News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1902-10-22

runs down hill, so long will it carry
more or less of this sand with it. In
the long ago the plateau upon which
the lower part of our village stands,
and the top of this knoll and the
level ground northerly of it, was one
unbroken plain. The deep ravines
both north and south of this knoll
have been worn out and the soil
carried away by water-chiefy by
rains and melting SHOWS, leaving
this sharp and pointed strip of land
as we see it to-day.
Have these silent forces of nature
ceased to work? Nay! Not a season
passes without creating a change,
though imperceptible, in this knoll.
Not spring melts the SHOWS of Win
ter without the water carrying some
of this loose sand to a lower level.
The last time this sod was broken by
the plow, the water seized its oppor
tunity and cut channel from top to
bottom so deep and wide as to neces-
state filling it with a shovel before
the ploughman's team could pass
over it. Who of us would be willing
to lay the remains of our friends in a
place where there might be even a
possibility of their being laid bare in
the distant future by natures untir-
| ing agents? The thought of it shocks
our sensibilities.
After the expenditure of any sum
of money which the town could rea-
sonably be expected to appropriate
for the purpose of broadening the
surface of this knoll, the available
area for burial purposes must be
small. A carriage way must be re-
served through the center with sutl-
Gent room at the farther end for
teams to turn around, leaving but a
narrow strip of ground on either side
that would be desirable or safe for
the purpose desired. AS | view it,
the attempt to utilize this undesir-
able addition is but a makeshift, and
very poor one at best.
Fifty years ago there were but few
burials in our cemetery To-day it
is crowded. By natural increase in
population, how long will it be be-
fore this small space will be filled and
our descendants be confronted with
the same problem that is before us
to-day, "What shall we do with our
dead ?"
The town already owns a plot
of ground called 1.-THE old burying
ground" where lie the " first settler
in Orleans county" { this town being
at that time in the aforesaid county,
and his noble and courageous wife,
who together braved the dangers
and endured the hardships and suf-
fered the privations of pioneer life in
the unbroken wilderness of the La
noble valley. There also lie few
of the "early settlers men and
women who by their untiring indus
try and persistent efforts, made the
few settlements which led to the
building of one of the finest towns in
northern Vermont. Contiguous to
this old burving ground is a large
territory, which is most admirably
adapted to burial purposes, and suf-
fcient in extent not only for our use,
but for those who may follow after
us for ages to come. And it is of
such character as to satisfy the
VARYING tastes of different individu-
ais.
To those who require picturesque
ness, nature has done her part and it
only needs the hand of man to make
it all that the most romantic could
desire. To those who prefer level
ground, there is large and beautiful
plateau, several acres in extent, only
waiting the hand of the surveyor to
plot it out.
A cemetery here would httingly
answer the question at the head OF
this article. A more pleasant loca.
: ton would be difficult to find. With
these grounds properly laid out and
beauti6ed, as they soon would be,
SUNSET CEMETERY would soon be.
come an inviting place to lay our
dead. L. B. S.
what's Your Face Worth ?