Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-06-23
PETRlRlED NAN.

Since the Cardiff giant canard and
Mark Twain's fake story of the prehis-
Itoric American exhumed in a state of
'p~etrifaction, Their nave been many re-
ports of dead bodies turned to stone n
disinterred after centuries, but, when
run down, these have in almost every in
stance proved to be fabrications pure
and simple. This is not that kind of a
story.
On the 23d day Of September, 1895, a
very prominent Italian citizen of New
Orleans died at his residence on Bourbon
street. rear Frenchman street. He held
a8high position in the upper circles of
ITALIAN society in this city and was
president Of their principal organization.
In his last illness he was attended by
two of New Orleans most prominent
physicians, but in spite of every effort
which science could bring to bear for his
fre7ief, he died. The certificate of his
death, on file in the office of the board
OF health, bears the name OF a lecturer
of-the polytechnic of national reputation.
and he certified that the cause of death
was acute lobar pneumonia, but when
ssean yesterday by a Pieayune man he
ade4nitted; that there was another trouble,
.NAich he said, professional ethics for
babe his talking about. He was GER
tain, however, tina this other trouble
could not have caused or in any way
contributed to the condition of the body
when it was taken from the vault on
Tuesday last. In fact, physicians gen
orally agree that such a thing is unac-
countable.
lens in st. Louis cemetery No l is a
beautiful structure of Italian marble, Or
namented with some of the finest spec
linens of Italian sculpture to be seen IN
any cemetery. 1t is a work of art worth
truly to be called a mausoleum. Around
this beautiful tomb, on the 24th day OF
October, 1896, a sorrowing Io1npany OF
relatives and friends was gathered, and,
with fearful eyes and loving hands, they
laid their respected countryman to rest
with the solemn ceremonies of mother
church.
Among the relatives was Josephine,
the lovely daughter of the deceased. she,
too, was born in sunny Italy and could
remember the purple skies and VINE
clad hills of her native land. Little
thought she as they left him there, rest
ing at the feet of the beautiful marble
Madonna, that in so few years they
would Dear her ~lifeless form to repose
in the same hallowed niche of the tomb;
but the ways OF Providence ARE deer
and past finding out" and so it came te
pass that when she died on Tuesday last
the old sexton was instructed to pre-
pare her Nesting place. Now them auso-
leum of the Societe des ltaliens In ST
Louis cemetery is full, and, in order &c
( make room for the dead that art
brought for repose within it's sacred
walls. the remains of each occupant, a.
the niche in which he lies is needed ii
it's turn for another, are removed iron
the. casket and gathered with reveren'
tial' care into a small space OF the n1che
thu making room for the new casket
There was no reason why niche NO. IL
} in which the father was deposited
should have been given to Josephine, bu
it happened that it had been reached II
it's regular turn, and so, when the olt
! sexton was told to make a place for tn
daughter, it was the fathers casket tina
was opened. ..
Noise Rodrigue is an. old man, an
has been sexton Of st. Louis .cemeter
for nearly half a century. He sits in nj
), little office at the cemetery gate Looking
out upon a world all ~unexplored to him
: He lies among the dead. He calls then
by their old familiar names, and, as n
l walks along the loved monumen n
t comments> upon their occupants.
This is ~so-and-so. He has been her
I now IA years. They don't bring man,
here now like they used to-. Now a ma
, can rest four or five years before hi
! place is wanted for another. 1t was no
: so in the old days-a year or a year an
l a half was enough" And the old ma
: talks on as he conducts the visito
: through this crowded city of the deat
; Here" he says, lis the guard of tn
I south gate,' and he points to a figure c
> Aesculapius with his staff and serpen
: carved from white stone, which lean
Z against the Cont street entrance.
! Here is the monument of the tia
ans, and in this vault, No. Is, is Wher
we found the stone body. He was a
= stone, solid stone, heavy and dar
+ brown. I could not break him up.
y would not have done so for a hundre
> thousand dollars. 1t would be butcher
q and sacrilege.'
7 So he and his assistant replaced tn
body of the old Italian gentleman
vault No. Is, and sealed it up again, an
: he beautiful Josephine, who had WEI
S at her fathers funeral five years befor
was placed in a vault adjoining his, an
t now they both rest at the foot of tt
h beautiful marble Madonna, and a clustt
of roses in hanging upon the front of tt
ault where the father lies.
q "All stone, solid stone, heavy and da1
brown In spite of the assertions
: scientists and medical men that such
d act remains that the body of Effic
e Trois, when taken from the vault of II
e Societe des Italians on Tuesday last WI
s found to have become perfectly petrifie
e nd although asserting that such
e hing is theoretically impossible, II
: medical men advance many theories
d count for it. One very ingenious tn
1t nv, but one that will not bear scrutin
h S tina by some process of abnorm
81