The sun., 1909-01-03
EASY LIFE FOR THE FIREMAN
In the BIIssful city OF Cartagena-TWo
Fires I'm About Seventy Years.

The city Of Cartagens, In the Republic
of Colombia, Is one spot where the ousi-
ness of being a fireman Is no great drain
on the nervous system. II informants
tell the truth. there have been Two nree
In Cartagena In the last seventy years
One man who ns~ is growing old says
his father remembers as a small boy when
house In the town was burned. That
was an accident. The other fire, which
happened recently. say about a dozen
years ago, was believed to have been OF
incendiary origin. But these fires did not
destroy the houses in which they hap
pened, because the houses are built OF
stone. All that can burn 10 what 10 INSIDE
This felcitous state OF Affairs ls as
cribed by some Of the inhabitants TO 'he
influence OF San Pedro Claver, priest OF
Cartagena a couple of centuries back, VINO
within the last ten years-was made SAINT
Those who look at the city through otner
eyes get the idea that the absence OF
temporal fires Is ascribable to the easy
housek eeping Of the natives.
As in all other places about the Colom-
bian coast. clothing is not requisite
until the children are well advanced IN
age. The houses are open and there
isn't any very pressing need OF fires.
Even the cemetery out toward La Popa
hill is a most openwork place. II Is hard
10 imagine anything less kept up than
that cemetery. Most of the burials were
done by putting the coffin into section
of the brick wall about the graveyard
and then heading UP the hole with bricks
Apparently from time to time some one
afflicted with curiosity has visited the
cemetery and has pulled away some OF
these bricks. As a result many, OF tho
sections lie exposed to the day. with
few dusty planks Of coffin, fallen all to-
gether, showing to the view. An ooca-
sional bone is all that gives token that a
human being was buried there. There
does not appear to be any fancy Tor
burying In the ground,
When you get to Cartagena English
speaking folks are apt TO let you know
about the time that Admiral Vernon. the
Englishman, attacked the city in days
G. VS. brother. in his company. And
from that association, you are informed.
came 10 be the name Of Mount vernon
for the Washington place in America.
II Ia an ancient place. Cartagena, going
on 400 years Of age, and 1t looks every bit
OF II. Some one has called the city more
Spanish than a Spanish town, and that
appears TO be true. For one thing IL Is
a walled town. and that sort OF thing is
a It to be new to any visitor fromthe United
states. The streets are typically narrow
and practically without sidewalks.
The great walls about the city are
burrowed through with passageways.
which instead Of having steps are built
on the ramp style in the manner Of the
Giralda tower in Seville. Walking up
nlong one Of these ramp passageways in
the dark even though it is broad day out
= lie. the feet strike bricks followed out by
he footsteps Of four centuries and the |
shoulders rub against walls that seem also
to he marked with the lines OF other !
shoulders that arc bonier than ever now. |
II is O great change from the brand new |
town OF the middle West. say, 10 the |
ideals and ideas OF four centuries back.