A Spiritualist Cremated

Feilding Star, Volume X, Issue 42, 15 September 1888, Page 3

A Spiritualist Cremated

Philadelphia, J4*y 2.— The body of Damond Y. Elgore, a spiritualist, was yesterday cremated at the Philadelphia Crematory. He was a spiritualist, and the services were conducted ty spiritualists. Mrs Elgore, accompanied by her two little girls, descended by a spiral staircase to the cremation-room, followed by the rest «f the party, excepting the speaker and the choir who remained aronnd the opening through which the coffin i had descended; A long, coffin-shaped j iron pan called a crib was laid oh the ; floor beside the coffin, and was lined \ with strips of muslin soaked in^; alum, j The body was then laid into the crib j and completely covered with another ! layer of soaked, cloths to prevent the _ clothes from taking fire. All the time j Mrs Kilgore and her httle girls at- I tentively witched the preparations, j The cri b was then caught up with iron handles and hung on an iron bar projecting from.the ; truck at a height even with the furnace door. The truck j was then, wheeled to the furnace, I when the air-tight door was opened! with a patent wrench, and, as it swung back, disclosed a long, narrow brick retort glistening with red heat. The crib gently slid from the arm of the truck, and, as it struck the red hot floor of the retort, a bright blaze flashed around the feet, and before the door could be closed, had enveloped the whole body. The choir stood around the hole above and sang * Nearer to Sweet Eden's shore." The family and friends of the dead man then took their last look at his burning body through the Uttle glass peephole in the door, a*id the funeral waa