Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-10
INf.
Pennsvlvania Cremation Made Plain.

Pennsylvania Cremation Made Plain.
For general information it may be well
| to explain the difference of cremation of to-
day and cremation of ancient times There
was the hideous funeral pyre and the hor-
rors of the stake among the heathens. Bod
les were burned by the direct action of the
flames. and even to-day countries of a
lower grade of civilization than our own
pursue method not much better. In ia
pan the body is placed in a tub upon CRATE,
underneath which the fire Is built, the
flames passing around the body and thence
up chimney, The Japan erematory stands
little apart from the main road, building
of single story, with an innocent-leoking
tall chimney that might be connected with
a pottery or q small iron foundry. The
business is always conducted privately, and
there are few in Toxic, except those who
are professionally engaged, who have wit
messed the process. The furnace, if so i'm
posing name may be used for process SO
simple, stood q few PAGES from the
house. On entering 1t there was moth
ing to be seen but what appeared to be
two butter tubs resting upon few faggots
of wood. There were several cavities about
two inches deep and one foot long in the
stone floor, and these were filled with shay
ings. According to municipal law, no
burning is to be done before $50 in the
evening. 1t still wanted ten minutes to
that time; but in the circumstances the
managerthought he would be safe to antici-
pate the hour, and the shavings were fired.
One of the men, kneeling before the grow
ing flame, famed it with piece of wood. 1t
caught the dry faggots, greedily licked the
sides of the tubs, rose high in the air, and
then, with horrible thud, the head of the
barrel burst outward. Quick as thought the
man seized large piece of wood lying by
in readiness and hid from sight whatever
may have protruded.
AMONG INDIANS AND ITALIANS.
The Hualapais, as we'll as the Mohave,
Indians in Southwestern Colorado and
Utah cremate the dead. The body Is laid
in the ground about 18 INCHES below the
surface; piles of brush and logs are thrown
above and below, to make hot fire. Dur
ing the burning, the relatives and friends
throw their blankets and other valuables
into the flames. The value is regulated by
the degree of kinship. The ashes are
thrown to the four winds. One will say to
another: 81 am not going to throw my
blanket to your brother, for you did not
throw ANYTHING for my father"-social eti-
quette, we should call that if it were ques-
tion of wearing black, I suppose! They
burn also immense number of ponies, and
have great wake" The less important
people are sometimes buried with no sacri-
flee of property, but that is not proper
respect,
At Milan, Italy, furnace is in use where
the body is placed upon an altar and the
flames, generated in fire chamber, pass
over and around the body.
But at Dr.. LeMoyne's old erematory in
Washington, Pa, and in majority Of the
crematories in other parts of the United
which has been heated to high degree of
temperature from without. The solid walls
of the retort prevent entirely any contact of
the flames with the corpse, The oxygen of
the air, heated to a temperature of 1000
degrees, unites with the carbonaceous ele-
ments of the body, and it quickly melts
away as snow would melt before the rays of
the sun. The ashes are left as the residue
The present Mr.. LeMoyne, OF Washing
ton, informs me that the ashes of man
average from five to nine pounds in weight
when they are gathered out of the retort,
and the ashes of woman from four to six
pounds. The larger boned the person is
the heavier their ashes will be. These ashes
resulting from tne incarceration OF the bones
are nothing more nor less than carbonate of
lime.
THE STYLE IN FUNERAL URNs.
I asked Mr.. LeMoyne if there was any
uniformity in the style of urns being used
by the people of the United States in the
storing of human ashes He replied that
there was not, because the demand for urns
has grown to such proportions that it has
become an industry in itself to manufacture
funeral urns. He has received samples of
urns of earthenware, porcelain, glass, metal
and other materials. There has been seme
attempt made to initiate the style and deco
ration of ancient urns found in Greece and
Egypt, but they will hardly prove popular
in the United States What the venerable
DIR. LeMoyne lamented SO much when he
was alive, and whist led him largely into the
field of thought which resulted in his exper-
iments at Washington, was the ostentation
displayed in burying our dead. People who
now willingly adopt cremation among their
beliefs are generally those who also abhor
display. For that reason the storied urn of
the Orient will probably remain there.
But even this demand for funeral ufns,
which has induced manufacturers to meet