White Cloud Kansas chief. [volume] (White Cloud, Kan.) 1857-1872, 1864-01-28
An Ay.GuI lsis.,sser in Chilli.


IFrom the Valparaiso Mercury, Dee. III
A catastrophe, gigantic, horrible, I'M.
exampied in the annals of our country,
and perhaps of the world, has absorbed
every ones mind for many days past.
Every year. from the Sth Of Novem Der
to the Sih of December, the day of the
Immaculate Conception, lasted splen-
did festival, in which orchestral muic.
singing. and astonishing prodigslitys OF
incense, Of lights, Of oil, liquid gas, wax.
and every luminous combustible in the
world, glittered and Hsred in every part,
in the eornices, in the ceiling, ana par
ticularly on the high alter. Every pisht
the church blszed with a sea OF flame.
and hntfered with clouds Of muslin and
gauzs draperies. It.could only De light
ed up in time by beginning in the middle
Of the afternoon. and the work of ex
tingnishing was only ended when the
night was far advanced. In 1858 they
thought Of adopting hydrogen gas, but
the engineers plan, though convenient,
and safe. was rejected.
A priest named Ugsrta, whose mind
msriolatory had marked for its OWE,
headed that Sisterhood from the ginning.
and worked his way down to such q
depth Of superstition. that one of hIs least
extrsvsgancies was the invention of o
Celestial Post Office trick, by which tie
Daughters Of Mary might correspond with
the Virgin in writing.
The church of 1.-THE Company" buili
i'd the latter half Of the seventeenth cen
tury, possessed spacious nave, but a
roof. that da,eG. only from fifteen years
ago Of painted timber. The only door Of
easy access to the congr- CATION was the
principal one ia the centre, the small
doors leading into the aisles being opened
only half-way, and obs,ructed by screens.
Near the high altar there was little door
with the sacristy.
A few minutes before I in the evening OF
Tuesday. the sth Of Dscembe Der, more than
1900 women and few hundred men
knelt in that church crammed to overflow
ing. However that did no, prevent q
mass Of fanatics from attempting
10 fight their way in from the steps, be.
ranse it was the last night of the Month
Of Mary, and no one could bear to lose |
The closing sermon. of the priest, Ugar;s, |
who always succeeded by his exciting |
in downing in tear that
place so soon to be sea of Gre. The
Eizsguirre. the Apostolic Nuncio and ia.
'orits Of Plus TX, the founder of the
American college at Rome, was to preach
llso. 1t is said that Ugar,e. wounded in
,is feelings as chaplin of the "Daugh hters
II Mercy" because Eizaguirre had told
lin that the illuminstion of bis church
'onld not be campared with what be had
een in Rome. exclaimed with enthusiasm:
Il will give him, when be comes to
'reach. such an illumination as the world
las never seen." Nobody can DENY that
Jgsrte has kept his word
Indeed. the lighting of all the lamps
nd candles had hardly finished when the Il
iqufd gss in transparency on the high
liar. set on Ere its wood work and wrsn-
ed in flames kind of tabernacle wholly
onposed OF ofcanvsss. psstebosrd l. wood.
Q less than two ninutes the sftsr. sbout
8 yards high and 10 broad. was an in
bonfire.
The advance Of the fire was perhaps
zen more rapid than the panic ofths an.
fence. When the FIRE had flown from
70 altar to the roof. the whole aock ofI |
svosess rushed to the principal door.
hose near the lateral doors, were able .
escape ,t the Srst alsrm /; others, and 9
'rtieularly the men, gained the littls !
oor o. the s.crisity. and lastly, the chief h
ltlet forced their way through the threDe.
'sn st'li struggling 70 get in. apd indeed Il
,rt Of which did get 10. even in the face
'tns nrs, stimulated BY The desire Of