The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1900-01-10

he built himself home and lived until
his death
When James was first made sexton
there were only a few graves IN the Gem
etery. When he died there were more
than 20,eo0 in the city Of the dead-mors
than in the city OF the living hard BY.
Year after year the Mayors reappoint-
! ed him 10 the position and the success
/ i've City Councils always approved the
appointment unanimously. IL came %
/ be accepted that the position was hts for
/ life and nobody ever applied FOR the ap-
pointment against him. lie bug all the
| graves himself up 10 a shor, time $50.
1 when his growing feebleness caused him
| TO accept the assistance Of his sons. He
| never relinquished the direction OF ths
/ interments, though. and funeral scarce
/ ly would have seemed to be complets
without him
| He had often expressed his desire
/ that he should be able 20 dig the grave
in which he should lie among the thous-
ands whom he had put away in the OLD
graveyard, and about three weeks ago.
when he had prent nitions that he was
going to be sick, taking into account his
age he considered that possibly Il might
be his last illness. With what strength
he had left he began digging the grave
which he wished TO occupy, Before he
could complete II. though he was COM
PEELED to take TO his bed He might have
recovered and been able 70 coomplets
digging the grave. but he arose too soon,
and in attempting to walk across the
floor he grew faint and fell, his head
striking a coal bucket. In his engesbled
condition the injury FASTENED his death
His funeral was attended by al tho
city officials in body. The city fire dels
were tOlied. Hundreds OF those whose
relatives no had buried followed the
body to tho grave
James was a good deal OF a phYoso-
pher. He did not bcliev that people
were ever buried alive. or thFt thers
were such things as ghosts. His obser-
walton was that grief for the departed
was not lasting as a general thing
Talking % a reporter who took a pct
ure OF him in the cemetery a few days
before he was taken down with his fatal
illness. he said:
II have buried 5000 dead people.
don't believe I have ever buried a I've
person. have often had people come 70
me few days after funeral and tell
me they feared that the relative who had
been burieed was not dad Generally y
Is a motfAr whose child has been buried.
Maybe somebody has remarked how life
like the child looked or suggested that q
might not have been dead. and the mother
unstrunK and nervous and IMAGINATIVE.
thinks IL over until she couvinces her
self that the child was not dead. Then
she comes out here and asks me 70 open
the grave. I always tell them that u no
child was not dead before Il certainty ta
dead now. They 20 away then. But I
suppose some Of them continue % doubt
as long as they 1--we whether the chid
was really dead
Some have 80 strong a feeling that a
relative has been buried alive that they
have insisted upon the grave being open-
81. In no case. though. did 7 hnd that
conseiousness had returned after inter
uient. There may be sucn cases BAT IN
the light q my experience 59 not De-
lieve T.
Ghosts? lived many years right n -
cemetery. I have been through g ~ AL
hours q the night 7 have huE graves
~ midnight ~ fhs uEht - fha mon
Slt nave never seeH lNef ~ afF ming
hat looked Ike a ghost g8ess y there
snun graveysrds - rfrhf"
A. the ol1 sexton talked hs vas Viae-
ing everEreers and Coral Esmb5ia q
Erlsf on tire 'EraFe ~ hfs zee, The
flowers we're sirea6y hcgiuniuz t9 w!fhsr.
And the HvinzT Dc was asked. 'fha
thousands vh9 have n1arrs4 fgf ne
tsouzsnls vlo have died. what - them7
% they aaH moarn2 Do tHey remsm-
berT'
The z-lef % fhe iisn~ Or sne ssad
81 uke ths flowers aua ~ syerrresr..'
~ said with some 81 IS gore az auirk-
j. g. IRE apwers FADE WlfA zorns o. ias.s
UntB the evergreen vifcera sn4 turns
t-own. WIN few uus onir saftens
grie, BIZ 8, .asfs unn dean The her,a
n tae grief % re living u shoza - fha
attentoa they give % 'he grzvsr ~ ths
neglected stfs- a feN dags. - zeeks. 90
81 nsost n1onfHH~
ore q me cons = re 90 ssriea has
been appofnts1 % ssrcssc an