - -Dr. Rauch relates (Intra-Mural Interments in Populous Cities, Chicago, -1868) how the cholera was spread in Burlington, Ia., in 1850. Not a -single death took place in the vicinity of the cemetery of the city, -until 20 persons, deceased of cholera, had been interred therein; then -one case after another occurred, till the epidemic became truly -alarming. - -In 1865, when a cholera epidemic invaded Paris, France, it raged with -great virulence in the old quarter of Montmartre; in that part of the -metropolis there was a vast burial-ground, from which toxic vapors were -continually escaping. Of 5000 victims of the epidemic, 1800 belonged to -this ancient community. The great mortality in this quarter of the city -was no doubt due to the presence of the overcrowded cemetery. - -Dr. John Murray, inspector-general of hospitals in Bengal, India, wrote -a book, in which he endeavored to determine whether or not cholera can -be propagated by human remains. He declares emphatically (Propagation of -Cholera, 1873, p. 216), that the body of a cholera patient, dead or -alive, must be regarded as an agent of transmission of the disease; and -adduces the sequent facts to prove his assertion. Several women, whose -business it was to lay out corpses, had contracted cholera. In 1818 a -man died of the dread disease; five fellow-men, who carried his body to -the last resting-place, were taken down with cholera, and died in the -night after the burial. Dr. Townsend reported that, in 1869, three men -were commissioned by the police to carry a corpse to Dumwahi. The day -following their arrival the cholera appeared in this city, and the first -to die of the scourge were the three who had borne the corpse. - -Cholera from time to time threatens to invade our peaceful land. When it -comes, shall we, in view of what has just been shown, bury its victims, -saturate the earth with its specific germs, which, if the grave should -ever be disturbed, may breed a terrible pestilence, if not during our -lifetime, yet surely during that of our descendants? There can be but -one answer: To secure ourselves against a repetition of epidemics, we -must burn our dead; it is a duty that cannot be evaded, that we owe to -all mankind, that, when sinned against, as it has been in the past, is -revenged by the resulting visitation. - -When the cases above related are taken into consideration, even the most -vehement anti-cremationist cannot deny that the specific germs of -infectious and contagious diseases are propagated by earth-burial, and -that the only sure medium for their destruction is fire, for no disease -germ can pass through the rosy heat of the crematory and survive to -propagate its species. - -[Illustration: - - FURNACE OF THE CINCINNATI CREMATORIUM. - (Designed by M R. Conway.) -] - -The scientific world was lately startled by the gladsome news that Dr. -Domingo Freire, a physician of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, had discovered -the peculiar microbe of yellow fever. The blood of yellow fever patients -swarms with these microbes (_cryptococci_), which, by inoculation, -produce the disease in animals. Dr. Freire named the microbe -_cryptococcus xanthogenicus_. He was aided in his labors, to detect the -specific germ of yellow fever, which included microscopic and -spectroscopic examinations as well as experiments on animals, by his -able assistant, Señor Menezes Doria. - -Dr. Freire also examined some soil from the cemetery of Jurujuba, where -victims of the yellow jack (as we call this fever sometimes) lie -interred. Some of this earth was dried and then placed in a cage which -contained a guinea pig. Previously to the introduction of the earth, the -blood of the animal was examined microscopically, and found to contain -no bacteria of any kind. The animal became ill, and died within five -days. When its tissues were examined after death, they were found to -present all the characteristic changes which yellow fever brings about. -The blood was full of _cryptococci xanthogenici_ in various degrees of -development. The urine was highly albuminous. The brain and the -intestines were stained yellow by the infiltration of the coloring -matter of the _cryptococci_. After this discovery, the doctor -recommended that all victims of yellow fever be destroyed by fire, to -prevent general infection. The Brazilian government (one of the most -enlightened in the world) immediately ordered that a cremation furnace -be built at Jurujuba, in which all those that die of yellow fever there -must be incinerated. - -The St. Louis _Medical and Surgical Journal_ makes this very sensible -suggestion regarding the disposition of the remains of those dying of -yellow fever in our own United States. It says:— - -“From what we have learned from private sources, the resurrection of the -bodies, during the winter months, of those who died of yellow fever, has -done much to perpetuate this terrible disease in southern cities, until -the warm weather has set in. Cremation obviates all possible harm that -can come from the dead, and duty to the living demands that everything -be done to destroy the possibility of propagating this and all -contagious diseases that run so malignant a course.” - -Dr. J. F. A. Adams says:— - -“Dr. Joseph Akerly expressed the belief that Trinity Churchyard had been -an active cause of the yellow fever in New York in 1822, aggravating the -malignity of the epidemic in its vicinity. This church was built in -1698, and the ground had been receiving the dead for 124 years. -Sometimes bodies were buried only 18 inches below the surface, and it -was impossible to dig without disturbing the remains. During the -Revolutionary War, this burial-ground had emitted pestilential odors, -and in 1781 Hessian soldiers were employed to cover the ground with a -layer of earth two or three feet in depth. The ground was unusually -offensive in 1782, and annoyed passengers on the surrounding streets -previous to the appearance of the yellow fever in July. During the -epidemic, the condition of this churchyard, and the virulence of the -disease in its vicinity, called for some active measures, and on the -night of Sept. 22 Dr. Roosa covered the ground with 52 casks of -quicklime, the stench being at the time so excessive as to cause several -laborers to vomit. On the 25th and 26th of the same month St. Paul’s -Churchyard, and the vaults of the North Dutch Church in William Street, -received the same treatment, these being likewise very offensive and -foci of epidemics.” - -When the yellow fever raged in New Orleans in 1853, the death-rate in -the Fourth District (in which there were three large burial-grounds) was -452 per 1000 of the population. - -Dr. Bryant, writing on yellow fever at Norfolk in 1855, regards -cemeteries as a constant source of danger in an epidemic, and urges the -total forbidding of intramural or even near-by suburban cemeteries. - -Sir Spencer Wells related a fact recently at a meeting of the Health -Exhibition in London, England, which has a strong bearing on the source -of epidemics and their annihilation by cremation. Some persons who had -died of scarlet fever were interred in a country graveyard. Thirty years -afterward the cemetery was included in a neighboring garden, and the old -graves dug up. Scarlet fever forthwith broke out in the rectory and -parish, and no other probable source having been discovered, it is -impossible to avoid the inference that the germs of scarlatinal -infection can retain their vitality a third of a century. - -In epidemics individuals should be forced to allow their dead (unless -they succumb to some disease other than the prevailing scourge) to be -cremated. To stamp out a contagious or infectious malady, or to arrest -its progress, incineration must be made general; its benefits are _nil_ -when confined to isolated cases. The individual must stand back when the -public health is in jeopardy. - -Governments should not allow bodies to be introduced into their -respective countries from an infected land, unless such bodies have been -previously reduced to ashes. - -Thousands of cases of malignant sickness, I have no doubt, could be -prevented by the prompt introduction of cremation. Why not, then, -introduce it? Simply because there is an unreasonable prejudice against -the custom? It is ridiculous! Should any mere prejudice stand in the way -of a sanitary reform? I leave it to any sound mind to decide the -question. I am not advocating obligatory incineration in times of peace -except in cases of infectious and contagious disease. I would rejoice to -see it generally introduced, but not by force. Cremation, moreover, -needs not the aid of the sword or law; it will find its way unassisted. - -Besides human and animal remains, I think all garbage should be -destroyed by fire. - -The idea of cremation which, carried by the wings of enthusiasm, -traversed the whole civilized world in the spring of 1874, is really -naught but a demand of hygiene in favor of our own health. Not only -physicians, but also laymen, should enter the arena where the great -fight between earth-burial and cremation is going on, and combat for -glorious incineration. - -The International Medical Congress which convened at Florence, Italy, in -1869 examined into the various methods of burial, and concluded by -expressing its belief that cremation was necessary, and should be -adopted in the interest of civilization and public health. - -Dr. C. W. Purdy, of Chicago, Ill., says: “Burial-grounds are -unquestionably ruinous to health, as both theory and facts amply -demonstrate; many sections of population suffer annually disease and -death which are exposed to their influences; all engaged in this -unwholesome system suffer—the grave-diggers, the gardeners, the men who -repair the vaults and tombstones, the friends who visit the graves, and -the whole funeral procession are exposed directly. There is no redeeming -feature about this burial system, degrading to the dead and dangerous to -the living.” - -The celebrated medical author, Moleschott, even more vehemently condemns -cemeteries. He claims that they emit a vapor which causes malignant -fevers, and concludes his remarks by calling them “workshops and -factories of the devil.” - -Beyond a doubt, cremation soonest places the bodies of the dead in a -condition where they can do the least harm to the living. Incineration -destroys all disease germs and at once removes all possibility of the -contamination of air and water by the dead. - -Then why not introduce cremation and do away with all the evils -described in this chapter? It is of no consequence to the dead, whether -they rot in the earth and originate miasma, or are transformed by fire -into pure white ashes. They feel as little of the process of decay as -they do of the flame; their eye is surrounded by the same darkness, -whether they are down in the deep grave or in the glowing light of the -crematory furnace. But it is of the greatest consequence to us, the -living; and the only way to protect ourselves from poisonous infection -by our dead is to burn them. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - CREMATION IN TIMES OF WAR. - - -After a battle is over, the field of carnage is covered with the dead. I -think it cannot be questioned that these are disposed of in a very -careless manner in time of war; not only those who have been killed -during an engagement, but also those who succumb to disease. After a -great combat the slain are usually hastily interred in large trenches, -in which they are arranged in tiers, or piled pell-mell upon each other, -whereupon they are left to decompose. That no more calamity and sickness -results from such a mode of burial, than is usually the case, is due, I -believe, principally to the fact that great battles are generally fought -on fields far from the habitations of man. - -War, God knows, is bad enough, but far worse are the diseases that -follow in its wake. The dead on the “field of honor,” which is soon -naught but a vast cemetery, are, as I have said above, inhumed as -rapidly as possible. There is no time to lose. Hurriedly thousands of -fallen braves are thrown into large pits, and barely covered with earth. -The comrades who have rendered them this last service move onward to -bury others, and leave them to vitiate the air and to form a terrible -herd of infection. Thus it is that a country which has already been -devastated by war is again brought to the verge of despair by the -appearance of typhus fever, dysentery, and other equally serious -maladies. Unfortunately, these diseases do not confine themselves to the -country in which the war has been waged, but also invade the lands of -the peaceful neighbors. - -[Illustration: - - THE CREMATORIUM AT ROME - (From Dr. Pini’s Work.) -] - -There is much evidence to prove that what I say is true. Immediately -after the defeat of Darius, Alexander the Great was advised by the sage -Aristoteles to leave Arbela, to secure himself and his army from the -pestilential emanations of the dead. - -When Syracuse was besieged by Hannibal, he decided to wound the feelings -of the Syracusans by desecrating their dead, who had been buried, as was -the custom in most ancient cities, outside of the city gates. He ordered -his troops to dig up the ill-fated corpses, cut them to pieces, and -strew them all over the field of battle, in full sight of their -horror-stricken relatives and friends. But this barbarous act was -followed by deserved punishment. Pestilence decimated the beleaguerers, -and scores upon scores of the soldiers fell victims to the fatal power -that arose, slow but sure, from the outraged dead. - -Lucan has furnished us with an account of the terrible scourge that -befell the army of Pompey at Durazzo, because it had neglected to bury -the cadavers of the horses killed in the battle. For the same reason the -camp of Constantine the Great was once devastated by the plague. - -Mr. William Eassie, the honorary secretary of the Cremation Society of -England, states (_vide_ his “Cremation of the Dead,” page 19):— - -“With the ancient Athenians, when soldiers fell in battle, it was the -custom to collect them into tents, where they lay for a few days, to -ensure recognition. Each tribe then conveyed their dead in cypress -shells to the ceramicos, or places of public burning, an empty hearse -following behind, in memory of the missing.” - -The first epidemic of spotted fever on record occurred in Spain, in -1490, and was due to the emanations arising from the decaying bodies -which had been left unburied on the battle-ground. - -In 1796 (according to Desgenettes), a military surgeon by the name of -Vaidy supervised the burial of the soldiers and horses that had been -killed in a combat near Nuremberg. While the work was in progress, he -was attacked by colic and nausea, and afterwards suffered for several -days from a severe dysentery. His horse, after having been tortured by -severe abdominal pains, died on the evening of the day when he was taken -sick. Persons who were with Vaidy complained of the same symptoms as he. - -During the campaign in Russia in 1812 many of the French soldiers who -perished in the disastrous retreat were burned by the enemy. - -After the battle of Waterloo 4000 bodies were reduced to ashes on -funeral piles of resinous wood on the field of carnage. - -The ravages of the typhus fever in the armies battling during the -Crimean War are yet well remembered, and were too great to be easily -forgotten. - -An eye-witness (Trusen) of the siege of Sebastopol reported at the time -that: “Those who were but lately our brave soldiers have become greater -enemies of their successors in arms than the Russians themselves. -Barely, and sometimes not at all, covered by earth, their bodies emit a -pestilential miasma, which kills far better than powder and bullet, and -is more reliable than a gun. A bishop has been sent out to consecrate -the trenches in which the dead are piled up, yet the infection will -resist consecration and holy water. Unfortunately, the danger does not -come from our own troops alone. The wind carries the emanations of the -Russian dead into our intrenchments. We besiege Sebastopol, but -pestilence besieges us. The same Frenchmen who came to our rescue with -their sabres now poison us by their putrefaction. Animal remains also -vitiate the air. The cadaver of the noble battle-horse that carried its -rider bravely through the day of Balaklava now lies in the road, and -threatens the victorious dragoon who rode upon it with an inevitable -fate. Burial-ground and camp adjoin each other. Where the soldier fought -and fell is his grave, which is seldom far from the tents of the -surviving.” - -During the expedition to Morea, the French made intrenchments in a -cemetery outside of Patras. All those who were ordered into the trenches -experienced first malarial symptoms, and were finally attacked by -typhoid fever. - -The cholera mowed down more soldiers in the war between Austria and -Prussia, in 1866, than the missiles of either army. - -The Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71 was accompanied by dysentery and -typhus fever. After the battle of Gravelotte the German troops had to -camp for weeks upon the graves of their comrades, subjected all the time -to the most dangerous effluvia from the slain. The bodies of those that -fell at Metz were in many instances dug up by the Germans and -re-interred; since the hasty and superficial way in which they had been -buried in the first place caused contamination of the watercourses near -by, and pollution of the air. - -The evils of earth burial were especially apparent in besieged forts, -for instance in Metz and Paris, 1870–71. - -The communists at Paris evaded the evils of inhumation by burning their -dead in the casemates. - -On July 14, 1877, during the war between Turkey and Russia, General -Tergankassoff informed his government at St. Petersburg, by despatch, -that the air in and about Bayazid was so contaminated by the -decomposition of the dead, that it would not only be unwise, but also -dangerous, to prolong the stay of the troops there. - -On August 24 of the same year, the naval correspondent of the London -_Times_ stated that thousands of soldiers who fell in the Shipka Pass -were so superficially inhumed that relics of the dead, such as arms and -knees, protruded from the earth-heaps. - -On the 14th of September following, the correspondent of the London -_Daily Telegraph_ declared that the stenches of the villages around -Hasankioe were unendurable; that the retreating invaders had cut off the -water-supply by filling up the wells with corpses; and that in -consequence the water had to be brought from a great distance. And on -the seventeenth of the same month, the _Times_ correspondent reported -that fever had broken out at Kezanlik; and that, within 600 yards of his -tent, some hundreds of uninhumed dead could be seen, relics of the -battle which took place some weeks previously. In order to lessen the -danger, the couriers passing along the Yemi Saghra road had actually to -ride with camphor in their mouths. This state of things is not only -deplorable, but pre-eminently shameful. - -It is plain from the above that interment _en masse_, as it is practiced -during war at the present time, is very unsatisfactory, and often leads -to disastrous consequences. Unfortunately, burial in single graves is -impossible, for several reasons. In the first place, it would take up -too much time; secondly, too much room; and, thirdly, it would remove -too many men from the ranks of the combatants. Nothing remains to us, -therefore, but to look about us for some other mode of disposing of the -dead. The list of methods from which we may select one is not very -large. Various schemes have been proposed. One erratic genius actually -proposed to blow up the victims of human strife with dynamite. Of all -the ways of disposing of the slain, none is so good and advantageous as -cremation. History records many instances in which cremation was made -use of to destroy the dead after a battle. - -Mr. Wm. Eassie reports: “During the wars between the English and the -Burgundians and the French,—the latter led by Joan of Arc,—the dead were -on one occasion piled up outside the city of Paris, and consumed in one -huge pyre.” - -Twelve days after the battle of Paris, on the 30th of March, 1814, 4000 -horses, killed during the combat, were burnt by the Germans in the -environs of Paris,—the woods of Montfaucon. - -In the battle at Rivas, Nicaragua, on the 28th of June, 1855, between -government troops and Walker’s Filibusters, the latter lost their -commander, 12 officers, and 100 men, all of whom were cremated. - -Many dead were reduced to ashes by the Carlists, after the battle of -Cuenca. - -More than 40,000 human and animal remains had been inhumed in a very -superficial manner after the battle of Sedan, during the late -Franco-Prussian War. In consequence, the Belgian villages in the -neighborhood were visited by epidemics and infectious diseases. The -Belgian government was petitioned to remove the evil. It despatched -Colonel Creteur to examine into the grievances, and, if possible, remove -them. One’s hair stands on end when one reads the report of the colonel -on the condition of the Sedan battle-field. The only way to remedy the -evil was to destroy the dangerous cadavers by cremation, which was a -difficult task, under the circumstances, but which was nevertheless -accomplished by the ingenious Creteur. The colonel’s report is full of -horrible facts. The bodies of German soldiers in a trench at Laid-Trou -were covered so little by earth that carnivorous animals had already -devoured part of the hands and faces. Rain-water had caused 30 large -pits, containing the remains of Bavarians, to cave in, and had laid bare -the bodies. Between Belan and Bazailles, the owners of a field had -leveled the elevation of a Bavarian grave. Relics of the dead protruded -from the ground. The bodies were covered only by a thin layer of earth, -in which corn flourished luxuriantly. Wild bears, foxes, and dogs, -relishing the human flesh, helped to scratch away the soil over the -remains, as did the numerous crows upon the pit in which the horses had -been buried. Dogs, having once feasted on this fare, would not eat -anything else. Creteur at first could not obtain men to carry out his -plans, as every one who attempted to open the trenches contracted -phlyctæna, an eruption of the skin. Finally, by promising good pay, he -enlisted 27 workmen, whom he endeavored to protect by saturating their -clothing and moistening the graves with a solution of carbolic acid. But -this only intensified the phlyctæna. He then determined to cover the -graves with a layer of chloride of lime, and to pour diluted muriatic -acid upon them subsequently. By this means he succeeded in laying bare -the topmost layer of the corpses. He then had large quantities of coal -tar poured into the pit, which trickled down among the bodies to the -bottom, thoroughly covering the remains. He then had more chloride of -lime heaped upon the corpses, and finally had bundles of hay, previously -saturated with kerosene, thrown burning into the pit. Creteur declares -that from 200 to 300 bodies were consumed within 50 to 60 minutes. The -smoke, impregnated with the smell of the carbolic acid that was formed -by the combination of the chloride of lime and coal tar, was not -offensive, and proved entirely harmless to the workmen. About one-fourth -of all the contents remained in the pits, consisting of calcined bones -and a dry mass. These were again covered with chloride of lime, and then -the trenches were closed. In this way, 45,855 human and equine bodies -were disposed of. - -[Illustration: THE MILAN CINERARIUM.] - -Incineration in war-time should be obligatory—must be so in fact. At -present, cremation in portable furnaces is out of the question, because -it would take too long. Only the bodies of prominent officers might be -thus cremated and sent to the rear, so that they might rest under a -monument erected by the grateful people of the country that they served. -Under the existing circumstances, I think Creteur’s method would be the -best. By this means, several hundred bodies could be destroyed at once. -There ought to be a cremation corps in every division of an army. Better -yet it would be to organize a neutral society, like the Red Cross -Association, and call it the Society of the Black Cross. The members -might wear a black cross on their caps and on the left arm. After a -battle, the various corps of this society would begin their work, -gathering the dead and committing them to the flames. Thus we would -protect our brave soldiers, who offer up their lives for their beloved -country and our sake, from pestilence and disease. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - THE PROCESS OF MODERN CREMATION. - - -In beginning the consideration of the various processes of cremation, I -ought to speak of the ancient pyre first; but since it was fully -described in a previous chapter, I deem it best to dismiss it with this -passing notice. I will remark, however, that were the introduction of -cremation attempted with a view to the use of this barbarous mode, that -is, if there were no alternative but to burn the dead in the -old-fashioned way, I would not be the advocate of incineration; for the -method of antiquity was not only obnoxious to the senses, but almost as -dangerous to the living as burial in the earth. - -It would take up too much space and would, moreover, be entirely useless -to describe in detail the numerous European cremation apparatuses, of -which those of Siemens, Brunetti, and Gorini are best known. The trouble -with these furnaces is, that (1) the apparatus costs too much; (2) the -process of cremation, when they are employed, is too expensive. - -Therefore I will confine myself to a description of the cremation -furnaces used in America. - -The crematory at Washington, Pa., is a small, plain, brick building, -containing but two rooms,—furnace and reception room. The retort is -exactly similar to the ones used in making gas, and, indeed, the whole -process is the same. - -The Washington crematory is one story high, 30 feet long, 20 feet wide. -The reception room is 20 feet square, including walls, and the furnace -room 20 feet by 10 feet, including walls. Cremation is performed in a -fire-clay cylinder or retort, called the incinerator, which is three -feet in diameter by seven feet long, and the walls of which are from one -to two inches thick. The retort is like those used in the manufacture of -illuminating gas, but somewhat of a different shape. It is heated to a -red heat by a furnace fire which is built underneath and kept burning -for 20 or 30 hours before the cremation is to take place. The body is -placed in an iron crib made in the shape of a coffin, with small, round -rods, with feet three or four inches long to keep it up off the bottom -of the retort. These feet are inserted into a flat strip of iron two -inches wide and a quarter inch thick, turned up at the ends so that the -crib with the body will slide into the retort easily. In addition to the -ordinary burial garments, the body is covered with a cloth wet with a -saturated solution of sulphate of alum (common alum), which even when -burned, retains its form and prevents any part of the corpse from being -seen until the bony skeleton begins to crumble down. The incinerator -receives to itself the intense heat of the fire below, but does not -admit the flames. The consequence is that the corpse, when introduced -into the retort, is not, in a proper sense of the word, burned. It is -reduced to ashes by the chemical application of intense heat. Gases are -driven off or absorbed, and, being carried down into the fire from the -incinerator and led back and forth 25 feet through its flames, are -utterly consumed. Even the smoke of the fire is consumed, and nothing -can be seen issuing from the chimney but the quiver of the heat. The -process might be called, says an eye-witness of a cremation in this -furnace, the spiritualization of the body, the etherealization or -sublimation of its material parts. The time required to complete the -operation is about two hours. A very small portion of the remains is -ashes, but the mass is in the form of calcined bones in small fragments, -very white, odorless, entirely deprived of all animal matter, and may be -preserved any length of time without change. - -There are four to seven pounds of these remains from various sized adult -bodies, and can be placed for preservation in a marble or terra-cotta -urn, into which a photograph of the deceased, with appropriate record, -can be placed before introducing the remains. This urn can be placed in -the columbarium of the crematory, kept among the cherished memorials of -the family of the departed, or placed beside other remains previously -buried in cemeteries or graveyards. - -Dr. Le Moyne favored placing the remains of the dead in a one-gallon -salt-mouthed druggist’s bottle, with a large ground stopper. After his -death, however, the bottle-urn idea proved impracticable, therefore the -ashes were generally placed in a sealed tin box. - -The furnace erected at Lancaster, Pa., is on a new system, which was -devised by Dr. M. L. Davis. The cost of the crematorium was about $5000. -The building is beautifully located upon a bluff overlooking the -Conestoga River. The grounds occupy two and one-half acres. The -crematory is of gothic architecture, 48 × 32 feet, and contains four -rooms,—the audience room or chapel, toilet, reception, and furnace room. -The chapel is used for religious services, the toilet room for the -accommodation of relatives and friends accompanying the body, the -reception room to receive the body and prepare it for incineration; all -of the apparatus is located in the furnace room, except the retort -doors, which face the auditorium. The firing is done in the rear of the -furnace, where all tools and miscellaneous articles are kept. The floor -of the auditorium is made of Portland cement; the other parts of the -building are floored with brick. The audience room is furnished with -chairs and a table for the use of ministers or the officers of societies -having charge of the ceremonies at cremation; the walls are decorated -with pictures and urns of various designs. The waiting or toilet room is -provided with chairs, lounges, toilet-stand, etc., for the comfort of -the waiting friends. The grounds consist of a plot of two acres, -one-half of which is level—here the building is located; the other is a -hillside of solid limestone rock—here the society intends erecting -columbaria at an early day. The grounds around the building are -beautified by roadways, walks, trees, shrubbery, etc. - -The furnace invented by Dr. Davis is made of firebricks and tiles. The -outside dimensions are 10 ft. 6 in. long, by 6 ft. 6 in. wide, with -9-in. walls of brick. The furnace rests on a foundation 10 ft. 6 in. by -7 ft. 6 in. and 2 ft. 6 in. deep, of good building stone, with mortar of -sharp sand and quicklime or equally suitable material, finished level -with the floor of the building. At the rear end the center is occupied -by the fire chamber (F) 18 in. wide, 48 in. long, 3 ft. 9 in. high to -arch, lined with fire-brick 9 inches thick and roofed with an arched -fire-clay tile 4 in. thick, covered by 3-in. shield tile. The iron doors -(fire and ash) are furnished with frames, the fire-door is protected by -a lining of asbestos and fire-clay; the grate-rest is 1 ft. 3 in. from -the floor; beneath the grate are two iron pipes (1½ in.) at the sides, -to carry heated air to supply oxygen to the flues (at O); a third iron -pipe (⅝ in.) passing to the rear of the fire chamber and up through its -back wall to the retort (at P); a fourth pipe (3-in. diameter) leading -from the top of the rear end of the retort (at M) down through the rear -wall and opening in the ash chamber under the grate-bars (at N), to -carry off the surplus gases not consumed in the retort. The air-supply -pipes are required to keep up rapid combustion by replacing the oxygen -already used, and so to equalize the heat at both ends of the retort. -The air-pipes leading into the retort so assists the disintegration of -the body in the same way, supplying additional oxygen and making -oxidation more rapid. The retort is 9 ft. 9 in. long, 3 ft. wide, and 2 -ft. high in the clear; it is floored with 3-in. fire-clay tile in -sections; the sides are of 3-in tile, also in sections; the roof is of -the same material arched in sections. The retort is made in sections -rather than in one single piece, in order to make allowance at the -several joints for the great expansion and contraction incident to a -heat of 2000 to 2500 degrees, thus avoiding the annoyance and expense of -cracks and patching. The retort is supported by the arched roof of the -fire chamber and its covering of shield tile, and back of the fire -chamber by fire-clay pillars, and at the sides by projections of the -tile partitions between the flues. Six pairs of flues surround the -retort, 15 and 13½ inches wide respectively, and 3 in. deep, separated -by tile partitions 3 in. thick. The gases from the fire chamber enter -the first pair through curved openings (QQ) and pass up through AA down -through BB (receiving additional oxygen at O), and up again through CC, -and through the escape-flue S, into the chimney. The outside facing of -the flues is 3-in. tile. Between the outside facing of the flues and the -9-in. brick wall is a space of 3 inches which is packed with asbestos to -prevent radiation of heat and allow for lateral expansion and -contraction of the outer casing of the flues, giving it much longer -life. Above the fire space on the top of the retort, which is 4 inches -deep, is an arch of 9-in. fire-brick, above which ashes and sand are -filled in to the depth of 6 inches above the top of the arch, and -floored over with red brick. The retort door is lined with asbestos and -fire-clay; it is made of steel plate, closing against a flanged iron -frame, and held to its place by a spider, upon which is screwed down an -arm swinging with the door and fastening to the frame; the frame is held -to its place by two horizontal bars, walled in at the ends. This -arrangement secures a tight joint when the door is closed; the stay-bars -hold the frame, the bar holds the door to the frame and gives the -fulcrum for pressure on the spider, while swinging with the door it is -out of the way when not in use. The whole structure is protected by -three buckstays of T iron on each side, securely joined by ¾-inch iron -rods, furnished with nuts to allow tightening or loosening when -necessary. The fire-brick escape-flue connects with the chimney; the -dimensions are 16 × 14 inches in the clear; the chimney rests on sills -of T iron, supported by brick pillars, and is lined with fire-brick for -6 feet above the retort, and is carried up to a total height of 30 feet. - -I have given so minute a description of this apparatus because it is an -invention of which not only Dr. M. L. Davis, but his countrymen with -him, may feel justly proud. It is the first cremation furnace that -possesses the two cardinal requirements of a good incinerator; namely, -cheapness and usefulness. The price of this apparatus is from $1200 to -$1500; the European furnaces cost $3000 and more. The Davis furnace, -moreover, uses less fuel than the European apparatus, whereby the -expense of cremation is much decreased. Ordinarily, coke and hard or -“steamboat” coal is used in this furnace, although (and this is an -additional advantage) gas, oil, or any other heating material may be -used. The quantity required varies somewhat, but the average amount -necessary to heat the furnace and incinerate a body is 250 pounds of -coke and 250 pounds of coal, or about one-fourth ton of fuel. The time -occupied for complete incineration varies according to the condition of -the body, but ranges from 45 minutes to one hour and a half. The furnace -can be heated in six hours, but usually more time is occupied in -heating, as there is less liability of injury to the furnace by rapid -expansion. - -When the Davis furnace is used, the process is as follows: The -catafalque, bearing the crib which is covered with a cloth 15 feet long, -wet with alum water, is placed by the side of the casket containing the -body, the lid of which is removed and strips of muslin are passed under -it. The ends of the bands are attached to an elevator, and the body is -gently raised up and placed upon the alum-sheet-covered crib, the free -end being covered over, thus entirely enveloping it. This procedure is -necessary to prevent the clothing in which the corpse is dressed from -igniting. All being in readiness, the catafalque, on noiseless casters, -is placed in front of the retort. A cable is then attached to the crib, -the retort door is opened, a signal is given, and the catafalque with -its burden gently approaches the open retort; when near, it stops, and -noiselessly the corpse is moved into the retort, impelled, as it were, -by an unseen agency. When it is in the proper position, a signal is -given, the machinery in the rear and out of sight stops, the door is -closed air-tight, and the mechanical process gives way to the chemical. - -When the retort is opened, the cold air rushing in, the cold body, crib, -and alum-sheet chill for a few moments the inner surface of the retort; -in a few moments the retort regains its heat; a fine mist commences to -arise from the body, which gradually becomes thicker and more dense, -until the inside of the retort has the appearance of dense white mist. -The idea of fine snow or fog is suggested. This appearance remains until -the soft tissues are reduced to ashes. Then the interior of the retort -gradually becomes more clear. The alum-sheet will be seen to be in the -same position as when put in; perhaps slightly sunken. A blue flame will -be seen arising through the sheet; about six inches above the body it -becomes extinguished. This continues until the bony structure is -completely cremated, when all is white as snow, and nothing can be seen -inside the retort, the ashes having fallen through the crib and the -alum-cloth collapsed. The oxygen by the intense heat has been made to -unite with the carbonaceous elements of the body, and the resulting -carbonic acid gas, ammonia, and water are driven off through the retort -walls into and through the flues to the air without, where they mingle -with the elements of nature. In the retort are the ashes, consisting of -pure oxide of lime. - -It is plain from the above that the corpse does not come in contact with -the flames, that is, the fire, in this apparatus. There is no burning. -The body is simply oxidized, and the union of the oxygen and the organic -matter composing the body is so complete that what nature has so -perfectly formed in life appears to gently, quietly melt away in death, -and becomes resolved into its original elements. - -The record of the Davis furnace has been so far entirely satisfactory. -The Lancaster crematorium contains two of these furnaces. This crematory -has no smokestack; that is, the chimney reaches but several inches above -the roof of the building. - -On Nov. 23, 1885, Prof. T. R. Baker, Ph.D., of the Millersville State -Normal School, collected 30 jars of gases from the escape-flue of the -Lancaster crematorium, with a view of analyzing them, to ascertain the -nature of the products of combustion of the human body during -incineration. Many persons have contended that poisonous gases are given -off, thereby polluting the air; and it was with a view of clearing up -this phase of the subject that the experiment was undertaken. The -apparatus used to collect the gases consisted of an iron gas-pipe, five -feet being bent two feet from one end at right angles. The long end was -passed down the escape-flue from the furnace. To the other end was -attached a glass tube, which ran to a U-tube surrounded with ice, to -condense vapors. The gas was collected in a jar. Fifteen jars were thus -collected before the body was introduced into the retort, and 15 at -various stages of the incineration. The body was that of a man who had -died from dropsy. Below will be found Dr. Baker’s report. - - STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, - MILLERSVILLE, Pa., Dec. 7, 1885. - - DR. M. L. DAVIS:— - - _Dear Sir_: I have completed the examination of the gaseous - products recently obtained from the chimney of the Lancaster - crematorium, and will now report the results of my investigation. - The escaping products were tested at the crematorium for water and - for gases readily soluble in water, and several bottles of these - products were collected before the body was put in the retort, as - well as during the cremation. - - Water, etc., were tested for by passing several gallons of the - escaping products through the U condensation tubes, surrounded by - ice, and then through distilled water. The estimated amount of - water in the products escaping before the body was put in the - retort was .0011 of a cubic inch to the gallon, while during the - cremation it was .0044 of a cubic inch to a gallon. - - The water through which the gases were passed, both that used - before the body was put in the retort and that used during the - cremation, had a distinct acid reaction, quickly reddening blue - litmus paper. I could not, however, detect any difference in the - degree of acidity of the waters, and their reaction did not - indicate that the gases which had passed through them were more - acid than the gaseous products passing off from ordinary coal - fires. The waters were found to contain traces of the mineral - acids generally found in very small quantities in the products of - the combustion of mineral coal. They gave no reaction for salts of - ammonia, nor for sulphuretted hydrogen. - - The gases collected for laboratory examination were tested - especially for carbonic acid (CO_{2}), illuminating gas, oxygen - (O), carbonic oxide (CO), and nitrogen (N). - - The method of examination employed was that generally followed in - gas analysis, namely, the absorption of the gases by liquid - reagents. Carbonic acid was absorbed by potassium hydrate; - illuminants by bromine; oxygen by phosphorus; and carbonic oxide - by cuprous chloride dissolved in hydrochloric acid. - - The estimated amounts of the gases enumerated above are as - follows, the values indicating the parts of a cubic inch to the - gallon; the estimated water being also included in the table:— - - ┌─────────────────┬──────┬──────┬────────────┬─────┬─────┬────┐ - │ │H_{2}O│CO_{2}│Illuminating│ O │ CO │ N │ - │ │ │ │ Gas. │ │ │ │ - ├─────────────────┼──────┼──────┼────────────┼─────┼─────┼────┤ - │Before Cremation,│ .0011│.00080│ .000│.0080│.0000│.016│ - │During Cremation,│ .0044│.00091│ .012│.0065│.0017│.015│ - └─────────────────┴──────┴──────┴────────────┴─────┴─────┴────┘ - - It will be seen by a comparison of these results that the gaseous - products of ordinary coal combustion are modified to only an - inconsiderable extent by matter passing through the walls of the - cremation retort. Illuminating gas is a variable mixture of - hydrogen, marsh gas, olefiant gas, and other gases, and is - entirely harmless when produced in the small quantities indicated - in the table, and so thoroughly distributed through the air. That - so much free oxygen passes off with the escaping products is an - indication of the thoroughness of the combustion, and the complete - oxidation of the oxidizable products. - - In conclusion, I would say that not any of the many and various - tests, either at the crematorium or in my laboratory, of the - products under consideration, indicated the presence of anything - that would pollute the air. The burning of the body produces no - material difference in the gases escaping from the chimney. The - volume of the chimney products did not seem to be increased by the - burning of the body, and the products had precisely the same odor - during cremation that they had before the body was put in the - retort. - - I might add that I also made a test of the temperature of the - products issuing from the chimney, and found it to be about 300° - F. This is surprisingly low, considering the high temperature of - the retort (2500° to 2800° F.), and indicates a most excellently - designed furnace, utilizing as it does so large a percentage of - the heat. About one-fourth of the heat of boiler furnaces goes up - the chimney. - -The process of cremation invented by Joseph Venini, of Milan, Italy, is -used in the crematorium of Buffalo, N. Y. The process consists of two -parts: first, the generation of gas; and second, the cremation proper. -The apparatus is constructed with a gas generator (A), which is a simple -fire-pot about four feet in a vertical measurement and two laterally, -and is located in the basement of the crematory. The air for combustion -is admitted through a grate in the bottom, and is not sufficient to -allow of the combustion of the entire mass of small wood which is heaped -on the fire. The result is that the fire at the bottom distils the wood -at the top, and the gases of distillation and combustion of wood are -carried to the back end of the incinerating chamber (B), which is on the -main floor. Here these gases are met by air heated in a chamber (C) -outside of the furnace, where the two are ignited by a fire (D) which is -kept burning just under their point of union. The Bunsen flame (E) thus -produced is thrown quite across the incinerating chamber; thence it is -carried back beneath the retort by the flue (F) into the basement to a -chimney, which is about 40 feet high, and so to the open air. A certain -amount of gas is also burned in the flue (F) beneath the incinerating -retort and also at the bottom of the chimney. It will be seen from this -description the Bunsen burners play directly upon the subject, and by -their heat liberate the gases of the body, which gases, being burned in -the retort, are carried into the flue beneath; here another Bunsen flame -(H) ignites such combustible material as has not been consumed in the -retort, and at the foot of the chimney the third Bunsen burner, which is -not represented in the illustration, finishes the combustion. To heat -the apparatus requires an hour and a quarter, and when the temperature -is 2500° to 3000° F., the body is placed in the furnace, and in about an -hour is cremated. The amount of fuel used is little more than half a -cord of wood, or its equivalent. - -The furnace which will be used at the Cincinnati crematorium is on a -novel system devised by Mr. M. R. Conway. After the fire is lighted, -steam is generated by means of pipes situated in the flues; this steam -passes up through the center wall of the furnace and is distributed over -the incandescent coke. In its passage it gathers air enough to supply -the required oxygen. It also brings with it the gases generated from the -body being incinerated, and all these gases are regenerated into an -intense heat in the combustion chamber; making a perfectly odorless -furnace. - -I quote from a pamphlet written by an “eye-witness” of cremation, who -had before looked upon it with repugnance, but who on witnessing it -became a most earnest advocate:— - -“A furnace fire is built and kept burning for 20 or 30 hours before the -cremation is to take place. Immediately above the fire is placed in a -horizontal position a cylinder of clay called the incinerator, three -feet in diameter by seven feet long. This fire-clay incinerator, the -walls of which are from one to two inches thick, receives to itself the -intense heat of the fire below, but does not admit the flames. The -consequence is that the body, when placed in the incinerator, is not, in -a proper sense of the word, burned. It is reduced to ashes by the -chemical application of intense heat. Gases are driven off or absorbed, -and being carried down into the fire from the incinerator and led back -and forth 25 feet through its flames, are utterly consumed. Even the -smoke of the fire is consumed, and nothing can be seen issuing from the -chimney but the quiver of the heat. The process might be called, as we -have said, the spiritualization of the body, the etherealization or -sublimation of its material parts. - -“When the incinerator has been raised to a white heat, it is ready for -the reception of the remains. As the cover is removed from its mouth, -the in-rushing air cools it from a white to a red heat, and the whole -inner surface is filled with a beautiful rosy light which is fascinating -to the eye. It looks like the blush of dawn upon the sky, or like the -exquisite tints which sometimes flicker along the aurora borealis. There -is nothing repulsive about it, and nothing, as has been said, to suggest -the idea of fire except the intense heat. - -“The body, being decently clad for burial and tenderly laid in the crib -provided for the purpose, is wholly covered with a clean, white sheet -which has been dipped in a solution of alum. The effect of this is to -entirely prevent smoke or fumes or flame, which would otherwise arise -from putting anything inflammable into the midst of such a heat; but, -under its protection, even the extraordinary heat of the incinerator -does not produce upon the body the appearance of scorching or smoking or -anything of the sort. There is no such impression as that of burning -made upon the eye. The sheet, saturated with alum, retains its original -position over the crib, and conceals the entire form until nothing but -the bones are left; and when the eye first rests upon the remains after -they are left in the rosy light of the cylinder, it sees nothing but -these bones gently crumbling away into dust under the mystic touch of an -invisible agent, whose only appearance to the eye is like the tremor of -the northern lights in the sky; or, more exactly, the radiation of heat -from the earth beneath the summer’s sun. - -“You have laid a white-robed form within the rosy cylinder, and have -turned away to think with gratitude that all is well. You have let your -imagination dwell lovingly upon the pleasing sentiment that whatever may -be left—beside the calcined bones, most pure and clean—has gone to -mingle with the upper air and dwell with sunshine, birds, and flowers. -The darkness and the dampness of the earth have been escaped, and so -have the perils of grave-snatching, the indecencies of a possible -dissecting-room, and the nameless horrors of putrefaction. You have -pleasant memories to cherish of the ‘last sad hour,’ which, instead of -‘breathless darkness’ and the ‘narrow house’ and the dreadful thud of -falling earth upon the coffin, presents to mind a lovely bed of rosy -light, and a peaceful form clad in virgin purity resting within its soft -embrace. If a lily had been laid upon a bed of pinks or roses, in the -summer, and you had seen its fragrance and its beauty all exhale amid -the shimmering beams or radiated heat beneath the touch of some -invisible and gentle agency, you would have had a not dissimilar -experience. And this is neither painful to the eye, nor distressing to -the sensibilities, nor ungrateful to the memory.” - -The following beautiful description of a cremation of the future is from -the _Modern Age_ for January, 1884, a journal which, alas! was -discontinued for lack of support:— - -“It is not a disagreeable journey on which we now propose to take our -readers. It is to witness the final disposition of a friend’s remains in -the ideal crematory of the future—science having already perfected the -mechanical appliances necessary in conducting it in the way we describe. -Our friend has died, and through the usual announcements we learn that -the last rites will be performed in the columbarium at a given hour. -Repairing thither at the appointed time, we first pass through a grove -of stately trees, the soothing murmur of whose rustling leaves brings -peace and quiet into the hearts of those who mourn and gather to pay the -last tribute. Within the grove stands a massive building of gray masonry -whose architecture shows no striving after ornamental effect, and whose -solid proportions give a sense of eternal permanency. A few small -windows in a simple frieze which crowns its walls do not destroy this -effect, and their plain stained glass clashes in nowise with the harmony -of color between the sky, the trees, and the gray stone of the temple of -rest. About the Doric pillars of its portico green vines twine fondly as -if they, too, would do their share in robbing death of all its -hideousness. To this place loving hands have borne the body of our -friend. No coffin lends its horror to the journey from this earthly home -to here, where eternal sleep awaits him. A flower-strewn bier gives -poetic carriage for this short and final journey. Entering the broad -portal, the soft, deep notes of an organ charm the ear. The eye takes in -a most imposing sight. The entire interior of the building is one -impressive room, with walls, floor, ceiling, all of white and spotless -marble. The view is not a dazzling one, for the light is subdued and -comes in varied color through the windows at the top. On either side of -the chamber stand a few memorial statues,—real works of art,—each one of -them keeping alive the memory of some one who in his life was either -good or great. Many of the marble slabs in the sides and floor of the -temple bear in plain, sunken letters, a name and two dates. Behind or -beneath them are niches containing urns where rest the pure white ashes -of the beloved dead. On a simple dais in the middle of the room lays the -body of our beloved friend. The hour has come, and about it are gathered -those who knew and loved him while he lived. The scene, the -surroundings, the subdued music of the organ, the absence of everything -to jar upon the taste or senses, brings on a mood of solemn -contemplation. No thought of physical corruption jars upon our memories -of the dead. The opening words of the speaker are said, a hidden choir -harmoniously chants of hope and life, and now the end has come. With the -words ‘ashes to ashes’ a white pall is thrown over the dais, and we have -looked upon our friend for the last time. The dais noiselessly sinks -from sight, a short hour is spent in listening to a funeral oration, or -in contemplation, until the dais, still covered with the pall, rises -from below. The pall removed, we see upon the dais an urn—provided -beforehand, and containing the ashes of our friend. This is now sealed -into one of the niches, and the ceremony is over. This is not pure -imagination. Modern invention has now robbed incineration of all its -objectionable features. Never till of late years could the world well -and simply solve the problem of what to do with its dead. The whole -process is carried on as we have pictured, and without a single -revolting feature in any part of it.” - - - - - CHAPTER V. - THE MEDICO-LEGAL ASPECT OF INCINERATION.—THE OBJECTIONS TO CREMATION. - - -The battle between torch and spade is not new; it has been going on -since early times. Tertullian, a writer of the second century, declares -that many of the Gentiles were opposed to cremation on the score of the -cruelty which it did to the body, which did not deserve such penal -treatment. This is exactly what some are asserting now. The work of an -ancient Greek poet even contains a passage requesting Prometheus to take -back the fire which he had procured them. There was a time when the -Pagans were disputing the propriety of burning the dead upon any -consideration whatever. Heraclitus advocated cremation; Thales and -Hippon, earth burial. In the war which a few Christians are now waging -against incineration, we therefore only have another illustration of how -history repeats itself. Peoples are still contesting the point in lands -which are painted in Pagan black upon the maps of the missionaries, and -where Christians as yet have no footing. Some sects in Japan bury and -some burn their dead; some of the Hindoos practice interment, others -incineration. - -[Illustration: - - THE BUFFALO CREMATORIUM. - (Exterior View.) -] - -The injudicious promoters of cremation are among the greatest enemies of -the reform. The utterance that incineration should be obligatory was -extremely unfortunate, as was the idea of producing illuminating gas for -general use from the combustion of corpses, something after the fashion -of the twelfth century’s _lanternes des morts_. The fancy of Sir Henry -Thompson to use the ashes resulting from cremation as a fertilizer was -also a mischievous idea, and did much to delay the progress of -incineration in Great Britain. - -The abhorrence entertained by many of cremation depends, to a very great -extent, on the universal tendency of individuals and peoples to resent -any interference with established customs; to reject any innovation, -simply because it is an innovation. For instance, if cremation should be -the customary practice at the present time, a proposition to -re-establish inhumation would meet, I am certain, with the most violent -opposition. - -The cremationists are now charged with enthusiasm and fanaticism by -individuals who would be content that science should “stand at gaze like -Joshua’s moon in Ajalon.” Most of the progress in all departments of -learning has been made by enthusiasts, and a man must be an enthusiast -indeed to withstand the prejudice “dry as dust” which yields the ground -slowly and grudgingly, but which is certain to be defeated in the end. - -The first question that comes before us for consideration is, Would not -cremation destroy the evidence of crime? This refers not only to cases -of poisoning, but also to those instances where persons meet with a -violent death by being shot, stabbed, or otherwise severely injured. -This is the only tangible objection that has ever been made by the -anti-cremationists. It is of great importance, and unless we are able to -show that it can be obviated, we must admit that it constitutes a -serious drawback to cremation. This, as Dr. J. O. Marble appropriately -remarks, is, in fact, the one and only real lion in the way of the -progress of incineration as a substitute for inhumation, and unless we -can muzzle this lion, he may frighten away the pilgrims. - -If the charges made by the anti-cremation party were true, incineration, -if established, would offer facilities for the commission and -concealment of hideous crimes. A victim could be destroyed by poison, -the dead body carried to a furnace and reduced to a small heap of ashes -in a short space of time, and the crime thus forever placed beyond the -reach of detection. The cremator, then, would become the instrument and -accomplice of the murderer. It is urged that the agents employed in the -commonest form of secret murder—poisoning—are often of a novel, subtle, -and various character. We are apprised that it is extremely improbable -that the physician called in, if he be called in, has ever seen their -effects, either on man or animals; that care will be taken that he shall -not see them; that the poisoner has the advantage of preparation on his -side; and finally, that discovery, when made, is generally made at some -variable period after death, and then rather in consequence of an -aggregation of suspicious collateral circumstances pointing to the -commission of other crimes of a like nature than of any possible -observations at the bedside of the murdered person. Indeed, a formidable -array of arguments, which can be, nevertheless, overcome in several -ways. The question now before us for solution is not of recent date, but -has already agitated the minds of the ancients, who, most probably, -investigated the cause of death before they consigned their dead to the -funeral pyre. Tacitus, the Roman historian, relates that the corpse of -Germanicus lay in state in the forum of Antioch, a place fixed for -sepulchral rites, but that “whether it bore the marks of poisoning yet -remains undecided,” for the people were divided in their opinions, some -pitying Germanicus and suspecting Piso’s guilt, others prejudiced in -favor of the latter. - -Pliny also relates in chapter 71 of his Natural History, lib. xi: “It is -claimed that the heart of those who die of _morbus cardiacus_ (organic -heart disease) cannot be destroyed by fire, and the same is said to be -true of the heart of poisoned persons.” An oration of Vitellus is extant -in which he accuses Piso, the physician, of having poisoned Germanicus, -since the heart of the latter would not burn. Piso defended himself by -describing the disease of which the emperor had died. - -Dr. J. O. Marble, who has written of this subject, affirms: “It must be -admitted that cases of criminal poisoning, such as would be detected by -an exhumation and examination of a buried body, are very rare, for in -our day Lucrezia Borgias and Brinvilliers are few and easily detected. -In a community like ours cases of this kind are extremely rare. In a -vast majority of cases the cause of death is perfectly evident to any -intelligent physician. No doubt obscures the case. The list of causes of -death, perfectly evident even to the friends and non-medical persons, -embraces probably at least nine-tenths of the whole mortality. Doubtful -cases have generally been visited by more than one skilful physician. -The fraction in which crime of any sort might have been perpetrated -becomes thus very small. Moreover, in the present state of chemical -analysis and expert medical testimony, the advantages of the posthumous -examination of a body with a view to the detection of crime accrue less -to justice than to the lawyer for the defense.” - -The medico-legal objection, as it is called, does not apply in every -case, since every day individuals die of easily determined causes, such -as small-pox, consumption, hemorrhage from the lungs or stomach, -drowning, or other accidents, and suicide; in short, in such a way as to -place the cause of death beyond cavil and dispute. - -It is true that a regular proportion of bodies are dug up every year on -suspicion of foul play; but, aside from the fact that that proportion is -very small, how many of these cases justify the exhumation? So uncertain -and inaccurate is the post-mortem evidence of criminal poisoning, that -no bodies have been exhumed for forensic purposes in Vienna, Austria’s -capital, since 1805. - -Tarchini-Bonfanti, for 26 years _perito-medico_ (medical expert) at the -tribunal of Milan, Italy, declares that during this time, although many -thousands of litigations came before the court which was requested to -pronounce judgment upon them, only in ten cases was it necessary to -resort to exhumation. Only ten cases in 26 years, out of several -thousands of lawsuits, and four only out of the ten exhumations led to -the detection of the crime and the criminal. These four cases, however, -occurred in a single lawsuit—that of Boggia. In this instance the -disinterment would have taken place, even if cremation had been at the -time an established and universal custom, for Boggia had buried his -victims in his own cellar. Tarchini-Bonfanti asserts that exhumations -for forensic purposes are extremely rare, and that those which are made -yield either negative, or at best doubtful results. - -Disinterment, instead of furnishing an explanation, instead of shedding -light upon some mystery, more often is followed by confusion, and may -give rise to erroneous conclusions. It would be next to impossible to -cremate a murdered person in a furnace of the ordinary kind. As to the -poor and ignorant murderer, the regulation of cremation would make him -shrink from submitting his victim to the authorities of a crematorium, -and he would find it far more convenient and safe to inter the corpse -secretly, as these criminals generally do at the present time. - -There are many poisons which, by a rapid change of their substance, are -extremely difficult to detect in the human body after death, even after -a short time, sometimes but a few days; for instance, cyanide of -potassium, prussic acid, and at certain times phosphorus. But when a -careful inquest, such as the cremationists propose, is held, poisoning -by these agents cannot so easily escape detection. In poisoning by -phosphorus, the yellow hue of the face of the victim would excite -suspicion and lead to a post-mortem examination, when the characteristic -sign of phosphorus poisoning in the fatty degeneration of the liver -would be discovered. An autopsy would speedily make evident poisoning by -pure prussic acid, for the open cavities of the body would exhale the -odor of bitter almonds. Poisoning by cyanide of potassium can, of -course, only be detected by a chemical analysis of the contents of the -stomach, intestines, etc. - -I think I may safely affirm that it is impossible for the best of -anatomists to determine the lesions, if there be any, of a decomposed -body. - -All vegetable poisons, except the alkaloid of strychnia, decompose with -the body; it is extremely rare that any alkaloid can be discovered in -the body posthumously. Mineral poisons, such as antimony, lead, copper, -combinations of baryta, and many others, are indestructible, and can be -detected in the ashes. It may even happen that, by some extra care, the -process of incineration may be the most efficient means of detecting -poisoning by arsenic and mercury. Of course we should not forget that, -without some precaution, the salts of arsenic and mercury would be -volatilized; but while they are volatilized, they must also, at a -reduced temperature, be again deposited, and it remains for the chemist -to determine the most efficient contrivance for recognizing its -deposition. - -Direct experiments instituted by M. Cadet and verified by MM. Doursant -and Wurst, even prove that the salts of arsenic can be detected in the -ashes after incineration. - -As matters stand to-day, it is puerile to think that we can prevent the -rich and skilful poisoner from committing crime as long as we permit him -to employ undertakers, who, without restraint of law, inject arseniate -of soda and corrosive sublimate into the body of his victim, and thus -remove all traces of the crime. - -Dr. Cameron, in a speech before the House of Commons of England in 1884, -declared:— - -“Numerous modern researches have shown that putrefactive fermentation in -decaying animal matter gives rise to the formation of sepsine and other -alkaloids, some of them intensely poisonous. Little or nothing is known -in this country concerning the products of putrefaction. _Ptomaines_ is -the general name which has been given to them abroad, and I don’t know -that I ever saw it printed in the English language. Little is known of -these ptomaines even by those who have studied them most closely, but -enough has been discovered to show that we must be very careful as to -how far we rely upon what are called physiological tests for poisons in -the case of bodies which have been exhumed; and that the fact that -frogs, rabbits, or dogs are killed by the action of matters extracted -from the viscera of a putrefying body can no longer by itself be held as -proving that those viscera contained any poison before putrefaction -commenced.” - -Is it surprising, when the above is taken into consideration, that the -testimony of chemists at trials for poisoning should vary so much and be -so contradictory in nature? - -Sir Henry Thompson, in his admirable exposition of cremation, which was -translated into almost every civilized language of the world, thus -disposes of the medico-legal objection:— - -“It has been said, and most naturally, what guarantee is there against -poisoning if the remains are burned, and it is no longer possible, as -after burial, to reproduce the body for the purpose of examination? It -is to my mind a sufficient reply that, regarding only ‘the greatest good -to the greatest number,’ the amount of evil in the shape of disease and -death which results from the present system of burial in earth is -infinitely larger than the evil caused by secret poisoning is or could -be, even if the practice of the crime were very considerably to -increase. Further, the appointment of officers to examine and certify in -all cases of death would be an additional and very efficient safeguard. -But—and here I touch on a very important subject—is there reason to -believe that our present precautions in the matter of death certificate -against the danger of poisoning are what they ought to be? I think that -it must be confessed that they are defective, for not only is our system -inadequate to the end proposed, but it is less efficient by comparison -than that adopted by foreign governments. Our existing arrangements for -ascertaining and registering the cause of death are very lax, and give -rise, as we shall see, to serious errors. In order to attain an approach -to certitude in this important matter, I contend that it would be most -desirable to nominate in every district a properly qualified inspector -to certify in all cases to the fact that death has taken place, to -satisfy himself as far as possible that no foul play has existed, and to -give the certificate accordingly. This would relieve the medical -attendant of the deceased from any disagreeable duty relative to inquiry -concerning suspicious circumstances, if any have been observed. Such -officers exist throughout the large cities of France and Germany, and -the system is more or less pursued throughout the provinces. In Paris no -burial can take place without the written permission of the ‘_médecin -vérificateur_’; and whether we adopt cremation or not, such an officer -might with advantage be appointed here.” - -Sir Henry suggests that in suspected cases the “dead officer” should -retain in sealed vessels the stomach and other portions of the viscera -for future examination. But I think it next to impossible that such an -officer could execute duties so burdensome and so averse to the genius -of the people. - -Let us for a moment turn to our dear American commonwealths. Do our -burial laws aid in the detection of crime? In the majority of states a -death certificate, signed by a physician, must be filed with the health -officer, who issues a burial permit. This is all which is required. -Generally it makes no difference whether the physician or surgeon who -affixes his name to the document is reputable or not. The burial permit -is looked upon as a mere formality, an unnecessary institution, that -owes its origin to some whimsical lawmaker. How often do even the most -zealous of health officers investigate the causes of the deaths that are -reported to them? The doctor’s certificate is put upon record; that is -satisfactory, and no more is asked for. The rest is silence—like that -which reigns under the turf, where the undetected victims of the -poisoner lie. - -Now, if our faulty burial laws, if the indifference of our officers of -health, are not a direct incentive to the foulest and most insidious -forms of crime, I do not know what is. Were I a secret assassin, I -certainly would wish for no more encouragement. As matters now stand, -any evil-doer, with the help of some unscrupulous medical man, may -commit murder daily without fear of detection. - -I propose to show that if incineration were established, the careful -scrutiny of corpses and official examinations in suspected cases, which -would precede the reduction of the body to ashes, would rather assist in -the detection of murder than hinder it. - -Mr. W. Eassie, in a lecture delivered at the International Health -Exhibition last year, expressed himself anent this question as follows: -“With regard to doubtful deaths it would be necessary to make sure that -the body exhibited no traces of poison, or that certain small portions -of the body should be removed therefrom and kept for a few years. For -instance, a small portion of the stomach and intestines and their -contents in case of vegetable poisoning, and a small portion of the -liver, should mineral poisoning be suspected. There is no difficulty in -dealing with this matter in other countries where cremation has become -permissive; and it is upon record that the examination of the body of a -child in Italy, which had been made in the ordinary way demanded by the -authorities previous to the cremation, proved that the child had been -poisoned apparently by sweetmeats, and this would not have been revealed -had an ordinary burial in the earth taken place.” - -I must here repeat what I have already said regarding Sir H. Thompson’s -intimation that part of the bodies about to be cremated might be -conserved for future examination: The strong dislike of the public would -never allow of such a measure. - -Lord Bramwell, the eminent English lawyer, in a letter to Sir Spencer -Wells concerning incineration, states: “I wish you success in the -promotion of cremation; I think it is right, and what is very rare, with -no drawback. It is the cheapest, the most wholesome, and to my mind, the -least repulsive way of disposing of the dead and those we have loved. -That it is legal there is not a doubt. The only objection, that murders -might go undetected, I believe to be more than unfounded. You have -surrounded the thing with precautions. I have heard it suggested that -there are many murders which escape detection for want of suspicion and -consequent inquiry. How that may be I know not, but it will not be the -case with those bodies cremated under the regulations of the Cremation -Society of England. The English society requires such undoubted proofs -of natural death that a criminal would not dare trust his victim to the -flames.” - -[Illustration: - - THE BUFFALO CREMATORIUM. - (Interior View.) -] - -To cut a long story short, let me say that cremationists meet the -medico-legal objection by a demand for a careful inquest over _every_ -dead body, and a post-mortem examination, including a chemical analysis -of all the viscera, in every instance where death by toxic agents is -suspected. - -In many cities of Europe the dead are examined by physicians appointed -by the government. The result has been that, as for instance in Dresden, -Leipsic, and Frankfort, Germany, no exhumation took place after the -inquest became obligatory and was practiced in every instance of -decease. - -In Bavaria, Saxony, Nassau, and Baden, there are regular coroners whose -duty it is to inspect every corpse, while in England the coroner’s jury -only convenes in cases where the cause of death is not apparent. - -With us the office of coroner is not an important one. Generally laymen -are appointed to it, men who have done some work at that awful power, -the political machine. This is wrong. The office of coroner should only -be vested in medical men, and only in such who have shown that they are -qualified to fill such a position of consequence. Every candidate for -coroner should be examined in forensic medicine and pathology, and -should give an ocular demonstration of his capability to make a thorough -autopsy. Only those who have graduated from a medical school of repute, -recognized by law and all the boards of health of the country, should be -eligible. - -The coroner should have power to demand an explanation of the cause of -death from the physician who attended the deceased in his last illness, -and whenever such explanation is unsatisfactory, or there are other -reasons which lead him to suspect that the defunct has been foully dealt -with, to order a complete post-mortem examination. He should, -furthermore, have the right to summon before him any witnesses whose -testimony might clear up the case in hand. - -The coroner should issue the burial permits, the health officer being -notified only when persons have died of an infectious or contagious -disease. - -To make this scheme successful, it is essential that the practitioner of -medicine who assumes the coronership should receive adequate payment for -his services, such remuneration in fact as would enable him to give up -his whole time and talent to his office. - -Beside the advantages which I have already indicated, a system such as -this would doubtlessly enrich the mortality statistics as well as -forensic medicine and pathological anatomy. That it would be an -efficient safeguard against crime, I think every unprejudiced person -will admit. - -If this were not so, I could but indorse the Rev. H. R. Haweis, who -declares honestly: “For so grand a benefit to mankind, a few more cases -of poisoning would be a small price to pay. In the great progress of -social and sanitary reform I cannot conceive what it signifies whether -or not an additional Smith or Jones gets poisoned here and there.” - -Dr. Purdy says: “Indeed, we have not in man’s history any great benefit -resulting from a system or practice but it is attended by its consequent -minor evils; no great public good but has its attendant drawbacks.” - -For these reasons the following saying of the celebrated Professor -Coletti, of the University of Padua, Italy, will always be recognized as -a truth of unusual stability: “The health of whole communities is of far -greater importance than the possible escape of a few criminals.” - -The enemies of cremation inquire: Would not incineration deprive the -schools of medicine of anatomical material, the phrenologists, -craniologists, and last, but not least, the anthropologists, of the -basis of their investigations; namely, the human skeleton? - -Objections of this nature can only provoke a smile. In a country like -ours, where many of the cadavers which are dissected in our medical -schools are stolen from the graveyards, the proposed introduction of -cremation must, no doubt, raise a storm among teachers of anatomy, who -are fearful that the supply of corpses will be cut short by the reform. -It is not to be wondered at, that the anatomists raise a cry of alarm, -for, indeed, I know of no other method of disposal of the dead that is -as damaging to their relations with the defunct as cremation. Even a -professor of the Jefferson Medical College, a man who ought to have -known better, joined the anti-cremationists for these reasons. Every -educated person knows that a thorough knowledge of anatomy is essential -to the successful practice of medicine and surgery, and that a -familiarity with the internal workings of the human system can be gained -in no other way under the sun. But although I belong to the medical -fraternity, I can but wish that such a terrible and desecrating practice -as grave-robbing be put a stop to. It is for the government of each -state to provide fully for the dissecting-rooms of the medical colleges, -to deliver to them all who die in prisons and poor-houses. Prisoners -should not be given up, even when claimed by relatives or friends; the -idea that the commission of crime may land one on the dissecting-table -may deter many from trespassing the laws of their country. - -What difference it makes whether future generations know, or do not -know, how our skulls compared with that of a gorilla, I cannot conceive. -Let the craniologists and allied scientists make their investigations -now and record them in books. Printed matter of value is immortal. - -How the archæologists and anthropologists, ignoring the printing press, -can imagine (for such fears only dwell in their imagination and have no -real foundation) that without the records of the tombs the present age, -its acts and deeds, might pass away from the ken of posterity as -completely as the ancient civilizations of Central America and Malacca, -I am unable to explain. But even if dire oblivion should be the ultimate -doom of the nineteenth century, the opinion of the world two thousand -years hence is of little consequence when compared with the health of -those now inhabiting it. In the words of the learned rector of the -University of Padua, Professor Coletti: “Man should disappear and not -rot; he should no more be transformed into a mass of corruption—the -source of filthy and injurious exhalations—than into a grotesque mummy, -a shapeless mixture of pitch, resin, and perfumes; man should become a -handful of ashes and nothing more.” - -“Would not cremation rob nature of its supply of ammonia?” - -This, one of the most discreetly urged weapons against cremation, was -that promulgated by Professor Mohr, who asserted that if incineration -were practiced to its full extent, an interruption to the order of -nature would ensue, since the supply of ammonia would be arrested or -greatly curtailed. - -Dr. Mohr’s objections to the cremation of the dead principally rest upon -the following bases:— - -1. That ammonia is the most important form in which nitrogen is taken up -by the plants. - -2. That free nitrogen does not, or at any rate in sufficient abundance, -return to the organized world. - -3. That in cremation the ammonia is entirely destroyed, and the nitrogen -entirely liberated. - -4. That the nitrogen of buried corpses is entirely converted into -ammonia. - -Mohr soon had many followers who imagined that if the bulk of all animal -remains should be burnt to ashes, the mischief produced by the loss of -ammonia would be incalculable. They claimed that it is as necessary to -vegetable life as is the air we breathe to us; that there is no -counterbalance in nature whereby this ingredient can be supplied from -other sources; and that by cutting off a large proportion of the supply -of ammonia the loss would be quickly felt throughout all the animal -kingdom, and would soon be followed by an appreciable diminution of -animal life on the globe. - -Dr. Mohr’s objections were met by the eminent Professor Franchimont, of -the University of Leyden, Holland, who proved that the views held by his -_confrère_ were both erroneous and absurd, and concluded his _exposé_ as -follows:— - -1. That it is not proved that ammonia is the chief nitrogenous -constituent of plants. - -2. That it is proved that free nitrogen returns by many and various -routes to the organic world. - -3. That it is not certain that by interment all the nitrogen becomes -ammonia, and that probably a portion of this ammonia is temporarily -taken out of circulation; and, finally, - -4. That it is not proved that the nitrogen is completely set free during -cremation. And even if this were so, its quantity, in comparison with -that of the ammonia now yearly produced by the dry distillation and -combustion of coal, is so small that the loss of it cannot be advanced -as any really serious objection to the practice of cremation. - -I must here add that the explanations given by Professor Franchimont are -held to be perfectly satisfactory by seventeen professors and teachers -of botany and chemistry in the Dutch universities, whose names are well -known in the scientific world. - -Students of agricultural chemistry, and others interested in the -subject, should not fail to read Mr. Eassie’s excellent article on the -asserted loss of ammonia caused by the cremation of bodies, in the -_London Sanitary Record_ of Jan. 18, 1878. - -It must be remembered that all animals—from the smallest insect to the -largest beast—excrete a great amount of ammonia during their lifetime, -which passes off with the fecal matter, urine, and transpiration. - -Besides, it cannot be denied that ammonia is formed spontaneously, -during the great electrical processes which take place in nature, from -the nitrogen and water of the atmosphere. The smoke that emanates from -the chimneys of factories all over the world supplies more ammonia to -the vegetable kingdom than the decomposing animal bodies ever could. -And, finally, it must be kept in mind that we can generate ammonia -artificially; therefore, should a dearth of ammonia ever occur, which is -not very likely, this expedient would still be left to us. - -There is no recorded evidence to show that any damage was done to the -Egyptian vegetable world by the mummification which was carried on for -thousands of years in the land of the Pharaohs. On the contrary, the -country was in a more flourishing condition then than now. - -The sentimental objection to cremation I have already treated of in a -previous work; but since I have something to add to what I then -remarked, I will revert to the topic. - -The subject at first glance is revolting. To some persons there may be -something in the idea of reducing one’s friends to ashes that is -repulsive. Yet, when one makes a careful study of the question, that -prejudice or repulsiveness wears away entirely, and makes way to a -feeling that cremation is correct both in theory and practice. One -should not listen to the emotions in a matter like this, but study -incineration to be able to judge of it; objections founded on sentiment -only are sure to be wrong. - -If the general public knew, as a physician does, the many changes a body -undergoes in the process of decomposition,—putrefaction and most -disgusting changes,—I think a great deal of their objection to cremation -would be removed. I fancy if people in general could see the ordinary -process of decomposition, they would be in favor of the quicker and more -scientific method of cremation. - -The Bishop of Lincoln intimated that incineration would keep all future -great ones out of the silent company of those who have in former times -added lustre to England’s name. It will do no such thing. I cannot -comprehend what obstacles could stand in the way of the entombment of an -urn containing the ashes of some illustrious personage who chose to be -cremated instead of buried, in Westminster Abbey. - -Mr. William Eassie says:— - -“In the play of ‘Virginius’ the body of Virginia is represented as -having been placed in an urn, and when the distraught father inquires -for his missing daughter, the vase is placed in his hands by the -sorrowing lover. When this scene is presented, the thrill which seizes -the audience is succeeded by a sensation of admiration at the eminently -superior system of the ancients. I have seen the actor Brooke, in this -tragedy, and the effect which he here produced was inexpressible. Many -whom I have consulted as to the feelings engendered at this point have -invariably declared that they were at the time complete converts to -cremation, and that the sense of approval only left them when they began -to realize how impossible were funeral pyres in this country. Happily -the Siemens apparatus is now at hand, and its suitability proved beyond -cavil.” - -An eye-witness to the process of incineration says: “I have stood before -the crematory with a faltering heart. I have trembled at the thought of -using fire beside the form of one whom I had loved. But when, in -obedience to his own dying wish, I saw the door of the crematory taken -down, its rosy light shine forth, and his peaceful form, clad in white, -laid there at rest amid a loveliness that was simply fascinating to the -eye, and without a glimpse of flames, or fire, or coals, or smoke, I -said, and say so still, this method, beyond all methods I have seen, is -the most pleasing to the senses, the most charming to the imagination, -and the most grateful to the memory.” - -[Illustration: GROUND PLAN OF THE BUFFALO CREMATORIUM.] - -“Is cremation illegal?” - -This interrogation I am obliged to answer with a most decided “No!” In -our country, it is true, the legal status of the question is somewhat -unsettled, but I do not believe that any action taken in our American -courts could prevent any persons from cremating a dead body who wished -to do so, provided it was not contrary to the expressed wishes of the -deceased. In England it is only illegal to burn a corpse in cases where -an inquest ought to be held or has been ordered. In other cases, if the -burning is conducted in such a manner as not to cause a nuisance or -offense against public decency, there is no rule of law to prevent this -mode of disposing of a corpse being adopted. Some time ago a rajah, who -consulted Mr. Eassie as to burning the body of his _ranee_, had to be -told that what he claimed as a right in India could not be accorded him -in the capital of the Empire except at a risk of scandal. Thanks to the -decision of Sir James Stephen, the honorary secretary of the Cremation -Society of England would not now be forced to make such a humiliating -admission. - -There are, I am sorry to say, individuals who think that those who are -cremated let themselves be burned only because they are anxious to -create for themselves a little notoriety after death. I can but pity the -people who believe that Dr. Gross and Garbaldi, for instance, adopted -such a means to attract public attention after decease. Those who now -order their bodies incinerated after that mysterious power called life -is fled, have the courage of their opinions, recognize the many -advantages of incineration, and allow their convictions to triumph over -local and even family prejudice; they are the true martyrs of cremation. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - BURIAL ALIVE.—CREMATION FROM AN ÆSTHETIC AND RELIGIOUS POINT OF VIEW. - - -Our great American poet, Edgar Allan Poe, says: “To be buried alive is -beyond question the most terrific of all extremes which have ever fallen -to the lot of mere mortality.” - -Is any death more horrible than this? To be embraced, unprepared, down -in the deep dark grave! To awake again with the greatest longing for -life, suffering the most severe bodily tortures, in the coffin! To -realize that there is no escape from inevitable death! Who can conceive -the feeling of finding one’s self in the grave, the blood rushing to the -head, the body trembling convulsively in the vain endeavors of casting -off the oppressing weight, the organs of respiration laboring without -avail for air, the muscles of the whole body working without result, and -above all, being mindful of certain death near at hand? - -From time to time anti-crematists, advocates of earth burial, of course, -assert that cases of burial alive are exceedingly rare and occur very -seldom. This is very erroneous. Our newspapers teem with the reports of -such cases, and one must be a careless reader indeed not to observe -them. As I am a daily peruser of some specimen of the secular press, and -hardly anything of importance escapes my notice, I succeeded in making a -collection of cases of burial alive, from which I will cite some -striking examples. A Wheeling, W. Va., special despatch to the _Chicago -Tribune_ relates the terrible fate of a young married lady as follows:— - -“One of those ghastly stories of interment before life has become -extinct, which cause an involuntary shudder of horror to pass through -the reader, is current in this city to-night. The victim, so the story -goes, is a young married lady of 20 years. In May of last year, three -months after her marriage, the lady was taken violently ill, and after -lingering for ten days, apparently died. There were certain -peculiarities about the appearance of the supposed corpse, however, -which caused a suspicion in the mind of the attending physician that his -patient might be in a trance, but after keeping the body for four days -with no signs of returning life, the remains were consigned to the -grave, temporary interment being made in the family lot in an abandoned -graveyard. A day or two ago the body was disinterred prior to removal to -another cemetery. To the surprise of the sexton the coffin-lid showed -signs of displacement, and on its being removed the grave-digger was -horrified to find the remains turned face downward, the hand filled with -long tufts of hair torn from the head, and the face, neck, and bosom -deeply scratched and scarred, while the lining of the coffin had been -torn into fragments in the desperate efforts of the entombed victim to -escape from her horrible fate. Since the discovery the young husband has -been prostrated, and his life is despaired of. The names are withheld.” - -The sequent curious case of premature interment occurred at Leipsic, a -small town in the state of Ohio. A lady who was pregnant died suddenly. -She was put in a coffin and placed, temporarily, to await the -burial-day, in a vault. Some of her relatives, however, thought that she -had been disposed of too hastily and caused her coffin to be opened. -When the air struck her body, she revived. She was taken home and -recovered entirely, being soon after delivered of female twins. - -A despatch from Woodstock, Ont., dated Jan. 18, 1886, to the _Detroit -Evening News_ states:— - -“One year ago a girl named Collins died, as was supposed, while playing -on the street. The body was moved last week from where it had been -buried in the family plot, and the parents wishing to view the remains, -had the coffin opened, when to their horror they discovered that a -dreadful struggle must have taken place after burial. The shroud had -been torn to shreds, the knees were drawn up to the chin, one arm was -twisted under the head, and the features bore evidence of dreadful -torture,—all unmistakable proofs that the girl had been buried alive.” - -The celebrated English anatomist, Winslow, is said to have been twice -nearly interred alive. - -The Marquis D’Ourches, courageous in all other respects, had the -greatest fear of premature burial. He recorded all the stories of burial -alive; he believed in them, and even asserted that one of his uncles had -awaked under ground. - -“I have seen death in every aspect,” said a general to Dr. Josat, a -gentleman rewarded for a book on mortuary houses, “and it has never had -any terrors for me; but I own that I shudder at the notion of finding it -at the bottom of a ditch in the cemetery.” - -Incomplete death, or trance, as it is called, stands midway between -death and life. During this state the senses cannot receive impressions; -they are inactive, paralyzed, as it were. Yet the spark of life is still -there and can, under proper care, be retained until the natural -condition is restored. Yet almost always trance ends through ignorance -and carelessness in complete death. - -It is an established fact that there is no certain sign of death, none -but the beginning of decomposition. To prevent premature burial the body -must be retained until the commencement of decay is visible. -Incineration protects from the horrors of burial alive. Even if a person -in a trance should be introduced into a cremation furnace, the intense -heat to which the body would be subjected would extinguish life -immediately and painlessly. - -It is alleged by some who are more impressed by prejudice than reason, -that cremation is heathenish, brutish, pagan, atheistic,—in short, -contrary to Christian practice. - -This I deny! To be sure the heathen did practice it,—the ancient -Asiatics (Oriental peoples in general), Romans, Greeks, Teutons, and -Etruscans,—but at the same time they executed grave-burial; and yet I -have never heard anybody decry the latter as abominable, disgusting, and -heathenish. It must be kept in mind, that the first Christians were -compelled by their heathen persecutors to adopt burial. They were forced -to inter their dead secretly in the catacombs; they could not, even if -they had chosen to, burn their dead, as the smoke from the cremation -pyre would have betrayed them. - -Why inhumation should have become so universal among the Christians, -that it is looked upon as a necessary part of the religion, and all -other means of disposal of the dead as heathenish, is not entirely -plain. There is no condemnation of cremation in any of the dogmatic -teachings of the apostles. The early Christians, whether in Judæa, -Greece, or Rome, were mainly of the poorer classes, who had to bury -their dead. The mere fact that the richer and more educated classes, who -were the most difficult to proselytize, universally practiced cremation -would probably cause that custom to be associated with their other -heathenish practices. - -The Romans regarded the early Christians as a new sect of the Jews and -called them “Nazarenes.” And, in fact, Christianity was born of Judaism; -for Jesus, the founder, himself says (Matthew v. 17): “Think not that I -am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, -but to fulfil.” It is easy to understand how, being an offspring of -Judaism, Christianity should adopt that method of disposing of the dead -then prevalent among the Jews. At first, as Dean Stanley avers, the -breach between the heathens and Christians was not an utter one. -According to this great divine the early Christians inhumed in the same -places as the heathens, and even painted and engraved upon the catacombs -representations of the pagan gods. Later on the breach widened, however, -and the Christians, as intimated above, were forced to bury their dead -in seclusion. - -It is alleged by some eminent writers on theological subjects that in -the beginning Christians were even cremated. - -Merivale, the historian, holds that letters inscribed on many of the -Christian tombs in the catacombs imply that the early Christians -sometimes burned their dead. Nevertheless, at the end of the fourth -century Christians heard of burning with horror, and finally becoming -inimical to the practice, although it was nowhere forbidden in the New -Testament, made haste to abolish it in Europe. - -[Illustration: - - THE BLACK AND WHITE JASPER URN. - (Barlow Collection.) -] - -At the time of Pope and Dryden a classical reaction set in, and now -again may be seen in every churchyard the broken shaft, the inverted -torches, and innumerable marble urns which “in pride of place” rest upon -the monuments in our cemeteries. - -The phrase “ashes to ashes, dust to dust,” which occurs in almost every -funeral sermon preached by modern clergymen, is but an allegory which -was derived from the ancient custom of cineration. It is impossible to -imagine ashes without the act of burning. - -The inscription “peace to his ashes” which so often is found, in black -or golden letters, on the tombstones of the present time, preaches -incineration in our burial-grounds. - -When the Romans embraced Christianity, it was transformed completely, -and represented a strange commixture of rites partly of pagan and partly -of Hebrew origin. The dalmatica of priests, utensils for celebrating -mass, frankincense, etc., were derived from the Jews; whereas many other -things, as for instance the worship of images, sprung from heathenism. -The papal tiara has a remarkable resemblance to the historical conical -cap of the Roman Pontifex Maximus; and to this day the Latin appellation -of the Pope is identical with that of his pagan predecessor. The -derivation of the crosier, the pastoral staff of the bishops, from the -crook of the augurs is undeniable. - -The mummy graves and representations upon the vessels of clay which were -deposited in the sepulchres with the mummies testify that the cross (and -indeed the upright cross) was one of the oldest and pre-Christian -ornaments in the hands of the gods of ancient Egypt. It was not before -the twelfth century that it was erroneously made a specific Christian -symbol, ostensibly to demonstrate that although the cross was most -contemptible, yet Christ himself had elevated it into dignity. Thus the -sign of the cross became the symbol of Christianity. Such wooden -crosses, history tells us, were also placed as a memorial upon the -mounds of heathen graves. - -If we would not want to imitate heathenism any more, we would have to -quit eating with knives and forks, stop wearing boots and pantaloons, -and do away with surcoats and rings. With the exception of steel pens -and matches, but little would be left of our daily necessities of life -that would not be an imitation of paganism. - -The perpetual lamp burning at the ideal grave of the Saviour on the -altars of Catholic churches is an imitation of the lamps which were lit -on the memorial days of the deceased in the columbaria of ancient Rome, -and by whose maintenance slaves, according to testamentary directions, -attained the position of freedmen. - -The decoration of our burial-grounds with flowers on the memorial days -of the dead is copied from the analogous usage of the heathenish Romans. - -The enemies of incineration say that every Christian is bound to -practice interment because the Bible (I. Moses iii. 19) prescribes:— - -“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return into -the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto -dust thou shalt return.” - -The above has no value whatever as evidence for inhumation; since at the -times when the books of Moses were written the inurned ashes were also -deposited in the dust, _i.e._, the earth. The preservation of urns above -ground is a much later custom. The above citation has no reference to -the destruction of a body by fire or decay, but directs simply that the -final remains of man, the dust, be placed in the earth. At least, this -Bible passage might be urged against columbaria, but it has no bearing -whatever on cremation. - -If we should have to follow the Bible in all things, we would have to -give up most of our modern inventions. For instance, the day of -agricultural machines would be over, and we would have to tread out corn -with oxen as of yore. - -It must be remembered that the early Christians practiced many things -which Christians now do not practice; and they abominated some things -which Christians now universally practice. For instance, the early -Christians did not worship in temples or churches: they abominated -temples as either pagan or Jewish; they hated art and condemned statuary -and painting, especially in connection with religion; they destroyed -many masterpieces of ancient art which were not religious, besides some -that were; and they burned all books save the Bible. But these notions -are no longer a part of Christianity, and were never part of its true -faith. - -When the Romans and Greeks knew better than we know, we exercise no -compunction in adopting their practices. Our boys are taught from the -classics; artists study the models of Greek, that is, pagan, art; much -of our philosophy is heathen, and more of our jurisprudence. The -ancients were wiser than we in practicing incineration. Why not, then, -imitate them in this respect? Granted even that cremation were a “pagan -custom,” not to adopt it when it has been conclusively demonstrated to -be superior to burial, simply because it is of heathenish origin, shows -nothing but miserable narrow-mindedness. - -If cremation is a “pagan custom,” how about interment? Earth-burial -to-day is practiced by more heathens than Christians. Or are not those -whom we choose to style pagans in the majority? Would it not, therefore, -be far more correct to denominate inhumation a pagan custom? - -Dr. Neil declares:— - -“It was once considered an eminently Christian virtue, entitling him who -practiced it to the honors of canonization, to discard the use of soap -and water; and this kind of mediæval piety prevails a good deal yet, -notwithstanding the good old Roman practice of ablution. I do not find, -however, that even Christian sanitarians object to the more frequent use -of the bath because it was the pagan practice.” - -Inhumation is claimed to be the Christian method of disposal of the dead -_par excellence_ because Christ was so disposed of. - -“By the same sort of reasoning,” says the _Medical Times and Gazette_ of -London, England, “might it not be held that crucifixion has been so -consecrated that it ought to be the mode of capital punishment in -Christian countries?” Moreover, as the Rev. H. R. Haweis informs us, -“Christ is no example to us, for according to Christian belief he rose -from the dead and saw no corruption.” - -It is exceedingly interesting to read what Christ himself said about -burial. - -Jesus, being a Jew, like the Hebrews in general had little regard for -burial and the grave. Among the Jews contact with the dead was -considered an act of defilement that had to be soon atoned for. - -From the following passage (Matthew viii. 21, 22) it is plain that -Christ was no friend of interment:— - -“And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go -and bury my father. But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the dead -bury the dead.” - -By the dead (_i.e._, spiritually dead) the Saviour, according to the -best exegesis, meant the outside world, and he wanted to intimate that -burial was fit work for them, but not for the Christian or disciple. - -See also St. Luke ix. 59. - -Christ disparaged the importance of burial more than once. Indeed, it -seems that he paid little attention to the disposal of the dead. We find -him, during his ministrations on earth, healing the sick, turning water -into wine to make glad the hearts of guests at a wedding feast, -administering to the wants of the indigent, and cheering the -down-trodden; but never at funeral ceremonies. It was he who declared:— - -“God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” - -Dr. Le Moyne says:— - -“So far as we have knowledge of New Testament history, we find no -command given anywhere which was a ‘thus saith the Lord’ for any mode of -burial. The Christian world was left to choose a mode of burial.” - -When Jesus distinguished between cave and earth burial, he considered -the latter the most despicable mode of burial, to which he compared the -scribes and Pharisees; for when he reproved them by rebuke and -disparagement, he said (Matthew xxii. 27):— - -“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are like unto -whited sepulchres, which, indeed, appear beautiful outward, but are -within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” - -The above shows in what estimation the founder of Christianity held -inhumation. - -It seems Christ himself gave the preference to cave-burial, for so he -was disposed of. He was placed (_vide_ Matthew xxvii. 57–60) in the -rock-hewn tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, which was open in front, and the -door of which was closed with a stone. - -Christ was not buried in the earth, but was placed in a sepulchre -because he was a Jew. Had he been an Egyptian, he would have been -embalmed after the fashion of a mummy. It was merely a matter of custom, -and is not necessarily a precedent to be followed. It is evident that to -be buried as Christ was, Christians would have to be deposited in -rock-hewn tombs. - -The assertion of certain religious fanatics, that cremation interferes -with the Christian doctrine of the resurrection, proves untenable enough -when one but remembers that both interment and incineration lead to the -same result; namely, to the total destruction of the body. In the case -of cremation this takes place within an hour; in earth burial the -process may last for centuries until completed. - -Professor Max Müller, the famous linguist, in his biographical essays, -writes:— - -“I often regret that the Jews buried and did not burn the dead, for in -that case the Christian idea of the resurrection would have remained far -more spiritual.” - -Cannon Liddon believes that:— - -“The resurrection of the body from its ashes is not a greater miracle -than the resurrection of an unburnt body. Each must be purely -miraculous. Faith in the resurrection would have been as clear and -strong if the Jews had burnt their dead, as it is when, as a matter of -fact, they buried them.” - -Dr. Le Moyne says:— - -“Some religionists object to cremation because it might possibly throw -obstacles in God’s way of collecting the particles which once formed the -body. They seem to forget that the dispersion of the atoms which compose -the human body is just as wide and perfect by inhumation as by -cremation.” - -Napoleon I., the Great, was a firm believer in cremation. On Dec. 14, -1816, five years before his death, he conversed freely with his surgeon, -Barry O’Meara, on various topics. - -Mr. O’Meara (“Napoleon in Exile; or, A Voice from St. Helena.” By Barry -E. O’Meara. W. Gowans, New York, 1853, Vol. I. p. 277) says:— - -“He afterwards spoke about funeral rites, and added, that when he died, -he would wish that his body might be burned. ‘It is the best mode,’ said -he, ‘as then the corpse does not produce any inconvenience; and _as to -the resurrection, that must be accomplished by a miracle, and it is easy -to the Being who has it in his power to perform such a miracle as -bringing the remains of the bodies together, to also form again the -ashes of the dead_.’” - -During another talk with his medical adviser the ex-emperor said, “that -he had ordered the slain burnt after the battle at Wagram.” - -I clip the following from the _Medical Herald_, and commend it to the -notice of opposers of cremation on the ground of religion:— - -“The most prejudiced religionist cannot offer one valid objection, for -if God is to call up the scattered remains of the dead from both land -and sea on the day of final resurrection, the ashes shall be as easily -resolved from the urn as from the débris of a building in which bodies -may have been accidentally consumed by fire.” - -I should like to see the Christian who believes that God will not take -unto himself the soul of the brave fireman, who rushes courageously into -a burning building to rescue his fellow-beings, and has the misfortune -to fall and perish in the flames, while an indolent crowd is looking on -below. Nay, nay! I believe that he will be twice as welcome in the -kingdom of heaven. - -At the opening of the Bolton cemetery in 1874, Bishop Fraser combated -the anti-cremation movement, based upon the doctrine of the -resurrection, with the sequent vigorous language:— - -“The ancient Romans believed in immortality, and yet they believed in -burning the bodies of their dead. Urn burial was certainly quite as -decent as the practice of interment; and urns containing the ashes of -the dead were more picturesque than coffins. Can any one suppose that it -would be more impossible for God to raise up a body at the resurrection, -if needs be, out of elementary particles which had been liberated by the -burning, than it would be to raise up a body from dust, and from the -elements of bodies which had passed into the structure of worms? The -omnipotence of God is not limited, and he would raise the dead whether -he had to raise our bodies out of churchyards or whether he had to call -our remains, like the remains of some ancient Romans, out of an urn in -which they were deposited 2000 years ago.” - -It is a clerical duty to dispel superstitions. “Superstition,” well says -Sprengel, “is the grave of science.” But it is not only the grave of -science, but of all progress. The clergy should aid the latter and not -place obstacles in its way. - -Colonel Olcott says:— - -“I am too firm a believer in the immortality of the soul, to view with -patience the inconsistency of those who behave over the dead bodies of -their friends as if the immortal part were being laid away in the -ground. The more I might love my dead, the less willing I should be to -leave the fair form that had once held an immortal spirit to turn into -putrid carrion under ground, and breed a myriad of loathsome creatures -out of its own rottenness. The attempt to substitute the scientific, -poetical, and rational system of cremation has my earnest sympathy. I -pray heaven that it may be possible to commit my body or that of any of -my beloved to the pure flame, that in one short hour will purge them of -dross as gold is refined in the furnace seven times heated.” - -Even the organ of the Mormon hierarchy, _The Deseret News_, that -believes in an absolutely literal interpretation of the Bible, reasons -thus:— - -“Some object to cremation on the ground of its inconsistency with the -Christian doctrine of the resurrection. We do not see any force in that. -No particle of matter is destroyed by fire; it is merely changed in form -and reduced to primitive elements, or in their direction, for it is not -clear that the action of fire extends so far as to resolve organized -matter into its primal atoms. The same power that can call forth from -the tomb a body that has decayed and gone to dust can quicken the dried -ashes and draw from the elements the gases that have been dispersed by -the flames of the crematory. How much of the actual particles that are -seen now by the natural eye is necessary to the reformation of the human -frame into a spiritual body with flesh and bones does not at present -appear. But this is certain: the power that can resurrect the body from -the grave or from the sea can bring it forth from any place or condition -in the universe. Belief in the resurrection implies belief in God, and -with him all things are possible.” - -Kate Field, who of all Americans probably is best acquainted with Mormon -life and doctrines, points out that when the literal Mormon abjures -literalness, it is high time for orthodox Christians to cast away the -above-mentioned sacrilegious objection. - -How, by the way, about those who fall overboard and are swallowed by the -fishes, or those who are blown up by an explosion? Are they to be -consigned to eternal damnation simply because they happened to meet with -an accident? Are they not to be raised hereafter? - -The absurdity and unreasonableness of this erroneous notion was tersely -and happily expressed by the Earl of Shaftesbury during a conversation -with an eminent (Sir T. Spencer Wells, I believe) promoter of the -present cremation movement. He said:— - -“What would in such a case become of the blessed martyrs?” - -Many of them have been reduced to ashes, and still these are held -sacred. - -I would advise the person who holds the opinion that the resurrection -cannot take place after cremation to seek quickly the nearest physician -who makes a speciality of insanity. I wonder if such persons are -conscious that they commit a sacrilege in doubting that God is -omnipotent. - -From a purely catholic point of view it is urged that incineration would -destroy the relics of individuals who might afterward be canonized. - -This is the most ridiculous objection of the whole lot! Are not the -ashes of a saint as venerable as his bones? When such ashes are kept in -a sealed urn, we may be certain of the genuineness of the relics. Today, -there is no guarantee whatever of their genuineness—many cities claiming -to possess the only real relics of this or that saint. - -[Illustration: - - THE PORTLAND VASE. - (Originally a Cinerary Urn.) -] - -There is no relation between cremation and religion. They are -independent of each other. No passage in the Holy Bible prohibits -incineration. The Christian religion does not oppose it, nor does the -Jewish, as I learnt from an article in the _Jewish Chronicle_. - -Some newspapers seem to think that cremation is contrary to the Jewish -doctrines. Our brethren at Gibraltar and in the north of Africa bury -their dead in quicklime. No one can deny the orthodoxy of the Jews on -the shores of the Mediterranean, yet more than once have some of their -number been disposed of in the manner related above; the method being -carried out but lately at Mile-end. Among the Jews at London, instances -of cremation are not unknown. - -A Swiss clergyman, the Rev. Mr. Lange, declares that our Saviour never -spoke a single word in condemnation of incineration. Dr. Altherr, -_Religious Journal for the People_ (No. 11, 1874), also entertains the -same opinion. - -An English Catholic pointed out that cremation would once more enable us -to bury our dead in the churches, not only in the crypts of the sacred -edifices, but also along the sides of the body of the churches. - -Rev. Henry Ward Beecher had a word to say about cremation in a recent -sermon of his. He thought that the universal Christian teaching of the -resurrection of the body would prevent any general acceptance of it -while that teaching prevails. Of course, a man of a “classical” -education cannot reject incineration altogether, especially when he -considers it from a hygienic point of view. - -I have always been of the opinion that a great many clergymen fear to -state their real views concerning cremation, lest their congregation -might discharge them and engage the services of some other theologian; -and I still have the same impression. - -The so-called religious objection to cremation is wholly unsound, as -even a great many anti-cremationists admit; it is therefore not -surprising that “religious” opposition is fast weakening and waning -wherever it has existed at all. - -A late writer in the _Church Review_ advises us to take care that -incineration does not fall into infidel hands, and so become at last a -symbol of irreligion. - -The cemetery is regarded, in general, as a permanent resting-place of -the dead, where they may sleep undisturbed. Man of the present time puts -his beloved into the dirty, dark ground, and hands them over to the foul -putrefaction; he places upon their graves large, heavy monuments, as if -to keep them down and prevent them from finding their way back again -into this sinful world. But he thinks not of the festering mass of -corruption hid away under the tombstone; to him the departed is more -like one asleep, like he or she was when death claimed the mortal body. -He fondly imagines that his dear ones shall remain there forever, that -their quiet rest shall be unbroken. From year to year, however, bodies -are added to those already buried, the disgusting state of overcrowding -which I described minutely, with all its evils, shows itself, and then -one of two things happens: either the remains of those buried before are -ruthlessly dug up by the sexton’s spade and thrown into the mud whenever -a new grave is made, or all of the bodies are exhumed and taken away; -the soil is parcelled, and the new generation takes possession of the -“city of the dead.” - -In some cemeteries corpses are allowed to remain in a grave only a -stipulated time; in English burial-grounds, where a freehold right is -not secured, the remains may rest undisturbed but seven, in France five, -years. - -The sentiment of the public is expressed in the sequent extract from a -lecture by the Rev. Brooke Lambert:— - -“There is no subject on which people feel more deeply than the -disturbance of the remains of their ancestors, and even the displacement -of effete memorials of them. I find that the prevailing feeling is that -the dead ought never to be removed, nor the position of their monuments -changed even by a hair’s breadth. Now _whilst our present system of -burial remains, such changes in their places of interment must occur_.” - -When Mr. Walker, the surgeon, inspected the Portugal Street Cemetery at -London, England, on April 27, 1839, he discovered that two graves had -been opened, the bones of the remains exposed to view; and a lot of -coffin-wood, some quite fresh, intended (as he was informed) for -firewood. - -A gentleman who visited the same burial-ground some time before (_vide_ -_Times_, June 25, 1838) wrote: “I was shocked to see two men employed in -carrying baskets of human bones to the back of the ground through a -small gate. I have 12 of my nearest and dearest relatives consigned to -the grave in that ground, and I felt that I might perhaps at that moment -be viewing, in the basket of skulls which passed before me, those of my -own family thus brutally exhumed.” - -A correspondent to the _Weekly Despatch_, of September 30, 1838, thus -describes St. Giles’ Churchyard, where he had just been:— - -“What a horrid place! It is full of coffins up to the surface. Coffins -are broken up before they are decayed; and bodies removed to the -bone-house before they are sufficiently decayed to make their removal -decent!... The bone-house is a large, round pit. Into this had been shot -from a wheelbarrow the but partly decayed inmates of the smashed -coffins. On the north side was a man digging a grave. He was quite -drunk. So, indeed, were all the grave-diggers we saw.” - -Walker saw the tin plates removed from the coffins broken up, and -witnessed how many wagon-loads of bones were taken to the -charnel-houses. - -Lord Ronald Gower writes in _Vanity Fair_:— - -“The other day I came across a somewhat rare little brochure,—an account -of the violation of the royal sepulchres of St. Denis, during the first -French Revolution. The work of destruction and sacrilege commenced early -in October, 1793, and lasted all the month. The first corpse found was -that of Henry IV, the once beloved Henri de Navarre. Some curiosity, if -not affection, still seems to have lingered even among those patriots -who have constituted themselves body-snatchers, and the bearnais was -propped up against the church wall in his shroud, and became quite an -attraction for the crowd. One of the republican guards even condescended -to cut off the king’s gray, upturned moustache, and place it on his lip; -another removed the beard, which he declared he would keep as a relic. -After these marks of attention were exhausted, the body was thrown into -a huge pit filled with quicklime, into which successively followed those -of its ancestors and descendants. - -“On the next day the corpses of Henry IV’s wife, Maria de Medicis, that -of his son, Louis XIII, and that of his grandson, Louis XIV, were added -to this. The body of the sun-king (as Louis XIV’s courtiers loved to -call him) was as ‘black as ink.’ What a contrast to that majestic, -bewigged head, as we see it on the canvas of Le Brun and Rigault, must -not that poor blackened skull have been! The body of the Grand Monarch’s -wife and that of his son, the Dauphin (father of Louis XV) followed; all -these, and especially the latter, were in a state of shocking decay. - -“The following day poor harmless Marie Leczinska’s body was torn from -its resting-place, as also were those of the ‘Grand Dauphin,’ the Duke -of Burgundy and his wife, and several other princes and princesses of -the same race, including three daughters of Louis XV. All these were in -a state of terrible decomposition, and in spite of the use of gunpowder -and vinegar, the stench was so great that many of the workmen were -seized with fever, and others had to continue the grewsome work. By a -strange chance, on the very morning that Marie Antoinette’s sufferings -came to an end on the Place de la Revolution, the body of another -unfortunate queen saw the light of day,—it was on the 16th of October -that the body of our Queen Henrietta Maria, who had died in 1669, was -taken from its coffin and added to the ghastly heap in the ‘Ditch of the -Valois,’ as the pit into which these royal remains were hurled was -called; that of her daughter the once ‘Belle Henriette’ came next, and -then in quick succession the bodies of Philippe D’Orleans; that of his -son, the notorious regent; of his daughter, the no less notorious -Duchesse de Berri; of her husband; and half a dozen infants of the same -family. On the same day a coffin was cautiously opened. This was found -at the entrance of the royal vault (the customary position for that -containing the latest deceased king), and contained the remains of Louis -‘le bien aimé.’ No wonder that the body-snatchers hesitated before -withdrawing the corpse from its enclosure, for it was remembered that -Louis had perished of a most terrible illness, and that an undertaker -had died in consequence of placing the already pestilent corpse in its -coffin. Consequently it was only on the brink of the ditch that the body -was removed and hastily rolled over the edge, but not without the -precaution of discharging guns and burning much powder, and even then -the air was terribly tainted far and near. - -“I turn the page and find that we are only in the thick of all these -dead men’s bones and uncleanness, for the republican resurrectionists -began by the Bourbons and had still to disentomb all the Valois, and -further back, up to the Capetian line, and are not content until the -almost legendary remains of Dagobert and Madame Dagobert reappear. -Suffice it to add, that after Louis the Well-beloved had been disposed -of, came in succession, like the line of royal ghosts seen by Macbeth, -Charles V, who died in 1380, whose body was one of the few -well-preserved, and was arrayed in royal robes, with a gilt crown and -sceptre, still bright; that of his wife, Jeanne de Bourbon, who still -held in her bony hand a decayed distaff of wood; Charles VI with his -queen, Isabeau de Bavière; Charles VII and his wife, Marie D’Anjou; and -then Blanche de Navarre, who died in 1391. Charles VIII, of whom nothing -but dust remained, Henry II, Catherine de Medicis, Charles IX, and Henry -III, were disinterred on the morning of the 18th; ‘after the workmen’s -dinner,’ Louis XII and his queen, and among other less interesting royal -remains, the bones of Hugh, Comte de Paris, father of Hugh Capet; and so -on the work went, till one tires even of the details of the preservation -of this or that king or queen. Can anything be more shocking than to -know that all the horrors of decay and decomposition will remain even -after two or three centuries have passed over the lifeless form, and -that, supposing one has the ill luck to be thus coffined and one’s body -removed, ‘a black fluid, emitting a noxious smell,’ will run from out -our last home, as was the case with those royal remains during that hot -summer month at St. Denis in 1793?” - -The Rev. H. R. Haweis says:— - -“You cannot preserve the buried dead securely from the outrages of the -living. The people who dig graves, or are employed to remove bones, are -not as a rule scrupulous, but they are very often drunk. The other day -only a number of wild Irish were so employed at New York; the bodies -were offered for sale on the ground to a party of medical students. -These young fellows had the grace to shrink from the horrors they then -witnessed. One coffin was found full of a heavy decomposed mass, like -spermaceti; it was used to grease the axle-tree of the cart. Another -coffin contained the body of a woman, aged 20, as the inscription -announced. She had rested for 107 years—laid there with what tears, what -tender regrets of husband, or lover, or mother! But now her head was -rudely seized and kicked like a football from one ruffian to the other.” - -But the “sweet sleep and calm rest” of the dead was not only broken by -the ruthless hand of man, but was even disturbed by the elements. - -On the 26th of August, 1854, at Herrnlauersitz (Guhrauer Kreis) more -than 100 corpses were washed out of their graves by an inundation. Many -of them remained in their coffins. They were found afterward in gardens, -yards, fields, in the woods, and even in houses, whither they had -floated. Sixteen days passed before the bodies were all collected; some -were recovered whole, others in parts; then they were buried in one -large pit forever (?), as the officiating clergyman announced. - -“I was long since cured of a belief in earth burial,” says a very -intelligent army officer, “by an appalling sight I witnessed when going -down the Mississippi. There had been a great freshet, during which the -river had so changed its course as to invade a cemetery and dislodge its -occupants, who, in various stages of decomposition—the coffins having -rotted or been torn asunder by the torrent—were floating down the -stream. It was a ghastly spectacle.” - -I don’t think that the people along the banks of the mighty river were -particularly edified with the sight. And if, at the time, they would -have known of some other mode of disposing of the dead, I am sure they -would have adopted it without hesitation. - -A similar occurrence happened at Kansas City, Mo., in February, 1886. -The Missouri River being blocked by ice, caused the channel to rise and -sweep the lower part of an island away that lies opposite the city, and -upon which is the small-pox hospital. About 20 graves were in this part -of the island; they were opened by the flood and the corpses that had -been interred in them swam down the river in their coffins. These bodies -had been buried only since one year. The people on both sides of the -Missouri, from which the city derives its water-supply, were quite -agitated over this affair. - -At the same time the cemetery at Copiano, Chili, was inundated; many of -the vaults were full of water and the coffins were floating around, -while many of the common graves had been completely cleared of their -contents. - -The most horrible feature of the situation was that the water which -flows from the cemetery goes into the river which supplies the -inhabitants with water for domestic purposes. - -The _Quarterly Review_ (No. XLII, p. 380) states:— - -“Many tons of human bones every year are sent from London to the North, -where they are crushed in mills constructed for the purpose, and used as -manure!” - -And a correspondent of the _Times_ writes to his journal from -Alexandria:— - -“The other day at Sakhara, I saw nine camels pacing down from the mummy -pits to the bank of the river, laden with nets in which were femora, -tibia, and other bony bits of the human form, some two hundred-weight in -each net, on each side of the camel. Among the pits there were people -busily engaged in searching out, sifting, and sorting the bones which -almost crust the ground. On inquiry, I learned that the cargoes with -which the camels were laden would be sent down to Alexandria, and thence -be shipped to English manufacturers. They make excellent manure, I am -told, particularly for Swedes and other turnips. The trade is brisk and -has been for years, and may go on for many more. It is a strange fate to -preserve one’s skeleton for thousands of years, in order that there may -be fine southdowns and cheviots in a distant land!” - -Gen. W. T. Sherman once visited the catacombs under ancient Syracuse. -His guide informed him that there were a million interments, but that -the contents of every chamber had been sold for manure. The general -asked him if a single grave had been spared; not one. - -Only a short time ago a London florist bought two cart-loads of mould, -and found it full of legs, arms, skulls, and other human bones. He -brought an action against the person from whom he purchased the soil for -misrepresenting his “goods.” - -On Feb. 9, 1874, the railroad tunnel under the cemetery of Père la -Chaise at Paris, France, caved in with a thundering crash, forming a -pell-mell mass of coffins and bodies, earth and débris. - -In our own country the rest of the dead is fast becoming from year to -year more insecure. - -The _Medical Herald_ affirms: “As the increasing necessities of man -create new demands for space, graveyards are demolished and converted to -other uses. In Louisville, Ky., within the past fifteen years, two -extensive cemeteries have thus been transformed,—one on Portland Avenue -into a common, and one in Jefferson Street into a park, called Baxter -Square. - -“Now the youth stroll along the graded walks and sit in the shaded -nooks, upon the very ground in which the bodies of their ancestry have -decayed. The sacred spot of last repose of grandparents is now the -mirthful scene of the nocturnal orgies of irreverent grandchildren. -Cremation would render this impossible, and place any profanation of the -sacred memorials of the dead beyond the public eye.” - -Recently two burial-grounds,—one in New England, the other in -Pennsylvania,—caved in, and the thickly crowded bones of many -generations were exposed to view. - -In my native city, Detroit, four cemeteries, to my knowledge, were -closed and given up to the living. In every case save one these -burial-grounds were excavated, the coffins, bones, semi-decomposed -bodies, etc., carted away, and business blocks erected in their stead. -In one of these cemeteries a brother of mine was buried; what became of -his last remains I know not. Possibly they were used to fertilize a -field; or perhaps cupidity tempted men to steal his body for the purpose -of dissection; or an unscrupulous grave-digger may have sent his bones -to a bone-mill, vended his coffin-plate, and used his coffin for -firewood. Who knows? I would give a great deal if the relics of my -brother, decently inurned, could be with me; but alas! I must give up -expectations of ever finding any trace of him again. - -[Illustration: THE PROPOSED DETROIT CREMATORIUM.] - -Within a quite recent period at least two graveyards in Montreal have -been torn up to make public squares; and it is not likely that any more -respect will be shown to cemeteries in the future than there has been in -the past. - -Dr. Wm. Porter says: “I well remember, when a boy, seeing our old sexton -exhume a body buried for several years,—that of a strong man called away -in the prime of life. The rotting coffin was slowly lifted from its damp -bed, and the lid being broken, we saw within a horrible mass of -putrefaction. Matted hair and decomposing grave-clothes but poorly -covered the blackened skeleton as it lay in the once handsome casket, -now reeking with the emanation of its loathsome contents. Yet this had -been a beautiful grave; roses had blossomed upon it, and the arbor vitæ -had whispered to it. There would be but little plea for the grave on the -ground of sentiment could we see the changes there taking place; there -would be few, if any, who would not choose that the body, after faithful -service, should be purified by fire, rather than rot in such a grave.” - -We are accustomed to consider sacred the venerable remains of our dead, -and the simplest memorial of a departed friend makes us, if but for -moments, sad. Therefore, all who lay any claim to civilization or -humanity must be vehemently opposed to the profane exhibition of the -bones of the deceased in bone-houses, where they lie pell-mell in a -heap, or catacombs, where they stand braced against the wall, lie in -their coffins, or are put away in niches, _i.e._, on the shelf, and -where any dawdling fool may inspect them for a small sum of money. - -The Rev. H. R. Haweis states: “Where are the thousands who were laid in -the heart of Paris, and who slept for centuries in the graveyards of the -Innocents, St. Eustache, St. Etienne de Prés? Every tourist who takes a -return ticket to Paris may gaze upon their bones, speculate upon their -skulls, and finger their dust. By order of the minister of police they -were all dug up in 1787 and carted off to the catacombs. The bones were -cleaned and arranged in grim and picturesque symmetry. In one gallery -are the arms, legs, and thighs intersected by rows of skulls; the small -bones are thrown in heaps behind them. Whose dust is separate there? -whose ashes are sacred? And yet they were borne to this grotesque -sepulchre with priests and tapers.” - -As regards disrespect and insult to the dead, a correspondent of the -_Medical Times and Gazette_, writing from Bordeaux, says:— - -“The earth around one of the oldest churches in Bordeaux seems to have -something peculiarly antiseptic in its nature, so that the bodies buried -during ages were converted into mummies. During some alterations at the -beginning of this century these bodies were laid bare, and instead of -being decently buried again, they were taken out of their resting-place -and ranged upright in a row around a crypt under the bell-tower of St. -Michael. Here they constitute a disgusting and demoralizing show, which -is visited by crowds of people, and I am afraid that the clergy of the -church are not ashamed to pocket the profits. A rough fellow, a candle -on the end of a stick, such as they have in wine-cellars, goes round as -showman. He taps and thumps the bodies to show that they are perfectly -sound, tough like leather trunks, and not the least brittle. ‘See here, -gentlemen, is a very tall man; see how powerful his muscles must have -been, and what excellent calves he has now! The next is the body of a -young woman. Remark the excellent preservation of her chemise, though it -was buried 400 years ago; and see, it is trimmed with lace. The next, -gentlemen, is a priest; you can see his soutane with the buttons on it. -There is a woman with a dreadful chasm in her breast; she had a cancer. -The next four are a family poisoned with mushrooms; observe the -contortions of their faces from the coliques they suffered. See, next, a -very old man with his wig still awry upon his pate. The next is a poor -misérable that was buried alive. See how his head is turned to one side -and the body half turned round, in the frantic effort to get out of the -coffin, with his mouth open and gasping.’ (It is quite true that the -attitude is singular, but it does not warrant the inference which the -showman draws.) But enough of this disgusting mercenary exhibition of -the human body in its lowest state of humiliation. If the guardians of -consecrated sepulchres, in which people have paid an honest fee to be -buried, are to dig them up and cart them off as in England, or make a -show of them as here, why, I can only say that cremation will gain a -good many converts. Any one would prefer urn burial to the chance of -being thus made a spectacle. So good, too, it must be for the rising -population to take off the edge of any salutary horror they may feel at -death and decay, or of reverence for the dead.” - -There are many such shows where the human corpse is used for the purpose -of eliciting money from a public loving horrible and sensational sights. -I need but mention the catacombs of Rome, or the Bleikeller of Bremen, -to conjure up before your mind all the terrible scenes which the -clerical and medical gentlemen whom I have just cited have pictured. - -There is another way in which the dead are insulted, another mode by -which their graves are desecrated. The monuments which are erected upon -the last resting-place of the deceased to perpetuate their memory are -sometimes moved about till they no longer mark the spot where the person -whose name they bear was interred. Here, then, all the good intentions -of friends are set at naught; their expense, their attention, is all in -vain. The tombstones are moved, and when they become yellow with age -they are broken up to act as headstones for some public highway. That -this does not hold good of European countries only, but also of American -ones, is proven by our honored and beloved “autocrat of the breakfast -table,” Oliver Wendell Holmes, who declares: “The most accursed act of -vandalism ever committed within my knowledge was the uprooting of the -ancient gravestones in three at least of our city burial-grounds, and -one at least just outside the city, and planting them in rows to suit -the taste for symmetry of the perpetrators. The stones have been -shuffled about like chessmen, and nothing short of the Day of Judgment -will tell whose dust lies beneath any of those records meant by -affection to mark one small spot as sacred to some cherished memory. -Shame! shame! shame! That is all I can say. It was on public -thoroughfares, under the eye of authority, that this infamy was enacted. -I should like to see the gravestones which have been disturbed or -removed and the ground levelled, leaving the flat tombstones. Epitaphs -were never famous for truth, but the old reproach of ‘Here _lies_’ never -had such a wholesale illustration as in these outraged burial-places, -where the stone does lie above, and the bones do not lie beneath.” - -Now be candid! Do you not think that facts like these go a good way to -endorse cremation? There would be no need of disturbing the dead, there -would be no vulgar exhibition of the deceased, after incineration would -have been introduced. There would, in fact, be nothing to do violence to -that most sacred and deep-rooted feeling of humanity,—respect for the -dead. - -Among all the outrages on the dead, that committed by the hand of -ghoulish desecration is, by far, the worst. Body-snatching, for -providing anatomical institutions with material, has become a business -in the United States; love of gain being, as usual, the cause. And not -only are bodies abducted to supply medical colleges, but persons are -liable to be murdered for the same reason. In February of 1884 two -negroes were arrested at Cincinnati, who, after a severe examination, -confessed to having killed an old man, his wife, and his adopted -daughter; after which they sold the corpses to the Ohio Medical College, -receiving $15 for each. - -But some grave-robberies are perpetrated simply for revenge, or else for -pure deviltry. A special despatch to the _Detroit Free Press_, from -Point Pleasant, W. Va., relates an instance of this kind as follows:— - -“Salt Creek, a small stream, empties into the Ohio River three miles -south of this. Two miles from the mouth is a church called Pisgah, -attached to which is a burying-ground. This morning when the sexton went -to dig a grave, he was horrified to find half a dozen graves open and -the bodies taken from their coffins and stretched on the ground. In one -or two instances the limbs were severed from the bodies. The graves had -been opened without regard to family. The bodies lay in one place -arranged in the shape of a Greek cross. There is no clue to the -perpetrators of the sacrilegious offense, and no reason can be imagined. -The bodies evidently had been exposed for a day or two.” - -The funeral car of the late A. T. Stewart was followed by six carriages -laden with gorgeous floral offerings; yet in spite of the more than -regal magnificence of his funeral, and of his great wealth, only a few -days later his body was stolen by sacrilegious robbers, and has never -been recovered. Need I remind you of the mortification our nation felt -on hearing that guards had to be set to watch over the graves of our -lamented presidents, Lincoln and Garfield. - -Not only in our country is body-snatching a frequent offense, but also -in England, as will be seen by the sequent quotation from Mr. Walker (p. -202):— - -“An undertaker who had charge of a funeral went with a friend into the -vault of a chapel. A coffin recently deposited was taken under his arm -with the greatest ease. His friend, doubting, poised the coffin, and was -affected to tears from the conviction that the body had been removed. -Several other coffins were in the same condition.” - -The corpse of the late Earl of Crawford was stolen from the Dun Echt -mortuary chapel in Aberdeen. - -There is one case of outrage on the dead on record that, for hideousness -and devilishness, surpasses all others. I refer to that grave-digger of -Koenigsberg, Prussia, who fed his swine with human bodies. - -One of the most abominable modes of outrage on the dead is that where -men (beasts is the proper designation for them) have gratified their -animal passions by outraging the fresh corpses of young and pretty -women. It seems incredible, but this violation was known in the most -ancient times, and is not yet extinct in the present age. - -_Herodotus_ already reports in the 89th chapter of his second book, that -the Egyptians of old did not deliver up the bodies of ladies of quality -or the remains of young and beautiful women to the embalmers until -decomposition had set in, so that these men could not have coition with -them. For it was said that an embalmer had once surprised a colleague in -the act of outraging the corpse of a youthful woman, and had reported -the case to the authorities, who punished the inhuman offender promptly. - -The evening edition of the _National Zeitung_ (published at Berlin) of -Nov. 21, 1874 (No. 544), relates that in Lichtenberg, which is situated -near the capital of the German Empire, in the night from the 4th to 5th -of November, two children, recently buried, were disinterred and removed -from their coffins. On the morning of November the 5th the corpses were -found on the ground near the graves,—the shrouds were torn,—and one -body, that of a little two-year-old girl, bore all the signs of a recent -outrage. - -All these sacrilegious outrages on the dead could be obviated by -incineration. The avaricious would not be tempted by a small quantity of -ashes in a plain urn. There would be no valuable clothing and no costly -jewelry, ordinarily inhumed with some bodies, to excite rapacity. - -Furthermore, cremation promises the greatest possible security from -vandalism. When the urn containing the remains, _i.e._, ashes, of our -friends or relatives is placed in a niche in the columbarium, it can be -easily guarded. One watchman, in communication (by electrical alarm) -with the police department of the city, will suffice to protect the -urn-hall of a columbarium. The same cannot be said of a cemetery; it -would take at least a company of watchmen to properly guard the grounds -of a medium-sized graveyard. - -Some day we will have Westminster Abbeys on a small scale, where, amid -grand monuments and costly urns, the simple tablet of wood shall have -its place, its inscription remaining legible, not being blotted out by -the elements, as it is to-day. Each church could have its own urn-hall, -and the burial ceremonies could be conducted according to the belief of -the deceased. - -The greatest foe incineration has to contend with is the widespread -antipathy against it, entertained and nursed by people who are governed -more by sentiment than by reason. Which is the most poetical mode of -disposal of the dead, cremation or burial? Think! think!! think!!! and -you cannot fail to find out. - -Mr. W. Robinson, F.L.S., says:— - -“The simplest urn ever made for the ashes of a Roman soldier is far more -beautiful than the costly funeral trappings used in the most imposing -burial pageant of modern times. Of urns of a more ambitious kind, the -variety and beauty are often remarkable, as may be seen in our national -and various private collections. It would be a gain to art if some of -the money spent on coffins, which rot unseen in the earth, were devoted -to such urns, which do not decay, and which might be placed in the light -of day, and perhaps teach a lesson in art as well as bear a record.” - -And the _Medical Herald_ declares:— - -“An urn of granite, alabaster, malachite, or one of the precious metals, -with the life-sized statue of great men placed in the halls of state, -would much more befittingly express the state’s regard, and preserve and -perpetuate the grateful tribute a Christian people would pay their -memories, than any number of columns and shafts reared in cemeteries, -which must in time be demolished.” - -Which is the more æsthetic, a small heap of pure, pearl-white ashes, or -a grim skeleton? Certainly those who have seen a decomposing body, or -human remains in the state of adipocere, would not call them æsthetic. -Contrast with the ghastly skeleton, now commonly employed as an -illustration of death, the representation of death by the ancients,—the -boy with the inverted torch. Which is the more refined? - -The strong tombs, of such a grandeur and beauty—proof against the -gnawing teeth of time—mortuary monuments,—as we shall not be able to -leave to our offspring, testify to the pious veneration for the dead of -the ancients. I need but remind you of the grand pyramids, the extensive -necropolis at Thebes, the mausoleums and columbaria of the Via Appia in -Rome, to cause you to perceive the truth of my statement. - -The ancients thought of the dead as being turned into shades; when we -think of them we imagine rattling skeletons. The stupid and disgusting -glorification of the skeleton did not originate with Christ; it is a -product of the Middle Ages, as are the many tales of witches and ghosts -that are related, especially in connection with churchyards, and still -cling to them to-day. - -The cremationists of to-day, who propose to substitute a decent æsthetic -and sanitary mode of disposal of the dead for the present harmful and -loathsome custom of inhumation, are repulsed, met by sentimental -objections, are even called monsters without religion, without reverence -for the dead. - -But the apostles of incineration are as far removed from striving to -suppress and murder such sacred feelings as is Dan from Beersheba. On -the contrary, they believe that cremation is far more conducive to a -pious veneration for the dead than interment. - -What would you rather look upon, that horrible remnant of mortality, for -which, as Bossuet says, “there has been found no name in any human -language,” or the innocuous, pearly ash in the memorial urn of marble, -alabaster, or one of the precious metals? - -Cremation is humane, healthful, and, most of all methods, consonant to -the natural impulse of Christianized veneration for the dead; serving -and honoring that impulse by preventing the exposure of the dead to -those visible elemental and chemical conditions and operations which -breed a revolt of the feelings, and tend to surround the subject with an -atmosphere of abhorrence. - -Undoubtedly, one result of adopting generally the in-cinerative burial, -will be a disassociation in our ideas from that existing and shocking -conception of horrible bodily decay, in which almost every thought -bestowed upon the dead is necessarily enveloped, and we will learn to -contemplate the body with the cheerful philosophy of the Persian poet, -Omar Khayyam:— - - “‘Tis but a tent where takes his one day’s rest - A Sultan to the realms of death addrest; - The Sultan rises, and the dark Ferrash - Strikes and prepares it for another guest.” - -At a burial there is but darkness, at a cremation rosy light -unaccompanied by fustiness; the dead is really reduced to ashes, and -with him the time-honored saying, “Peace to his ashes,” is not a hollow -phrase, as it is with those who are interred. - -Those who do not wish to miss religious and other ceremonies at -incinerations may use any form of burial service they like, and those -who desire to dispense with them may do so. And those who already have -beloved dead in the cemeteries may rest by their side when the end is -come, for the ashes can be interred as well as the body. - -A Sicilian poet suggested that along with the ashes thus buried might be -deposited the seeds of some flower,—such as heart’s-ease, violets, or -forget-me-nots,—so that when it sprung up, the friends and relatives -might gather the blossoms from year to year as a dear memorial of the -life that lasts beyond the tomb; and Tennyson’s (“In Memoriam”) poetic -verses would be realized:— - - “And from his ashes may be made - The violet of his native land.” - -Only when cremation is practiced, can a family obtain the remains -(ashes, of course) of its friends and relatives who have died in a -foreign land; only then it is possible to deposit such remains with -those of the ancestors. - -With the Chinese it is customary to always inter the dead in their -native land; when they are far away from home they inhume their deceased -temporarily, but at the earliest opportunity remove them to China,—a -usage that deserves to be imitated. - -The small urn containing the parental ashes may be taken by migratory -man into the new world or the old, always preserved as the most sacred -relic of the family. - -How much more beautiful and better would it not be to have the remains -of our kin near at hand, in the house. Only then we would be reminded of -them every day. Every building could be made to contain a mortuary -chamber. Then we would know our dead shielded from the elements. Now, -when the storm rages and the rain pours down in torrents, we imagine -that he or she whom we have recently buried is yet subject to the -inclemency of the weather. Maxime du Camp relates a touching example of -the power of illusion. On one of his walks in the Paris cemeteries he -discovered a young lady kneeling before a tombstone, who was singing -(interrupted frequently by her sobs) an aria from an opera. When she -observed him, after she had finished she said, excusing herself -involuntarily: “There my dear mother lies buried! She loved to hear this -aria!” - -That these questions which I have just briefly considered are of -considerable moment is demonstrated by the experience of the Rev. Brooke -Lambert, who says:— - -“It has been my misfortune to lose four of my nearest relations in -different parts of the world. It has been also a subject of regret to me -that their remains lie so far off. I care little for the fate which -happens to their bodies; and yet, had such a practice as cremation been -in use, it would sometimes have been a comfort to feel that I had their -ashes with me. Collected in an urn, they might either repose in -columbaria, like those at Rome, or in a mortuary chapel in my own -house.” - -This citation brings to my mind a beautiful epigram of Count Platen, -who, as you undoubtedly know, was called the favorite of the ladies. It -is impossible to translate it, and therefore I will content myself with -mentioning the contents. It entreats the sacred flames to return, and to -purify the air which death has contaminated; it requests those about to -bury to reduce to ashes the body of their friend; and it rejoices that -the remains of our beloved will again rest in a clean and decent urn -near our abodes. - -There are many authors who, in their works, have expressed themselves in -favor of cremation. Among the first to do this was A. F. Ferdinand von -Kotzebue, a German writer of note, who glorified incineration in his -novel “Die Leiden der Ortenberg’schen Familie.” - -There are those who are afraid that cremation will do away with all that -is mortuary in poetry and song. For instance, they say: “What will -become of Gray’s Elegy in a Country Churchyard? Allusion to burial runs -so inseparably through its verses that nothing would be left of them -were it eliminated.” As a work of art Gray’s masterpiece will live -forever; but if reason or common sense is applied to it, I doubt whether -it has a right to exist, even now. I admit that the poem is beautiful, -that it is grand; but it is all sentiment—nothing more. - -There is now already a new literature, prose as well as poetry, -accumulating. The “Cremazione dei cadaveri” already has its -poets—principally in Italy. Professor Giambattista Polizzi of Girgenti -dedicated (in March, 1873) a poem on cineration to Signora Emilia Salsi -when her husband, Doctor Giuseppi Salsi, died and was cremated. He -praised incineration as the best mode to dispose of the dead, and to -preserve the remains of the departed. In January, 1874, Civelli’s -printing house at Milan, Italy, turned out 22 stanzas on incineration, -in the Milanese dialect. The anonymous author is a patron of cremation. -Dr. Moretti of Cannero published an excellent poem on cremation in the -_Annali di Chimica_ of 1872. A German author, writing under the -pseudonym of “Dranmor,” sent forth some very good verses on the same -subject, as did also the celebrated Dr. Justinus Kerner. - -Mr. William Eassie laments:— - -“It is a matter of regret that those of our own poets who have been in -favor of burning the dead did not enshrine their proclivities in verse. -Southey, for instance, wrote that the custom of interment ‘makes the -idea of a dead friend more unpleasant. We think of the grave, -corruption, and worms; burning would be better.’ But he left us no -poetry on the subject.” - -The objections to cineration put forward by the sentimentalists are -really of no consequence at all; they are far too trivial to be worth -even only superficial consideration. I have only mentioned them, because -I am aware of the strong hold that sentiment has on most people, and -because they allowed of a comparison between burial and cremation, which -is decidedly in favor of the latter. - -Dr. E. J. Bermingham of New York City hits the nail on the head by -saying:— - -“We believe the abhorrence entertained by many, of cremation, depends to -a very great extent on the universal tendency of individuals and nations -to resent any interference with established customs, to reject any -innovation simply because it is an innovation.” - -Sentimental objection to incineration resolves into this: We are the -slaves of custom. We love to walk in the old wornout paths, and when -some one discovers a new way that is much shorter, and by which the -destination is reached much sooner, we are loathe to use it. First only -a few adopt it, then more and more travel over its surface, until -finally the old path becomes obsolete. - -To what an extent people are governed by their time-honored customs was -illustrated by the ancient historian Herodotus (see Muses, Book III, -chap. 88), as follows:— - -“If all people were to choose the most beautiful among the customs, they -would after close examination select their own, because every nation -believes that its own customs are the best and the most beautiful. One -therefore cannot imagine that anybody but a madman would ridicule such -matters. When Darius reigned he summoned the Greeks then in his land, -and when they came, he requested them to name the price they would take -to eat their deceased parents. They replied they would not commit such a -crime for all the gold in his empire. Then he caused the Kalatians -(natives of India), who were in the habit of eating their parental dead, -to appear before him; when they arrived, he questioned them (in presence -of the Greeks, to whom every word was interpreted) how much remuneration -they would want to burn their dead. They cried aloud, and bade him not -to think of such a sacrilege. Thus custom rules. I believe Pindar to be -right when he asserts in one of his poems that custom is the king of -all.” - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - ECONOMY OF CREMATING THE DEAD.—THE PRESENT STATE OF THE CREMATION - QUESTION. - - -Dr. F. Julius le Moyne, speaking of the great expense often lavished on -funerals, says:— - -“The aggregate of such questionable expenditures over the United States -would amount to billions of dollars, a sum truly alarming in size; and -this criminal expenditure has been an important factor in conducing to -the monetary panic[1] still prevailing. This is one of the many -extravagances which account in a great degree for national financial -difficulties. The average expenditure for each body by the system of -inhumation may be placed at $100. The average expense by the cremation -plan would not exceed $20,—showing what an immense national saving would -be gained by substituting cremation for interment.” - -Footnote 1: - - Dr. Le Moyne’s paper was written in 1878. - -It must be kept in mind that the expense of a modern funeral consists of -the purchase of a lot in the graveyard, the funeral expenditure, and the -outlay for the customary tombstone or monument. - -The cost of a cemetery to the community is tremendous. The cost of a -plain furnace with a columbarium does not exceed $5000, a mere trifle -when compared with the price of a burial ground. - -Imagine what a lot of valuable land—the best soil is always selected for -cemeteries—is lost by our present method of disposing of the dead. I -firmly believe that graveyards are often a hindrance to the growth of a -city; but progress cannot be stopped forever; it may be delayed for a -short time, but finally it will overcome all obstacles, the dead are -carted away, and a world of activity takes their place. - -Graves are not houses which last till doomsday. In this country where -cities grow so rapidly, graveyards are soon surrounded by dwellings, and -a cemetery which was once far outside of the city limits finally is -almost in the centre of the city. It then becomes necessary to remove -the dead. They are dug up and carted away, and are, perhaps, quietly -dumped into some swamp to fill it up and assist in the generation of -malaria. Business blocks are then erected in the place that was once -sacred to the dead, and the peace of the burial ground is changed for -the din of traffic. - -The following citation from an editorial of the _Detroit Free Press_ -will serve to elucidate what I have said:— - -“The interment of the numerous dead of a large population in the midst -of a large population is very serious. To it are attributed the constant -outbreaks of cholera in India, and the increase of leprosy in China, and -it is certain as anything can be that the existence of cemeteries in -crowded communities is meeting with an increasing prejudice. The people -of large cities are already forced to seek, at some distance from their -limits, suitable places for interment. And the existence of great -cemeteries in the suburban communities themselves is provoking vigorous -opposition. At Newton, Long Island, there are 13 cemeteries, in which -30,000 bodies of people dying in New York and Brooklyn are buried -annually. There are, therefore, 60,000 live people in one part of the -town, the rest being occupied by 3,500,000 dead ones. Property is -depreciating and taxes are increasing. People are not attracted to a -town of this sort, and the real estate of the village has been falling -in value for some time.” - -[Illustration: THE PROPOSED CREMATORIUM AT CINCINNATI, OHIO.] - -But the financial deterioration is nothing when compared with the effect -which the aggregation of many dead produces upon the health of the -surrounding population. - -In and about New York, Brooklyn, and Jersey City, 4000 acres of valuable -land are taken up by cemeteries. It is calculated that with the probable -increase of population in the next half a decade, 500,000 acres of the -best land in the United States will be enclosed by graveyard walls. -Think of it! Five hundred thousand acres of soil that might contribute -towards the maintenance of the living given up to the “cities of the -dead.” It is an outrage! - -Now, let us compare the cost of burial with that of incineration. As I -have mentioned before, there is an immense saving of valuable land when -cremation is adopted. Millions of acres now uncultivated, and simply -used for burial to the detriment of the living, would be changed into -food-bearing land and furnish additional means for the maintenance of -the people. A crematory connected with an urn-hall would not occupy more -space than 360 to 400 square feet, and would last for centuries. There -would also be a diminution of funeral expenses. The average expense of -cremation in the United States is $25. Contrast this with the ordinary -funeral expense, and you will agree with me when I assert that the -present waste of money for burials is as enormous as it is unnecessary. -Some author has said justly that the difference in expense would often -equal one-half the proceeds of a life insurance policy. It is plain that -the expense of the burning of single bodies will be very much _reduced_ -by the general use of the system. The annual expense for the cremation -of 7000 bodies in Bombay, India, amounts to $15,000 only, which is but -$2.50 for each corpse. - -The cost of incineration in our own country has varied. It is, of -course, impossible to estimate the expense of the earlier cremations. - -The furnace at Washington, Pa., was erected for the use of Dr. Le Moyne -only, and those of his friends who concurred with him in this reform. -The public at one time believed that this furnace had been built for its -accommodation, and that the owner followed cremation as a business, and -charged fees for the use of his crematory. During the lifetime of the -doctor no fee whatever was charged for incineration in his furnace. -After his death the trustees of the crematorium were obliged to charge -the moderate sum of $45 to compensate them for their time and trouble. -This included all expenses after the body reached the railway station at -Washington,—a hearse, carriage, and box to contain the remains, as well -as fuel, attendance, etc. - -The building at Washington was put up at the least possible expense (as -economy was one of Dr. Le Moyne’s principal arguments), and cost in all -about $1500. Compare this expenditure with that of purchasing a -cemetery, not taking into consideration the improvements which must be -made on a graveyard before it can be opened to the public. - -It will prove interesting to consider the present state of the cremation -question, and to note the progress which the reform has thus far made in -various countries of the civilized world. - -Incineration is making great headway in Europe. In Germany, societies -were organized at Coeln, Hainichen, Bonn, Frankfort on the Main, -Potsdam, Liegnitz, Chemnitz, Heidelberg, Elberfeld, Eger, Breslau, -Nordhausen, Rheda, Kollberg, Bremen, and Schleswig. - -Since Prince Bismarck declared that he would not be adverse to a law -regulating and permitting the practice of cremation in all parts of the -empire, the leading physicians of Berlin and the members and officers of -all the cremation societies of Germany have petitioned the national -parliament—the Reichstag—to permit incineration in all cities of the -empire, not restricting cremation to Gotha, as has been done heretofore. - -In Austria, opinion is about evenly divided for and against the -practice. A deputation from the “Urne” Society of Vienna waited on the -president of the Austrian cabinet to ask that cremation should be -authorized. This society now comprises 800 members, amongst whom every -class is represented; they have collected sufficient funds for the -construction of a crematory apparatus. And what was the answer of the -government to this request? The Minister of Austro-Hungary replied to -the Urne Society for the Propagation of Cremation that incineration is -forbidden in the empire because public opinion is against it. - -The committee of the Belgian chamber has favorably reported upon a -petition for a law making cremation optional. - -The municipality of Paris lately decided to cremate the bodies which -have been used at the School of Practical Anatomy and at Clamort. Over -3000 bodies a year are received at these two institutions for the -purpose of dissection. - -The Municipal Council of Paris also recently authorized the erection of -three crematories in the Père la Chaise Cemetery, according to the -Gorini system, which are to be used for the purpose of cremating the -remains of those persons who die of infectious or contagious diseases. -They will be heated with wood, and are calculated to be capable of -reducing the bodies of 50 persons per day at a cost of 15 francs -inclusive of personal expenditure and the cost of an urn for the -reception of the ashes. The Prefect of Police of Paris has endorsed the -decree of the municipality, laying stress especially on the many -advantages—sanitary and economical—of cremation. He stated that -sufficient testimony had been recorded by Kuechenmeister and many other -scientific authorities to demonstrate beyond a doubt that cremation is a -protection against cholera, yellow fever, and small-pox epidemics. The -furnaces at the Père la Chaise can be used eight hours a day. The total -expense is estimated at 50,000 francs; and preparations will be made to -burn 4500 bodies a year. The establishment of these crematories was -brought about mainly through the efforts of M. Koechlin-Schwartz, mayor -of the eighth ward of Paris; and the plan for their construction was -submitted to the municipality in the name of the Commission of the -Assistance Publique by M. Chaisoaing. - -The French Chamber recently enacted the following: “Any adult or free -minor, capable of being a testator, may freely determine the mode of his -sepulture. He may elect inhumation or incineration, may will his body or -any part thereof to institutions of public instruction or to learned -societies, and may regulate the conditions of his funeral, notably in -regard to its civil or religious character.” - -The privilege of cremation in the crematories at the Père la Chaise is -now granted to any one who asks for the same. - -The Paris Municipality will at a future sitting vote the construction of -a sort of lay temple, where families will be allowed to keep urns or -other funereal vessels, containing the ashes of dead relatives. This -will not necessarily do away with any religious ceremony short of that -of consigning the dead to consecrated ground; but, as M. -Koechlin-Schwartz says, there is no reason why urns may not be -consecrated, or why Protestants, Catholics, Jews, and Free Thinkers may -not build a vast mausoleum in which the ashes of thousands could be -deposited in beautiful vessels without injury to the living. - -It is probable that crematories being now legal in such an art center as -Paris, new and beautiful forms of artistic decoration will grow out of -it. - -Altogether, cremation is progressing so favorably everywhere that one -may be hopeful that comparatively soon it will be adopted by every -country in the world. - -Public opinion in England has undergone a wonderful change, and now is -universally in favor of cremation. Even so great a newspaper as the -_Times_, once a vehement opponent of the reform, has come around, and -now upholds incineration. - -The crematory belonging to the Cremation Society of England, erected by -them at St. John’s, Woking, Surrey, was made use of for the first time -on the 26th of March, 1885. The body upon which the rite was performed -was that of Mrs. Pickersgill, of London, aged seventy-one—a lady well -known in literary and scientific circles. She had previously become a -member of the society, with a view of supporting the reform, in which -she took great interest. The form of declaration drawn up by the society -had been signed by her, and, after the medical certificates had been -duly filled up by registered medical men and an application from a -representative of the deceased, the cremation was allowed to proceed. An -autopsy had been previously carried out by the medical attendants of the -deceased. - -The body was conveyed to the crematory from London in a suitable hearse; -and the cremation, which lasted one hour, was attended by two friends of -the deceased, who expressed themselves perfectly satisfied with the -system employed. The cost for fuel was under ten shillings altogether; -and during the time of the cremation, no smoke escaped from the -chimney-shaft, whilst the ashes were of a purest white and small in -volume. - -The Italian government ordered the building of a crematory, on the -Gorini-Gozzi system, for the cholera hospital at Varignano, which was -completed in the summer of 1885. - -A crematorium was erected at Florence, on the Venini system, which -cremates a body in 70 minutes, and the cost of which was 4500 francs. -Crematories are building at Pisa and Como. - -On the 23d of June, 1885, the crematorium at Livorno was dedicated with -appropriate ceremonies. It contains a Spaciani Mesmer furnace. - -General acquiescence in the process of cremation is steadily growing -among us; and I verily believe that the time is not far distant when -crematories will be established in every state and territory of the -Union. The fact that one was recently erected in New York City, one has -been built at Lancaster, and one has just been completed at Pittsburg, -certainly proves that cremation has found a foothold in this country. - -The New York Cremation Society was organized in the city of New York on -March 8, 1881, under the presidency of the Rev. Dr. J. D. Beugless, and -was incorporated on the 26th of March in the same year. The objects and -purposes of this society are to disseminate sound and enlightened views -respecting the incineration of the dead; to advocate and promote in -every proper and legitimate way the substitution of this method for -burial; and to advance the public good by affording facilities for -carrying cremation into operation. The members of the society consist of -three classes: active, associate, and corresponding members. Active -members are subdivided into annual and life members, of whom the annual -members pay the regular dues, and the life members the amount of $30 in -one sum. Those who have paid the regular dues for twelve successive -years also become life members. No further payment is then required from -such member. These payments for twelve successive years entitle an -active member to all the privileges of the society for the remainder of -his life; and an associate member to the benefit of the incineration -fund without further charge. - -Only active members are qualified for election or appointment to any -official position in the society; to vote at any election; and to debate -and vote at any meeting; corresponding members are chosen from among -those who have distinguished themselves by rendering service in the -promotion of cremation; and they may reside in any part of the world, -except within a radius of five miles around the city of New York. At -present, the New York Cremation Society numbers 470 members, of whom 400 -are active and 70 passive members. - -The United States Cremation Company, incorporated under the laws of the -state of New York, is in no manner connected with the New York Cremation -Society, although many members of the latter are stockholders in the -former. This company was founded for the purpose of acquiring land, and -erecting thereon the necessary buildings, works, and other appliances -for carrying cremation into operation. It was incorporated under the -general business act of 1876 of the state of New York, with a capital -stock of $35,000, divided into 1400 shares of the par value of $25 per -share; $28,200 worth of stock has already been taken. Among the -stockholders of the United States Cremation Company are such persons of -note as Andrew Carnegie, Professor H. H. Boyesen, the distinguished -author, Professor Felix Adler, and Courtlandt Palmer. - -Early in 1884, the company purchased a fine site on Long Island, about -45 minutes’ drive from the city. The cremation temple was erected upon -the summit of a hill at Fresh Pond, Long Island. The site is bounded by -Olivet, Evelin, and Summit Avenues respectively on the east, south, and -west, and commands an unobstructed view of the cities of New York and -Brooklyn, from the center of population in either of which it is about -five miles distant. It lies between two cemeteries. The grounds are high -and picturesque. This place of rest will be, if present plans are -carried out, more complete than anything of the kind in the world. It is -expressly wished to deprive it of the mournful aspect usually associated -with burial-grounds. To this end there are no yew or willow trees, nor -any emblems of mourning. The grounds are tastefully laid out, and -adorned with flowers. - -The corner-stone of the crematory at Fresh Pond was laid on Nov. 20, -1884. Prof. Felix Adler conducted the services, the principal speeches -being made by him and the Rev. Howard Henderson. - -The directors of the United States Cremation Company fixed the charge -for the incineration of bodies at $25. The crematorium was finished in -the latter part of October, 1885. Experiments were made with the bodies -of a number of the lower animals, in order to perfect the workings of -the machinery. On Nov. 10, 1885, a dressed ram, weighing 75 pounds, -together with the skin, shank, and hip bones of an ox, was introduced -into the furnace. With a temperature of 2000° F. the incineration was -completed in two hours. A strong wind greatly retarded the process by -interfering with the draught of cold air. The defect was remedied at -once by altering the flues and the insertion of a steam jet at a point -above the entrance of the flues. - -The site was selected in order to carry out the first plans of the -edifice, which were those of a Grecian temple. The plans have been -modified and modernized so that only a remnant of the classical design -is left. The front portion of the building will be, when finished, two -stories high. The rest of the structure is one story high, and is built -of plain red brick. The dimensions are 38 × 74. Light is admitted to the -interior of the building by skylights in the roof, as well as by the -half-dozen windows on each side. - -Cremation in New York has been advancing steadily, although perhaps -slowly, in public favor. The first body was incinerated at Fresh Pond on -Dec. 4, 1885, and since then more than 100 persons have been cremated -there. - -Cremation is spoken of with respect, and the stage of smiling and joking -over it in New York passed away long ago. - -It receives the unanimous support of the press and the medical -profession. The Society of Medical Jurisprudence and State Medicine -appointed early in 1886 a committee to consider the subject. The report -of that committee, which was adopted, declared cremation to be “a -sanitary necessity,” and recommended that all persons dying of -contagious diseases should be cremated under direction of the medical -authorities. - -The cremation of Dr. Dio Lewis, the famous health reformer, in the -latter part of May, 1886, and that of Mr. Henry Dodge, of one of the -leading banking firms on Wall Street, in the early part of June, -attracted wide attention. - -The first one to advocate the adoption of cremation in Buffalo, N. Y., -was, to my knowledge, Dr. Frederick Peterson, who championed the reform -in an article written for the _Buffalo Medical and Surgical Journal_. -Many years passed, however, before his ardent advocacy was followed by -practical results. The Buffalo Cremation Company (Limited) was -incorporated in July, 1884, under the law of 1875,—the so-called limited -liability act. - -At a meeting held May 18, 1886, the first board of directors was -elected, with Dr. Charles Cary as president. The gentlemen constituting -this first board managed the affairs of the company so well, and agreed -among themselves so perfectly, that they were reelected, and are still -in office. - -At this meeting committees were appointed on the purchase of real estate -for a suitable site for building a crematorium, also for plans for the -erection of a furnace for the incineration of bodies. Subscriptions came -in rapidly, and those who had strong faith in the ultimate -accomplishment of this work were gratified by the realization of their -hopes. Any one who takes a look at the crematorium of Buffalo to-day, -must acknowledge that the crematists of this city have a right to be -glad and proud to behold at last the practical outcome of their work. - -At a meeting of the board of directors in the early part of August, -1885, the committees appointed for the purpose rendered their reports in -reference to a site for a crematorium and a cinerary apparatus. In -accordance with these reports the directors purchased a site on Delavan -Avenue, near Delaware Avenue. The dimensions are 181 feet front, 161 -feet rear, and 148 feet in depth. The property was bought at a cost of -$20 per foot, and on very favorable terms. - -Originally the capital stock was $10,000, divided into 400 shares, of -the par value of $25 per share. This was afterward increased to $15,000, -divided into 600 shares of the same par value. This stock when once paid -up is non-assessable, and not liable for the debts of the company. - -The Buffalo crematorium, which was finished recently, is of a composite -style of architecture, and is constructed of Medina stone, with a slate -roof. The outline of the building is a pleasing one, and the -architecture is of such a character that it resembles a church more -closely than a place where any mechanical operation is carried on. The -grounds of the company are entered from Delavan Avenue by a spacious -roadway, running to a porch and then passing around the building to the -door of the mortuary chamber, on the east side. Those who accompany the -body alight at the porch, and pass thence into the auditorium. The body -itself is removed from the hearse at the door of the mortuary chamber. - -When the coffin containing the body is received in the mortuary chamber, -the body is removed and placed on the car which awaits its reception. -The car is then moved by machinery, and without noise, into the chancel, -where, if it is desired, the body may remain in sight of those in the -auditorium during the progress of such service as the friends and -relatives may wish to have performed. At the proper time the same -mechanism moves the car noiselessly behind the doors which cut off the -incinerating room from the sight of the audience. - -The building itself is some 70 feet in width, by 60 feet deep. The -construction throughout is of the most substantial character. The lot is -graded and seeded, and trees and shrubs were planted, so that the -appearance of the crematorium and its surroundings is most pleasing to -the eye. - -[Illustration: - - CREMATORIUM AT LANCASTER, PA. - (Interior View.) -] - -On Dec. 20, 1883, Mr. John Storer Cobb, who was one of the projectors -and founders of the New York Cremation Society and the United States -Cremation Company, requested Bostonians (in the columns of a leading -newspaper) who were in favor of substituting incineration for inhumation -as a means of disposing of the dead, to furnish him with their names and -addresses. After the receipt of these names he called a meeting, which -took place Jan. 24, 1884, and the result of which was the organization -of the New England Cremation Society. Organization was effected under -Chapter 115 of the Massachusetts Public Statutes; but the commissioner -of corporations refusing to allow such incorporation, the society not -wishing to organize under the general corporation law, whereby the par -value of shares must be $100, and all stock subscribed for and paid in -before it could commence operations, applied for a special charter, -embodying its views and needs. But the time for the introduction of new -business having expired, it was obliged to wait till the next session of -the legislature. Early in the session it presented a bill for -incorporation, which took the form of a general law, authorizing the -formation of cremation societies. - -It was the intention of the society to at once incorporate under this -act, place the stock of the society on sale, and as soon as possible -erect a crematorium in the near vicinity of Boston. The bill passed both -houses of the legislature, but was amended, so that now the par value of -shares must be either $10 or $50, and, as under the general corporation -law of Massachusetts, the whole capital stock must be subscribed and -paid in before the society can commence operations. - -The capital stock of the society is $25,000, distributed into 2500 -shares, each of the par value of $10. At present the society numbers -about 75 members. The officers are: John Storer Cobb, president; Charles -A. Holt, treasurer; and Sidney P. Brown, secretary. - -Inspired with the necessity of a better method of disposing of the dead, -Dr. John O. Marble began the agitation of the question in Worcester, -Mass., in November, 1884, by reading a paper upon the subject before 25 -of the most prominent physicians of that city. Much to his surprise and -pleasure they heartily approved of the plan of cremation as a substitute -for the present time-honored, but, to the living, dangerous custom of -earth-burial. At the solicitation of one of them, who is the -enthusiastic president of the Worcester Natural History Society, the -doctor delivered a lecture upon the subject of the “Disposal of the -Dead, Cremation Preferred,” before a large audience in the hall of the -society on the evening of Dec. 4, 1884. - -The people of the conservative city of Worcester seemed to appreciate -the sanitary necessity, and began intelligent inquiries, which Dr. -Marble answered in eight communications in the _Worcester Daily Spy_. -The movement was favored by almost all of the best citizens, and, after -considerable hard work on Dr. Marble’s part, took shape in the -organization of a society. The constitution was signed by, and the -society is composed of, persons of the very highest position, socially, -professionally, and in every respect. The society is not yet quite ready -for the erection of a crematory, but it is expected that such result -will follow in the near future. - -The Cincinnati Cremation Company was incorporated on Oct. 18, 1884; it -was organized two or three weeks later. The capital stock of the company -is $25,000, divided into 1000 shares of the par value of $25 per share. -No member is permitted to own more than 20 shares. In the spring of -1885, the company purchased a site for the erection of Cincinnati’s -crematorium. The site is on a commanding eminence on Dixmyth Avenue, -west of Burnet Woods and within a quarter of a mile of the terminus of -the Clifton line of cars. The property is within city limits; it is -easily accessible, being on a fine drive; its elevation will give the -crematorium a distinguished prominence, while the view to the west and -south is extended and beautiful. The front measurement of the site is -somewhat over 300 feet, with a depth of 350, comprising an area of more -than two and a half acres, at a cost of $4000. The basement of the -Cincinnati crematorium has been finished; the furnace is being erected, -and will be completed in a short time. At present, the company counts -325 stockholders, with quite a representation of ladies. About $15,000 -of the stock has been subscribed for. - -A crematory on Sixth Avenue, in the centre of the city of Pittsburg, -Pa., was completed in January, 1886. The furnace (constructed by Dr. M. -L. Davis) is heated by natural gas to at least 2200 degrees. The -apparatus is owned by Mr. H. Samson, the ex-president of the National -Funeral Directors’ Association, who is a wide-awake man, and thinks the -funeral directors (_vulgo_, undertakers) are very shortsighted to allow -cremation associations to be organized; they should be willing and -prepared to take care of and make such disposition of the dead as the -people want. The use of natural gas enables Mr. Samson to have his -furnace in the basement of his business house. The first cremation in -this apparatus took place on March 17, 1886, when the remains of Milton -Fisher, of Columbus, O., were incinerated. The body was placed in the -retort at 7.30 o’clock, and in less than an hour was reduced to ashes. -This was the first time that natural gas had ever been used for -cremating purposes; and its advantages were apparent at once. - -The National Cremation Association, which was organized and incorporated -Feb. 10, 1883, has so far met with success, as its object to make -propaganda for the principle of cremation and keep its ideas before the -eyes of the public has been fully sustained, as the discussions and -arguments pro and contra in the press of Philadelphia, Pa., where it is -located, will prove. According to its constitution, this association -agrees to cremate the remains of any active or passive member in good -standing at death, when so desired. The expenses of the funeral and -cremation are carried by the association. - -Since the incorporation of this society, one of its members died, May -10, 1884, and was, in accordance with his wishes, cremated. The body was -transferred to Washington, Pa., on the 13th of the same month, and there -reduced to ashes, which were returned to the care of the family of the -deceased. - -Since the incorporation of the association, the number of members has -risen from six to 59 and will soon, no doubt, be a full hundred. - -It is now the main object of this association to secure the erection of -a crematory in or near Philadelphia. For this purpose subscriptions were -received and stock issued. As soon as the necessary capital is obtained -the crematorium will be built. - -In the medical school of the University of Pennsylvania the bodies which -have been utilized for dissection are burned instead of being buried as -heretofore. - -The Lancaster Cremation and Funeral Reform Society at Lancaster, Pa., -originated in this wise: Early in 1884, a few gentlemen interested in -the matter agitated it among their friends; and a list of members of a -proposed society was made. On May 27, these subscribers met at the -office of Messrs. Steinmann and Hensel (both of whom were members), and, -calling D. G. Eshleman to the chair, a temporary organization was -effected. A committee was appointed to report on a proper location for a -crematory, also a committee on charter and by-laws. These committees -reported June 6, when the amount of stock was fixed at $5000 in $10 -shares. - -At the third meeting, June 13, a permanent organization was effected by -electing a board of directors. - -The board organized immediately upon the adjournment of the -stockholders’ meeting, and chose D. G. Eshleman, Esq., president; Dr. -Henry Carpenter and Rev. J. Max Hark, vice-presidents; J. D. Pyott, -clerk; H. C. Brubaker, Esq., corresponding secretary; Geo. K. Reed, -treasurer. Mr. Middleton was placed on the committee on ground and -building in place of Mr. Hensel, whose engagements prevented his acting; -and this committee was instructed to report June 20, at which time the -site now occupied was selected and the committee ordered to purchase. On -the 30th of June, the stock subscribed was called in, and building -proposals asked for. On the 11th of July, bids were opened; on the 14th -of July, the contract was awarded to Mr. Dinkelberg, and the building -was immediately begun. On the 10th of September, the building was -completed; and the retort builders having failed to come to time, the -committee were authorized to construct one on plans of their own. This -was done; for Dr. M. L. Davis devised and built a furnace from his own -designs, and on Nov. 1 the board met in the crematory building, and -provided for the improvement of the grounds. - -On the night of Nov. 4 or the morning of the 5th, the furnace went to -white heat, despite predictions of experts to the contrary, and -justified the plan of construction. On the evening of the 17th of -November, the body of a sheep, two ox-heads, and several sheep-heads -were enclosed in a wooden box and placed in the retort at red heat, the -company present being unwilling to remain later. Some smoke, of course, -was made; but when white heat was reached, the cremation was perfect, as -specimens of the residuum amply proved. - -The crematorium was dedicated on Tuesday, Nov. 25, at 2 P.M., when the -body of a lady from Jersey City, N. J., was incinerated. It must be -remembered that this society was organized on May 27, 1884, purchased -land, erected its building, and had its first cremation within the -period of six months, while several other societies organized much -earlier had not yet advanced much beyond laying the corner-stones of -their respective buildings. - -The dedication exercises were opened by a prayer by Rev. Geo. Gaul, of -St. Paul’s Methodist Church. Thereupon, the building was delivered to -the society by Dr. M. L. Davis, chairman of the building committee, who -discussed the subject of cremation from a sanitary standpoint. - -The next oration, preceding the benediction, was delivered by Rev. J. -Max Hark, pastor of the Moravian church, one of the vice-presidents of -the society, who treated the subject from a theological standpoint. - -The benediction over, the participants in the dedication ceremony -dispersed. The incineration that took place on this occasion was -entirely satisfactory. - -The whole ceremony was solemn, and produced a profound impression upon -the intelligent and thoughtful audience, among whom were many guests -from other cities. - -The rules of the Lancaster Cremation and Funeral Reform Association are -very stringent and well calculated to meet all demands. All applicants -for cremation of bodies must present a certificate of death, signed by -the physician attending during the last illness, whose standing as a -reputable practitioner must be attested by a magistrate or notary -public. When brought from a distance, official board of health papers -are also required. The rules request that the body should be dressed in -a shroud of cotton or linen fabric; all metallic substances being -avoided—hooks, buttons with metallic eyes, etc. The body should be -enclosed in a plain wooden coffin; or, what is preferable, in a coffin -made of sheet zinc. The cost of incineration is $25. - -The condition, financial and otherwise, of the society is excellent. Mr. -H. C. Brubaker started the subscription shortly after Dr. Gross’s -demise, and succeeded in getting some 50 subscribers before -organization. The society now numbers about 80 members, of the best -thinking element in the community, male and female. So far, 51 -cremations have taken place in the Lancaster furnace, every one of them -to the entire satisfaction of all concerned. - -Recently a second furnace was put in the Lancaster crematorium; and some -important improvements were made by Dr. Davis in the process which was -invented by him. - -A single feature of the earlier incinerations seemed out of harmony with -the character of the occasion—it was necessary to force the receptacle -with the body into the retort by direct pressure. This was sought to be -remedied by drawing it in by a wire cable; but the latter proving -unreliable, the body, enclosed in the alum-saturated cloth, is now laid -in a cradle consisting of a steel frame covered with asbestos and -fire-clay, which is suspended from an extension arm, operated by a -quick-thread screw extending lengthwise of the catafalque, by which the -cradle is placed silently in the retort and the arm withdrawn. The -incineration being completed, by reversing the process the cradle with -the ashes is extracted intact and allowed to cool. - -It is to be remembered that these Lancaster people had almost everything -to learn. Dr. Le Moyne, of glorious memory, had devoted his labors to -teaching the principle by precept and example; his method was -necessarily primitive and crude. Lancaster added the required art, gave -the principle an adequate process, and sent forth the body of truth -suitably clothed. The record of their first cremation was published, -with all sorts of comment, in every live paper of the land; and the -impetus then given to the cause of reform, while it cannot be fully -estimated, is plainly seen in the wonderful development of correct -thought and sentiment on this subject which immediately followed. - -In the list of persons cremated at Lancaster, the German element largely -predominates; and practically the whole list is made up of residents in -cities—showing that the centers of culture are also the nuclei of -advanced thought on this question. Nor is this crematorium altogether -without honor in its own country. One of the prominent members of the -society (George Brubaker, Esq.) dying since its establishment, was -incinerated; also Ex-Mayor Christian Kieffer, of Lancaster, and both -parents of Mrs. H. C. Brubaker. The society is extremely fortunate in -its personnel; from its president, a leading lawyer, its -vice-presidents, in the front rank of medicine and divinity; its -directors, active men in all walks of life, the high school principal, -leading journalists, bankers, managers of large business enterprises, -the medical profession largely represented in the rank and file of its -80 members—its position in the community is assured, and its radical -doctrine finds the most solid of “backing.” - -The cremation society of New Orleans, La., was organized and -incorporated on the 14th of February, 1884. It was established mainly -through the efforts of Dr. Felix Formento. It was founded to ascertain -and demonstrate, by scientific research and investigation, the -importance and necessity of incineration to society as the best method -of disposing of the bodies of the dead; and in pursuance thereof to make -known to the people the dangers to public health resulting from the mode -of burial generally practiced all over the country, more particularly -the special dangers to a city like New Orleans, from the peculiar method -followed there; to demonstrate the advantage of cremation over all other -modes of disposing of the dead, in a sanitary, social, and economical -point of view; to remove all prejudices which there may be against the -introduction of cremation in the Crescent City, and to prove that -cremation can be practiced without in the least wounding religious -sentiment or susceptibilities; to obtain information in regard to the -different methods; to obtain, if necessary, proper legislative -enactments on the subject of incineration, providing for the disposal of -bodies, especially those whose death resulted from contagious or -infectious diseases, and especially in small-pox hospitals and other -public institutions; to procure necessary funds for the erection of a -crematorium in the city of New Orleans, and for its management under -proper sanitary regulations. - -I regret to say that this society is no longer in existence. It went to -the dogs on account of the apathy of the people of New Orleans. It -started out with good prospects of success; a square of ground was even -bought near the city, and it was thought that a furnace for the burning -of the dead would be built without delay. But gradually the interest in -cremation lessened in the Crescent City and, in consequence, the society -went into liquidation. - -At St. Louis, Mo., the propaganda in favor of cremation was carried on -for years by Dr. Luedeking, who died, and was reduced to ashes in the -Lancaster crematory. Thereupon the robes of an agitator for incineration -were donned by Mr. Oscar Hoefer of the _Westliche Post_, an influential -German journal, and Rev. Jonas, both of whom kept the interest in -cremation alive by delivering lectures on the subject and by -contributing articles to the daily press. - -The Missouri Crematory Association was organized in the early part of -1885 for the purpose of providing and establishing in the city of St. -Louis, a suitable building and other facilities for the cremation of the -dead, and for the proper preservation of their ashes in a columbarium. -The capital stock is $25,000, divided into 1000 shares of $25 each, ten -per cent of which amount must be deposited by the subscriber immediately -upon signing. Non-residents may become members of the association, and, -for the purpose of cremation, the bodies not only from this city or -state, but also from other states and locations may be received. - -From the beginning the association encountered a great deal of -opposition. This was so strong that once the advisability of disbanding -was seriously discussed. All agreeing, however, that it was too great a -pity to abandon a project, for the execution of which there was enough -capital on hand, concluded not to disorganize and to make more strenuous -efforts to overcome the prejudice prevailing in the city council and -among the citizens. - -This proved to be temporary, for a bill, prohibiting cremation within -the city limits, was repealed recently by both houses of the city -council of St. Louis, and only awaits the signature of the mayor to -become a law. - -The association bought no less than three lots. With the last one, not -very desirable in location, they are at length gaining success. When -they had bought the first lot, the building commission issued a building -permit to them, for which they had to pay $5. After this, however, the -municipal council enacted a law forbidding them to make use of that very -permit, by prohibiting cremation. And the $5 were never returned to -them. - -The association is in a prosperous condition, and will proceed at once, -as soon as the present obstacles are removed, to carry out the objects -for which it was founded. - -The First Cremation Society of San Francisco was incorporated on the -17th of February, 1882, with 53 members. The directors of this society -are: E. D. Wheeler, president; S. Heydenfelt, Jr., vice-president; E. A. -Denicke, treasurer; Max Levy, recording secretary; George E. Voelkel, -corresponding secretary; H. A. Cobb, J. Bayer, M.D., F. -Schuenemann-Pott, Dr. Wozencroft. - -The law of the state of California provides only for the disposal of the -dead by burial; therefore the society is now making the greatest efforts -to induce the legislature to enact a law authorizing cremation, leaving -the people free to choose as to the disposal of their dead between the -two methods. - -At the last annual meeting of the society, the secretary stated that the -society now numbers 113 members, of which six are ladies. One of the -original members died, another left the society, which makes an increase -in membership of 62 persons. - -The San Francisco Cremation Company was incorporated on the 10th of -September, 1885, with 117 stockholders, representing 214 shares at $50. -The capital stock is $25,000, divided into 500 shares of $50 each. The -object of the company is to erect a suitable crematorium for the immense -population of the great city at the Golden Gate. - -A lot has been purchased, and a crematorium will be erected capable of -incinerating 40 bodies a day. The officers of this company are: Judge E. -D. Wheeler, president; S. Henderfelt, Jr., vice-president; Max Levy, -temporary treasurer and recording secretary; George E. Voelkel, -corresponding secretary; C. W. Banks, General Cobb, E. O. Denicke, W. T. -Trelan, Jr. - -A cremation company was organized at Los Angeles, Cal., in the early -part of September, 1885, with 152 members, of which 12 are ladies. This -company intends to build a crematorium as soon as $6000 have been -subscribed. - -Cremation companies were also recently founded at Sacramento and -Stockton, Cal. - -The Davenport (Iowa) Cremation Society was formed on the 17th of -February, 1885, and is still in existence. It counts about 120 members. -It was founded to “enlighten the people on the subject of cremation.” -The annual dues are $1. - -The Northwestern Cremation Society of Davenport may be regarded as an -offspring of the above. At a meeting held in April, 1885, a committee -was appointed to obtain subscriptions for the purpose of building a -crematorium. The committee reported May 6 that 100 shares, at $25 a -share, had been subscribed. At this meeting a committee was instructed -to draft articles of incorporation, to be acted upon at a future -meeting; and another committee was appointed to ascertain the cost of -cremation furnaces. The committee reported on June 30; and the -stockholders then proceeded to elect the directors of the organization. -On the 3d of July, the board of directors elected the officers: H. H. -Andresen, president; C. Stoltenberg, vice-president; F. G. Clausen, -secretary; F. T. Blunck, treasurer. - -The capital stock of this company is $25,000, divided into 1000 shares -of $25 each. The stock is payable at such time or times as the board of -directors may determine. Four thousand three hundred and fifty dollars -have already been subscribed. A committee has been appointed to purchase -a lot, and the crematorium will probably be erected in the course of -this year. - -In the spring of 1885, several citizens of San Antonio, Tex., circulated -a list which read as follows:— - -“We, the undersigned, believing cremation the proper, most healthful, -and most satisfactory method of disposing of our dead, do therefore sign -our names hereto, with the expectation of forming ourselves into a -society, the immediate object of which will be the erection of a -crematorium in this city.” This circular was signed by 95 persons, -ladies as well as gentlemen. - -A meeting was then called. At this gathering, three committees were -appointed: one to obtain a charter, one to prepare the constitution and -by-laws, and one, finally, to get subscriptions. - -The latter made the round of the city with the following agreement:— - -“We, the undersigned, do hereby agree to become members of the cremation -society now being formed in San Antonio, Bexar County, Tex. Each of the -undersigned hereby agrees to pay 50 cents down, as a contribution to the -fund for defraying the preliminary expense in forming the society.” - -This list was signed by 107 persons of both sexes, and $53 were -collected to pay for printing, etc. - -After this, another meeting was called in the latter part of May, and -the company organized permanently. The organization is called the “San -Antonio Cremation Company,” and has the following officers: E. B. Hadra, -M.D., president; M. F. Corbett, vice-president; F. Groos, banker, -treasurer; A. Maverick, secretary. - -The company was incorporated on the 18th of June, 1885. The amount of -the capital stock of this corporation is $50,000, divided into 5000 -shares, of the par value each of $10. So far, $1480 have been subscribed -by 60 shareholders. - -An acre of land was donated to the company by Mr. A. Maverick. It lies -east of the city, on a hill, in the neighborhood of the cemeteries; but -the property lies east of them, so that the east and southeast trade -winds, which blow in San Antonio during the summer, reach the place -first, and, consequently, do not fetch any bad odor from the graveyards. - -The grounds will be beautifully laid out and planted with trees and -shrubs in the near future. The view from this site is very fine. Toward -the north may be seen the government depot, with all its stately -buildings, about two miles off; toward the east and southeast is visible -a beautiful valley terminated in the distance by the picturesque blue -mountains. - -In the beginning the company was opposed by a Baptist preacher, who was -soon silenced by the following declaration in one of the daily -newspapers:— - -“I have no doubt but that my good old Christian friend is in this world -for doing good; but, by opposing cremation, he not only does harm to us -all as long as he lives, but continues to injure us after he is dead and -buried,” etc. - -The cremation movement in the state of Michigan was begun by the author -of this volume immediately after he returned from the incineration of -his mother. By repeated newspaper articles I continued to awaken a -lively interest in the reform at Detroit, and was supported in my -undertaking by all the leading newspapers of the city; even a -publication only a few days old declaring in favor of cremation. None -but the purely religious journals opposed the scheme. On the 7th of -August, 1885, a meeting was held at a public hall in the City of the -Straits, for the purpose of discussing the question of cremation and of -forming a cremation society. The meeting was well attended, nearly 100 -persons being present. Dr. J. H. Carstens was chosen chairman, and Dr. -H. Erichsen as secretary. The meeting was opened by Dr. J. H. Carstens. -Two plans, he said, had been proposed for the consideration of -cremationists; one of these was the building of a crematory, the other, -the formation of a society, each member of which would pledge himself to -provide for the incineration of his body. - -I then made the address of the evening, giving the main arguments for -incineration as opposed to earth-burial. My statements were followed by -remarks of a similar nature, made by several of the gentlemen present. - -A motion was then made by Dr. J. E. Emerson, a prominent physician, that -the chairman appoint a committee of three to prepare a constitution and -by-laws for the organization of a cremation society in Detroit; and -three gentlemen were appointed as such committee. The following -agreement was thereupon prepared, and received 27 signatures:— - -“We, the undersigned, do hereby unite ourselves into an association for -the purpose of providing facilities for carrying cremation into -operation.” Then the meeting adjourned, subject to the call of the -committee. - -The entire time of the committee was taken up by the formation of a -stock company, which proposes the erection of a crematory. Influenced by -flattering prospects, the promoters of the project had prepared by -Messrs. Spiers and Rohns, architects, plans for a handsome crematorium. -The chart shows three divisions, viz.: the exterior of the building, the -main floor, and the basement. - -[Illustration: - - CREMATORIUM AT LANCASTER, PA. - (Exterior View.) -] - -The exterior view shows a handsome Romanesque structure of one story and -a basement. The main height is 16 feet, which rises in four gables on -the sides. A dome, 35 feet in circumference, attains a height of 65 -feet. The drawing of the first floor shows an auditorium of octagon -form. Back of the two rear niches are dressing-rooms for clergymen. Two -handsome altars on which to hold religious services will front from -these niches. Two rooms in the lower end of the building, on either side -of the approach, are reserved for toilet rooms, one for ladies, and the -other for gentlemen. In the center of the upper end of the auditorium is -placed a catafalque, resting on an elevator. After a body has been -properly prepared, it will be placed on this catafalque. When the -religious services are concluded, the body will be lowered to the -basement, and the opening in the floor closed with a slide trap. - -The plan of the basement shows the same divisions as are made on the -main floor. On the left-hand side is a retiring-room. The front is -divided into four rooms. An ice cellar, a frigidarium, which is -calculated as a place in which to preserve bodies for several days; a -calidarium, a heated room in which bodies can be placed for several -days, to insure against cremation while in a state of trance; and a drug -room, where restoratives will be kept. The right-hand wing is designed -for a preparing room, from which the body is taken directly to one of -the furnaces. The furnaces, of which there will be two, are not yet -definitely designed. It is supposed, however, that they will be after -the plan of the apparatuses at Lancaster, in Pennsylvania. - -In the rear of the building it is proposed to build an addition, in the -form of a three-quarter circle, which will be styled the columbarium. On -the inside this will be divided by three corridors, and the walls -divided into compartments for containing urns. There will be room in -this limited space of 40 × 30 feet, it is estimated, for holding the -remains of 8000 bodies. - -The building is designed to be built of Ionia red sandstone. Two immense -flue chimneys, one for ventilation, the other for the furnaces, rising -to a height of 75 feet, will give character to the building. The front -will be set off with a handsome porch supported by Roman pillars and -approached by a half-circle road-bed, over which the hearse and -carriages can drive up to the main entrance. - -The Michigan Cremation Association was organized at Detroit on the 31st -of March, 1886. Dr. H. Erichsen was chosen temporary chairman, and Mr. -A. N. Low secretary of the meeting. The documents of incorporation were -signed. On motion of Dr. J. H. Carstens, a board of directors was -elected. At the close of the meeting the directors met, and elected the -following officers: President, James F. Noyes, M.D.; vice-president, -Hugo Erichsen, M.D.; secretary, Mr. A. N. Low; treasurer, Mr. M. W. -Field. The treasurer furnished a $10,000 bond, as required by the -original agreement. - -The subject of cremation was first agitated at Baltimore, Md., in the -winter of 1884, by Dr. G. W. Lehmann and Mr. J. R. Rennous, who were -also the originators of the cremation company in that city. In 1884, two -public meetings were held; but they were poorly attended, and the -prospects gloomy in the extreme. But the two advocates of incineration -worked steadily on until their efforts were crowned with success. The -Cremation Cemetery Company of Baltimore City was incorporated on the -30th of March, 1885, with a capital stock of $15,000, divided into 600 -shares of the par value of $25 per share. At a meeting of the -stockholders the following officers were elected: B. F. Horwitz, -president; J. R. Rennous, secretary; J. W. Middendorf, treasurer. The -founders of the organization were obliged to call it “Cremation Cemetery -Co.,” to comply with the general laws of Maryland in obtaining the -charter. $9000 worth of stock has already been taken up, and the company -expects to make such headway that it will be able to build soon. - -When the La Crosse (Wisconsin) Cremation Society was founded in the -middle of October, 1885, with Mr. John Pamperin as president, it -resolved upon a full investigation of the subject of incineration and -appointed a committee to get reports from other societies. This -committee having performed its work, a meeting of the committee was held -at the residence of Mr. Gustav Carl, and these reports read, arranged, -and discussed. The report from Detroit was particularly exhaustive. -Davenport also furnished a report. The cremation society there had sent -a representative to Lancaster, Pa., who had examined the cremation -furnace there and had prepared a report, of which La Crosse was given -the benefit. The result of the conference was that a resolution was -adopted calling for a meeting of stockholders at an early date for -permanent organization. The La Crosse Cremation Association filed -articles of incorporation with the secretary of state on the 26th of -November, 1885. The purpose of the association is to dispose of human -bodies after death, by cremation, and it shall continue its business for -20 years, unless the holders of two-thirds of the stock consent to the -dissolution of the association. Mr. J. Pamperin is the president, Mr. G. -Carl, secretary, and Mr. J. Ulrich the treasurer of the association. A -person wishing to become a member of this association may subscribe for -one or more shares of $25 each (not exceeding 50 shares) of the capital -stock of the association, which is limited to $8000. The shares so -subscribed shall be paid in instalments. The first instalment must be -paid at the time of subscription, and the balance in instalments, as -called for by the directors, within one year thereafter; but none shall -be called for until three months after the other. If any of the -subscribers should die before the projected crematorium has been -erected, and the deceased should have expressed a wish to have his body -cremated, and provision is made by him or his family for the expenses -incident thereto, the officers of the society shall see that his will in -this respect be carried out at the nearest convenient crematory. - -The Kentucky Cremation Society, at Louisville, which was organized in -the fall of 1886, has been steadily growing, and now counts about 70 -members. The subscribed capital is sufficient to buy a lot and commence -building, and the society therefore hopes to have a crematory ready -during next year. - -A license was issued on Jan. 2, 1886, to William Christian, of the -Chicago _Tribune_, Elmer Atkinson, a lawyer, and David Hamilton, a real -estate dealer, to build a crematory for the incineration of human -bodies, near Chicago, Illinois. The capital of the company which they -have organized, and which is called the “Chicago and Cook County -Cremation Company,” is $40,000. - -On April 6, 1886, Dr. O. W. Carlson read a paper advocating cremation, -before the Academy of Medicine, at Milwaukee, Wis. At the close of the -address the subject was discussed at some length by those present, and -some very interesting facts were brought out. A proposition was made -that the Academy of Medicine found a cremation society at Milwaukee, -and, though no action in the matter was taken at the time, it is -probable that steps will be taken by the members with that object in -view. - -Lately a cremation society was organized at Milwaukee, that has already -secured a desirable site upon a local cemetery, and intends to erect a -crematorium as soon as the necessary funds are obtained. - -It is proposed to build a crematory at Toronto, Canada. The pastors of -the leading churches, upon being interviewed, almost unanimously -expressed their opposition to cremation. - -The newspapers state that a crematory will be erected at Atlanta, Ga. - -This volume would not be complete without the mention of the _Modern -Crematist_, a monthly journal devoted to the interests of incineration, -and published by Dr. M. L. Davis of Lancaster, Pa. The _Neue Flamme_, a -worthy German contemporary, is published at Berlin. - -My native country was always eager to embrace deserving reforms; there -is no reason why it should not adopt the superior system of -incineration. Nay, I think it will become the standard-bearer of this -sanitary reformation, and march in the avant-guard of this signal -progress. The subject of incineration is already awakening much interest -among us, as is evinced by a recent sermon of that eminent New York -divine, Rev. Heber Newton, who spoke strongly in favor of the -substitution of cremation for sepulture. He said the mode of disposing -of the dead human body was only a form, and that mode was best which was -best for the living. In England, only a few years ago, a dignitary of -the national church dared to assert that cremation endangered the belief -in the life to come. He knew, or ought to have known, that the same -process of combustion is surely carried on, whether in the ground or in -the crematory, and that if dissolution of the body imperiled the true -doctrine of resurrection, then that doctrine was long ago hopelessly -lost. These words from the lips of a famous American preacher are -certainly proof that the antagonism of the clergy to cremation is -waning. - -There are other signs of approaching day. I refer to the constant -discussion of incineration in the columns of the daily press, and to the -fact that cremation was lately brought to the attention of the American -Medical Association, while it met at St. Louis, Mo., on the 6th of May. -The report of a special committee, appointed the year before, was read -by its chairman, Dr. J. M. Keller, of Arkansas. The committee moved to -amend the original resolution so as to read:— - -_Resolved_, That cremation or incineration of the dead has become a -sanitary necessity in populous cities, and that the Association advises -its adoption. - -The Association adopted the amendment by a vote of 159 to 106. - -Cremation was also endorsed by the American Public Health Association at -its last meeting. - -I rejoice at the thought that most writers on the momentous subject of -incineration were medical men. Who, indeed, would be better qualified -for such a task than the man who may daily witness the pernicious effect -which the dead exercise over the living. - -Those who are friends of the reform should come out openly in its favor. -Crematists who are on the fence, or who, perhaps, hide back of it, might -just as well keep out of the combat between cremation and interment -altogether; we have no use for them. If you believe in cremation, -candidly say so, and tell your friends _why_ you believe in it. Moral -cowards do a just cause more harm than good. Those who have tried to -propagate the idea of cremation in an underhand way have invariably -failed; the public must be brought face to face with the question: -cremation or burial? To spread the reform in this country, I hope to -see, before long, the birth of an American cremation association, to be -composed of delegates from the various cremation societies of the United -States. There is already a sufficient number of societies for the -formation of a vigorous organization of the kind, that would undoubtedly -aid greatly the progress of the reform. - -This, then, finishes what I had to say about a hygienic reform that will -be the leading one in the latter part of the nineteenth century. There -will be a long and warm controversy before the people will generally -abandon a custom of such antiquity as earth-burial; but cremation will -supersede it in the end. The present style of burial does not do any one -any good. On the contrary, it destroys hundreds, perhaps thousands, of -lives every year. A good many deaths due to graveyard gases or water -contamination by cemetery effluvia escape observation, since the real -cause of the decease is seldom suspected. Incineration, however, does -nobody any harm, and is in accord with the humane and progressive spirit -of the age. Disadvantages it has none; and with the many arguments in -its favor, it cannot fail to come out of the battle between torch and -spade victorious in every respect. Moreover, it has the generous support -of the scientists, physicians, and sanitarians of the times, which alone -assures success. - -I close this volume with a prediction which will soon be realized, -namely, that cremation will make more progress in the United States than -in any other country of the world. Indeed, the progression will be so -rapid that old Europe will open its eyes wide in blank astonishment, and -wonder how it is possible. When we Americans once perceive the -advantages and superiority of a reformation, we do not hesitate long to -adopt it; and the time will come when incineration will be customary in -the Union, and interment obsolete. - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Changed ‘during’ to ‘during their’ on p. 175. - 2. Silently corrected typographical errors. - 3. Retained anachronistic and non-standard spellings as printed. - 4. Enclosed italics font in _underscores_. - 5. 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