West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1879-10-11
The Tower OF silence"

Within the last hal century IN more old
goSSipS have delighted i'm telling Shrlny
stories oi the ParSi dead occasionally return
ing in their own bodies and flesh among the
living after their last remains had been CON
signed To- the Towers of silence. An in
stance is related i'm which "A male member
oi an OLD iarsi family, known in Bombay
as the Dhunua Patill family, rrappcarcd
fore "a female member of il several wears
after his death and claimed her as his own
sister. Not many months ago complaints
were made i'm the local Guiarati Journals of
"a corpse bearer who was suspected of hay
ING with "a large iron shovel like those kept
in the Towers OF silence, Drained man
who, having come to life some hours after
being laid in the Tower, was seen setting
up ON the stone slab whcrcon his dead body
had Lccn placed. IL was stated that had
not the man been killed mcrcilcssly hc
might have scaled the Tower wall and. cS-
Gaping with his life, might have been re-
stored 90 his family and friends DISGUISE
is said To bc a necessary prccaution for per
sons come from the dead for "A deep
rooted superstition associates their presence
among the living with a sure sign of an inn
pending public calamity or am epidemic
such stories of visits from the dead do not,
however find general CrcdeuCC among the
farSi of Bombay. In the MofussH towns
where the walls of the Towers of Silence
are low and therefore easily scaled, where
the towers themselves are situated AT con
siderable distances from the huhiiation of
men aud favor the escape OF any ono who
might come To life after being laid among
the dead old gussips find a free scope for
their tongues i'm the narration ollstorics sim
liar to those mentioned above We now
hear of case the particulars of which
might bc sufficient for writer of the ''sen-
satioual school, TO weave "a chapter of
bood-Curdlug romance. Eleven years AGO
Shapurjcc CahaujcchhO was wcll-to-d do
resident of Dchcgaum, a village situated nj
sholt distance from Gandcvi A faithful.
obcdlcnt wife managed his household ar-
ipirs. and the "GyCn tenor of their WAYS"
was cnlivcnCd 10y the presence of two prom
lsing sons I'm the course of time the sons
were betrothcd and married and their circle
of relations, widcncd While ON n visit to
Gandcvi on business, Shapurjce was attack
cd with fever and died suddenly after an
illness of two days His wife aud relations
were present at his dcathbcd, the proper
religious ceremonies were hurrcdly gone
through, and his last remains were i'm the
manner of ZorOastrians consigned To- "a
Tower of Silence. His relations mourncd
their loss and went TO their own village.
Some hours after being laid In the Tower,
Shapurjccis said 10 have recovered from n
comatosc state. He saw the awful position
assigned him among the dead bones of his
ancestors Being "a man Of ready resources,
he looked through "A small hole usually kept
in the wall of Tower of Silence and saw
some village people passing at distance
lie raised n cry of distress, which drew the
men nearer to him. Understanding what
hc said, they assisted him i'm scaling the
walls of the Tower They went their way
and connivcd at his escape from nm awful
doom. He procured a disguise and wand
cred from village to village as though pur-
sued by a terrible foe. BY turns hc became
bcggar, "a h0hiHI, /. e., n qtack. Wan.
dcrlng far and wide, hc has at present turn
ed up in Bombay in the disguise of a buir-
0gh1c, 1. e., n religious bcggar, and dis
pcnscs native drugs and nOstrums lie las
recognized, or prctcnds TO recognise, certain
Pars residing at Mazgaon, and claims
klnship with them. Ills family and rcla-
tions at Dchcgaum have been appriscd Of
his rcappcmancc in the land Of the living,
and are probably ON their way 10 Bombay
In the hope Of again greeting one along lost
and deeply mourncd Truth and fusrhood
will soon be seen in their own coors.