The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-04-11
GRANTS THREE COFFINS
THE OUTER ONE OF STEEL SOON TO
GIVE PLACE TO STONE.
Ii Is Said to BE Secure Now as
ty-Six Bolts Twelve Years Ago.
New York Sun.

4 New York Sun.
Resting on marble slabs in the brick tomb
| on Riverside drive is a steel casket. bolted
| and riveted as strongly as the strongest
| boiler. In the crypt of the marble mauso-
| leum, which dwarfs into insignifcance the
! tomb just north Of it, resting upon mas
| sive base of granite, is granite box that
| weighs eight tons. The casket has for
nearly twelve years held the coffin of Cen
| eral Grant. Some night in the very near
| future when the rest of the city is asleep,
workmen will go to the tomb and saw
| through fifty-six bolts that fasten the front
plate of the casket to the rest, bolts as
| solid and secure to-day as they We're on the
| night of Aug. S, 1855. when Patrick Cregan
! and his seven workmen drove them home
| by the dim light of candles and the glow
of the furnace that heated the bolts.
| Three collins. in reality, contain the body
| of General Grant. The first is coffin Of
| copper and cedar; next is an outer box of
| polished cedar and outside the steel case
| The two inner collins will be placed in the
| granite sarcophagus. The steel casket
| will be discarded and taken away.
General Grant died at eight minutes past
| S O'Clock on the morning of July %, 1885.
| He was entombed on Aug. s. In the inter-
| val the temporary tomb. which has held
| his body for so many years, was erected.
| The first cod of earth was removed from
| Riverside Park on the afternoon of Tues
| day, July %, a few hours after Mayor
| Grace had received from Mrs. Grant her
was finished on Friday, Aug. I, at noon.
| and that afternoon the steel casket was put
| in place ready to receive the collins.
AS soon as the general died his family
notified Undertaken Stephen Merritt, then
| of 30 Eighth avenue, and the latter went
| Immediately to Mount McGregor to begin
| the work of embalming The Sun of July
| "a of that year said in a dispatch from Sar-
| atoga:
"The Rev. Stephen Merritt, of New York,
| embalmed the body under the supervision
of DR.. Douglas and Mr.. Evan. The body
was found TO be wonderfully preserved,
| natural condition. 1T weighs less than one
hundred pounds--how much less the ply
sieians do not care to say" o,s.
| 1.-The embalming process has filled out
| the veins of the head so that the face Is
| people knew him than it has been in many
| months before. The face is per-
| fectly calm now, and the expression is one
| of rest and peace. The eyes are slightly
sunken. and there is a faint dscoloration
! about the ears, but the swelling under the
right ear is almost imperceptible. 1t will
|
/ in a permanent casket.
THE COFFIN AND CASKET.
Undertaken Merit as soon as he arrived
| in Saratoga, after consultation with the
| family, ordered the coffin proper, the box
| to inclose it, and the steel casket in which
| the collins are TO rest while in the tempo
| rary tomb. This last was made of 5s-inch
| steel, and was so constructed that when it
was finally closed neither water nor air
| could penetrate a crevice. The coffin and
| case were made in Rochester, and were
| completed on July 2s. The Sun described
| them follows:
1.-The coffin is known in the trade as the
| style r, state casket, cloth covered, metal
| lie 1t is six feet long, banded with solid
| silver frames and portals. The metallic
part which is inside the cedar is of highly
| polished copper, one-eighth of inch
| thick. The top is of French plate beveled
| glass, opened full length. The inside of the
| coffin Is lined with light cream satin, beau
| tifully tufted, with an elegant pillow on
which in raised letters on an embroidered
| ribbon are the initials U. s. c.. The ham
| dies are of solid silver, specially designed
! ported cedar, highly polished and decorated
with handsome mountings, and is lined
heavily with lead; The cedar portion of
| the coffin is covered with deep purple plush.
The coffin is perfectly alright, and prac-
| tically indestructible.'
| The coffin, after being on exhibition for
| the day In Rochester, was brought to this
| city and placed in Merritt's shop. on Eighth
avenue, where for nearly two days. it was
| on exhibition, and nearly seventy thousand
persons saw it. The Sun of July Is, 1885.
gave the following description of the scene
at the shop the day before:
| Men, women and children blocked the
sidewalk and jolted and pushed one another
| in front of Stephen Merritt's undertaking
rooms, 30 Eighth avenue, as General
| ter at o'clock yesterday morning was
| borne into the long store. Mr.. Merritt had
the coffin placed under glass case, hay-
| ing previously removed the lid containing
| the gold plate with the generals name upon
| 1t, and then threw open his double doors
and invited the crowd. that had grown a
| little noisy with Impotence, TO come in.
| They filed in through the south side of
| the doorway, passed by the outside cedar
out into the street through the north side
| of the doorway. They kept this up until I
| o'clock in the evening, when throngs of
shop girls and factory girls and workmen,
who had gone home from work and put
on their Sunday clothes for the occasion.
Joined the crowds. Six employees of the
undertaken and Policeman Meade, of the
Twentieth-street station, tried in vain to
keep the line moving in at one side of the
door and out al the other. The two lines
got inextricably mixed as the people in an
immense crowd outside pushed themselves
towards the door. Women screamed and
tainted. The crowd surged back and forth
on the sidewalk and somehow broke of
| the big iron post of the lamp in front
of 20s. man ran to the police station
and brought back four policemen with him
They worked for half an hour at olsen
tanglng the lines. and while they do.
| ing so Mr.. Merritts assistants opened the
door at the rear of the store and let hun.
dreds pass down through the basement and
| into the street. In ten minutes by
actual count. 4i0 people passed the coffin
| This i'm the evening, and perhaps thIr.
| ty thousand in all went in ard came ou
between 10 a. m. and midnight
THIEVES AT WORK.
The next day the crowd was even great
er, and some thief stole one of the gold
screws used to fasten the gold plate bear
ing the inscription to the lid of the cot