Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-08
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BOSTON, January There is no longer
any joking in Boston over the ravages of the
grip. 1t has now assumed a phase too grim
for pleasantly. The people are dying so
raridly that undertakers cannot bury them
fast enough. All the hearses in the city
were pressed into service to-day, and
surrounding towns were asked to
contribute of their stock, but there was as
great need everywhere. To-day 73 deaths
were recorded. Yesterday 86 certificates
were turned in. While only three of these
cases were directlvi due to the influenza,
nearly all were from the secondary effects.
The establishments which supply under
takers with material for their calling are
pushed to their utmost to provide for the
unceasing demand for funeral habili-
ments. William L. Lockhart, proprietor of
one of the biggest establishments of this
kind, said to DISPATCH reporter:
AN UNPRECEDENTED RUSH.
'our house has been established 40
years, but we never saw anything like
this rush; it is Unprecedented. We furnish
a great many hearses to undertakers, many of
whom in Boston do not own one. Recently
we let Y hearses in one day, II in the
morning and in the afternoon. In one
Saturday morning, we furnished 81 hearses
to Boston undertakers. This week we
had out over so hearses. If the funerals all
came IN the same half of the day don't know
what we should do but very many of them are
Catholic funerals. and take place in the morn
Ing, so we can relet the hearses in the after
noon"
A call upon many of the prominent under
is no respector of persons, although 1t
seemed as If the North End was being
rather more severely afflicted than
other portions of the city. 1t is said that one
dangerously sick persons and administered the
last sacraments to four. In st. Stephens
parish, in that quarter of the city, there were
IA funerals on Sunday.
NEVER saw THE LIKE.
II never saw the beat of 1t in my life, not even
when the smallpox ragged" SAID one of the rep
resentatives at one undertaker's establishments
at the North End. 81 had an interment in Holy
Cross Cemetery, in Maiden, this morning, and
I counted ten other funerals while | was
there, and they told me there were to be
cemetery. and many of those who die in the
Charlestown district are taken there for inter-
ment
II had funeral this morning. /" continued the
undertaken quoted aboye, ''for which a four
horse hearse had been ordered, and l couldn't
hire one for love or money. compromised on
a two-horse hearse, and had to scour the city to
get that"
II don't know, I'm sure. where we are going
to get hearses If this thing keeps on" said
another. II am driven to death all the time,
and have had Is funerals since Christmas. The
victims arc mostly people who are fairly well
to do, and are by no means confined to the
very poor people of this district"
Another said: II have had about 20 orders
since January l, and ten since Sunday. In fact,
I have all can do to meet the demand. 1
find the victims are nearly all grown persons
had three funerals at st. Stephens this morn
ing one at the French Church, and shall have
two at Stephens tomorrow morning"
The proprietor of one high-toned establish
ment has had II orders for funerals since Sun