The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-04-28

ner Ir1enQS urged ner 10. ne lnere, Dut
she said that she felt that she had
funeral services at Mt. McGreEor and
she preferred to have that as the re-
membrance of their last parting.
To the low strains of music the
casket was borne into the tomb and
placed in the steel casing. The door of
the vaults was locked and the key
handed 10 General Hancock who
passed it TO Mayor Grace. In tllrn.
the mayor gave the key to President
Crimmins of the Park commission
The Seventh regiment faced the
river during this time and three vol
legs resounded. Then three yolleys
more belched from the guns of the
ing of the guard followed The
sentries were placed and they BEGAN
the vigil which has not since ceased
Then the vast procession and gather
ing began to disintegrate- At O'Clock
when the last of the troops had gone,
ten of the soldiers of battery IL Of the
Fifth L. S. artillery arrived at the
stationed themselves with presented
arms. Hither and thither paced two
other sentinels with trailed arms.
That night men who had fought in
the blue and men who had marched in
the gray met as comrades to talk over
the time when theT had faced each
other on the field of battle. AS the
sentries paced in front of the unpre-
tentious tomb, everyone knew that the
time so ardently hoped for by General
Grant had come in spirit as we'll as in
name The immence crowds dispersed
to their homes and the city resumed its
normal aspect.
THE OLD TOMB.
The old tomb of General Grant-a
squat little brick-built affair which
was intended as a temporary resting
place for the body and held it for al
most u years-stands as a woeful con-
trast to the new tomb in which the
remains are to rest for all time.
The two-the old tomb and the new
stand close together, almost side by
side. The one impresses even the most
careless observer with the idea of tenn
poral power, wealth and grandeur; the
other-the old tomb-in its simplicity
is an emblem of sorrow which seemed
to center the natural sadness that
hovers about the memory of hero
and to concentrate those memories to
one little poetic spot.
With the old tomb the thousands who
stood before the grated door each year
thought only of the dead man of war;
with the new tomb that feeling must in
part give way before the magnifcence
OF the artistic structure which has
been reared to preserve the memory.
On a little Knoll, which was always
the first spot in the vicinity TO tell of
the approach of spring and the last to
take on the garb of winter, the tenn
porary tomb stands. The first touch
of work done upon it was on Tuesday,
July 49, 1885. five days after the death
of General Grant. During those five
days the consent of the Grant family
had been obtained to the interment in
New York. and the Riverside park site
decided upon. The plans of j. Wrey
Mould, architect of the park depart
ment, had in the meantime been pre-
pared, and day and night the work
went on, closely watched by President
Crimmins of the park board and his
colleagues, Commissioners Bolden and
Beekman. AS many men as could pos
sibly work together were set to work
and the little tomb grew day by day.
There is a granite base with walls
three feet thick of black and red brick
rising above it until they finished in a
top of blue stone. Then a granite key
stone and barrel roof Very simple,
yet substantial. as has been shown in
the passing years.
In length the structure is II feet, in
width II feet inches, in height q feet.
Its one door opens toward the Hudson
river. The floor of the tomb is some
thing more than two feet below the
surface of the knoll and is reached by
stone steps from the door For the
proper placing of the coffin and its
steel casing. brick piers were built up
from the floor to above the door level
81, The tomb was declared finished
shortly after noon on Friday, Aug. :,
and the steel casing having been set on
the piers. everything was in readiness
for the placing of the coffin in it on
the following day.
In the years which followed some
improvements were made on the tenn
porary tomb The walls of brick were
plastered with white cement; a grated
door took the place of the original one
of iron and oak; about the three-foot
iron cross a metal initial CO was ar
tiStical1y woven, and a marble casing
covered the brick piers which sup
ported the steel case.
Through the grated door mourners
and sight-seers looked into the dingy
interior, saw the case of steel with its
one light point at front where was the
inscription in letters of silver: u. S.
Grant. Died July %. 1885"
Although a constant guard was kept
at this tomb, and the grating kept al
ways locked, half a dozen years ago
the guardians discovered one day that
two names had been scratched on the
The guard was more strictly kept af-
ter that and the vandals. who would
doubtless have carried away the very
bricks of the wall if permitted, were
kept away.
Now the old tomb. having served it's
purpose we'll. rests in the shadow of
the granite monument, unguarded and
unsung.
THE STEEL CASKET.
During the II years and eight months
that the body of General Grant was in
the temporary tomb. it was enclosed in
three collins. There was one of copper
and cedar: one of polished cedar. and
one OF steel. The two first are now
sealed in the sarcophaSus which is in
the crypt OF the new tomb. the steel
casket having been removed. Its place
has been taken by five tons of solid
granite.
The first coffin is air tight and is
considered indestructable. 1t is six
feet long and the outer case of cedar
is covered with black cloth. The me-
tallic interior is copper. highly polished.
and is one-eighth of an inch thick. The
frames and portals are of solid silver;
the top is open the full length and COW
cred with heavy French plate beveled
glass. Over this glass the lid fits 70
make the copper coffin complete, and
on ,he lid is gold plate. fixed with
gold screws. which bears the inscriD-
ton. ~. S. Grant, died July %. 1885,"
The handles are massive, of a special
design, and are of silver. Within. the
coffin is lined with tufted silk, light
cream in color. with a pillow on which
is embroidered in white the initials u.
S. G."
The second coffin is solid cedar and
serves as n strong protector for the