The weekly Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1852-1855, 1853-07-21

Tug DzAp oR EksLss.--I visited asot
70 Naples, not slways seen b. tourists-..
The last resting place Of The poor. I had
heard much OF lhe manner Of their disposaI.
and Thought I would witness Il rnyself. 20
one 6ne evening drove ont. - -.
About two msigs from the city, 10 lasre
square space, eEelossd by high wall, there
are 355 cIstsrn shaped vaults or pits, with
sn aperture on top. about three feet square.
TnJse .cisteTas ara aoms 20 or 25 feet by IL
or 10 10 dian,tsfs with the top covered By a
hslyy atoms. and ;i1htly cemenied. one
u thoss are, removcd By portable lever
eSery day 10 the yeT, To receive the dead of
that day, and closed agala for twslVs
month. sfhey begin 10 deposite the bodies
about s o'clock Ia the eyerisg, and end At
10. When fz5ttaefe. a5ou, 10 OF u peo.
pie had alrealy been. thrown Ia. They
were laying propiAeucssiy a. they CHANGED
70 fall. with head, body and hiabs 10 every
Possiole attiia5e. eeFcSs, over. and under
eaca oiisr--an Oh pFiest, two or three az.
stendanis and feN idie spectators Of the
c0mm1n sort, were lettering about. Short.
Iy after my arrival, box was brought In
containing The BODY Of child some 8 or 8
yearS old; its hands held q bunch Of f9wsrI,
and rose wLs IN its mo1lh. The priest
mum5led short prayer, man took the 1t.
tie fellow By the neck and heels, and pitch.
ed bin In as we would stick Of wood. His
head siruck tie curb a. il went Ia and he
fell whirliDg to the bottom. Seeing the
flowers that fell from his hand, he picked
them up and threw them after him. In q
few minutes more man was brought to
the mouth Of the pit, and the priest again
prayed andsspTinkied, the attendants took
hin By the head sad legs aud down be
went elso.
1'h,n f,lloweS another child like the
irst, and ! was about leaving the ground
when fourth subject entered. The ia Of
the box was thrown back, and in & was the
body Of young and rather hands.me fe.
malo. She waa apparently abour 20, and
had evidently died from short illness. Her
arms and face were round and full, and she
seemed more asleep than dead. The prayers
and holy water were again In FequIsition.
aud then the attendants took her roughly up
and ic1scd her in. Immediately atepped to
the mouth Of the vault and looked down;
her limbs, and those Of the dead below she
had disturbed By her fall, were still Ia mo-
| ton. Her hair. which was long, black and
iuxuEient, was settling 10 thick clusters a.
| cross very white and naked body lying
near her. Fora moment the whole horrid
mass seemed instinct with life, and crawl.
| ing on the bottom OF ita loatks some charnal
house. had seen enough; sick and dis.
gosted turned away, and moralizing on the
! difference between such an interment, and
a peaceful one at our ownibeautiful Cemetery
at Spring Grove, mounted my volante and
lreiurned TO Naples, meeting on the road
some haif-a-dozen boxes, great and small,
containing more victims for that insstisbIe
maw that opens its mouth but once yea
to be gorged with its dreadful banquet.
The bodies thus inferred are generally
from the Hospital, and the sight can be wit
messed by any one 555 times a year. Be-
fore the pit ia closed, qaiek lime is thrown
II in, aud noihing bat bones are left when II
is again opened.
| = NFAVF