The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1906-11-10
CANAL ZONE LETTER.
continuedsfrom FIRST Page.

lockets an inch and q quarter In d.
ameter. Promptly at 10 O'Clock the
lottery officials emerge from behind the
Office railing and proceed to the draw
ing apparatus, bringing with them
gaudfly dressed girl baby OF probably
three years of age. A porter turns q
handle that rapidly revolves the cage
for half minute, then opens a door
into which the little girl reaches and
draws out one of the ivory balls, which,
when opened, reveals number-the
first number OF the capital prize. This
process is continued until four such
numbers are secured, constituting the
capital prize. The other prizes are all
approximation prizes.
One of the customs still adhered to
is the ancient ritual of the burning OF
Judas-a dummy stuffed with straw
and fireworks. This ceremony OF
burning mock Judas, burlesque on
the traitor OF the bible, is a time-hon-
ored one among Latin-American races
and was performed in one ofPan ama's
busiest streets a short time since.
On this occasion an unusually large
crowd had congregated in the street
and all balconies and windows il the
vicinity were crowded to their utmost
capacity. The ceremony had just
begun with the reading OF the will Of
the deceased Ia farcical documenbl
when an overeroWded balcony gave
way, precipltating several dozen peo-
pie into the street below. II all seven
teen people were seriously injured,
but after the wounded were removed TO
their homes and to the hospital the
ceremony was completed.
An American but needs to visit Co.
lombian city, and especially the ceme-
terry, when regardless of the amount of
fault he formerly found with his native
land, he will ever afterwards consider
the United States aGod's country"
In every sense of the word, and this
speculation is one by which the United
States is widely known throughout the
tropics. A party of excursionists Sc.
cured few days leave Of absence ia
order to see something more OF the
world, and q trip TO . nearby Colon
bian city was taken. The prime object
OF the tour was exploration, conse-
quently nothing was overlooked. The
first point of interest was the jail. It
was massive building of concrete,
stone and masonry, extending from the
main street to the sea-wall over a city
block distant. Beneath the ground
floor was a cellar extending the full
length OF the building and out under
some Of the nearby streets. This
place was catacombed with dungeons
which compared favorably with those
Of ancient Rome. How many sub-cel-
lars and deeper dungeons there were
could not be ascertained. The whole
place was full of rats and in fear
fully unsanitary condition. Some of
the cells extended out under the sea-
wall and during high tide the sea
covered the floors to depth of four
feet, consequently some unfortunate
creatures were compelled to spend four
hours out of every twelve in water that
gradually reached a height of four
feet, with no way to escape it. Once
in sever al days new bunch Of meat
dried in strips was hung in the pas
sageway where prisoners from several
cells could reach it through the bars.
This was all the food they got.
Nothing Of unusual interest was OBJ
served until the cemetery was reached,
when there was beheld the 'evicted
skeletons" we had heard about. Il
was an institution whose existence is
derogatory to the self respect OF COM
munity, outrageous to public decency
and disgraceful to the ideals professed
by a so-cailed civilized nation. There,
within few minutes walk OF the heart
Of leading and ancient city, were to
be seen things that severely shock the
moral sensibillties and cause one to
lose his bearings for the moment and
wonder whether he is really in a mod
srn civilized country or in some Tar
tar cemetery or battlefield when the
after carnage was complete. On enter
ing the cemetery the first appearance
was that of a tidy, we'll ordered place
which, to the imaginative visitor,
might breathe an invitation of tran
guilty and repose. The vaults were
il good repair and, mounted with
beautiful immortelles. gave no sugges-
lion OF the gruesome sights which later
awaited the visitors. A little stroll |
over the grounds and the pleasant IL
fusion just received was dispelled and
in its place came the revulsion and
nausea which ordinarily follow a
CHASTITY discovery. For within few
yards Of the we'll kept vaults were TO
be seen number of open graves and |
distributed around and about them |
we're q number Of disiointed human
skeletons, mixed with splinters and /
eoffin boards, shreds Of semi decayed |
and other like fragments
brown up in elimination. Between
5he graves and on the mounds on
either side were ribs and thigh bones,
whole and broken, sticking out in pro-