Sauk Rapids frontierman. [volume] (Sauk Rapids, M.T. [i.e. Minn.]) 1855-1860, 1857-02-12
ft99tii}2 From ,he New York Messenger
IMPORTATION OF DEAD BODIES
THE EKPRESSMAN AND
THE CORPSE. Il

I THE EXPREsSNIAN AND
/ THE CORPSE.
| Among the thousand serpiceable things
done by express companies, isthe con-
yeyance Of corpses. Prior tothe estah-
lishment ofexpresses, I'VE wonder, now,
how the world ever got along without
them q liza husband or son died on a
Journey, or while temporarily residing
Ilor health OF business at distance
1 from HIS kihared. and It was de-:
cided by his friends to have his body
brought home, It was usually done at
heavy expense if the distance exceeded
one or two hundred miles. a.# 9ae ss.
II was the custom, If the way lay
overland, to employ an undertaken, who
would start out in a covered wagon,
establish relays. and travel night and
day until the task was done. What is
now accomplished in eight hours by the
Express, would then occupy the under
taker at least week, and his pay.if he
travelled at night, was rarely less than
ten dollars day, every expense en-
roaie included.
At present, the price for conveying
corpse by Express, in charge Of Mes
senger, distance Of two hundred or
two hundred and fifty miles upon the
regular route, does not exceed thirty
dollars. That we believe to be the
price between New York and Boston,
for instance.
| The work, however, is not at all
popular, with expressmen, and the mes
sengers never meet in their freight with
one Of those wooden cases ia which
collins are usually enclosed, without a
wish that they were rid of it. Some Of
thenf fare very notional upon this subject;
not from superstition, but from that in
I.slinctive. fear OF the progress Of decay
which all feel in the presence Of a
corpse I: especially when there is any
suspicion that it has been kept too long.
| An instance illustrating what we have
said, occurred in this city one morning
last week. An Express Messenger hav-
ing among his freight, in the Express
Company's car, one Of those ominously
oblong boxes, declared confidently to the
conductor Of the train, that the body
inside was very lar gone indeed, and
the smell of it made him sick as horse.
In vain he tried to forget it, or salubriiy
ne odor by smoking magnificent CT
gar. The smell became more offensive
to him every minute during the long
night that he was whizzing away with it
over the rail track; and before the train
arrived at New York, it affected him so
much that he yo'nited.
When the drivers, with the wagons
of the New York Office, went to the
depot for the express freight, the illness
Of the unfortunate messenger was obvi-
Gus, and in answer TO inquiries he ex-
planned the cause. All eyes fell on the
oblong box, and every man held his
nose. 1t was decided unanimously,
that it was too far gone to be taken to
the Office, and as the railroad men swore
Through their compressed olfactories)
that they would not suffer it TO remain in
the depot, the strongest ncrved and most
accommodating driver present took it t.
the dead house up town.
No one knew who the obnoxious box
came from. # was usual to make a
special bargain in such cases, but no
| allusion was made to it ON the way bill
| Ia the course Of the day, however, the
mystery was solved. A gentleman came
into the Office in Broadway, and called
for the box.
1t has been taken to the dead house,
was the reply Of the clerk.
! The dead mouse exclaimed tue dP-
plicant.
Yes, SIR rejoined the clerk firmly !:
!" 1--WE couldn't stand it, sir too far gone
sir. s,s .i
Too far gomez was the angry retort.
should think 50, if you have sent It up
to--the street Explain yourself !! What
do you mean ?
meaa that the body smelt too bad,
sir L iterated the clerk.
/ Smelt bad = cried the visitor,
have handled it for ten years past, and
/ never sneIt anything but the varnish,
and that not unpleasant. Hang it, sir,
that box contains my Manikin, an arti-
fetal anatomy Or model Of the human
body. am DR.. Wieting, the lecture
on physiology
/ The ridiculous ecclairscement produc-
- - l.