The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1864-02-04


New York papers We make up the f'.l
l"wing additional particulars Of the sad
catastrophe:
Santiago is the capital of Chill, and
contains llO,O 900 inhabitants. Mixed
marriages of Catholics aud Protesiant>
are not sanctioned by eccIcsiastical law,
and the priests have always had pretty
much their own way in the whole OF
the Republic. except in Valparaiso.
where foreigners have -siurh influence
OF the children born IN Santiago, one.
fifth are illegiiimat-, but this is I.rnba
bly, no larger proportion than IN most
purely Catholic countries.
Satiayo is unlike any city IN th..
world, in this that all the wealthy fami-
lies ot the Republic reside aud in a
city where thereis so little immigration,
these families are more ar less co,net.-
ted. All are we'll known to each other,
and, in word, from one large famiI,
The blow has thus stuck home 10 the
heart of every one. n n
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. 81.
There ale no ieasls IN Spanish
America SD popular with the Iadies,
as those dedicated Ia the Virgin.
Some one of the gnrgeons-churci,es ei
the capital is annually selected for th.
ceremonies, and this year the magniti
cent temple of the C"mpania (calle.l
so from having "uce belonged To IN.
Jesuit-) was chosen. 1t is in the yer,
heart of the city. For thirt, evening,
it has been crowded to excess, and al
most exclusively by females. Ever,
effort had been made To make this eve.
ming surpass in spIendor its predeces-
! sOrs. .ft u .t.9!s 4fs at bod.
The curate having determined Ia
outshine all former exhibitions. male
arrangements To adorD the church will,
gtrlands of flowers, COLOSSAL statues,
and with more than 10000 lights
He was vainly demonstrated with b,
the Archbishop and others in au,hori
ty, who reluctantly gave their consent
to the display. The church was fiile.>
with the devout all day, and towards
nighttall continuous stream of human,
beings, almost exclusively women
poured into the churcl, until every ave
nue was densely packed, and the step.
of the church aud far oul into the plaz,
were filled with hushed and kneelinu
crowd. $3.50 rfa &. .!isss
H"w THE FIRE COMMENCED. -.
The doors acere then oil closed, say.
the main entrance, f,.r the double pur
pose of preventing the confusion DC
casioned 10y late corners aud Of max
ing the voice of the preacher mon.
distinctly heard. At a little before
seven, the assistants began lighting M
the church and were just finishing the
grand altar, the rest Of the building
being fully illuminated with thousand.
of lamps, most of them of parufn.
OIL, when fr"m q transparent crescent
at the foot at the statue of lie Virs in
burst forth a jet 1T flame. The alten
dant endeavpred To rxtinguish il Will
his poncho, but the ihhammable liq,ii,
penetrated the fabric aud only in
creased the danger. In a moment th,
flames darted MP the garlands If arti
ficial flowers to the roof, the i,mlnr,,s,
cupola caught fire, and the lamps sus
pended from The roof by slr.ngs drop
ped and exploded an"ng the d-rscl,
packed mass of women kneeIing be
meath. Daitiny along the woodel
ceiling, already heated to the dr,mes.
Of tinder, the flames ran like Missing
serpents the whole length of th,
! church, and rolled down IN huge bill
lows upon the compact crowd, that had
insilnctly sought the main entrance
During the first few mnlnents of sur
prise and terror, shieks of sorrow fo
the destruction of their beloved churcl
resounded through the ai>les of III,
building but when, rushing Ia the var
ious outlets, all were found CLOSED saw
one, and that one impassable, lou,
SCREAMS of horror burst from the des
pairing multitude. For few moment
the heart piercing cries of prrishin'
women were increasing they gradual
ly grew fainter aud fainter, and s"ol
an awful silence reigned within tha
horrible furnancs, broken only by th'
angry roar of the flames, or the cras'
of falling towers: tsa.ds.. Z
Lest il be wondered at that the fir
was allowed to gain such headway
Santiago, a city Of 100, 900 inhabitant,
possesses but three engines, all out Q