< Broiled Baron (continued from page 4-32) >
was then affixed to the mouth of the retort, the cradle being seen from the outside through a hole about ¾ inch in diameter. At this time the heat was estimated by experts at 1,000 degrees.
At 8:25 the interior of the retort was enveloped in clouds of incense, and the furnace and reception room were filled with the odor of the spices. By 8:45 these had cleared away, and the outlines of the body as it lay enfolded in the sheet were plainly discernable, the solution of alum retaining the form of the sheet in such a manner as to prevent any exposure of the person of the corpse.
At 9:15 the left arm had raised from the bend of the elbow, and the fingers were pointing upward. At this juncture some of the doctors present expressed an opinion that the draft through the vent-hole was not sufficient to produce enough oxygen to insure a rapid cremation, and a test was made by Dr. Otterson, who pronounced himself satisfied with the result.
At 10:25 the arm had fallen, and the whole body in an incandescent state, and the feet, which still retained their upright position, were, semitransparent, and the crib was red-hot. Shortly afterward, a private consuitation was held the furnace-room between Colonel Scott, Dr. Le Moyne and the Health Officer, who agreed that the process had been satisfactorily completed.
Up to 10:40 the twigs and flowers had retained their shape and the sheet still covered the body, but the feet had dropped.
At 10:50 the glare in the retort was so strong that the eye could scarcely gaze upon it, and the door radiated intense heat. An iron rod was then introduced and the crib was forced four inches toward the head of the retort.
At 11 another consultation was held, and the cremation was pronounced complete, but in order to make doubly sure it was decided to keep up the fire for another hour.
At 11:12 Dr. Fulton pronounced the cremation beyond doubt, and shortly afterward the pelvis, which had hitherto remained in an upright position, tell into dust. Shortly afterwards the doors were closed to the public and nothing remained but a heap of living ashes. Every vestige of the outline was burnt.
At 12 m. the fire was drawn from the furnace, and the cremation was ended.
The time occupied from the placing of the body in the report to the decision of the doctors as to the perfect incineration was two hours and twenty minutes. Not more than five hundred persons passed through the chamber during the cremation. Forty bushels of coke were consumed in the operation.
In the afternoon a public meeting was held in the Town Hall, when addresses congratulating on the successful accomplishment of the process were delivered. Colonel Olcott gave a history of the crematory theory. Rev. Dr. Hayes, President of Washington and Jefferson College, took the ground that there was nothing cremation which was not sanctioned by the scriptures, and was supported by Dr. King, of Pittsburg, who also discussed the questions from and hygenic point of view. It is expected the furnace will cool in thirty-eight hours, and the ashes will be delivered and placed in a vaze of unbaked clay, about nine inches in height and holding three pints. They will be taken to the head-quarters of the Theosophical Society in New York. No ceremonies took place, and the affair attracted but little interest among the inhabitants of the town, while the attendance of medical and scientific men was not a tenth as large as anticipated.
To the Associated Press.
Pittsburg, December 6.—The process of cremating the body of the late Baron DePalm, at ...[1]
Cremation of Baron de Palm
...
Echoes of the Cremation
...
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Editor's notes