The Republican journal., 1903-07-02

lSnecial Correspondence of The Journall
\HFoUIPA, Peru, May 20, 1908. Pass
mo along the street one day, my atten-
I'm was drawn to the subject of flu
rails in forcible and rather unpleas-
mi manner. With "head in the clouds
,,i hands full of roses, musing on the
..sutv of eternal summer amid snow
.sd mountains, l barely escaped being
.-ocked down and run over by four
.,rses driven furiously, the foremost
,re ridden by a postilian, that came
..bing around the corner attached to
searse. About the only thing that
,oss with speed in lazy Peru is flu
-.ral procession; and when wheels are
,or. a comparatively rare occurrence
. lrequipa), they claim the right OF
g.4 not only III the street but on both
,eytments, invariably cutting Off all
.ners so closely as to Craze the
.arses. This is not always the result
. earelessness, however, nor due to
ice afore-thought" on the part
a the driver. The city streets are very
...row and irregular paved with small,
,p.ery stones, and sloping sharply
-aa the middle towards deep gutter
either side. Consequently clumsy
..erlS will slide toward the edges, and
rIny cases the only way to prevent
va from actually leaning up against
.5>es is to drive pell nell. Consider
lie fearful iolting over stones and
ows and broken places induced by
..7.. locom0tion, there is little danger
.rmg buried in trance III Arequlpa
least where the hearse is employed.
poor people, of course, cannot af-
la to hire it, but carry the dear de-
lied OIL their heads to the cemetery
stance of something more than
re miles from the central plaza.
tf It of the latter class cannot even
..- rd coffin, though the luxury of a
r...,ipn box. painted black, blue or yell
Q NAV be rented for the journey be-
-.u.u the cathedral and the place of
-rment-the same coffin serving the
nose over and over again, day after
,..4 for wears. 1t is not uncommon to
ut a company of men carrying their
-ul on a public bier, the latter being
7tructed of five narrow pieces OF
I'd. about foot apart, nailed cross
a.-r to the side poles that serve for
..dleS. the end-boardS stained black
showing a cheerful skull and cross
u-s outlined upon them with white
slt.
The procession which | 80 unpleas-
. .ll encountered was evidently that
swell Arequipanian, for the coffin
silver handles on it the gauge OF
est sWelldom here, While several
.-ts rode next to the hearse, follow
forty OF fifty men, all on horse
R The sight reminded me that | had
yet seen the cemetery: and a few
moons later j too, rode out on
--back, accompanied by a party of
tMt foreigutrS-tOr it is utterly
ossible to induce a native of high
rW degree, to escort any stranger to
ampo Sauto: a fact | ceased to
r.rr at after having visited the
vquipa's only burying ground is
tted on barren toot-hiIl, reached,
the city limits are passed, by an
labited road whose deep sands are
Hated by stretches Of loose bould-
is very small place, considering
The city is more than three centu-
old, and during all that time has had
opulation varying between twenty
Hd fifty thousand. The front of it is
.e imposing, with high adobe walls
. massive iron gates set in two high
ieS; and just inside is Well-kept
.lge devoted to flower beds, which
}e no hint of the horrors to be met
IS steps beyond. In this end aristo-
lis are buried, il three tiers of inches
The surrounding walls, whose top
ID sides are of lava stone six inches
with a foundation Of adobe. Most
' tie inches have no mark, except a
laber, rudely painted on the face,
responding to figures placed opposite
tenants name in the Church records.
>ame of them have name scratched
d the dried mortar with lead pencil,
lQ few have marble slabs elaborately
-ttered, setting forth not only the
.ame and virtues of the deceased, but
$50 advertising the fact of his or her
wealth and social prominence. AT the
poi these are generally inscribed the
>uanish words, nicho perpetuo, to in
l-ate that the cadaver will occupy the
he place for life," SO to speak.
rs grave-robbery is of very common
for scientific purposes,
as there is no medical college anywhere
rear, but simply to secure whatever of
'aiue may have been buried with the
lpse, even to the boards of it's coffin,
wood being scarce hereabouts-
out of each niche is not only firmly
osed with mortar, but further guarded
4y an iron grating. OF course the