Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1875-12-16
MOWER COUNTY, MINNESOTA THURSDAY DEC 49, 1875
How the Dead are aud have been Dis.
posed Of.

'"11 VIZ ""uIu IIcScI 'uIUk, III OUT u8y,
that people would never dream of diSpos
ing OF the remains Of departed relations
nther~ Use, were it not ,ha, We hc,.i of Gre
nation being advocated in certain quart
eis. Cremation, however, would not bc
new, except among Christian nations.
Probably the first sepulrl,er, as The earl
lest dwelling Place of man was cave
Certainly The mos, ancient relics of hu-
ma'ity have been found IN caverns, Of the
limestone formation. And this cave burr.
al. after coming t" its eliminating point
in the ancient Egg, p'ian p"lity-wl'ose
pyramids and rock ."n'bs ar. hut an arti-
fetal torn of the cavc-l,as survived to
our own times, even among the most civ
ilized racrs. The vault and catacomb are
but varieties If the cave, and, suppliment-
ed as they by various devices for prcscrv.
ins the body from final dissolution, form
an 'unbrokcn link in human custom, con-
Meeting Us alike with the Empire of the
Pharaohs aud with the prinlative cave
dwcllcrs, the com panions of the bear, the
! rhinnceros, the reindeer AMI the byena.-
1t is evident, however, tina, rs the human
race spread itself over other formations
OF the earth's surface the underground
dwellings, anu ,ombs which the waves had
fashioned countless ages before would
not bc available. Other modes Of dis
posing Of the dead would suggest them.
selves; IN the first place simple exposure
-lraving the body 10 be dev,ured by
beasts and Birds. its elements to he scat
tered to tic four winds. The. Magicians
-w"rshippers Of the sun, one of the
primitive eligions--adoptcd this method
which il still followed ht the disciples
of Zoroa>,cr. But they have refined u,x,,,
The practicc-c"ns,ruc,ing towers and
platforms whcreon the dead are exposed
and their bl.ached b"nes collected.
One Of these Guebre cemeteries in the
neighborh"od Of Ttheran, made use of by
the remnant Of the old people and faith
OF Persia, is thus dcscrihcd by Mr. Noun
sey in his excellent book of Persian trav.
el: "A low, round tower percl,rd up
among some desolate crags-a circular
building about forty feet high and sixty
feet in diameter, having neither doors nor
windows. Looking down from a neigh.
boring elevation We saw that On the top
there was platform "f open iron grating,
where on lay the body OF recently dc
c'a>ed disciple Of Zor"aster, and late
,rdncr to- the Persian mission" 'Sundry
tribes ri North American Indians follow
the same practice, exposing their dead
upon stages. And the custom may b.
traced among certain primitive races o!
India. The Buddhist creed has orig;na
ted similar usage. SOME Of their priests
hold i, TO b. a mcritorious act to give
their b"dics to be eaten by vulturts sft,l
dcath-tiieir bones t" b reduced to ashes
anu used for manure for the garltns o1
the po"r-:s Il type Of that annihilatior
which j, is the aim If The cultus OF Rutld
hism I" secure for its disciples. The alter
native, however, Of burial, whether b,
making an excavation Or a grave, or by
the m ,rc primitive method Of heap
ing up stones and earth over the body
laid upon the surfac. uf the ground, liza:
ever bren the most universally prac,iccd
Over the whole European continent tho
mounds and tumuli If eallier races rise
in silent witness Of vanquisllcl, forgotten
people. Bat We Il I'VE u It yet pas, ,ed ,u
of the age Of the 'umulus builders. The
nomad Tar,ars still pile up cairns ovcl
their dead chicf,ains. They also raise
votive cairns which they call "ob'ns,"-
generally at the summit Of difficult p .ss
es; and II sim lar custom is traccahle t
this dny among S'mitic races Thus DIR
Tristan tells lis ('Laud If Moab'): "Ev
cry traveller when he first catche, sight ~
the ''l, mountain (M"unt uor) must ac.
cording to custom place there his stone o
witness. Even So near home rs Wales i
IS the custom among quarry men, when ,
comradc is killed by accident, to pile W
Il small cairn on the spot-each passer b,
contributing il stone. The clods that ar,
cast upon a coffin at funeral are n,
doubt survival Of this ancient practice.
English Paper.