Arizona republican., 1901-06-03
MAINE'S HODOO HEARSE.
An Ancient Vehicle That Made Trouble
 and Pointed the Way to Death.


 
 East Holden, Melt IS hoped now that the evil reputation that has marked the late career of the old Hol- den hearse has come to an endL The hearse was made in England more than a century ago and was brought over to Massachusetts as something unusual in the line of funeral splendor.
 Having done it's solemn duty in Ips- wich, Mass, for nearly quarter of a century it was sent down to New Wrentham, Me, and for seventy-five years was in constant demand for fu- nerals in all parts of Hancock and Penobs2 cot counties, often being sent more than fifty miles from home. The body of the carriage wore out four sets of wheels and the revenues which 1t earned for it's owners mounted up to almost sl.0O0 a year
 It had become the custom for the heaviest stockholder in the vehicle to drive the horse and attend all funer- als. Six hearse drivers grew old and died in the service. The seventh brought i'll luck and fral disaster.
 
 upon to take a body from Bangor to Brcoksville for intecment. The surviv- ing kindred of the deceased were poor, and the driver got I fec much too low for profit. To rec0up himself he bought eco pounds of salt cCifsh to take home In the .hear:.a and rell. This act plunged Holden into a neighborheod TOW. which is still in progress. His critics said that the vehicle was for the exclusive use of the dead and ',hat if it was made to carry anything else such conduct was in the nature of raerilege.
 It waa the Mtterest fight ever seen in eastern Maine. Families became estranged over it, and aged men sent for lawyers in haste and drew up docu- merits, declaring that their remains must not be carried to the grave in such a vehicle. IL seemed for a time that the owners of the hearse were sure to win, becaure they showed old con- tracts with two cemetery associations in which the owners of lots agreed to employ this particular hearse at all burials in their yards. No sooner were these papers produced than the anti hearse crowd began to fence off burial lOta on their own land.
 For the next six months 1t is declared that no enemy of the old hearse died, fearing the indigni;y of riding in a hearse which had on2e held codfsh Finally the courts up.at the contracts.
 From this time the patronage of the old hearse fell off, and 1t was disman- tied and locked in the hearse houae to await it's own time of burial. If the enemies of the hedrse had been content to let things rest where they were, the war would have ended there, but the grudge was so deep that the boys in the neighbGrhood amused themselves by stealing the rickety carriage and hauling 1t about the roads at night, leaving it in the yard of ore of it. sup porters.
 IL was soon noticed that wherever the hearse was left a member of the house. hold died in short time As the hearse was generally run into the yard of some cne who owned ghares in the vehicle, and as most of these owners were aged and would soon die in the cour:e of na- ture. the deaths were not regarded as remarkable at first. But when the hearse continued to roam abroad at night and death continued to visit the homes where it was left, a great fear took hold of the people
 Several meetings were held by thoge Who saw an omen of death in every movement of the hearse, and the time wa" drawing near when the hearse was likely to be burned by an indignant and frightened people, when the constable caught five boys wheeling the hearse through the woods leading to Dedham. They were taken before q magistrate, who threatened to send them away to reform school unless the hearse ceased to go abroad at night. The hear ing took place in March The hearse ha. not been out since and all the peo- rlc of Holden are enjoying excellent health. So it i3 hoped that the trouble over the hearse is ended.