The Princeton union., 1908-02-20
A HORRIFYINC SCENE
Justice Chadbourne, in a Letter From
Havana, Tells How Burials
Are Conducted There.
Chad. is Residing in Millionaires' Row
and Trots Around With the
CaStilian AristOCracy.

Justice Chadbourne, who is now
sightseeing in Cuba, writes the
Union the following interesting
letter under date of February s:
[ did not expect to see anything
here more than has been described in
the newspapers, but I found I was
mistaken. A party of us went to the
cemetery yesterday and saw several
burlals. The first bodies we're
brought to the grounds in a sort of
two-story hearse. This hearse con-
tanned four pine boxes without covers.
Each box was just large enough for
body. I ascertained this was the
public hearse and that the bodies we're
from the morgue and city hospital. A
sight of this sort was entirely new to
me so [ observed it closely. The
hearse stopped at grave and a box
was pulled out. 1t contained a body,
almost naked, which had been sub
jected to a surgical operation. Two
filthy niggers placed the box upon the
edge of the grave and turned it upside
down, precipitating the body to the
bottom of the pit.
The next box contained number of
human bones, including three skulls.
These were dumped unceremoniously
upon the corpse. Box No. con-
tanned the body of man attired in
working clothes. The niggers placed
ropes beneath his neck and heels,
jerked him from the box and dropped
him into the same grave without ever
leveling the bones for him to lie on.
The grave was then filed with searth,
nothing having been placed over the
cadavers to protect them from contact
with the soil. The fourth box was
occupied by the corpse of woman in
a state of semi-nakedness. This was
taken to another grave, ropes placed
under the head and heels and the
corpse roughly lowered into the
grave. The last two bodies were so
timber that they did not appear to
have been dead more than an hour
if dead at all. After unloading the
four boxes the hearse returned for
more bodies to fill the last grave.
L never saw a spectacle so brutal
and horrifying before, and I have
seen a great deal of the world.
Later, while we we're still looking
over the cemetery, a hearse drove in
on that side Of the grounds where the
wealthy people are buried. The
vehicle reminded me of a circus
wagon, so covered was it with gilt
and colored Establishments. It was
drawn by four horses in elaborate
trappings and about a hundred men,
bareheaded and attired in dress suits,
followed. These men we're not march,
ing in line, but walking in a bunch.
Arriving at the grave four of them
took the casket upon their shoulders
and lowered it into the earth. There
was no box in the bottom of the grave
neither was there any ceremony per-
formed. Several sacks of quicklime
were then dumped upon the casket
small quantity of earth thrown on top
OF this and the filling in of the grave
left for the undertaken to attend to.
For funerals of this description an
undertaken is paid from 5000 to 81, 900.
No women attend funerals in Cuba.
Extremes meet here in everything.
While Havana is beautiful city, more
than half the cost of the buildings goes
into ornamentation which is of no
practical benefit. It is about as hot
\ here now as it is in Minnesota in
July. We have rooms at the White
house, Vedada. Two rooms cost US
s35 per month and we pay so cents for
meal. The service is much better
than at the regular hotels for $3.50 a
day. At Vedada the residences and
grounds are magniicent-only mil
lionaires myself and a few others
excepted, of course) live here. No.
body eats breakfast in this country.
A roll and cup of coffee is partaken
OF in the early morning and the first
meal is served at 11:3O. The Mexi-
cans get everything wrong end to
and they are so exceedingly polite
that they remind me of Paddy when
the bull tossed him over the fence and
stood paving and believing before
him. Addressing the bull, Paddy
said: "F'ath and b'jabers, if it
wasn't fer yer bowin' and schrapin' ,
and tn humble apologies we're
maxim I'D thinkye did it on purpose. -
More later.
Your old chummer, Chad.
The POpe's Decree on Marriage.
A new encyclical from the pope re-
pardinp chapuaS in tho ma r,;,r. 1.