Amador ledger., 1904-04-01
GRAVEYARD DISSERTATION
How Jackson's City of the Dead il
Treated.

In all ages and among all nations the
burial places of the dead are held in re-
spect bordering upon awe. The tombs
of the ancients are the only structures
that have survived the ravages of time.
The pyramids of Egypt and the mounds
where the ancient cities of Ninevah
and Babylon slept undisturbed for
centuries, testify to the feeling of awe
which possessed the ancients against
disturbing the silent abodes of the de-
parted. No matter how low down in
the scale of humanity people may be,
this respect for burial places exists to
greater or less degree. The savage
and the christian alike partake of this
spirit of veneration. In civilized lands,
the character of the people is gagged
in great measure by the regard mani
tested to the spots where human re-
mains are allowed to dissolve again to
dust. Jackson is not deficient in this
spirit of respect. II would be a calumny
upon her citizens to say that any mani
festatiOn of unconcern is shared in by
the people. They are as sensitive on
this tender subject as any people, and
whatever reflection the facts stated in
this article may carry, we wish it to be
understood that the heart of the citi-
zens generally pulsates in the right
direction.
The public cemetery of Jackson has
been left to take care of itself. 1t has
been in charge of verybody in general
and nobody in particular. Although
the supervisors are the legally consti-
tuted guardians of public graveyards
under such circumstances. heretofore
they have exercised no supervision
over the burying ground of the county
seat. With no one clothed with
authority to look after it, it has been
neglected to some extent, but not dis
respected.
Last Saturday cry of Indignation
was raised by a report that several
men were engaged in cutting down the
natural shade trees within the in
closure. The object of the cutting was
to secure frewood. 1t was not to
beautify the grounds. The expressions
of disapproval of these acts of spoilia-
tion were loud and persistent. An in
quiry was made as to who authorized
this work, but no satisfactory answer
could be had. Supervisor Newman,
when asked about it, said that he had
not sanctioned it; and no one else could
give even the color of authority for
such acts. Owners of plots have no
right to do this. Fancy any person
walking into the Catholic graveyard
here, and cutting down trees right and
left, and justifying himself by saying
that the relatives of deceased persons
buried nearby had given consent.
Would the church authorities accept
such a shallow pretense? Would not
the trespassers be turned over to
minions of the law? Can it be sup
posed that a graveyard in charge of
public officials is not protected by law
to a like extent?
Sunday morning we visited the ceme-
terry to see what had been done. The
eastern portion, comprising fully one
half the total area, and tenanted mostly
by the INDECENT dead from the hospital,
was shorn of every vestige of shade.
We counted eight stumps of oak trees
recently felled in this section, the
stumps standing about foot above the
ground. No attempt had been made
to grub them up by the roots. The
purpose was plainly to get the wood,
and nothing else. Nearly all the wood
had been removed, few sticks only
remaining. A lot of brush and debris
was piled up preparatory to burning.
Blackened spots indicated where other
refuse heaps had been burned. The
amount of stove wood secured in this
section is estimated at from six to eight
cords. A few rough head boards usu-
ally placed over these graves were in
tact, but the majority were unmarked
and fragments of broken head boards
were strewed over the ground. 1t is a
wilderness of mounds-treeless, path
less, and neglected.
In the front or western half, de-
voted to family plats and general burial
there are a few native oaks left afford
ing some protection against summer
heat. But here, too, the work of the
despoilers was in evidence. A few feet
inside the front fence two oaks had
been cut, the freshly chopped stumps
showing just above the ground. Three
tombstones nearby bore evidences of
disturbance. Two of these-one in
memory of Mrs Reed the other of Ar
thur Speer, both erected in early DAYS,
had apparently just been reset. The
fresh cement that held them to the
pedestal was all exposed, and sticks
were placed to hold them in position
until the cement had time to set. 1t
was plain that they had been disturbed,
whether knocked down by fallen trees
or taken down temporarily to avoid
damage we do not know. Pieces of
decayed fencing, disturbed by the
wood choppers were thrown in confu-
sion over partly inclosed plots. One
man, part of the time we were there,
was at work, engaged we believe in re-
setting the displaced monuments here
in referred to. Just outside the front
fence other trees had been cut down,
a big pile of brush and a quantity of
wood still lay in the public roadway
the tangible reward and the incentive