The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-28
BURIAL OF MAINE DEAD.
ONLY ONE BODY TO BE TURNED
OVER TO RELATIVES.
In the Hurried Interment Mt Ha-
vana the MARKS of Identification
of the Known Dead Were Not
Kept and None Ii Now Known.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27.-Capt. sigsbee
and Capt. Chadwick called at the navy de-
partment this morning to consult with AS
sistant Secretary Allen respecting the cere-
monies to take place tomorrow at Arling-
ton in connection with the reinterment OF
the bodies Of the Names victims.
The remains of the ISL dead sailors ar
rived this morning over the Chesapeake &
Ohio railroad on q special train of six cars.
The exercises will he as simple as posi-
ble. The president and members OF the
cabinet and number Of naval officers are
expected to attend the funeral ceremonies.
The. navy department today ordered q
sufficient number of wreaths made of smi-
lax leaves to enable one to be placed on
The body OF Frederick c. Aolzer. an ordi-
nary seaman killed in the explosion of the
Maine, is the only one Of the Isl bodies dis
and brought to Newport News by Capt.
Sigsbee In the Texas, which will not be
buried at Arlington cemetery tomorrow.
New York. where as' it vii viii be- Be received BY
About thirty requests were received by
the navy department for the bodies Of
in only ten of these cases had the bodies
been identified. The other twenty were
either in the list of unidentified dead or
to the confusion in which the graves were
found when the dead were dislnterred
at Havana, the department has reluctant
~ decided not to extend TO. the relatives
and friends OF the other nine positively
identified bodies the privilege of burial
of the remains at home.
When the remains We're inferred In Co
Ion cemetery two years, ago the cere-
mony was conducted with great haste.
because the condition of the remains ABB
solutely required such action should be
taken In the hot climate. As the remains
We're landed at Machina wharf at Havana
harbOr thew were Identified as far as pos
sible, and each coffin was numbered. They
were taken to the cemetery, but in some
cases the superintendent Of the ceme-
terry failed to note more than the number
of the row in which these collins We're
placed. For instance, in one case there
were fourteen collins containing two Vie
Tins who had been positively identified.
When Capt. Sigsbee came to disinter
decipherable,. and It was .manifestly Inn
possible to determine which of the two
were those of bodies Identified at the
time of burial In Havana.
The department therefore was compell-
ed to deny the requests except in the case
Of Apprentice Holzer, who died in hos
pital some time after the disaster and
whose grave was definitely located.
or the $50 bodies which are to be buried
in Arlington tomorrow sixty-three were
identified at the time of their interment
in Colon cemetery. Ninety-seven of the
bodies to be inferred tomorrow were new
the disaster, two officers and 25s men, the
body of one officer, Lieut.. jenkins, who
was buried at Allegheny. Pa, and the
bodies. or portions. Of the bodies. OF lsf
men were recovered. OF the latter seven
ty-three were identified.
The body of Assistant Engineer Mer-
rift was not recovered, or II recovered
was unrecognizable. Twenty-Five OF the
Maine victims were buried in Key West.
Their bodies are not among those to be
buried at Arlington.