Kgrjuury of bones
Centuries of Dead Piled Tip
in tlie Grayeyard of
GEanaliuato, Hex.
PIGEON-HOLED SKEJJETONS.
Acres of Human Dust That Is Spaded
Over for Each New Corpse.
EEHAMABLE MUMMIES OF AZTECS.
Air Preserves the Bodies and Even the Ex
pressions of the Faces.
EXPENSES OP FUXERALS AKD BUBIALS
COaRBSPOXDEKCE OF KUt DtSrXICH.3
GUAKAHTJATO, June 3.
(' ground of the world is
jl I here at Guanahuato.
I have visited the moat
curious graveyards on
record, but I have
never seen anything
that compares with the
horrors I saw to-day.
I have stood in the
lonely garden of the
"Wat Bah Kate in
Bangkok in Siam and
have watched the
hungry dogs fight over
the bleeding flesh of
the dead humans who.
were thrown the for
J2-S
burial. I have seen the vultures by the
hundreds swoop down upon the naked dead
babies of the Parsecs as they were laid upon
the Towers of Silence at Bombay, and I
have wandered among the tombs of the
thousand generations of Chinamen which
fill the sides of the "White. Cloud Mountains
near the big city of Canton. I have admired
the sculptured marbles representing living
wives bending over their dead husbands in
the wonderful Campo Santo in Genoa, have
seen the dead piled naked on top of one an
other in the cemetery at Naples and have
wandered among the bone receptacles of the
Cataoombs at Borne. I have seen the mum
my tombs of Egypt, the burning ghats of
the Ganges, the cremations and quick-lime
burials of the Japanese, but the sights of
this Mexican cemetery are stranger than
aU.
Great Files of Skeletons.
I do not find them down in any of the
books on Mexico and I would hardly have
believed that they existed had I not seen
them with my own eyes. Imagine if you
can the bones of a hundred thousand human
beings torn to pieces and piled' one on the
topof another like so many corn in a granary.
Put all ages and sexes together. Tear them
limb from limb and mix the mass of skulls,
legs, firms and ribs together so that -thtf '
bony fingers of one run into the hollow
eyes of its neighbor, and the parts of the
different skeletons lose themselves in the
vast pile of this vaulted granary of bones
This gives but a faint idea of what I saw
to-day. The cemetery of this city of Guana
huato is situated on tie top of a high hill
overlooking the town. I rode up to it on a
little donkey and was admitted to it by an
Indian who had a hat fully a foot high on
his swarthy head, a revolver a foot long
tied to his leather belt and a pair
of buckskin pantaloons which fitted
"Ji.
-i
JL Modem Mexican Beauty,
Es lean legs like a glove. This
town is a mile and a half above the
sea. The air here is as dry as the bones of
these skeletons the year round, and nature
wears a perpetual smile of blue skies, bright
flowers and bracing air. The cemetery gives
a view of hundreds of low mountain peaks,
every one of which oovers incalculable
Riches of Silver and Gold,
and the precious metals undoubtedly lie
under the very bones of these tens of thou
sands of the dead. I entered by its wide
gate end found myself surrounded by great
walls in a court which contained perhaps
five acres of ground. The walls of this
court were about eight feet thick, and aB I
examined them I found that they were in
fact made up of pigeon-holes about three
feet square and six feet deep, some of which
were open, and others of which were closed
with marble slabs on which were printed
the names and virtues of the dead who were
shelved away within.
There were thousands of these pigeon
holes, and my guide Ehowed me a card
giving the rates. Prom it I see that these
holes are rented out to the bodies
of the dead, and the guide
tells me that the most of
them are taken for about five years, after
which the bones of the deceased are taken
out, the pigeon-hole is cleaned and it is
ready for the next occupant. It costs 23
for the use of one of these pigeon-holes for
five years, and this seems to be the shortest
term for which they are leased. A man who
wants one perpetually can have it by paying
$100, and ii' he cares to crowd hi? whole fam
ily into the same hole he can have it for the
lump sum of 500.
How Poor People Are Burled.
The ordinary dead are, however, burled in
the ground. The city of Guanahnato is rich,
but its great wealth is in the hands of few.
The majority are too poor to buy a vault for
any number of years, and the masses ore
buried. The rates are also on the rental
basis. It costs a dead man (1 to lie two
years in these burial grounds, and after that
his bones are taken up and another body fills
the hole. The five acres which make up the
court of the cemetery are literally com
posed of bone dust. Each removal has left
some pieces of his skeleton behind, and the
ground is made up of the dust of past
humanity. In going over it you see little
pieces of bones sticking up everywhere, and
at one point, t here a number of graves were
being dug, I noted pieces of skulls and other
bits of skeletons among the mixture of dirt
and bones thrown up.
I wa3 interested in watching the digging
of the graves, and in the curious manner in
which the bodies were laid in them. One
digging here suffices for a number of burials.
The hole is made about 2 feet wide, 7 feet
long andfroin C to 8 feet deep. The first
corpse that comes gots the bottom berth.
Be is taken out of his rented coffin and laid
with his head on a bunch of leaves, and
over him is put, perhaps, six inches of dirt.
The grave is then ready for the next arrival,
iwho is buried in like manner, and So
f The Bodies Aro Sandwiched
one on top of the other until the grave is
filled. Guanahuato is a very unhealthy
J v
city and the death rate is very large.
During the past month there were four
burials a day in this cemetery, and I taw
six deep graves already dug when I visited
it Three of these were only half filled, and
the others had nothing whateverln them.
Leaving the court I was next conducted
down into the great storehouse for the
bones of the dead after their leases have ex
pired and they have been ousted by their
landlords from their tenements above. Go
ing down a winding stair so narrow that
my sides grazed the walla as I passed, I en
tered a loner vauuea passace waueawun
stones and paved with cement. This
passage was well lighted by openings
from above, and it was dry and
free from smells. It runs clear
around and under the edge of this
five acres of cemetery and is in fact a walled
tunnel about 12 feet high, 6 feet wide and
more than 1,000 feet long. For ages this
tunnel has been the receptacle of the bones
of the dead of this city, and it is now al
most filled. Only about 200 feet of it remain
vacant and the mouth to it is in the middle
of this. I stood at this point, and looking
either way I could see the
Great Flics of Stalls
and other nieces of skeletons jumbled to
gether in all sorts of shapes and mixed up
into one heterogeneous mass of bones, rising
in a slanting way from the floor of the tun
nel at an angle of 45 to the roof. Every
thing was jumbled together in the great
democracy of death.. The bones of young
and old were piled on one another. Xhe
feet of men rested in the skulls of women,
and I saw a great toe in the grinning teeth
of what may once have been a beautiful
girL About another skull the bones of an
A Mexican Scant.
arm are thrown almost caressingly, and legs
and arms, ribs and thighs, whole and in
bits, were piled up, one on top of another,
like so many stones, and the whole, ghastly
as it was, looked more like piled up Indian
corn in a crib than anything else.
The most ghastly things, however, in this
great vault were the mummies, Kwno stood
leaning against the wall guarding, as it
were, the remains of the thousands of broken
skeleton beyond them. There were at
least 100 of these mummies, each of which
was more horrible than anything you will
see in the Museum of Boulak, near Cairo, in
Egypt, or any of the horrid examples of
South American and Alaskan mummies,
which you will find in our National Mu
seum in "Washington. The air here is so
dry that it sucks the juices out of the dead,
and these mummies have been made not by
spices and bv linen bands, but by the at
mosphere. They are more horrible and
lifelike than the artificially preserved arti
cle, and they retain the features and
The Expressions of the Dead,
shrivelled, it is true, but ell the mors horri
ble in their thousands of wrinkles. Here
against th wall lspropped the mummy of
a bearded man. His face is perfect and the
whiskers, fedcoUnto ableashtddnst color of
hundreds of years, eover the whole of the
lower part or his face. His clothes have
long since rotted off of him. and his bare
chest, slightly sunken, looks like the
parchment of an old drum. I tap it with
my pencil to test his lungs, ana it gives
forth a hollow drum-like sound of remon-
-StrSLce. fiirihrivelled arms are crossed
and his withered -brewnJejiv-tT&xStjjUgBt.'
As my eye travels down them, I see that a
part of an old boot still clings to one of his
feet, and that the other, like all the rest of
his clothing, has rotted off lone, long ago.
Next .to this ghastly object stands a
mummy more ghastly etilL It is that of jr
woman whose white teeth are as weU pre
served in death as in life, and whose black
tongue sticks through these in a sort of a
leer. She has a wealth of long black hair
reaching to her waist, and even in death
she shows signs of grace and beauty. Next
her stands another man whose features seem
to be contorted with agony, and a little
further on is the mummy of a boy of 12,
whose mouth is wide open, and whose
sunken frame mokes you think of a skeleton
of Smike, the persecuted student of Sguirei
at Dotheboys HalL
A Coffin for a Tripod,
I had my camera with me in this vault,
and I wished to take a photograph of it.
There was, however, no place on whieh to
rest the camera, and I suggested to the
guard of the cemetery that he go and get' me
a board. He at once picked up a coffin from
a little pile which contained the mummies
of babies, and taking the mummy out, held
it under his arm, while he propped the
coffin on end and made it stand level by
putting a thigh bone from the great heap
under one corner. Upon this I rested my
camera and succeeded in taking a very fair
picture.
Before I left, I took a picture of this man
with the mummy in his arms, and another
of him and his brother ghoul holding up
the municipal coffin in which all the dead
of this town have to be brought to the grave
yard. There ore no hearses in this mountain
city, and the town has fixed rates for the
rent of its coffins. These coffins ore so big
that another coffin can be set inside of them,
and they are carried on the shoulders of the
bearers up the steep hill. As soon as they
enter the cemetery, the coffins are placed on
a ledge or stone table and are opened, for
the purpose, it is said, of seeing that not
more than one corpse is buried in one coffin,
and that the cemetery gets its full fees for
every corpse.
The Styles In Coffins.
The roadway up to the cemetery has many
casket shops, but the caskets, though ex
pensive, are very rudely made and many of
those for babits are painted a light blue or
grained in oak, I saw at Zacatecas a boy
The Municipal Coffln.
carrying one of these blue coffins on his
head, but whether he was on his way to the
cemetery or to the house of mourning I
could not tell.
The general customs of mourning in
Mexico are somewhat different from ours.
Mourning is much more general and black
is put on for intimate friends and for
distant relatives. It is, however, wom. a
shorter time, but the occasions for mourn
ing dresses are so frequent that every lady
has her mourning suit in her wardrobe, if,
for instance, a young lady dies, her friends
wear black for her for 30 days, and if it is
the young girl's mother who is dead, the
friends willput on black for half that time.
Ladies do not attend funerals in Mexico,
but they pay visits of condolence soon after
the death, and such visits are made in
mourning clothes. Cards and letters of re
gret are always sent to the family at the
time of a death by such friends who cannot
call, and the announcements of funerals are.
of the most touching and extravagant
nature. Funerals are celebrated as a rule
almost immediately after death, and in
Mexico City as soon as possible after the
24 hours which the law prescribes that the
dead should.be kept before interment. The
coffin is procured immediately, the cards
are sent out and the ceremonies take place
Street Cars Serve as Hearses.
Mexico City is perhaps the only plaoe in
the world where the street cars are the
hearses. There are no qjher kind tsed and
the cars lines make a good thing out pf their
funeral business. There are -150 deaths, a
day in Mexico City, and you see these cars
draped in black and driven by drivers in
PANlEOHrtUmUPttgQ
mourning, spinning along the road towards
the cemetery every hour or so during the
day. The -funeral car has a raised place in
its center for the coffin. It is open at the
sides, but has a black canopy at the top and
its decorations are more or less" elaborate,
according to the charge for the service.
Behind it comes a second bar, containing
the mourners, and the cars go very fast, as
they have to go on the same tracks as the
other cars, and here the dead have to run to
get out of the way of the living.
This car service costs all the way from 53
to $120 per funeral, and some of the higher
priced cars are covered with silk, and in the
case of the dead being infants or young peo-
Sle, are often trimmed in white satin,
fexico City is, in fact, a yery expensive
place in which to die. A funeral costs $500
at the least, if it is at all respectable, and
Bcene in th Catacombi,
in the case of foreigners the expenses run
up into the thousands. This Ib especially so
when it is desired.to take the bodies out of
the country.
Illaclanaillng the Dead.
If the friends of the dead are not posted,
all sorts of extravagant charges are imposed
upon them, and the estate of a Kansas mil
lionaire named Smith, who died here lately,
paid 82,000 for expenses here. Among the
.charges was one of $600 for embalming, and
I heard of a case yesterday in which a Mexi
can embalmer or doctor charged $5,000 for
Sreparing the body of a "(frenchman who
ied here for shipment The work was not
roperly done and the deceased could not
e sent away, whereupon one of the Amerf
can newspapers published an article as to
the outrageous charge. The doctor then
brought suit against the paper, saying itwas
true he had brought in the bill for embalm
ing as stated, but as the body had decom
posed before he began, he was not able to
preserve it and had withdrawn the bill.
Had the newspaper not published the fact,
the bill would hardly have been withdrawn.
Everything, however, is expensive in
Mexico, and the undertakers have to make
high charges. All of the materials for oof
fins are imported from abroad, though they
are put together .here, and the prices are
proportionately large.
Mexico as a Healthful Capital.
The death rate of Mexico City is very
high. It is said that it averages about 37
in the 1,000, and the only wonder is that it
is not higher. "Were it not for the perpetu
ally bright sun and the high altitude the
city would be a morgue, a vast charnal
house, a Golgotha, a place of the skulls.
Think of a city which cas had a population
of hundreds of thousands for many genera
tions built upon and over a swamp, with no
drainage whatever, and let this city go on
with its accumulated mass of filth increas
ing year by year and sinking down into the
sou, and you have some idea of sanitary
Mexico City.
A constant miasma rises here at night
and the water is only three feet under the
citv. Is it anv wonder that there is no
place in the world where typhus and typhoid
Borne Aztec Mummies.
fever is Bo prevalint as here, and Is it not
surprising that the Mexican capital is for
many a favorable health resort?
American Cemetery In .Mexico.
The climate is so equable, the thin, dry
air and the hot sun suck; up the juices of de
composition, and such people as are careful
and sleep above the ground floor are in little
danger. Outside ot the city there is no
danger whatever, and if it had been built on
high ground it would be the finest health
resort of the world. As it is, foreigners
have to be very careful of their health here,
and the foreign cemeteries contain many
occupants. The American cemetery con
tains about 1,200, and it is so full that the
colony is about to purchase a new one.
Still I have met several Americans who
told me that their lives have been saved by
coming to Mexico, and this country is said
to be the best resort in the world for con
sumptives. The great dea,h rate comes'iom
the lower classes, who sleep right on the
sewer-like ground, and the Mexican agent
of the Mutual Life Insurance Company tells
me that during his first 28 months here he
did not have a single death to pay for out of
the great number insured.
Fbamx G. Oabpekteb.
DUELS 07 GEEMAN STUDENTS.
Neither the Kaiser Nor the Pope Are Bad
leal In Their Views.
The Pope has joined hands with the Em
peror in the attempt to make dueling less
popular among German students, says a
Berlin letter. The Berlin organ of the Vat
ican announces that all students professing
the Catholis faith accepting or sending a
cartel will be liable to the penalty! what
is called in the church "the small proscrip
tion," and on a repetition of the offense to
excommunication. It is understood, how
ever, that in cases of deliberate insult and
dishonorexplanations will be considered.
Apropos of dueling the Emperor is much
incensed that his recent speech at a supper
given to His Majesty by the Bonn students
should be so misinterpreted by the foreign
press. His Majesty sternly forbids what he
terms dueling as a pastime; but he is of
opinion that no man ra worthy to call him
self a German, and as such a soldier, who is
not willing to defend with his life, if neces
sary, a deliberate aspersion on (his honor.
To that extent he would preserve the prac
tice of dueling in the universities.
The "Language We Use.
Harper's Bazar.
I if
She took his arm and walked away.
BOTH SIDES BESTING.
Balmaceda Waiting for Ships and the
Insurgents for Arms.
FOBCE IS THE" CHILEAN MOTTO.
The President Is Misrepresented In Dis
patches Sent Abroad.
OUfi INTERESTS IN -SQUTE AMERICA
f COBKISPOKDXKOS OT THE DISrATCB.)
Santiago de Chtlb, May 6,-JIhero
is almost no news to communicate re
garding the war in this unhappy country,
because during some weeks past nothing of
account has been accomplished by either
side. The President is awaiting the comple
tion of some warships, which are being built
in France, to carry on the conflict by sea,
meantime remaining merely on the dafen
sive;while the rebels, resting upon the ques
tionable laurels already won, are striving,
"by hook or by crook," to seoure more arms
and ammunition, for want of which they are
greatly hampered in their work of destruc
tion. Happily as all lovers of law and order
will agree the Federal Government has
yet very much the best of the situation. The
greater portion of the country, including all
the territory between the desert of Atacama'
and the Strait of Magellan, remains loyal to
Balmaceda; while the revolters have
possession only of those Northern provinces
that were recently wrested from Peru; hold
ing them por razo'n de fuerza, ("by right of
force," the characteristic motto that is
stamped on the silver dollars of Chile),
from having bombarded into subjection the
cities of that section and massacred all the
opposing inhabitants.
Mot tax Honorable Motive.
There is nothlng'herolo about this unholy
conflict on the part of the rebels, since no
questions of principle or national honor are
at stake, the motive being merely personal
aggrandizement and the v)dous determina
tion of a political faction to rule or ruin.
The disturbers of the country's peace, who
do not deserve to be dignified by
the name of revolutionists, called it
"war" when they wantonly devested pros
perous cities, murdered unoffending men,
women and children by thousands, out the
throats of wounded soldiers, and butchered
every officer of the Government forces who
fell into their hands but impartial history
will oommemorate their deeds by a less
name. The insurgents began the shooting
of captured officers; and latterly the Gov
ernment has retaliated by serving in the
same manner the few rebel commanders
that have been taken prisoners. There is
some show of justice in the latter proceed
ing, especially in the case of those who.
while in the pay of the Government, turned
traitor andimisused their position as the
means of working greater harm.
A doleful cry has been raised by the in
surgents and their sympathizers 'over the
hanging of one Captain Yeksoo an officer
in whom Balmaceda reposed entire confi
dence, and who. while in command at At
acama, betrayed that important post into
the hands of the enemy.
The Bone and Sinew AU Bight.
Balmaceda's army numbers about 49,000
men, including the militia; and although
many of the so-called aristocrats are in
league with the belligents, the "bone and
sinew" of the coubtry the middle and
laboring classes which comprise the most
useful part of the population remain faith
ful to the Constitutional Government, As
Tt-faife-- JJhileaa - arlsTocracVris
arrogant, hot-blooded and unstable a set of
people as can easily be found, possessing
more vanity and pride than good grounds
for the same, and whose rlohes were In
herited, as welj as the tendency to treachery
and "rebellion which seems to belong to a
preponderance of Spanish blood.
The rebel troops do not number more than
6,000 and their leaders have not arms and
ammunition enough to equip bo many,
though means both fair and foul are being
energetically employed to gain fresh sup
plies. It is stated on good authority that
emissaries have been dispatched to various
countries with instructions to buy, beg, bor
row or steal if need be, munitions where with
to oontinue this hopeless struggle; but to
carry out their instructions will doubtless
prove a difficult matter, considering the un
written code of honor that exists between
civilized lands in addition to the neutrality
laws. The Chilean insurgents have set up
what is practically a new government in the
Northern provinces, in opposition to that of
Balmaceda. and have taken for their capital
what remains of conquered Iquique.
Locomotives bs Battering Hams.
By the way, who ever heard of utilizing
locomotives and trains as battering rams
and engines of war? At this point, when
the ammunition of the rebels ran low, they
adopted the shrewd scheme of making up a
long line of cars, crowding on full head of
steam, and then leaping off in time to save
their own precious heads letting the loco
motive "run away," and go crashing into
the Government train on the track ahead,
with which they had been fighting. Bather
expensive warfare, both as regards life and
property, but for the moment effective. The
railroad was an important factor in the bat
tles of this section. Both armies used it
whenever they could, making a new sort of
men-of-war on land by mounting field and
catling guns on flat cars, and fighting as
long as possible from the train.
Having secured control of all the ports
from which nitrate of soda is shipped, the
rebels do not lack for funds, as the export
duties on that valuable commodity are not
less than 510,000,000 per annum. Of course
the public treasury is sadly crippled by
the loss of this sum; but there is still a con
siderable revenue from the custom houses
at "Valparaiso and Talcahuano, and Balma
ceda has met the present emergency by is-
DU1U LKift:. wwv; .v .v --.wuUV w vVUv-i
000, Which is received by the people and
used to pay the array. The regular cur
rency of Chile consists of notes issued and
guaranteed by the Government. When the
war began these notes were worth only
about 60 cents on the dollar, and have now
dropped to 28 cents.
The Stories of Banishment,
A recent dispatch-which, it is needless
to say, was of rebel origin has gone abroad
to the world stating that "many leading
families have been forced to leave Santiago
and go into the Argentine Republic and
other countries, to escape persecution from
the dictator, Balmaceda." Does any reas
onable person, suppose that the harrasscd
and hard-pushed President is going out of
his way in these trying times, when friends
are none too numerous to "persecute" re
spectable citizens? The truth is that Bal
maceda discovered among his closest asso
ciates in the heart of the capital, a number
of families called "leading" because "of
official positions which he himself had be
stowed upon them who were secretly abet
ting the rebellion while publicly enjoying
the pay "and emoluments of the Federal
Government What course would any ruler
in similar case have taken with such double
died traitors? The "persecution", has con
sisted in their being allowed to leave the
country unharmed, instead of being im
prisoned as they deserve, that they may dis
seminate evil reports about the too lenient
Balmaceda.
The most absurd statement I have seen in
print is to the effect that this extremely un
civil" war was incubated and is being fos
tered by two rival foreign mercantile firms
in Chile the Graces from New York and
Flints from England. I can assure xaj
readers that, though foreign merchants with
plenty of pluck and capital may prosper
here under favorable conditions, they are by
no means so popular with these naturally
jealous Chileans as tojbe able to brew such
serious trouble among them not to men
tion the facthat nothing could be more
detrimental to the financial interests of the
merchants themselves than the present un
settled state of affairs. All foreigners en
gaged in business here desire peace and its
attendant prosperity aboro everything aJj,
for long-continued strife means utter ruin.
Interested la Peace.
The Grace people are liable, to suffer par
tlcularly by this war, having enormous in
terests in various parts of South America,
all of which are more or less jeopardized.
Besides their banking and commission
houses in Lima, Callao, Valparaiso and
Santiago, and agencies in every other im
portant oity on the oontinent, the celebrated
"Grace-Donouirhmore railroad contract of
Peru is a gigantic scheme, involving many-
millions oi dollars; and when vnue vuuw
now the most prosperous of South Amer
ican countries) Is ia. trouble, Peru suffers
in Conseanenn.i TiAmntn Tie? nnmmerOO de
I pends largely upon her southern neighbor,
although the two Republics, so lately at
no hjiu ouo anoiner, are not i.
most affectionate friends. ' ...
To understand more clearly why Chile's:
financial status so nearly concerns Peru, it
mus be remembered that, under the treaty
of Ancon, which followed the war between
the two countries (ended In 1883) a large
extent of Peruvian territory was ceded to
Chile until the year 1893, when it is to be
determined by popular vote whether the
debatable land shall revert to Peru or re
main permanently In Chile's possession,
the latter country being pledged to pay to
Pern in the meantime CO per cent of the
profit derived from the stolen guano beds.
It may be hinted, en passant, that jf Chile
fears a minority on her side when it comes
to the test two years hence, she will doubt
less import votes enough to control an elec
tion of such vital importance to her ex
chequer. She will have the advantage of
the Government 'machine" already estab
lished on the spot, and can afford to spend
millions of pesos rather than lose the prov
ince that yields nearly all the saltpeter
and sodine used in the world, Poor Peru
has no surplus cash to squander.
The Grace-Dononglimoro Contract.
Although a digression from the toplo in
hand, perhaps a few words concerning that
famous Grace-Donoughmore contract may
not be amiss, since it is by all odds the
greatest Anglo-American enterprise ever
undertaken on this continent. The princi-
Sals are the well-known New York banker.
Ir. W. B. Grace, and Lord Donoughmore,
of London, backed by a powerful syndicate,
and thrmich their means Peru Is afforded an
opportunity to emerge from the period of
aeaaiy depression mat ioiiowea ner iour
years' conflict with Chile, and her subse
quent civil war. She rids herself of the
.huge .national debt which those wars oc
casioned, amounting to some 5260,000,000,
by oeding all her Government railways to
the holders of tHe bonds, together with all
the guano deposits that were originally
pledged as seourity for the loan, but had
been seized by Chile.
The terms of the contract are briefly as
follows: The holders of the country's bonds
surrender them for cancellation (they were
worth barely 5 cents on the 1), pay down
50,000, and 40,000 afterward, in pay
ments of 10,000 per month; and in con
sideration thereof the bondholders receive
all the Government railroads of Peru on a-
lease of C6 years.
What Chile Agreed to Do.
Chile has an important part in it also.
She agreed to liquidate her share of the ac
count by yielding to said bondholders all
the guano on four islands; and for eight
years that of Tarapoca also, reserving only
what is needed for her own agriculture, but
none for export; and at the end of eight
years Tarapoca to revert to Chile, She also
promised to pay 8 per cent of the net profit
on all the guano she had exported during
the eight years since she seized it, up to the
date of the contract; and to pay SO per cent
of al future sales until the account is
squared. Chile estimates this at 42,250,000
and how far the present revolution will
interfere with this arrangement remains to be
seen.
The Grace-Don oughaore people are given
the right to build new railroads, bat lore
bcj2aa4s-8&nl5te " " inei an are
remised liberal cBBSSBsToni for eveflP-SrK.?
of accomnlished work, besidesbeintr allowed
to brine in all their materials free of duty.
This gives them"almost absolute control of
Peru's eommerce. and much of Bolivia's,
their only competitors in the line of carriers
being the backs of a few Indians, mules and
llamas. The United States is directly inter
ested in all this, because she will doubtless
continue to furnish a considerable portion of
Peru's railway and mining appliances, which
have been estimated to amount to not less
than $30,000,000 per annum.
What Comos From the United States.
The late Henry.Meiggs, from California,
had contracts with the Peruvian Govern,
ment for building seven railways, which
amounted to 8133,000,000; and he lived to
see five of them completed. The rolling
stock in them all came from the United
States. The cars (worth 55,500 each when
delivered), were furnished by Messrs. Gil
bert. Bush Si Co, , of Troy. N. Y. ; the loco
motives (mostly RogersV, came from Pat
terson. N, J., and cost, when arrived, from
$25,000 to $30,000 each. The ties cams from
Oregon; the rails from England; the
diamond drills from Chicago, worked by
Band & Warring's compressor; and the
stationary machinery, from Leeds. The la
borers were Cholos, Chilians and Chinese,
The shovels they used were Ames, and
even their food and fuel had to ba mostly
ImporteTL The shops and station houses
generally are constructed of English gal
vanized iron, and the iron water tanks are
"Pills' patent"
Peruvians seem to have a mania for railroad-building,
for that impoverished coun
try has alreadyinvested in railways a trifle
over $140,000,000 a very large sum for only
3,000,000 of people: about $47 for every
man, woman and baby in the Bep'ublio,
reckoning her population according to the
last census, which counted only the males
with referenoe to a poll-tax and guessed at
the rest.
On this western coast of South America
the business interests of the New York
Graoes are mainly looked after by three
noted brothers who are nephews of Mr.
William B. Grace. The elder of the trio,
Mr. Edward Eyre who is now in the
United States has oharge of the splendid
house in Limn. Mr. Jack Eyre superin
tends the branch at Callaoj while Mr. will-'
iam Eyre attends affairs in Valparaiso and
Santiago. Pakkie B. Wabd,
DANCING SOAP BUBBLES.
A Ti-Ick That Is Explained by the Welsht
. of Carbonic Acid Gas.
SI. Louis Pot-Dlpatch.
Several schooners and a siphon with soda
water are necessary to accomplish this
interesting feat. The soda water is needed
for filling one of the glasses with carbonic
acid, which is done by pouring the same
with soda water into it and withdrawing the
water by means of a straw or tube. The
carbonic acid remains in the glass, because
it is twice as heavy as the air. To keep it
from evaporating the glass is covered with
a lid. The soap-suds has already been pre
pared, and in order to make it effective for
our purpose a little glycerine is added, the
mixture well shaken and set aside for a min
ute or two, when the membrane that has
formed on the surface is removed.
A soaD bubble is then formed in the usual
way and dropned into the glass that con
tains the carbonio acid. The bubble jumps
immediately from the glass. When care
fully handled one can see the bubble swell
until it extends to the sides of the glass,
when it bursts, theendosmose (transmission
of gaseous matters through membranes of
porous sabstanccs) permitting the carbonic
acid to enter vthc bubble and increasing i
original volume.
OUR FffiST B0T4MST.
Visit to Bartram's Gardens on the
Banks of the Schuylkill.
A PEEP AT THE ANCIENT HOUSE.
Cypress He Brought Prom Florida and Boi
woods From Turkey.
GREENHOUSES IS THE BIG TTETOOWS
rwrtrrriK ob the dispatch.
Tet there'stlll stand the noble trees,
As (rracefal In the grateful breeze,
As when one hundred years ago,
Tnolr shadows swaying two and fro, .
Deltgh ted youthful groups below. .
When John Bartram, the first American
botanist, stopped his plow to examine the
flower that grew at hfs feet, he opened a
fresh page of delight in this new world.
The little flower, like Burns daisy, touched
the poetry in his soul, but his poetio dispo
sition flowed, not in verse, but in the lines
of botanic investigation, and from that hour
the science of Botany "became his pleasure
and his work.
At that time the study of botany had not
been made easy as it is at present. Works
on the subject were all written in Latin and
in order to master the science he must first
acquire this language, which without
teacher and with little help he .succeeded in
doing, and the unknown fanner on the
banks of the Manayunk became known and
honored in every country where learning- is
referenced, the friend and correspondent of
scientists, a fellow of several foieign socie
ties and American botanist to George 1XL
His bit of land in the narrow wedge between
the Schuylkill and the Delaware, a little
below Philadelphia, grew into a botanio
garden, that was the pride of the whole
country and the resort of the most illustri
ous men of the time. Here Washington
came to find rest and refreshment in the
quiet.ofthe beautiful garden, and compan
ionship in the intelligent Christian Quaker.
In this garden the first botanio garden in
America grew not only the native plants
of the country from far and near, but also
many foreign flowers and shrubs
which were sent him from abroad.
He traveled through regions of- North
America at a time when they were covered
with forests and was the first to describe
their natural production! In J.765 heex
pldred the region of the St. John's river in
Florida and there collected many beautiful
plants and trees, some of which he sent to
enrich the gardens of Europe, and .sent
specimen plants to Linnaeus and other
foreign botanists who in return sent him
books and apparatus.
Often Followed Boqnet to Pittsburg. .
A gentleman of that time gives an
account of his visit to Bartram In a letter to
a friend. He sajs: 'IProm his study we
went into the garden which contained a
great variety of curious plants -and shrubs:
some grew in a greenhouse, over the door of
which were written these lines:
Slave to no sect, who takes so private
road.
But looks through nature up to nature's
God.
"He informed me that he often followed
General Boquet to Pittsburg, with the
view of herborizing, that he had made use
ful collections in Virginia, and that he had
been employed by the King of England to
visit the two Eloridas."
Bartram's son, William, inherited his
father's tastes, traveled with him to Florida,
and also to North and South Carolina and
.c I Georgia, said made Known ana illustrated
d rtnJviT-ail.the curious and beautiful plants of
it I -vA mtmtx mwhluharl ho fnllT If or.
of blrdSprevtous t3-ilso.n whomhe great
i. ,,;( - rh. thinning of his labors.
His portrait bangs in one -iiS-feSES-St
the Philadelphia .Historical Bociety on
Spruce street.
TTTinwincrthiil tha pardens are onen to th
public, through the kindness of the present
owner, a few weeks ago on a lovely day in
Mtfy, along with two other lovers of the
"antique," I set out to visit them. After los
ing our way once or twice, and running the
gauntlet between a cross dog and a horned
animal that to our affrighted vision seemed
as formidable an object as any fire-breath-ipg
dragon of the times of St. George we,
at last, came in sight of the "gardens,"
which, with their fruit trees and japonlcas
in full bloom, made a beautiful setting for
"that ancient house," which has been
For six-score years,
She chronicler of smiles and tears.
An Blstorlo Cypress Tree.
Although the garden has been allowed
for years to follow the bent of its own sweet
will, and is now "owned by birds and
Dees, mere ore itm m it many interesting
relios of Bartram's time. The cypress tree
that he brought from Florida in one of his
saddle-bags, is still standing. It was then a
small twig, but is now one of the largest
in the country, and looks as though it might
live for many more centuries. The -Bev.
Abel Thomas addresses it in these lines:
AU bail, memorial cypress tree,
Bow many eyes have gazed on the
Wltbln the solemn century past:
Bow many yet shall upward oast
Their wondering gaze?
In front of the house are two immense
box-wood trees that were sent from Turkey
to Mr. Bartram 140 years ago. The old
arbor, "where far from noise and smoke of
town," "Bartram and his honored guests,
Washington and Franklin used ' to sit,
shaded lrom the heat of day; is still in good
repair. The house, which is of stone and
built by Bartram himself, faces the Schuyl
kill, of which there is a'fine view. One end
is almost entirely covered with English ivy,
through whioh peep the small-paned win
dows, and near by Is the Christ-thorn, so
much valued by Bartram.
The Interior and Exterior.
The porch is upheld by three deftly fash
ioned stone pillars, and througha crack in
the wall above can be seen the honey-combs
where the bees lived for years, until killed
by last winter's cold. Under the window of
what we supposed was his study were carved
these words:
Tib God alone, Almighty Lord,
The Holy One, by me adored.
John Bartram, 1770.
Inside the house were a number of queer,
old.fashioned-shaped rooms, each having one
or more cupboards and "cubby-holes." in
which he kept his seeds and specimens. The
windows had broad stone sills, delightfully
suggestive of novel-reading, and each one
was furnished with inside glass shutters,
and had evidently been used as pocket
green-houses for his winter plants. A broad
path, with stone steps, cut by Bartram, led
down to the bank of the river, from where
we had a fine view of the Schuylkill or the
"Manayunk," as the Indians called it to
where it joined the Delaware.
Altogether, it was a most delightful place
to while away a summer afternoon, and a
lover of trees and flowers could spend many
days there and not exhaust the study it af
fords. Lilue N. Housiov.
A Clear Complexion.
Pe-ru-na will produce a clear complexion
and smooth skin. It does so by correcting
digestion, the great source of blood contam
ination. Many young people from 14 to 20
years of age are greatly annoyed by pimples
so common at that tune of life. Pe-ru-na
removes them by removing the cause, viz.,
blood impurities. Of course. It requires
some perseverance to take any medicine
with regularity day after day, but it amply
rewards any man or woman to do so if by
that means they are able to rid themselves
of a pimply face and secure a clear, bright
face instead. Jhis is precisely what Pe-ru-na
will do. Each bottle is accompanied by
full directions for use, and can be obtained
of your druggist. A valuable book of 32
pages on the cure of skin and blood diseases,
and other diseases of spring' and early sum
mer, will be sent free by the Peruna Mtdi
cine Company. Columbus, O.
CHAPEBLT.
TEtCDTXQ THE SECRET T7AXTW.
As soon as he had assured himself that
Mr. Carter was asleep, the young man rose
from his chair, stepped softly across the
room, and approached Marion's side.
Standing where the light fell strongly upon
him, some paces from her, he whispered:
"Don't stop playing, Miss Carter; your
father will wake. I have a secret to tell
you and much will depend, within the next
few minutes, upon your presence of mind.
But do not be alarmed," he hastened to add.
"Play as you are playing now, and listen."
Marian was a true musician; and at the
moment that John Westcott came and stood
there she was carried away by the enchant
ing effect of some melody. His unexpected
appearance startled her; it was like being
suddenly roused out of a dream. She could
not hide her agitation; even the flood of
harmony threatened to fall into discord. A
false note was struck; and then, in a
troubled voioe, she murmured, as she half
lifted her eyes from the keys: "A secret
to tell me?"
Westcott sat down, though without ap
proaching nearer; for his first-thought was
to reassure the girL "Do not be distressed
Miss Carter; place confidence in me. Can
you not for your father's sake? He needs
a friend." .
The girl fixed her eyes earnestly on West
cott's face. It was a handsome and sympa
thetic face. Why was his manner so mys
terious and perplexing? But his appear
ance pleased her and there was a genuine
ring in his voice. She quickly decided.
She put away all suspicion, and answered
him: "I am listening. Pray, do not hesi
tate to speak."
The young man gave Marian a grateful
glance. "I have come to England," said
he, after a moment's pause, "on an aflajr
which deenlv concerns your father an affair
of the utmost importance. I have come to
do what is in my power to save the old
house of Girdlestone & Co. from
rnin. Much that Mr. Carter told me had
already reached my ears through what
medium, ana now strange a one, juu wm
hardly guess." .,.'
The weird stories that Marian had heard
about this old house in Fisher's Folly and
of the quaint figure of Mr. Girdlestone, who
had lived here so many years were still
fresh in her memory; even while a child,
her mind had been busy puzzling out the
meaning of these mysteries. But Bhe was
more puzzled now; and as these thoughts
came rushing upon her thoughts which
Westcott's words had recalled something
of her strange mood seemed to enter into
her expression while she played,
Westcott presently resumed. "Ton re
member that Indian servant of Mr. Girdle
stone's?" he said. "Well I have seen him;
and he has told me every secret he knew
about my uncle."
This was, indeed, startling news for
Marion. She looked up at Westcott with
eager eyes and half-parted lips. She even
ceased, in her excitement, to move her
fingers over the keys; and for a mo
ment there was a dead silence. But she
quickly recovered herself, and fell into
playing soft and dreamy music while listen
ing to all that now followed from West
cott. "The secrets which this man has told me,
as I hope, will enable me to restore credit to
the house. But nothing is sure; and for
this reason I hesitate to tell your father.
Can the house be saved? Before Mr. Car-
elr
cott in earnest tone. "During the many
years that this Indian lived here, Miss Car
ter, he kept his eyes wide open. But he
was shrewd enough not to betray any signs
of curiosity. He was discreet and honest.
Indeed, my uncle, I am inclined to think,
could scarcely have chosen a better servant.
But he developed, owing to the circumstances
which surrounded him, intoapanic-stricken
man. All that he had found out about his
master's affairs, and the strange incident
that followed, struck terror to his heart. He
confided all this to me on his death-bed. It
was quite pitiable."
Marian, with a wondering look in her
eyes, whispered; "What strange incident?"
"One which was the cause of this sudden
flight. This is what he told me. Years ago,
when he' first became my unele's servant, he
discovered that his master was a hoarder of
gold. With that lantern in his hand, which
you call the Golden Lamp, Mr. Girdlejtone
would walk about the house long after mid
night. He naturally supposed that his
servant was asleep in his garret Bntthe
man was following him 'like a shadow
from floor to floor. It became a fascination
a sort of mania. It was like following
some uneasy spirits about these old rooms
and staircases. And so near ' did he creep
along behind him, with naked feet
and sometimes on his hands, that he could
at any moment have touched his master;
and although Mr. Girdlestone sometimes
flashed the lantern round him with sus
picion, the native was too agile in his move
ments to be detected A particular panel
became known to him -one that led to a
secret strong.room. That panel is in this
room: it is within a few feet, Miss Carter,
of whfere you are seated."
The startled look came back into Marian's
fare. What stranee storv was this? She
had heard nothintc so weird about Fisher's J
. -- ""-w "sfircroEiri.T Tngoo? ixew orET. Ur,U3 '
Polly before. She followed the young man t
glance toward the oaken wall, and again the
muslo was almost inaudible.
"Therel"said Weseott pointing across
the room. "That panel can be moved. It
is a door that leads down narrow steps, as
the Indian assured mc, into a huge, cellar.
Here are te be found bags of money; thou,
sands of pounds. Miss Carter, m hard coslu.
Marian's cheeks were flushed with excite
ment; and the melody sounded as if follow
ing her thoughts into a shower of gold.
"Why," said she, "did Mr. Girdlestone'a
servant hide this from us?"
"Ahl I am now coming to that,' said
Westcott, "On the night that Mr. Girdle
stone died a rainy, gusty night the Indian
could not sleep. The los3 of his old master
distressed him deeply; but the secret whicfl
he had stolen distressed him still more.
He could never restore it now; and it
seemed as much a crime in his eyes as if he
had stolen the gold. He took the lantern
from its place and wandered about as he had
seen his master doing. Neither the patter
ing of the rain against the windows, norths
moaning of the wind In the draughty rooms
and corridors, gave him any concern. Ha
had never experienced the least fear; it had
all been wonder and breathless interest at
his master's ways. Terror suddenly seized
upon him for the first time. How the feel
ing came he could notexplain; but without
looking round or even listening, an over-
whelming convictioi took possession of the
man; his master was following himl But it
was not a living master, but a dead one the
noiseless ghost of Mr. Girdlestone."
"Marian could not help shuddering; and
Tier tremulous notes showed how
deeply all that John Westcott had
been relating affected her. The
young man noticed this, and waited while
she tried to overcome her emotion. Ho
then rose from his chair, and taking from
his pocket the document which he had an
hour ago discovered in Mr. Girdlestone's
desk, approached Marion and pointed out
the words written at the foot: "For the key
to the secret strong-room, wherein will be
found 50 bags of hard cash, look behind the
golden lamp."
"And now, saia ne, - J. win steai quieiiy
into the dining room and get the lantern.
Marian looked up with an expression al
most of awe. "Have you the hardihood
all alone to make this search?"
Westcott smiled. "I'm not afraid when
I've a good light. And was not thelamplit
by you" Marian droppedher eyes "lit for
this very expedition? It .was my uncle's
wish. Beiide," he went on, "is not the
key which has been hanging there all these
years the key to the secret strong room?"
Westcott steps into the dining hall and
glances at Mr. Carter, who is sleeping
soundly. Marian looks over her shoulder,
but never ceases playing. She sees West
cott detach the lanternj and as he comes
quickly back with the soitest tread, he stops
and touches a panel near the fireplace. His
lips convey these words to the girl, for his
voice does not reach her: "This is the way."
Marian whispers back distressfully: "If
he wakes '
"Stop playing; it will warn me. But tell
him nothing."
The girl glances toward the clock on the
mantel-shelf. "I shall count the minutes.
Shall you soon be back?"
Westtott looks at his watch: "In 10 min
utes." "So quickly as that! But it will be like
10 hours to me."
He approaches the wall and presses upon
the panel, which yields to his hand. He
glances back at Marian, and their eyes meet.
His heart is beating fast, but her encourag
ing looks makes it beat the faster. West
cotf stoops down and steps into an open
space in the wall. A cold, damp draught
rushes into the room. The music trembles,
as if an ioy wind had caught the keys. For
a moment the lantern glimmers; and Marian
sees the liht moving away. John West
cott and the Golden Lamp have disappeared.
Holding up the lantern and peering down
ward, John Westcott found himself at the
head of a flight of brick steps. These steps
were incommodiously narrow, being built
up between the outer and inner walls of the
old mansion. It was impossible, with such
broad shoulders as Westcott's. to descend
otherwise than obliquely. The sensation
was not agreeable: less so, even, than being
lowered into a well, for a rope ia something;
here the connecting link with the outer
world was, as it were, completely cut off;
even the sound of Marian's piano having
gradually died out. Or had she stopped
playing? thought Westcott. Had Mr. Car
ter awoke?
Although the chilling draught of air was
lessened when the panel was closed, the
cold, damp atmosphere, and that peculiar
raustiness which clings to vaults and such
like underground places, became more per
ceptible at every step; and these steps
seemed endless. Yet he had proposed to
return In ten minutes. Was it possible to
complete this expedition in search of his old
uncle's gold in so short a time? It scarcely
seemed probable. And yet Westcott did not
despair. The encouraging look which Marian
had given him inspired confidence in his
purpose. If he had acted impulsively, the
motive had been a good one. His prompt
decision was stimulated by a keen desire to
save his uncle's firm from ruin; in truth, he
had been seized with an undefined sense of
apprehension when first encountering the
Indian servant in his travels. The man had
told him, in a rambling way, that Mr. Girdlestone's-death
might prove a serious blow
to the business; and he had implored his
"young master." as he had called Westcott
for ne had known him when a boy to
i
rf."fc
i,-..