The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-01-27
ENTERPRISE OF
AN UNDERTAKEN
mq Graves in Advance in the
Frozen KloHdike.
SUPPLY GAVE 0UT0NE WINTER
-A--
zow HE STORED "sTIFFs' AWAY
TILL THE THAW CAME.
SUPPLY GAVE 0UTONE WINTER

+. .rs winter time. when Alaskan
and is frozen as hard as rock. il ls
.u-.ru to hold dead bouies in a
.---sr state until the ground is SOFT
cough tine summer TO permit OF grave
t-g1rg without resort to blasting or
.-gWin- The unique custom in the north
.r4rrg for dead bodies during a period
eating i8T burial was descri bed nost
-sn1lgaIy Few evenings ago TO a com
rr, of salt Ldkers by one who had re-
t-rfrv .rrIrgI from Dawson City.
m. -s...Jr of the peculiar methods in
.....- br Dawson City undertakers when
80 f.urd Ir too cold for grave diggine-
ID. ,rsI.r Miller. who was witb The
rst Montana regiment of volunteers in
+is Philippine campaign. While in this
,r last week he called upon his Old
g-srf Captain CritchlOw OF the Utah
t'.usry. and n the evening the CAPTAIN
5va dinner party at the Tavern in
.-nTlmegt tn the visitor from Montana
u was during the time of smoking clear
.1avauas after the dinner that Major
5ru-r told The story of a new trick
95rg tbe mOrtiCianS in the KIOudike
-sgfor Soon after coming back from the
g-iar. the Montana officer went to the
-lN mines of the north and remained
tasre until last fall.
Did a Rushing Business.
During last winter. Major Miller stated
me Iead.uG undertaken of Dawson did a
rushing business in dtspOsing OF the dead
In preparation Of the profitable season
the undertaken had. while the ground was
soft and digging was easily and cheapiy
DONE let contracts for digging as many
graves as Ie thought would be necessary
Tor occupancy during the winter season.
Unexpectedly came the epidemic of pneu-
m0ni8. and with it an dbnOrmally large
number off deaths. In a little while and
NnH. Hnn
thp ready made graves were occupied bv
PERSONS who had passed 10 the great be-
y01d.
n was then impossible to have any
graves dug In the frozen ground, and
what % do I'm the way o ftemporar ily dis
posing of the dead bodies as they came
a0rE. was veXing problem. But the
Dawson undertaken was equal to the
emergency.
As related by Major Miller. the man
whose business was - bury the dead
took two frozen 'stiffs.' placed them in
rough boxes and, after artisticalIy drap-
ing the boxes to resemble touches made
them and their gruesOme cont, 1ts at
iaolve pieces OF furniture in his parlor,
Uhi'h. however. was seldom warmed for
social occasions.
Corpses Under His Bed.
Boxes We're scarce. so the morticia1
fIH. ''' 'ff' NtoA Ub4ltS llldL mao 0een
properly frozen under his bed at home
After time three more ''stiffs' were
burned over TO the funeral director. but
the tine was so short until spring opened
that he let them freeze to the right de-
gree of hardness and then stored them
tn the back yard. When digging became
easy again the undertaken had the seven
bodies in his charge properly buried I'M
der the sod IN the cemetery.
Major Miller stated that the Dawson
undertaken was star entertainer, and
gave card parties a. his house. which
was filled with the frozen dead. The
major was next to the scheme of keep
ing 'stlns in the Pa~lor couches and
under the bed, and he declined all invi-
tauons 90 the undertaker's card parties
but there We're others who went and en-
j'yed themselves amid the uncanny sur
roundngs
This story and others as entertaininglv
told were enjoyed ny the Tavern party.
However Hi Dunno mighty nearly
created a riot by asking the major why
me undertaken did not drive the "stiffs''
INTO the ground as substitute for the
customary way Of burial