Mount Auburn Cemetery

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Transcript June 10/08 [O?] Stevens

[T?]RANSCRIPT, WEDNES[DAY?]

PROGRESS IN CREMATION — A METHOD STEADILY GROWING IN FAVOR — Statistics That Show the Steady Increase in This Country, and Especially in This Community—New Methods and Better Equipment at Mount Auburn—The Sentimental and Religious Objections Met and Answered—Sanitary Advantages Over Burial Are Many and Clear—The Distribution of Crematories in This Country—An Important Step in the Direction of More Simple Funerals — An interesting conversation is taking place amongst us. It is a conversion in the furtherance of health rather than of morals, the widespread turning to cremation as the proper method of disposing of the dead. Even ten years ago the idea was yet a novelty. Now, the experimental stage is past. There is no longer diversity of means or method. The earlier crudities of coal or wood flame and noisy air-blast have given place universally to an intense heat from vaporized oil and an air pressure that is virtually noiseless. The process has become standardized.

With all the recent trend toward the incineration method, old crematoria have been steadily improved, and new ones are constantly being planned and constructed. In fact they increase so rapidly that it is difficult to keep accurate count of them. England has thirteen and there were 705 cremations last year. In Europe, including England, Scotland, France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden, there are ofter fifty; while Canada has one, at Montreal; and the United States has upward of thirty in operation, and several others in contemplation. Within a year or two, no doubt, the total number for which records will be available in Europe and this country will be close to one hundred. Thirty years ago there had been but two cases in the United States where cremation had been adopted in place of earth burial. Since that time the country has seen approximately thirty-eight thousand cremations, with this total increasing at the rate of about four thousand a year. Massachusetts, which now has only the Massachusetts Cremation Society's crematorium at Forest Hills, established in 1893, and the crematorium of Mt. Auburn Cemetery at Cambridge, established in 1900, is soon to have another, in Springfield, the home of the late John Storer Cobb, a pioneer among advocates of the incineration method in this State. Including the yeaar 1907, the number of cremations at Forest Hills has been 2621; the number at Mt. Auburn 1192. The former performed 276 in 1907, the latter 210. Thus the State total so far is above 3800, and the increase in each year is approximately 500. New crematoria are either planned or under construction in New York, Chicago and Minneapolis, and the institution at Milwaukee is being reconstructed. Outside of Massachusetts the existing crematoria in this country are distributed as follows: San Francisco (two), Pasadena, Los Angeles and Oakland, Cal.; Denver, Col.; Washington, D.C.; Chicago, two; Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, Ind.; Davenport, Ia.; Baltimore, Detroit, St. Paul, St. Louis and Kansas City, Mo.; Linden, N.J.; Cincinnati and Cleveland, O.; Portland, Or,; Philadelphia, Pittsburg, Lancaster and Washington, Pa; Seattle, Wash., and Milwaukee.

There is work to do, inevitably, for all these; and it may not be indelicate to say outright that crematories in large centres are successfully managed institutions. A single cremation costs only $30, but it is not a question of profit or loss to the cemetery that has also a crematorium. The Massachusetts crematoria are prosperous, although it should be said that up to the present time the proceeds have been turned back to a development or improvement of the crematory buildings or their special chapels and columbaria adjoining. Forest Hills is just now interested in extending its impressive columbarium, of which a considerable section has already been taken up by funeral urns. Mt. Auburn is substituting electricity as motive power for the elevator that raises and lowers the catafalque, and for raising and lowering the arch of the retorts. A considerable amount of space is now to be developed as a columbarium. When the old chapel was remodelled for use in connection with the crematorium, a fireproof gallery was built around three sides. Dividing easily into four bays on each side, the chapel can be made to accommodate hundreds of urns on each floor. While it is unlikely that the whole number will be constructed at once, an architect is now at work on the plans, and whatever section is built now will be susceptible to duplication until the whole space is occupied. The fact that the galleries are above ground, with daylight, and at times even sunlight bringing the beautifully colored windows into harmonious relationship with the interior, is calculated to make their niches specially desirable to many; but the chapel affords a considerable amount of space below ground level that may readily be made available for the preservation of urns.

At Pere la Chaise in Paris, where incinerations take place at the rate of more than ten a day, or about 4000 every year, there is an extensive columbarium. In San Francisco the magnificent crematorium in the Odd Fellows Cemetery, built a marble, cement and bronze at a cost of more than $200,000, on arches supposed to be earthquake proof, is one of the sights of the city. In its columbarium crypts are sold in perpetuity at prices ranging from $1500 fro the larger spaces to $100 or $150 for the niches capable of holding two or three urns. And these charges include guaranty of care and preservation in perpetuity, excepting only as against the acts of Providence, cyclones, earthquakes and civil commotion.

In case where a crematorium is established in connection with a cemetery, as at Mount Auburn, although a columbarium, is necessarily provided, yet it cannot take the place of the family lot, which, with elaborate sarcophagus or monument, on which is inscribed the permanent family record, will always be regarded by many as the proper form of final resting place. Although some prefer the ornamental urn in the nich of a magnificent columbarium, others, even while adopting cremation, still cling to the custom of earth-burial for final disposition, and the family lot serves alike for funeral urns as well as grass-grown graves.

Old-time predisposition and religious preference for earth-burial are being neutralized by the niceties and hygenic advantages of the swifter method. Science, dealing with interment, has demonstrated beyong question the desirability of incineration of the dead in the interest of the living. People have been coming to realize that the ground is for the living rather than for the dead; that earth-burial makes for contamination and disease while cremation stands for health and purity. Everybody is ready to assist in stamping out contagious or infection diseases; and the danger to the public health from diphtheria, scarlet fever, measles, smallpox, and fevers has convinced thoughtful people everywhere of the reasonableness of the method of the crematorium, which purifies by heat, reducing the remains to ashes in a single hour, as compared with the slow decay of months or years in the earth.

Curious stories are cited, demonstrating beyond doubt that the disease germ contaminates the ground where diseased bodies have lain. About twenty years ago, cattle afflicted with rinderpest in Germany were by law required to be killed and buried in a large tract of land secured for this purpose. Thousands were disposed of in this way. Nearly a score of years later, while the tract was being used for pasturage, the cattle grazing over it were stricken with the same plague that worked havoc among the earlier herds. The old scourge broke out anew from disease germs that had continued their contamination of the soil even after the lapse of nearly a quarter century. Back in the days of Marcus Aurelius, an old battlefield where bodies

had been buried in trenches, Roman soldiers dug open the graves in a search for treasure, and breathing the air of these places of sepulture were stricken with a plague which spread through the whole army and cost hundreds of lives. Contamination of earth, air or water is bound to result in some form as a consequence of earth-burial, and the effects thrust themselves into general notice in proportion as they are aggravated, as in the case of crowded churchyards in England and the older cemeteries in thickly settled districts in this country.

Religious considerations have long had a deterrent influence on the spread of cremation as a custom. But it is plain that this obstacle is having less and less weight; and people who once inclined to interment as the more beautiful method of disposal are swinging to the other side. Instead of the open grave and the sullen earth they incline to favor the purifying fire as something more nearly in keeping with spiritual ideals. Hence the gradual turning of the clergy, as well as the laity, toward the cremation doctrine. The Bishop of Manchester of the Church of England said: "No intelligent faith can suppose that any Christian doctrine is affected by the manner in which the mortal body of ours crumbles into dust."

Phillips Brooks said: "I believe that there are no true objections to the practice of cremation and a good many excellent reasons why it should become uncommon."

Bishop Lawrence of Massachusetts says: "The condition of many old graveyards, the neglect of tombs and their possible desecration are a shock to a reverent spirit. All the details of incineration are consistent with reverence."

Charles Francis Adams says: "As a matter of sentiment, I fail to see why we should rather consign the remains of those we love to the tender mercy of worms than to the tender mercies of heat."

Charles A. Dana said: "It is my judgment that cremation is the most rational and appropriate manner of disposition of the dead."

Frances E. Willard, Professor Felix Adler, David Starr Jordan, Charles Eliot Norton and Dr. Wilson Anderson have all expressed themselves similarly.

Perhaps one of the factros in the gradual extension of the practice of cremation has been the greater freedom allowed by this process in the final disposal of the remains. When the human frame has been reduced to clean white ashes, they can be buried in the ground no less readily than before. But they can be scattered broadcast: over the earth's surface, over the waters of the ocean, or from lofty heights, as the tops of mountains or monuments. They can be preserved in ornamental urns, in imposing buildings specially designed for the purpose. And in any or all of these methods the disagreeable features inseparable from ordinary earth burial are removed.

Only lately the death of a New Englander who had been an ardent devotee of yachting and lover of the sea showed how readily cremation allows final disposal of the remains of this human frame in some manner peculiarly fitting with the life or likes of the departed. After cremation his ashes were taken off shore from his favorite harbor and scattered over the waters of the great bay on which, aboard his yacht, he had spent some of the happiest hours of his life. In the case of a wellknown educator, recently departed, it was his wish to have the ashes of his body placed in one of the several crypts formed in the concrete base of a monument that was to be erected on the family lot in an oldestablished cemetery, thereby putting to use a space that must otherwise have gone unavailed of, and thus transforming the monument into a private columbarium, as well. Not a few people of late have profited by the ease with which the ashes of departed friends or relatives may be transported, by carrying them long distances for the sake of having them rest at last in a little buryingground on some old homestead, peacefully secluded frim the scenes of their more active life, and surrounded, perhaps, by the traditions of former generations and the associations of a happy childhood.

As cremation comes more and more into general favor, one effect is noticeable. That is the simplification of funerals. The whole tendency of cremation customs is toward the elimination of superfluous display; and when the display is sacrificed, expense is kept within reason. It is a fact that the entire cost of an incineration may ordinarily be saved merely through the difference in kind of casket involved. It is not uncommon for a body to be buried in a casket costing into the hundreds of dollars. People in straitened circumstances often feel that a coffin costing less than $150 is out of keeping with respect for the dead. But where the body is to be disposed of by fire, not even a single silver plate or handle is allowed to remain on the coffin when it is prepared for the retort, and those in charge are urged to provide only the simplest of all-wood coffins. Perhaps there will be always a class of people who are unable to recognize a proper tribute to the memory of the departed without a funeral marked by lavish expenditures; but at least the number is increasing of those who are pleased to find in cremation a method that makes not only for healthful conditions but for simplicity.

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ALTERATIONS MADE Cambridge Tribune — Crematory at Mount Auburn Cemetery Will Be Second to None in the Country—The Plans.

The crematory at Mount Auburn Cemetery, which is considered one of the best in the country, is being extensively altered to suit the needs of the present day, and to eliminate some of the unpleasant features of the o[l?]d construction.

In the first place, the Roots blower, with a small pressure and much superfluous noise, is being replaced with a positive pressure blower made by the General Electric Company. The Roots blower is the kind used to smelt ore at times. The blower is used at the crematory to force a draught on the coffin as it lies in the retort, to aid in its combustion. The new blower has a pressure of from three to four pounds, and is practically noiseless.

The three hand elevators, one of which is used to lower the bier from the old chapel over the crematory to the level of the retorts and the other to raise the huge bricks, each weighing half a ton, which seal the retorts after the coffin has been put in, are being replaced by three electric motors, installed by the Clark & Mills Electric Co. The motors will be muffled so that the slight noise they make in operation will not reach the ears of the mourners in the chapel.

A power house is being built under ground, directly in the rear of the crematory, and will be 25 by 20 feet in size, whereas the old power house was but 14 by 10 feet.

An entirely new feature will be the crypt for the reception of urns, which will be placed in the old chapel. The architect of the crypt is Willard T. Sears, and it will be finished in about six weeks.

The process of cremation is on the increase, as is shown by the records of the cemetery. In 1907 there were 210 cremations at Mount Auburn, and for the first six months of this year there have been 136. Each year has had an increase over the last.

The process of cremation at Mount Auburn is made as easy for the mourners as possible. When the new elevators have been installed the bier will be lowered to the crematory under the chapel after the services with no perceptible noise. The bier rests on rollers that are kept in smooth running order. When the bier has reached the level of the retorts the large bricks that seal the entrance are removed and the coffin is run on rollers into the retort, which has been previously heated to a high temperature, and the heat and air are turned on for from threequarters of an hour to an hour and a quarter, until the coffin and body are entirely reduced to ashes. Then the ashes are removed in such a way that they are all obtained. The coffin nails are removed with a strong magnet. The ashes may be delivered to relatives of the deceased a few hours after the cremation has begun.

Crude petroleum is the fuel used, and forced draughts of air are needed to aid in the combustion, and a heat of from 2,000 to 3,000 degrees fahrenheit are needed. At present there are two retorts at Mount Auburn. The gases from the retorts are carried to a chamber where a high temperature consumes them before they pass to the chimney. Thus no smoke is ever seen, only a slight wavering in the air above the chimney, just as heat waves are seen rising from a radiator.

TO VISIT MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY.

MOUNT Auburn Cemetery, in Cambridge, Mass., is one of the "show sights" of Boston that few visitors miss seeing. From remote sections of the United States and from Europe the sight-seers come. But it is on Memorial Day that the local throng gather en-masse there, thereby giving evidence that the memory of the noted dead is still kept green. This cemetery was the first burial place to be laid out in the United States as a "garden cemetery," and although the plan has been imitated in other sections Mount Auburn is still the loveliest spot for the interment of the dead in the land, and a celebrated spot too. Various causes combine to bring about this. Its great area, its natural beauties, the age of its trees, the original designs of its gardening taken in connection with the famous persons whose dust lies there, render it a place of great interest to the thousands upon thousands of people who visit it every summer. For the guidance of any of our readers who may see it for the first time next Monday buried there:—Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, Philips Brooks, James T. Field, Kate Field, Fanny Fern, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Edwin Booth, Charlotte Cushman, Noah Worcester, Charles Sumner, Theodore Thomas, William Warren, Henry W. Dutton, Jane G. Austen, Erminia Rudersdorf, Louis Agassiz, Edward Everett, Anson Burlingame, William Ellery Channing, John Murray, Hosea Ballou, Robert C. Winthrop, Rufus Choate, Dorothea Dix, Josiah Quincy, Paran Stevens, and numerous other men and women eminent in life, and closely identified with the name and fame of Boston. There also lie buried on various sites several Scotchmen of local repute, among them being Robert Ferguson, John Taylor, Wm. MacDonald, David Thomson, James Kelt, Peter Donald, James London, Dr. W.G. Coale, Alex. McDonald, and 216 bodies of less known Scots who were buried by the Scots' Charitable Society in their private lot numbered 816, containing 1,819 square feet on a leading avenue. The poet Longfellow's lot is on a path named Indian Ridge, numbered 580. That of James Russell Lowell is just below on Fountain Avenue, numbered 323. There is also a fine memorial to John Lothrop Motley, on Indian Ridge Path, numbered 318. Another interesting feature is the Ossili Memorial, erected in memory of Margaret Fuller (Ossili), the famous writer and reformer, who was lost at sea (1850). Our countrymen, Mr. J.C. Scorgie, is superintendent of the cemetery, and is always courteous to visitors, and ready to aid them in finding the various paths. His office is in the chapel on the left of the North Gate. In the vestibule of his office are the statues of John Winthrop, the first Governor of Massachusetts, James Otis, John Adams and Joseph Story. The Sphinx opposite the crematory is also a fine work of art, designed by Martin Milmore, sculptor. The tower on Mountain Avenue is worthy of a visit, the top of which is 200 feet above sea level. From it a good general view of the cemetery and surrounding country can be obtained, and attention may be called to the slope view south of the tower, where a park effect is obtained by the exclusion of tall headstones, and granite enclosures. Mount Auburn is reached by the Cambridge line of electric cars from Park street and Scollay Square, Boston.

TOMBS ON Boston [?] COMMON Jan 21-/07 A PERIL — So Says Cemetery Supt. Scorgie, Following Cremation Address — That the old tombs on the Common are a menace to public health was the statement made yesterday by Superintendent Scorgie of Mt. Auburn Cemetery, following a reference made by Albert F. Parsons while addressing a public meeting of the Cremation Society of America in Kossuth Hall.

While speaking of what he calls the dangers of earth burial, Mr. Parsons said: "Superintendent Scorgie can tell stories of Mt. Auburn Cemetery which will make any hearer resolve never to place the body of any dear one in the ground."

When this statement was called to the attention of Superintendent Scorgie, he said, last night:

"I think that Mr. Parsons must refer to the old tombs which the authorities of Mt. Auburn Cemetery have been gradually getting rid of.

"These tombs are without doubt unsanitary.

"I believe that the old tombs on Boston Common are a menace to public health.

"They are built in an old-fashioned way, with a brick arch. A current of air is constantly circulating through them, and the body might just as well be out of doors. A person standing a few feet away can easily detect the smell of a decaying body. Burials in these old tombs should be forbidden.

"We have some of these tombs in Mt. Auburn, but we are tearing them out gradually."

When the matter was called to the attention of Health Officer Dr. D.D. Brough he said: "Though bodies in these old tombs might give forth noxious gases, they would not cause the spread of disease, unless death was caused by smallpox, yellow fever or some other contagious disease.

"Of course, if death was caused by consumption much harm might be done, for the germs would be still active in the lungs of the corpse and would pollute the air near the tomb." — BENEFITS OF CREMATION URGED

When speaking at the cremation meeting, Mr. Parsons spoke of the burying ground as a "constant menace to public health."

"The great argument for cremation," he said, "is for the living. Few people realize what a terrible menace are the cemeteries. There is reason in the instinct to avoid them, for over the graves and tombs float vapors and emanations of deadly power, and all the poets have had to say in the past about earth burial cannot blind the scientist to the gases which fill the air around and above grave yards.

"Terrible epidemics have been frequently caused by graveyards. History shows that epidemics of plague have followed the excavation of ground in which 300 years before victims of the disease had been buried. Flocks of sheep have died from eating the grass in fields where plague victims were buried.

29 CEMETERY QUESTION ^ _{[?] [?] [?] March 26, 1905[} Feature of Adjourned Town Meeting === Voted Not to Accept $12,000 Offer. [Illustration: PLAN OF MT. AUBURN CEMETERY 1890]

28 [Image: aerial plan of Mount Auburn Cemetery]

1. Phillips Brooks, Episcopal bishop. 2. Dr. Henry I. Bowditch, celebrated physician 3. Dorothea L. Dix, philanthropist. 4. Mrs. Mary Hemenway, philanthropist. 5. Edwin Booth. actor. 6. Charles Bulfinch, architect. 7. Margaret Fuller, early American author.

8. Louis Agassiz, naturalist. 9. Robert G. Shaw, colonel. 10. Anson Burlingame, statesman. 11. Emory B. Washburn, Governor. 12. Rufus Choate, lawyer. 13. William Warren, actor. 14. Edward Everett, statesman.

15. Charlotte Cushman, actress. 16. Charles Summer, statesman. 17. William E. Channing. Unitarian divine. 18. Francis Parkman, historian. 19. James Russell Lowell, litterateur. 20. Henery W. Longfellow, poet. 21. Fanny Fern, author.

22. Ass Gray, botanist. 23. Jared Sparks, president of Harvard University. 24. Paran Stevens, millionaire. 25. James T. Fields, litterateur.

PLAN OF M^OUNT. AUBURN CEMETERY.

the entire place is that of Theodore Winthrop post 35, G. A. R., of Chelsea. It is splendidly situated, and the big ot is marked by a monument formed of four cannon loaned by the United States government. This cemetery is a great resort for Grand Army posts on Decoration day, no less than five different organizations decorating graves there.

Its old tower is in itself worth a visit, and there are wooded drives in the place so laid out that once in them

the visitor might easily imagine himself miles from any habitation

OTHER HOMES OF THE DEAD

King's Chapel Burying Ground the OldestCatholic Cemeteries.

Some of the cemeteries are rich in historic interest, but they are not the gathering-places for Decoration day throngs. From most of them visitors are de-

barred. King's Chapel burying ground is said to be the oldest in the city, and contains the remains of Gov. Winthrop, Gov. Shirley and many other early dignitaries of the old province. The Old Granary is of a later date, and contains the bodies of many of the early celebrities. Eight Governors rest there, and with them repose Peter Faneuil, Paul Revere, the parent of Benjamin Franklin and the victims of the Boston massacre.

A burial ground of still later date is

the Central, located on the Common. There is nothing of particular note about it, however. Copp's Hill burying ground on Charter street is a famous old place, but Decoration day visitors are few in number. Its most noted occupants are the members of the Mather family. For these and for the South burying ground back of the Conservatory of Music, the Eliot at the corner of Washington and Eustis streets, the Kearsarge on Kearsarge avenue, and the Hawes cemetery, the board of

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CEMETERY QUESTION Watertown Enterprise March 26, 190[9?] — Feature of Adjourned Town Meeting===Voted Not to Accept $12,000 Offer. — The article relative to the request of Mt. Auburn Cemetery Corporation for a permit to use the Stone estate, East Watertown, for burial purposes, was the feature of the adjourned town meeting last Monday evening. There were many who had opinions on the matter, who did not hesitate to express them, and after arguments on both sides were concluded, the town voted decisively that the corporation should pay to the town a sum of $20,000 for the privilege, and further consent to the passage of legislation permitting the town to acquire sufficient land to widen Mt. Auburn street at the bridge.

When Hon. James H. Vahey arose to make the report of the committee appointed to investigate the matter, all ears were pricked up and listened to Mr. Vahey relate the opinions of himself. Mr. Charles Brigham and Mr. G. Frederick Robinson (the latter [t?]wo also members of the committee). The committee, he stated, had several conferences with some of the trustees and counsels of the cemetery corporation. The committee asked for a larger sum than the $12,000 already offered, arguing that the town had not been treated fairly by the corporation when Mt. Auburn street was widened. The corporation representatives agreed that the town should have the privilege of acquiring the necessary land to complete the widening of the street, but at the last conference held Friday afternoon, flatly refused to pay a cent more to the town than the $12,000.

The committee, Mr. Vahey said, unanimously believed that the town should not grant the privilege at the price offered. The price to be paid the Stone heirs by the corporation for the estate is $35,000, which is at the rate of about six cents a foot. The cemetery corporation, Mr. Vahey stated, is getting on an average, $2.75 a foot for lots, which means, considering that one-third of the Stone estate is devoted to paths and other uses, making it unsalable, that the corporation would be getting approximately 55 times as much for the land as they are paying. The committee believed the price of $35,000 for the land was a just price, but thought the corporation could well afford to pay a higher price than $12,000 to the town.

Selectman Walter C. Stone followed Mr. Vahey, and stated frankly that he was interested in the sale, as he was one of the Stone heirs. He stated, however, that further than that he believed that town should grant the privilege. He said that the selectmen had spent a lot of time considering the matter and consulting the cemetery authorities and had succeeded in raising them for $7,500 to $12,000, which amount, he thought was as high as they would pay. He was sorry, he siad, that the special committee did not see it in this light, but he felt that their report showing that the corporation had refused to pay more than the $12,000 was a compliment to the judgment of the selectmen. Mr. Stone pleaded that the town needed the $12,000 this year, it meaning that the tax rate thereby would

be about a dollar less. Even the finance committee, he said, in their printed report had counted on the receipt of this sum. Mr. Stone suggested that a compromise be made, and the town offer the privilege for $15,000.

Mr. Charles M. Abbott opposed the granting of the permit even at the price of $20,000. He believed that the town should receive a much larger sum. He pictured the possibility of the estate, if not taken by the cemetery, becoming a second Whiting Park, or Otisville, bringing high taxable property to the town.

Mr. J. Winthrop Stone, another of the Stone heirs, and who now rents the land which the cemetery people propose to buy, spoke in favor of granting the permit. Referring to idea that this piece of property might some day be valuable residential property, he stated that it is situated almost between two cemeteries and that the land was not fit for farming. "If God Almighty intended this land for anything," he said, "it was for a grave yard." As to the cemetery being forced to purchase the land sooner or later, he claimed that at the present rate of burial, partly because of the number of cremations, the corporation have enough land to last them sixteen years.

Mr. Charles F. Fitz believed that the town had already too many grave yards and that this permit should not be granted at any price.

Mr. John E. Abbott differed from his son, and favored the $15,000 suggestion, believing that the sum was a fair price.

Mr. Charles Brigham spoke in defence of the report of the committee and rather criticised some of the speakers for not confining themselves to the serious side of the matter.

Mr. Vahey again spoke and this time particularly emphasize the defiant attitude taken by one of the trustees at the last meeting. He ended by amending the motion made by Mr. Stone, changing the motion to read $20,000 instead of $15,000 and adding the clause relative to the widening of Mt. Auburn street. The question was then put to the voters and carried.

Selectman Charles A. York reported for the committee on the purchase of the new truck and told the meeting that the machine had been placed in commission.

Article 12, the drainage question, was indefinitely postponed and article 13 on the acceptance of Adams street was stricken from the warrant.

Under article 14, $2200 was appropriated for the building of Fayette street for a public highway.

The proposal of the selectmen to sell all the unused land at the town farm caused a great deal of argument. Chairman Cunniff spoke in favor of it and Herbert Coolidge, John G. Hegberg, G. Frederick Robinson, C. M. Abbott, James Madden, Chester Sprague, Walter C. Stone and Frank H. Barnes took part in the debate. The whole matter was finally indefinitely postponed.

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THE WESTMINSTER ABBEY OF AMERICA ATTRACTS ITS HUNDREDS OF VISITORS Jan. 18—1903 Boston Sunday Journal MOUNT AUBURN CEMETERY is characterized by Edward G. Sanger, formerly of Cambridge, as the Westminster Abbey of America.

He writes as follows:

"In every land there is some spot where its great men lie buried, and toward which they took in life with satisfaction as their resting place. Not that great men are not entombed elsewhere, but that this central spot is justly regarded as the one famous place where is gathered the noblest dust of the honored dead.

"In England, Westminster Abbey is the Mecca toward which the world makes its pilgrimage, especially among English-speaking peoples. There sleep is stately marble grandeur, English Kings and warriors; and there its great poets and statesmen, they who have truly made England great. As one has rightly said, "They honor their burial place more than they are honored by it,' but so long as Great Britain maintains its supremacy in the eastern world, so long will Westminster Abbey be the proudest spot for monuments to its heroes and benefactors.

"On this side of the water, no single building compares with Westminster Abbey, but in the great cemeteries of America are gathered the dust of her great men. The most famous of these is Mount Auburn, in the city of Cambridge and State of Massachusetts. The city itself is one of the most historic in the land. Here at the very beginning was laid the foundation of Harvard College, which still lifts its head above all her sister universities, justly holding the first rank among American institutions of learning. Here Washington, under the elm tree still standing, took command of ther American army. Here Longfellow and Lowell lived, and here Oliver Wendell Holmes was born.

"On the borders of this city, about four miles from Boston, lies Mount Auburn. Like Jerusalem of old, beautiful for situation, and though retired from the hum of business, yet easily accessible. It does not seem like a cemetery, but rather like a garden, so admirable is its plan and so perfect its keeping. The ground is undulating, its highest point crowned with a beautiful granite tower.

"Here sleep more of America's illustrious men and women than are to be found in any other single enclosure. Notable among these are Edward Everett, Charles Sumner, Henry W. Longfellow, James Russell Lowell, Anson Burlingame, Louis Agassiz, Rufus Choate, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Nathaniel P. Willis, Robert C. Winthrop, Phillips Brooks, William Ellery Channing, Charlotte Cushman, John Lothrop Motley and Jared Sparks.

"Hundreds of visitors every day wander through its beautiful paths and stately avenues, seeking the resting place of those who have added to the world's fame, and drawing inspiration from their deeds while living. To sleep at last amid surroundings like these makes one feel that he would not be forgotten, and is itself an inspriation to a noble life."

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[D?] Mar 7 1903

SUPT. FALCONER CAUSES SURPRISE BY RESIGNING — Head of Bureau of Parks Will Become Superintendent of Allegheny Cemetery. — WILL STAY TO PREPARE EASTER FLOWER SHOW — Work in Such Shape That Schenley Park Can Be Finished Within One Year. — HE IS NOT A POLITICIAN — William Falconer, Superintendent of the Bureau of Parks, tendered his resignation to Director McCandless yesterday. Of all the city employes Superintendent Falconer was almost the only one who was not a politician. He had been retained through all the changes that have occurred. He will become superintendent of the Allegheny Cemetery May 1. Other resignations yesterday were: Marshall McClain, assistant to Superintendent Falconer; John Battles, Superintendent of the Bureau of Highways and Sewers, and John Flinn, Assistant Superintendent of the Bureau of Highways and Sewers. The resignation of Joseph Woods, chief clerk of the Board of Viewers, has been in the hands of Director McCandless for a month.

The resignation of Superintendent Falconer came as a surprise, even to Director McCandless. The Director sent for all the men and asked them to stay until he left office, and they promised to do so. Superintendent Falconer is willing to stay to prepare the Easter flower show, and as long as possible after that. He desires to visit cemeteries throughout the country and secure pointers for making Allegheny still more beautiful.

It is understood that Superintendent Falconer will better his position in a financial way by leaving the employ of the city and that is his only reason. He has left the work in the parks in such shape that another year will complete it and make them as fine as any in the country. In speaking of his resignation last night Superintendent Falconer said:

Will Prepare Flower Show. "I decided to present my resignation at the present time in order that the incoming administration would not be embarrassed in any way in choosing my successor. There is no politics in the matter. I never mingled in politics and never met Recorder Brown to speak to him more than two or three times. I never attended a political meeting. I do not believe that I ever saw Mr. Hays. All my dealings were directly with the Director. Although my resignation will take effect as soon as Recorder McCandless leaves his office I am willing to remain longer if Mr. Bigelow requests me to do so. If he desires I will stay and prepare the Easter flower show.

"Now, don't ask me what I have done since I came to Pittsburg to improve the parks. The credit belongs to Mr. Bigelow. He did it all. I was merely a workman who did his part. Under Director McCandless my relations have always been pleasant. But I give the credit to Mr. Bigelow for the building of Pittsburg's parks. He has the energy, the ideas and the stamina to push the work. The work in Schenley park is in such shape that it can be finished in a year. The grading has all been done, tens of thousands of trees have been planted and are growing finely, and it only remains to ornament the grounds.

Work Is Almost Finished. "The shelter houses are under way, the foundations being up, and many other improvements are also under way. I have been treated very kindly by Pittsburg and its people and now that I am leaving I wish to express my gratitude."

Superintendent Falconer came to Pittsburg under peculiar circumstances. The late A.W. Bennett was his predecessor. Before he died he told Director Bigelow of Superintendent Falconer and already gained a world-wide reputation. It was necessary to have Councils pass a resolution allowing his appointment, as he was not a resident of the city. The resolution passed unanimously. Mr. Falconer came to Pittsburg in 1896 as Super-

intendent of Schenley Park and the small parks about the city. When the Bureau of Parks was established two years ago he was made superintendent. He has made the Pittsburg parks famous all over the country. The flower shows have become famous all over the world and foreign journals have commented on them most favorably.

Graduate of Kew Gardens. After graduating from the Royal Botanical Gardens, better known as the Kew Gardens, London, Superintendent Falconer spent several years in Texas. Here he met Professor Sargent of Harvard University, who induced him to take the position of Superintendent of Botanical Gardens at Harvard. He remained there 7 1/2 years and then took charge of Charles A. Dana's estates, remaining 12 1/2 years, after which he came to Pittsburg.

Superintendent Falconer will succeed John Perring, who retires after being Superintendent of the Allegheny Cemetery for almost 30 years. He will occupy the old Shoenberger mansion after he accepts the new position.

[D?] A Unique Official. News of the resignation of Superintendent Falconer of the Bureau of Parks will be received with regret by the community, which has formed a high estimate of his value as a public official during his seven years' service in Pittsburg. Mr. Falconer was unique among municipal officials in that he was not a politican, that he did not owe his position to political influence and held it solely by conspicuous demonstration of superior qualification for the work entrusted to him. How much of the credit for the beautifying of the public pleasure grounds is due to him the people have judged for themselves. What he has done for floriculture in Pittsburg is familiar to the thousands who have thronged to the Easter exhibition and the chrysanthemum show.

The lesson of his record is of timely interest just now, when an administration under which appointments are to be made solely for competency is entering office. Fulfilled to the letter this would give to the city officials in every position as well qualified and as conscientious in the performance of public duty as Mr. Falconer has proved himself to be. But to secure that muchto-be-desired result it will be necessary to pursue the same policy which led to his selection. The supreme test must be fitness, not politics.

Gazette Mar 17 1903 RESIGNATION OF FIVE CITY EMPLOYES — Falconer Leaves Park Bureau to Go to Allegheny Cemetery. — BATTLES ALSO QUITS — WILLIAM FALCONER, superintendent of bureau of parks. JOHN BATTLES, superintendent of the bureau of highways and sewers. JOHN FLINN, assistant superintendent of the bureau of highways and sewers. MARSHALL McCLAIN, assistant superintendent of Schenley park. JOSEPH WOODS, chief clerk in the bureau of viewers.

The above five employes of the city have handed in their resignations, to take effect when Director J. Guy McCandless of the department of public works retires from office.

William Falconer is one of the leading horticulturists in the country, and resigned to accept the position of superintendent of the Allegheny cemetery. He is to enter upon his new duties the first of May.

Superintendent Falconer said last night that his resignation is not due to politics. His new position will be more remunerative than his present one, which pays $3,000 a year.

Mr. Falconer stated that he had fixed his resignation to take effect simultaneously with the retirement of Director McCandless because he wished to leave the incoming administration free to appoint his successor before April 6.

"There has been no disagreement with E.M. Bigelow," said Mr. Falconer. "I am willing, if Mr. Bigelow wishes, to remain and attend to the Easter show. Mr. Bigelow and I are still the best of friends, and I regard him as the best man in the city for the position of director of the public works department."

BROUGHT HERE BY BIGELOW. Mr. Falconer has been in the city service, first as superintendent of Schenley park and later as superintendent of all the city parks, since 1896. Under his administration there has been a remarkable improvement in the public pleasure grounds of the city.

E.M. Bigelow was instrumental in bringing Mr. Falconer to Pittsburgh. For twelve and a half years previous to coming to Pittsburgh Mr. Falconer was superintendent of the estate of Editor Charles A. Dana, in New York, and for seven and a half years prior to entering Mr. Dana's service he was superintendent of the botanical gardens of Harvard university.

Mr. Falconer is a native of Scotland. He is a close friend of William R. Smith, superintendent of the United States botanical gardens at Washington, D.C., who is also a Scotchman. Mr. Falconer is a graudate of the Royal Botanical gardens at Kew, near London, which belong to the British government. He graduated from the Kew gardens in 1872.

He is a member of a large number of botanical societies of the country and also the American Association for the Advancement of Science, of which he is the oldest member of Pittsburgh. He is president of the Florists club of Pittsburgh and Allegheny, of the Botanical Society of Western Pennsylvania, a life member of the New York Florists club, a life member of the Massachusetts Horticultural society and a member of the American Pomological society.

As superintendent of the Allegheny cemetery Mr. Falconer succeeded John Perring, who retired on a liberal pension after a service of between 25 and 30 years. Mr. Falconer succeeded A.W. Bennet at Schenley park, who was appointed by Director Bigelow to the position upon Mr. Falconer's recommendation.

[Image: Plan of Mount Auburn Cemetery in 1924]

[repeat of previous page]

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Vol. 58......................No. 86.

TUESDAY EVENING, MARCH 17, 1903.

WEATHER INDICATIONS. — Cloudy to-night and Wednesday; probably occasional rains; light variable winds mostly southeast. — At yesterday's meeting of the chamber of commerce it was arranged that the street railway committee of that body should join hands with the special commission on improvement of the street railway service which was appointed by the late city recorder and that the campaign for better transportation facilities should be pushed with more vigor than ever. The work thus far done by the municipal commission has not been in vain. Many of its recommendations have been adopted and the street railway corporation has shown entire willingness to listen to the counsel given by the commission and to act in conformity therewith wherever such action is immediately feasible. The fact remains, however, that, while distinct improvement has been made, the railway service is still in woful condition, the accommodations furnished being wretchedly inadequate to the public demand. The traction corporation, to being with, has not sufficient power for its operations and cannot sesure sufficient power until its new plant on Brunots island is completed. The shortage of power renders it impossible to increase materially the number of cars in service, and as a consequence there is intolerable overcrowding, to say nothing of other inconveniences. No doubt the street railway managers themselves would be glad to find means of speedily repairing all deficiencies. As they seem unable to find those means, there is evidently room for the committees that have been investigating the matter of street railway congestion to do useful work and submit suggestions, which, if not feasible for the street railway corporation, may be susceptible of being worked out through other agencies. In any case too much attention cannot be given to the problem involved, affecting as it does the comfort and convenience of the whole people of Pittsburg and of the surrounding territory. — As anticipated, Thomas S. Bigelow's emphatic declaration in favor of the Greater Pittsburg bill has had an immediate effect upon the persons at Harrisburg into whose hands the bill has fallen since it passed the senate. By some hocus-pocus, the measure instead of being referred to the house committee on municipal affairs, found its way to the general judiciary committee, which embraces in its membership some Allegheny county representatives supposed to harbor intentions hostile to the annexation project. The chairman of the committee, however, now states that he knows of no serious opposition, that, barring some trifling amendments, the bill does not need to be changed, and that its passage in the house is a reasonable certainty. This is encouraging and bears witness to the salutary effect of Mr. Bigelow's plain speaking. The power of the Allegheny county leader is fully recognized at Harrisburg and it is safe to

say that, whatever the little clique of surviving Flinnites may do, there will be no disposition in any other quarter to thwart Mr. Bigelow's wishes, especially since, as regards the Greater Pittsburg bill, those wishes are shared by the great majority of our people.

While matters thus present so favorable an appearance, it is none the less necessary that the agitation in behalf of municipal expansion should be kept warm. The local advocates of the annexation bill must keep at it hammer and tongs and not relax their energies if they are to make absolutely sure of the final enactment of the bill into law. — After several years of nonobservance, the anniversary of St. Patrick is being celebrated in Pittsburg to-day with due formality, and of course with enthusiasm, for the Irish race never undertakes anything in the shape of a public demonstration without throwing its whole soul into it. Nor is interest in the occasion confined to our Irish citizens. The wearing of the green is general, and it is eminently proper as a tribute to a people who have brought their best brains and energy to the upbuilding of the American republic and whose representatives have figured conspicuously in the history of this nation at all times since its establishment. There is no mistaking the value of the Irishman in America. Brave, sturdy, independent, industrious and progressive, he has all the elements that go to make up useful citizenship. On every page of the American roll of fame Irish names are blazoned and services rendered by Irish-Americans to the country of their adoption are recorded. Hence it would be invidious indeed not to join with a heart and a half in the rendering of honors to Ireland's patron saint, and incidentally to the Irish race in America, which has deserved so well of the country. — The resignation of Superintendent Falconer, of Schenley park, is much to be regretted. Mr. Falconer is a man of exceptional ability and international reputation. He is a recognized authority on horticulture, having had lifelong experience in the management of parks and gardens, public and private, and his original researches and experiments have commanded attention on both continents. Mr. Falconer was brought to Pittsburg for the purpose of completing the development of Schenley park, which required the services of a thoroughly skillful landscape gardener. His task is not yet accomplished, but he has carried the work far enough to afford a convincing demonstration of his powers, and at this point it will be most unfortunate if his withdrawal should be permitted. Possibly when E.M. Bigelow resumes control of the public works department he may be able to arrange for Mr. Falconer's retention. It was Mr. Bigelow who brought the park superintendent here and no doubt he will do what he can to avoid losing an assistant whose value he knows so well.

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3721. The nameless grave at Mount Auburn has always interested visitors and is one of the places shown by gu[i?]des. The article from the Union Democrat is written in the stilted style common in many papers of half a century ago, but it is printed as originally published. The second and concluding part will be published next week. —Editor Notes and Queries.

The following story was obtained by a young law student in Manchester, N. H., forty-five years ago, and was published at that time in the Union Democrat, now the Manchester Union. Your query was seen by the young man's sister in Springfield, W., who has preserved [?] narrative in her scrapbook all these years. E.A.K.

Boston Evening THE NAMELESS GRAVE Transcript [A Tale of Mount Auburn] July 22/1905 PART I.

There is no lovelier spot in the world for the repose of the dead, or one more calculated, by the calm majesty of nature, to soothe the troubled spirits of the living, than the cemetery of Mt. Auburn, in the vicinity of Boston. Away from the smoke and dust and tumult of the city, and surrounded by influences that tend to tranquillize the stormy passions, and to call forth the purer and holier emotions of the human heart, no one can visit it without reflecting upon the vanity of human greatness, and feeling a keener sense of the mutability of all earthly things. The silent but awful admonition of the sleeping multitude brings home the solemn truth with greater weight, that, urge on the car of life which way we will, the grave must be its goal at last.

Accompanied by a female friend who was making a tour of the Eastern cities in the fall of 18—, I visited this lovely spot. Some relatives in the city, who were well acquainted with the location of the round, as well as with all the interesting places connected with our Revolutionary history, and who had pointed out to us during our frequent rambles many spots familiar to us in story, but which we had never seen, were our companions. The day was a delightful one, and we felt a relief as we left behind the dense atmosphere of a crows and inhaled the purer breezes of the country air. We wandered around the grounds for several hours, examining the monuments erected by the living as last tokens of respect and love to departed friends.

"Here," said our city friends, as they led us to a plain, gray slab, "is a grave that has caused much speculation and excited a great deal of curiosity. The person was supposed to have been a lady, but no one knows from whence she was brought or who she was. The initials upon the stone do not correspond with the name registered upon the books of the corporation, and the inference is that she has been buried under an assumed name. The authorities say that a person about thirty years of age, but pale and wan, as if deep grief was preying at his heart, came one day to the office and purchased a spot for a grave. He only said that the body would be brought the next day at two o'clock. At the hour appointed a hearse drove up to the entrance to the grounds accompanied by a single carriage containing the gentleman alone who had purchased the grave. It had been prepared as directed, by the laborers connected with the ground, and after the body had been deposited in its last resting-place, this tablet, which a carman brought from the city, was placed over it. The gentleman gazed upon the proceedings with folded arms and lips compressed, that told plainly the agony he felt; but no tear bedewed his cheek— no groan escaped his breast. When the last green turf had been replaced around the slab, and the workmen were gathering their implements to depart, he started as if a sudden pang shot through his heart, and exclaimed: "O God! what more is left for me on earth?" Then recovering himself, with quivering lip, he said to the men who had filled the grave, "I thank you, gentlemen, for your aid," and giving them a sovereign in addition to their fee, he waved an adieu wildly with his hand, entered the carriage hastily, and drove away. No one that we know of has seen him since, and the mystery of this grave will probably remain unsolved; but the story circulates among the young that it is the resting-place of one who fell a victim at the shrine of love; and the lovers, as they meet aroun dit, renew their solemn pledges to each other, and beath an inward prayer that their affections may have a happier issue.

We read the inscription upon the stone. It was a simple verse, but full of sentiment:

She lived unknown, and few could know When Mary ceased to be; But she is in her grave, and oh, The difference to me.

Various comments were made upon the subject by our party, and after having sufficiently indulged our curiosity and hazarded our speculations, we turned away. As we were departing a man of gentlemanly appearance approached us. He was at the period of life that might almost be called old age, but with weather-beaten countenance and iron-like frame that showed his life had been spent amidst scenes of activity and danger. He inquired if we could inform him where a grave was to be found

which, by the description, we knew to be the one we had just left. We pointed it out to him. He approached it, and as his eyes rested upon the stone, he said:

"Poor broken heart; your partner sleeps in the bosom of a Western prairie, but your spirits I trust have met in Heaven."

We asked him if he knew the history of "The Nameless Grave."

"I learned it from the lips of him who laid her here," he replied, "and I myself closed his eyes in the Western wilderness, far away from the home of his fathers."

We requested him to relate the story to us, telling him of the many speculations indulged in by those who visited the spot, and our desire to know its history.

"I am weary with rambling," the stranger rejoined, "and if you have an hour to spare, we will rest ourselves in the shade of this old oak, whilst I tell you all I know respecting it. In doing so it will be necessary first to give you something of my own history, and the manner of my acquaintance with the individual who related the circumstances.

"I am a New Englander by birth, and was originally a clerk in the establishment of one of our distinguished Boston merchants, long since dead. Being faithful to my employer, and winning the confidence of the mercantile community, with whom he dealt, I entered early into business as a shipper on my own account. Although possessing but little more than an unsullied reputation, by careful attention to business I was rapidly amassing a fortune, when the embargo previous to the commencement of the last war and the subsequent disasters to our commerce blighted all my expectations and reduced me to bankruptcy. My old employer, from his own pecuniary embarrassment, was unable to afford me aid, although he would willingly have done so, had it been in his power. So, giving up the hope of repairing my shattered fortunes there, I bade farewell to my native city, and started for the West.

"All the Western States, except a narrow belt along the chain of the Great Lakes, was a wilderness and inhabited by Indians, for the most part hostile to Americans. I engaged in the fur trade, and have continued it up to the present time. As the Western States began to fill with emigrants, the trade advanced in the same direction, until an expedition had lately extended beyond the Rocky Mountains; but it is now almost broken up by a foreign company, that wields a mighty moneyed power, prejudices the natives against us, and by an unequal competition drives us from our just rights and the soil of our own territory. A few seasons since, our company was making preparations for more operations than we had made before; the unusual success of the previous expeditions having furnished us with means of doing so. Men were enlisted, ammunition and stores laid in for a long and hazardous expedition. As we were about setting out, an individual accosted us and asked permission to join the expedition. He was noble in his appearance and in the prime of life; but deep melancholy was upon his brow, and an occasional wildness would gleam from his eye, that told us reason was half-unsettled from its throne. He asked no pay, he said, he only wished to engage in some exciting employment, to drive away mad thoughts; and he beat his clenched fist against his brow, uttering an involuntary groan. We told him our complement of men was full, but as he wished to join we would furnish him with arms and provisions like the rest; that in return he should occasionally aid us in making purchases of the Indians and resident trappers, and if necessary lend his services as a soldier. He readily assented to the conditions and set out with us. Our expedition was a long and dangerous one. We travelled over the Rocky Mountains to the headwaters of the Columbia, where American traders had rarely been before. But the Indians were prejudiced against us by the agent of the British Company and several times manifested a hostile spirit, but the strength of our party and the cautiousness of all our movements gave them no opportunity for surprising us. The individual who joined us was a most efficient member of our corps; no dangerous enterprise was set on foot in which he was not the first to volunteer. He seemed wearied of life and cared not how soon he might be relieved of its burden. A mystery hung about him that our party strove to penetrate in vain. He talked but little and never revealed his name to anyone; but still he was kind and generous; and the deep sorrow that seemed eating at his heart won the friendship and sympathy of all. And whenever 'The Stranger,' as we called him, happened to be mentioned, the wild, boisterous recklessness of the hardy backwoodsmen would soften down; and they would speak of him in tones of unwonted sadness.

"We had finished our trading operations about the commencement of autumn and had commenced our return march with our wagons loaded with packages of buffalo robes and beaver skins and other peltries. We had conducted all our movements with the greatest caution and got far back in safety towards the settlements. For some days previous, however, we had observed straggling Indians hanging about our line of march, seeming to observe our movements. We avoided the woods, keeping as much as possible on the open prairies. One

day's march more would have brought us within the protection of the American outposts. And aware that the enemy (for we had no doubts one was hovering around) would attack us that night if at all, we formed our baggage wagons into a circle, placed the packages of buffalo skins within and having gathered forage from the prairie for our horses, we placed vigilant sentinels upon all sides and laid down upon our arms. The night had nearly passed, and the first faint streakings of the dawn were making their appearance in the east, when an onset was commenced by the savage foe. Quick as lightning we were on foot dealing death upon them from within our camp.

"The Indians evidently did not anticipate so ready a reception, and after two or three desperate attempts to break into our enclosure, they retired, dragging away their dead and wounded. There being no fire within our camps the enemy could only see to shoot by the uncertain flashes of the guns, as we were protected by a breastwork impenetrable to a musket ball. Only two or three of our men were wounded and some of our horses killed. Within eight yards of us a portion of the prairie was overgrown with weeds and high grass in which the Indians concealed themselves as it grew light, and from which they kept up a scattering fire upon our camp. We attempted to dislodge them by shooting at the places from whence the smoke arose, but a breeze that was blowing transversely across the place so dispersed it as to render our aim uncertain; and what was worse our ammunition began to fail, for we had bartered away more than we were aware of in our summer's traffic. It was, therefore, determined not to fire unless sure of our mark and consequently the firing ceased on our part. The day wore on until it became evident that the enemy intended to hold their position until nightfall, and then under the cover of darkness attempt to carry our camp.

"'They must be dislodged in some way before night,' said an old hunter, 'or our scalps will not keep their places another day. We must make an assault upon them and drive them from their skulking place. Some of us will fall, no doubt; but it is better so than to all stay here and to be shot down like dogs.'

"A consultation was held as to the best way of making the assault. We were all armed with rifles and had no bayonets, a weapon indispensable for an attack of the kind we meditated; but there seemed no alternative, and we resolved to make the attempt. It was agreed upon to reserve our fire until the enemy could be seen; and then after the first discharge to meet them with their own weapon—the hatchet. All preparations had been completed and we were about to sally forth when this stranger offered to set the grass on fire in which the Indians were concealed. All stopped short and looked at him in surprise. We who had seen before the headlong fury of the flame driven by the wind over the dry and withered grass of the prairie knew full well, if it was practicable that the enemy would be scattered like the leaves of the forests before the blasts of the autumn; but the utter madness of the attempt made the stoutest heart shrink back, for certain death awaited some of us if we made an onset in a body, yet each chose rather to run his change of life where probably a majority might escape unharmed than to rush alone and single-handed upon inevitable death. We pointed out to him the madness of the attempt.

"'I comprehend the danger perfectly,' he said, 'and am prepared to meet it. If we make an onset in a body more lives than one will be sacrificed with a less prospect of success. You all have something to live and to hope for; my dreams of earthly happiness are done, and I have long desired to find quiet—in a grave. If by sacrificing my life I can insure the safety of you all I would wrap the winding-sheet around me as cheerfully as the drapery of a couch.'

"We endeavored to dissuade him from the undertaking, for we loved him like a brother, and all would willingly have encountered any danger in common rather than by his destruction to be insured of the safety of the whole party; but he remained steadfast to his purpose.

"'Do you all endeavor to cover me as much as possible by your fire, for though I do not expect to escape, yet if I do not succeed in setting the grass afire my life will be thrown away and you remain in the same peril as before. Besides,' he added, 'I would rather not have my body mutilated by the Indian knife.'

"We held our breath in suspense as he rushed forth from the enclosure waving his flaming torch above his head. The enemy seemed to comprehend the movement in an instant, for a half-suppressed yell broke froth from their hiding-place, followed by a general discharge. Still he kept on apparently unharmed to within a dozen paces of the spot, where he intended to apply the torch, and then staggering a step or two fell forward to the earth. An Indian sprang from his hiding-place and, brandishing his scalping-knife above his head, rushed towards him; but he had scarcely left his covert when a discharge of rifles from our men pierced him with a dozen balls, and, bounding into the air with a yell, he fell headlong by the side of his prostrate foe. His sudden fall seemed to stagger the Indians for a moment, and at that time our hero raised himself upon his feet, drew