The daily sentinel., 1909-02-13
Mrs. Sulliuan Tells of the
"CITIESOF DEAD"

private soldier and at the four corn
ers stand the busts of Robert f. Lee,
Stonewall Jackson, Albert Sydney
Johnson and Leonidas Polk.
was asked a number of times.
Have you been to st. Roch's? oh,
you must see ST. Rochs. Go to St
Roch's make a wish and it will come
true
One beautiful sunshiny morning l
took a Nillere car on Canal street
and after twenty minutes ride alight-
ed at st. Roch's avenue. | walked
three blocks north when | reached
the gate leading to the chapel. sur
rounded by tombs and a high brick
wall whitewashed and partly covered
with clinging ivy. The building is
small and was built by priest with
his own hands in fulfillment of
vow that if none of his people would
die during the epidemic of yellow
fever in 1866 and 1867 he would
build a chapel in thanksgiving He
and his parish prayed to St. Roch the
patron saint of health Many died
in the city but not one of his people.
| Then the priest. Father Tevis, built
the chapel alone with his own hands
Suffering and crippled people come
! to this shrine as they go to the
shrine of Lourdes in France and are
I
with IA prayer book told me many
things about the shrine | had never
| read or heard of. She was starting
on what is called a novena and she
showed me where she would read
prayer from her prayer book every
morning at the different stations.
one each morning till she had com
pleted the fourteen.
asked her where | was TO make
1,,NH fafl, 4.
said. You will have to do more than
make "A wish" then said. Il will
make little prayer" she nodded her
approval.
She went in with me. There were
many candles burning and on both
| sides of the alter were crutches piled
up that had been abandoned after the
pilgrims had been cured, and small
squares of white marble Ia great
many with Thanks" and .Merca"
] engraved in gilt letters There is a
/ large statue of St Roch and at his
side the dog which fed him when he
lay helpless and abandoned in the
forests of Munich hundreds of years
ago. Every morning the bell in the
old belfry is tolled and every Monday
morning mass is offered for the re-
/ pose of the souls of all who lie inside
| and about the chapel.
The trees are old and beautiful
the roses were in bloom. Many cut
flowers were in vases before the
| tombs. Chairs and settees were made
of iron in curious and odd patterns
In some of the older cemeteries
| the tombs are built in tiers along
very thick walls with a crypt below,
a receptacle for bones. The vaults
in these are cemented and are not
| allowed by law to be opened for
period of two years. When they are
removed sometimes to an expensive
tomb or if relatives or friends cam
not or will not do more, the bones
are deposited in the crypt and the old
coffins broken up and buried. The
vault is again rented.
In one of the oldest cemeteries a
laborer was mixing mortar for a new
outside brock wall. He was dipping
water from shallow excavation two
and a half feet deep. / asked him if
he had poured the water in? He
told me he had only to dig foot
TO get water and that there We're old
neglected graves everywhere. and
said here is an old coffin" pointing
his shovel to piece of rotton wood
in the water.
There is a wireless station near
st. Rochs. 1t resembles very much
the old time electric towers. only
! fnucn nlSner.
AS | was leisurely walking down
ST. Roch's avenue which at one time
was drainage canal but now is
filled and a wide cement walk laid
over it and grass and camphor trees
on either side. with benches at short
distances. | sat down to rest.
Four little negro boys We're pass
ing, when one of them said TO me.
Kin We take pictures with that little
black boX?" | said yes, shall | take
yours? They all said yes at once
| One little fellow had box on his
shoulder and was putting ii down
when l told him not to but stand just
as he was and for all to smile and
show their teeth; which they did and
| snapped them. Then one of them
wanted me to put the picture in the
Sunday magazine. Another one Said,
say Miss do you want to see us
scramble? | could not Imagine what
he meant. | asked what do you
mean by scramble. why. scramble,
Scramble for pennies" / happened
to have some pennies, which / threw
and they surely did scramble and
roll over each other on the grass. 1t
was lots of fun for all concerned.
One day in street car | saw a
very old colored woman. thin and
wrinkled. She had a large market
basket and a cane. AS she was get
ting off the conductor asked her,
'Auntie, how old are your" She said
Il dunno jes how old is, l wuz born
de yeah de staws fell
| have found the French market a
very attractive place and have been
| there several times. One Sunday
morning early | had n cup of the
celebrated southern French coffee.
I a,er1,e hn