The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 9, 1898, Page 18

THE SAN RUDOLPH CRONAU, a Member of the @merican Historical Association, Who Has Carefully Investigated the Disputed Question, D Not, Those of the Great Admiral. T —— P NP Z/’fla/zz.’ il Wiy Tile Columnys Monument in Havana s the news that thorities are pre- ve the so-called stopher Colum- bus from the cathedral of Ha- vana to Spain. This again awakens interest in that oft-discussed question, “Where are the remains of Columb Two cities, San Domingo and Ha- vana, strenuously & their posses- sion of the mortal remains of the great discoverer of the New World. Hot dis- putes have arisen over the subject, and at different times it really became an international affair. Having taken an active part in this dispute and being p ,}.)\ A . = “Fhosaaciual OF the Cflf‘fil’fly At San DomMingo Meantimpe the remains of the great admiral were deposited at the Chartu- sian Monastery at Sevilla. When Diego, the son 60f Columbus, d in 1 remains were also depc e transferred later t6 San Em- peror Charles V had granted permission that the great chapel of the cathedral at San Domingo be used as sepulture of the Columbus family. At what time the removal of the ashes of the great admiral and his son took place we don't know. As the ca- thedral at San Domingo was conse- crated in 1341 it may be that the trans- ference occurred in the same year. We know that in 1549 the first Archbishop of San Domingo wrote: ‘“The tomb of Don Cristobal Colon, which contains his @3 =~ lflaw» @nfl foval Golon NO. 2—INSCRIPTION UPON THE LOWER SIDE OF THE LID. gn and therefore en- ed observer who was ever allowed a thorough investigation of the so-called Columbus remains at an Domingo, I may be permitted to y views in regard thereto. Columbus digd May 20, 1506, at Valla- dolid, in Spa A few days before his departure he kexpressed the wish to be buried in Espanola, the island he loved most. Before this wish could be fuil- filled many years passed by. San Do- mingo, the capital of Espanola, had no place to enshrine the precious ashes. The cathedral was not yet begun and WT not finished till 1540. bones, is much venerated in this cathe- dral” In later documents we hear that when Sir Francis Drake invaded San Domingo the Archbishop Francisco Pio ordered the tombs in the cathedral to be covered with earth, to prevent their profanation, “especially that of the old admiral, which is on the gospel side of my church and chapel.” Again, in 1683, the Diocesan Synod states: “The bones of C. Colon are there in a leaden case in the Presby- tery * * * according to the tradi- tions of the old inhabitants of the is- land.” This last sentence, “according to the traditions,” indicates undoubted- 1 2 the Stroke of Svr\)ighf. ly that the site of the admiral's resting place had no mark whatever and was n only by tradition. ., in 1783, and again in 1787, the ted French historian, Moreau de Wh celebr St. Mery, endeavored to determine the exact location of the grave, he ex- pregsed his disappointment in these el- oguent words: “What a subject for the reflection of the philosopher! Scarcely are three hundred years past since the discovery of the new world and already we hardly know what are become of the precious remains of the sagacious, enterprising and intrepid discoverer. We see him expressing an an citude that his ashes may repose in the capital of the immense is- land which first established the truth s opinion with respect to the ex istence of a western hemisphere; they are transported hither posterior to the the principal edifice, , and yet—oh supine in- difference for all that is tfuly noble!— not a mausoleum, not a monument, not >n an inscription to tell where they rs after the French writer's Spain was compelled by of Basle to cede San Do- mingo to France. The Duke ofeVera- gua, a descendant of the Columbus ily, now remembered the ashes of the great admiral. Arguing that it would be unworthy to Spain that the bones of its greatest admiral should rest under a foreign flag, he requested the removal of the remains to the ca- ral at Havana. As the treaty of & gave to Spain the right to remove from San Domingo such property as she might desire, on December 20, 1795, the Spanish Lieutenant General Aris- tazabal appeared on the island with a group of distinguished Spaniards in ‘éle cathedral, to receive the remains. n the right or gospel side of the altar, where, according to traditions, Christo- pher Columbus had been laid to rest, a small vault was found. The official nent written at the same day states: “A vault was opened, which is in the sanctuary on the gospel side, main wall and platform of the high altar, one cubic yard in size, and therein were nd some thin pieces of lead about a ird of a yard wide, showing that there had been a box of said metal and pieces of bones, as it were of shin bones or other parts of some deceased person; these were collected in a salver, into which was filled also the dust, which from the fragments of some small bones and its color was seen to belong to that corpse. The whole was placed in a gilt leaden case with an iron lock, ete.” After a high mass had been cele- brated with great ceremony, the re- mains were taken to Havana and de- nosited in a niche onened in the wall of the presbytery of the cathedral Later the niche was closed with a slab, showing an entirely imaginary portrait of Columbus, and beneath the inscrip- tion in Spanish: “Oh, remains and image of the great Columbus, for a thousand ages rest secured in this urn, and in the re- membrance of our nation.” Y R . . Eighty-one years nassed by. Then the conviction that the ashes of Co- lumbus were at rest in Havana sud- denly was shaken. In the year 1877 some repairs and changes were under- taken in the sanctuary of the cathe- dral at San Domingo. During the prog- ress of this work on the left or epistle s of the sanctuary a small vault was discovered containing the remains of a leaden case with an inseription indigat- ing that the human bones Inclosed by the casket were those of Don Luis Co- lon, the grandson of Christopher Co- lumbus. This discovery invited the authorities of the church to extend investigations over the whole ground of the sanctu- ary. On September 9, at the right or presbytery side, the vault was found which had been emptied by the Span- ijards in 1795. The next day the space between that vault and the wall of the cathedral was sounded and resulted in the discovery of another somewhat larger vault, covered by a large, rough stone slab. After breaking away a piece of that slab an object could be seen in the box like a square box. At this stage Archbishop Cocchia, under whose directions the investiga. tions had been prosecuted, was noufied, and by introduci his arm into the opening he discovered that the object in the vault was a leaden case having an inscription upon its top. Not al- lowing any one to go further, the 4rch. b% summoned the President and Cal t well as and of the Republic, as all foreign Consuls and civie FRANCISCO CALL, {3&“@&, “The vavit of Columbus is inaicated Ry SUNDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1898. WHERE ARE THE ASHES. OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS? P8 eclares That the Ashes Removed to Havuna and Entombed With Such Great Ceremony, Were ’ ; w it Y presence of this high assemblage the stone slab was removed, the box taken out and carefullv examined. As it had rested in the absolutely dry vault upon two bricks, it proved to beinastate of fair preservation, but dull in color and covered by a coating of oxide, un- mistakable indications of old age. The closed box was nine inches high, six- teen and three-quarters inches long and elght and one-half inches wide. The hinged and overlapping cover had on its top an inscription, which was interpreted to mean ‘‘Descu- bridor de la America, primero Almi- rante,” that is, “Discoverer of America, first admiral.” On the left side, and also on the front side, of the box the letter C was engraved. and on the right ide the letter A. They are believed to be the initials of the words ‘‘Chris- tobal Colon, almirante.” After opening the hinged lid on the inside of it another inscription ap- peared, which was interpreted to mean “Illustre _y - esclarecido varon, Don Cristobal Colon”—"Illustrious and famous man, Don Christopher .Colum- bus.” An examination of the contents of the box revealed human bones, with the exception of a few parts reduced to dust. Later, during a more careful ex- amination of the bones, among the mold and dust a bullet of lead, two small iron screws and a littlg silver plate were found. The screws and corresponding holes in ghe silver plate, as well as in the ba of the case, proved that in former times the silver plate had been affixed inside of the case, but had become loosened there- No. 3.Linscription upon the smail silver plate at the Back. from. The little plate contained in- scriptions on both sides. Without doubt both inscriptions were intended to give the same idea, but it seems the author, not satisfied with the two meager first abbreviations, tried te give in the second inscription a fuller expression of his meaning, as if he would take care that the abbreviations might be better understood. The mean- ing of the abbreviations is as follows: ‘“Ultima parte de los restos del pri- mero Almirante Cristobal Colon Des- cubridor”—"Last part of the remains of Christopher Columbus, Discoverer.” SEe e e RS e G The news of the important discov- ery, which seemed to indicate that the remains removed in 179 to Havana were not those of Christopher Colum- bus, and that his grave had been found undisturbed, created a great sensatipn in the scientific world, especially when Spain, finding that its claim to the true relics of Columbus was endangered, ac- cused the Archbishop, Cocchia, and the other dignitaries of the cathedral at San Domingo of being the “‘authors and accomplices of a pious fraud.” Spain stoutly denied that any mis- take could have been made in 1795, when Lieutenant General Aristazabal undertook to remove the remains of Columbus. The Archbishop of San Domingo, of course, rejected the ac- cusation of fraud with great heat, and firmly maintained that a mistake had been made by Aristazabal, and that only. those remains newly discovered were those of Christopher Columbus. - No. 4—lnscription upon the small silver plate in front. The resuit was a hot controversy, last- ing for several years and producing a flood of pamphlets and bulletins. Fi- nally the matter dropped, remaining in doubt. ‘When, in 1890, I began to edit a work about the discovery of America ¥, seiner En t- ‘I concluded e Statue of Columbuyg. great historical places in the West In- dies, Mexico and other American coun- tries. Besides, I intended to try to solve, among other questions, that of the true resting place of the bones of Columbus. San Domingo 1 visited during December, 1850, and January, 1891. Highest credentials from the German Government opened me a Way; besides, the ecclesiastical and civil au- thorities of San Domingo consented gladly that a foreign and entirely dis- interested scholar might judge upon their case. Since the discovery of the remains such an investigation had never been made nor permitted, as only a few days after the first investiga- tion the remains, together with their leaden ca had been placed in a glass case and sealed up with many official seals of the Government and the church, as well as of all the foreign Consuls. My investigation took place Sunday, January 11, 1891, in the cathedral, in the presence of all the ecclesiastical digni- taries, Consuls and military and civil officers. After each of them had beer convinced that his seal, stamped upon the glass case in 1877, was untouched, all seals were broken and the leaden case taken out. My examinations were continued for several hours. It seemed to me the most important object to ob- tain exact copies of all inscriptions to be found on the casket, as Spanish au- thorities had declared the character of those inscriptions to be quite modern, and therefore unmistakable proofs of imposture. It should be stated, however, that most of those authori- ties based their opinions upon peor and very inexact copies, which served as illustrations in one of the first reports upon the discovery. Those copies I found differed very much from the orig- inals, and therefore I made with most scrupulous care the copies, reproduc- tions of which are presented herewith. The question now arises, Does the character of the inscriptions resemble the writing of the first half of the six- teenth century, the time when the casket and {ts inscriptions are sup- posed to have been made? I give here a few autographs of celebrated Span- iards who lived in the first half of the sixteenth century. Other antographs from the same period may be found in Winsor's “Narrative and Critical His- tory of America.” Very easily the reader may point out every letter of the casket inscriptions in the autographs also. A peculiar shape the letter r has in the inscriptions upon the top of the casket. It resembles 2 modern x. We find the same x standing for the letter r in the accompanying reproductions of the autographs of Francisco Pizarro and Hernandez de Biedma. It is also to be found in autographs of Hernando Cortes, King Ferdinand and others. A few words about the Inscriptions in general: When the removal of the re- mains of Christopher Columbus and his son Diego took place the ashes of both men were transferred from the original coffins to two small leaden cases of the same make. Now, can it be imagined that the case of such an {llustrious man as the discoverer of the New World had been left without any visible marks or inscriptions by means of which mis- takes might be avoided? This thought must be strongly rejected. It is only natural that the case In which repose the remains of the great admiral was distinguished by fitfing inscriptions which might enable easy identification also in later centuries. As in no official document is it stated that the leaden tablets taken by the Spaniards out of the vault in 179 had any mark or in- scription, it must therefore be regarded as strongest proof that the tomb emp- tied at that time never inclosed the pre- iriuus ashes of the discoverer of Amer- ca. Mention should be made of the ball which was found, together with the small silver plate, among the mold and dust in the case. Nobody has hitherto given great importance to its being there. But it seems to me that some weight must be attached to it. Describ- ing the awful hardsbips of his fourth and last voyage, Columbus says: My wound opened again, and for nine days all hope was gone to Keep me alive.” This shows that Columbus in some former days was wounded. At what time this happened we do not know; it was probably during his earlier voyages in the Mediterranean Sea or to Guinea. It may be that during those adventur- ous trips he received a gunsiot, and that the ball remained in his bedy till his end. If, as the Spanish authorities would have us believe, fraud was committed by the Archbishop of San Domingo, what reasons could have induced him to put such a ball into the casket, which ball, up to my investigations, never before was brought in any connection with the above mentioned passage of Columbus’ letter? Furthermore, what interest should lead the Archbishop and the other dignitaries of the cathedral at San Domingo to commit such grave fraud, by which neither they nor their church had any profit? To sum up, all reasons point most strongly to the probability that Lieu- tenant General Aristazabal, in 1795, when he dug for the remains of Chris- topher Columbus, made a mistake and opened not the vault of the admiral but that of his son Diego, buried only a few inches distant from his father. The error of the Spaniards lay in their igno- rance that there were two vaults close together, and that, as Moreau de St. Mery only a-few years before had stated, “not 2 mausoleum, not a monu- e G AT B e e '/,, ik, ment, not even an inscription” indi- cated where the true resting place of Christopher Columbus was. There is not the slightest reason to doubt that the remains of the discov- erer of the New World are still at San Domingo, the place he himself selected for his last resting place. RUDOLPH CRONAN. —_—————————— Here are some characteristic anec- dotes of Lord Beaconsfield. Lord Ran- dolph Churchill vouched for the first: “Toward the end of Lord Beacons- D.' dfi' /a /- The Cathedral Thh o =— yan homingo - \ holds me in its horrid clutch.” When the party had broken up the host and hostess were talking it over. ‘I think the chief enjosred himself,’ sald the host, ‘and I know he liked his claret.’ ‘Claret? exclaimed the hostess; ‘why, he drank brandy and water all dinner time." “To Matthew Arnold, the great Jew Premier, in the last year if his life, con- fessed: “‘You have heard me accused of be- ing a flatterer. It is true. I am & flatterer. 1 have found it useful. ¥ NO. 1.—INSCRIPTION UPON THE TOP OF THE LID. field’s second Premiership a younger politician asked the Premier to dinner. 1t was a domestic event of the first im- portance, and no pains were spared to make the entertainment a success. When the ladies retired the host came and sat where the hostess had been, next to his distinguished guest. ‘Will you have some . more claret, Lord I ‘No, thank you, my Beaconsfield?" dear fellow. It is admirable wine—true Falernian—but I have already exceeded my prescribed quantity, and the gout Every one likes flattery; and when you come to royalty you should lay it on with a trowel.’” _—a——e—————— Paris policemen have been supplied with electric dark lanterns, by means of which they can see 150 feet away. They are employed so successfully in raids in the Bois de Boulogne on the homeless persons who sleep there at night hat Saint oud, Sevres and Ville d’Avray are overrun with vagrants. The Czar's Peace Union . and the Anglo-Saxon Alfiance (Continued From Page Seventeen.) able between the two great English speaking countries. I do not under- value the deep significance of the pres- ent entente cordiale between our tgvo untries, but any future alliance be- :?\‘een Great Britain and the United States would probably have to be pre- ceded by an agreement or some prac- tical action on the part of the former guaranteeing the fair treatment of Ire- land, and any new cause of ill feeling between Engiand and Ireland would be the immediate cause of a break in this Anglo-American alliance. Of course many of your people and mine, too, for that matter, would deny this, but I hold their view to be a par- tial one. 1 do not mean to say that America s morally or practically pledged to the cause of Irish freedom, but I do belleve from a long and care- ful study of conditions and sentiment in America that there is a strong moral opinion back of America’'s sympathy for the Irish cause, and that this atti- tude will continue. There is no reason to doubt, however, that the international relations between Great Britain and the United States may continually grow closer and more friendly. There is no probability that the United States has any idea of ever interfering with our possession of Can- ada, and Lord Salisbury’s extraordi- nary and breathless change of front re- garding the Venezueld question com- pelled us to accept henceforth the lead- ership of the United States in all poli- cies relating to America. Nor is this osition likely to change. The Clayton- gulwer treaty is dead, you know. The Anglo-American alliance may pos- sibly be the outcome of either one of two things. The most obvious is that, in case any European power should at- tack America, by any unforeseen result of her war with Spain, we, in this possibility, should espouse her cause and assist her in enforcing her policy. But this possibility is remote. I can think of no conceivable instance at all likely to occur save the improbable one that France might regard this as a fa- vorable opportunity to seize portions of Morocco (which she has long coveted), but even then I doubt if the United States would regard it seriously enough to make it a casus belli. The other possibility for-a formal Anglo-American alliance, in due course of time, is a far more interesting one on which to speculate. The vital re- lations between the two great English speaking peoples are those of thought and moral purpose. Our intellectual, our religious life are one. Ideas, per- haps 1 may say also ideals, are our common tie. _Our literature 1s a com- mon bond. ow, as action always fol- lows ideas undeviatingly, the fact of our mutual literary and ethical ideas conduces so inevitably to common ac- tion that this may be taken for granted in the future, wholly without any fore mal declarations. It is one of those trends of life that follow great natural laws. The precipitation of some great moral question might create and fuse a formal declaration of alliance at once—such a question, for instance, as that of the Armenian atrocities which should vi- tally touch the religious feeling of both peoples. It is from' the close relations of moral sentiments rather than from any consideration of political advan- tages that the Anglo-American alliance may at last be expected to come. CHARLES DILKE. CASE IN WHICH THE BONES SAID TO BE THOSE OF COLUMBUS REPOSE & *