The weekly union record., 1864-01-30
The Calamity at Santiago, Chill.

lllODl ile aIparAlsO Vi lfSG- 1Stl
On the evening of the Sih December, 5000
women and several hundred men were c;ammel
within the walls of the Jesuit Church at San
tiaso. celebrating the rites of the Immaculate
Conception of Mary. Still, the outside crowt
fought to get 10 that they might hear thei
fayorie priest, Ugsrtc, Passionate and yigor
lus declsmer. Eizsguirre. the Apostolic
Nuncio abd favor,e OF Plus Y. also founder
II the American College at Rome. was likewise
announced to preach. Eizaguirre having
wounded the pride OF Ugsr,e. By declaring
hat the illuminatioDs in The Santiago church
we're nothing 10 compare with the iuminations
at Rome, Ugarte determined TO make, on this
occasion, the grandest display ever Witnessed
upon the continent. The lighting of the lamps
and candles had been hardly flushed when the
liquid gas in transparency on the high altar
set on fire il. wood work, and wrapped IN flames
q kind of tabernacle wholly composed OF can
minutes, the altar. about twenty-ihree yards
high and ten broad, was Al inex,inguishable
bonfire.
The advance OF the FIRE was perhaps even
more rapid than the panic OF the audience
When the fire had flown from the altar to the
roof, the whole flock of devo,ees rushed to the
| were able TO escape at the first alarm; others
spd particularly the men. gained the little door
Of .he sacristy. and lastly, those near the chief
outlet forced their way through the throng
even still struggling to get in and. indeed, part
OF which did get 10, even iD face OF the FIRE,
stimulated By the desire OF getting good
place, which on this occasion meant a good
place to die 10. Then the flames having crept
| Il tba hola nd tv roIan SOD
the lamps OF oil and liquid gas from the coruices
TO which they were strung. rain OF liquid blue
! fire poured down upon the enangled throngs
below A new and more horrible confiacration
broke o.t then in that dense living mass. ap-
palling the affrighted gaze with pictures lenfold
more awful than those wherein the Catholic
Imagination has labored 10 give an idea of the
tortures of the damned In less than quarter
of an hour. about ttro thousand human beings
had persisted, including many children, but
very few men.
Although many heroic men performed prod
igies of daring aud strength, in tearing some
from the death grasp of the pbaanx of death
that choked the door. in some cases literally
tearing off their arms without being abe 10
extricate them, the number of the saved by
this means falls short Of fifty. More than 500
persons OF our highest society have persisted,
the greater part young girls OF fifteen to twenty
years. One mother has perished with her five
daughters Two thirds OF the victims were
servants, and there are many houses in which
not one has escaped. Several houses have
been noted by the police as empty, because all
their inhabitants have persisted.
Never had such pyro,echny been seen before.
10000 lights, mostly camphene in long festoons
OF colored globes, bazed the church into He'll
Of Fire. But the performance had not yet
begun, when the crescent Of fire at the gigantic
image OF the Virgin over the high altar over
flowed. and. climbing up the muslin draperies
and pasteboard devices TO the wooden roof,
rolled forth a torrent of flame. The suddenness
OF the fire was awful The dense mass OF women,
frightened out OF their senses-numbers faint
ing and all entangled by their long swelling
dresse.-rushed as those who know that death
is at their heels to the one door, which soon
became choked up. Fire was everywhere
Streaming along the wooden ceiling. it flung
be para1ine lamps, hung in rows there. among
the struggling women. ln moment, the
gorgeous church was a sea Of flame. Michael
Angelo's fearful picture of Hell was there, but
far exceeded.
Acts of sublime heroism were performed
and among the nohlest were the efforts of Mr..
Nelson. e. S Minister to Chill, and his coun-
tryman, Mr.. Meiggs
A lady named OrelIa, having in vain impored
some bystanders. Oh her knees, 10 save her
mother, rushed in and shortly afterwards mi
raculously issued forth, bearing her glorious
load A young lady of the name OF Solar,
Just before the smoke suffocated her, had the
presence Of mind to knot her handkerchief
around her leg SO that her corpse might be
recognized.
The fire, imprisoned BY the immense thick
ness OF the walls, had devoured everything
combusibIe by 10 o'clock Then, defyIng the
sckcning stencil, people came TO look after
their lost ones. Q what sight the fair, piacld
moon looked down upon. Close packed crowds
Of calcined, distorted forms, wearing the fearful
expression of the last pang. whose smile was
ouce a heaven-the ghastly phalanx of black
statues twisted in every variety OF agony,
stretching out their arms, as implorng mercy
and then Of the heap that had choked up the
door, multitudes with the lower parts perfectly
untouched, and some all . shapeless mass, but
with one arm or foot unsca,hed The silence,
after those piercing screams we're hushed IN
death. was horrible. 1t was the silence OF the
grave, unbroken but by the bitter vail or
! fainting crv. Two thousand souls had passed
through that ordeal oil lire 10 the ludg nent-seat
of Sod.
After the close Of the awful scene and while
the smoulderng heaps were yet sending up the
smoke and effiuvis to Heaven. th. people be-
came frantic with wrath and demanded the
demolition OF the remaining walls Of that huge
temple OF human sacrifice 30 ths: monument
could be erected on the spot 10 the martyrs.
The municipal body seconded the people, and
on the 18th December petition to ,ha, effect
was presented to the Presden, OF the Republic,
then at the capital. A decree in accordance
with the petition was ordered. The priests
are bitterly opposed to what they call the
sacriegious work, and at last accounts, threat
ened resistance to the decree. The Government
is weak and vacillatipg. but the people are
strong, Adj doubtless their will has triumpbed.
II CALIFORNIA BLACK WALSUrs.-We saw,
to-day. in the Pacific Fruit Marke', species
! of bard she'll nut which is found growing wild