Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1884-06-27


y. I,uceJ IN the Pail Mall .Gaz-
cite There Is one nation, now
the oldest empire il the world, where
cremation Is an esta lished usag and
whers the government with with q ahreWd
appreciation Of the I'D yes Of aanii-
tary laws, have Of late ears care fully
fostered it. bis Is al,an, where Gre
nation establishms ntts under Govern
lnent control, are to ba found IL III the
chiet cities. IN Toxic, the principal
place 81 crelnat lion il uated At Sllen-
10, q suburb After an drive
throuea a, lane Of busy Iii y came tt,o the
silent house where the dead awaited the
last service Of the Living. It stands a
little apart from the main rood, "a
bull ding Of a single story, with an In
noeent-l oking tall chimney, and might
be connected with a pottery or small
iron foundry, Tile business is always
conducted privately, and there are few
in Toxic, except those who are pro-
fessionallY engaged, who have wit
messed the process. But ar
ran gements made by the omnipotent
foreign minister opened the doors, and
secured a respectful welcome for us.
We first received in the house OF the
manager, where tea was served in price
less porcelain cups Of Kutania ware.
The fnrnacs, if SO imposing taname may
be used for q process so simple, stood a
few PAGES from the house. On entering
it there was nothing to be seen but what
appeared TO be two butter tubs resting
upon a few fagots OF wood. There were
several cavaties about two inches deep
and a foot long in the stone floor, and
these were, filled with shaTings. Ac-
cording to municipal law, no burning is
to be. done before half-past six in the
evening. It still wanted ten minutes to
that time, but in the circumstances the
manager thought he 4 wouldsbe safe iii
anticipating the hour, and The Shawn s
were fired. One Of the men, kneeling
before the growing flame, fannedit with
apiece of wood. It caught the dry fag-
gots, greedily licked the sides OF the
tub, rose high in the air, and then, with
saehorrible thud, the head Of The barrel
burst outwaris Quick as thought, the
man seized q large piece Of wood. lying
by in readiness, and hid from sight
whatever may have protruded. tits the
boast Of the skillfnl crenator that under
his supervision the contents of the
barrel are never exposed to
view. A heavy mating of wet straw is
laid over the length Of the barrel be-
fore the fire is ignited. As the barrel is
burned away this falls in and covers the
body. In three hours the work is done.
Every particle OF flesh is burned away,
and there remains only the skeleton.
/ The bones and the teeth the relatives
collect and give them supulture. There
are three classes Of cremation at this es-
adjustment. In the first class each
body is burned separately. charge be-
ing made Of Z yen, equal to 2Ss, Ill our
money. In the second class the charge
is only los. the difference being that
two or more, according to the brislsness
Of trade. are burned at the same time.
The third class pay 6s. Ga, the SEM
blance of coffin provided by the tub
being dispensed with. It viii be seen
that, as compared with the most noder-
ate scale of ordinary burial charges,
cremation is cheap. AS far as I could
gather, it is this which recommends il
self to the class Of Japanese, generally
the least wealthy, who avail themselves
Of the resources at the establishment at
Shen- 10 and kindred institutions.