San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-10-15
AN OLD STONE.
Carved by the Fathers of San An
tonic and Still Lasts Through
tho ADaS


tonic and Still Lasts Through
the Ages.
The LIGHT reporter was allowed
the great privilege last Saturday of
closely inspecting a piece of stone
carving that bears the remarka bic
age of $50 years. The carving, in the
shape of stone statue of st. Fer
nandO, is the property of the Ca thOlic
church of this city, belonging to San
Fernando cathedral, and is a repres-
entation of its patron saint, who was
king of Spain, and afterward sainted
by the pope for his zeal in spreading
the Catholic religion and closely at
tending to the welfare of the church.
The statue was carved by one Of the
Franciscan monks who built the mis-
sions, the Alamo and the old church
of San Fernando, part of the old walls
and the ancient sacristy of which are
still standing on Military plaza, back
of the more modern structure on Main
plaza. The statue on its back bears
the inscription in Spanish
"Hecha en- ell ano 1873. Res
tauree en- 1872" with the monogram
T. G. under it. Translated it reads,
"Made in the year 1888. Restored in
1S72.n 1t is rough carving, of course,
representing King Ferdinand, of
Spain, in his robes and crown, with a
full beard, and in his hands are a
sceptre or baton, and a globe repre-
senting the world, most of which was
then under Spanish dominion) and
surmounted by a cross, showing the
power of the Catholic religion. In
these days the old inquisitlon also
fiourished. The statue, though full
length one, and standing upon a
small pedestal, is scarcely four feet
high, but weighs several stone. In
the old church, which was begun in
the 14th century, this statue stood
over the large door or entrance on
Military plaza, but when part of the
old church was torn down and re-
built, in 1872. this statue was taken
down and placed on a column in the
southwest corner of the church. over
the altar of st. Joseph, where it has
since remained until the repairs
now going on in the church
necessitated it's temporary removal.
The right hand, holding the sceptre,
is broken off, but has been replaced,
loosely. There is an old tradition,
repeated by one or two Mexican
crones, learned in the folk lore of
this city, to the effect that ''un hOm-
bre malos MeXicanO," bad Mexican,
passing by the church door one day
very drunk, took out his pistol and
shot the hand away. 1t was only by
stealing horse and scurrying out of
town that this daring and irreverent
sinner escaped being mobbed for this
sacrilege and he remained in hiding
several days. But he was punished,
say the danes, for not long after he
was engaged in building a brush
fence on ranch on the Medina river,
when a rattlesnake struck him on the
hand. He was brought to the city
and well taken care of, in spite of the
hatred all the MeXicans felt for him,
but nothing could save the hand, and
only when it was life or death to him,
did he consent to have it amputated in
the rude manner of those days. After
this was done, an old woman who
had witnessed his wanton act, saw
him PROSTATE on his bed minus the
injured member and cried, ''aha, just
taken off in the same place you cut
off the hand of st Fernando