Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1893-03-11
j. DRUID FufikREL.
Strange Rites CT a Hilltop in Walss

New York Tribune: Far away seem
the times anc the rights Of the Druids
even under the mistletoe At Yula,ite
the Time Of Yowling. Theirs was one
OF the most ancient and primitive OF
religions, and it's cult Is greatly
shrouded IL mystery. Yet II is not al
together dead. Among ,he hills OF
Wales many strange relics Of tao past
remain. There may be nc fragments
OF forgotten peoples" but there are
legends and customs aad Songs and So
cial and religious rites preserved tin.
changed from the days ot Arthur ana
Merlin and Talicssin. There are prob
ably not few seers aho, like Glen
dover, can summon spirits from the
Vastly deep;" though whether or not
they will come is yet a mooted qnes-
ton. And as for the Druids. their line
Is yet unbroken, and their weird ri.es
are still celebrated a ot old.
The death has just occurred at Llan.
trissant Of DR. William Price, who held
the distinguished Office OF Arch-D Druid
of Wales. He was something more
than % years old, and might have
passed for one OF the old-time bards
who perished in King Edward's dxgau.
ance. Six or seven years ago, It may
be remembered, an infant that had
been born to him in his old age died,
and its body was publicly cremated by
him with Druidical rites For this he
was arrested and brought to trial. But
after hot contest in court he was ac.
Quilted, and decree was pronounced
from the bench establishing the entire
legality of the form of funeral. Ac-
cordingly, when DIR. Price himself died,
a similar ceremony was enacted with
out thought OF interference
The ceremony took place on the sum.
init Of high hill at Caerlan, the very
spot where the body of the
infant had been burned. Several hun.
dred tickets were issued to the friends
and former patients of DIR. Price. en-.
titling them to enter the inciosure and
witness the burning. The hour first
set was noon. But public curiosity
rose TO SO high pitch that, to avoid
being overwhelmed by mob of sight.
seers, IL was at the last moment de-
cided to change it to o'clock in the
morning. SO in the gray light OF that
early hour the strange procession made
its way to the hilltop. No mourning
garb was To be seen. The closest
friends of the deceased Druid were at
tired in the ancient costumes of the
Welsh people.
The body of DIR. Price was clothed in
the druidical robes he had worn in life,
and was then placed i'm coffin Of per.
forated sheet iron. On the hilltop two
stone walls had been built, four feet
apart, each being about ten feet long
and four feet high. A number of iron
bars extending from one to the other
formed rude grating between them
some distance above the ground, and
upon these bars the coffin was placed,
the head being toward the east and the
feet toward the west. A clergyman of
the established church was present and
read the ordinary service for the dead
in Welsh. The vestments of the church
contrasted as strangely with the drui-
dical guard worn by some of the attend
ants as did the words of the prayer
book with the strange rites. Some
slight changes were made i'm the SER
vice, such as the body being ICON.
signed to the flames"
Then nader and over and all around
the coffin was piled great lot OF wood.
perhaps whole cord of II. and to this
were added several tons of coal. Many
gallons of paraffin oil were thrown
upon it. thoroughly satnrating the en-.
tire pi.c- Then. at about o'clock two
Of the closest friends Of the late Druid
came forward from the throng and ap.
piled torches to the wood, one at each
end Of the mass. In a moment IL was
all a raging furnace, and the hill liter.
ally fared like volcano A brisk
breeze was blowing, which famed the
fire aud carried the fame and smoke
far into the heavens. For many miles
the strange spectacle was clearly seen,
and thousands Of people came hocking
thither from all parts of Giamorgan-
shire. Seven or eight thousand OF
them gathered in ring about the
pyre, as close to il as possible, and
watched II with eager interest all day
long.
Some hours after dark that evening
the flames had died down and there
was only dull glow from the Goals
Then with long hooks they dragged
the coffin from the furnace. when il
was discovered that II had been liter.
ally burned through In many places
and when the lid was uncovered the re
was absolutely empty, without
the fAintest trace within Of the re
mains The coffin was subsequently
on q bier. followed by an i'm.
mense crowd. and deposited on the
couch in the deceased's residence, where
a few days previously he had breathed
his last.