Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1899-08-19

Alupyrlbhicu, lestf pg hIaHh ~ N"'
pcntor)
San Juan, Porto Rico. Aug. 6. 1899.
Brave lodgings for onei
Brave lodgings for onel
a few feet Of cold earth
when life 10 done
stone at the head
And n stone at the feet,
A rich juicy meal
For the worms 20 eat
Rank grass overhead,
Cold clay all around,
Brave lodgings f0f one,
These In holy ground"
30 Dickens wrote OF cemetery Of
England lie could have added some
verses more horrible had he visited
Porto Rico. The cemeteries here are
vcrltable lodging houses. The graves
are not owned IN fee simple and the
corpse which has not friends to pay
lts rent Il taken out and thrown on
the bone heap. l don't know whether
Uncle sam or the cities OF Porto Rico
get the revenues from the cemeteries,
but there Is undoubtedly a large rev
cnuc coming In steadily from rented
graves. There are different classes Of
graves. some dug In the ground. some
la a mason work Of pigeon holes above
the ground, others under the chapel. but
but all are rented for 70 much year
IN THE SAN JUAN CEMETERY.
visited the san Juan cemetery this
morning. II lies right under the hill
upon which Moro Castle stands ON the
edge Of the sea. II Is peaceful spot.
10 quiet that you would not imagine
that you were close to the city OF San
Juan. The grass grows green. "a II
always does Ia woll-nllcd graycyurdH,
and the waves Of the Atlantic make
music ua they dash themselves against
the rocks.
The cemetery consists of q wall OF
pigeon holes faced with marble, which
runs around an Enclosure, OF tomb
stones, OF "a chapel ana OF many mounds
uf graves. The pigeon holes are In four
tiers, rising one above another, ana
arranged In regular order about the Held
uf the dead within. Each plgcon-hOlc
has an opening about two feet square
ana Nv six feet deep, II II Just large
enough to hold "a coffin. The box con.
tanning the deceased IL showed In and
the opening Theoretically sealed. Then
the name VI the occupant and the time
that he took possession IL carved ON
AAlN hAANAAtH ~ lfAhlh ~ hANh htHA ~
the cemetery books. and this Is prop
crly credited from time to time The
pigconhOlcs are where the rich are put
away.
THE GRAVES OF THE POOR
The graves OF the poor ana moderate.
~ wcll-tU-do are In the ground. The
poor are buried simply and little money
IL spent on CufilnH. This " the only
place ! have ever been where you can
rent coffin FOR "a day. They have
them here with sliding bottoms. which
the pallbcafcrs can pull out while the
caskot rests over the grave and drop
the dear departed into hls last rest
INK place.
Most OF the collins are made OF pine
covered with black cloth and cheap
Ornamentntiona. Such collins II you
buy them outright Will cost YOU an the
way from 81 10 $50. In many caacH they
are carried on the shoulders Of men 10
the cemetery.
II II only the rich who have hcarscs.
The average funeral procession IN not
large, Women do not follow the re-
mains TO the grave and often there is
no one beside the undertakcrs and
grave dlggcrs.
when / entered the san Juan GENE.
terry today ! noticed that the omen
graves were slngilnriy narrow nnd /
wondered how "a good sized CONN could
be squeezed into them. While / waited
! saw four men bringing "a box. They
laid 10 down beside one OF the opsn
graves and then took out something