The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1881-09-08

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YES" said William Hill Moore.
settling himself back with his snowy
haired head against theacushion Of an
easy chair and crossing his leGs, now
somewhat attenuated with age-
"yes," said he, II believe I am the
! oldest living undertaken. I've been
active In the business over Afty yean.
I began in an alley, but I was not
above my business and gave my
whole time to 1t, and. Of course, the
business grew, and I made lots Of
money. There are . hundred under
takers who have started since, but I
was the first to keep ready made c0f-
fms on hand In Philadelphia and sup
| ply funerals a. q regular business, and
50 far as know, 1t had not been done
any where else at that time. That WAS
in 1895. l learned the business during
the cholera of 1919 % with . man who
buried the dead for the prisons, corO-
ners and that like, and there IL no
telling the many . one In those days
that went into the ditch who never
died at ALL"
"Why, William" said . thin, little
nervous lady i'm the room, "you don't
mean they were buried alive? Ugh!
1t makes my flesh creep"
"Ies, Martha, that's Il exactly. No
telling how many. A good old Qua
ker friend of mine-I buried him A.
terward-he had everything very
plain, remember, and no handles on
the cofiin-said to me once: william,
il thee sure that all thee has buried
with the cholera were dead when thee
put them i'm the grOund? Said /: Il
never thought whether they were
dead or not just buried them as fast
as could
"Well, 1 never forgot the remark.
When 1 fixed up q place for myself
on Fifth street, forget the builders
name now, but buried all his family,
and large family IL was, tool had
| two rooms where used to do embalm-
ing and keep bodies until some one
| would come to pay for them, but
made up my mind that I'd never bury
| any Of these or anybody else until
easy to tell. With such as die from
apoplexyland suddenly like that It act,
| ually seenls"-and here the jolly old
undertaken laughed broad, hearty
laugl-"it actually seems they'd de-
composed before they died. Ha! ha!
ha! It's remarkable how plain the
signs of decomposition become to the
practical eye. Why, =! can tell dead
body as quick as that and he snap
ped his long fingers in front of his
shrewd gray eyes," but we always put
off moving the body as long as the
relatives like, unless it gets very bad,
and then we do our duty and moves
them of. They always like, you know,
to have their little cries, and We let
them have their way. John Swift,
who was the mayor at that time-we
buried him i'm double coffin, I re-
member-didn't like the idea of my
keeping the bodies month at time.
but didn't mind 1t i'm the least, and !
sOcn showed him there was no dam
ger. Why, sir, the dead are no more
| to ms than the sheets Of paper you
write on. We never think any more
what person dies Of than you do of
ask ing the people you meet in the
street what disease they have. I've
been all through cholera, smallpox
and yellow fever, and never had SO
| much as q sick stomach. Many con-
tagious diseases are caught through
fear, but q great deal depends on the
way man lives. No undertaken can
touch liquor If he wants to be free
from disease. He has to be strictly
temperate. He has to be very careful
of " hat he eats, too. It's my expe-
rieBce that If man is careful Of what
he eats and drinks, and keeps his
stomach i'm order, he need not be
afraid of any contagious disease. I
had friend-buried him, too, by the
way-who lived to ninety by eating
as little as possible"
FUNERALS OF GREAT MEN.
The gaunt, strange looking old man
at this point let his eyes relax some
where from their usual dim, vacant
gaze, and i'm response to q motion put
the large speaking trumpet, which he
balanced on one finger, to his ear. All
that was said to this point was sug-
gested by q single question shouted
into the trumpet, and it now became
necessary to start him on another
train of "reminiscences.
"You buried General Patterson, did
you not ~
ayes, but was scarcely able to get
there" he replied. ave been very
sick" but Pm not quite ready for the
undertaker's yet Up to very little
while ago we buried all the judges and
commOdOres and generals, and almost
all the great people, il seems to me,
but Lincoln-we didn't get him."
The undertaken was unable to re-
press heavy sigh at the thought Of
missing the melancholy pleasure Of
laying away this truly great man.
''rhere were the Obsequies Of Zack-
airy Taylor" he resumed; 1.-THE hearse
cost Seem. There were eight gray
horses, with black covers trimmed
with white, and the men who walked
rs leaders wore long white bands on |
their arms and white gloves. There |
was a single tassel that cost So. Then |
I had the obsequies Of BushrOd
Washington and Chief Justice Mar |
shall, and General William Henry |
Harrison and John Quincy Adams.
You may be sure they were the best
that could he had. When the body Of |
Henry Clay passed through the city |
in 1852 there was funeral procession,
and / had that, too, but 1t was net |
much of an affair. DIR. Kane, the Are
tic explorer, 1 buried, and Judge |
Kane and his wife, buried them, too. /
old Commodore Stewart,
YOU knOw-we put him In Woodlands,
and then, besides, there was ComnlO-
dore Bainbridge, Horace Binney,
Elliott, John Price
Commodore Hull, Judge
Thompson and President Edgar
of the Pennsylvania rail-
road-I buried them all. We removed
Porter to Woodlands,
and there was General MERGERS fun
eral, too. We were highly compli-
lncnted for the way We buried him.
All, my memory Is getting poor, and
I can't remember all of them. Fu-
nerals are very different from what
they used to be. Matters are simpli-
fiei i'm the burial, but funerals are
more numerOusly attended and more.
II cost about 500 to bury man Of
ANY consequence now. The use Of Ice
is comparatively new, and they never
used To line the collins with satin. j
think DIR. Besdell set that style. He