The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-10-27
PALACE OF A RICH PEON. THE HOUSE OF PEDRO ALTA-
 RADIO AT PARRAL.

gotten His Old Friends-Gaudy Fur
 nishings of His Big H0use-His Pri- vate Chapel and Drawing ROom--The
 Man Himself.
 The name of Don Pedro Alvarado, the peon millionaire of Parral, is one to eonjure with, and many have already found in it basis for legend and TO- nance. Little is really known of this interesting character, writes a corres- pondent of the Mexican Herald from Parral, except that, although a man of unbounded wealth, he is still a friend of the peons, who were his friends in the old days, and they are now his de- voted admirers.
 The house of Don Pedro stands just above the banks of the Parral river, and far from being the gaudy, over- done palace which it is generally SUD- posed to be, is, on the outside, well balanced house, of considerable propor- tions of course, but carved richly and artistically with little of the ginger bread" which one would expect from the reports of it. It is elegant to a considerable degree, and the carvings of the white native stone, on which five hundred of Don Pedro's friends worked for many months, are very handsome. It was while standing watching the house and the crowd of workmen and beggars waiting about it for their pay and aims that an old gentleman, dressed in store clothes and walking with an imposing cane, came up to our party and invited them, with all the cordiality possible, to come and see the | house. He hobbled along in front, gar rulously pointing out the bits of the ex- terior which were of interest, and led the way into the main patio of the | house. Here, he said, was as far as he | could take us, but he stood for quar- ter of an hour pointing out the beau- ties of the patio, the really handsome l ly carved pillars and Corinthian capi- tals, the figures on the keystone of ev- cry fairy arch and the paintings which lined the walls. The patio corridors were full of material for the furnish ing of the new hotel which Don Pedro is building on one of the pazas of the town, which when it is finished, will be one of the handsomest in the repub- lie.
 An onyx stairway led to the upper floors of the house, and the self-ap- pointed guide rippled on garrulously with his wonderful tales of the beau ties above. Then he suddenly turned, and in the midstof us stood a little smiling man, not much over five feet five inches tall, little black eyes spark ling out of a white face, on which grew a little beard and mustache He greet ed uswith certain gentle dignity, and invited us to come up stairs and see the house at the solicitation indeed, of cur guide.
 So up the onyx stairway we climbed, past half dozen peons who worked and scrubbed to make it shine as tho day, and rose respectfully as we l passed The upper corridor was rep etition of the lower. with the windows of the rooms opening on it finished in more of the beautifully carved stone, and very evidently planned by mas ter hand, and executed by mu?h labor, well paid,
 Next we were led to ths famous Ichapel of the house, which VI nor has it is hung Tn cloth of gold and where incense burns night and daJ. It vas not at all as it was adyertis.1, but ne effort to make it superoly .lA. ii was apparent. It Was not built in chapel form, as might have been expected, bnt was merely one of the rooms e the house fitted up for the puruose. Don Pedro is a I.tcur Catnoic. ana he nas lavished here ali that he coJ!d we'll do in crowding his chapel full of all that could please him.
 The altar o3upied the middle of the outside wall of ,he room. and window on each side gave 1t light, This altar was gaudy and wonderful in gold and silver and silks and velvets, and not unlike the expensive altars to be found in favored shrines of almost any os the churches of this country. Tn tho cen ter of the room was a great pyramid ot black velvet and silver, iu memory of Don Pedro's wife, dead now some years. This was hung with cloth of silver, which draped it's base on all sides, and the silver ornaments are costly and numerous. On one side of the room was throne where the bish- op sits when he comes to say mass for this devout son of the church, and on the other walls were paintings of reli- gious scenes and the tiny stations of the cross, In one corner was an auto matic parlor organ, covered with a guady velvet curtain.