Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1898-11-25
FUNERALS in LISBON,
THE POOR RENT coFFlNs FOR The
JOURNEY TO THE GRAVE.
After the Body IL Taken Out ana
Consignea to the Earth the EmDty
Box Il Returned to Its Owner 20 Re
Used over and Over Again.

C0na1gnea to the Earth the Nmptys
Box Il Returned to Its Owner 20 BE
Used Over and Over Again.
aThe burial customs Of the Spanish as
seem In Cuba are In some respects much
like those OF Portugal" said former res-
dent Of Portugal. "The poor there, like
the poor In Spain, economize On funeral
expenses by making one coffin serve for q
number Of funerals in succession. In Lis
bon at least the coffin Is usually q very
substantial piece Of work, covered with
red leather and freely studded with brass
nails. Its lid IL attached with hinges, 10
that the coffin opens and shuts Ikea large
trunk. OF course the selling price of an
article like this would be beyond tho
means Of any poor family, but the rent
for n day Is comparatively small.
"When q funeral procession reaches the
grave In the great Prazeres cemetery, just
outside Of Lisbon, the undertaker's men.
instead Of lowering the coffin, open it's lid,
take out the corpse and lower 1t into Ito
last resting place. The empty coffin Is left
there until a Gallegc takes 1t back to tts
owner after the mourners have retired.
"These Gallegos, by the way, natives OF
0alioia in Spain. do all the work Of por-
tiers in Lisbon. II you ask q native Portu.
guese servant to carry q parcel or q valise
through the streets, he will answer you In
q tone Of offended dignity. sVou chamar
um Gallego' q will go and call q Gal
lego), for no native Portuguese would be
seen carrying q load Of any kind in public.
"These Gallegos have no objection to
carrying a load, even when the load is q
recently vacated coffin. That is the kind
- ~vo~1, khor novn~ 80 r lckon Ro~ 90 kkok
in their old age they may go across the
frontier to Galicia and live on their saw
ings. And mi little incident that hap.
pened while I was In Lisbon showed how
little impression superstitions regarding
death make on the Gallego mind The
city Of Lisbon collected toll on goods
guards az the different gates of the city to
see that nothing was struggled in.
Zone very rainy afternoon the guard at
the Prazeres gate glanced along the road
that leads to the cemetery and saw q sus-
picfous looking package lying on the
ground close under the wall on one side.
The guard thought he had detected q plot.
1t might be, had been left there under the
! -W0A4 Wy AV aWO4O ~ uOOOs
sheltered somewhere in its neighborhood
and Watching their opportunity to rush II
through the gate as soon as the rain held
up q little. So the active and Intelligent
officer got his little sword ready to draw al
a moments notice, and, regardless Of thu
downpuur, advanced along the road to sur
prise and %apprehend the smugglers, or, al
least, their goods.
"When he got to within 90 yards Of tn,
suspicious object, he made out through thu
rain that the case on the ground was Of
red color and studded all e with bras
nails. That discovery startled him q lit
tie, but the next moment he was utterl!
demoralized at seeing the lid of the cofhl
fly open and q disheveled head thrust 1t
self out, its eyes staring wildly. Withou,
waiting to draw his sword OF challenge tn
apparition, the guard faced about and re
treated at q run. When he reached tn
gate, he called his comrades to come an,
see the abandoned corpse that had burs
open its coffin on the wayside. The foro
seized their carbines and paraded unde
shelter Of the archway, but what they SAY
was only very b%edraggled Gallego tramp
ing toward them, carrying an empty oofal
on his back.
"On examination the Gallego depose
that, being overtaken by the rain on hi
way from the cemetery, he had shut him
self up In the coffin to keep dry and wal
for fairer weather, but, when he heard foot
steps stealthily~ approaching, he began I
be afraid that some one was coming I
play q trick and lock him up. That We
why he had 60 suddenly thrust his hea
out and stared. He was no corpse, but a
honest. Woodworking Gallego. AS f.
the coffin, the senores guards might loo
for themselves and see that it was empty
"There seems to be q certain morhi
fondness for what may be called playin
with the dead in Portugal. They seem I
take q peculiar delight in dressing U
their dead and exposing them to publ
view. I happened to be present at th
solemn requiem Of o cardinal patriarch {
Lisbon, when the corpse, dressed in fu
canonioals, wal placed in a half sittin
nnstnra to face the crowd. In the nave {