Spray courier. (Spray, Or.) 1???-19??, 1915-08-12

ploltS or German army spies
in all parts of Europe. but
surely the strangest Of all is
that they have concealed themselves
in the Catacombs of Rome in order
to spy on the operations of the Ital-
ian army says writer in the New
York American.
Where the earliest Christians con-
structed these wonderful secret hid
ing places in the rock to escape the
bloodthirsty tyranny Of the Roman
emperors, these efficient moderns have
concealed themselves for the purposes
of war. Where the earliest Christians
sought refuge to conduct their sacred
services in safety, the modern mill
tarists have made stronghold for
the most subtle and deadly objects
of the gospel of war.
The Catacombs furnish an almost
impregnable hiding place, for there
are about sixty of them in all, with
uncounted entrances, and the winding
passages within them are perhaps
two hundred miles in length. Their
exact length has never been measured,
but as they wind about one under the
other until there are often five or six
Of them in depth, it will be easily un-
derstood that they may have at least
that length. They are just outside
the ancient city walls and are exca-
vated in a kind of rock called Tufa,
Liah c1ff holds 20
when excavated.
Endless Maze of Galleries.
The Catacombs now consist of an
endless maze of galleries. This was
not the original condition, but the re-
suit of the gradual evolution through
centuries, during which one genera
aon after another added to their COM
plications. During the first and Sec
ond centuries some Of the Roman
Christians built small catacombs for
the burial of themselves, their fam
lily and friends. These usually con-
sisted of square chamber. in which
. single gallery ran around the sides,
about eight feet high by three feet
wide, in whose sides were cut recesses
called "loculi," one above the other,
to receive the bodies.
Persons of distinction were buried
In special chambers, or cubicula,
which opened out of these galleries,
and for these burials carved sar-
sophagi we're often used, placed in
arched inches or "arcosolia." These
recesses it appears, have been used
as hiding places for the food, fuel and
papers of the German spies.
Usually some early Christian mar
tyr was buried in such chambers and |
his tomb served as an altar at which |
religious services were afterward cele-
brated.
As the number of Roman Christians |
Increased in early times and conse- |
Quently the number of burials, the |
small catacombs were hon.
sycombed with galleries and extern
sions. When one story of them was |
no longer sufficient, stairways were |
made, and another system of galleries
excayated beneath. This was fol-
lowed, if necessary, by third, fourth,
fifth or even sixth story of galleries.
The catacomb of St. Calixtus occu-
pied leading position, and here the
bishops of Rome of the third century
were buried in a special crypt. 1t
Is said that this catacomb concealed
the principal headquarters of the Ger
man spy organization.
During thissancient period passages
we're gradually cut to connect the
catacombs, thus joining
the whole of them together into an
endless labyrinth, through which no
body but an experienced person, such