Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1857-01-07
EVENING STAR.
IMPORTATION or DEAD BODIES.
From the N. Y. Messenger. Jan


Among the thousand service able thirgs done
by the express companies is the conveyance Of
| cOrpses Prior TO the establishment of express
! es, I've wonder, now, Row the world ever got
along without them,) if husband or son died
| upon journey. or while temporarily residing
for health or business at distance from his
kindred. and il was decided by his friends to
have his body brought home, it was usually
done at heavy expense, if the distance exceed
ed one or two hundred miles.
1t was the custom, if the way lay overland
to employ an undertaken, who would start out
in q 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 underta-
taker at least week; and his pay, if he trav-
elled at night, was rarely less than ten dollars
day, every expense en route included.
At present. the price for conveying a corpse
by express, in charge OF a messenger, a dis
tance Of 200 or $50 miles upon a 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 messengers never
meet among their freight with one Of those
wooden cases in which collins are usually en-
closed, without wish that they were rid of il
Some Of them are very notional upon this sub-
IcCl, uOt lEUul eupcIcIlllOU, Dut IIOIu LUdI III
stinctive fear Of the progress Of decay which
all feel in the presence Of corpse; 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 having among his
freight, in the Express Company car, one of
those ominously oblopg boxes. decl red conf
dentially, to the conductor Of the train, that
tha hnHx do AZ ho -
deed, and " the smell of it made him sick as
horse" In vain he tried to forget it, or salu-
brify the odor by smoking magnificent cigar.
The smell became more offensive to him every
minute during the long night that he was
whining away with il over the rail track; and
before the train arrived in New York il affect
ed him so much that he vOmited.
When the drivers, with the wagons of the
New YOrk Office went TO the depot for the ex-
press freight, the illness Of tho unfortunate
messenger was obvious, and in answer to in
quiries he explained the cause. All eyes fell
on the obl0ng box, and every man held his
nose. 1t was decided unanimously that il
was too far gone to be taken to the Office, and
as the railroad men swore Through their com
pressed olfactories) that they would not suffer
it to remain in the depot, the strongest-nerved
and most accommodating driver present took
it to the " dead house. up town.
No one knew who the obnoxious box cane
from. 1t was usual TO make special bargain
in such cases, but no allusion was made to il
on the way-bill. In the course Of the day.
however, the mystery was solved. 4 gentle
man came into the express Office, in Broad
way, and called for the box.
"It has been taken to the dead house" was
the reply of the clerk.
1.-The dead house 20 exclaimed the appli
cant.
"Yes, SIR" rejoined the clerk firmly, " we
couldn't stand it, sir. Too far gons, SIR
" Too far gone ?" was the angry retort, /" /
should think so, if you have sent it up to -th
street Explain yourself? what do you
mean?'
Il mean that the body smclt too bad, sir,'
iterated the clerk.
"Smelt bad!' cried the visitor, {" have
handled it for ten years past, and L never
smelt anything but the varnish, and not un-
pleasantly. Hang it, sir, that box contains
Manikin, an artificial anatomy or model of
the human body. am DR.. Wieting, the lee
turer upon physiology"
This ridiculous eccldtrcjssment produced an
explosion of laughter throughout the office,
and it is still the best joke OF the season. 1t
is capital Illustration of the power OF the
imagination.