Tomb in Cemetery, Salta
The Hotel Plaza of Ramon Terres is a two-story building at the northeast corner of the square and, although it is by no means a St. Regis, it is good enough for Salta. Unfortunately most of the bedrooms face a glass-roofed courtyard, which besides making them dark, does not allow the entry of much fresh air. The pillows are so hard that the guests are apt to wonder if they are stuffed with brickbats. One of the curious figures that haunted the hotel café was a very old, tall, and thin gentleman of a decidedly noble and dignified appearance. His hair which was abundant, and his well-trimmed beard were silvery white. His clean features, neat black clothes, and derby hat would deceive a person into believing that this old man was a retired Scots professor or German scientist. There was something uncanny about his appearance, for I had never before seen so well-groomed and active a man of an age that I imagined him to be; it was as if he had long ago passed the age limit in which old men die, and yet decided that he would remain on earth a good spell yet. He was always one of the last persons to leave the cafés nights, and the first to enter them mornings; he made the rounds with regularity, and always had a drink before him. I asked the Spanish bartender who he was:
"He was once a very rich man who made his money by cattle dealing in Chile. He spent most of it and now is on an allowance from his relations. He has been in Chile over one hundred times trading stock, and is thinking of going again soon. He is an expert horseman. He is over one hundred years old, and," said the waiter in a confidential undertone, "he is a devil with the women. He chases after all the servant girls and has lewd designs on the chambermaid." This chambermaid, by the way, was terribly good-looking, with dark brown eyes, and rosy red cheeks. I admired the old man's choice.
Salta has some remarkable religious edifices. It is the see of a bishop, who has a palace adjoining the cathedral. The diocese was created in 1806 and comprises the provinces of Salta and Jujuy. The present bishop, José Gregorio Romero, has been the incumbent only since 1915. The inhabitants have the reputation of being very devout, although I observed that all the Catholics with whom I was brought into contact with in Salta, ate meat on Friday. This also applies to the clergy. In the rich, cool, and lofty cathedral, there is a shrine with an image of the crucified Savior, which has a most peculiar history. Years ago there was found on a lonely beach in Chile, two boxes, which had evidently been washed ashore from an unknown shipwreck. One was labeled with the address of a person in Córdoba, and the other was addressed to a Señor del Milagro in Salta. On being opened, the box destined for Córdoba was found to contain an image of the Virgin, while that for Salta contained the Christ. His halo is of wrought gold, and the cross on which He is nailed is of iron. As there was no such person in Salta as "del Milagro," the church appropriated the image which is known as the Cristo del Milagro, and is shown by the sexton.
Two of the oldest churches are those of Merced and of San Bernardo. The church of the Candelaria has the finest façade with a detached campanile, but the most interesting of all is the church and monastery of San Francisco. The cloister has massive walls, seven feet thick. It houses fourteen brown-robed monks of the Franciscan order. Most of them were an unwashed, unkempt lot; the quantity of empty wine and beer bottles in the kitchen yard bore testimony to many libations on their part. The whole monastery is a maze of halls, porches, passageways, staircases, cupolas, belfries, cells, courtyards, and gardens. This confusion arose because a new part was added each time the growth of the monastery warranted it. Into the large garden is turned nightly a large bloodhound, kept ugly by being constantly fed on raw meat. This is to prevent the townspeople from scaling the walls to steal the luscious fruit and grapes which the monks cultivate. In the daytime the dog is kept chained up, but only two or three of the inmates are on friendly enough terms with this modern Cerberus to approach it. The tall campanile of San Francisco is the highest church tower in Argentina.
Calle Mitre, Salta
This is the main street of the city