The Washington times., 1904-11-20
HAVANA FUNERALS
WHICH PERPLEKED
TRAVELLING MAN
Numerous lntermentS of
a Bishop Who Died
Long Ago.
WAS GREATLY BELOVED
Settled Contention as to
Resting Place in Unique
Manner.
WAS GREATLY BELOVED
TRAvELER Vac vIsltsd the cu.

A TRAVELLER who visited the Gu
Il pan capital not so very long ago
4 Drings home story. One day
there passed his hotel-the An
giaterra-a funeral procession Now in
Havana the catafalque IS not. as With
US. solemn car in simple black II
more resembles the cailiope OF a Bar
mum circus parade II Is decked ont
In gilt and glitter. Its wheels are each
a sunburst. The reds and blues on its
body the cloth Of silver and OF gold
that covers 1t, the precious stones that
fash from its sides. might make Il a
prize float. a clothing house exhibit"
IN the founders day pageants so fre-
quent In American country towns.
And this particular funeral was more
gorgeous, says the traveller. than the
usual thing in Havana. The mourners.
the drivers. the pallbearers. were ar
rayed in costumes OF the stage. The
traveller sauntered out 70 the curb. The
rest Of it is in his own words:
Who's dead?" I asked the hotel at
tendsnt
The bishop OF Havana, senor"
''Soi Didn't know he had died. Hadn't
seen any notice Of his demise in the
papers"
The bishop Of Havana has been dead
these many years. ,senor."
Had Been Dead Many Years.
I give the attendants words their in
tended sense. but not as he spoke them
for his English was as bad as nv Spau-
ish. He smiled when ne said the good
bishop had been dead many years, so I
thought he was having a bit Of fun al a
strangers expense, and / pressed the
subject no further. Instead. / walked
out 10 the cemetery on the east There
| saw the tomb where the good bishop
lay in his last resting pIace-as / sup
posed-and then I walked around among
some OF the ordinary family plots. Here
and there men were digging. New
graves? No: opening old graves. By
dint Of interviewing a number Of the
gTavediggeFs I was finally able to piece
together facts that show that burial
customs in Cuba are almost as strange
as the Parsee customs and their towers
OF silence ia Bombay.
IL seems that the TeOpening Of graVea
IN Cuba IS the result or a IOng-establish-
ed custom Of burying as many bodies
as possible in a single grave. The Gene
terry routine is something ike this:
=
family, buys plot He at once sets 10
work digging his own grave and graves
for all the members Of his family. He
digs several graves six feet long for
adults, and one grave four feet long TO
provide for the possible death OF a child.
When the entire area OF the plot is thus
open graves. the gravedigger turns ma
son. and plasterer. He cements each
grave. bottom and sides. Then he ills
In the cemented graves with soil and
goes home with the satisfactory thought
that he may look upon his own grave
during his lifetime. and that il is ready
for HIM at any time. He is at peace
with the world
Weirdest Part Of Custom.
But the weirdest part of this custom
is YET TO be told. In the middle OF the
plot square grave is dug-a hole about
six feet each way. This square hole is
cementeds ike the graves. and nlIed ia
with soil II should be explained by ths
way that the bodies in the graves are
covered with quickiime When the hesh
has disappeared ana only the bones are
let the bones are taken out of the
give and thrown into the square hole
in the center OF the plot Thus the
graves are used over and over again
until the square hole in the center is
filled with the bones OF the members of
this or that family. Then the hole l.
sealed over, and that particular family
plot is abandoned and a new one pur-
chased
Six months afterward this same tray
eler CHANGED 10 be in Havana again. ana
again refuigent funeral procession
passed the hotel. There was the sama
OF costume. the same CLINT of
gold and OF jewel, the same riot OF deco
ration on the hearse. All was simflar
except that the procession moved -,
ward the other OF Havana's two cems-
teriss.
TITS the Same Bishop, Senor.D
Who's dead?" / again inquired Of
that same hotel attendant Of six months
previously.
The Bishop Of Havana, senior"
What Another bishop dead? What
do you do to your bishOps?"
IT'S the same bishop. senior: the sams
one who has been many years dead. %
How do you mean? Two funerals for
the same man?"
mo. senior. Fifty, sixty. hundred
many. many times has the
bishop been buried"
The traveller applied to the highest au-
thority, 10 the hotel clerk, for a sohI-
IiOn OF the enigma.
"Ah. but II was so written in the viii
Of the bishop, senor,' was the answer.
He died many years ago. And he waS
very much beloved here in HaVana-and
even while he still lived contention
arose between the two sides OF the city
as 10 where the bishop should be buried
whether In the cemetery on the east or
the one on the west So, TO end this
and 10 please both sides OF
the city, the bishop Willed that his
bones should rest half OF each year in
the cemetery ON the east and the other
half OF the year in the cemetery on the
west And he left a sum of money 10
be used TO pay the cost of distinterring
his bones every six months and TO pay
for a public funeral each summer and
each winter. And We nave been doing
this now FOR great many years-for
the man who is buried twice "a 'cS~'
IT FILLS THE BILL.
EsSEfor No.