Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1891-06-02
A RUGGED OLD BELLMAN.

around than the short. stout form of
Patrick Laffay, whose duty it is to toll
the bell as funeral professions arc en-
t2ring Greenwood cemetery. For near
~ quarter of n century Patrick has
performed this mournful task. ard Il
more faithful bcllman never tollcd a
bell, whether it be in the tower of a
cemetery archway or in modest
church or stately cathedral. In TWEEN
tv-four years he has missed but 4 few
days from his post of duty. and then
only because Of sickness or death III his
own family.
a New York Sun reporter found the
rugged bcllman on Il recent afternoon
on duty under the archcd gateway. 1t
was cold and clustering, and Patricl1s
sturdy frame was warmly bundled up.
The reporter had hardly made known
his errand when Patrick cSpiCd Il
funeral procession about 70 enter the
Fifth avenue gateway. few strides
brought him to the tower. He gave the
rope a pull and the bronze bell an
NOunccd the arrival of another funeral
train. Then he opened Il little door and
pressed lever. thus setting in motion
some machinery which would keep the
bell tolling while the hearse and car
riaEcs were winding up the snow-cov-
cred slope leading to the archway.
This machinery is automatic and will
run until the bell has tollcd eight times.
This done, the bellman waited the
approach of the funeral train, just as
he had done thousands of times before.
lie had waited the passage of modest
professions, where there were but one
or two or three carriages besides tho
hcarsc, and he had waited the arrival
al almost endless corteges of seventy or
eighty carriages. People of every age
and condition have in his day been car
ricd to their last resting place from the
humblcst children to men OF wealth,
distinction and national fame. lie has
tolled the bell announcing the arrival
of such distinguished dead us $. $. Cox,
James Gordon Bennett, Maj.-Gcn. Hal
lrcli, Cen Thomas c. Dallin and Gordon
w. Burnham.
When funeral procession reaches
the entrance it is the bcllman's duty to
announce at the Office the name of the
undertaken having it in charge. He
rarely has to stop to inquire. for he
Knows nearly every undertaken in New
York, Brooklyn, Jersey City, lIobol,cn,
and also many on Staten Island and many
of the towns on Long Island. 1t is only
when 4 procession comes from some dis
tancc that the bcllman cannot call the
undertaken by name.
When the procession yesterday had
come near enough so that he could see
the undertaken he strobe into the Office,
and, addressing one of the clerks at the
dc%ii, said simply:
henderson,.
''Willian Daily" was the reply.
That meant that William Daily was
the gravcdigg2r who had charge Of dig
ging the grave for The body that he'd
now arrived. The bCllman received The
announcement, strobe out Of the Office
and then ran at kind of wall0Wing
Gait for Il hundred yards and called out
Days name to Foreman Timothy Kane
ficli Of the gruvediTgcrs. Kuncilic'l
spoke to Daily, and soon he in company
with three other men armed with shov-
els was following in tho wake of the
funeral procession, which was now
winding slowly along Landscape av
cnue.
From this time on tho bell was tollins
most of the time for an hour. Process
snOw-covercd slope until it seemed III
most as though they made al endless
cortegc In each case the undertaken
face was familiar to the b2llmln, and
each time he went through the routine
Of announcing his name and summon
ing the gravcdigEcr.
81 don't have much time except to at
tend to the funerals" he said. Il sec
them come and go, and that is about
ali J know about them"
The only thing he seemed to rcmcm-
her that was at all out of the usual
routine was the blizzard. THAT was q
bad time. indeed" he said. at was IT,,
only day know of when there wasn't
- much as one funeral come into tn,
cemetery. The snow was SO deep tina,
they couldn't get here. The next day