Los Angeles herald., 1892-05-02
THE DEATH OF CHIEF,
The Buddhist Who Was Gre
mated Here.
Career of Byron Ad0nis, the Human
Enigma.
A Man of Great Learning of Whom Little
Is Known-He Was a Mystic and
Disappointed Lover-His
San Francisco Record,

The HERALD of Saturday exclusively
published the account of the first Bud.
hist cremation which was ever cele.
brated on this continent. The occasion
was the incineration OF the body o1
Byron Adonis, San Francisco mystic,
of whom the Examiner gives the follow
ing account:
''Chief," who died in this city Monday
last, at GA Sacramento street, was a
Tennessean by birth. His father was a
Jew and his mother Christian.
In a worldly way he was known as
Byron Adonis, and no other than that
evidently fanciful cognomen could ever
be drawn from him, even when in his
intensest moods and pleading for the
whole heart of Miss Marian Bruce, to
whose graces he succumbed after life
OF raillery at womankindsand scoffing at
virtue. N
He lived an enigma Who he was.
what he was and from whence he came
may never be known definitely, but he
has left real mourners, who respected
his ability, admired his modesty and
liked his friendliness of heart.
FREE THOUGHT PAPER.
Being abstemious and economical, he
saved sum of money, with which in
1879 he began the publication of The
Free Thinker.
Before that time he had limited to in
Inmates that in his travels through In
dia and Polynesia he had learned the
secret OF new life transcendentally
attractive, and had in some far country
been initiated into an order of "Chiefs
and Chiefesses," the members of which
enjoyed supernal delights and were
made superior beings by the teachings
of the mystic founders of the order.
Buddhism in its most extravagantly
etherealized form was often a theme en-
larged upon by Byron Adonis, and he
firmly believed that it would become
the universal faith.
Adonis styled himself "Chief," and
used that title as his signature up to the
day of his death. That he did some
proselyting is evident from his words in
April. 1879, when in writing of The No
BILE Order OF Chiefs he said:
Among its members are number of
capitalists, bankers, lawyers, physi-
clans, journalists, merchants, one fire
co nmissioner and one supervisor. No
person can become a member until he
has passed what is known as the intel
lectual degree, that is he must be highly
educated, a seductive conversationalist
and man of the world.
The next is the Cresus degree, which
means that the candidate must have a
solid bank account and draw upon it
generously.
IL sr1 - Ap1,1 11
degree, which means that everything
in this world dissolves into ashes, and
hence the necessity of enjoying life every
moment, eince no man knows how soon
he will be ashes.
The chiefs of this secret organization
believe in honor and in conducting
themselves spotlessly in every affair in
life save and except affairs of love.
They have no morality, and some go
SO far as to say that morality cannot
exist, since it is the outgrowth OF cor
ruptible matter. The chiefs are epicures,
believe in living like lords and reveling
with the widest license. They admit
women into their orgies, and divide
them into two classes. We learn that
young and beautiful girls of the highest
culture have been initiated as chiefesses.
1t was upon such vagaries that Byron
Adonis fed and iattened into scoffer at
everything commonly held sacred or as
worthy of reverence.
In his Free Thinker, of which he was
editor-in-chief, he had scope for all his
fads, and ran riot through the institu-
tions of society, protesting to find no
good in them and an infinity of corrup-
tion in their promoters.
Adonis was a voluminous writer. He
ratified away at speed upon all subjects
at all germane to mysticism OF the
Asiatic sort, and persistently preached
the foolishness of faith and the delights
of inanity. His fondness for Jewish
society continued, and he founded the
Jewish Times as an organ OF the faith.
Adonis wrote nearly all of every issue
for months, but he covertly jeered at
certain canons of Jewish faith, and the
rabbis began an inquiry into the ante
cedents of the editor.
When, to prevent further scandal,
Rabbi Meyer 5. Levy offered to buy the
offer, ard allied himself with The Uni
meled expression to his fancies.
He lived quite within himself until in
1884 he CHANGED to meet Miss Marian
Bruce, daughter of retired sea Captain
Bruce, who lived on Jersey street, near
Castro, in the Mission. That meeting
quite changed the tenor of "Chief's"
life. He became an assiduous suitor
and won the regard of the lady. The
engagement continued through four
years and Adonis was not yet ready to
marry. Then Miss Bruce dismissed
him and he went unwillingly back to
his attic den and to renewed bitterness
against civilized habits and social laws.
His friends were cut off until he had but
two, cigar dealer who sold him tobacco
and halter. With them he would
chat little while every evening, but
no one was ever invited to his room, and
he was for the most part absorbed in
his work on The Universe and in deeper
meditations upon Buddhism.
His room at 644 Sacramento street
was small and plainly furnished. A
bed, a wardrobe, a little dressing bu-
reau, lounge and commode nearly
filled the space. On the walls were a
few cheap prints of flowers and pretty
faces. On the ledge before the only
window few geraDiums and plants in
pots were kept green by his care. Half
burned out concob pipes were lying
about, and the floor was Uttered with
boots, books and old papers. Having
no bookcase, his scant library had to be
put upon the floor.
Tn oucb q p1ooo AJon;e ,nox,& 81, =,