Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1886-05-01
GHOULISH TALE.
The Gruesome Experiences of an Old Grave
Digger.

The GrueSOme Experiences Oh an Oid UraVe
Digger.
Athens (Ga.) Waterman.
Some time since we had long con-
versation with an old man whose bust
ness for years it has been to attend to
the graves in the city cemetery, and as
he was in laxative mood, we drew him
out quite freely. In reply to our inqui-
ry if he had taken up many bodies, he
said:
eyes; hundreds of them in my day,
often it is a difficult and disagreeable
task. It is singular, too, the difference
in dead bodies. Some of them will lie
in the ground for years, and when you
take them up the corpse is well preserv-
ed and all the features perfectly natural,
while in other graves you only find lit
tie handful of dust in the decaying coffin.
or particles of bones. I remember I
once removed body that had been dead
seven years, and was buried in metal
lie casket. At the request of a relative
I unscrewed the cover over the glass, that
was quite large, exposing the face and
bust. In glancing,into the casket, I was for
the moment paralyzed with astonish-
ment. The face was as natural as if
the body had been buried yesterday,
while in one hand was held white rose,
and the flower was as fresh as if still on
the bush. The corpse was reburied
without being further disturbed.
I opened another grave, twelve or fif-
teen years old on top of which good
sized China tree had taken root and grew.
When the bottom was reached no sign
of the coffin was visible, but the roots of
the China tree had encircled the corpse
and formed an exact representation of a
skeleton. I also found around one root
plain gold ring that was on the finger
of the lady when buried. I raked up
what dust I could find, placed it in a
new coffin and turned it over to the
family as all that remained of their loved
one.
'sBut once handled casket that I
would have given $40 for the privilege
of opening. When I had removed the
dirt and tried, with my assistant, to raise
it from the grave, I found I had just as
well attempt to lift SO much lead, and
finally had to hire ten men to get it out
and into the hearse. What was the mat
ter? Why, the body was petrifed, of
course, but the friends of the dead man
positively refused to have the casket
opened, and it was reinterred in new
cemetry just as taken from the grave. If
I ever turn ghoul that will be one grave
I'll open, for during all my experience I
have never seen human body that had
turned to stone. They say it is caused
by some prophecies in the earth, but it
was not SO in this case, for I have re-
moved bodies not ten steps distant from
that grave and there was nothing left of
them.
Does hair grow after death? In some
cases it does and in others it don't.
remember once moving the body of a
gentleman that I had helped to nurse,
after it had been inferred for more than
three years. When buried, the corpse
was shaved clean, but when I opened the
casket there was set of coal black
whiskers reaching to the waist, and they
had grown since burial, too. The body
was unusually well preserved I have
often opened collins that were filed with
little else than hair grown since burial.
But not many families will let coffin
be opened, but prefer having the body
or dust quietly removed with as little ex-
element as possible.
"What does it cost to take up and re-
inter body? From $50 to $50, and it
is dearly earned money, too. Removing
dead bodies is one thing you can't get
accustomed to.
"But the most economical work I ever
did in this line was at the order of well
to do family. They wanted to change
the bodies of some deceased relatives
from an old cemetery to new, but re-
fused to pay my price. They finally
compromised by leaving their friends IN
the ground undisturbed, but employed
me to move the handsome monuments
over their graves and set them up in
their new lot. The work was quietly
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