Omaha daily bee., 1895-09-30
THE UNBURlED DEAD
Omaha Undertaken Who is IL Love will
His Business,
MUTE AND COLD COMPANIONS PLEASE HIN
Declares There ~ u Peculiar Charm
About n Dead Room-Somc Gruc-
some Experiences Rccitcd-
Buryiug Alive.

There is a certain mysterious charm
about my business" remarked a prominent
undertaken OF this city, that would be hard
to explain to the uninitiated. | can hardly give
a satisfactory reason for 1t myself. but the
fact exists nevertheless. and the charm
grows upon one year after year, as he con-
tinues In this vocation. The continued hand
ling of bodies after n time becomes a process
that Is almost u part of ones nature, and
though uncanny and disagreeable to the
majority Of humanity, to the undertaken and
embalmer 1t becomes a pursuit OF interest
and often of pleasure. This same phenomenon
may be frequently encountered among medi-
cal students after they have attended a num-
Der Of dissecting clinics. The study Of the
human body, the most magnificent piece Of
mechanism In the whole animal creation, is
at all times an absorbing one. l have known
many youthful students of physiology to haunt
the table upon which lay the subject Of some
class lecture late into the night and in
gloomy places that most people would shun
in horror. Ii is a trite saying that a person
can become Injured to anything by ~associa-
ton, and the rule holds good in our case. AS
for myself, | rarely feel any dread OF coming
in contact with a dead body. At times, how
ever, the old feeling comes back with start
ling force.
CONSTANT AND SOLEMN LESSON.
"The position of an undertaken, as stand
ing on the dividing line between what is
earthly and he great mysterious beyond,
Is another curious phase of our business. 1t
Is a constant reminder of what a fleeting
existence We may expect In this world, and
in the case OF friends and relatives, how soon
we may be forgotten. This is not a pes
simlstic view | take, but one based on actual
facts gained by observation. There are cases
of newly married couples, when the sudden
| taking of OF one seems an irreOaraDIp loss
to the other and the manner In which they
show their bereavement is sometimes affect
ing, even to ourselves, who are popularity sup
posed to be heartless wretches. You may
often take this display of feelings for what
It Is worth, but I should say that the people
who make the least fuss are usually the most
sincere. and that the others are the quickest
| healed of their sorrows.
Speaking of the dread that a person has
Of handling bodies, l remember an instance
in my W experience that happened shortly
before | went into business for myself. !
was working in a large undertaking estab-
lishment in the east, and the orders for some
time had been unusually heavy. I worked
with several other embalmers steadily all
one day till late in the evening. 1t was quite
dark when / left the room where we had
eight or ten bodies in various stages of prepa-
ration for burial to get my supper. Wher
| returned about an hour later my com
p~anions had left. The room in which the
bodies were received was a large, damn
basement under the salesroOm. III was
reached by a long flight of stairs that ter
minated directly in the embalming room.
had no matches, but, knowing the place per.
fectly well, passed down the steps and started
for a match box that hung on the opposite
wall. l had not taken two steps when
ran into a subject full force. / pitched
headlong over it. Both fell to the floor
with a rafting crash. The cold, clammy
touch of that grueyome object in the dark
with not a sound other than those made by
myself is an experience that l will never
forget.