Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1869-06-12
CHASTITY REVELATION
More Reflects of the Spanish Inquisition Un'
earthed.

The London .StdF has the following
! from Madrid:
A somewhat CHASTITY incident has
caused considerable excitement here
within the last few weeks. Within a
few hundred yards Of the new Plaza
| de Dos Mayo, inaugurated on the I'd
of this month, there is a locality
called the Cruz del Quemadero. 1t is
a field some three hundred meters
square, at the top of the Gale Aricha
/ de San Bernardo, near the hospital
! built by the eX-Queen. Through it a
new road was lately opened, and as
! the ground was elevated, a cutting of
considerable depth had to be dug. The
wOrkmen laid bare several peculiar
! looking horizontal strata, of irregular
! formation. One was one hundred and
| fifty feet in length, another fifty, an
| other ten. The thickness varied from
eight to eighty centimetres. In color
| the soil was black, the lower strata be-
ing much blacker than the Superior
ones.
On examination lufAbs of charred
wood were found, interSpered with
ashes, evidently the remains of some
huge fire. Curiosity was soon excited
andfurther investigation. demonstrated
that in portions of these agly-lOoking
strata, the finger came upOn small
pieces of adipOse matter, which
yielded, like butter, to the touch.
iron rings were grubbed up; human
bones, Il cranium, a long TUT Of hair,
having belonged TO some female. All
these were more or less charred. Some
Of the iron was partially fused, and
the texture Of bone intermingled with
sand was plainly discernible. A gag,
turned up. The question, what were
these lugubriOus records was answered
at once This field nf the Cruz del
QuemaderO was the place where the
inquisitiOn disposed sf some Of its
victims. Here were the CHASTITY proofs
of the horrors Of which this place had
heen the scene, suddenly brought to
light after the lapse of two centuries.
On the 18th of May, 1859, eighty-three
hcrcticS, including twenty Hebrews,
Of whom five were women, were inn
mOlated on this very spot. The pile
of wood was eighty feet in length by
seven feet in height. y great con-
course witnessed the auto dd JP, and
the horrible ceremonial completed,
the people buried the remains of their
victims under Cart-l0adS Of earth,
These irregular geological strata are
naught else bat the silent testimony
to the atrocities perpetrated on this
in the name Of religion and Catholic
Unity" out of one your special cor
respondent hooked out with his finger
one entire bone of a human vertebral
column, a portion Of the tuba, frag4
ment of a shoulder blade With hole
through it, and a bit of a rib, all bear
ing,the marks of fire. Upward of two
carloads of remains of this sort have
been carried away and decently
buried. But these horrible strata!
There they remain to tell their own
tale and instruct the present genera
tion. On the 18th q public meeting
was convened, 10 be held at the
Quemadero, by the Republican youth
OF Madrid, to protest against priestly
intolerance and to advocate freedom
of conscience. That this discovery
should have been made at q moment
when the Spanish clergy are striving
their utmost to affirm the "unity of
the Roman Catholic Church" +" and are
preaching in the churches of the
metropolis against heresy, is strik-
ing coincidence.
The QuemaderO is 50 frequented by
people in search of relics, and the eXsl
plOratiOnS of these strata have been so
extensive, that the authorities have
barred the frontage off, and prohibited
access. 1t is their intention to cut a
square block, and their erect a monu-
ment. 1t is estimated by Lioriente,
the great historian of the InquisitiOn,
that this aterociOus tribunal has de-
prived Spain of twelve millions of
souls, including the Jews and MOors
expelled from the country Thirty
one thousand and ninety-two perished
by fire; 1858 were first butchered
and then burned; 221 ,9S5 died of tor
ture. Total, 270,7