Wichita eagle., 1890-01-28
FUNERALS In THE EAST.
HOW MORE THAN tlALF THE WORLD
BURN AND BURY THEIR DEAD.
Funerals in Siam Which Cost $1,000. 900.
A First Glass Cremation for $40; Chill
dren, IS Cents-The 'Towers of Silence"
Rich Undertakers Among the Hindoos.

First Glass Cremation for S2.4o: Chill
dren, IS Cents-The ''Towers of Silence"
Rich Undertakes Among the Hindoos.
F., The home of cremation is in the east. Siam
disposes of most of its bodies in this way, and
saw dozen Of corpses frying and sizzling
| on the banks of the Ganges Visited great
crematory in Japan, where the men In charge
| told me they burnt between three and four
| hundred bodies a month, and l attended a
big cremation in Burmah.
This japanese crenatory was on the edge
of Kiota In going to it drove through the
streets of shops filed with the beautiful blue
china for which that city is SO noted, and out
| through fields Of rice and tea to large brick
building on the side of a hill As | went
passed many funeral professions. consisting
| Of stalwart Japs In blue gowns and bowl hats,
four of whom carried box swung on pole
which rested upon their shoulders. This box
was much ike child's playhouse, and it had
its roof and its curtained windows. was
told that il was coffin and that each party
carried corpse. These collins were about
four feet long, two feet wide and four feet
high. They were made of thin white pine,
implanted and unvarnished, and each coffin
burning of the body.
LIKE AN AMERICAN ENGINE ROOM.
The crematory itself looked much like an
American engine room; the furnaces might
have been made in America, and they were
built so that they opened into an aisle run
ming around large room. Wood was piled
at their doors and q furious draught sucked
the air into their 1nouths, and the great flames
~ - ~. -
was piled in the vaults above them. There
was but little smell as entered the building,
but could hear the cracking and frying Of
the flesh, and the whole Of the burning could
be plainly seen. A hollow eyed, bald headed
ghoul presided over them, and he stirred up
the fires as he chatted to me In regard to his
business
1--WE have, " said he, "frst. second and third
class cremations, and we graduate our rates
according to the age Of the body. A man or
woman can be burnt In first class style for
GAO We will give either good second
class burning for S1.25, and we can send a
man off in very respectable style for 81
Children under 8 yeArs are burnt, accord
ing to the class, for 81, 75cents or 60 cents,
and boys and girls from s 10 IL years of age
are burnt for from ST. 50 to rs cents apiece.
"We burn the bodies as soon as they come
In, and we average at least ten czemations q
day We give the bone ashes to the families
of the dead after the cremation is over, and
they take them away and bury them in their
family tombs.7
Siam b the hand of cremation. It costs
more money to die there than to hive, and the
funerals Of our congressman, which are paid
for at extravagant rates by the government,
cost but little In comparison with that of the
Siarnese noble. When king dies in Siam
the whole nation takes part in funeral, and
81, 600, 900 and upwards are sometimes spent
In the turning Of the royal embalmed body
into ashes The last queen who died at Bang
kok was seated in q golden urn for q number
Of months after her death, and the foreign
merchants IN Siam bought thousands Of dol
lars worth Of goods from Europe and China
for the king to give represents to those who
came to the funeral A great temple or
palace, with roofs covered with gilt paper,
was built as her bier, and the funeral car was
OVERLAND with pure gold and set with jewels
This car was six stories high, and it Was sur
rounded by tiers of golden umbrellas.
An the foreign diplomats attended the burn
ing. and there was a tiger fight, hon dance,
and tournament among the celebrations.
The king lighted the fire at p. m, and be
gave presents of gold and silver as we'll as
dinner TO tho most noted of the mourners Il
took full week to perform che ceremonies,
and at the close the ashes were taken in q
royal barge and strewn upon the waters Of
the Menam river
Every man in Siam has as good a burning
as his purse win buy, but few are able to I'M
dertaks the expense Of building palace In
which to be burned The average cremation
takes place on pie Of wood laid crossways,
and after it is over the bones are gathered up
and tied in rag 30 Be- kep& a. relics The
Parsees always walk to hdr funeeaf
They are the richest and brightest mer-
chants Of the eass, but there b no difference
shown as to their condition - funerals. The
corpses Of the rlch az wsA q the poor lie
naked On the Towers Of Silence, the bones Of
an going to the Same reservoir, and the vui-
turss who today feed on the 6esn of Dives
make their morrow's meal OF Of Laxarus
HIyDoo C1KMATroSs
L saw maiy cfsrnssions among the Hin
docs, and attended not . few funerals in
India The bodies were generally carried OF
the shoulders of men without cofans, and
covered with cloths In some cases band
HsO~<>9SokA,
ings were in general We simple. At Cal
cutta they teok place in unrocfed soeis On
the banks Of tie Hoozley, but toe fires were
built On the ground and & Essle bose was
scoopsd OUT below thsn to make draft
At Bsnares the cvemat5ous took place II
the opsn air, and after tbs body had burned
to ashes, the ashes and tones remaining were
dragged down into tbs Tivm. The under
takers Of India belong to the dome or thief
caste. These preside over she funerals and
sell the wood and light the fires used IN Gre
nations They break the elbows, wrists,
knee and ankle joints before cremsting tas
BODY ana at Calcutta the body is placed on
the FIRE with tie facs d. 7nwar5s L Is COW
cred with gbee or clarified butter 70 make Il
burn, and the wood USED varies with the cost
of the funeral
A rich nlan VIII send bis soul TO hsaven
with sandal wood, while . poor man takes
what be can buy. the doxnas sel everything
connected with the eTeuarfcx and 70 De cniss
dons Of a bag city Is money making posi-
ton One Of tie richest men liz Eeaares 10
the head Of the undertakes, ana 90 has made
his money il this way. There is regular
charge for burning, and tia ordinary Cos. Of
. cremation Is less than e. PuoerAis ia In
Ola are, howev1, very sxpe1ssFe, s1a y-e~
eats are given away 1y toe nearest relatives
Of KS deoaAssi . tho VITO oons 70 tas
funeral rejes Of ca Asas &c: lnax ago
speat $4,000 II bL-rta. ais s&sEer. and r.ca
feEE.ts often sr<nd Aixs q sioc. GO Il
taN sort 81 frewox0-zrsax G. Caxpez.~
n - xss;s kakpEnsA