Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-14
SIGHTS OF SANTIAGO.
The Old Cathedral Which Is the
Largest in South America.
DOFFING THE HAT AT FUNERALS,
Peculiar Structure in Which Fashionable
Shopping Is Done.
THE CALAMITY AT LA COMPANIA

90 better than TO pegn with Santlago's cen
tral square, named La Plaza de la indie
pendencia. because from it all things radi
ate,, even the tramway lines and hackney
coaches, and in the streets Immediately en-
vironing it are found the principal institu.
tions-religious, social and political-of thi.
proud old capital. 1t is an imposing space
with a handsome marble fountain in the
middle, surrounded by well-kept garden
containing trees, flowers, statues, walks and
stone benches.
Nearly all the west side of this great
plaza is occupied by the Cathedral, which
is said to be the largest in South America,
as it is certainly one of the Oldest.
Originally erected by the conqueror, Pedro
de Valdivia, it has been several times par
TALLY destroyed by earthquakes, and was re.
constructed on its present plan by Garcia de
Mendoza, somewhere about the year 1850;
or rather, it was carried as near to COM
pletion as seems to be consistent with local
principles of economy. 1t has never been
quite finished, and probably never will be,
because-like the licensed beggars of Mex
ico-its imperfections are fruitful source
of revenue. Though millions of dollars
have been collected from pious parishioners
almost enough to veneer the whole pile
with coating ofgold-there is still stand.
ing call for funds to finish the Cathedral. %
Its Walls Have Been Condemned.
The Cathedral is large enough to shelter
Il, 900 people, vet has no striking feature
except that of size. 1t is built of a coarse
kind of porphyry, with a single tower of
rough brick and a tall iron cross over the
main entrance Though looking like a
monument of solidity, its arthquake-cracked
walls have been condemned and the citizens
repeatedly warned that the slightest terri
mote may tumble it down about their ears.
1t is not SO tawdry inside as most South
American sanctuaries, though containing a
score of altars, a multitude of craven
images, vast array of stained glass and
painted canvas, and gold, silver and precious
stones galore.
A prettier custom among these exceed
ingly polite people is that ofdofing the hat
pageant is not likely to be particularly
solemn, as there is no black about the hearse
nor weeping women following it-only a
few men and the horses being driven as if
at a race; but to see everybody in the streets,
in the horse ears, in their carriages, on the
pavements or in their balconies-paying a
last token ofcourtesy to the passing stranger
who is on the way to his long home, robs
grim death of some of its gloom.
Besides being the seat of Government,
the courts of law and the Legislature, Sam
tiago is an Archbishop's See, and is there
fore blessed with numerous sanctuaries and
monastic institutions. Among the finest are
that of San Augustin, erected in the year
1894, by Don Christobal de Vera, and in
later times adorned with pillared portico,
l.. r II
and San Francisco-all built in the previous
century; the San Augustia nunnery,
founded in 1876, by Bishop Medellin; the
Carmen Alto, or church of the Carmelite
nunnery, an elegant little gothic structure
where most of the fashionable weddings
take place.
A Strange Miniature Cavern.
One of Santiago's most peculiar structures
is the adjacent Portaless de fernandez
Concha, the name referring to its builder.
1t is spacious gallery of is arches, support
ing two-storied building, the whole being
four stories in height. When within it 40
great stretch of Imagination is required to
fancy yourself in the court of some marble
palace-the Alhambra, perhaps-arched
with glass overhead, the sides beautifed by
frescoes, carvings, paintings and inches full
statuettes. Here is cave, apparently as
nature made it, beneath chaos of boulders,
overhung with growing ferns and ivy Pen
citrate the miniature cavern, and you are at
first startled by a remarkably life-like stone
serpent, raised as if to strike; and then by
the discovery that you have inadvertently
wandered into private dwelling, whose
owner has had the singular taste to thus dis
guise the front entrance. e. -
All these fancy doors along the sides lead
into business houses, the Fashionable shop
ping places of the elite, where jewelry,
bric-a-brac and Partisan millinery are
chiefly sold. This is favorite resort for
the fair Santiagoians, particularly after
mass, when they are met by hun
dreds, every one with black manta, or
shaw, drawn over her head, prayer book and
rosary in hand, and small rug thrown over
her arm. The latter is usually of embroid-
cred felt, but sometimes it is square of
yicuna, guanaco or alpaca fur, and it is
used to spread upon the damp, cold stones
of the church floor when its owner kneels to
say her prayers. They gaze upon the raw
ishing displays in the shop windows to their
hearts content, or purchase little bouquets
at the flower stands that are strung all along
the outer edge of the arcades, or gather to-
gether in groups to solace their feminine
souls with bits of gossip.
The Clerks Have Time to Dine.
The best shops do not open before or 10
o'clock in the morning, because before that
hour there is nobody to patromze them;
then they are closed between 8 and z P. NJ.
to allow the clerks and proprietors time to
dine-as in many Mexican cities where the
postoffiee remains locked most of the after
noon so that the employees may not be dis
turbed in their daily long siesta Here
they are open till nearly midnight, as the
heaviest part of the retail trade is accom-
plished after in the evening.
On the north side of the plaza is the old
Government ''palacio" irregular, heavy
looking pile, which was formerly the abode
of the President of the Republic, but is now
utilized for public good in variety of
ways, including barrack and prison. Col
lectively the buildings are known as Las
Cajas, and though their glory has departed,
they include some of the most noteworthy
of the Government buildings-not even ex-
cepting the splendid new postoffice-close by,
with its tiled floor, gilded ceiling and inner
walls of marble. By the way, in a court
yard of the postofice the traveller is amazed
to see two unexpected CHESTS standing be-
fore him-marble statues of George Wash
ington and Abraham Lincoln, both of
which, l regret to add, were brought from
Lima with a great deal of other plunder by
the victors in the Peru-Chile war.
Where President Balmaceda Resides.
The Moneda, or Mint, where the Presi-
dent now resides, is generally considered
the handsomest of Santiago's public build
ings. 1t is quadrangular. in shape, 500 feet
long, with front $50 feet wide, and being
much higher than the adjacent structures
presents an appearance of dignity. and
strength, rather than of beauty-though the
interior shows considerable ornamentation.