The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-07-22
SC sNHs AT COLLINS PYRs.
The White Chapel Men Sang as the
Body Turned to Ashes.
Nam The Mem York World.


The White Chapel Men Sang as the
Body Turned to Ashes.
Nons the Net0 York World.
CHICAGO, July ia large urn Of classic
mold monopolized interest in the White
Chapel Club to-day. Il contained the ashes
Of NJ. A. Collins, the suicide. whose body
was burned by the club Sunday morning.
The cremation has left 10 stsong an inprsS-
sion that It 10 proposed to burn and then
urn fellow1members as fast az nature fore
| closes.
Among those who witnessed the burning
Of Collins were DR.. John E.. Harper, Dr..
Hugh Blake Williams, DR.. John z. Sprsya
! and r. T. Holloway, Q sculptor. TIE ply
sIcians assisted 10 selecting Collins ashes
from the base residue.
Dawn was breaking when the service at
| Millers closed and the fragments and dust
remaining from the cremation were raked
| from the base Of the Dyre. The body then
| bad been among the fire and cinders for five
| hours aud ten minutes. 1t was placed on
the pyre at 1850, and in less than five min
| utes after that the flames had spatched off
| the sheet if it were gun cotton and lett
| left the rigid corpse sharp and black against
a lurid background. The wind was of
| shore blowing the flames and smoke toward
plainly visible, while apparently not in
terfering with the effect of the head on the
| body.
For few minutes the imperfect comous-
ton of gases or tbs drafts or some other I'M
| explained cause seemed to protect the
corpse from the flames that began at a dis
| lance from the body, as they do sometimes
from a match which one lights at the top OF
| a lamp chimney. Then with a flash the
| fire ran along the flesh ana in a few seconds
the corpse was burning like walnut. The
| legs first sank with a furry Of GOALS. Then
the frame OF the trunk disappeared. leaving
the skull resting on the pillow or biz
| warm log.
The mourners had just begun thei- closing
march, aud the refrain, "Hurrah for the
next who dies!" was floating over the beach
when the skull rolled down into the bed OF
Goals on which the other fragments rested.
| The weight of mass carried to the chit
rooms was less than seven pounds.
All who saw the cremation were struck
with the singular nobility OF it TheEe was
| no perceptible odor and the picture of the
| body, motionless and stately amid the
| flames, seemed to them grand beyond
| description.
| Club will be involved in trouble over the
affair, The city Of Chicago has no Jurls-
diction in the matter, but the Lake county
| indiana authorities are indignant. Their
| anger is not caused by the cremation, but
| at what they believe was q narrow escape
Of the town of MillePs from obstruction.
| That part of Indiana in which the crema-
ton occurred is a desert. 'Millers contains
probably 100 inhabitants, and between the
town and the lake shore are several dyna-
mite and powder factories. They are
located in stretches OF waste sand, appear
emily away from all danger of fire.
The Whitechapelers built their pyre on
| kha CHI in of Factory
blissfu ignorance of the surroundings.
When they left the train at Millers several
countrymen. who smelled prize-hght, fol-
lowed the party. The elevation OF the corpse
frightened these louis, but when torch was
applied to the pyre they ran panic-stricken
through the sand shouting, "Powder fac
toryw One or two returned and informed
the men Of the danger, but they paid no a.
teHtion to it.
Now the Indiana officials will bring a
charge of trespass and eadangering life aod
property against the club. The man who
owns the ground lives 10 New YORK. Sew
eral mem bers of the club are lawyers.
They say that the Indiana authorities can
do nothing except probably make out case
of misdemeanor
A ludicrous incident occurred while the
club was looking for a cremation site. A
prominent member went prowlipg around
up in Wisconsin, and selecting what he con
sidered was a splendid site, be bought fifteen
cords of wood and had two barrels Of tar
and pitch shipped from Milwaukee. Every
thing was on hand but the corpse and he
telegrapAed: Everything read. Have
cordwood and pitch. Send up corpse"
Meanwhile the club had selected the site in
Indiana and sent back this message:
EVERY thing ready, bring cord wood and
pitch to Indiana" This so discouraged the
" hitechapeler that be poured his pitch over
his wood and had fiery pyre all by himself.
There will be lively time next Saturday
night when the ceremony of sealing the urn
is carried out. The club to-day received sew
eral hundred telegraus from eastern
friends of humorous aud oongratuatory
character.
New ORLEANS, July 1S.-<Morris Allen
Collins was formerly resident Of New Or
leans, aud is remembered by many who
were here during the sos as an eccentric
genius, a hard worker, s~business man of
superior qualifications and a writer on labor
questions whose peculiar style attracted
much attention.
He came here about 1868 from Dallas,
Tex, where he was born, and where 1t is
said he accumulated some $4,000 in the
draylng business. In New Orleans he tried
to do several things at once and ignomin-
iously failed. He became broker In real
estate a boss drayman and q writer on la
Dor questions When he left here to 60
Snorth he had not only lost his $4,000 but
was in debt
He was almost an anarchist at heart, and
many remember the svidity with which he
would launch into the most vehement dis
cussions of the labor question. Though
possessing peculiar eocentrcities aud
idiocyncrasies he made mady close friends
here, some Of whom are still living.
DALLAS, TEX, July 1a-Eight or ten
yesrs ago NJ. A. Collins was employed on
the staff Of the Mercury, pioneer farmers
alliance newspapeh Not one man In q
thousand in this city knew thAs Collins ever
existed. Tradition says he was q tramp
printer and tramp reporter aud O thorough
Bohemian. He never organized a suicide
club In this city and there never has been
such q club in Dallas that the pubic is
aware Of.
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