Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1878-02-22

ICSpOuuCuU VI UIlC Ns buA3 wiz WQC
present at all the strange proceedings,
says:
The house, pleasant little dwelling in
the Swiss chalet style on the hillside above
Easton avenue, was thronged from 10
O'Clock in the morning until a late hour
with the first people of Cincinnati. The
casket Of oiled chestnut stood on raised
dais in the middle Of the room. The body
that of a small woman, with refined in
tellectual features and puffy white hair
was attired in white cashmere. Innings
of blue satin adorned the interior of the
coffin. Upon the wood of the lid was
carved Latin cross, with the monogram,
81. p" below. Around the walls of the
room was a profusion Of English and
American flags, contributed by Mr. VIM.
Brogge, of the Atlas Steel Works, of Shelf
field, England. a brother Of the dead wo-
man. There " as nothing OF a religions or
sentimental nature in the ceremonies. Con-
gresham Aaron Perry, CT Cincinnati, con-
tributed an address on the life Of Mrs.
Pitman. Musical selections from Beet
hoven and Mozart followed. Mr.. Benn
Pitman, the bereaved husband, spoke for
fifteen minutes ON the habits and charac
ter OF his wife, and Mrs. Kate Western
derf read IN original poem. Mrs. N. W..
Longley, q prominent champion OF Wo-
man IS rights, added few remarks, and
another poem and music concluded the
ceremony. An informal conversation fol
lowed, during which the guests laughed
and chatted as though at an ordinary re-
ception.
In the evening the coffin was boxed up
and shipped on the $50 train On the Little
Miami Railroad for Pittsburg. The only
persons accompanying it we're Mr.. Pitman
and f. B. plympton of the Cincinnati
Commercial, a personal friend OF Mrs.
Pitman At Pittsburg the box containing
the casket was exposed on an ordinary
baggage truck, and inspected by crowds
of curious people. The burial permit, con-
tanning the name of the deceased woman
and the cause of death-''cancer Of the
stomach''-Was pasted on the box con-
tanning the casket. A black oilcloth
which covered the latter was the only sign
of mourning connected with the whole af
fair. At SIT A. M. Friday the train bear
ing the remains left the Union depot at
on board, representing all the leading
newspapers in New York, Philadelphia.
Cincinnati, and the West generally.
MI Pitman is a pleasant looking man
of about 55, with regular features, whisk-
ers strongly tinged with gray, and cnurte-
Gus and polished manners. He makes no
secret of his peculiar views on the subject
of death and the resurrection. 81 am
glad,' he said to the sSun'' representa-.
tive, ''that there has been no religious
nonsense about this thing. We excluded
the parsons and undertakes from the
start. | and one Of my assistants OF the
school in Cincinnati prepared the design
on the coffin lid while every one else was
blubbering around us. [ hardly feel, in fact.
as though my wife was gone. She herself
had long intended that her body should be
disposed Of in this manner, and only two
years ago wrote to the Doctor, making in
a. tries as to the process.
At the Washington depot hearse with
gilt edged exterior awaited the train. The
casket, box and all, was showed into it as
though it were package OF merchal disc.
and the procession slowly wendell its way
to "GalloWs Hill" half Il mile south Of the
village. On this delectable spot, half a
century ago, a negro was swung into eter-
nifty for numbering his master. The Gre
matory is situated on the crown OF the
hill, and in appearance resembles cross
between brick smOkehouse and village
lock up. Perched on the adjoining fences
were crowd of gaping rustics, each With
a cigar in his mouth, and all anxious to
SGU lllGO Utl0 Ndulus lAulOAS UAlOoC fbeaiAlC-
ted to the interior were julius LIZ Moyne,
son of the Doctor: Vetchel Harding
and wife, the Misses LIE Moyne, and Mr..
and Mrs. Harding DevauX. A. negro
named Ed Shekels acted as fireman.
at I:58 2. M. the body was taken out of
the casket and placed in the large gas re-
tort over the furnace. The door was then
closed with cement and the chamber made
professedlv air tight. The fire had been
started the afternoon before, aud the tenn
perature in the retort was as high as l ,200o
Fahrenheit. A sickening odor of burning
hair and flesh filed the room, and caused
the uninitiated to hold their handkerchiefs
to their noses. The windows on two sides
of the building were opened to emit the
foul smells, and after time the atmos-
phere became tolerably pure. A thick
black smoke rose out Of the chimneyS,
bearing little Of the odor to the specta-
tors on the fences. Inside, the visitors
talked and laughed pleasantly, occasional
ly taking a look through the peephole at
the slowly-consuming corpse within.
At q the sheet soaked in alum water,
in which the body had been wrapped, was
slightly ignited, but it burned slowly. AT
the same time the smoke was seen to pour
from the chimneys, and the corpse pre-
sented bright and fiery appearance. A
wreath of flowers had been placed about
the brow, but SO great was the heat that
they were dissolved before the head had
fairly entered the retort.
At 2:17 the heat marked 10000 Fahren-
heit. and the iron frame supporting the
the body had hattened down upon the
door of the chamber.
At 2:25 the color of the heat was a pale
orange, and the temperature had increas-
ed to 9, 1000. The corpse gradually lost
shape and melted into an indistingnisha-
able mass, few Of the more prominent |
bones barely defined The sheet, although |
burned apparently to crisp, still remain
id intact.
At q the temperature was $4,000, and |
the color of the substance in the retort /,
was bright orange.
At $40 the sheet crumbled and left the |
cones standing alone. The spectacle was
4 terrible one, although beautiful in its
,oloring and intensity of action. In the /!
midst Of the bright retort lay a skeleton of
ire. the bones sWathed in purple and
orange flame, which shot upward in sharp
needle like points, and bathed the whole
sorm in halo of fiery glory. The light
was so intense that the eye could bear it
out for a moment. All Of the party sur
geved it in turn, including Mr.. Pitman,
who EXPRESSED much pleasure at the Sight
At $50 most of the bones had disappear
ID and at 3:45 those of the pelyis. which
wera the last to remain standing, fell.
Then nothing remained but a white lndis-
mass from which a few pale
cts Of fame shot ftfully.
At $40, just one hour and fifty one min~
ties from the time the body was put into
he retorb, the ineinsration was pro-
9ouneed complete, and the party left the
There were no religious services or ex-
rcises of any kind. MI. Pitman returns
o Cincinnati tomorrow, and his wife's