Preble County Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1857-1859, 1858-11-25
How the Dead by Yellow Fever
are Buried.


A New Orleans correspondent of
the Memphis Inquirer gives the follow
ing mournful picture Of the yellow fe-
yer victims
The yellow fever has been specially
virulent and fatal, and some who were
thou hit to be long sinee, acclimated
have been attacked, and some Of them
have fallen victims. We hope it has
reached its climax saald sGi = assteadiiy
declinc-though we know not the end.
Some four hundred died last weak
This sounds alarming, but. is small as
compared with 1858, VII n 800 died in
a single day.
Your readers will inquire what we do
with all these dead ?-where do we bury
them !? There are in the city and it en-
virons, fourteen cemeteries. Some Eve
of these are in the midst of the city
surrounded by close built and densely
populated streets. Owing to the pecu-
liarity of our soil, these burial places are
peculiar. We cannot dig more than two
or three feet without coming to water
so that most of the dead are buried
above ground. These grounds are reg
ularly laid off in squares, the walks rails
ed and covered with shells. The squares
are built up with vaults and monuments
-many of them are very splendid and
very expensive, costing thousands of
dollars. There are a great variety of
models and devices, many of them of
rare and exquisite beauty. Around
these tombs are beautiful evergreen, in :
termixed with fair and fragrant flowers,
which grow with so much luIuriance in
our rich soil and sunny cline
The cemeteries below Canal and above
Espeando streets, called the French
burying grounds, are regarded as the
most interesting rs exhibitions Of sculp-
ture, where grief records it voc, or pride
in imPerishable marble.
Around these cemeteries are walls ten
feet high and eight or ten feet thick
These are pserced with three or four
rows of tombs, about two and a half
feet square, rising in tiers one above the
other, and has the appearance of the
pigeon holes for letters in the post Of
flee, though on much larger scale
These are perfectly closed with slabs,
and alright cement, except atone end
This is open fer the insertion Of the
coffin. The burial service at rllc grave
is performed thus The procession
moves from the hearSe to the wall, where
u certain one of the vaults has been pre-
viously selected-say No. 250, (theY
are all numbered.) The coffin is about
two thirds inserted, and the service:
whatever may be its character, is then
attended t, y; this over the coffin is then
pushed in-then the mason with his
bricks and mortar, trowels and hammer
begins his work The family and friends
stand uncovered until the mason is
done, when the date and name are writ
ten in the smooth soft plaster spread
over the brick, and the company depart
and leave the sleeper to his last and
lonely bed
One gets used to such scenes as this,
but at first it sesms SO businesslike
and mechanical, so like any other labor,
any other piece of masonry and con-
trasts strongly with the burial on the
hill side, where the turf is green and
the old trees spread their broad, green
bouhgs, and the little birds in summer
time sing their reqdiems, and the low
winds in winter time murmur solemn
dirgcs Ger the dead. The city author
tiles are discouragiEg interments in the
crowded portion of the city. Some
three miles from the city, about midway
from the city to the lake, there is il low
ridge of land known as the Metairie
Ridge. Here the city authorities are
laying out among live oaks, a public
park--and there is a famous race course
and here most OF our citys dead are
to sleep their last sleep What strange
uses
There are quite a number of cemete-
ries laid out here, and here already
thousands care at rest" In these Gem
eteries are many rich and beautiful
tombs and monuments, some of them
pirate. and some the property of be
ncvoleGt associations. On this ridge
many are buried in graves dug in
shallow ground. but they often fill with
water so rapidly that the coffin has to
be held down until mud enough can be
thrown on it to hold it at the bottom of
the grave. Thus thousands of the poor
are committed earth to earth" Our
feelings at first revolt at thia: bu: why !?
What does it matter how the dust re
turns to dust? Whether it sinks be-
meath the gnr4ling waye-Tithers on
burning sands-sleeps in sculptured
walls--or like our lowly dead, in the
marshes Of our great river.
rs a young lady at ball was ask
ed by lover of serious poetry, whether
she had seen 'Crabbe's Tales ?
"Why no." she answered, i didn't
know that crabs had tails
Il beg your pardon, Miss" said he,
81 mean have you read 'Cra5be's
Tales 2
And I assure you, sir, 1 did not
know that red crabs, or any other crabs,
had tails
s5s- Found-ninety-f five dollars by
Il lawyer in Lowell, who returned it to
the owner. One of the papers says,
the act may he honest and honorable,
but it is unprofes=ional." -
rE- A certain gallant editor thinks
when single gentleman cant pass