The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-02-28
The Cremation OF the Body OF Mrs.
Pitman.

Dr. LcMOyne, the crematiOniSt, who
is the pride of the Town of Washing
ton, has been II happy man to-day, for
he has crematcd the body of Mrs. Jane
Pitman,wif Of Bcnn Pitman, of Cincin-
natl, the noted photographic author.
Mrs. Pitman's body reached Washing
ton this morning, accompanied only
by Mr.. Pitman and one of his newspa-
per friends from Cincinnati. 1t was
inclOscd in an oiled chestnut casket,
shaped somewhat like dry-goods
case, the same width all the way from
head to foot. When it arrived in
Washington the caskct was covered
with apiece of black Oilcloth, on the
center Of which was tackled u permit
from the Health Officer of Cincinnati
for the removal of the body from that
city, and st,ting the cause of death to
be cancer of the stomach. A very
shabby and very muddy hearsc, Il relic
OF the War of 1912, was in waiting ut
the Washington Depot to receive the
body. The oilclOth was pulled off, and
the caskct was showed into the hearse.
1t was noticed that the undertaken took
particular pains to fastcn the back
doors of the hcarsc, and the cause of
this was apparent when the hearse be-
gan to roll up the long inclined plane
that leads to the house Of burnt bones.
If the coffin had not been securely fas-
tened in it would have slid down the
hill.
The corpse Of the woman went up the
steep hill unaccompanied, save by the
driver of the hcarse, and when it
reached the little brick house several of
the curiOsity-hunters who were sitting
on the fence helped carry it in and lay
it on the table. Mr.. Pitman meanwhile
was seated in DIR. LeMoync's parlor
talking with the old gentleman about
the beauties of cremation.
At about one o'clock Mr.. Pitman
and LeMoyne's two sons and daughters
started for the top of the hill. They
and the newspaper friend of Mr.. Pit
man from Cincinnati were the only
mourners. The furnace was then ut i,
white heat, the DE Palm fireman, James
Wolf, having been dismissed and fire.
man from the Washington Gas-Works
taken in his stead. There were no re-
hgious ceremonies of any kind. Sew
eral of Mrs. Pitman's lady-friends in
Cincinnati had read poems and deliv-
cred addresses over her while her body
lay in that city, and Mr.. Pitman him:
self had delivered short address, but
neither time was there prayer, or i,
tear, or even a 81 gh.
care you ready?'' said the fireman
at two or three minutes before two
o'clock. "All ready" replied young
LeMoyne. The big iron door of the re.
tort was taken off, filling both rooms
with an almost unbearable glare and
heat. The young LeMoynes.Picked up
the body, which had been laid in the
same iron cradle in which De Palm was
crcmated, and, resting the head on the
edge of the furnace, showed the body
in like an oyster-knife going into a
clam. The body was encased in 8
white sheet soaked in alum-water, but
this did not entirely cover the head
and, as soon as the head of the corpse
was within foot or two of the furnace
door, the dry cloths in which the head
was encased caught fire, and in an in
slant the entire building was filled with
a dense black smoke, with sickenine
smell. The door was quickly closed
but the overpowering odor of burning
hair and flesh lasted for fifteen minutes
or more, although the windows were
opened to get rid of it. Dense clouds
Of this black smoke also poured from
the chimney of the retort, filling
the air about the building with thu
disagreeable smell. After the body
had been roasting for about tif.
teen minutes, slight blush
flame came fron: it, and this continued
throughout the cremation. After three
quarters of an hour, skeleton of fire
could be seen through the pcep-holcs
the head burned off and rolled to one
side, and in few minutes more the
bones had all separated and lay loose
upon the floor of the retOrt. The hiI
bones were last to give way. and, when
they fell in, an hour and fifty-One minutes
after the body was put in, the crema
ton was pronounced complete, and the
building was cleared and locked up. II
was decided that the ashes must re-
main in the retOrt till next Monday, SC
that it may cool beyond any possibility
of cracking when the air is admitted
as it is badly cracked already. Mr.,
Pitman is to return to Cincinnati to-
morrow morning, and his wife's ashes
are to be sent on to him by express.
Experts say that Mrs. Pitman burned
SO much quicker than DE Palm because
she was a fresh corpse and he was stale
and dry Washington, Pa, (F'eb. ~
Dispatch to Chicago Tribune.