Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1893-06-16
FUNERAL OF A DRUID
STRANGE DEATH RITES ON A LOFTY
HILLTOP IN WALES.

disposition OF t"o h""S VI '"0 '-''e
loader of the Druids of Wales-Rather
Mixed Services.
For away seem the times and the rites
of the Druids; even under the mistletoe
~ y,n1etide-the time of Yowling Theirs
',-os one of the most ancient and print
tive of religions, and its cult is greatly
sbrouded in mystery. Yet it is not alto
Tether dead. Among the hills of Wales
many strange relics of the past remain,
There may be no fragments of forgot
ton Deoples," but there are legends and
customs and songs and social and reli-
lions rites preserved unchanged from the
9ovs Of Arthur and Merlin and Taliessin.
There are probably not a few seers who,
like Glendower, "can summon spirits
from the vastly deep" though whether or
not they will come is yet mooted ques-
tion. And as for the Druids, their line is
vet unbroken, and their weird rites are
still celebrated as of old.
The death occurred at Llantrissant Of
Dr William Price, who held the distin-
ouished Office of archdruid Of Wales.
He was something more than SO years
old and might have passed for one of the
old time bards who persisted in King Ed
wards reign, so rugged and antique was
his apDearance. Six or seven years ago,
II 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
-, I I,.g11 ,r1,t To 4,.io1 J,,t
after hot contest in court he was ac-
Quilted, and a decree was pronounced
from the bench establishing the entire
legality of this form of funeral. Ac-
cordingly when DR.. Price himself died
a similar ceremony was enacted without
Thought Of interference.
The ceremony took place on the sum-
NIT of a high hill at Caerlan, the very
spot where the body of the infant had
been burned. Several hundred tickets
were issued to the friends and former
patients of DR.. Price, emitting them to
enter the inclosure and witness the burn
ing. The hour first set was noon. But
public curiosity rose to so high a pitch
that, to avoid being overwhelmed by
mob of sightseers it was at the last mo-
ment decided 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 mourn
ing 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 DR.. Price was clothed in
the Druidical robes he had worn in life
and was then placed in a coffin of per-
forated sheet iron. On the hilltop two
stone walls had been built, four feet
apart, each being about 10 feet long and
4 feet high. a number Of iron bars ex-
tending from one to the other formed
rude grating between them, some dis
lance above the ground, and upon these
bars the coffin was placed, the head be-
ing toward the east and the feet toward
the west.
A clergyman Of the Established church
was present and read the ordinary sery
ice for the dead in Welsh The vest
ments Of the church contrasted as
strangely with the Druidical garb worn
by some of the attendants as did the
words Of the prayer book with the
strange rites. Some slight changes were
made in the service, such as the body be-
ing CONSIGNED to the flames"
Then under and over and all around
the coffin was piled a great lot of wood,
perhaps whole cord of it, and to this
were added several tons of coal. Many
gallons of paraffin oil were thrown upon
it, thoroughly saturating the entire pile.
Then, at about o'clock, two of the
closest friends of the late Druid came
forward from the throng and applied
torches to the wood, one at each end of
the mass. In a moment it was all a rag
ing furnace, and the hill literally fared
like volcano.
y brisk breeze was blowing, which
famed the fire and carried the flame and
smoke far into the heavens. For many
miles the strange spectacle was clearly
seen, and thousands of people came flock
ganshire. Seven or eight thousand Of
them gathered in ring about the pyre,
as close to it as possible, and watched 1t
with eager interest all day long.
Some hours after dark that evening
the flames had died down, and there was
only duh glow from the Goals. Then
with long hooks they dragged the coffin
from the furnace, when it was discov-
cred that it had been literally burned
through in many places, and when the
lid was uncovered the receptacle was alb
solutely empty without the faintest trace
within of the remains The coffin was
subsequently conveyed on a bier, fol
lowed by an immense crowd, and de-
posted on the couch in the deceaseds
residence, where a few days previously
he had breathed his last.-New York
Tribune.
Two Wealthy Girls With No Taste.