The Opelousas courier., 1891-08-15
LIKE CORN IN A GRANARY.
HUMAN BODIES PILED UP IN A
MEXICAN GRAVEYARD.
A CHASTITY Sight in the strangest
Burying Ground of the World
Mexican Burial Customs.

world is here at Guanahuato, writes
Frank G.. Carpenter to the New York
World. I have visited the most curious
graveyards on record, but | have never
seer anything that compares with the
horrors / saw to-day. Imagine if you
can the bones of a hundred thousand
human beings torn to pieces and piled
one on the top of another like SO much
corn in a granary Put all ages and
sexes together. Tear them limb from
limb and mix the mass of skulls, legs,
arms and ribs together so that the bony
fingers of one runs into the hollow eyes
of its neighbor and the parts of the differ
emit skeletons lose themselves in the vast
pile of this vaulted granary of bones.
The cemetery of this city of Guiana
huato is situated on the top of a high
hill overlooking the town. I entered by
its wide gate and found myself sur
rounded by great walls in a court which
contained perhaps five acres of ground.
The walls of this court were about eight
feet thick, and as l examined them 7
found that thsy were in fact made up of
pigeon holes about three feet square and
six feet deep, some of which were open
and others of which were closed with
marble slabs on which were printed the
names and virtues of the dead who were
shelved away within. There were thou
sands of these pigeon holes, and my guide
showed me a card giving the rates.
From it I see that these holes are rented
out to the bodies of the dead, and the
guide tells me that the most of them are
taken Tor about five years, after which
the bones of the deceased are taken out,
the pigeon hole is cleaned and it is ready
for the next occupant. 1t costs S25 for
the use of one of these pigeon holes for
five years, and this seem to be the short
est term for which they are leased. A
mar who wants one perpetually can have
it by paying 500, and if he cares to
crowd his whole family into the same
hole he can have it for the lump sum of
$500.
Leaving the court I was next con
Quoted into the great storehouse for the
bones of the dead after their leases have
expired and they have been ousted by
haeir landlords from their tenements
above. There I saw great piles of skulls
and other pieces of skeletons jum-
bled together in all sorts of shapes
and mixed up into one Heterogeneous
mass of bones, rising in a slanting way
from the floor Of the tunnel at an angle
of forty-fiye degrees to the roof. Every
thing was jumbled together in the great
democracy of death. The bones of the
old and young were piled in and on one
another. The feet of men rested in the
skulls of women, and / saw a great-toe
in the g~rinning teeth of what may have
once been a beautiful girl. About an
other skull the bones Of an arm were
thrown almost caressingly, and legs and
arms, whole and in bits. were piled up
one on the top of another like SO many
stones, and the whole, CHASTITY as it was,
looked more like the piled up Indian
corn in a crib than anything else.
I had my camera with me in this
vault, and I wished to take a photograph
of it. There was, however, no place on
which to rest the camera, and / suggested
to the guard of the cemetery that he GO
get a board. He at once picked up a
coffin from a little pile which contained
the mumnies of babies, and taking the
mummy out held it under his arm while
he propped the coffin on end and made
it stand level by putting a thigh bone
from the great heap under n corner.
Upon this I rested my Gamers and sue
ceeded in taking a very fair picture. Be-
fore I left I took a picture of this man
with the mummy in his arms and another
Of him and his brother ghoul holding uF
the municipal coffin, in which all the dead
of this town haveto brought to the grave,
yard. There are no hearses in this noun
tain city, and the town has fixed
rates for the rent Of its collins,
These collins are SO big that another
cofiiI tean be put inside of them, and
they are carried on the shoulders of the
J hearers up the steep hill. As ID as
they enter the cemetery the ccfens are
placed on a ledge or stone table and are
opened, for the purpose, it is said, Of
| seeing that not more than one corpse il
buried ID one coffin, and that the GENE.
terry gets its full fee for ever.
corpse.
The general customs of mourning Ii
| Mexico are somewhat different from ours
| Mourning IS much more general ant
black is put on for intimate friends ant
for distant relatives. Il is, however
worn a shorter time, but the occasion
for mourning dresses are SO frequent tina
every lady has her mourning suit in he
wardrobe. If, for instance, a young
| lady dies, her friends wear black 0 rhel
for thirty days, and if it is the yount
girls mother who is dead the friend
will put on black for half that time
/ Ladies do not attend funerals in Mexico
but they pay visits Of coincidence sool
after the death, and such visits are mad,
in mourning clothes.
Mexico City is perhaps the onl,
place in the world where the street car
are the hearses. a funeral costs $500 ]
at all respectable, and in the case Of for
eigners the expenses run up into th
thousands. This is especially SO whe
it is desired to take the bodies out Q
the country. II the friends Of the dea
are not posted all sorts Of extravagan
charges are imposed upon thela, end III
estate of D Kansas millionaire name
Smith, who died Lere lately, pal
$4,000 for expenses here. Among th'
charges was one Of $500 for embalmins
and I heard Of q case yesterday in Whicl
d Mexican embalmer d doctor charge
$4,000 for preparing for shipmer
the body of . Frenchmrn who die
here.