| Show THE DREAD SIRROOHE How the Southern Climate Affects the Northerners I AMEEICA FOR THE AMERICANS The Government Palacklo An Ancient Church Babies as a Means of Revenue The Plaza Do las Armas i I 5 S BOGOTA Colombia Feb 1 1890 Special correspondence of Trie HERALD IThis ancient capital has more than the usual number of plazas or public squares and as each one of them plays an important part in the life of the city let us devote this sunny midwinter morning t visiting them all I cannot ask you t accompany me en eocJie for there are no carriages t be hired in this hilly town The bishop I a told owns one and so do two or three other wealthy citizens but those expensive vehicles are kept more for show than for use as few people are brave enough to risk broken wheels not to mention broken bones in being jolted over those irregular streets whose slippery stones slant towards d to-wards the deep gutters In the middle into S which the wheels are bound to slide unless one drives pellmell regardless of consequences conse-quences The horse cars however in their devl ous meanderings through the principal streets will convoy us safely on most of our sightseeing tour and a little walking i taken slowly will be a pleasure where every step reveals something new quaint nnd picturesque The spryest pedestrian soon learns t walk leisurely in these high altitudes of the far south where rapid e crcise i sure t be followed by that distressing dis-tressing complaint called EIRUOCIIE which means a violent palpitation of the heart a rush of blood to the head inducing dizziness and often hemorrhage from the nose and cars Nearly all new comers suf for from it more or less without taking sny exercise at rl beyond that ordinarily required and many people cannot endure i without alarming symptoms of keart failure some being obliged to turn about mid go back to the lowlands even before they have reached so high altitude reched hgh an attude as this None of our party have entirely escaped es-caped the dreaded sirroche F the cp te deade sichc youngest young-est and most delicate member being kept In bed several days by it The feeling 1 anything but agreeable a if ones overtaxed over-taxed heart were about to jump out of its earthly tenement and quit work altogether while the head seems ready r burst with excess of blood terrible pains dart through the temples respiration is extremely ex-tremely difficult dark spots swim before the eyes and overpowered by dizziness the sufferer finds it impossible to stand The remedy is digitalis to assist the hear Ji in performing its functions bromide of potass t hold the nerves steady and abso lute acclimated quiet until one has become somewhat I these equatorial regions you know and especially in high places the wintertime time of the north is by far the most pleasant ant season of the year The air is a balm as that of a Canadian June the skies a blue as those of Naples the beautiful refreshing showers fall nearly every night and fruits and flowers are at their very best In this delightful weather then while the friends at home are shivering around their firesides we ought t enjoy our paseo a a walk or excursion is hero called among the flowery parks of Bogota unburdened by and armed with wraps aed fans and parasols The principal plaza named i honor of the patriot te patriotSIMON SIMON BoLIvia whose statue stands in the middle comes first in our way I occupies the exact centre of the town and extends eighty metres in direction The metre i every direton counter feit presentment of the liberator the colossal statue in bronze i a magnificent vork which was executed by the cele brated sculptor Tenerami and presented r Colombia then New Granada by Sefior Jose Ignacio Paris a gentleman prominent in local politics who at that time had the netThe preidenta bee buzzing loudly in his bon The figure is attired i the alleged military mili-tary costume which nobody on earth ever wore but statues its sttues it trailing robe some thing like that which disfigures the marble caricature of Lincoln in the 1 cicature poor Lincl i capitol at Washington a cross between Roman toga t7 Spanish cloak and bed sheet adorned with eabort embroidery The head is uncovered uncov-ered the right hand holds a rapier and on the breast is a beautiful medallion of George Washington the father of Republics Re-publics The great Bolivar Colombias first presi dent who did so much towards shaping the destinies of South America and in whose honor the republic of Bolivia was named was a genius in his day The Congress Con-gress of the nations of the three Americas which has lately been making the grand tour of the United States was the outcome out-come of an Idea originated cme orignatd by h a far back as the year 1821 At that time the several sections of South America had just achieved their independence and were for the most part organized into republics but on no substantial basis and it was justly justy L Isaredthat the freedom they had won at the expense of so much bloodshed jnigb1 any day be wrested from them A scheme 1 I was even then on foot for forming a mon urchial conspiracy t resubjugate the lat emancipated Spanish colonies and would doubtless have succeeded had a less powcrfil man than Bolivar been at the tore Ho urged the doctrine of AMERICA ron THE AMEHIOLXS nnd suggested a conference of all the American powers North South and Central Cen-tral to be held at Panama the middle point The proposal found favor in the United States but there was some hitch in the arrangements made comply with the invitations For one thing the place of meeting was illchosen the climate of Panama Pan-ama though not objectionable t the South and Cntr Americans who are accustomed accus-tomed to it being deadly r those from the far North Two delegates were sent from the United States t that early Congress but one of them i4 died on the way and the other owing to some delay in transit found on his arrival at Panama that the conference had adjourned some days before The idea did not die out however and after President Garhelds Inauguration it again took definite shape One of Secretary Secre-tary Blaines first acts was t issue invita tons r Mexico and the Central and South American governments r meet in Wash ington After Garflelds untimely death air Blaines successor recalled the invita tons and the project again slumbered slubere until a few weeks before the expiration of President Clevelands term when Secre tory Bayard presented the matter t Congress Con-gress the invitations were rolssued und the result we know This historic space which has rejoiced under t arious names during the last thro centuries and is now most commonly 5A T known a tho Plaza do 1 Constituclon1 has been tho scene of many stirring events From it breast has emanated tho growth of art science religion and liberty Most of the wars that have rent the old town from the time of the conquest down t the latest revolution each marking a epoch in Colonial history or in that of New Granada or Colombia have begun and ended here Hero Qucsada unfurled for the first time the bloodred banner of Spain above tho symbol of the cross DurIng Dur-ing moro than two hundred years of vice regal rule it witnessed the workings of slavery of the Inquisition the stake and the scaffold Here Bolivar unrolled tho flag of freedom and then followed the troublous times of the new Granadian government gov-ernment out of which through the sacrifice sacri-fice of many lives a more definite form of Republicanism was at length evolved TOE OOVEltXMEST PAACIO which occupies one side of this plaza is by > a < uiB LO imoosias aa edifice a its name 1 S a 0 implies Indeed l its whitewashed walls couldlmrdly be distinguished from those of adjacent private residences were i not for the Colombian colors floating from it roof and a couple of uniformed sentinels pacing unIpre set el pacng oeiore tho entrance S On another side of the same square is the great cathedral a wonderful structure as to SIZe but not much to boast of in the line of architectural symmetry I was begun shortly after the Episcopal See of Bogota was founded in 1563 I believe T but its origIa builders did not seem t understand under-stand their business very well for the whole pile tumbled down killing scores of people in it fall on the very day it was to have been consecrated I About thirty years later the work was recommenced under the direction of a clever Capuchin monk name Domingo Perez He died before his designs had been entirely carried out and many alterations having been made at subsequent sub-sequent periods by as manydifferent arch tects from designs of their own the build delgs log has a singularly mongrel look I Trying to describe a church is stupid work but I want t give you soma4dea of this oven at the risk ofa few stilted sentences sen-tences because it is one of the oddest in all Spanish America Its facade rests upon abasement a-basement of square hewn stones slightly raised above the atrio Above the basement base-ment eight Doric pillars rise in agroup forming portals for the side doors The entrance to the great central door is between tween two fluted columns of the Ionic order Above the first story runs an elab orate cornice and immediately below the cornice in spacious niches over the side doors stands colossal statues of St Peter and St Paul The second body of the edificethat above the crIc is raised upon eight IonIc pillars which form an imposing niche in which appears a beautiful image of the Blessed Virgin Surmounting these pillars the carved and stuccoed facade ends in an inscribed frontispiece topped by a huge iron cross set upon a pedestal At either endof the front are two tall towers divided di-vided by a cornice like the main building two Ionic pillars on their second story forming in each tower an aperture for the I bells and a clock Both towers are canopied cano-pied by a quaint dome and in each dome the Episcopal emblems arc emblazoned Inside the old sanctuary is dark damp and gloomy beyond degree Down each side runs a roiy of seats which during service ser-vice are occupied exclusively by men all the women kneeling upon the cold stone floor throughout the most lengthy masses I is 1 the old story that females are expected t do all the praying in this wicked world as i they were guilty of all the sins thereof while theirmale relatives look on complacently complac-ently intending to slip into heaven somehow some-how through their intercessions A few of the more aristocratic ladies bring rugs or squares of carpet on which they squat a la Mohammedan when tired of kneeling The only remarkable thing about the interior inter-ior of this cathedral is a really elegant pulpit pul-pit inlaid with tortoise shell and pure all ver but surrounded by the usual images of wax and wood gaudy with tinsel and I tisue flowers Not far away fromBolivars statue is the PLAZA BE LAS AlIBiS one hundred metres long and traversed from east t west by the San Augustine river At each end of this park is a bridge over which runs a busy street and extending extend-ing north and south on either side of the < riverare narrow avenues always crowded with pedestrians On the northern bank is a pretty garden of irregular shape because be-cause following the bends of the river and on the opposite side beyond another flowery flow-ery space stands the fine old church and former monastery of San Augustin Besides Be-sides its religious history which date back nearly three centuries this church Is i memorable for having withstood a seige of three days duration in the revolution of 1SC1 Though the building was mined in three places and the besieged were entirely en-tirely without food and water they held out heroically until help came and the day was gained Scarcely second to this in historic interest inter-est is the Plaza dc los Marttrcs the Martyrs so named because within it have been executed ex-ecuted many of Colombias patriots politicians politi-cians councilors soldiers and statesmen shot by the Spaniards during the bitter struggle for independence Again and again has it been deluged with human bloodwhih perhaps accounts for the fact that grass and flowers seem to grow more rankly here than elsewhere It has also been > the scene of several auto dc fa in those earlier aays when Romish inquisitors had power t burn alive those who dared t incur their displeasure In the centre of the plaza a lofty obelisk has been reared to the memory of log Vartlrcs The corner stone of the splendid monument was laid in 1S72 by Doctor Manuel Man-uel Murillo then president of the Republi but the work was not completed until as lat as Trujillos administration The beautiful statues that adorn its sides are die the work of the Italian artist Rombar dioThen Then there is the S PLAZA DE LA CAPUCniXA surrounded on three sides by the swellest private residences and flanked on the other by the college of Merced Mercy and the ancient church of the Capuchina straight through the middle of this plaza runs river shaded on both banks by tall ugly eucalyptus trees said to be the Srstever planted in Colombiaimported By the monks whoso favorite promenade was along hh stream at the sunset hour Speaking of churches ono of the most curious in Bogota is that which shelters Our Lady of the Cliff Like other intensely Catholic communities this has it miraculous Virgin which corresponds t the Mexican Guadalupe the French Lady of Londres the Spanish Virgin do los Remedies or any other of the numerous numer-ous forms in which the Mother of Christ is said t have revealed herself to man The Lady of the Cliff was discovered by an Indian carved on the face of ana an-a ost inaccessible precipice away up in the mountains With infinite labor an expense the solid rock upon which the miraculous carving appeared was cut away from the peak and carried t Bogota where a church was erected in it honor True there are heretics who hint that the wily priesthood desiring to raise from the money frm povertystricken people for the building of a now sanctuary took this method of imposing upon their credulity cre-dulity and caused the figure to be secretly carved by human hands but the faithful devoutly believe in it divine origin and prove it oy numberless miracles which the Stone Lady has performed in curing diseases dis-eases relieving the people of their distresses tresses and protecting them in times of clinger The only PKOTESTAXT PLACE OP WORSHIP in Bogot is the Scotch Presbyterian Mission Mis-sion house which occupies a building that was originally constructed for a printing office There are galleries along botn sides and at the farther end are two very high windows above thed raise platform which holds the reading desk and a rather squecky harmonium The services are mostly conducted in Spanish for the benefit ben-efit of native converts of whom I am told there are a considerable number And queer enough it sounds t hear the same old homotunes endeared by so many associations Rock of Ages Old Hundred Hun-dred Jesus Lover of my Soul etc rendered with words of another tongue and the Lords prayer repeated in concert by the congregation Dar nos ate dir nucstro pall Give us this day our daily bread Through Protestantism in tolerated in Colombia and even protected in a measure in common with a other forms of religion re-ligion by the Liberal government it i regarded with horror by the people at large who consider souls given over to such heretical doctrines a lost beyond redemption A former missionary in Colombia relates how a poor woman came to him one day I weeping and evidently driven r desperation despera-tion by the pangs of hunger bringing her i baby t him In her arms which she offered to sell ron Tn SERVIcE OF THE DEVIL she fully believing that the mission of the Presbyterians Satanic majesty was t gather i souls t his I The maternal instinct I by no means wanting in the lowest classes wantg lowet of South American women and many beatiful examples I amples arc alien of the motherlovo that will suffer all things for the sake of the helpless little ones but among the more degraded the poor creatures have so many i children and are so habitually hungry and helpless that It i no wonder human in a stincts nearly die out of them In some cases inlauts are utterly neglected and and left to shift for themselves soon a able to walk to live or die ass Dies guere as God wills a their parents would piously remark i questioned on the subject I An American genleman tells me that hew he-w one day in the suburbs when his horse accideatly ran over and killed II i child that was lying asleep in the road its dirty and naked brown body completely hidden in the sand Of course he was stricken with horror and remorse and hunting up the mother gave her ail the money he happened to have about him amounting t about 540 as a balm t assuage suage her grief A few days later riding along the same read he saw ahead of him another child squatted in the sand in precisely the spot where the other was killed Dismounting r investigate he discovered that the little thing could not get out of the way being securely tied in a flat basket He did not run over any morebabiesyou may be sure but again sought the mother who proved t be the same one r whom he had lately given 40 and who appeared t be in waiting wait-ing and proceeded t bless her backwards back-wards in good round Yankee terms for her carelessness whereupon the creature merely shrugged her shoulders and indict indi-ct in the most innocent and businesslike business-like manner imaginable that it was more money she wanted not the baby and that there were a number of other olive branches whom she would like to dispose of on similar terms Throughout all SpanishAmerica the death of a child seems to be a matter of rejoicing re-joicing rather than sorrowthe idea being be-ing that the little onOj not having arrived ar-rived at years of discretion must be without with-out sin and therefore in no danger of the torments of purgatory whereas had it been permitted to live longer guicn 8abe > who knows what might have been its eternal future The smal corpse is spoken of by a as ofra angelic another litte angel It is decorated gaily with birds wings flowers and bits of gaudy paper kept in the house n long as possible often a great deal too long and its interment is celebrated by lively music followed by a feast dug for all concerned and sometimes dan FANNIE B WAPD |
