The Hawaiian gazette., 1884-09-03
Why Not Burn


The subject Of cremation is coming to the
front with a yigor that will not he put down.
We can learn OF no law that compels people
10 bury their dead in the earth TO become food
for loathsome worms, and to poluie the soil
that hy its noxious exhalations poisons the
living Nevertheless the authorities backed
bv nothing but old time prejudice, DO inter
fere. New York and San Francisco both have
cremation societies, a large society has Just
been formed in New England, and several cx-
ist in Great Britain. At Working, England, d
crcmat0ry furnace factory has been set up
In Pennsylvania, the Legislature has legit-
mizcd cremation, and SO there is progress be-
inc made.
In his recent work Of travel, due West, I"
Mr. Ballou tells Of visit to Bombay He
went out to Malabar Hill 10 view the famous
Towers Of Silence AbOut their bases beau
tiful gardens are kept IN bloom and lovliness
hy the most assiduous care. The Towers con-
stitute the cemetery Of the Parsees. Their
dead are brought up here and after simple
ceremony are exposed upon the summit Of the
towers:
These towers are open at the top, On the
cornice Of which hundreds Of yultures are al
ways waiting in full view Of every one, and
as soon as the body is left they swoop down
to their awful meal, eagerly tearing and de-
vouring the flesh; absolutely picking it clean
from the bones, which fall into a space below
IN an indiscriminate mass, TO lie dec0mpOsed
by time and the elements The hideous-5e-
tail Of the scene is not visible to the spectators
hut the Temperance Of these terrible birds
Of prey upon the walls an hour later, in a
gorged condition, is only too significant Of
what has transpirod within the silent and
gloomy enclosure. / followed funeral pro
cession to the towers. For a moment after,
among these the face Of the corpse was cx-
posed, showing the marble features Of a young
girl OF some fifteen years, wearing upon her
pale face an expression Of scraphic loneliness.
The body was covered with snow-white
sheet, exhibiting the outline OF beautiful,
budding form suddenly snatched from life.
'Over and around the body were white buds
and half-blown, pale flowers, indicative Of
youth, recalling to mind similar experience
on the banks OF the Gaugcs. There was no
apparent want Of sentiment or tenderness here.
Us soon as the brief ceremony was over, the
beautiful remains lovely even in death, were
deposited in the nearest tower, the door was
closed and the bearers retired. Down swooped
the ravenous birds 10 their terrible banquet
as we turned away with shudder. The do e
vOurinC flames that wroathed about the child
corpse at Beuares did not seem TO US so shock
ing as this Seeing an intelligent PArsee,
who had evidently been watching US, we asked:
"'How can YOU reconcile TO your feelings
such disposal as that Of the remains OF q ten
DERBY beloved ohild?'
"'what do you do with your dead?' be
asked.
"'We bury them in the earth
Eyes, he continued, for tue worms to cat.
Aud if there is a death at sea, you sink the
body in the ocean to be dev0ured by the sharks.
We prefer to give our dead to the birds Of tue
air
perhaps, after all, it makes but little DIFF
ference what becomes Of these teuemeuts Of
clay. Tue Parsee feeds the yulturcs with his
dead, the devOut Hindoo burns the body and
tue professed Christian gives bis to the worms
aud to the sharks
But these are purely sentimcn,sl reasons;
the sanitary claims for inCinerauohare simply
incontestible. In Brazil il has been positively
demonstrated that the graves Of yellowoever
victims swarm with the germs OF tue plague.
In Egypt the same has been declared true Of
the burial places Of cholera victims. 1t Is
certainly lust as reasonable to believe 1t true
in cases Of fever, smallpox and diptheria.
In New Orleans tue cemeteries have been de-
clared nuisances, and Grand jury has Just
advised the setting up OF public crematories.
Cremation is less expensive than burial; II
sequeslers no valuable ground; 1t removes the
possibility OF burial Of the living; it dissipates
the picture Of the beloved form rottIug in the
earth and fed upon by the most LOrnd Of orea-
lures: it enables the ashes Of the dead to be
gathered with ease and small expense, no
matter how widely scattered is the family at
the death Of It's members; il blots out the mis-
cradle superstitions about graves aud GEN.
eteries.-Sdc Record Union.