Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1882-03-02
AN INDIAN SHRINE.
a Place of Great SanetIty In the Eyes
Of Mouth American Indians.

VI "
Not long since, ] made a little excur-
sion to COquimbo, and thence to the
valuable copper mines near Oaille. y
new railroad is in courSe reconstruction,
and already extends TO within three
miles of the latter town. The country
north of the COquimbo is an arid waste,
although south of the stream stretch
fertile fields, producing all varieties of
fruit and grain. 1t was therefore with
surprise and delight that sOon after
leaving the port OfCoquimbO l described
the pleasant green of cultivated fields.
They are irrigated by lea of an
auueduct eighty miles long, and pro-
duce abundant crops. The vision soon
faded, and 1 proceeded through noun
tain gorges and the m~OnOtonous stages
of a sterile, rocky district, whose only
charm was vastnesS and savage strength.
/ heard a curious legend connected with
the town and shrine of Andacollo, a
place of great sanctity in Indian eyes:
About the time of the conquest an
Indian princess was travelling in state
with her retinue through this desolate
region, She sat in a chair, strapped
upon the back Of bearer, OrpeOn, even
as the prosaic traveller OftO-day Is trans
pOeted through the passes of the Andes.
The barbaric princess gittered with
gems and gold, her long hair was braid
ed with strings of pearls, and the dia-
monds about her dusky throat were
worth u kings ransOm. In the shade
of the mountains gushed out a tiny rill,
and herethc hot and wearytroOp would
fain have made a halt, but to their sore
dismay the naughty daughter of the
IncaS gave the peremptOry command,
"Anda, collom forward, IndianD just
as the exhausted peOn was kneeling To
allow his miStTesStO descend. In obedi-
ence to this mandate he proceeded a
few hundred yards onward, where a
barren plateau lay stretched beneath
the blazing tOrrid sun. Here, in a par
ticular spot, came the order to halt, the
princess descended, knelt upon the
parched earth, and remained in u re-
ligiOUs ecstacy, alternately raising her
face and arms to the sky and bowling
herself upon the ground, while her re-
tinue stood by, awestruck and motion
less. The legend relates that the youth
full princess had in a vision beheld 3 fair
and tender woman holding i'll her arms
a child, whom she called upon the
maiden to worship in this spot. Atem-
pie and n shrine arose, dedicated to the
madonna and child; the princess being
baptized therein by priests of the new
! faith, while her jewels went to deck the
! altar of herdivinity. The Roman CathO-
lie priests, even to the present day,
| employ this legend with great effect as
a means of converting the Indians, with
whom the shrine of Andacollo, appeal
ing to their traditions and superstition,
is a. sacred as Mecca u the faithful
Mo~lrm, or the holy city Delhi to dwell
ers on the Indus. On the 9th of
December the devOut Indians from all
: parts of the country go up to the town,
as i'm Judea i'm the days Of HerOd the
king the people went up to be taxed,
/ each to his own city. They remain at
the shrine in worship until the 18th
I day, when they disappear again, leav-
ing the spot deserted. All the halt,
lame, and blind make pilgrimages
there, and the well and wicked go too,
believing that Journey to Andacollo
will go a long way toward securing their
salvation. Last year thirty thousand
people visited the spot, and among them
came two Indians, a nan and his wife,
who being previously ill had vowed to
visit the shrine with q rich offering if
the blessed virgin would only lend q
helping hand to theirrecOvery. Fulfill
ing their promise they were rendered
conspicuous among the pilgri us by a
bag containing five hundred silver dol
lars, which they carried in plain sight
and deposited in the treaSurc-bOX Ofthe
virgin.-COr. Nc1O York 7rib"B".