Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1898-11-09

made of marble, placed to the right
of aud at the foot of the main altar.
The stone vault surmounted by bust
supposed to resemble the explorer,
but said to differ in every detail from
his portraits. The bones OF Colum-
bus, the Spaniards say, were taken to
Havana in 1795 and placed in grave
dug under the spot where the vault
now stands. In 1922 the Spaniards
in Cuba erected the present tomb and
placed beneath the bust of Columbus
the following inscription:
o, grand Columbusl
In this urn enshrined
A thousand centuries
Thy bones shall guardl
A thousand ages keep thine image fresh,
In token OF our nations gratitude.
When the supposed bones of Colum-
bus were removed from Santo DOM
lingo, the ceremony was made the oc-
casion for display of Spanish gran
deur such as had never before been
seen in the Western Hemisphere.
1t is easy to concede that the lead
chest found at San Domingo was not
the one in which the bones Of the
Admiral were taken to San Domingo,
for it is generally admitted that the
name America, which appeared on the
casket, was used before 1909, and the
Gothic characters in the interior of the
chest were not common until the
seventeenth century.
The circumstance that the chest
found at San Domingo is small, also
confirms the suspicion that it was
made to contain half skeleton. That
sent to Havana, although of the same
length and depth was wider, perhaps
to give more room to the hip bones
and the skull, besides the other bones
corresponding to those found at San
Domingo.
The San Domingo chest contained
some fragments of lead which bear the
unmistakable signs of age. This sug-
gests the probability that the chest
was cast from an older one.
After distinguished career in Eu--
rope and Asia, Mgr. Roccococchia, the
discoverer Of the remains of Columbus
at San Domingo, was made Bishop at
Orope, Yica. gof San Domingo. and
delegate to Hayti and Yenezuei aSiu'
1874. The leaden chest was found on
September 10, 1877. Thework in the
cathedral had just begun when o hid
den tomb was discovered at the left
of the altar. A leaden chest was
found. It contained the remains OF
Don Pietro Colombo, the discoverer's
grandson.
The chest containing the bones of
Columbus was at the right of the first.
When the discovery was made, be-
sides Mgr. Cocchia, the italian Con-
sui; Giobatta Cambiaso, his brother,
Luigi, and the authorities OF San
Domingo, were present. The Consul,
who was a Genoese, seized pinch OF
the ashes in the chest and placed
them in crystal vial. A ribbon was
attached to the vial, bearing an in
scription in Italian to this effect:
"Ashes of the immortal Christopher
Columbus, discovered in the Cathedral
of San Domingo the 10th of September,
1877. To the City of Genoa, from
her affectionate sons, GioDatta and
Luigi Cambiaso.
|. The ribbon bears the seal of the
City of San Domingo stamped in
wax, and bearing the inscription,
"Escribania Publica. San Domingo"
When the vial arrived at Genoa the
municipality decided to preserve it in
an urn of bronze. The urn was
executed IN 1886 by Pandiani. OF
Milan. 1t is in the style of the seven
teenth century. Four sea horses sus-
tain it at the corners, and graceful de-
signs adorn the frame, which bears on
each side the arms of Genoa. The
whole is surmounted by female
figure representing Genoa, the Queen
of the Mediterranean. The left hand
rests upon IN anchor, and with the
right the figure holds aloft the wreath
of victory.
Pavia received similar honor, for
at her university the discoverer OF the
New World completed his studies.
The ashes were placed in small
pyramid of crystal, and that was de-
posted in q splendid receptacle.