The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1890-06-17
Neglected Graves and Broken
TOmbstOnes tell the Story
of the HeartleSS Deser-
ton.
The Sickening Odars Which Is
sue From q Trench Filled
With Those Who Died
of SMALLPOX.
Queer Kinds of Ghosts Which
Stalk About at Night and i'm
Broad Daylight-A Head
less White Horse That
Gallops Over Graves.
Sudden DiSap-
pearance ola
Wagon.

In the northeast part Of bis city is
an abandoned graveyard. The fence
which once surrounded the butying
place, long since disappeared ; cattle
and horses roamed at will among the
graves and one by one the headstones
were broken off and now lie fiat upon
the ground, or are half buried in the
earth. the mounds, which were
once carefully cared for, have
partially or wholly disappeared and
rank growths Of rose bu.hes, weeds,
and grass hide the last resting pl ce of
former citizens of Soda la and Pets
county. A visit to this deserted vii.
lage OF the dead is an Interesting, but
very disagreeable one. In a long
trench, number of years ago, ur-
wards of fifty bodies of persons whose
lives bad been cut short by smallpox,
were piled In one common grave.
Along this trench the mo!es have been
at work throwing up circular hiliocks
of lose earth and boring among and
around the shallow coverei bodies.
Standing upon this trench one can
smell or at lest he imagines he
can detect that disagreeab!e
odor which emenates from the putrid
flesh of a dead person. At anv rate
up from and through the tunnels
made by the moles there comes an at
mosphere which does not resemble
anything that Lubin ever msnufact-
ured to crafty the olfactory nerves,
and instinctively comes the thought of
contagion and tie mind pictures the
horrible dissertation of this rude and
pestilent catacomb.
A reporter of the BAzoo, who Wis
tied the graves ofthe neglected dead,
found an interesting study in the
broken slabs, which are scattered
around. One grave YVES covered with
a profuse growth of bridal wreath
and weeds. The broken slab bore the
inscription /: civilian B. S., con of
W. and E L. Thyme, died Jan. %.
1863" The slab was of hard sand
stone, resembling marble, and at the
top lamb was cut in medallion.
Upon another stone the figure o:
dove was brought out in medallion
and underneath was chiselled 10 bold
letters Laura Louise Atkinson,
died July "a, 1869, aged 5 years. 6
months and Is days. Suffer little
children to come unto me"
The evidence furnished by the re-
msising tombstones show that Dolly
Jane, daughter of r. and F. Whitley,
who died in 1867, was the first person
buried there, although the cemetery
was laid out as early as 1864.
The only grave that is kept in good
condition is that of a colored man,
whose widow pays regular visits to
the burying ground, shapes up the
mound which is protected by rough
boulders that form an uncouth border.
The headstone is rude affair, a large
piece of common building stone, irreg.
ular in shape and about foot square.
On the uneven face of the top of the
stone in roughly cut lett rs, as if
made with dull chisel, are the words:
"Jerrie Nelson"
Quite number of persons who
have been away from Sed tlia for
number of years have returned to re-
move the dust of their dead TO a more
secure resting place but have been un-
aole to locate the graves. Alexander
RawlIns buried three children there
and can only find the graves Of two
of them. Buck Shelby's wife was
buried there thirteen years sgo and
he cannot now find where her body
lies.
, The deserted graveyard has a pc
culiar history. 1t is located just east
of LamiDe street in the vicinity of
"nigger town" on a direct line west
of the present city cemetsry.
The land was originally set aside for
q negro burying ground, but is now
the property of the White estate.
The negroes in that vicinity declare
that ghosts of men, women and ami.
mails can be seen there any night and
that they are different from the com.
mon run of ghosts in that they fire.
quently appear in broad daylight.
The reporter found half a dozen
people who claimed that they had
seen the ghosts both at night and in
the day time.