Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-11-05

tlves, was too poor when he died to al
low Of his desire being carried out, and
his body was decently buried. He died
on May 81, 1906, without the least sus-
picion that he had discovered a new
continent, firmly persuaded that he had
reached the easternmost shores Of Asia.
Forty years later, when the conquests
of Cortes and Pizarro flooded the PEN
insula with the gold and silver Of Mex.
leo and Peru, Spain remembered the al
most forgotten name Of the nan to
whom it owed the rich possessions, and
it became proud of him, Complying
with his dying wish, the government
ordered his remains to be conveyed to
Santo Domingo to be inferred in the
cathedral. This was done in 1541. At
that time the edifice had just been fin.
ished. No records were kept as yet, but
the tradition remained that the body
rested to the right of the altar. This
tradition was entered in the church reg.
lister 1856 years later-that is, in 1915.
In the beginning Of the seventeenth
century the remains Of the disc0verer's
brother, Diego, who had been governor
of Santo Domingo, together with those
Of his son Louis. were also transferred
to the island and buried in the same
cathedral. There was no inscription in
dicating the locality Of either vault.
Santo Domingo was coded to France by
the treaty Of Basel December, 1850,
and the Spaniards stipulated that the
remains of the d~iscoverer should be re-
moved to Cuba. Accordingly the floor
on the right of the altar was opened,
and the contents Of the vault found
were transferred to Havana with great
ceremony.
But in 1877 some workmen, repair
ing the floor, discovered another vault,
also on the right of the altar, between
that from which the supposed remains
Of Christopher Columbus had been TAX
en- and the outer wall Of the chancel,
the two vaults being separated only by
a thin wall. This vault was found to
contain a small leaden box, a cent?
meters long. 20 centimeters high and
ak centimeters broad, with an inscrip-
ton that convinced the authorities and
everybody who saw it that the contents
were Enthusiastically the remains Of "the
admiral" and that those of his brother
Diego had been taken to Havana.
The Spanish authorities stoutly de-
MED that any mistake could have been
made. The archbishop of Santo Domingo
as firmly maintained that the remains
discovered by the workmen were those
Of Christopher Columbus, and a long
controversy on the subject took place,
till the matter dropped, remaining in
doubt.
But in January, 1891, Mr. Rudolf
Cronau, author Of "Amerika, die &c.
schichte seiner E~ntdeckung Won der AL.
tersten bis auf die Neuester Zeit" (Leip-
sic), came TO Santo Domingo, for the pur.
poses Of his book, to personally investi-
gate. He brought an introduction from
Prince Bismarck to the president Of San
to Domingo and was permitted to reopen
the vault in the presence, of the church
dignitaries, of the secretary of state for
the interior, of the consuls of all the gov
ernments represented in Santo Domin-
60 and Of other persons Of note. The re-
suit was that therD could be no longer
any doubt that the remains of Columbus
were still in the cathedral Of his be-
loved Hispaniola.
A document to that effect was drawn
up on the spot and signed by every one
present, the original Of which is in the
Berlin foreign office, and if any doubt
remains in the minds Of our readers re-
garding the authenticity Of the ciroum-
stances related they may read the report
Of the proceedings by President Charles
K. Adams of Cornell university in the
American Historical society's annual
report for l891.-R. A. Van Middledyk
in New York Herald.