Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-12
A CAsTILLA 7 A LEON
NUEVo MUNDo do COLON,

Columbus remains were fated to cross tn,
Atlantic to the islands of the Western
tropics, among which the most illustriou
years of his life were passed. Buried a
first in the convent of st. Francis, Vallado
lid, they were taken to Seville, and in 1851
they were carried across the ocean to Santt
Domingo and placed in the crypt of tha
capitals great cathedral And now come,
3 strange story con cerning their history
with the last century.
Facing the central plaza is what is per
haps the most interesting building now
standing in America-the cathedral 1t il
substantially built of stone and brick 10 the
form Of a cross, about 200 feet in length anG
half that in width In its side chapels are
statues and memorials of worthies no one
ever heard of, and in one is the cross ot
Santo Cerro. In small, dark chapel, just
to the right of the chancel, at the feet Of
the ghostlike recumbent efigy of an old
bishop, under burning taper, is a low,
barred door leading into a dimly lighted
vault which contains all that is mortal Of
Christopher Columbus
Took the Wrong Bones to Hsvana.
There has never been any authentic rec
ord of where the remains were first placed,
and the same is true of the ashes of his son
and grandson. IF anv ever existed it has
been destroyed or not yet found. Tradition
has always said that the coffin of Columbus
was deposited In vault on the right of the
big high altar. In 1895, when, bv the
treaty of Basle, Spain ceded Santo Domingo
10 France, the former reserved the right to
remove the national property, and under
this provision it was determined to take the
dust of Columbus to Havana On Decem-
Der II, 1895. Spanish feet appeared at San
Domingo city to bear away the remains
The rchbishop indicated vault on the
right Of the altar as that contair ing the
sacred ashes. 1t was unmarked, and from
1t was taken some slabs of lead, composing
what had once been leaden box and some
human bones There was neither inscrip-
tion nor mark to show whose they were
and the feet sailed awav on December 20,
and placed in the Cathedral in Havana the
remains it had borne. These are facts easy
Of substantiation saws the Boston Herald
In August, 1877, while some repairs were
being made in the Santo Domingo Cathe-
dral, quite Unexpectedly a vault was un-
covered which was found to contain a leaden
box, which proved, by its marks and in
scriptioEs, to be the coffin of Luis Colum-
bus. The tradition that the remains of the
Admiral had not in reality been removed in
1885 was remembered, and further search
was made. Two vaults were discovered,
with a thin partition wall between them.
One was empty, and the other contained
small leaden box which, on inspection,
seemed, by its inscriptions, to be the true
coffin OF Columbus. Seas were Immediately
placed upon the vault
Opening the RsaI Casket.
On September 10, in the presence of the
Governmental and ecclesiastical authorities
OF Santo Domingo and OF the foreign Minis
tiers and Consuls, the seals we're removed,
and from the vault was taken box made
Of sheet lead, dull and tarnished with age
Measurement showed it to be 163< inches
long, 81s inches wide and 81 inches deep
The top was secured by two hinges, one of
which was broken. 1t was in fair state of
preservation. On bei,g opened it was
found to contain 2S large and 13 small
pieces OF human bones. In the dust at the
bottom was discovered a small silver plate,
two screws and bullet. Later the dust
was gathered into a small casket.
On the front was the letter c, on the end
on the left was the same letter. and on the
other end an A. These initials are believed
10 be those of the words: "Cristoval Colon
Almirante Christopher Columbus, Ad-
mirsL"
There were many other abbreviations on
various parts of the precious box, leaving
no doubt as to its authenticity.
The presence of the bullet has always
been mystery, but the theory has recently
been advanced (and the argument has great
force) that this leaden ball is an additional
= r. Eal-
that it was received by Columbus during
the early part of his career, and was buried
in his body.
The Evidence of Bullet
In one of his letters in the last wear of his
life he speaks of his old wound having
reopened. The small size OF the box
would seem to indicate that Columbus
remains had been transferred to 1t when
they were removed from Spain to Ssnto
Domingo, 81 wears after his death.
This curious and interesting box has been
thoroughly examined twice, and has stood
the criticism of Is years. and no evidence
has been adduced to cast doubt upon its
genuineness.
1t has been said that the final initial A.
In the inscription on the cover cannot
stand for America because the term was
unknown in 1906, when Columbus died.
This is true, but it was used for the first
time only one year later, and appeared in
number OF maps between then and 1540.
1t has been stated that the inscriptions
were fabricated Assertion unsupported is
not proof, and the statement is its own
refutation. The inhabitants OF Santo Do
mingo are purely agricultural people and
there is not skill enough in all the island
to create such box as this
The Academy OF History in Madrid has
pronounced the casket a fraud and affirmed
the genuineness of the Havana remains, but
1t has produced no evidence, and its argu-
ments will not stand minute against the
bare facts OF Santo Domingo.