The Kingdom of Guatemala

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ri
THE LAND OF THE QUETZAL
WILLIAM T.BRIGH AM
THE LIBRARY OF
BROWN UNIVERSITY
THE CHURCH
COLLECTION
The Bequest of
Colonel George Earl Church
1835-1910
GUATEMALA
MONOLITH
(A)
AT QHIKIGUA.
GUATEMALA
By
WILLIAM
T.
BRIGHAM,
LONDON
T.
FISHER UNWIN
26
Paternoster Square
1887
A.M.
\n
r=<
PREFACE.
BELIEF
in
the
increasing importance of Central
America, both geographically and
politically,
has
led the writer of the following pages to collect for his
own
use and print for the
rise
of
others, notes
made
He
during three journeys in Guatemala and Honduras.
does not pretend to offer a monograph on Guatemala, nor

to add to the general knowledge of Central America but
remembering the lack of guidance from which he suffered
in travelling through the country, would in some measure
save others from the same inconvenience. He seeks also,
with perhaps more ambition, to awaken among Americans
greater interest in the much-neglected regions between
the Republic of Mexico and the Isthmus of Darien.
A land which was the cradle of civilization on this
continent, and whose recently explored monuments are
most justly claiming the study and admiration of archaeologists in Europe as well as in America, has been
strangely neglected by the American traveller as well as
by the American merchant. Since the Travels of Stephens
;
fascinated the public nearly half a century ago, the people

of the United
States have paid very
little
attention to
commerce. Even now there are thousands of square miles of wholly unexjDiored territory
between the low Isthmus of Tehuantepec and the Lake of
Guatemala or
Nicaragua.
its
PREFACE.
vi
No
country on the northern half of the American
continent has a finer climate or more beautiful and varied

scenery, or
the Pacific
uplands not unlike the plateau of the
Indian Neilgherries
those of Brazil
land
forests as dense
and luxuriant as
lakes as picturesque as those of Switzer-
green slopes that might have been taken from the
Emerald
that
for the genuine
field
Valleys rivalling the paradises of the islands
traveller.
of
a more attractive
is
Isle
recall
glens like the Trossachs
the
Sahara
all
^tna and a
whence comes the
volcanoes like
pojDulation as various as in that land
Indian name,
desert wastes
these features
make
but the incom-
Guatemaltecan picture. Then there

is that charming freedom from conventionality which
permits a costume for comfort rather than for fashion,
accoutrements for convenience rather than for show. No
plete outline of the
dangerous beast or savage

life,
man
attempts the traveller's
no lurking danger or insidious pestilence
path.
The hair-breadth
escapes,
is
in his
more interesting
to the
reader than pleasant to the explorer, are rare here, and

the rough places and the irritations from which no land
on earth
is
wholly
free,
seem softened and vanishing
to
the retrospective eye.
Old travellers know how soon the individuality of a

is lost when once the tide of foreign travel is
turned through its towns or its by-ways and when the
ship-railway of Eads crosses the Isthmus of Tehuantepec,
when the Northern Railroad extends through Guatemala,
country
when
the Transcontinental Railway traverses the plains
and the Nicaraguan Canal unites the Atand the Pacific, the charm will be broken, the mulepath and the mozo de cargo will be supplanted, and a
journey across Central America become almost as dull as
a journey from Chicago to Cheyenne.
of Honduras,
lantic
PREFACE.
Vll
In the sober work to which this Preface introduces the

reader, first impressions have been confirmed or corrected
by subsequent experience, and flights of the imagination
curbed by the truth-telling camera from the published
maps the most correct portion has been selected, and the
Many hunstatistics are from the Government reports.
dred photographic plates made by the writer during a
period of three years have contributed to the illustrations
Where
of this book, so that accuracy has been secured.
the plates are not direct reproductions from the negatives,
the ink drawings have been made from photographic
There are no fancy sketches.
prints with care.
;
W.
Boston, June
16, 1887.
From an Ancient Manuscript.
T. B.
CONTENTS.
The Kingdom of Guatemala
I
II.
The Atlantic Coast and
its
....
PAGE
Connections
25
III.
Across the Continent Westward to Coban
IV.
From Coban to Quezaltenango
V. From Quezaltenango to the Pacific

VI.
Guatemala City
VII.
Guatemala to Esquipulas
VIII.
Esquipulas and Quirigua
IX.
In the
66
103
148
171
190
201
228
Olden Time
281
X. The Republic of Guatemala

XI. Vegetable and Animal Productions
XII.
Earthquakes and Volcanoes
323
377
APPENDIX
411
INDEX
445
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS.
Monolith at Quirigua
(A)
Frontispiece
TO FACE PAGE
Street in Livingston
28
Interior of a Carib House
30
Grating Cassava
32
Weaving a Serpiente
36
El Rio Cuocon
44
CoBAN CuuRcn AND Plaza
Frank and
his
Mare
(tVoni the
tower of the Cabildo)
....
106
]\Iabel
CiiiCAMAN (two views takeu from the same place before sunrise)
94
....
109
Valley of the Chixoy
114
Plaza of Sacapulas
118
ToTONicAPAN Valley
138
Lago de Atitlan (from
the road above Paiiajacbel)
Street in Guatemala City
Guatemala City (from
the Church of the Carmen)
156
177
178
Santuario at Esquipulas
202
Monolith at Quirigua (E)
218
ILLUSTRATIONS.
xii
TO FACE PAGE
Altar-Stones at Quirigua
Ethnographic Chart
A Group
222
Dr. Stoll)
(after
of Carib Children
271
272
Two Carib Boys
274
Carib plaiting a Petaca
276
Court Scene
318
in Livingston
In the Forest
324!
CoHUNE Palms
(Âttalea cohune, Mart.)
VoLCAN DE PuEGO
(from
tlie
Cabildo, Antigua)
330
392
TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
PiGUREs (from an ancient Manuscript)
vii
Luciano Calletano
24
(captain at Chocon)
Barrack Point, Livingston
27
Entrance to the Hio Dulce
41
Pemale Iguanas
47
Barbecue at Benito
50
Section of Vejuco de
Agua
54
Dragon Bock, Chocon
55
San Gil (from
59
tlie
author's house at Liviiigstou)
Puerto Barrios
61
Sulphur Spring
63
Paddle and Machete
65
Castillo de San Pelipe (plan drawn by P. E. Blaisdell)
69
ILLUSTRATIONS.
xiii
PAGE
Making Tortillas
71
Roof-tile (from a sketch by F. E. Blaisdell)
89
In Hotel Aleman
91
Plan of Hotel Aleman (by
The Cabildo
F. E. Blaisdell)
92
of Coban
93
Interior of tue Church at Coban
94
Pattern of Cloth
95
Quetzal (^Macropharus mocino)
97
Indio of Coban
99
Cuartillo of Guatemala
102
Rope Bridge over the Chixoy
107
Quiche Altar of Tohil
122
(Sacrificatorio)
Marimba
123
JlCARA
124
SOLOLA AND VoLCAN DE AtITLAN
132
Church at Quezaltenango
143
Manuel Lisandro Barillas
145
(President of Guatemala)
Alcaldes of Quezaltenango
146
Cuatro-Reales of Honduras
147
J.
Rufino Barrios (photograph taken
in
149
1S83)
Boat on the Lago de Atitlan
153
Washout
157
in
the Road
Antigua and the Volcan de Agua
Ruined Church
in
Antigua Guatemala
159
161
Railroads for Guatemala
168
Bread-fruit (Ârtocarpus
170
incisct)
Section of Boat at Amatitlan
174
ILLUSTRATIONS.
XIV
PAGE
Chtjrch of the Carmen
I79
Spanish Stirrup (of the time of Cortez)
184
Terra-cotta Figurines
184
Indian Pottery
189
Pacaya, Fuego, Agua
190
hunapu from the eastward
191
Mozo ON THE Road
198
Lava Mask
200
in
the Museo Nacional
Incense-Burner (about
half tlie size of the original)
Remains at Quirigua (from Mr. Maudslay's
Monolith at Quirigua
Monolith E
IzABAL
207
plan)
217
219
(F)
(portion of back)
(fi'om the
221
end of the wharf)
225
Whistle from Las Quebradas
227
Ancient Temple (from an
245
old Manuscript)
Indio sacrificing Blood from his Tongue (Kingsborough)
....
246
Ideographs
251
Ancient Incense-burner
251
Stone Ring for Ball Game
Carib
(at
Chichen Itza)
Woman
257
272
Indian Women, Pocomam Tribe
275
Mozos de Cargo, Quiche
279
Carved Stone Seat (Museo
Nacional)
2S0
Arms of Guatemala
281
Rafael Cabrera
288
(from a silver dollar)
326
Matapalo-Tree
Attalea coiiune
(flowers and fruit)
330
ILLUSTRATIONS.
xv
PA.GG
Leaf Tip of Clijibixg Palm {Besmoncus)

Indian Plough; a Type of Guatejialtecan Agriculture
Primitive Sugar-mill (commou
Theobroma cacao
(chocolate tree)
Castilloa elastica (India-rubber
A Bunch
at Liviugstou)
332
....
340
341
346-
tree)
of Plantains (young)
347
352:
Pounding Rice
356'
Growth
360
of a
Young Coconut
Passiflora Brighami
376'
Congrehoy Peak
384
CosEGUiNA (from
Group (from an
399
the sea)
ancient Manuscript)
442
MAPS.
Central America
Lago de Atitlan
154
Central American Volcanoes
377
Lago de Ilopango
403
Guatemala
End of Book
GUATEMALA:
THE LAND OF THE QUETZAL.
CHAPTER
I.
THE KINGDOM OF GUATEMALA.
THAT
part of the North American continent usually
known
as Central
America was included by the
Spanish conquerors in the kingdom of Guatemala

while
mala,
my
purpose
is
be pardoned
if
I call
of the ancient
interests of
kingdom,
my
the attention of
geography and history of
once bore the
and
to describe the republic of Guate-
a portion only
to the
name and
is
still
may
readers briefly
that country which
all
closely allied with the
Guatemala.
Central America should extend from the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec to that of Darien
from the Caribbean Sea
on the northeast, to the Pacific Ocean on the southwest.

Mexico, however, has taken Chiapas and Yucatan, on
the west and north. Great Britain has seized the east
coast of
of
Guatemala (British Honduras), and the Isthmus
Panama
is
included in the territory of South America.
The present independent

Salvador,
stitute
republics
of
Honduras, Nicaragua, and
what
is
known
Guatemala, San
Costa Rica, con-
as Central America,
territory
GUATEMALA.
between
it
82 25'
and 19
8 10'
extending between
and
20' north latitude,
92 30' west longitude.
and
In length
measures between eight and nine hundred miles, while

breadth varies from thirty to three hundred miles.
its
No competent
and even the
try,
down on
laid
at
survey has ever been made of this coun-
haphazard
have been
coast-line
the best charts.

in
most
cases,
scientifically
veys along
the
lines
not
is
Maps have been made

and very few positions
Government
determined.
of
always correctly
proposed
canals
or
sur-
railways
have not extended beyond a narrow line, usually in

low regions remote from important centres. Dr. Frantzius
has published a very excellent
but most of the so-called

the
tific
of Costa
maps published by
authority of individual
value, the course of
map
republics are
of
Rica
or under
no
scien-
the principal rivers and the
main mountain -chains being unknown.

To illustrate the uncertain geography of Central America, let me give the extent and population as pub(I.) Lippincott's Gazetteer,
lished by three authorities,
(II.) Whittaker's Almanac, and (III.) the " Geografia
direction of the
de Centro-America " of Dr. Gonzalez.
I.
Guatemala
Siiuare Miles.
Population.
40,777
1,190,754
7,335
434,520
Houduras
47,090
351,700
Nicaragua
58,000
236,000
Costa Rica
21,495
180,000
174,697
2,392,974
Salvador
PeteriDann's Mittheilungen, 1869.
S-
II.
Square Miles
Guatemala
Salvador
.....
Population.
40,776
1,500,000
7,335
554,000
Honduras
39,600
300,000
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
58,170
26,040
300,000
200,000
171,921
2,854,000
50,600
1,200,000
III.
Guatemala
Salvador
9,600
600,000
Honduras
40,000
400,000
Nicaragua
Costa Kica
40,000
275,816
(1882)
21,000
200,000
161,200
2,675,816
Without surveys and without a proper census

Indian tribes no
scientific description of the
of the
country can
Humboldt's theory of an Andean cordillera
be given.
has been disputed, and his mountain-chain has proved

to be a confusing (but not confused) series of
ridges.
Yet
was right
it
well
and so
may
mountain-
prove that the great naturalist
far as
we now know from maps and
personal observation, the vast earth-wrinkle which ex-
tends along the western border of our continent
mountain-range of definite direction (about E.
W.
20''
N.)
in
Central America, and
there
nearly the whole width of the continent.
is
20'' S.
a
to
occupying
If
we can
picture to ourselves the formation in those remote ages,
that
of
it is
the geologist's task to rehabilitate in thought,
a vast ridge, not
sharp like the typical mountain^
range, but of broad dimensions like the swell of some
vast ocean,
we
shall
have the material then forming
GUATEMALA.
the earth's crust bent upwards, and hi unelastic places
broken, and this partly or entirely beneath the ocean.
The
rising land as the ages passed
would be acted upon
not only by the ocean waves and currents, but by the

torrential rains,
which were
of
a force and frequency
that even our water-spouts of the present age cannot
Cracks were widened, gorges were formed
equal.
and
as the earth approached the present geological age, the
gentler rains only supplied the rivers and lakes which
now
occupied the furrows ploughed deeply by primeval
The rough work was done, the
torrents.
out
finish,
statue blocked
and henceforth meteoric influences were merely to

add expression and polish to the work.
traveller crossing this territory
would sometimes follow the
from ocean to ocean
river valleys,
then climb
ridges, again traverse a plain, cross a valley, ride along
another mountain-ridge, compassing a volcano, and finally
descend abruptly to the Pacific.
His direction had not
changed, but the nature of his path had been wonderfully transformed.
Geologists
know
well that on one of
these lines of
disturbance, such as has been described, molten
integrated material
and ashes
is
dis-
apt to come to the surface as lava
they expect also to find metallic veins, espe-
cially of the precious metals,
ous
and
and hot springs with
vari-
minerals in solution, and they infer earthquakes.
All these
full force.
phenomena are present in Central America in

Immense cones have arisen along the Pacific
slope since the general features of the land were
made,
and not only have spread vast deposits aromid their

base, but have blocked up valleys, forming lakes as
Atitlan,
built
promontories
as
Coseguina,
islands
as

Ometepec
Lake
in the
of Nicaragua,
and have turned
changed prevailing winds, and otherwise altered
rivers,
the physical conditions of the country.
Gold sands from the disintegrated veins sparkle
and the deposits
every mountain-brook,
no doubt as rich as those
Aguas
calientes,
of Mexico,
of
silver
in
are
Nevada, and Potosi.
or hot s^Drings, are found all over the
common on
country, and earthquakes, often severe, are

the Pacific slopes.
All along the Atlantic side the rock material
lime-
is
stone or dolomite, while as one goes westward he meets
andesyte and other forms of
trachytic
lava,
such as
Even among the limestone moun-
pumice and obsidian.
tains of the northeast are occasional volcanic deposits,
exactly
as
might be expected when
extensive an
so
upheaval has taken place.
Whatever has been the exact process by which

essentially
mountainous country has been formed, we
have at present at
of
this
its
northern boundary the high plain
Anahuac, extending from Mexico (where
it
is
inter-
rupted by the Isthnnis of Tehuantepec) through Guate-
mala
vador
feet)
of
3,250
somewhat lower
feet.
Honduras and
Sal-
almost sea-level in Nicaragua (154
sinking to
and
level in
rising again in the Altos of
This main range has
its
Veragua
much
axis
the Pacific shore and almost parallel to
to about
nearer
being in San
it,
and in Guatemala
Towards the Pacific the slope
Salvador distant seventy-five miles,

(Totonicapan) only
is
fifty.
steep, interrupted
by many volcanoes
Atlantic side the gently terraced incline
while on the
is
broken into
subsidiary ridges extending to the very shores.
In the
oceanic valleys and along the coast are the only low-
GUATEMALA.
lands of Central America
and these contain the wash
mountains, and ages of vegetable
of volcanoes, limestone
growth and decay, forming the
richest of soils for agri-
ultural purposes.
In Guatemala the
mean
height of the cordillera
is
about seven thousand, and probably the mean height of

this republic
The
the Department of
not less than five thousand,
is
Sierra Madre, or Cuchumatanes, in
Huehuetenango,
is
the highest land (always excepting
the volcanoes, which will be described later)

less
important ridges are the Sierra de
and
stone,
of caverns),
full
and
Chama
of the
(of lime-
which extends towards the
northeast and ends in the Cockscomb
Honduras
feet.
Range
of British
Sierra de Santa Cruz, also of limestone, ex-
tends nearly eastward, north of the Lago de Izabal and

the Rio Polochic, and south of the Rio Sarstun
de
las Minas, nearly parallel to the last,
Sierra
and separating
the valley of the Rio Motagua from that of the Polochic.
Of
San
this range
Gil,
is
the
Montana
near Livingston
stone, but
del
Mico and the peak of
the material
is
no longer lime-
metamorphic rock, containing mines
we have
of
some
del Merendon,
Guatemala
which forms the boundary between
and Spanish Honduras
and with various names it finally ends in
Last
importance.
the
Sierra
the Montana de
Omoa on
the coast,
mark several thousand feet high.

The mountains of Salvador are
ward
of the
main chain
an important land-
all
volcanic and shore-
but in Honduras the lines again
repeat the general arrangement of Guatemala, while the
names
are man}^, indicating a
more broken system.
tween the ranges are broad and
fertile valleys,
Be-
the Llano
de Comayagua being forty miles in length, with a breadth
CENTRAL AMERICA.

from
of
In Nicaragua the
to fifteen miles.
five
7
rido-es
slope towards the southwest, breaking abruptly to the
Mosquito coast, and an important part of
its
territory
Managua and Nicaragua.
occupied by the lakes of
is
From
the broad valley the land again rises towards Costa Rica,
where
attains the height of forty-three
it
hundred
feet,
and, owing to the narrowness of the continent, the lat-
From
eral branches are insignificant.
Veragua the
the table-land of
cordillera dwindles to the basaltic ridge of
Panama.
Rivers are,
factors
the
in
next to mountains, the most important

physical
aspect
of
the
land
and
in
Central America they are abundant, though, from the
broken nature of the country, not of great
From
size.
the position of the backbone of the land, most of the
towards the Gulf of Mexico and the Carib-
watershed
is
bean Sea
even the great lakes of Nicaragua, which are
really on the Pacific side,
Juan
The lower
break in the cordillera.

of the Central
the
empty through the Rio San
into the Atlantic, the river taking advantage of a
sources of
American
rivers
is
or navigable portion
the only part
even the largest streams are
known
still
un-
explored.
So tortuous are the courses that names are
multiplied,
and
rivers that flow
from inhabited valleys
through wild forests again appear in the lowlands as

strangers
and the river that one traveller
unknown
describes as important
it
and navigable, because he
in the season of rain, the next visitor
deep, and
On
which
know only
may
sees
cross knee-
as a brook.
may be mentioned the Rio Lempa,

near Esquipulas, receives the waters of the
the Pacific side

rises
considerable Lago de Guija (on the boundary of Guate-
GUATEMALA.
mala and Salvador), and even after the dry season is of

large volume, thirty miles from its mouth attaining a
breadth of more than six hundred feet and a depth of
ten feet, which
is
nearly twenty-seven
of the rainy season occur.
which has
liardly a
If it
fathom
of
when
the floods
were not for the bar,

water,
navigation
the
would develop rich lands on either bank. The Rio Paz,

the Rio de los Esclavos, and the Rio Michatoya are not
formerly the latter stream at
navigable, although
mouth
(Istapa)
was large enough within the bar
the construction of vessels of moderate size
that the Spaniards fitted out several
Chief
it
its
admit
was here
fleets.
Far different are some of the rivers that

into the Atlantic.
to
among them
find their
all
is
way
the noble
Usumacinta, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico through

the
Lago de Terminos, and
through a singularly
fertile
is
many
navigable
miles
and interesting country, as
human race,
by white men, and the home of
beautiful as fancy pictures the cradle of the
land seldom visited
the unconquered and unbaptized (La Candones) Indios.
The swift Chixoy, the Rio de la Pasion, and the almost

unknown San Pedro unite to form this " Child of many
Waters."
The
Belize River, rising in the
Montana de Dolores near
Peten and crossing the British colony,
is
the principal
highway for the commerce of Peten, the pitpans bringing

down huge mahogany bowls, paddles, baskets, and other
Indian
The Sarstun forms the southern boun-
g-oods.
dary of the British possessions, and

small canoes
None but
is
as
far
as the
rapids of
timber-cutters disturb
at present the
most useful
is
Gracias a Dios.
its solitudes.
river of
navigable for
The Polochic
Guatemala.
It

near Tactic, and
rises
its
a foaming torrent for
is
seasons
steamers, except
for light-draft
and not far below,
increased by the Cahabon.
much
At Pansos the waters
course in Alta Verapaz.
navigable
volume
its
of
are
in very dry
materially
is
through the Lake of
It flows
Izabal, and, as the Rio Dulce, empties into the Gulf of
Amatique over a bar
From Gualan
Quiche.
The Motagua
of sand.
parallel to the Polochic,
and
it is
is
nearly
near Santa Cruz del
rises
navigable in canoes.
Smaller
streams are the Ulua, Aguan, and Segovia in Spanish
Honduras, which are navigable for pitpans.
Finally
we
have the San Juan, known as one of the elements
of the
" Nicaragua Canal " route, but not at present navigable
any
for boats of
size.
All the rivers of Central America that can be used for
commerce require a
the depth of water
special river service

is
for
wherever
the always-present bar
sufficient,
more than
cuts off access to vessels drawing
six
Should the development of the country warrant
feet.
the
it,
bar of the Rio Dulce could be deepened sufficiently to
admit vessels drawing ten or

Small lakes are
common enough
The Laguna
of Central America.
hundred
feet
above the
The Lago de
broad.
Solola, is
Tollman
fifteen feet.
sea, nine
Atitlan,
in the northern part
del Peten
is
in
the
five
Department
sixteen and a half miles long from

to
about
leagues long and five

of
San Lucas
San Juan, and eight miles wide from San
Buenaventura to Canajpu, and soundings show a depth
With the Laguna de Amatitlan,
of a thousand feet.
will
be
described
in the Itinerary.
the
this
Of Honduras, the
Laguna de Caratasca,
or Cartago,
chief
lakes
close
on the Atlantic coast, thirty-six miles long by
are
GUATEMALA.
10
Lago de Yojoa, between the Departments of Comayagua and Santa Barbara, twenty-five
the Lago de
miles long and from five to eight wide
Cartina, eighteen miles by eight, and the Laguna de la
twelve wide
the
Criba, fifteen
by seven
Of
miles.
all
the lakes of Central
so interesting commercially as the Lake
America, none
is
of Nicaragua.
It is large (ninety miles
largest south of
Lake Michigan.
forty),
Of a depth
fathoms in
for all vessels (forty-five
by
places),
and the
sufficient
and con-
nected with the Atlantic by the Rio San Juan, with the
Lago de Managua
Tipitapa,
it
(thirty-five miles
by sixteen), by the
has the serious disadvantage of being a vol-
may
canic basin, whose bottom
above the surface,
as
at
any time be elevated
the case of the volcano of
in
Whether the channel between these two lakes

is permanent, is a matter of some doubt, as travellers
have lately found no water flowing from Managua. The
Ometepec.
Lago de Guija, between Guatemala and Salvador, is

seventeen miles long from east to west, and its mean
width is six. Fishes and alligators abound, and its waters
which are not

the
Lempa
of the best quality
to the Pacific.
discharge
through
Another lake in Salvador has
attracted attention in late years by a curious volcanic
disturbance in
its
midst
Ilopango will be described with
the volcanoes.
With
of
this bare list of
the country,
we may
some
of the
join
prominent features
a brief account of those
other natural and political characteristics of
what was
once Spain's stronghold on this continent that have most
immediate relation to the present inhabitants.
Guatemala
may
Leaving
for a separate chapter, the other four republics
be described as follows

Salvado7\
The
11
smallest in extent, but
by far the
most populous, having no less than sixty-three inhabitants
The
to the square mile.
mean elevation of two thousand

on the
Pacific side
an upland of a
above the sea, bounded
central part
by a chain
feet
is
of volcanic peaks
beyond
these a strip of lowland from ten to twenty miles wide.
Eastward and westward are two great depressions, San

Miguel and Sonsonate, '"the place of a hundred springs"
The Gulf
(centsonatl).
nearly thirty wide,
is
on the Pacific coast.

cipal port of
of Fonseca, fifty miles long
said to be the
On
and
most beautiful harbor
the southwest side
La Union, a town
of little
The mean temperature
not for the capital commercial

habitants would be few.
facilities of
five
hundred inhabitants
(distant five leagues), however,
provided with an iron
first
the Pacific
and were
the town,
it
its in-
La Union.
of
Acajutla
between the headlands of Remedios and Santiago, and
has but
is
all
;
Libertad has an open roadstead,
and a population only half that

lies
80^ Falir.
is
the prin-
more than two
thousand inhabitants, and unhealthful, as are

ports.
is
as the port of Sonsonate
it is
much
frequented, and
pier, as is Libertad.
In 1882 the
railway in the republic was opened, from Acajutla to
Sonsonate, a distance of fifteen miles
and work has
since
been slowly progressing in the direction of Santa Ana.
Mines of gold,
silver, copper, lead, iron,
and anthracite
coal are found within the borders of Salvador, the principal being
those of Loma-Larga, Corozal, Devisadero,
Encuentros, and Tabanco.
The
capital
was founded April
1,
1528, by Jorge de
Alvarado, brother of the conqueror of Guatemala

ten or twelve years
present
site
afterwards
in the valley
De
los
was removed
Hamacas, where
it
but
to its
it
has
GUATEMALA.
12
been
many
which
times ruined by the terrible earthquakes to
this region is especially subject.
The
republic
twenty-nine
is
divided
districts,
fourteen
into
departments,
and two hundred and twenty-eight
towns.
Principal Cities.
Departments.
The
Ana
Santa Ana.
Santa
Ahuacliapan.
Ahuachapan.
(25,000).
Sonsonate.
Sonsonate (8,000).
La
Nueva San Salvador (Santa Tecla).
Libertad.
San Salvador.
San Salvador (30,000).
Chalateuango.
Chalatenango.
Cuscatlan.
Cojutepeque.
La Paz.
Santa Liicia (Zacatecoluca).
San Vincente.
San Vincente (10,000).
Cabanas.
Sensuntepeque.
Usulutan.
Usulutau.
San Miguel.
San Miguel.
Gotera.
Gotera.
La Union.
San Carlos (La Union).
legislative
power
is
exercised by
one of Deputies, the other of Senators

elects a senator
sentative
and
and a
two chambers,
each Department
substitute, each District a repre-
The executive power
his substitute.
is
in
the hands of a citizen elected as President by the people

directly
should there be no
election
by an absolute
majority of votes, the General Assembly elects from the
who have
three citizens
votes.
obtained the greatest number of
Three senators are designated as heirs-apparent.
The term
re-election.
of
office
The
is
four
judiciary
is
tions in all these republics,
years,
without
immediate
similar in order and func-
and
will be described
as in
The organized militia numbers about thirteen

and in case of invasion, war lawfully
thousand men
Guatemala.

and internal
declared,
ages
the
between
rebellion, all Salvadoreiios
and
eighteen
of
13
fifty
are
military
to
liable
duty.
In 1879 the number of primary schools was 624 (465
and the
boys',
rest
girls');
and these were attended
by 20,400 boys and 4,038 girls, at a probable cost of

There is a central university, with faculties
$150,000.
Law, Medicine, Theology, and
of
Civil Engineering,
Ana and San
has branches at Santa
it
and
Miii:uel.
There are six hundred and ninety-three miles of
tele-
and the service is reasonably

Government officials. A railroad
between Santa Tecla and the capital, and five hungraph, with forty
offices
well performed by the
dred and nine leagues of cart-roads, afford communication
and there are
lines of stages subsidized
by the
Government.
In
1879 the
exports
the
imports were
$4,122,888.05
expenditures
the
$1,945,201,
and the
$2,549,160.19,
the income $2,914,236.29, and
The funded debt was

debt $392,777.11, and there
$2,785,068.
floating
no foreign debt.
is
Salvador
is
essentially
an agricultural
state,
and
coffee,
indigo, balsam, tobacco, rice, cacao, sugar, rubber,
and
other less important products are produced abundantly
from her
fertile fields.
Honduras.
covers an
Its
The
republic
of Central
area of about forty thousand
America
square miles.
boundaries are seen on the map, and
diversified
its
surface
with high mountain-ranges, broad and
valleys, vast forests,

is
third
and
plentiful streams.
extremely hot on the coast
region, as at
is
fertile
Its climate
but in the mountain
Intibuca, the temperature
is
low.
Never
GUATEMALA.
14
summer
SO hot as a
cold as to check a
of spring
and summer as he
level, irrespective of the
astronomical year.
an alternation
traveller has
changes his
New England
cities, and not so

most luxuriant vegetable growth, the
in
Four hundred miles of Atlantic coast-line, dotted with

river-mouths, bays, and ports
sixty miles on the Pacific
the secure Gulf of Fonseca,
side, in
ample commercial advantages

are the following resources
seem
to provide
and to make these
vast jDlains in
of use
Comayagua
and Olancho, covered with excellent grass, pasture large

herds of cattle, thousands
The
year to Cuba.^
forests,
and
coast-region
Atlantic
of
which are shipped each
which occupy much of the

lower
the
mountain-slopes
abound in mahogany, rosewood, cedar (Bursera)y logwood
{Hmmatoxylon campeeheanum), brazil-wood (Ccesalpinia

Brazilie7isis), sarsaparilla [Smilax), and other marketable
products
the principal timber regions being on the rivers
Ulua, Aguan, Negro, and Patuca,

side.
all
on the Atlantic
In mineral wealth Honduras easily outranks
on the Pacific slopes
and among them are chlorides
and are now worked by several foreign companies.

per deposits are often mingled with silver
sometimes
without smelting
reported.
her
Gold washings occur in Olancho,
of remarkable richness.
magnetite,
all
Silver ores are exceedingly abundant,
sister republics.
chiefly
Beds of
so pure that
it
iron exists as
may
and zinc
Cop-
be
worked
have been
antimony,
tin,
lignite are
found in the Department of
also
and here too are the Hondurenan opals. Fruits

many kinds are now grown in the neighborhood of
Gracias
of
Puerto
1
Cortez,
This business
is
such
as
declining,
bananas,
owing
Florida and shipjêd at a cheaper rate.
to
plantains,
the inferior
cattle
coconuts,
produced
in

which there
pines, for
is
little
is
now
increasing.
rivalling,
Cuban
exported
valleys
Orleans.
the
Of indigo
is
the leaf
is
grown near Copan,
properly cured, the best product of the
but the
New
but the production of tobacco
Especially fine
when
demand from
a constant
steamers which come here from
15
common
cigars,
which are sold
eight dollars per thousand, are dear even at that price.
for
In
1879 the importations were valued at about one million

dollars,
and the exports twice that amount.
years these exports have largely increased.

of
In later
narrow gauge extends from Puerto Cortez
Pedro,
thirty-seven
miles
sadly deficient in cart-roads,
railroad
to
San
and while the republic
it is
is
only fair to say that the
authorities are doing something to improve these very
necessary means, in the expectation that the country

to develop as
it
deserves.
The government
is
very like that of Salvador, and
the administrative departments are
Departments.
Mas
is
Cliief Cities.
Coxen Hole (Roatan).
de la Bahia.
Yoro.
Yoro.
Olaneho.
Juticalpa.
Paraiso.
Yuscaran.
Tegucigalpa.
Tegucigalpa (12,000).
Choluteca.
Choluteca.
La Paz.
Comayagua.
La Paz.
Comayagua
Santa Barbara.
Santa Barbara.
Gracias.
Gracias.
Copan.
Santa Eosa.
Colon.
Trujillo.
(10,000).
Public lands are abundant, and are granted to actual

settlers of
any nationality
at
low
rates,
provided they
GUATEMALA.
16
them. The towns are all small, although

them were flourishing sixty years before the
Of the more imsettlement of Jamestown in Virginia.
will cultivate
some
of
portant are Tegucigalpa, the capital, in the midst of a
some three thousand
plain
above the
feet
rounded by a mining region.
It possesses
and
sea,
sur-
a Universidad
by Don Juan Lindo, then President.

Comayagua was founded in 1540 by Alonzo de
Caceres, also in the midst of a jDlain, where still are
Central, founded in 1849
visible the
works
of
monuments of
a people more
for with the exception
the
work
antiquity,
the
less perishable
energetic than their successors
some few churches,
of
of the present inhabitants
of
Amapala,
centuries of occupation by a foreign invader.
on the Island
little
would survive three
of Tigre, in the Gulf of Fonseca,
was
for-
merly a favorite rendezvous of the buccaneers, Drake
making
it is
no
it
less desirable as a port,
it,
from
on the north
87 57'
New
the death of
Spain,
Omoa.
15""
49' N.,
was the
of
For more
principal port on the
but dread of the buccaneers caused the removal to
The bay
is
nine miles in circumference, with a
and on the northern
deepest, large ocean steamers
Omoa,
entrejjot
under the name of Navedad.

it
as Cortez
and longitude
depth of from four to twelve fathoms over

area
close
of his horses here,
W., was selected by Cortez as the
than two hundred years

coast
having deep water
some
coast, in latitude
Now
South Sea.
Puerto Cortez, or Puerto Caballos,
to shore.
called
his base of operations in the
in latitude 15 47' N.
side,
its
principal
where the water
may come
is
to the wharves.
and longitude 88
5'
W..
has a smaller harbor, defended by the Castillo de San
Fernando.
Trujillo,
an ancient port on the western shore
THE KIXGDOM OF GUATEMALA.
now growing
of a noble bay, is
in importance with, the
development of Olancho, of which

port
but
it
17
the natural sea-
it is
has no wharf or any sufficient landing-
place for merchandise.
The Bay
Islands are small, but of considerable impor-
Roatan, the largest,
tance.
by nine broad, and in

above the
feet
of Central
voyage,
five
sea.
its
highest part nearly a thousand
Guanaja. or Bonaca, the
America discovered by Columbus on

fifteen miles
is
about thirty miles long
is
by nine
land
his fourth
from Roatan, and of an extent
This group
miles.
first
and with a
is fertile,
of
fine
climate should prove very attractive to settlers from the
North who appreciate the waste
mate
of
eight months each year,
ceases to grow,
by
the
''
when
an
arctic
cli-
vegetation
all
and man himself can be kept alive only
artificial heat,
months
of life in
where the farmer must
for the poor produce that
is
famine months," and the laborer
toil
wearily four
to sustain
him
all
live poorly all the
twelvemonth, whatever be his work.
The
history of
even since
its
Honduras has not been a happy one,
revolt
from the Spanish yoke in 1821, and
revolutions have been the rule
but in 1865 a
new Con-
was adopted, with some prospect of internal

The four hundred thousand inhabitants include
stitution
quiet.
perhaps seven thousand whites, the Spanish population

being mainly on the Pacific
coast,
and several thousand
majority being Indios,
side,
Caribs along the Atlantic
of the
known
mixed
races, the great
as Xicaques
and Poyas.
Perhaps the most adverse influence to the progress of this

naturally rich republic, next to the revolutions,
was the
scandalous loan for building the " Honduras Inter-oceanic
Railway " from Puerto Cortez
to the Gulf of Fonseca, a
GUATEMALA.
18
hundred and forty-eight miles.
This loan, amounting in
1876 to $27,000,000, was as complete a swindle as has

ever disgraced American finances
but the people of Hon-
had
duras, although responsible for the debt,
with
its origin,
and cannot rightly be blamed
to do
little
for not pay-
ing interest on what they never had any advantage from.
The
internal debt
Nicaragua.
Nicaragua
is
is
Of
about $2,000,000.
nearly the same area as Honduras,
chiefly distinguished
by
lower level and
its
the great lake which offers so inviting a route for an
The same fertility and genial climate

extend from the Hondurehan uplands into Chontales and
Segovia, where Northerners can enjoy life but it is hot
and unwholesome near the sea, especially throughout the
Mosquito Reservation, where the frequent river-floods
inter-oceanic canal.
and the miasmatic marshes breed an endemic fever very
The mean annual temperature
Europeans.
fatal to
cepting the highlands)
about 80
is
(ex-
70 at
F., falling to
90 in the hottest weather.
The
seasons, as elsewhere in Central America, are two,
the
night,
and
rising to
wet from
May
months.
At
to
November, the dry including the winter
Rivas, on the isthmus between the
Nicaragua and the
a hundred and two inches

fall is
elsewhere the
about ninety, and the winter
Geologically, Nicaragua
in
the annual rainfall
Pacific,
variety of
is
no
less
Lago de
is
summer
rain-
than ten.
less rich
than Honduras
structure and mineral possibilities.
volcanic formations
about
on the extreme West are
The
rich in
pumice and sulphur, while across the lake are andesyte,

trachyte, greenstone, and metalliferous
porphyries, suc-
ceeded by crystallized schists, dolerites, and metamorpliic

beds, extending, so far as
is
known, beneath the
alluvial

deposits of the coast-region.
19
The Chontales gold mines
have been worked for some time near Libertad, and so

have the silver mines of Matagalpa and Dipilto but the
;
total annual yield of precious metals seldom exceeds
$200,000.
The chief articles of export are cacao, hides, coffee,

and gums, as well as gold and silver bullion and in
1880 the exports amounted to $2,057,500, and the imThe revenue for this year was
ports to $1,475,000.
;
$2,435,000, while the expenditures slightly exceeded
it.
All Nicaraguans between the age of eighteen and thirtyfive are in
the army.
For more than half a century Nicaragua has been

darkly distinguished
above
all
world by war and bloodshed.

entos, civil
other countries
war, and popular revolts have so exhausted
the resources of this rich country that
from utter exhaustion.

lics
in
their absurd and expensive

and expend the money, now
opening roads and teaching the
people something besides

of
this
wonderfully
be assured.
in the
way
quiet at last
up
establishments,
worse than wasted,
it is
military
fertile
drill,
the
prosperity
and agreeable region would
Only their revolutionary habits now stand

of
are not these
the introduction of foreign capital
and
habits fostered by the constant military
display which guards the President and judges alike

is
all
Could these fermenting repub-
be induced to give
military
the
of
Military pronimciami-
It
certainly foreign to all Northern ideas to have a court
of justice
guarded hy military sentinels.
Eden might be
shares,
Would
that this
reclaimed, the swords beaten into plough-
and the generals and other
officers
wasted energies to agriculture and commerce
turn
!
their
GUATEMALA.
20
Nicaragua
is
divided into the following departments,
accordino- to the census of
1882
Chief Cities.
Departments.
12,000
Managua
Granada
Leon
51,056
26,389
Granada
Leon
25,000
Rivas
Chinandega
16,H75
Rivas
10,000
17,578
Chinandega
Chontales
27,738
Libertad
Managua
....
....
.
7,800
16,000
11,000
5,000
51,699
Matagalpa
9,000
Nueva Segovia
36,902
Ocotal
3,000
Matagalpa
San Juan
del Norte
Mosquitia
2,000
Grey town
36,000
Blewfields
1,512
1,000
These figures cannot, however, be relied upon for the

population.
With
a coast-line of two hundred and eighty
miles on the Caribbean Sea, the only port
is
San Juan
del
Norte (Grey town), formed by the northern branch of the

and this is now nearly choked
delta of the San Juan
;
with sand.
The
Pacific coast is bold
and rocky, extending
nearly two hundred miles from Coseguina Point to Sali-
nas Bay, and has several convenient harbors, as San Juan

del Sur, Brito,
and, best of
chief cities is Leon,
all,
Realejo.
Among
the
founded by Francisco Fernandez de
Cordoba in 1523 in Imbita, near the northwest shore

of Lago de Managua, whence it was moved in 1610 to
Manathe present site at the Indian town of Subtiaba.
gua, the capital of the republic, was nearly destroyed in
1876 by a
land-slide, but
collegiate
town
the great lake.
is
now^ rebuilt.
of the republic,
and
is
Granada
is
the
on the shores of
railway has long been in process of
construction to connect the capital with the ocean.
1882 the telegraphic system
of eight
In
hundred miles was
completed, and eighty-one thousand despatches were for-
21
warded the preceding year through twenty-six

In 1882
offices.
the total attendance at the national schools
was
only five thousand, or less than eight per cent of the

Tlie annual grant for the purposes of
whole population.
education was $50,000.
The Mosquito
coast cuts
from Nicaragua a large por-
tion of her shore-line, precisely as British
Guatemala
trouble.
of hers
and
this has
This territory, which
had been under the protection

to 1850,
when
is
Honduras robs
been a cause of serious

about forty miles wide,
from 1655
of Great Britain
that very un-American document the Clay-
ton-Bulwer treaty gave England certain rights in her
ony
of Belize in
this
coast,
exchange for such claims as she had to
and by the treaty of Managua,
still
1860, she
in
formally ceded her protectorate to Nicaragua

are
col-
but there
several disputed points.
Costa Rica.
The
fifth
and most southern republic of
Central America has an area of only twenty-one thousand
square miles.
is
The Atlantic
coast
is
low, and the country
covered with a dense forest, while the Pacific slope
characterized by wide savannas, or Uanuras.

these borders are high volcanoes
Between
and an elevated
land three to four thousand feet above the sea,

latter almost the only cultivated land in the State.
forests are
largely
composed
of
is
table-
the
The
very valuable trees,
mahogany, ebony, brazil-wood, and oak
and the usual

grow well. Coffee, however, is the staple
export, being grown extensively in the neighborhood of
San Jose and Cartago; the soil most favorable being dark
The
volcanic ash, from three to eighteen feet deep.
amount exported in 1874 was valued at $4,464,000 in
1885 the amount is placed at $4,219,617.
;
tropical fruits
GUATEMALA.
22
On
the Atlantic side Puerto
mercial
town,
and on the
Limon
the chief com-
is
Punta Arenas.
Pacific,
In
1871 the Government negotiated a loan in London of

$5,000,000, and the next year another of $12,000,000,
but
f ^
from both
of
$5,058,059.60, with
them never
the avowed
more than
received
intention of building
an inter-oceanic railway between the two principal ports

but only detached portions have been built,
miles from Alajuela to Cartago, sixty from
rillo,
is
and six from Punta Arenas to Esparta.
twenty-four
Limon to CarThe country
bankrupt, and makes no attempt to pay any part of
liabilities
indeed,
its
revenues, derived from intolerable
its
duties (even on the export of coffee), monopolies of spirits
and tobacco, national bank,
and internal
sales of land,
taxes, do not balance the expenditures.
The
one
legislature
for
composed
each electoral
years, half being
is
of a Congress of Deputies,
district,
holding
renewed every three years.
bers of the Corte de
Justicia are
elected
'The present constitution (from 1871)
The departments
has been in force.
is
office
six
The mem-
by Congress.
the seventh that
are,
Ct-'
Chief
Departments.
San Jose
Cartago
Heredia
Alajuela
....
....
.
Guanacaste
Punta Arenas
The population
45,000
San Jose
36,000
Cartago
30,000
Heredia
Alajuela
Cities,
15,000
9,000
6,000
29,000
8,000
Liberia
6,000
Punta Arenas
is
10,000
2,000
1,800
estimated by M. Belly.
Both the northern boundary on Nicaragua, and the

southern one on Columbia, are in dispute.^
1
Guatemala has been accepted (1886) by both Nicaragua and Costa Rica
as referee in the boundary dispute.

I
have endeavored to give most
ters of
briefly the chief
mat-
importance relating to the four republics that, with
Guatemala, constitute Central America.
that I have turned, that I can turn but
the darkness
its
23
too
little is
known
am
well aware
light
little
of the country,
on
beyond
trade and political relations to the rest of the world.
Volcanoes, earthquakes, and revolutions have popularly
been associated with the whole region, and public taste

has been turned away from such unpleasant outbreaks of
subterranean
come when
or
fires
human
these regions, far
The time will

more fertile and accessible
passions.
than those African wilds that for a score of years have

interested, strangely enough, both explorer
and
will claim the attention due their natural
capitalist,
merits
and
the fertile plains will be the garden and orchard of the
United States,
not
necessarily
by
but by commercial intercourse.

coffee, all
our
rice, all
political annexation,
All our sugar,
our chocolate,
all
all
our
our india-rubber
ought to come from Central America, where these products can be raised better and cheaper than in any other
country
and next
to these staples, the subsidiary fruits,
as oranges, plantains, bananas, pines, limes, granadillas,
aguacates, and dozens of others
now unknown
com-
to
merce, ought to come to us from Limon, Puerto Cortez,
and Livingston.
These are to be obtained in Guatemala
of
and
better quality
Indies.
in better order than in the
West
Louisiana would then perhaps give up the un-
natural cultivation of sugar, and Florida cease her useless striving to raise really
good oranges, and both States
turn to the products they are better fitted for raising.

I will ask
of
you
to go with
Guatemala, and to see
it,
me
through the republic
so far as
you
can, with
my
GUATEMALA.
24
eyes
and
until that journey
is
ended,
we
will leave the
story of the old times, the present system of government,
the
ethnology, the
ment should savor strongly

land
we journey
the
volcanoes,
chapters by themselves, even
if
flora
and fauna,
to
the unsystematic arrange-
of the irregularity
through.
Luciano Calletano (Captain at Chocon).
of the
CHAPTER
II.
THE ATLANTIC COAST AND
\ S
the
steamer anchors far from the shore at the
port of Livingston, the traveller sees almost ex-
JTx.
what the Spaniards saw,
actly
so little
shores
hills
earth, sky,
shoulders
range
eastward
feathery coconuts
southward the majestic San
of
the
low
the
before
by a long limestone
cliff
on
For a while
the year
1525,
with
here
shore,
the
marked
crowned by the palm-sheltered

farther
westward
the
to
The yellow waters
the Santa Cruz mountains.
visible in the
his broad
Cays, covered
him the
while
Caribs,
some great river lave the

is
Honduras, backed by the blue summits
of British
Gil, bearing like another Atlas the clouds
rise
sea,
Northward are the picturesque
Guatemala.
of
houses
and
change have four centuries wrought on the outer
the Cockscomb
of
ITS CONNECTIONS.
vessel's
sides
of
but no break
landward horizon.
all
is
as
came
to
was when Hernan

this
shore
after
Cortez, in
his
There was even then a
march from Mexico.

lage on the high bluff
it
and he found two
terrible
little
vil-
of his country-
mammosa)
men
gathering sapotes {Lucuma
little
colony of Spaniards, a few leagues farther south,
from starving.
Waiting
in the early
dawn
to save the
for the land-
ing-boats, I cannot but recall the ancient times
imagina-
GUATEMALA.
26
tion sinks the great steamer into the little caravel,
and
the feelings of the conquistadores are mine for the time.
Soon the white
sails
drop out from the foliage, the canoes
are seen rapidly approaching, and the chatter of Caribs,
men and women,
both
banishes
all
day-dreams.
The Progreso," once a Buzzard Bay racer, sails rapidly

out and takes on board her cargo,
my friend, his mother,
of
light
and
traps
no
weight.
Her bows
and myself,
are soon turned landward, and as she glides along, all
'
the
features
of
the
shore unfold,
the
coco-palms
of
marked luxuriance, the thatched houses with shining

white walls, the limestone
cliff
almost covered with con-
volvulus and other foliage, the narrow beach, the canoes
We
and shape.
of various size
of Livingston is before us,
turn a point, and the town
and we are
in the
mouth
of
the Rio Dulce.
On
the shore the only prominent building
tom-house, built before

port
and
Livingston
in front of this
is
us, the
than fifteen inches deep.
The
tance,
making landing
know
that a charter for
that our successors
We
may
was declared a
water being not more
tides here are less
keeps boats of any
than a
size at
dis-
was comforting to
a wharf had been obtained, and
difficult.
It
land with greater ease.
and even the necessary bustle and trouble
in getting luggage transferred to the backs of
not cause
steep
free
did not find the heat greater than on the steamer
in the offing,
offices
the cus-
a low, dilapidated wharf, at
which our tender landed

foot, so that shoal-water
is
discomfort.
men
did
The custom-house and a few
occupy the front of an amphitheatre with very

sides,
above which
is
the
town.
Springs burst
from the gravel and furnish pools for the washerwomen,
ITS CONNECTIONS.
27
whose sturdy, yet graceful forms, barely concealed by

their
the
scanty garb, are very attractive.

clear
pools,
others
some played with
their
bent over
children
Some
stood
in
the washing-stones,
in
the water,
while
others climbed the steep path to the town, carrying a
head-burden of great weight.

1
Barrack Point,
Livingston.
Our abode was on the Campo Santo Viejo, the burialhill of former days, and right across our path lay the
empty tomb of a son of Carrera, the former President of
Guatemala as we passed this we noted the admirable
;
mortar with which
its
bricks were laid,
no brick can be cut out whole.
On
so strong that
this resting-place
of perished Caribs the foreign inhabitants of Livingston
dwell.
It
is
the west end of the town, and overlooks
GUATEMALA.
28
both the river and the native town, where are also the
stores
and the
hotels.
All descriptions of a growing town must be unsatis-
and topography
factory, so rapidly does the population
may convey
change and a few words

;
be drained, but
is
the geographical
all
Rolling ground, which might easily
knowledge needed.
not
streets generally at right angles,
none paved, and most of them exceedingly muddy in
wet weather
fences of the rudest form, mostly sticks
bound together with vines
houses with walls of adobe
wattle, in both cases
or of
mud
covered with
plaster
high roofs
them over one story, but with

thatched with palm
yards, but no gardens
stores here
and there
and whitewashed, none
of
and occupied by
Americans
{del
built of boards
foreigners,
Norte)
New
Orleans,
French, Germans,
from
Italians,
on
chapel
dilapidated
or
among
the neglected foundations of an intended church
beyond
this the barracks
of
ages playing in
all
the
passer-by
with
on a beautiful point
the
their
dirt
and merrily greeting

healthy
shiny,
black,
children
faces
palm-trees, mangoes, sapotes, bread-fruit, oranges, anonas,
bananas, and coffee-trees
wholly
this
uncultivated,
place.
No
scattered
make
are
vehicles
external
the
in
without order, and
the
features
streets,
though a
few horses roam untethered through the town.

burden
is
carried on
house-doors are
all
too dark to disclose

stranger.
the heads of
open
much
men
or
women.
but the interior
is
of
Every
The
generally
of the inner mysteries to the
Westward from the town
lies
the
new Campo
Santo, and beyond this the almost impenetrable forest.
The
situation of Livingston
one of the
is
good,
at the
mouth
of
finest rivers of the Atlantic coast of Central

The climate
America.
is
ITS CONNECTIONS.
very healthful and agreeable,
and the frequent communication by two
New
with
with
New
Orleans, one line with
Liverpool,
make
it
29
lines of steamers
York, and another
an important business-centre.
All the fine coffee from Alta Verapaz and the fruit from
the plantations on the Chocon and Polochic
here
is
shipped
and the product might be indefinitely increased.
The drawbacks are a bar with only a fathom of water

at the mouth of a river navigable otherwise for many
miles by the largest steamers, no wharves, little enterprise
on the part of the native inhabitants, and a frequent seabreeze in the afternoon, which^ sometimes makes landing
through the rough water on the bar unpleasant. The
and
population is about two thousand, chiefly Caribs
;
long inaction and complete lack of enterprise have pro-
duced a people poor and careless of riches
As
the price of labor.
if
obtained at
in all similar places, there
is
no
lack of adventurers of the lowest character.
All this matter
is
and
not, however, learned at once,
observation must be depended on rather than report
for
the merchants of Livingston see the prospects of their
town
in very different lights
visitor
talking with a mere
but very
or with a possible rival in the small
profitable business.
place
when
was an
el
As
dorado
out urging from a
soil
a stranger, I
;
was
brisk,
told that the
that limitless crops
of unequalled richness
climate was salubrious, and eternal

business
was
grew with;
that the
summer reigned
that
and constantly increasing under wise
As a settler, the song

labor was not to be had
laws and a favoring government.
was sung to me in a minor key

no good lands could be obtained the steamers were the
tyrants of the place, and all earnings were eaten up by
:
GUATEMALA.
30
Then there were the warning cries of those

unfortunate men who wanted to make money in a newly
opened country, but had not the necessary courage and
endurance for a pioneer. They had not met success, and
they had not grit enough to seek it. Micawbers far from
freights.
home, they waited
The process
it
the
was what we had come for, and we

While we lodged in
it
first
our house on the
day at breakfast.
hill,
we took our meals
ception of early coffee and rolls

of Seiior Castellan
American
was not an
of finding out about the place
unpleasant one
began
something to turn up.
for
Eleven o'clock
style.
is
in genuine Hispano-
the hour for ahrmerzo,
or breakfast, and thus the time for ceasing
taking the needed midday
came the comida, or
dinner,
work and
Late in the afternoon
rest.
differing
from breakfast only
The
in the occasional provision of dulces, or sweetmeats.
menu
was constant
an
oily soup, beans black or white,
beef or chicken stew with chillis, fish, bread, and
formed the almost unvarying round.
two
little
ward.
when
took
boys, one
With our
ex-
in the town at the house
and they were
with the
coJBEee,
Our waiters were
the son of our host, the other his
coffee
we
generally had fresh milk
but
the supply of this failed, a can of condensed milk
Not infrequently the sugar
its place.
and then one
of
also failed
the boys ran to the nearest store and
bought half a pound
of a coarse
brown kind, and
replen-
No
supply
ished the saucer that did duty as sugar-bowl.
was ever kept in the house.

the only
Our dining-room was dark,
of anything
light
coming
from the open doors at either end. There was but the
earth, hard trodden, for the floor, and the furnishing was
simple enough,
a rough
table
and half a dozen rickety
chairs.
dirtiness.
It
seemed absurd to
colors,
call for
31
and the
tablecloth served also for napkins,
were of many patterns,
dishes
ITS CONNECTIONS.
and degrees
a clean plate
of
but
we did so, to see what would happen. Besides our

own party of four, we had a padre and an Italian as
fellow-boarders
these
of
and a
helped us
friends
polite
observation
little
of the habits
much
new
our
in
circumstances.
A
and
tame duck used
large
to
would take
bits
mangy dogs and

ever we sat down to eat
cats
for they contributed
much
at last
Several
so
my
my
chair,
to be driven out
when-
waddle under
of tortilla
had
from
hand.
but the hens were not disturbed,

to
our larder that they
were privileged, and one nested in an old
felt
hat on a
came cackling out
of one of
the dark bedrooms that opened on either side.
In spite
corner shelf, while another
of all these drawbacks,
ample
justice to
As
ment
the ancient
we
and did
it.
Romans
in their luxury
had entertain-
eye as they reclined at meat,
for the
had a constantly
simplicity
liked the cookery,
we
movmg panorama
in our
at
our
Stout Carib women, straight as one could
street door.
wish, walked by, with every burden, however insignificant, balanced on the head.
Half a pound of sugar or a
dose of salts would be placed above the turban as surely

as
would a heavy
jar of water or a house-timber.
men and women, made
fine forms,
both of
procession
and the
latter
Some
part of this
wore garments short at either
end, fastened over one shoulder only, and displaying the
but only his
came along once in a while,

Boys wrestcap and musket told his class.
bust perfectly.
soldier
ling but seldom fighting, dogs fighting for a bone,
all
GUATEMALA.
32
was difficult to make

the boys understand that they must not spit on the floor
A large brick oven in the
as they handed us the dishes.
courtyard furnished bread for a number of families, and
helped us to prolong our meal.
It
good bread.
In our walks about the town
invited into the houses, and so
cassava bread making.
we were
often politely
had a chance
The tuberous
to see the
roots of the
manioc
(Maniliot utilissima) often attain a weight of twenty or

thirty pounds,
swallowed.
and are full of a poisonous
mahogany board
is
deadly
juice,
when
provided, into which
broken crystals of quartz are inserted, and this serves to

grate the root into a coarse meal, which
fully (the starch is partly
water as tapioca), and
is
washed
is
removed, and
settles
in the
then placed in a long sack of

This
basket-work, called very appropriately serpiente.

ingenious press
is
care-
fastened at one end to a house-beam,
while on a lever placed through the loop at the other end

all
the children of the family
they are small
made afterwards
eter,
sit
in turn, or together
and the squeezed mass
is
dexterously
into flat loaves about three feet in diam-
and not more than a quarter of an inch thick,
and then baked.
The
dried,
wholesome and very
result is a
nutritious bread, which keeps a long time
on an excursion.
if
and
is
capital
when our own housekeeping

made excellent puddings, and
Later on,
was in order, we found it

was better than crackers in soup while in the woods
it was indispensable.
It is also a capital diet in dys;
pepsia, can be eaten in sea-sickness

is
rejected,
emaciated
and serves
to
human frame
fill
when
all
other food
out the bony outlines of an
better than anything else.
clean white loaves can be easily exported,
The
and are very

attractive.
ITS CONNECTIONS.
we bought from
Fine oranges
33
a tree in the
yard of our cassava-maker at ten for a medio
(five
cents).
The
tration
and
fine
view from the
can be seen in the
fort
but as Frank and I stepped over the low wall
up the camera
set
to
photograph
attention of the officer in charge,

to
illus-
come
to him.
it,
who
we
attracted the
at once ordered us
convenient temporary ignorance of
Spanish delayed us until the view was secured and a

us, when the officer
in the fort
were
telegraphing
we
what
know
to
for."
With a very few words I exposed his ignorance to
his soldiers, who laughed as heartily at him as if they
squad of soldiers sent to arrest
wanted
'"
had not been quite as stupid as he

Of
leave at once.
this
and he begged us
same garrison
it
is
to
related that
some years ago a French corvette anchored off the point

and fired a salute. The first gun was all right but the
second astonished the valiant soldiers, and at the third
;
they
threw down their guns and
all
fled to the bush, fully
convinced that an attack on the village was intended.

After a while boys were sent out into the woods to
these warriors that
house here,
which
it
all
was
come home.
safe to
The
tell
light-
incoming vessels are taxed to main-
tain, consists of a stout pole
but the lantern has been
broken, and not replaced.
Below
canoas.
this military post
These are nearly
is
all
the usual landing-place for
dug out
of single
mahogany
or cedar logs, and are not only well made, but of good
form.
Some
are forty feet long
and
paddles were of mahogany, and the

well and powerfully as the
to be quite at
home on
men
the water.
six feet wide.
women
The
paddled as
both, indeed, seemed
GUATEMALA.
34
Some
of the
incoming canoes were laden with coco-
and plantains from the
nuts, others with bananas
and yet others with
jincas along the coast,

last
we noted more
and the
in Livingston,
stranger
new
for
carefully, as there is
little
The
fish.
no fish-market
always interesting to a
fish are
odd and various as
may
be the fruits of a
produce of the sea generally surpasses
clime, the
There were some of
that of the land in curious forms.
the oddest of the Central American waters
and the man
them must have been very brave or very

hungry. One of them had flesh resembling beef in color,
and good and substantial when cooked.
Paths about the town are narrow and grass-grown, and
who
first
ate
the hooked seeds of a
and the thorns
Desmodmm
cling to the clothes,
of the sensitive-plant
scratch the bare feet of the passer
grass
the
in
which
bite the ankles
red spots and
tiny
are
these,
insects
an intolerable itching,
any
see
called
all
coloradia,
parts, causing
easily
bay-rum applications.
quitoes were not troublesome, and
we
but worse than
and other exposed
however, hj salt-water or
nor did
{Mimosa pudicans)
we used no
allayed,
Mos-
nettings
house-flies.
bath in the Rio Dulce was tempered by the dread of
sharks
and refreshing
as
the sweet water was, there
was a self-congratulatory feeling on getting safely back

to the huge square-hewn mahogany logs that served for
dressing-room.
To the outward world Livingston
coast-region.
Caribs,
Verapaz and the
of Alta
In
those
its
early history
splendid negroes
principally inter-
the
outlet of the
fruits of
the Atlantic
esting as the free port of Guatemala,

coifee
is
it
was a settlement
who were
of
driven from

the islands of the sea, which
ITS CONNECTIONS.
35
bear their name,
when
still
the Spaniards enslaved or destroyed their fellow-owners of

the land.
way
Its situation at the
and the capital soon marked
to the interior
Spanish post
entrance of the chief waterfor a
it
but the buccaneers were too powerful, and
before their advance the port of entry
was moved
the Rio Dulce to Izabal, on the lake of that name,
far
up
the
fort of
San Felipe blocking the way to these lawless ene-
mies.
Not only
Home Government
pirates, but the
has-
tened the decay and disuse of this port, and the banks of the
Rio Dulce were of
little
importance, except to the mahog-
any-cutters and sarsaparilla-gatherers, for two centuries.
An
enlightened Government, in fostering the immense
agricultural wealth of Guatemala, turned the attention of
foreign capital,
first
to the rich coffee-lands in the neigh-
borhood of Coban, and later to the even richer fruit-lands

of the valleys east of the high table-lands of the interior.
The
outlet for all the produce
the
shipping-port
was Livingston
occupied by business
the population
and
so the little village
river
is
may
men
of various nations, until
be nearly two thousand.
now
The shores
and healthful, and the anchorage within the
are high
secure.
Dredging would easily open a channel,
jetties like those
placed in the Mississippi by Captain
Eads would doubtless keep the way open

is
Polochic,
by the exiled Caribals (cannibals) has been gradually
built
and
was by the
frequently very strong, but
now
for the current
wastes
its
strength
At present all the ocean

and consequently the
anchor outside
over a mile of shoal-water.

steamers
lighterage
lie
is
at
an important business.
In the immediate neighborhood of this port, and accessible
by water, are lands pre-eminently adapted
for sugar
GUATEMALA.
36
or cotton cultivation
although now, owing to the smaller
and speedier returns, bananas and planThe Government detertains are the chief products.
which have hitherto
mined to develop these lands,
dense
forests and the
their
been left to the solitude of
capital required,
occasional
intrusion
of
the mahogany-cutter,
territory a large triangular part
public lands were
rates
and
in
in
free port, including in its
1882 declared Livingston a
The
and
the
of
eastern
coast.
then offered for sale at reasonable
consequence, several capitalists from the
United States have purchased large
and are
tracts,
cul-
tivating soil perhaps the most fertile on the continent.
Climatic changes are insensible here, and
be said that the one season
is
it
may
truly
Never has
summer.
yel-
low fever or other dangerous zymotic disease visited

Livingston, and the death-rate
Boston.
of
The rapid
about one quarter that
is
increase
of
population and
its
commercial importance will make imperative the demand

for
improved harbor and wharf
facilities.
Ten miles to the south of Livingston is the fine harbor

of Santo Tomas, where in 1843 a Belgian colony was established and as this unfortunate attempt has given an
'
ill
reputation to all Central America,
it
is
well to state
that failure was by no means due to the insalubrity of
the climate, but to the want of foresight of the projectors
and the abject ignorance of tropical trials on the part of

Landed in an unaccustomed climate, in
the immigrants.
the wet season, without shelter, and inadequately provisioned, they lost heart, health, or
Pioneers
and
frontiersmen
from shops and counters.
life itself.
should
not
be
recruited
The pluck and caution needed
for a struggle with untried conditions, the determination
ITS CONNECTIONS.
to be content with slim comforts
and undaunted
37
in the
face of every discouragement, looking always to the final

result, experience
shows cannot be found in
They do well enough

the strong
men
built houses
have
useful brothers
when
as eleventh-hour assistants,
ground and
still
this class.
felled the
lût
the
and broken the
forest
and shops
first
for these
weaker but
colonists
must be
of
Probably, had shelter and good food been
sterner stuff.
provided for those inexperienced Belgians, there would
have been at Santo Tomas something more to-day than

the
memory
of their visit.
In 1881 the
town contained but one hundred and
little
twenty-nine inhabitants, mostly fishermen
but the con-
the Ferro-carril del Norte, to connect the
struction of
capital with the Atlantic,
changed for a time the sleepy
hamlet into the busy haunt of contractors and laborers.
The exigencies
the
of
railroad calling for the
new town
water, however, the
deepest
of Port Barrios has
been
founded, some three miles to the eastward of the ancient

Curiously enough, the
village.
no river
but
it
Bay
of
Santo Tomas has
between the Rio Dulce and the
lies
Motagua.
From
miles
Belize,
to
New
Livingston to
125
to Kingston,
Puerto Cortez (Caballos), 55
90
and
to
Orleans the distance
Jamaica, 800
to Izabal,
Guatemala City (water
45
to Izabal,
900
is
;
to
to Pansos,
and mule-
The usual steamer time from New

days, including a stop of two days at
path thence), 120.

Orleans
is
Belize
from
six
New
York, ten days, including stops at
Kingston and Belize
New
and three days should be ample to
Orleans, seven to
glance at a
map
will
New
York, and eight to Boston.
show that the course
as well as
GUATEMALA.
38
New York
the distance between Livingston and
is
ranch
in favor of that route over the better-known one
from
to the metropolis
Aspinwall
of time
and avoidance
and when
dangers of navigation
of the
added the greater
facilities for raising
which Livingston
is
bility that
all
New
now
to this saving
and shipping
developing, there
fruit
great proba-
is
Orleans will not long be allowed to absorb
the bananas, plantains, and pines, or England
coffee
is
all
the
and mahogany, shipped at Livingston.
The natural advantages
and the conveniences
of a port
of trade between that and other countries are of small
moment
if
there
is
nothing beyond the port; and one must
look well into the interior of the country to see

erty or richness.
pov-
its
Before crossing the republic, the fruit-
The
lands of Livingston are worthy of exploration.
little
plantations at Cocali, on the coast northward, and those
along the banks of the Rio Dulce, are easily seen, and in
their present condition
nothing
offer
wild, cassava, bread-fruit, mangoes,
exported, and the coconut
No
Eden.
or especially
Bananas and plantains are almost the only
interesting.
product of commercial importance
is
systematic cultivation
the crops
new
grow very much
is
for the
pines
grow
and sapotes are not
native on the shores.
known
in this region,
as they did in the
and
Garden
of
Plantation-work consists of clearing the land of
forest (which
is
done
in
January and February), allowing
the felled trees to dry, burning in May, and planting in
June.
hoe
No
plough ever furrows the rich ground, and the
is sufficient
for the laborers.
for the planter's needs, while
As may be supposed, the
ing the crops clear of weeds
is
great as on our Northern farms
most handy
labor of keep-
considerable, but not so

;
for although the vege-

growth
table
ITS CONNECTIONS.
very rapid, the country
is
With us the most
foreign weeds.
pernicious weeds have all
is
39
from
as yet free
rapidly growing and
been imported
and on the
Hawaiian Islands the vegetable growths that have
laid
waste thousands of acres of the best pasturage are the

Ian tana, verbena, and indigo, not one of
them indigenous.
may
bring these agri-
In the course of years cultivation

cultural curses
but at present the Guatemalan planter in
Livingston has only palms, canes, ferns, ginger, and other

easily eradicated plants to contend with.
Indian corn {maiz)
is
planted in slight holes
made with
a stick and covered with the foot, and seed planted on
Thursday has been found four inches high on the

ing Monday.
The
stalks are sometimes
high, and average three ears each
required to mature the crop, which
each year.
Upland
is
gathered three times
on the
soil,
known
two crops can be
raised
Sugar-cane has been found to yield three tons
of sugar per acre for
unknown
a result
only ninety days are
six feet high, with generous heads,
yielding the finest rice
each year.
rice is scattered broadcast
and the straw grows
follow-
seventeen feet
in
twenty years without replanting,
any other sugar-country.
At present
there are no mills in eastern Guatemala, and only enough
cane
is
planted to supply the
demand
for eating, or rather
chewing.
Bananas have within the
common
all
last ten years
become very
over the United States, and every one
miliar with the imported varieties
is
fa-
but few are aware that
the varieties grown in the tropics exceed two hundred,
many
of
them
too delicate to bear transportation, and as
far superior to the
common
sorts as a choice table-apple
surpasses the cider-apple of our
New England
pastures.
GUATEMALA.
40
The kinds of banana most raised near Livingston are the

same as those of Aspinwall but the quality is superior.
Plantains are grown even more commonly than bananas,
;
and the domestic consumption is much greater. Among

Northern fruit-dealers the banana and plantain are frequently confounded
and
To grow
apples.
suckers,
either,
now
is
sprout several suckers,
No
series of years.
pounds to a
to
remove the
insure crops for a
attempt has been made to use
which there
fibre, of
base
its
over three being removed for
and extra suckers
finished stem
the valuable
all
cut down, and from
It is only necessary to
planting elsewhere.
long
simply requires planting of
which in nine months should bear a bunch of
The stem
fruit.
but they are as different as pears
is
an average
of three
stalk.
When we
ation of
to this
turn from what is done here to the considerwhat may be, the interest vastly increases and
;
end
let
the reader join us in an exploration of one
of the rivers flowing
from a valley
of great extent
unrivalled fertility, but covered with forest, and
and
unknown
save to the mahogany-cutters and an occasional hunts-
The Rio Chocon
man.
and
its
is
unknown
source
almost unnoticed on the maps,

;
but
it
probably rises in the
Santa Cruz mountains.

In the middle of October, 1883, the "Progreso" was
manned and
provisioned,
and
in the early afternoon
were on board waiting for the sea-breeze

river.
The
to help us
we
up the
wind served to carry us across the Rio

more and anchoring, we sent three men
light
Dulce, but no
ashore to lay in a supply of plantains, bananas, coconuts,
and sugar-cane.
from luxurious
Travelling in the tropics

;
and our present
outfit
is
usuall}^ far
was no exception
ITS CONNECTIONS.
41
Our captain had provided a Jamaica negro
to the rule.
for cook, Santiago, a half-breed, for monteiô, or guide in
the forest, and our crew consisted of Guillermo, an attractive looking but
bad boy, who was always singing about
and two other men, whose

exact ethnological classification was a puzzle.
Our cook,
his corazon (heart), Francisco,
his oil-stove
and canned provisions
filled
the
little
cabin
but the cock-pit was large, and Frank shared with
one
side,
night
me
while the captain occupied the other, and at
we had
a canvas awning over the whole.
chairs served for beds as well,
Folding-
and our traps were put into
the capital water-proof baskets called joeMcas.
Entrance to the Rio Dulce.
Later than usual the breeze freshened, and

sailing apparently for the spur of
northward right across the

walls opened, and
San
river.
Gil,
we were
which stretches
As we advanced, the
we entered a gorge
far finer
than that
";
GUATEMALA.
42
of the
Saguenay
for the savage cliffs of the wild
Cana-
dian stream are here replaced by white limestone precipices jealously covered with
palms and vines, until only
here and there could the rock be seen under or through

richly colored mantle.
its
The
river
is
deep, in places
eighteen fathoms, and, except in the overhanging trees,

there was
no place to land on either side for some
distance.
Frank shot
at a fine pelican, but only broke a
wing;
and although he pursued the wounded bird rapidly in a

little cayuco that Ave had in tow, he did not gain on the
powerful swimmer until a shot from the " Progreso
whose remains measured seven
killed the fugitive,
across the wings.
Other birds tempted
us,
but the
feet
fast-
waning daylight warned us against delay and as darkness fell upon us with tropical rapidity, we came to the
lake-like Golfete, nine miles from Livingston, and an;
Cayo Paloma (Dove Island), the

Our crew went ashore
only inhabited spot on the river.
for shelter, and we retired under our substantial awning,
chored for the night
off
which protected us from the rain which fell in torrents

during the night. We had found no mosquitoes at Livso our sleep was not
ingston, and there were none here
;
broken until our boys came on board before daybreak.
Where we had entered this beautiful lake we strangers

and even when the direction was ascerdid not know
;
was invisible. Coconutgive a charm to any landscape
tained, the opening of the river
palms and bananas will

yet
the
little
Cayo Paloma hardly needed
them,
so
was it in itself.
Grand San Gil brushed the clouds from his forehead
and looked down smilingly upon us in promise of a
beautiful

fair
day as we
up the
sailed
ITS CONNECTIONS.
Golfete.
43
short leao-ue
brought us to a curious limestone rock on the northern

shore,
regular cube,
tion
from deep water, and

So unusual a forma-
rising
capped with a pyramid of
foliage.
could hardly have failed to attract the aboriginal
mind
and there may be on the summit some remains,
a sacrificial altar, or
to see
any way
low enough on one

active climber,
We
stele.
of access
did not go near enough
but the branches seem to hang
side to promise
and we determined
day when we had more
an entrance to an
to try
it
some other
time.^
entrance to the Rio Dulce was well concealed,
If the
that to the Rio Chocon
was
for the rock island, one
might try several apparent open-
still
harder to find
and but
ings in the hedge-like border of the stream before enter-
ing the canal that sweeps in a semicircle into the actual
Two
river.
tian
palace,
an Egyp-
alligators sat, like the porters at
opposite
each
other at
the
dropped incontinently into the stream before our
were ready,
giving us an unpleasant
but
entrance,
rifles
reminder of what
we might expect should we take a bath in the cool river.

From animal to vegetable was but a glance and the
musky odor of the reptiles faded into the fragrance of
a large purple passion-flower, which hung so low that
we slipped into the cayuco, Frank and I, and paddled
from bank to bank in the little mahogany dug-out, pulling down branches and vines, shaking out lizards and
;
beetles,
color,
while
and
humming-birds
butterflies of hues
of
almost
seldom
every bright
seen in cooler
mates, would hardly leave the fragrant flowers

^
we gath-
Another year we climbed the rock and found several interesting
but no
human
remains.
cli-
plants,
GUATEMALA.
44
Nothing could be seen beyond the river, for we

were in a green lane bordered by all the tropics can
and as the day wore on we
produce of vegetable life
ered.
felt
weariness
the
seeing.
of
white passion-
little
flower (P. BrigJiami), with curiously clipped leaves, three
kinds of morning-glory, a crimson abutilon, and a host
whose family alone was known
of plants
At
consigned to the plant-press.
palms
we ascended
but as
the banks at
flood,
first
had been
there
were no
the stream, which was in
growing gradually
appeared,
last
to us,
higher, and only on solid ground could the palms find
The
foothold.
coliune {Attalea cohune), with
came
clusters of hard oily nuts,
nate-leaved,
and
stemmed
finally,
species,
first
spines
species
then an
and hard but edible
on the rocky banks, slender, long-
and a climbing palm
that, like the rat-
Our
tan, attained a length of several hundred feet.
first
was at the junction of

the Chocon.
Here there is an en-
glimpse of the family in

the two mouths of
long
then a small pin-
unknown
but
with dreadful
astrocarya,
nuts
graceful,
its
full force
largement of the river into a lagoon, and the eastern
branch looks as large and easily navigable as that we had
At another time we found
entered.
Bambus bent
this
was the
case.
their graceful stems in clusters over the
water, and here and there
tall
reeds in blossom
waved
their light plumes against the dark-green trees behind
them.
With
the drift floating
down stream we
noticed queer
green things which were evidently vegetable

else
and
it
At
last
was
we came
their fruit,
to
but what
some sapoton-trees [Pachira)
now
ripening,
appearance to a husked coconut.
like in size
that
and
furnished our
ITS CONNECTIONS.
45
The fruits split while on the tree, and drop the

nuts, which are about as large as a hen's egg, into the
water, where they soon germinate, and float about with
expanded cotyledons until caught on some shoal, or at
puzzle.
the bank, where they take root.
Not once all day did we see a place to land indeed,

until we had ascended the river several miles there was
no land, so high was the flood. Dense foliage, suitably
defended with spines of palm and the no less unpleasant
thorns of the guilandina and sarsaparilla, hid what might
;
be disagreeable of animal
along shore
life
we plunge
could not land, neither could

river,
that
As
and as we
into the cool
was already engaged by the alligators.
we made
the sun dropped behind the trees
fast to
a large post in midstream, starting a whole family of

leaf-nosed bats out of a woodpecker's hole in this
little
dead tree
more
and as our comlda was being
laid, I
explored
Water-logged and
carefully this curious mooring.
stranded on the bottom, some twenty feet below us,
was a
perfect
image of
life
in
death
every part
for
it
above the water was covered with a luxuriant growth

not
its
own, and yet perfectly
in place.
On
one side
clung three different orchids in seed, a cluster of pepero-
mias in blossom, and a

ferns quite covered
know
time
^
tlie
fine
cereus, while
We
interstices.
mosses and
did not at that
the naughty habits of the bright
little bats,^
These were vampiie bats (Phyllostoma sp.) and several times afterwards
cattle that had been so severely bitten that the blood was still dripping
;
we saw
from their shoulders the next morning.

These little fellows are about the
size of an English sparrow
and yet they do as much harm as their much larger
relatives of South America.
They have ventured into our sleeping-room at
;
Livingston
wings,
but would generally awaken us by brushing our faces with their
perhaps because our
feet (the part
they usually attack) were covered.
GUATEMALA.
46
we
or
should not have slept so quietly
as
and only our
mosquitoes were very thick,
was, the
it
pro-
veils
tected us.
was a strange bed-chamber. The river, black beneath and around us, was silent enough for the current
hardly rippled against our boat, no wind moved the
It
leaves,
and only our own voices broke the
we waited
stillness
while
Suddenly a sound between a shriek
for sleep.
and a roar burst almost over our heads.

Tigre," muttered Frank as he felt for his rifle.
It was only a lion''
bird
awake
but
its terrible
all
cry
was repeated
until
seemed to
the nocturnal noises of the forests that stretched
around
for fifty miles
Howling monkeys {Mycetes
us.
ursinus), a shrill water-bird, hooting owls,
distinguished by our iiiontero
and we
quilly after his explanation, even

felt
it
the rough back of
of our boat.
but
all easily
more tran-
though we thought we
an alligator scrape the bottom
have heard the
Sumatran jungle
were
slept
it
real tiger's
was not
so
howl
terrible
in the
as
this
wretched bird, nor are the tropical nocturnal noises so

loud and various in any other place where I have been.
So far the country through which we passed was worthless for agricultural
we came
to
purposes
but early the next morning
an elevated limestone ridge, and beyond
outwork the banks grew sensibly higher,
until they
this
were
some twelve feet above the present high water. With

the higher banks appeared the iguanas and I made my
;
first shot,
a large female, which was picked up, while
three others
reach them.
fell
into the water and sank before
we
could
It was some time before I learned to dis-
tinguish these reptiles
for they are nearly of the color of
the branches on which they bask, and until they move,
ITS CONNECTIONS.
47
are to the unpractised eye only a part of the bewildering

foliage.
fore the
I did
not like to be told where to look, so be-
day was half gone
could see an iguana as soon
as a native.
Female Iguanas.
mouth
like a toad's, green, glittering eyes, a large
pendulous dewlap, a row of lancet-shaped spines

the back, slender claws, and a long, pointed
are not features to
and yet
who
it
enjoy
make
certainly
the iguana an attractive pet
is gentle, easily tamed,
its
tail,
down
company.
and there are people
Let not the Northern ladies
shudder as they look on this picture
for do they not
know, are there not among their number those who

fondle and kiss(!) even the deformed pugs and lap-dogs
Unlike the worthless curs, the iguana

lent food-animal
its
chicken, and the eggs
delicate white
of
is
meat
a most excelis
not unlike
which the female lays
five or
GUATEMALA.
48
six dozen
are
all
yolk, and very delicious/
Being good
swimmers, they drop from their perches over the river
when alarmed, and
after
eighty feet the splash
is
sometimes of sixty to
snggestive of broken
wind
least a total loss of
fall
or at
ribs,
but they scraml)le nimbly up
the banks under the overhanging shrubs, and are lost in

the forest.
Like the chameleon, they change
from green
of various hues
taken from the
trees.
We
and
color,
become greenish gray when
had much
less difficulty
than
Columbus and
his companions experienced in adding these

" serpentes " to our cosmopolitan bill of fare.
In the afternoon a
neighborhood
above
this
large boat,
of
boom
across the river
mahogany-cutters,
and
showed the
short
brought us to the head of navigation for our
and we made
fast to a tree
on the right bank,
where there was no clearing nor any easy way

although
row
we
to land,
could see that the banks were some ten feet
above the water, and steep.

the cook's charge,
Leaving the " Progreso
we continued up stream
we broke a paddle and had to

however, until we had made two landings.
cayuco until
" in
in the little
return,
not,
Once up the steep and slippery bank, we found the

land level, and in the dense forest there was no undergrowth.
"
It
always seems odd to a stranger
These serpentes are lyke unto
crocodiles, saving in bigness;
the
they call
them guanas. Unto that day none of owre men durste aduenture to taste of
them, by reason of theyre horrible deformitie and lothsomnes. Yet the Adelantado being entysed by the pleasantnes of the king's sister, Anacaona, determined to taste the serpentes. But when he felte the flesh thereof to be so
The which thyng
delycate to his tongue, he fel to amayne -without al feare.
his companions perceiuing, were not behynde hym in greedyness insomuch
;
other talke than of the sweetnesse of these serpentes,

which they affirm to be of more pleasant taste than eyther our phesantes or
that they had
partriches."
now none
Peter
3Iartyr, decad.
i.
book
v.
{Eden's Eiujlish translation).
tropics,
ITS CONNECTIONS.
this entire absence of sod
that there
upper foliage
but so dense
no chance
is
49
is
the
for small plants
below, except such as can, like the sarsaparilla, climb
up
into the
which cling
above, or orchids,
light
to,
vanilla,
they do not draw a part of their sus-
if
The cohune palm (Attalea
tenance from, the tree-stems.

cohune, Martins.)
the
like
was abundant, and by
its
presence con-
firmed the testimony of the dark chocolate
soil
to the
This palm seems to have
exceeding fertility of the land.
When
three names applied to as many stages of growth.
young and stemless, it is onanaca ; in middle age, when
the bases of the old leaves
cohune
stem
is
corozo.
in
stem and
cohune and
but
very valuable
the best quality
some
common
none so
Other
in blossom,
nor so large, both
shall see a picture of the
fruit.
In one place along the bank

soil of
these,
Later on we
leaf.
its
the smooth
the three are but one species.
I believe
in fruit,
scales,
it is
have never seen the manaca in flower or
palms were intermingled with
some
cling to the trunk,
and when age removes these
but
fruit,
still
measured fourteen
feet of
nor was this surprising, since the
valley through which the Rio Chocon flows
is
a catch-basin
for the detritus of the limestone ranges of the Sarstun
and
Santa Cruz mountains, and
tor-
rential floods
When
the
later, the
its
which might wash away the
summer
rich
rains flood the banks, as
deposit.
we found
water subsides in a few hours, owing to the
wide-open lower course of the
A gigantic
the river, and
river.
ceiba-tree (Erioclendron) stood not far
two
from
of its great buttresses enclosed a semi-
circle thirty feet in diameter,
selves
form guards against
while the projections them-
were not half a foot thick.

4
Trees of very various
60
GUATEMALA.
kinds throw out these supports.
have even seen a
goyava (Fsidium), which usually has a rather slender
Barbecue
at Benito.
trunk, expand most astonishingly into these buttresses

when growing in a rich loose soil. It will, not un-
ITS CONNECTIONS.
51
must greatly
naturally, occur to the reader that this
in-
crease the difficulty of felling such trees in clearing land.
The
met by the woodmen
difficulty is
form
of slim poles, often to a height of fifteen feet
on these
frail supports,
the cutter swings his long-handled

his barbecue
but the ants {comajen) soon reduce this to dust.

since then
watched the
they so speedily
fell
built
is
and balanced
Of course he leaves a stump as high as
axe.
A plat-
in this way.
enough, a " barbecue "
called, strangely
cutters,
(they call
it
have
and have wondered how

''fall") a
hard-wood
tree,
with no better vantage than two poles for their bare feet
to cling to.
All through the forest there was a close,
and
in
some places there was
parilla, india-rul^ber, vanilla,
every step brought some
little light.
damp
We
feeling,
saw
sarsa-
and cacao growing wild, and
new
thing to view
but
it
was
river,
where there was sky above us
of the true blue, so much
better to our tastes than the
less oppressive
on the
green canopy that met our eyes as
While on the
river,
we looked up on
we saw some
curious
land.
long-legged
spiders, seemingly plastered against the white limestone
and they were very unwilling

were two inches long.
to
move
which
their legs,
The vejucos from the over-hang-
ing branches were very interesting, as these long, slender

rootlets, if rootlets
feet,
they
be,
hung sometimes a hundred,
ending close to the water, but not touching
it
except
in flood-time, nor do they, like subterranean roots,
have
branches or fibrous ends, although sometimes they seem

to be unravelled into separate strands, like a cord
form they imitate and whose use they usurp.

pulled
We
whose
often
them and shook the branches from which they

detaching them.
The water was now
spring, without
GUATEMALA.
52
and
clear
cool,
and everything was enticing us to
but the day was

^'
closing,
loiter
and comida awaiting us on the
Progreso."
The moon that night was

in the air,
we hardly
light filtered
and with no mosquitoes
cared to creep under our toldo.
The
through the palm-leaves and sparkled on the
black river as
it
We
glided around the bend.
could see
and should
we almost
we ever get
Far in the distance the howls of the
monkeys and
but a few rods either up or
wondered how we came

away.
full
down
there,
stream, and
the cries of the night-birds broke the stillness around us
but we slept unconscious of the shower that poured on our

toldo before morning.
A
is
very bright,
warm morning
in the middle of October
not unpleasant in the temperate zone
almost too
ter
warm
way down
especially crank, but
the water's edge with five solid
grasped the gunwales,
my
seemed
Five of us were in our
83.
cayuco at early dawn on our
The cayuco was not
it
thermome-
to be seasonable, although the
persisted in indicating
little
but here
men
it
was loaded
and as
fingers dipped in
stream.
my
to
hands
water on both
was impossible for me

which of course kept the cayuco in a constant
alike unpleasant to myself and my companions.
sides.
to restrain the attempt
It
to balance,
quiver,
Add
to this the consciousness that alligators
for us
we
if
did upset, and
it
were ready
will be supposed that the
voyage was not altogether agreeable.
We landed at last, and had a hard scramble

muddy
bank, as
like needles
catch by.
chete in
many
of the
up the
steep,
palms were armed with spines
and there was little else to

was on the watch for snakes, and had my ma{Acrocomia
my hand
sp.),
but the
first
living denizen of the forest

that
53
met me was a fine blue
butterfly [Morjolio), nearly eight
I could not,
and Guillermo would not, catch
inches across.
because he said
it,
ITS CONNECTIONS.
eyes).
was mala por
it
was a " sight
It
found this curious
all
through the coun-
for sair e'en."
superstition about butterflies
common
(bad for the
los ojos
try, and I confess that following their brilliantly colored
wings
under a blazing sun, does give
in their rapid flight,
one's eyes a very tired feeling that

of the popular belief.
me
through the
I will
forest,
may
explain the origin
not compel any one to follow
nor up the steep limestone ridges
where the corroded rock was worn into fantastic forms

and partly covered with begonias, lycopodiums, and other
We
plants.
found several circular valleys among those
ridges drained by sink-holes,
my
like the
and often
heard water run-
In some places were
little wells,
cenotes of Yucatan, containing fish,
which pass
ning beneath
from one
feet.
by underground aqueducts.
to another
and again
Again
mistook for serpents the huge, green, scaly
creepers that flattened themselves against
the trees or
and
insis^nificant
swuuq; from the branches.
Slutrorish
uncommon on
centipedes were not
the trees
but noth-
ing except tracks of wild liogs, peccaries, jaguars, and

tapirs indicated that the forest
some animals.
The
was the
entire absence of
resort of trouble-
any
fallen or de-
caying trees or dead branches was a marked feature of

this forest.
matter
barrel,
The
insects
had eaten
all
this unpleasant
we saw a cavity as large as a

wdiere the ants had eaten a palm-stump, leaving
and
in one place
only the fibrous roots to keep the earth in place about

the large hole.
Towards noon the
moved by any wind
air,
loaded with moisture and un-
in the forest,
became almost unbear-
GUATEMALA.
54
able,
and we were parched with
our aid
and selecting a rough-looking vine,
could not see the leaves, cut from

feet,
Santiago came to
thirst.
and from
tasteless water.
it
of
which we
a length of some three
this trickled a tumblerful of clear, cool,
This vejuco de agua was as large as
a man's wrist, of tender substance and very porous.
mozos declared that
cut only once, the juice
would
up from the pendent end

necessary to
block
Section of
Vejuco de Agua.
all
run
was
once above, and
at
On
the
so
it
palm-trees
wcrc oftcu fouud clusters of nuts of

various
shells that
cut
retreat.
its
The
the vejuco was
if
some with such hard
sizes,
even the parrots must have been bafHed.
We
cracked several kinds, and found them more woody and

less oily
Several mahogany-trees
than the coconut.
in our way,
came
and they impressed me more than the sequoias
of California or the banians
and baobabs
Rising
of India.
with a straight and uniform stem far above the surrounding trees, they then spread their dense foliage like a
Rosewood, palo de
massive oak above the tree-top plane.
many
mulatto, sapodilla, ironwood, and
other kinds were
recognized, and our exploration ended for the day witli a
bath on board the boat, in which
water over each other.
The
air
we dashed
was
the cool river
86, while the
water
Our men who had been sent up stream to build

sundown in
true monkey style, swinging down on to the boat from the
branches of the tree overhanging the " Progreso." The ab-
was
78.
a ehamjya, or native house, returned to us at
sence of mosquitoes puzzled us, as
it
had the night
before.
After the rain ceased, the next morning about seven,
we
paddled up stream in the cayuco.
have never seen

rocks so curiously corroded
fossil
and
bones of
fluted
mammoth
in
size,
some places they were
selaginellas,
just like
55
like
then like battered capitals
columns, always of rather
sometimes quite perforated.
was
ITS CONNECTIONS.
smooth
surface,
In the hollows were ferns,
and sometimes curious
some monster crawling
sj)iders
one rock
into the river.
On
Dragon Rock, Chocon.
the right bank several small springs trickled
in,
and on the
other side a swift-flowing creek added materially to the
volume
of the river.
water, and after passing

rapids or corrientes,
we came
pletely blocked our way.
clined to drag our
we were getting into shallower

in one way and another fifteen
Still
to a huge tree that com-
we
de-
over, but beached her
on
"With a satisfied feeling,
heavy cayuco
GUATEMALA.
56
a sand-spit, and waited for the return through the forest
men whom we had
of part of our
Wild
good
figs of
the trees above
size
sent to explore inland.
came tumbling
when
Guillermo said they were eaten
gion miles above, and the three Caribs in

the log with great labor.
mahogany mortars
While we
ripe.
came down from the mahogany
waited, a large canoe
it
dragged
re-
over
it
Besides their petacas, they had
and mahogany
for rice-hulling,
In the forest their work
ters.
from
into the stream
but they were not to our taste, although
is
have half the day to themselves
plat-
task-work, and they often
time they
in this leisure
carve the rejected butts into various useful articles, which
they
the Boca, or
sell at
we saw another
turned,
machete
spoon,
mouth
is
put
and
shovel,
now
pump-handle,
a fishing-rod
tually split the head of a large fish that

of a rock,
fish
one.
On
weighing some
five
was
hammer,
door-bolt,
Guillermo acin the
pounds
shadow
champa our men had

The building process was certainly a novel
In the afternoon
been building.
re-
use to which the ever-present
in turn knife, axe, adze,
it is
back-scratcher,
blind-fastener,
As we
of the river.
we
inspected the
receiving our orders, the Caribs held a brief con-
sultation, chattering in their very unattractive
language
we knew no more of their talk than we knew of

the intelligent ants, who are equally black, and hold their
consultations unbeknown to us. The result was, however,
while
that they separated and disappeared in the forest.
we heard
the blows of the machetes
Soon
and then they came
straggling back, two with the aucones or
main
posts of
the house, others with side-posts, rafters, coils of vejucos,
and bundles
of manaca-leaves
time the frame was tied together.
In an incredibly short
The thatching with the

palm-leaves took longer, as
of the
immense
leaves,
it
ITS CONNECTIONS.
was necessary
and formed an excellent
is
closely, like clapboards,
made
confra, found nearer the
so durable as to last eight or ten years.
of the mancica
we had
feet long.
only surpassed by that
roof,
of another palm, called
which
to split each,
which were quite thirty
These were tied on to the rafters
57
formed the
sides of the
champa
sea,
Butts
and then
a house large enough for twenty men, with the
men
labor of five
For our purpose
a day and a half, at a cost of $3.75.
it
was
better than the Palace
of
the
Caesars.
One morning
moored.
explored the tree to which
fine balloon-vine
(Cardiospermum) hung in
festoons of fragrant flowers from the branches
them was a humming-bird's nest fashioned

usual of the golden
bits of lichens.
It
down
two white eggs

birds,
I.
may
many
bill of
when
add, are,
and
maturer days.
first
eyes,
as daintily as
for eggs
but I have
with never more than
The young
hatched, most amusing
and without the long
found also a green grasshopper
[Tropideres), five inches long,
kind.
among
of the size of a small bean.
things, all heads
little
nests,
and shingled with
of tree-ferns,
was not the season
at other times found
we were
wondered
if
and very handsome
of his
he ate sugar-cane, and other things
one might want to grow
if
living in the
champa.
cut some
One day, going ashore to

awning on the canoa, I hacked with
my
sticks
for
an
machete at a
common along the banks, and which

had often bothered me by its curled, dried leaves, clinging to the tree and looking very much like the doves
(qucdm) which were so often on the tree that it is named
This tree, which is botanically known as a
for them.
tall,
slim tree very
GUATEMALA.
58
had a hollow trunk

divided transversely by thin partitions, and from this
I had here a chance to
cavity came a swarm of ants.
cecropia, one of the nettle family,
verify the interesting description given by Mr. Belt
As he
the habits of these remarkable creatures.
of
says,
they get into the tree by boring a small hole, and then
way through
eat their
tower
many
the
floors of this vegetable
they do not, however, eat the tree directly for
sustenance, but import with great care numbers of coccidse,
or scale-insects, to feed on the tree-juices and elab-
orate a honey-like matter, which the ants eagerly suck
from a pore on the back
of these little cows.
vain to find the queen ant

I touched
came
but while every cecropia that
was tenanted by
to light.
ants, never a single female
There are several small outer doors, for
the disturbed stem
is
dotted with the pugnacious
ants in a very short time.
farm these
I tried in
What
dull, inert coccidas
inhabited, but none that I
first
little
taught the ants to
Other vegetables are ant-
know
of afford such spacious
accommodations.
Pleasant as this
life
was, the time came
on the river and in the forest
when we must return and it was

we saw on our way down which
;
startling
how many
we had
passed unnoticed coming up,
things
tall
reeds with
feathery blossoms more graceful than the pampas-grass
palms with bluish green foliage

family more
flies
is
of the
flowers of
beautiful than a calla
most attractive colors
as transparent,
the
blue herons
arum
butter-
that
fish like glass,
and about a foot long.
Frank shot a
beautiful grossbeak with scarlet breast and metallic green
back, and brought

1
me
The Naturalist
a fine purple passion-flower
in Nicaragua,
by Thomas
Belt, p. 222.
an-

other of the party shot an
ITS CONNECTIONS.
who
alligator,
exposing his yellow belly as he died.
59
turned over,
Altogether, the
voyage down was more agreeable than the hard run up.
Trees that were bare a few days before were
now
covered
with white feathery flowers, and others presented masses

of
greenish flowers on their
floated
down
flat
tops.
We
and
the Rio Dulce by moonlight, and at early
dawn anchored
at Livingston.
San
Gil,
from Author's House
Opposite the town are lands
in
Livingston.
fertile
and capable
ducing fine crops to an enterprising owner.

I
sailed
of pro-
Frank and
rowed over several times, once exploring a neglected
finca,
where cane,
rose-apples,
and
sapotes, cassava, bananas, plantains,
coconuts were
all
jumbled
together
another time visiting a cacao-plantation farther up

There is certainly room for a wise investthe stream.
at
GUATEMALA.
60
ment
on these lands on the eastern slope
capital
of
And
San Gil as far as Santo Tornas.
of
here
let
me
of this port, Puerto Barrios, and the Northern
write
Railroad, although I did not visit
them
until the spring
of 1885.
Santo Tomas
of
failure
is
legislative
decree
reputation,
and
census.
Its
April,
of
but since the sad
established
1843,
it
there
by a
has borne a bad
inhabitants diminished to the insig-
its
number
nificant
beautifully situated
the Belgian colony
of a
hundred and twenty-nine by the
last
harbor, into which no large river empties,
is
an exceedingly good one, and a wharf might be constructed on deep water
but the authorities, in selecting
a terminus for the projected railway which
Guatemala City with the Atlantic
is
to connect
and
coast,
so unite
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, chose a place some three

miles eastward from Santo Tomas, where the}' must conthree hundred feet
a wharf some
struct
in
length
to
reach twenty feet of water, and where often ships can-
not
Add
this that
to
Barrios
laid
is
out
castle,
Tomas
but must run for Santo
lie,
the
swamp
(on
of
the
at present
paper)
theatre,
site
in
fine
bad weather.
city of
Puerto
uninhabitable, although
very attractive way, with
hippodrome, and
Centro-American city of the
in
the
elements of a
rank.
The splendid
all
first
mango-trees, with their dark, dense foliage, are
abun-
dant in the old village, while here even the palms are
dwarfed.
Arriving at Puerto Barrios late in the afternoon,
we
were kindly received by the contractors, and after an

exceedingly good supper allotted comfortable beds in the
large storehouse.
We
had heard
of the cruelty practised
ITS CONNECTIONS.
61
towards the workmen on the railroad, and wished to
know
the truth.
stances
to work,
under which
of
course understood the
men were
and knew that agents
circum-
induced to go
in
New
there
Orleans and
make unauthorized promises

adventurers who sought to better their
elsewhere might and did

to the shiftless
Puerto Barrios.
new land. Men from the North cannot

do hard manual work in this climate unless they are
fortunes in a
very careful in regard to
diet, clothing,
If
clothes, they will
have a malarial fever
If
in a
newly cleared
they eat improper food, or proper food at
improper times, their bowels will certainly protest.

I
sani-
they get wet, and sleep in their wet
tary conditions.
country.
and general
Now,
was convinced that the contractors did not take these
precautions with their men, that in consequence of this
GUATEMALA.
62
amount
negligence a large
in
States from the sick
men were
men who
left
and that
of sickness resulted,
complaints printed
the
newspapers
the
of
I
justified.
United
have seen the
the railroad and took service on plantations,
and have talked with them, although
have never men-
tioned the subject to the several contractors and overseers

I
met
my
opinion
men
unfortunate
therefore formed from
is
what
these
me.
told
In the morning we were provided with the only hand-
and began our explorations.
car the road owns,
not mention the builders of that car, for

less article,
and had
the track and
it off
belonged to
it
down
six miles,
and
rails
thirty-ton locomotive,
was a worthhave run
I should
a steep place into the sea.
road, of thirty-six inch gauge,
some
me
it
I will
was graded
were
(in
laid four miles
which had
to
The
March, 1885)
;
but the
do the work one of
half the size could do, could run only over three miles, the
Men were cutting sleepers in the

and we saw many of mahogany. The
track was so uneven.

adjoining forest,
grade
is
also being
gua River, to meet
pushed from Tenedores, on the Mota-
No
this end.
great
engineering
is
here visible, and the main difficulty seems to have been

in getting suitable foundations for the bridges over the
numerous small
large snakes of
the workmen.
came
Along the track we saw two

the boa family which had been killed by
Some five miles from Puerto Barrios we
to the hot sulphur-spring.
in diameter, close
able
creeks.
volume
by the
track,
It is a pool, fifteen feet
and pours out a consider-
of clear, hot water, pleasant to drink
when
cooled, but while in the pool too hot to put one's finger
in.
Bubbles,
freely
probably of hydrosulphuric acid,
escaped
but vegetation extended to the very borders of the

pool,
and
all
ITS CONNECTIONS.
around the forest was dense.
cool
63
brook
ran near at hand and gave a fine bathing-place as the hot
water mingled with
who drank
We
it.
were assured that the men
the sulphurous hot water never had fever.
Sulphur Spring.
From Tenedores
up the valley
the surveyed line of railroad extends
of the
Motagua
to Gualan, thence
up the
ascent to the high plateau on which stands Chiquimula,
and thence
the road
to
now
Guatemala
in operation
City,
where
from that
it
will connect
city to
with
San Jose, on
the Pacific, five thousand feet below.
Before leaving the Atlantic coast

tion the
New
numerous steamship
Orleans,
New
lines
we must
again men-
from Livingston
to
York, Belize, Puerto Cortez, Jamaica,
GUATEMALA.
64
Communication may thus be had with
and England.
the best markets for
amply
are
able to supply
The lowlands
products.
all tropical
New
Orleans,
New
York, and
Boston with bananas, plantains, pine-apples, and coconuts, the latter
growing most abundantly at Cabo de
Puntas on Manabique.
Tres
The climate
healthful
is
and not too hot, averaging for the year about 80

as there
is
seems to
and
no marked change of season, a perpetual June

Capital alone
exist.
is
wanted
to develop this
Atlantic coast into the great fruit-producing orchard of
United States.
the
strong
is
Sugar-cane grows rapidly
and
so
the soil that rattoon crops have been cut for
twenty years without replanting, and no diminution of

the saccharine yield has been noticed.
Sugar can
cer-
tainly be raised much cheaper here than in Cuba or in
One day
the Hawaiian Islands.^

four days to
York.
New
Orleans, and eight to Boston or
New
Yet, notwithstanding all these advantages, the Nor-
thern farmer wears out his
New
carries the crop to Belize,
life in
the consumptive fields of
England, where his crops grow only four months of
the year, instead of settling here, where he can plant any
day
of the year (except saints' days, unless he
lies),
and
reap a rich harvest in due season.
goes to Florida, which
which
of soil,
We
ics
is
neither tropical nor temperate,
and where
frosts cut off his crops every
few years.
often hear of the extreme unhealthfulness of the trop-
but
is
it
known
more persons die of

Massachusetts than of the most dreaded
generally
that
Should the new product, saccharine, meet with favor, the planting]; of cane
and coal-tar will supply the sweet things of
Coal is " sweetness and light "
as well as the flavors and colors.
will follow the fate of indigo;

life
coo-
nothing but a raised coral reef with a veneering
consumption in
1
is
employ
He sometimes
year numbered
youths
who
necks
while
seven,
one
centenarian,
and
from coconut-trees
fell
in
America
numbers, and the deaths of the
a thousand, in round
65
The last time an

census was taken, Livingston had a population of
tropical diseases in Central

official
ITS CONNECTIONS.
and two
broke
their
Boston the rate for July, 1885, was
28.1 per thousand.
The objection
to
being
among a
strange people and
under a foreign government and strange laws

be met by following
was
oljject
and
what
if
my
me through
may
the country, where
best
my
to answer these very objections for myself
readers will patiently follow me, I will tell
saw, and they
may form
Paddle and Machete.
their
own
opinions.
CHAPTER
III.
ACROSS THE CONTINENT, WESTWARD TO COBAN.
THE
days of October, 1883, promised good weather
last
for the hill-country, and Frank and I again left
Livingston in the only
way one can
leave
by water.
it,
Our route was as before,

up the Rio Dulce but
we had no comfortable but heavy Progreso."
;
''
however, a better craft for our voyage,

canoa, cut from a single log of a
(which
it is
not)
its
five
and a
canoa could show good speed with a
we
cared
floored,
;
for her sailing
called cedar
beam
triangular
sails,
qualities
and
wind
fair
but
on the present
there were no ribs, and the thwarts Avere
removed, we made
easily
toldo
little
As
voyage.
With two masts and
half.
had,
its
feet,
this
We
fine native
wood they
length was thirty
this time
quite
captain and two
stowed
men had
not rowing or paddling.
after
with a
comfortable
our luggage was
the
part,
which was
temporary
amidships,
roof,
while
their quarters forward
We
had our
or
our
when
coffee-pot (as neces-
sary a travelling companion in Central America as an
umbrella in England) and a supply of food for a week
although we hoped our voyage might last
less
than
five
days.
The
Theirs
year
cliffs
is
on the Rio Dulce were as beautiful as ever.
a beauty which never fades with the
and yet the changes are very marked.
fading
I
never
saw such a
form every time

familiar with
all
it
Now
was prominent
when
all
it
in its
the brilliant orchids
a cereus with
tree.
crimson blossoms
asleej)
on a white
Frank, with a laudable blindness to
far above us.
that was not pleasant, could see nothing but a fallen
tree.
saw only a few
feet of the
a diameter of about six inches

to fire at the reptile, since he
desirable to have him,
not
more
far
have never seen
Our Caribs discovered a huge serpent

cliff
is
were the bromeliads, parasites on

But among roses J saw the thorn.
so
me
in July,
new
presented a
it
and Frank, who
its face, tells
aglow.
almost every
very Proteus,
saw
which comes
glory,
are
river,
G7
kill
down
him,
it
was
head end, which had
and
was
obstinately refused
quite as near as
and should
my
bullet
quite possible that he
wound but
might wriggle
Porpoises were
into the river below.
was
it
common
far
up into the Golfete, where they were pursuing the abundant freshwater
fish.
light sea-breeze helping us,
anchored for the night far above Cayo Paloma.

TYiozo,
we
Our
Santiago, slept on one of the thwarts, which he
exactly fitted, being
average
New
slightly less
in
stature
than the
Englander.
Our anchor was up betimes and before six o'clock in

the morning we came to San Felipe,
a place we both
for in the al^sence of any
had great curiosity to see
;
definite account of the old
Spanish
fort,
we allowed our
imagination to build a very imposing, picturesque, and,

withal, strong castle.
We
found that Spanish castles in Guatemala were
almost as unRul)stantial as chateaux en Esjjagne
and
it
was some time before wc distinguished the Castillo de

San Felipe through the mornmg mist. At the outlet of
GUATEMALA.
68
the Lago de Izabal the shores approach each other closely,
indeed, the channel
hardly a stone's cast broad
is
and
on the northern point stands the fort built in 1655 to

protect the then important commerce of Izabal from the
buccaneers.^
It
is
well
of
built
round (uncut) stone,
and the waves of the lago dash against the walls, which
are gradually yielding to the insinuating roots of
plants,
even
commelyna joining
a delicate blue
many
in the
attack that the seventeenth-century pirates began in vain.
The van
of this vegetable scaling-party
was
led
by a
fine
papaya {Carica papaya), which now towered far above the

walls with its head of ornamental leaves, but which perished soon after
return, three
and we saw only the bare stem on our
months
later.
Passing this mediaeval ruin,
we came
to a slight
wharf
where we had to undergo a rigid inspection by

the guarcla, who insisted on opening our trunks, in spite
of a slight shower that was wetting us. But we submitted
of stakes,
with better grace on reflecting how
any
sort the custom-house
looking place
and when
Santiago with the
men
the food he could find
fire.
;
of
could have in this sleepy
the nonsense was over we sent
coffee-pot,
boiled over somebody's
amusement
little
and
which he was told to have
He was
also told to get all
this useless
wretch brought
back, as the total result of his foraging,
eggs
three
Coconut-trees and goyavas were abundant, but no fruit
could be found.
After this very frugal breakfast,
in
we walked to
which we did not ask Santiago to join,
not visible,
were
but the officials
the little Comandancia
;
Its
armament was approved by the Royal
order of Feb. 26, 1687, provided fur
sketch by F. E. Blaisdell.
its
Seal,
complete repair.
Nov.
7,
1658, and an
The plan
is
from a
ACROSS THE CONTINENT,
and we entered the old

the dirty
little
The plan
to the
is
WESTWARD TO COBAN.
fort, as
69
the only other sight in
town.
rather peculiar, but doubtless well suited
defensive warfare of those days.
entrance-ports invited us to enter, and
The
doorless
we found a
court-
yard of paved and level surface occupying almost the

entire area.
the bastion
At the outer end, commanding the channel,

was higher than the main portion, approached
by narrow and winding
steps, easily
was the most curious part

There
gun-deck.
is
law
of the
in
defended
whole
so that
but
had broken that law then and

readers might see for
wished that
my
the
the Guatemaltecan code
forbidding photographing in military works

since
and here
edifice,
have
there,
themselves the clumsy guns, the

carriages with
the
magazine
but doorless,
wooden wheels,
roofed,
the
indeed,
whole bus-
iness as dangerous to the gun-
ners as to any
Some
enemy
outside.
were
orange-trees
fine
growing up through the pavement, and their hard green
would be
fruit
ammunition
suitable
for the ancient guns.
There was nothing whatever

to attract the
eller in
San
most curious trav-
Felipe,
and we
sailed
Castillo de
San Felipe.
and paddled on with frequent

calms and showers.
of
We
were completely
in the
hands
our boatmen, whose knowledge of the lago proved
to be very limited
but as ours was even
less,
we
suffered
GUATEMALA.
70
them
to coast the northern shore,
when, as we
after-
wards learned, the law directed our course southward to
where we should have obtained
Izabal, the port of entry,
Our map inthe shorter to the mouth
a permit to proceed on our voyage inland.
dicated the course

of the
we
Rio Polochic
selected as
map
but the
There was not much to
was, as usual, wrong.

the mist and rain hid
see, as
hung low on the shores, driving us

frequently under our rubber roof.
Whenever the mist
the mountains and
lifted
we caught
glimpses of the far southern shore, with
the grand wall of the Sierra de las Minas catching the

fleecy clouds
on every black pinnacle
sky attracted us
we
still
and the clearing
closer to the northern shore,
where
could see a low wooded country backed by a high
range of mountains, with here and there an opening
At two
through which some stream reached the lake.

o'clock
we landed
on a beach
at Sauce,
of black sand,
evidently volcanic, scattered with fragments of chalcedony
and agatized wood,
a formation
ceedingly, as all this region
We
had no time
is
it
me
ex-
supposed to be non-volcanic.
beach to ascertain the ex-
to follow the
tent of black sand, but
wliich puzzled
reached far beyond the few com-
fortable huts on the shore,
go into the jungle inland.
we
could
grew luxuriantly
limes,
as far, indeed, as
In
it
bananas, mangoes, and other cultivated plants not recog-
Goyavas grew
nized.
to a large size, but all the fruit
was
ruined by worms.
Here
first
we saw
the whole process of tortilla-making.
The maiz was hulled in lime-water, washed in the lake,

and ground laboriously on a stone metatle into a consistent
paste,
which
is
then skilfully patted into cakes from four
to six inches in diameter, round
and thick as an ordinary
These are then baked on an iron plate
griddle-cake.
or Gonial, but not browned,
then
the
71
and should be eaten
hot,
and
tastes
tortilla
The
Guatemala
parched corn.
like
metatles
were
in
of very
all
simple
pattern and unornament-
not so well wrought
ed,
Mexico and
as those in
farther
southward,
serving
their
but
purpose
A woman
equally well.
who cannot make good

Guatemala
tortillas is in
not deemed
fit
to
assume
the duties of housekeep-
ing
and yet there are few
Making
Tortillas
articles of food requiring
more labor
in preparation
Except the Hawaiian
than this unleavened bread.
jôi (paste of
the Colocasiinn escu-
lentum or Kalo), I can recall no article of diet that de-
mands more
in
physical labor.
The inhabitants
of the tropics
both these cases lay aside their proverbial indolence and
For our men
earn their bread by the sweat of their brows.
we procured meat
crisped
over
the
fire,
bananas, limes, and
while
tortillas.
for
put on skewers and
we bought
we continued
ourselves
After this
when we anchored near shore

very quiet night. At early dawn we
our voyage until
and enjoyed a
long strips
in
dark,
were again under way.
The showers continued, and
far
away on
the Santa Cruz range the rains were heavy,
boding
for our ascent of the river.
ill
The lake water,
GUATEMALA.
72
now
usually quite potable, was
and the
ephemera were
cast skins of
surface that for miles
a small green alga,
full of
we
thick on
so
the
could with difficulty get a dipper
of clear water.
Twice our Caribs thought they had found the mouth

the Polochic
where we
and at
last,
least expected,
at high noon,
we
discovered
on a marshy promontory or
of
it,
delta.
Masses of coarse floating grass were attached to the banks
on each
rent,
side,
almost blocking the
way
and the rapid
which we estimated at five miles an hour,
grass plots
wave
as
if
cur-
made these
the breezes were playing over their
tame so were the

The air was still, and the thermometer marked
iguanas.
eighty-five degrees, while the water was much cooler,
Pelicans were abundant and
tops.
nine deojrees.
All the creeks in the lowland flowed from
the river, so high was the flood, and
we found no com-
fortable landing-place.
At night we anchored
were very troublesome
and the mosquitoes
in the stream,
unlike those on the Chocon, these
were black, and had very long and sharp

three in the morning
we
could bear
lancets.
At
them no longer
Orion was in the zenith, and we struck our toldo, the
men
slowly rowing on until
six,
when we anchored
for
As we were eating, a cayuco, covered with a neat

awning of leaves, came rapidly by us on the way down
coffee.
its
occupants assured us that there were
many
vueltas
(bends) and a great current {miicho corriente) before
we
should be able to reach Pansos.
Ten miles a day was the utmost limit of our propelling

power, and in crossing the bends to escape the current we
hardly held our own, so strong were the flood-waters. Our
creeping pace gave us ample time to
see,
but no time to

stop for, the
many
WESTWARD TO COBAN.
73
curious things on either bank.
Close
on the shore were red abutilons, and over them crept

the long-tubed white convolvulus {Ipomoia hona-nox) and
the brilliant yellow allamanda
high up on the wild
fig-
were black, long-tailed monkeys, common and tame,
trees
their wonderfully
human
faces peering
down
at the in-
truders, the mothers clasping their hairy little babies to

their breasts with one arm,
their heads in a puzzled
little
and with the other scratching
One
manner.
of our Caribs shot
fellow before I could prevent him, and the creature
clung, even in death, by his
As
tail.
had shot an iguana
my revolver in the morning, I was

with my bullet the provoking tail, that
have a caribal feast. Regard for my
through the head with

called
upon
to cut
the Caribs might
reputation as a marksman, and the

roast
monkey
monkey,
memory
of a taste of
and the poor

hanging there still."
in India, forbade the attempt,
like the
Tyburn
thief,
''
is
There was foam on the water, but we heard no water-fall,
and
indeed the
nature of the country made
flat
falls,
cascades, or even rapids, impossible.
We
no
when
passed another night
effect
Still all
the torrents of rain had
on the myriads of mosquitoes and
the brooks ran inland, although, as
black-flies.
we afterwards
learned, in the dry season these banks are so high above
the water that they are hard to climb.
All day long
saw monkeys along the banks, though high above

the following night
we heard
the howlers
pensation for that evil had no mosquitoes.

(Nov.
3,
1883)
we hoped
us,
we
and
but in com-
By Saturday
to be well on our road
from
Pansos to Coban, but, except the cayuco, we saw no signs
men
work
however, we came to
of
or the
of
men's hands
little
on that morning,
Jinca on the river bank, where
GUATEMALA.
74
a good sized stream from the river flowed into the yard
The poultry had taken refuge on

the roof, and the Indian proprietors waded through the
Luckily the oven, or fire-place, was raised on sticks
flood.
and through the house.
several feet above the water, so that the senora could
us some
price.
tortillas,
eight
for a real.
Slight as the forage was,
it
make
Eggs were the same

was very acceptable,
as our food was nearly gone, and we were already depenThe river,
dent on the Caribs for their cassava-bread.
these persons said,
was
falling, so
we pushed on with new
courage.
spider-lily
fine
C7inum) grew on the bank where
we moored our canoa. We

made fast to the cane-brake,
far more than when we had
we
noticed that whenever
the black-flies bothered us

trees overhead
was
not
it
because the cane did not afford roosts or concealment for

the fly-catching birds and reptiles
The blossoms
of the
we
cane were very beautiful, indeed as attractive as those
had noticed on the Chocon.

here and there,
this fine wôod
and we were
Mahogany-trees were seen

told that there
on the Rio Zarco, just at hand.
was much
I also
of
saw
a goyava-tree, some eighteen inches in diameter and eighty

feet high.
and about
behind
us,
In the afternoon we passed willows (Sauce),

five o'clock
when
were startled by an unusual noise
a huge three-storied structure came sweep-
ing up the stream, as
if
in pursuit
it
was the steamer
" City of Belize," a flat-bottomed stern-wheeler.
As
the
current was very strong and the channel narrow, we hastened to make fast to a large fig-tree overhanging the
stream.
Before, however, our arrangements were made, the
steamer was upon

tore us
us,
and her surge, added
to the current,
from our mooring and swept as under the
tree.
75
and we were turned on

For an instant our situation was critical.
our beam-ends.
Our weather-rail was six inches under water, and we
Our masts caught
in a branch,
were clinging to the other

ing in
water came pour-
side as the
then the mainmast slipped, and we righted,
all
hands bailing out eagerly, while Frank held by some

branches and prevented a repetition of the disaster.
the canoa
had
upset, our journey
If
would probably have
ended there, as our photographic supplies would have

been ruined, and there would have been
little
chance for
us in that deep, rapid river, with no banks, and no trees
they gave us shelter from the

and these too would have shown themselves
that offered food, even

alligators
if
as soon
as the disturbance caused by the steamer
abated.
Our Carib captain was as frightened as we were,
and with the
little
English he knew, exclaimed as
anchored for the night

her for h
11!
"
''
:
Dd
good boat
The persons on the
must have seen us
filling,
would
had
we
n't sell
"
" City of Belize
but they did not stop to see
if
we drowned.
All night
we had
mosquitoes, but no rain
and
to our
wakeful excitement was added the horrible noises of

tigres, wild hogs, monkeys, alligators, and other animals.
We
were getting tired of the
seemed interminable.
mouth
river,
and our voyage
Early in the morning we passed
Cahabon, where the steamer had

anchored the night before, and soon after I shot my first
the
alligator.
of the Rio
He
w\as a large one,
just behind the foreleg.
turned over, and
We
fell
and
my
He jumped
ball struck
him
clear of the water,
back, tingeing the river with blood.
thought we had counted twice the seventy-two
vueltas in the fifty miles between the
mouth
of the river
GUATEMALA.
76
and Pansos
but this port
dark before
nearly
human
smelt
before us, and
still fled
habitations.
one of our company had ever been there before
amused
Caribs were greatly
Frank smiled
in his sleeve at
smelt them, and kept

conch-shell, as the
and at
at the
We
at
was
Not
but the
my assertion, and I think

my scent. But I certainly
men
the
it
rowing, and blew the
law requires on approaching a port;
long after dark, the lights of the steamer fast
last,
wharf appeared, and we were soon alongside.
had been a week
without landing
The stupid
our canoa, and
in
days
five
but our troubles were not yet ended.
soldiers
flatly
allow us to land
refused to
our traps without a permit from the comandante, and

insisted that
we
should go with them to the Comandancia,
nearly a quarter of a mile away.
over a road worked into pasty
Coban.
naked
mud by
with Santiago,
the ox-carts from
was raining and very dark, and the almost
It
soldiers tried to light the
pine, called here ocote.

pool, into
I started
At
way with
which the barelegged
declined to
^-o
splinters of fat-
road ended in a black
last the
But
waded.
soldiers
farther unless thev carried
me
and
I
it
made the night bright to see the look these apolmen gave each other and the stranger who
almost
ogies for
weighed twenty pounds more than their united weights.

It
ended as
it
should have begun
and Santiago went
on with one guard to explain matters, while with the

other
returned to
the
steamer.
The
officers
of
steamer had kindly invited us to sleep on board
the
but
the soldier on guard refused to let us pass the plank,

so I pitched
all
him
into the river,
such stupid military men,
opposed.
the
and
proper place for
went on board un-
Soon word came that we might sleep where
ACROSS THE CONTINENT, AVESTWARD TO COB AN.
we
pleased.
Mosquitoes were as bad here as anywhere
on the Polochic; and while Frank
slept
on the dining-
had a very dirty bed and a net
table without a net, I

full of
mosquitoes and other things
so in the
we could not decide which had had the least

With light usually comes a more cheerful
a good breakfast, to which the
vited us,
made
river
if
was drowned.
all
morning
comfort.
feeling
officers of the
us feel at peace with
took the trouble to ask

the
77
and
steamer
men, and
in-
even
the soldier I had pitched into
The rain having
ceased,
we
started for the town, ferrying ourselves over the creek in
an old canoa half
full of
water.
As the comandante had not recovered from his overnight debauch, we went about the little village to do
some necessary shopping and arrange for our journey
The town was small, but neat and attractive.
to Coban.
clear
it fell
both
brook ran over a limestone bed, and in one place
over a ledge into a pool where washing

of"
An
persons and garments.
old
bathing here, and, although half a dozen
washing clothes or soaking maiz

bath-tub, he invited us to join him.
dressing an oxhide by pegging
it
in
is
done
Spaniard was
women were
the same limited
Near by, a man was
to the
ground and then
salting the inside.
At the Comandancia we found, not the chief, who was

too drunk, but two very polite officials, with whom
had a pleasant chat
I then wrote my name, resi-
still
dence, and
all
the titles
could ever lay claim
to, as
well
The
Francisco, my
marked that our lawless neglect of
Izabal was overlooked, and we were given a full permit to
land our luggage. Once more we returned to the river, in
as those of Senor
impression was
Don
so
" Secretario."
GUATEMALA.
78
way we met
order to dismiss our Carib boatmen, and on the
an
intelligent ladino
been to London)
and
who
spoke English (indeed he had
he, acting as our interpreter, greatly
assisted us in shopping
and
long journey before us.
In his garden were some goyava-
trees
[Psidium)
that our
new
in our preparations for the
we found
but the fruit was unripe, and
friends eat the
pears and other fruits,
goyava as the Chinese eat
quite hard
salting
it,
however.
Santiago found horses for Frank and myself, and at the
Comandancia we procured Indian mozos

This was our
luggage.
to
carry our
experience of a system that
first
we found very convenient throughout
the country.
By an
order from the Comandancia, Indios are obliged to carry

burdens, as in the present case, precisely as their Northern
brothers have to
reals
serve on a jury, and do
(37^ cents) a day,
for three
it
quite equal here to the fee the
law allows an intelligent juryman in the North.

cannot be sent beyond their
more than four arrohas (100

carry
six
arrobas without
district,
lbs.).
They
nor made to carry
In
many
cases they
complaint, supporting their
burden by a raw-hide strap (called meco/âZ) over the
The person hiring pays
forehead.
whom
men
men to carry our luggage
cut down the number by half
the
with
to the authorities,
are registered, a real a head.
provided
La Tinta
four of these
to
Santiago
at the
but
end of the
Our experience with these mozos de cargo

was pleasant, as they usually kept up with our horses
on the mountain-roads, and took good care of the parcels intrusted to them.
Each one carries a palm-leaf
umbrella (suyacal), which also serves for bed at night.
I have employed dozens of these bearers, and found only
one of whom I could complain and he was not with me
first
stage.
79
which
on the road, but sent with our mozo Santiago,

mio-ht
be an excuse for him.
o
There
is
no posada
in
breakfast at noon in a
Pansos
little
pictures from " Harper's
Weekly
"
and " Puck," we decided

After some difficulty
to spend the night at Teleman.
getting permission
comandante being
tolerably,
drunk,^
at
two
of being again
mounted
o'clock,
with our boy Roberto,
I,
in
town, the
for our guide to leave
still
Frank and
The pleasure
and after getting our
shop which was papered with
left
Pansos.
on horseback after the dull
was
inaction of our canoa voyage
was
so great that I
willing to overlook any deficiencies in
my
As
mount.
Roberto stopped a short distance from the town to make
a slight addition
a while
by
the
wardrobe,
to his
we went on
the road could hardly be missed,

bullock-carts
used
to
plantations of Alta Verapaz.
and
bring
The
it
coffee
alone for
is
so
worn
from
the
beautiful vegetation,
drew our attention from the

muddy road, which became worse as we got farther into
healthy
the
forest.
and
as
luxuriant,
Many
we came
clear brooks
fine
crossed
our path,
out of the woods the valle}' of the Boca-
nueva lay before
us.
Two
opposite banks of this river
piers of
;
masonry stand on
but the iron bridge
lies
on
the shore at Livingston, and there seems to be no very
strong attraction
between the iron and the masonry.
The absence of a bridge was no great hardship, for not

only was the river shallow and easily fordable, but there
was a most curious vine-bridge, built of vejucos, perhaps
a hundred and
trees
^
this
fifty feet long,
and approached
l3y
hung from two convenient

It was old, and one
ladders.
may add that soon after our arrival in Coban the Jefe politico
unworthy comandante, punishing him with various indignities.
dejiosed
;;
GUATEMALA.
80
was broken down so it required care and courage

It was very similar in construction to modcross it.
side
to
ern wire suspension-bridges, but wholly vegetable, there
being not a particle of metal about
it.
few miles farther brought us out
the cleared land, where
of the
wooded
to
the hamlet of Teleman, famed
is
Although nearly sundown, and
for its delicious oranges.
cloudy, the thermometer stood at seventy-eight degrees.
We found lodging at the house of Don

old
man with
a heavy gray beard.
Pablo, a line-looking
His
little
home was
in
the midst of orange and coffee trees close on the road, and
only a light
We
house.
rail
kept the too familiar cattle out of the
had no long time
to look
but our comida was good, and the
around before dark
coffee
grown there was
The hospitable Don Pablo pointed to a pile of

oranges on the floor and told us to help ourselves, which
we did freely. Another Spaniard came in soon after we
were settled, and I had the best chance I had ever had to
I surprised Frank, and
exercise my "book Spanish."
myself as well, obtaining from these two agreeable men a
great deal of information about our road and the country
generally.
The room was certainly as strange a one
as I had ever slept in,
a table in one corner, with a
mahogany bench fifteen inches wide before it (on this
very
fine.
bench a small child slept

covering)
netting
two hammocks
all
night, without pillow or
a bedstead with mosquito-
piles of coffee, oranges,
and other small matters
a shrine of tinsel containing two images, before whose
dingy holiness a sardine-box lamp burned luridly

in strips
hung from the
roof.
under the bed for the night
the featherless bipeds to roost
meat
The chickens had all gone

it was time for
also, our host and his women
and when
ACROSS THE CONTINENT, WESTWARD TO COB AN.

retired into the dark inner room, after assigning
me
81
the
bed and Frank one of the hammocks, while the stranger

took the other and soon settled himself comfortably.
was not luxurious, and the pillow had

seen better days; but I rigged up a cleaner head-rest with
a towel, and was comfortable enough. Not so Frank, who
The bed
certainly
was unused
to
hammocks
and before
heard his whisper, asking
him
in
and as the bed was
was quite asleep
was room
there
if
to take
his
hammock was
still
quite dark, the
large,
deserted.
We
were up at four
and as
it
was
sardine-box lamp was again lighted, and

delicious
grown
in
Don
the
Pablo's garden, while a
muchacha drove out her chickens from under the

but we had none
The clouds promised rain
little
bed.
all
coffee
we drank
day, in
spite
of
the predictions of
both
host
and
(jfuide.
We crossed two aguas calientes.

ing in the cool morning air
very
trees
little
One
of
but their
them was steamtemperature was
above that of the atmosphere at midday.
Cacao-
were very common, though we saw none cultivated.
Here we
saw in abundance some of the convolvulus

blossoms for which the country is noted. One was of a
pale rose, another a deep blue, with hispid calyx and a
corolla five inches across, while a third was of flesh-color
and satiny texture, covering the trees near La Tinta.
We arrived in that village about noon, and after some
delay found a house where they would cook us an
almuerzo.
Our menu comprised good white rolls, broiled
meat, fried plantains, frijoles, fried eggs, and good coffee,
and we were not
all which we relished exceedingly
less satisfied with the price,
two reals each. The house
first
GUATEMALA.
82
contained only one room, a stone cooking-bench

end, and a
row
his
Under
of box-like beds along one side.
these several hens were sitting, and

tried
at one
two or three dogs
hard to get into a bed, while a
head into a window, and
colt
kept putting
finally upset the corn-box.
There was not much to the town, certainly.
The school
some bright enough

but the
had thirteen pupils,
church was an insignificant shed. Pasturage was good,
;
and we noticed a very large proportion of bulls by the

these were qviite as gentle as the cows.
roadside
In the afternoon we crossed, on an iron truss-bridge
;
covered with a thatched roof, the Polochic,
low but
still
wide stream.
had several times
as I
wished for
since
left
my
now
a shal-
camera here,
Pansos
but
we
were effectually parted until our mozos should overtake

We had been assured by the blind ladinos
us at Coban.
that there
was no
interesting scenery
were now constantly ascending, and we passed

Indios of the Poconchi tribe,
We
on the road.
many
clean, good-looking,
and
dressed in white, with fanciful designs of darker colors
sewed on.
1
Owing
to the
heavy duty, iron stoves are seldom seen in Guatemala;
but a structure of stone, where that material is at hand, elsewhere of sticks

covered with clay, is reared to the height of about two feet. Its size depends,
of course,
on the wants of the household but large or small, the form is

Three suitable stones, forming what would correspond to a
;
always the same.
pot-hole in an ordinary stove, are
embedded
in the clay-top of this house-altar,
and the long slim sticks that furnish fuel serve also as poker, shovel, and
There is no chimney, but the smoke and steam escape by the many
tongs.
On one stone tripod a comal for torcracks in the walls or by the windows.
tillas, on another an earthen pitcher of cofiee, and on another a stew-pan
(cazuela) of frijoles,
is
the usual kitchen arrangement.
as Avell as a costly stove,
it
may
Answering
be built for a few reals; and
if
its purpose
an oven is
needed for bread, a stone and earthen dome built over such a table-like hearth
a capital one, not unlike those so common among the Canadians and in
makes
other half-civilized countries.
We
arrived at Cliamiquin early in the afternoon, and
found the hamlet consisted, as far as we could
two very
withered
leaves
clinging
still
fine
hills,
palms,
stem
the
to
(cultivated for the nuts, but dreary looking)
cropping out on the neighboring
of
a hen-house built in
the second story only, and accessible by ladder
the
see,
and as many sheds.
inferior houses
grove of mango-trees, but no fruit
with
83
limestone
comprised
the
Our room was new and

clean, lined with banana-leaves, and the hard earth floor
was of course uncarpeted. The furniture was simply a
distinctive features of the place.
table
and a bench
dinner surpassed
but frugal as the furnishing was, our
it,
a few
tortillas,
nasty coffee for two hungry

candles, or
men
we might not have
seen
four eggs, and some
We
how
had our own

little
was.
it
Perhaps our hostess did as w^ll as she could, for the

twenty-five dogs that besieged our
room while we
ate
were evidently half starved.

All through the country the dogs are very
and
tioned,
several
times
owners for what seemed to
remonstrated
me
ill
condi-
with
cruel treatment
their
;
for
althousrh I detest this unclean brute, I do not like to

see
him
suffer.
But
was always assured that
tlie
dogs were underfed, not on account of cruelty, but to
make them good hunters and scavengers. It certainly

made them useless for the only purpose besides hunting
human
that dogs seem to have been created for,
food.
the
Guatemala canines are certainly a contrast to

dogs of the Hawaiians (which
little poi
juicy
are fed only on poi, sweet
potato,
and milk), or the
excellent dogs always hanging in the butcher-shops in
China.
GUATEMALA.
84
Here
let
me
found in this place and elsewhere as we went on.

berry,
which
and when
is
we
speak of the atrocious coffee that
of fine
quality, is burned, not
and then
pulverized, boiled for hours,
This nasty mess they
call
with boiling water at the
esencia de cafe,
table.
It
The
roasted,
bottled.
and mix
it
was generally served
to us in patent-medicine bottles, with a corn-cob or a roll

of paper for a stopper.
coffee,
had not the
It
slightest taste of
but reminded one of the smell of a newly-printed
newspaper.
We
were on our way next morning at half-past
and found the road much washed by the severe
On
the night before.
our right, across the valley, was
fine cascade spattering
now we came
over the limestone rocks, and
for the first time to home-like pine-trees.
Begonias of two species grew in the

side rocks,
five,
rains of
and
a house-yard
in
clefts of the road-
was a
fine Eiq^liorbia
As my horse had hurt his foot at Teleman,

I walked much of the way, so our progress up the hills
was not very rapid and we were by no means expecting
it when a turn in the road between two hills brought us
Poinsettii.
abruptly into San Miguel Tucuru.
This interesting town, of some three hundred inhabitants,
had no posada
hosjyedaje, kept
The house was
and well plastered.
in effigy on the wall,

saints
we found
a capital
casa de
by a senora of African descent married
to an invisible ladino.
of adobe,
but
of fair size, built
A black Saint Benedict hung
the forerunner
of a host of black
whom we saw
both in sculpture
and holy people
and painting as we advanced through this ancient domain of the Spanish missionaries.
Our senora had a
calentura,
the
national excuse for not doing anything

or going anywhere
others.
poor horse
manana
that she got us a good
all
Our horses were used
breakfast.
get no
but for
but
85
up,
and our boy could
An
appeal to the alcalde brought one
all
our further efforts were answered by
(to-morrow),
man, but universal
that word
so hateful to
an active
As we had a very comfortable

we made ourselves easy, and
town.
On our way in I had seen
here.
house to pass the night

started to explore the
in,
an attractive spring a short distance from the road, and

I went alone to explore it, taking a calabash I had just
purchased for a drinking-vessel.
party of
women
and washing
in
exceedingly slight apparel, bathing
which the spring empThese naiads were most of them
in a little pool into
tied through a spout.

;
well-worn path led
meadow, and a sudden turn brought me upon a
across a
young
but one old woman, a foul-visaged hag, scowled
savagely upon me, while the others giggled as I quietly
handed
me
give
my
calabash to the prettiest, and asked her to
a drink of water, which she caught from the
high spout with
skill
and without
hesitation, although
the action exhibited her form in all
wanted
my
its
beauty.
How
camera
Stuck in the
muddy
road was a train of ox-carts, and
the oxen from seven or eight were yoked to the head

cart
and when that was dragged out
a camping-place, the next and

the same way.
We
all
of the slough to
the rest were treated
wandered about town between the
showers, saw lime-kilns, a lead-mine, and

teries,
and at
last
came
erable building than
to
the church, a
we had
several
more
pot-
consid-
yet seen in Central America.
The door was tied with a leather shoestring, and there

was no resident priest.
The images seemed, to our
GUATEMALA.
86
unaccustomed
eyes,
most horrible
but they must have
appeared in holier form to the poor worshippers, for

marigolds and amaranths were strewed before them, and
The ancient name

town was Tucurub (meaning "town of owls");
Yotive candles burned on the

of this
floor.
but the Spaniards re-christened

Michael, which
called
it
by one
of the
saints
do not know, but apparently
not that one whose churches in western Europe are usually perched
on some almost inaccessible pinnacle, as at
Le Puy
France,
in
Only one
etc.
man
Michael's
St.
in the
and he could give us very

Indeed, all the
road.
Mount
Cornwall,
in
town could speak English,
little
information about our
way we were
in that delightful
condition of travelling without knowing exactly
what
is
coming, and constantly meeting the unexpected. The

rain at last came down in earnest, and drove us within
the
who has a fine

neighborhood came in as we were
doors.
Boston boy
initiated us into the mystery of
coifee
at
estate in
dinner and
Cer-
tortillas tostadas.
by toasting, the tough, clammy, cold tortilla is

made even better than new.
At four in the morning our boy Roberto lighted the
tainly
candle and
waked us
up.
We
had
settled our score the
night before, and so did not disturb the family, but completed our toilet on the doorstep, as
dling of our horses, by

It
was
so
we saw
to the sad-
the light of the solitary candle.
dark as we rode away that we could not see
the road, and blindly followed our guide's white horse.
gate across the road gave us some trouble, as
only
feel
it.
By
we
daylight the scenery must be fine
could
;
as the noise of rushing waters, and a blacker streak
but
by
the road-side, alone indicated the torrents and harrancas

at hand,
we were
87
troubled rather than pleased by these
We
came to an ox-train camped

and but for the glowing emin the middle of the road
bers of their camp-fires we should have had great difficulty
picturesque properties.
in passing.
As
the gray
dawn brightened over
the mountains, the
numerous white cascades attracted enough attention to

keep us from the drowsiness we were both falling into
from the darkness,
of our horses.
light
cold,
Fire-flies
enough to
and dampness, and the slow gait

were still sparkling when it was
see the road.
when we came to Tamahii and as we

town (1,517 mhabitants), which is twelve
leagues from Coban, we saw a shrme with images as horrible as any of the idols of the ancient Polynesians. Most
of the houses had tiled roofs, and looked neat and comfortable.
At one of the best we stopped for coffee and while
It
was
quite early
entered the
little
the preparations for our meal were going on, Frank and I
went up to the church hard

rope, and we found little of
The door was
tied
with a
interest within, except
images
by.
closely resembling East Indian idols,
and around
all
Our hostess
for always it was
the senora who managed the hospitalities and took the
pay therefor
gave us rolls and fried plantains with our
good coffee, and the table and bench were of some choice
wood, darker and harder than mahogany. Fine roses
blossomed in the yard (it was November), and cottondyeing and weaving, the principal industries of the town,
were carried on in nearly every house. Lime-burning and
tile-making also employ a goodly number of the people.
flavor of mild decay.
As we rode
into the country,
of a fine arborescent composite
we
passed
some twenty
many clumps
feet high,
GUATEMALA.
88
one of the giants of this great and widely spread family.
Crimson
lobelias (like cardinal-flowers)
with red stems,
crenulate leaves, and a very unpleasant odor, were com-
The road was badly gullied, and the nightly rains

had made the Polochic, which still kept at our side, an
angry looking torrent quite unfordable. The grades of
the road were good, and showed engineering skill and
mon.
constant care
but
before noon, as I
for
all
this
my
had expected, and our boy,
consultation with the drivers of a mule-train

stray mule
captured a
All the
of the
mules so
path,
we
passed,
turned the horse
seem so
feeble,
sore, that I seriously
turing one of the
some
after
me and
horses here
loose.
the
for
down
horse broke
and many
thought of cap-
powerful bulls feeding peaceably by
and riding him in true African
Frank earnestly dissuaded me,
so
we had
but
walk
half
style
to
the time to save our wretched hacks.
Through the mud we rode

farther
on,
at
half-past
recorded 4,650 feet
thirteen
The barometer
o'clock.
but this was not high enough to
insure dry roads at
one
into Tactic, four leagues
this
season.
The town,
hundred inhabitants, seemed prosperous
houses were of a better class than any
and the gardens were
we had
full of fruit-trees
Tree-abutilons, both pink
some
of
;
the
yet seen,
and vegetables.
and crimson, were covered with
blossoms, and peach-trees bore both blossoms and unripe

fruit.
The roads were
quite too
muddy
for foot-travel,
The corridors of the houses

generally had carved posts and lintels, and the central
tile of the ridge was usually fashioned into a cross, with
two lambs or doves as supporters. The casa munieijyal
was a noteworthy building. In gardens we saw fine
except in native undress.

coffee-trees,
and were
told that
many
blossomings in May, and as

ber
the
first
here
there
are
89
three
harvestings in Decem-
and third
are small, while the sec-
ond
Roses were
large.
is
even finer
mahu
gave
me
kind
much
than at Ta-
and a
fashioned
little
a bunch
girl
of
a
Roof Tile.
like the old-
Most
cabbage-rose.
the
of
inhabitants
are
Indios of the Poconchi tribe.
The fa9ade
of the church
statues of saints,
We
is
ornamented with dumpy
and the main altar
noticed a picture of three
men
is
elaborately carved.
in the flames of Sheol,
whether Hell or Purgatory we could not
tell
one wore
a tiara, another a mitre, while the third had on a plain
In front of the church
four-cornered canonical cap.
bought twenty ôcoês (Spondias
sp.) for
a medio.
we
There
are several varieties of this plum-like fruit, and the red

is
larger and better than the yellow.
the
rather tender
skin
around a rough stone.

is
made, much
contains
From
When
quite ripe,
a juicy yellow pulp
the fermented juice chicha
used as a mild intoxicant, not unlike
thin cider.
As we rode out
town we saw that the suburban gardens were much overrun by squash and bean vines.
Maiz stood fifteen feet high far up on the hills we saw
of
cornfields {milpas),
having
in their midst dwelling-houses
almost in the clouds, and seemingly built like swallows'
The campo santo, or

cemetery, was surrounded by adobe walls, and seemed
utterly neglected.
We had seen in the church, and now
nests against the
steep
hillside.
GUATEMALA.
90
found by the roadside, a
fine red
and yellow orchid, and
another pure white one, as well as the cardinal-flower.

All day there had been showers
Santa Cruz, long after dark,
and when we arrived at
we were
wet, in spite of our
ponchos and the water would run into our boots.
There was no posada, so our boy declared, and we had
The Escuela por

Frank persisted in
to try the cdbildo for the first time.

JSfinos,
or " school
calling
it,
for
was placed
ninnies," as
at our disposal
but the floor was
bare, hard concrete, and we had no mats, while there was
no chance to hang our hammocks.
was not inviting

but one of the attendants kindly brought two mahogany
settees from the court-room, and this was so hard a couch
that one might be pardoned for going to .bed with boots
on,
and mine were so wet that I feared I should not get
them on in the morning if they once came off. We
needed food quite as much as a bed, and at last found
At four
rolls and coffee at a little shop near at hand.
o'clock in the morning there was an earthquake, which
It
did not
wake Frank, though
some one had run against
was
and
felt,
as
we afterwards
for miles around.
common
jarred
it
my
bed as though
in the dark.
it
This shock
found, at Coban, San Cristobal,
Slight earthquakes are said to be
enouorh here, but
we saw no
evidence of severe
ones.
In the morning at half-past
five,
while Roberto was
visited the church
and found many
curiously carved and gilded altar-pieces.
After perform-
saddling the horses,
we
ing our ablutions in a puddle in the road,

night's rain,
as
it
we
got our coffee
was Friday, and we
Coban.
still
left
by the
last
and hastened on our way,
had twelve miles to
ride to

This
city,
surrounded
WESTWARD TO COB AN.
91
although at an elevation of 4,500 feet, is

by much higher hills; and from the pass
over which the road winds, the view of the surrounding

coffee-region
and some
is
very
fine.
The streams were
of the lower plantations
flood,
were under water.
Near the town we
saw the method
of
raising coffee-plants
under frames cov-
ered with dried

ferns.
Crossing a
good bridge, we
came up a paved
street, and soon
after ten o'clock
rode into the Hotel
Aleman, where we
had a very comfortable room and two

beds with sheets
and
pillow-cases,
we had
seen since we left
Livingston and we
were not now comthe
first
In
Hotel Aleman.
Our breakfast was the

we had been in the country,
pelled to sleep in our clothes.
best we had found since

and consisted of soup, sausages,
rolls, fried
frijoles necjras,
wheaten
plantains, tortillas tostadas, tomato salad, fried
The potatoes here are native,

seldom larger than an English walnut, and very mealy.
In the patio of the hotel bloomed roses and violets.
potatoes,
and good
coffee.
GUATEMALA.
92
As
this
Hotel Aleman was the
first
house of solid
masonry we had entered since our arrival in Guatemala,

we examined it with some curiosity. Externally it was
very plain,
with red
white with
stucco, of one story,
Windows were
tile.
and roofed
few, and the large door of
two valves was generally closed in a rather inhospitable

manner to an outsider. Once within the portal, however,
the scene changed wonderfully.
Before us was a court-
yard [patio), into which the house opened.
r:xj
Directly in
APOSENTO
ci
APOSENTO
CORREDOR
r><i
APOSENTO
S A L A
Plan of the
front
was a
Hotel Aleman.
plain building, used as kitchen (cocina)
and
was the garden (huerto) on the

right, the corridor, on which opened the sala, or parlor,
an apartment or two, and the dining-room (comedor). In
stable
on the
left
was a large concrete tank to catch rain-water.

Our own apartment was at the left of the entrance, and
was quite large, with tiled floor and separate corridor.
A curtain was suspended between two of the pillars to
shade the dining-room, and hammocks could be swung in
the corner

every direction
when
flowers in baskets
cept the neat little
needed.
Birds
and the neglige

Indian
hung
93
in cages,
and
air of everything, ex-
women who
did the household
work, added to the comfortable feeling the place inspired.
We
walked up a paved
street
an eighth of a mile to
the casa municipal, and, passing an arched gateway in the

clock-tower, entered a spacious plaza, with the cabildo on
our
left
and the foundations
The Cabildo
brow
of the hill
opposite.
of the
of
palace on the
Coban.
Directly before us was the
church and connected buildings,

since confiscated
new
once a
college of priests,
by the Government, and now used as
a music-school, blacksmith's shop, and for other purposes.
The main part
of the Plaza
was paved
and here were
congregated several hundred Indios, mostly of the Quekchi

tribe,
five
buying, selling, and bartering.
fine
We
bought twenty-
granadillas (fruit of the passion-flower) for a
medio, and as
many
jocotes for the
same
price.
Deli-
GUATEMALA.
94
cate straw hats,
and
a medio
woven
cotton
weaving, two reals

as every
fair
soap,
in
two
colors,
napkins
were three
(servilletas)
of
reals
native
palm-leaf umbrellas (suyacales), such
mozo de cargo
carries,
one
real.
There was a
supply of raw cotton, cacao, brown sugar, tallow,
and blankets.
Interior of the
Church
at
Coban.
The church was very large and interesting but the

front was disfigured by two distinct main entrances, and
Within,
the bell-tower was too low for the church.
plain
imaginable,
there was the simplest architecture
;
timber posts, square, with a slight chamfer, with pillowblock capitals and stucco bases; an uneven tiled floor;
and
altars
side
poor design,
of
imitate marble.
On
of Calvary,
sometimes painted to
one of these altars a famished cur
was eating candle-ends

fixes
95
the
on another were the three
cruci-
repentant thief being a young
man
of personable form and features, while the other

was a bald-headed, bearded villain a very impressive
object-lesson we afterwards saw in many churches.
A
fair St. Sebastian was the only picture of tolerable
;
merit.
We
called
Molina,
who
on the excellent Jefe
politico,
Don
Luis
received us very politely, although our call
must have been a great

bore to him, as he spoke
no English,
my
and
Spanish was very lame.
The Indian women
in
the streets all dress alike,
in a skirt of indigo-
blue
cotton,
generally
figured in the loom

their lono;
is
carefully
red Ixmdages
in
reaching near-
(listones)
ly to the ground.
stature
natured.
eral of
and
and abundant
black hair
bound
is
Pattern of Cloth.
Their
below medium
The blue
cloth
they seem modest and goodis
woven
in rude looms, sev-
which we inspected, and the thread
is
dyed
masonry in the house-yard. The threads

are dressed in the loom and dried by a few coals in a
potsherd placed beneath the warp. A border is woven
at each edge, and also in the woof, at intervals, to mark
in
vats
of
GUATEMALA.
96
the
length of a dress-pattern.
given on the previous
The
on dark.
page, the
common
design
is
lines being light blue
lines of light filling are carried outside the
selvage,
and of course are
cloth
coarse and strong, in widths of a vara, or thirty-
three
is
easily
broken
otherwise the
The weavers were very
inches.
and
obliging,
pleased to have us inspect their work.
The
ter
soil
here
is
a rich red loam, and coffee grows bet-
than elsewhere in the country.
trimmed and loaded with crimson
Coffee-trees,
well-
were in every
berries,
garden, and violets and strawberries were in blossom.
The domestic architecture was certainly not imposing,

but it was substantial, and perfectly suited to the climate.
Houses were generally but one story in height, built of
masonry and covered with stucco, around a patio towards which the tiled roof inclined, covering a wide
The windows on the
veranda as well as the house.
street
projected slightly, and were protected by strong
Many
iron grills.
of the streets
were paved, and drains
As
and culverts provided to remove the rain-water.
there is no aqueduct, water is brought from springs or
caught from the roofs during the frequent rains.
were told
it
and the wet clouds
still
rested on the surrounding hills,
giving a slightly gloomy aspect to the
views in
We
had rained incessantly for the last ten days,
all
directions.
the Plaza, and a single
otherwise fine
The meat-market was outside

glance was enough but the gen;
so attractive that, after a quiet night's
eral
market was
rest
(we were of course far more wearied by sight-seeing
than by any day's
travel),
we turned our
steps thither in
In our search for mules we came to

He was an American
the blacksmith in the cloisters.
the early morning.

and it was said that when he
{del Norte)
was drunk he could shoe a mule better than
others could in their soberest moments.
He
had been drinking when we found him
but he gave us some information,
took us to his den hard by, where
;
his family consisted of a native wife
and a black monkey, and gave
Frank the skin

romacrus
(Pha-
of a quetzal
This
7nocino).
so beautiful that
it
was
skin
put us on the search,
and we found a senora who had a moderately large collection of these

bird-skins,
Indios
which are brought
from
the
and other
in
by the
mountains of Alta
Verapaz.
The quetzal (pronounced kezal) is

the national emblem, and is decidedly
a bird of freedom, as
captivity, even
it
never survives
when taken
in earliest
In ancient days none but the
life.
royal family could wear the beautiful
plumes.
dios
At present the
In-
bring the skins from the
mountains
in considerable
bers, their value
num-
depending on
the length of the tail-plumes,
which sometimes exceeds three

feet.
plain,
of
As
the female
is
very
without the beautiful
tail
the male, she escapes the
hunters, and consequently pre-
Quetzal.
97
GUATEMALA.
98
serves the species.
The wmg-co verts and
tail-feathers of
the male are of a superb peacock-green, changing to indigo, the inner breast scarlet,
and the wings very dark.
We
went to the campo santo, on a hill westward of

the town, which is reached by a flight of a hundred and
the whole was built at the cost of
sixty concrete steps
;
one pious man.
Several shrines on the
convenient resting-places for those
like the
penance.
make,
in
way up made
who used
those steps,
Golden Stairs at Rome for knee-worship and

Tn one of these shrines was a lamp of native
form of a bird with many necks.
The chapel
on the top was small, and the doorway so low that

I struck my head violently in coming from the dark
interior.
Except the noble pine-trees on the top, there was
Some
nothing attractive in this last resting-place.
grave-
making merry over a small and shallow

o-rave they had just finished, and we gladly turned from
At night the
the calvario to the fine views town ward.
regimental band gave us some agreeable music (perhaps
diggers were
national
airs,
certainly unfamiliar tunes)
and as the
music died away in the distant streets we
fell asleep,
be awakened at day-break by the drums and

the
We
all
men
of military age to the regular
were present at the
roll-call
Sunday
in the
to
fifes calling
inspection.
Plaza
absurd military sights, this was the chief
in every costume and of all sizes stood in line,
and
of
Soldiers
much
as
they arrived at the rendezvous, and solemnly answered

Would that I could present a phototo their names.
graph of this "Falstaff's Regiment" to my readers!

After coffee Frank and I went to church. The Indian
women were all kneeling on the tiled floor, and formed
A few men
the bulk of the worshippers.
99
stood or knelt,
with striped blankets thrown gracefully over their shoul-
Mahogany benches between
ders.
us an opportunity to
teresting
sit
the side altars gave
comfortably and study the
in-
scene
before us while
we
to
listened
the very fine orchestra (consist-
mostly
ing
of
Germans), which
occupied benches
in the midst of
the nave.
away
Far
in the loft,
over the door, a

bass
drum and
and
fife,
still far-
ther out of doors

rockets and explosions, accom-
panied or emphasized the music.
The
of
sacrament
the
Indio of Coban.
commu-
nion was being administered to worshippers,

in both kinds
the wine in a sort of sop, while the wafer
was carried by an attendant.

service the
apparently
women remained
All
through the long
devoutly kneeling on the
tiled floor.
After church the market was more active than usual,
and we spent the time before almuerzo
in
lounging
GUATEMALA.
100
through
In the afternoon
it.
we were made happy by
the arrival of Santiago and our mozos, with our luggage

in perfect order
called,
and not long
after the Jefe
and assured us that we should have
we needed
found no one
else
the mozos
We
information, and
little
who knew more
Luis
had deQuiche, about which
cided to take the unusual road to
even the Jefe could give us
all
onward.
to carry our luggage
Don
so
we
we
decided to send
our heavier luggage direct by Salama to Guatemala City,
we took with us only one mozo to carry those

things we needed by the way.
In the evening we turned again to the church to hear
while
the
vesper
service.
The
spacious
lighted by the candles on the altars
and women knelt
all
edifice
and
over the rough
female voices was singing as
we
was dimly
pillars,
and men
choir of
floor.
entered,
and soon the
was conducted by candle-bearing acolytes

The responses by the choir and orchestra
flute, and violoncello) were very impres-
officiating priest
to the altar.
(organ, violin,
the musicians often joining their voices to the music
sive,
of their instruments.
The Indian drum, made
of hides
rudely stretched over the hollow trunk of a tree, boomed
from the remote part of the church, and bombs and

A
rockets exploded outside in a most effective manner.
black-robed young priest entered a confessional near where
and a veiled female at once knelt at the

side, while others in the immediate neighborhood moved
The whole service was very solquietly out of earshot.
I
was
emn
sitting,
and the clouds
of incense
from the swinging cen-
sers of the Indian boys partly concealed the tinsel
and
tarnished gilding of the uncouth altar, and even cast a

a:lamour over the huge doll, which, most gaudily dressed,
WESTWARD TO COBAN.
The decaying church,
represented the Queen of Heaven.

so painfully out of repair
101
by daylight, was covered with
even with sanctity, by the shadows of

One cannot Imt feel with sadness that the offices
respecta])ility,
night.
of a religion held
so sacred here in centuries
gone by
should be so lightly regarded, and that the church buildings reared by so
now
should
much
labor and often unselfish devotion
be cared so
little
for,
even in this State of
Verapaz, where the Church gained an ascendency over

the Indios which the iron-clad and iron-hearted Conquistadores had never done.
Monday was
spent in photographing views in the neigh-
Of these we agreed to
borhood and hunting for mules.

take three for our use
of
$150
but
found they
all
all
through the country at a charge
when we unsaddled them

had
sore backs,
we
them
at our hotel
and accordingly sent
In the evening I went with the postmaster (a
home.
Kentuckian) to an examination at the Colegio de Libertad.
Three ladino lads did most
arithmetic, botany, zoology,
much
of
liis
evidently
own knowledge
bent on displaying his
pupils.
the reciting in
and history; and a certain
doctor took the role of chief examiner,

as
t)f
had to ask a few
c[uestions,
quite
as that
which were
understood and promptly answered.
In the morning we visited the Government storehouse
The inspector wanted us to taste the

fire-water, which was so strong that it seemed to blister
the tongue.
The sale of this liquor is a Government
for aguardiente.
monopoly,
yielding a
distiller at
this place has a license, for
four hundred dollars

1
very considerable
j)er
month
In 1882, $1,266,042.43, or about one
revenue.-^
which he pays
and he must furnish a

fifth
of the total revenue.
GUATEMALA.
102
minimum
of sixty-five bottles ^;er diem,
cents a bottle for

is
all
number
retailers
store,
where
and
is
it
tested at 50
send in their written orders for the
of bottles they require.
The
shops) pay forty dollars per month.
who
All the product
over this amount.
brought to the public
and the
paying twenty-five
estancas (or drink-
The unfortunates
drink take a small tumblerful at a time.
bought a mare
yegua colorada
and
for sixty dollars
must be in Spanish,
we, with the help of the postmaster, composed the following simple affair on stamped paper
as all bills of sale
receipts
Coban, 13 de Novr. de 1883.
Saben
Que yo Miguel Reyes
vicino de Coban, Alta Verapaz, he

vendido y veudo a Don Guillermo T. Brigham una yegua
colorada con el liierro del margen en la suma de sesenta
_^ pesas en efectivo.
En
constancia firmo yo
el
A-eudidor.
The paper is not only stamped, but also water-marked,

and is for sale at the principal shops. As the stamps are
changed every two years, the Government has to redeem
all stamped paper on hand at the end of each biennial
period.
Cuartillo of
Guatemala (enlarged three times).
CHAPTER
IV.
FROM COBAN TO QUEZALTENÂNGO.
Wednesday we had captured two mules
BY
these,
in
enabled
shod,
capital
mozo de
our mare,
addition
to
us to
leave
cargo,
who
who was
little
all
being well
carried
my photographic outfit.
wild at
and Frank had the
first,
but soon became
very tame and attached to us by kind treatment.

trying to get
away
and
Coban accompanied by a
Santiago rode one mule, I the other
mare,
for three
we
days,
After
started early in
the morning, and nearly forgot to look at the barometer,
which was
my
constant companion
but after
in the saddle the little dial
was
indicated an elevation of
forty-four hundred
consulted,
we were
and the needle

feet.
barometer was needed to mark the elevation of our
on getting on the road again.
we
retraced our steps.
As
far as Santa
Our mozo kept up with
Cruz
us, car-
rying our photographic and cooking utensils easily.
now
No
spirits
And
was far more

attractive than when, wet and hungr3^ we came to it before.
On this visit there was more to eat, and from a
tree by the wayside we bought twenty-five oranges for
three cents, and also some good bananas.
Our breakfast
was very satisfactory, although eaten in a dirty house full
of filthy children.
At two we started on a good road
for San Cristobal, where we arrived in an hour and a
this little town, in the early morning,
GUATEMALA.
104
half.
This
tants,
is
Laguna
little
town, of some four thousand inhabi-
surrounded bj
is
hills of
great
beauty
but the
As
an insignificant body of water.
there
is
no posada, we rode into the Plaza, and had a capital

confiscated to
what was once a monastery,

now
Our comida was obtained at
public uses.
room assigned us
in
the house of an aged seilora to
dante conducted
We
us.
whom
found
the polite coman-
that
Thursday and
were the principal market-days, that the town-
Sunday
clock chimed the quarters, that there were unworked
mines of silver and lead close at hand, and that the
maguey grew abundantly there. We also watched the
process by which the
washed
in the
rotted
leaves are macerated and
brook which flows through the town, and
we saw
the resulting pita
spun into
cords for hammock-weaving.
The
but
priests'
kitchen was
roofless
the great cooking-range was
tact,
in-
being built of brick, with per-
haps a dozen pot-holes of graduated

sizes,
the
largest
the corners of four
being
tiles,
cut
the smaller
ones from the edges of two.

this range,
from
Besides
which occupied the middle
of tiie kitchen, there were two large cooking-benches.

The road to our next stopping-place was remarkal)ly
the road winding
good, and the scenery very fine,
along the side of a mountain and overlooking deep val-
leys
in
which the night-clouds
still
lingered.
By
the
wayside we saw a cascade of calcareous water, which

petrified twigs
we
and leaves
in its reach.
By
eleven o'clock
rode into a sugar-plantation belonging to President
;
;,
FROM COBAN TO QUEZALTENANGO.

Barrios,
now
Juan Prado.
vated, and
one of the
105
an old schoolmate of
in the cliarge of
There both sugar and coffee were
culti-
much fine imported stock kept. It was but

many fincas belonging to the President, where
he has endeavored to improve the agricultural
stand-
The
ard of his country and the native stock as well.
cane was of the ribbon variety, and of
was simply a
mill
the
vertical
turned by four oxen.
mill
with no
kettle,
his,
clarifier
fair quality;
twenty-inch iron
but
roll-
There was but one open
and the
inspissated syrup
was
run into wooden moulds and cooled into very dark hemiblocks {panela),
spherical
demand among
Seiior
form of sugar much in
the Indios.
Prado received us most hospitably, and
us
fore
bananas, anonas, and limas, or sweet lemons
then brought us large glasses of a
from
set be-
and sugar,
rice
a favorite drink
of
not
the
warm
made
liquid
at all to our taste, although
The buildings
mozos.
at the
President's finca were neither pleasant nor convenient
but a large roof, substantially framed, was being walled

in
with hewn pine-planks three inches thick, each plank
representing an entire tree.
In this building
grating off the juicy pulp of the
machines
after
coffee-berry in
rude
pulping the berries are washed
this
and spread in the sun
We
men were
to dry.
here learned that
we
could not cross the Chixoy
(pronounced cMsoy) River that afternoon, as the wire

suspension-bridge had been swept
the
man whose duty
it
was
away
the last year, and
to haul travellers across on
ropes would not be there so late in the day
we were
con-
sequently obliged to yield to the importunities of our host
and stay over night at Primavera.
To
entertain us, in
GUATEMALA.
106
the afternoon Seiior Prado took us to a
new roadway had
just grazed
fragments of
pottery and bits of
decayed,
ment
fine
the
lower third of a
of a pelvis being the
most
mound which
the
and together we dug out

left
human
much
bones
femur and a frag-
Some
human.
distinctly
earthen vessels had been found here and sent to the
Museo Nacional
in
Guatemala
City.
The bones were
mingled with charcoal and ochre, and often cemented

together like lime concretions or fulgurites.
We
"
cup
each had a tumbler of
when we
warm milk
as a " stirrup-
said our adios to our kind host in the
morn-
we were on the road again. Here,

as so often again in the republic, we found that the roadbed was undergoing active repair. The primitive method
ing,
and soon
after six
removing large rocks and ledges greatly interested us.

Fires are kept up on and around these obstructions
of
when thoroughly
cooling
heated, these are left to cool, or the
In either case the ham-
hastened by water.
is
merers have easy work.
The narrower road led among pine-forests, where

many of the trees had been girdled and were slowly
decaying,
the comajen being unknown
Men were
for a
new
log, to
at this elevation.
cutting timber for the President's house and

bridge.
mortise
is
cut in the end of each
which the drag-ropes are fastened.
pleasant village in the valley
below us on our
We
passed a
left,
and
after
about nine miles of poor road we came to a rapid descent

of
twenty-two hundred
feet, so steep
that
we were
obliged
our mules almost to the bank

where the pier on the side nearest us had been underto
of the Chixoy,
lead
mined
rock
in the last flood.
shelf,
The path ended on a narrow
where was fastened a rude timber frame, from
107
which two small and well-worn ropes stretched nearly

two hundred feet to the remaining pier on the farther
bank.
over
its
hundred
feet
rocky bed.
advantage
below was the Chixoy, foaming

This we might see to the best
by one we sat
for one
in a sling
hung from
Rope Bridge over the Chixoy.
a rickety traveller, and, launching from

rapidly
the
down
the slack ropes,
and
the
after sliding
cliff,
slid
back at
middle, were hauled up on to the remaining pier.
From
this structure
shore,
which was sandy and strewed with bowlders and
we descended
a rough ladder to the
other remains of the action of higher waters.
Dizzy as
GUATEMALA.
108
our
own passage
was,
it
was
By
the crossing of our animals.
enough compared to
safe
swam all
swam
stretched a rope across, and finally
Santiago and the bridge-keeper
safely.
we
the help of Indios,
our mules
splendidly
was a fine muscuFrank and I swam in

lar, lean specimen of manhood.
as far as we dared, and landed the soaked and frightened
The bath was cool, and for the first time we
animals.
had no thought of alligators. While I photographed the
and the
in the rapid current,
Frank went
bridge,
and
tortillas,
butterflies
latter
to the hamlet of Jocote to get eggs
and Santiago boiled our
Beautiful
colfee.
were hovering over the rounded pumice-stones
strewed along
banks
the
and on a rock were
fine
Achimenes, the Dorstenia (which resembles lôtanically

a
turned inside out), and a wild Marty nia.
fig
we found the
valley, until we were
Starting again in the early afternoon,
way
led
up and down through the
seven hundred feet above the river, which in one place

quite disappeared beneath the limestone ledges, to reap-
pear some distance beyond.
On
either side the steep slopes
were covered with coarse grass

small,
compact
aloes,
with broad leaves and dried flower-
stems here and there.

plants and a few palms,
Among
these
the rocks were magueylast
place in this high, dry country.
the sod
was green, and
seemed quite out
Under the
of
pine-trees
in the small lateral valleys clear
brooks improved the pasturage

each larger gulch
and there were many
and here
at the
head
of
we found
the deserted camps of the
we came
at six o'clock to the village
mozos de cargo.
After
many
turns
of
Chicaman, just
is
on
tlie
as the rain began to
north side of broken
hills,
fall.
This hamlet
and overlooks the
FROM COB AN TO QUEZALTENANGO.

Chixoy
We
windmg.
any church
and
little
narrow and
house, where
we
in the best room, eating our huevos
on a shrine sacred to the black " Lord of
tortillas
This
Esquipulas."
ers,
of great depth, but
found a picturesque
hammocks
slung our
and
here
valley,
109
shrine
and here
fruit,
it
is
among the
and the showy yellow
from
in houses far
usual
was embowered
in leaves, flow-
latter citrons of a large size
We
solan um.
of
fruit
were
nearly four thousand feet above the sea, and the night
was
cool,
a comfortable ending
to a
day altogether too
short to hold properly all the fine weather, beautiful and
changing scenery, and delightful journeying crowded into

its
twelve bright hours.

Before
below
us,
the sun had melted the clouds in the valley
we were on our
horses and slowly
steep ascent of eight hundred feet.
the house, and, turning the camera on
a view of the cloudy valley below

fore the reader
Santa Cruz,
now.
village
climbmg a
had photographed
its pivot,
obtained
these views are be-
league brought us to another

pleasantly situated, and
about
the size of Chicaman, consisting of perhaps ten houses.
There we saw by the roadside some
when Frank rode up

dias, senora
"
No hay
"
fine oranges
but
house with his " Buenos
to the
Tiene usted naranjas?" he was met by
(there
are
none).
That phrase we heard
altogether too frequently on our journey.
In this case
it
simply meant that the senora had no oranges in the house

but she added that
we wanted
we might
We tried
had
little
half
medio pick as many as
the several trees, and
case with the fine fruit,
We
for a
filled
a pillow-
a bushel for five cents
need of guides, for the camino real had
few branches between towns
but soon after leaving^ Santa
GUATEMALA.
110
Cruz we found a branch on our

as our
tle,
map gave no
we kept on almost a
left
which puzzled us a
indication of
its
existence.
lit-
But
league, riding through a pine-forest
on a nearly level road,
which proved
to be the right
was guess-work. Grass grew beand herds pastured in this park-like
one, although the choice
neath these noble

region.
It
by the birds
them
my
trees,
was most
interesting to see the acorns inserted
in the pine-bark, precisely as I
in the forests of
watching
had often seen
Nevada and California
but with
could not catch the birds at work.
all
The
acorns that I dug out, although frequently dry and appar-
The common
ently abandoned, were free from worms.

species of pine {Pinus macro^jhylla)
and a half inches long
them
had "needles
and the Indios were gathering
to strew the floors of the churches,
a more
fra-
We
fre-
grant carpet than the rushes of our ancestors.

quently came across
Santiago, "
we
" fifteen
mounds, which, according to
artificial
were where houses had been."
At ten
o'clock
which we were told was Uspanmozo Santiago, who pretended to be

guide, but knew no more than we about the road, led
so we unsaddled and waited for
us into this mistake)
almuerzo, with little to amuse us except two turkeyhalted at a
little village
tan (our wretched
cocks, one white, the other dark, inseparable companions,
who
followed us wherever
we went, and
at last were
driven nearly wild by their attempts to converse with us.
two o'clock did we arrive at the true UsjDantan,

and then very unexpectedly for seeing some women at
a spring washing, in a wild place where no houses were
Not
until
visible,
we turned a low
ridge,
and found ourselves
the midst of a considerable Indian town.
in
The church,
which we did not enter, had huge buttresses at the apse,
doubtless
Ill
We
a precaution against earthquakes.
a great deal of pottery, and anona-trees were on
all sides
We felt so provoked
but the full-grown fruit was not ripe.
at our waste of time at the first village (whose true
we never
learned) that
we did not
saw
name
care to stop here, but
rode out of the town through a deep
artificial
ravine.
San Miguel Uspantan has some nine hundred inhabitants,
who weave
numerous
all
cotton from the lowlands and wool from their

flocks
and
it
is
from the mines near by that
the silver was obtained for the vessels of the church,

so says tradition.
the
attest
Quiche
Ruined walls and broken aqueducts
former importance of the place under the
rule.
The road became a mere trail until we came to Pericon,

of two hundred inhabitants, whose only industry is wool-dyeing and from this we climbed the pine-clad
hills to a height of over seven thousand feet, where we
came suddenly uj)on a fine view of Cunen, directly west,
a village
but several leagues away, across a valley twelve hundred

feet deep.
wanted a photograph
but the sun was in
we could not spare the time, the day was almost

done, and we had a difficult descent before us.
Although
we did not delay, it was long after dark when we rode
into Cunen and found the Plaza, where we were assigned
our faces,
room in a confiscated monastery or church buildWe had a mahogany bench fifteen feet long and
a good
ing.
sixteen inches wide for our bed, and a good table
and
several chairs abundantly furnished our apartment.
We
had our own candles and coffee but no other food was
to be had except some ears of green corn which we had
;
picked by the
way
fain to eat ourselves
for our animals, but
when Santiago had
which we were
scorched
them by
GUATEMALA.
112
the embers of the mozos'
fires in
Although the
the Plaza.
was full of mozos who were to pass the night

We closed our door
here, there was no noise whatever.
at six and as soon as our notes were made, fell asleep.
The poor Indios had no politics to quarrel over, and we
had the satisfaction of a day well spent so there was
corridor
peace and harmony beneath our roof of
tiles.
Every day the vegetation changed, and we might have

to-day it
constructed an itinerary of floral landmarks
;
was a fine pink dahlia far surpassing in vigor of growth

and blossom any of the cultivated varieties. In such a
climate, however, this plant did not provide for hiberna-
tion in
tuberous roots, of which
its
Stevia perfumed the
of fragrant
it
air,
had none.
Acres
while Bouvardias
and bright Compositse brushed against us on either side

of the narrow pathway.
Twelve hours of solid rest were not too much and
;
while in the early
dawn our
I strolled into the church,
ruined predecessor at
its
the
roofless
walls of
hestias
which
is
its side.
ancient
were being saddled,
much
smaller than
In Central America
churches usually,
not
if
always, enclose a campo santo, and here the early Cune-
nans
slept their last sleep
their work.
maids
among
the crumbling relics of
In the modern church were two large mer-
of the genuine
Japanese type, carved as supporters
to the altar.
In the cold, misty morning
we
started without cof-
and at once began to climb a long ascent for

Cunen seems to be built on a platform on the mountain
fee,
On
side.
seen,
our left was the finest waterfall
and on the banks were red
mit of
this
pass
violets.
we had yet
The sum-
was nearly seven thousand
feet,
and
FROM COBAN TO QUEZALTENANGO..
113
a sudden turn on a sharp ridge brought us to another
and a
region
different
The
climate.
astonishing, for only a few rods behind
far
we had
mountains and grassy buttresses
no sign
left
the
Before us was a vast valley bounded by
rainy season.
forest-clad
was
transition
human
of
but near and
The path we were on
habitation.
was the only token of man's presence, and that looked

more
like
a mountain torrent than a
the dry bed of
public road.
Broad-leaved agaves were very common,
some crowned with golden blossoms on immense stems,

some dead after flowering, still others wantonly hacked
by the passer-by,
so
we thought,
in our ignorance, until
the too-frequent mutilation of the tough stems showed
a labor that could not be purposeless
remembered that these
''
century
and then we
plants "
but
flower
once, after years of growth exhausting their entire sub-
stance in that supreme effort, and leaving a withered
stem and shrivelled leaves, to be swept down the

by the next storm.
Foiled in
its
hillside
attempt to flower by
the decapitating machete of the mozo, the plant lives on

for a longer period, furnishing fibre
its
Anona-trees grew at the very summit of the
leaves.
pass, although
occurred.
we were
Oaks
of
were in blossom.
side, a
sad
gave us at
species
travesty of the
least a
sometimes
assured that frosts
two
laurels
and drink from
were abundant, and
rancho built by the road-
Dak Bungalows
chance to boil our
of
India,
coffee.
long and rough descent brought us to a pine-forest,
whence
looked
pines
at
an elevation
down upon
and oaks
of six
thousand feet we again
the valley of the Chixoy.
photographed the view.
Among
The
the
little
white-housed town of Sacapulas on the hillside above the

8
GUATEMALA.
114
right
its
bank
bed
of the light-green river
which did not half
the cultivated fields around
the volcanic cone of Tajumulco,
we had
a token that
fill
far in the distance
the
first
we had
seen,
the limestone mountains of
left
the Atlantic, and were looking on the fire-fountains of
the Pacific coast,
grand view before

the masses,
lines,
all
We
us.
these and so
it
in this
hardly noted the contour, the
we could trust to
away but the vivid
that
all
plate that should carry
much more
the ivory
colors in
that clear atmosphere, the marvellous tints of forest, sky,
and
river,
no photographic art could carry away, and we
must enjoy
now by
The town was five

miles away, and three thousand feet below us and the
descent was very difficult, owing to the sharp bits of
quartz in the path. In the valley we came upon the
it
ourselves.
huge cylindrical
trees
cacti (Cereus) used in fencing.
were abundant, but the small yellow
inferior.
Jocote-
fruit decidedly
Sugar-cane grew to some extent in gardens,
but fruits and vegetables were scarce.
On
the trees and
the most attractive

hung a light-blue convolvulus,
and this with a smaller white one
color I ever saw
brought the number of the /' morning-glories " we had
fences
found so far to ten
Women
species.
were bathing
men seem never

a bridge of
six
in a spring near the road
to bathe in public.
piers
rail
of
the
Over the river was
with simple hewn logs
tween them, no plank or
any kind,
laid be-
although
the bridge was high and the current, even in ordinary

stages of
the water, very strong.
not hesitate,
we
of course crossed
As our
bestias did
with them.
short
up stream were two brick and stone arches of

a more ancient bridge extending from the town side.
distance

Several piers of the bridge
we were
but the masonry was good,
crossing
115
had
fallen
well together, forming bowlder-like masses, on which
had been
piers
cliff
No doubt
repeated.
again
built
in one case this process
new
had been
the bridge will soon break
and two wire cables are stretched from
and they generally held
down
cliff
to
"We went up
to provide transit in case of accident.
a steep paved street to the Plaza, where Senor Placido
comandante, assigned
Estada, the
cabildo,
and exerted himself to
us
quarters
in
the
find us a boarding-place.
Whether the climate was favorable, I know not but we

were always very hungry when we were where food could
be got where it was wanting we did not care for it.
;
Here we did
justice
full
flavored chocolate
The church was
whipped
the
seiiora's
cinnamon-
small, and, like that of Cunen, ]juilt at
the right of an older and
now
to
to a froth.
much more
extensive edifice
shattered by earthquakes and used only as a burial-
place.
We
climbed the bell-tower and found one
with the date
1683, another with that
of
1773
bell
;
all
were bound to the supporting crossbeams by raw-hide

thongs.
The
Ceiba-tree
chief
ornament
{Eriodendron)
tionary antiquity.
of
of the Plaza
immense
Below the terrace
was an ancient
and tradithe Plaza was
size
of
a court, in which a fountain of odd design furnished
water for the town.
Animals were fed here over the
gravestones that paved the court, and Frank remarked

that in an earthquake country people chose stable ground
Our photographing attracted such

a crowd that we walked away to the ruined bridge.
Originally this was nine feet wide and about two hundred and fifty feet long. Its age we could not learn; but
for
their
graves.
GUATEMALA.
116
a large sand-box tree {Hura crepitans) seven and a half

feet in circumference
had grown up
in the very midst of
the paved approach, tearing up the stone floor with

slow, irresistible
fig
its
power, and another large tree of the
family was persistently fingering the cracks in the
ancient wall.
The
Roman
tiles
used in the arches were thin like
and the mortar was genharder than the terra-cotta. Frank sketched the
those in old
erally
bridge,
structures,
and we followed
became the
E-io
in thought the river until
it
de la Pasion, then as the Usumacinta
(the ancient Rio de los Lacandones) flowing through the
and most genial climate, by the ruins of the

ancient cities of the earliest men, and among the villages of the unconquered tribes to the shores of that
richest land
Bay
Campeachy where Votan gave
of
his laws to
the
children of the forest.
Even
in this retired spot
we became an
the unemployed on this Sunday afternoon
attraction to
and we slowly
sauntered back to the cabildo, measuring on our
way
the
trunk of a dead ceiba-tree forty feet in circumference

above the buttresses. A game of ball was going on under
the tree in the Plaza.
Wooden
balls five inches in di-
ameter, not very round, were shoved about with paddles.

In the evening two young men, at the request of the co-
mandante, played on the
flute
and guitar
for us a
number
of Spanish airs.
In
all
these towns the carcel, or prison,
in the cabildo with grated
rooms are
windows and
is
simply a room
door,
often, but not always, provided for
saw but few occupants
and separate
women.
in the prisons of the
We
towns we
passed through.
We
made exceedingly comfortable beds
of the public
FROM COB AN TO QUEZALTENANGO,

documents
in
reading
to
the
one
register's
these
of
must confess
which,
marriage-records,
was entered with great
usual,
and
office,
IIT
Comfortable as this " marriage bed " was,
page.
as
particularity, filling a folio
were in the saddle the next morning at
we
o'clock
five
and leaving our adios for the kind comandante, followed

the river bank for some distance in the mist.
league from the town
we came
Not half a
to a ruined church of con-
Our
by earthquakes.
siderable size, evidently shattered
path led directly through a campo santo, and even over

the graves, which were usually covered with
and edged with white
We
tiles
crossed
paint.
certainly
at some
came upon a good level
path extending along the river side for a mile and then
by a sudden turn we climbed out of the valley up a steep
hill of decomposing rock, coming to a grassy plain on the
There we met Indios loaded with pottery,
top.
some
with huge cdntaras of red clay so large that two made a
crossed the dry bed of a river,
seasons difficult to ford,
and
load
others with twelve fifteen-inch spherical pots, all of
good workmanship.^
whitish,
and not
6,250 feet
1
The
The water by the roadside was all

The highest part of the pass was
inviting.
only a few hundred feet below
uses of pottery in Central
it
we found a
America are almost universal
it
supplies
not only water-cisterns, flour-barrels, ovens, stoves, wash-tubs, baths, coffeepots, stew-pans, but dishes, lamps, floors, roofs,
of white clay
The
is
tinajas (water-jars)
or
caziiclas,
flat
Some made
and aqueducts.
exceedingly light, and the patterns are often very tasteful.
and cdntaras are
also light, but very strong, while the
pans, and the coffee-pots are ([uite
fire
proof.
have seen a house-
wall built of pots not unlike a Yankee bean-pot in shape, the niouths opening
into the house being " pigeon-holes " for the human inhabitants
while those
;
opening out of doors were the nesting-places of pigeons and hens. The rooftiles are not in great variety, usually semicylindrical or conical, and seldom orna-
mented
floor-tiles are large, square,
suspended in a current of
air
and not very
thick.
The porous water-jars
keep their contents refreshingly
cool.
GUATEMALA.
118
beautiful liliaceous plant,
and some
of the
mozos we passed
carried superb clusters of a purple orchid which
wards found parasitic on
we
after-
Another valley and an-
trees.
other steep gravelly slope to nearly eight thousand feet,
and then we had a view over a vast extent
No
country.
of
mountainous
lake or river relieved the thirsty landscape,
though rain-clouds hung on the horizon and dropped their

showers in the far west.
we
it
Corn was
in tassel
and where
we found
rested at noon on a high plateau, 7,825 feet,
There we saw the
in milk.
plant,
maguey used
and a very impervious fence
it
made.
as a hedge-
From
this
high land there was a gradual descent towards the south.
Far away to the

rounded by
we saw
left
its little
the church of San Pedro, sur-
adobe village, and soon we caught a
glimpse of the still-distant Santa Cruz del Quiche, high
enough, but seemingly in a valley, for mountains like the

hills
soil
about Jerusalem guarded
The
and covered what
on every
near the road was very thin,
seemed to be indurated
formed in
this
As we came
tufa.
Deep pools
of
side.
water were
hard substance.
at last, after a hard day's ride, into the un-
we found
all carefully
named,
Avenida de Barrios, salida por Mejico (Barrios
Street,
interesting town,
as
it
the
way
to Mexico),
the streets
which
was
as useful as
it
would
be to put a sign on the corner of Broadway, " Cortland

Street, the
way
to Philadelphia."
All
the inhabitants
seemed to be in the Plaza, listening to a band and watching some fair acrobats
on a horizontal
bar.
who tumbled on mats and swung
After waiting some time before the
locked doors of the Hotel del Centro, the proprietor came
home and
let
us
in.
Tough meat,
erable chocolate were all
we
frijoles,
could get
bread, and tol-
and the
vile
dogs
.JMMMmM.-
FROM COB AN TO QUEZALTENAXGO.
119
were even more troublesome than usual.
made up
in
sheets again,
Our beds were

the dming-room, and we had pillows and
the only good things
this posada afforded.
The morning was overcast but Frank and I walked to

the campo santo, nearly a mile from town.
High walls
of adobe surrounded it, and a locked gate kept us out
but
we peered in over the heaps of white lilies [Lilium candiclum) and marigolds offered at the entrance, and saw
masonry tombs of very bizarre forms, some painted white,
others red and blue, or blue and white, in checks.
The
meadows all around were intersected by wide ditches
which we had no little trouble in crossing, the bare legs
;
of the natives rendering bridges quite unnecessary.
one was beyond our jump
we threw
When
in the washing-stones
on the bank until we had enough for stepping-stones.

Returning to town, we paid our respects to the Jefe
tico,
Don Antonio
polite
and
who is a young man exceedingly

and we found practice made it much
than when we met the Governor of Co-
Rivera,
obliging,
easier to converse
ban.
poli-
Don Antonio showed
us fine specimens of the woods
which had been prepared for an exhibiGuatemala

tion in
City; but he could not tell us the
names, and sent for an old Indio who was better informed.
of his neighborhood
This Indio also served to show us what the Jefe evidently considered a very amusing garment,
his trousers,
which were in the usual black woollen jerga, cut up

front as high as
mid
thigh, so that they can be rolled
in
up
behind when the wearer, girds up his loins to work.

Cloths of various kinds were brought in for our inspection,
and the
is
prices given.
These seemed high, for the material
only a vara (thirty-three inches) wide, and
leng:ths.
Not
satisfied
with showiDs: us
all
is
sold in vara
that the market
GUATEMALA.
120
afforded, the kind Jefe furnished ns with a guide to the
ancient city of Utatlan, or Gumarcaah, and a
my
carry
walk
photographic
mozo
to
kit.
of three long miles
westward brought us to a
human
what one has

not got Americans have an extreme respect for ruins, and
we were no exception to the mass of our countrymen.
great disappointment.
It is
to like
Stephens has described the remains of this powerful city

of the
Quiche kings, and has figured the very
sacrificial
down whose steep sides were hurled the

Three centuries
quivering bodies of the human victims.
and a half is a long period for people of a new country to
altar of Tohil
look back over
but that time has passed since the Con-
quistadores destroyed the citadel and
moved the inhab-
itants to the site of the present Santa
Cruz del Quiche.
Forty years ago the towers, faced with cut stone, the
altar,
some houses, and even the outer walls, were in good preservation but all these have since been torn down, and
the neatly cut stone removed to repair a miserable mud
church in the town. These blocks of travertine were
;
generally of uniform
size,
18x12x4
inches
and mingled
with them were blocks of pumice cut to one third of this

size.
The Plaza was
still
paved with a smooth layer
of
chunam of the
except where the modern vandals
cement exactly an inch thick, not unlike the

East Indies, and entire,
had cut through
it
in search of foundation-stones
they are too stupid to cut from the quarries

the town.
now
Five towers are plainly visible
much
still,
which
nearer
though
but insecure piles of rubbish, the casing having
appeared.
dis-
In several there are small cavities not large
enough for rooms, but sufficient to serve as ladder wells,

and under one our guide assured us was the entrance to a

long tunnel extending to the distant
upon
insisted
hills
his pointing out the place,
Not an arrow-head could we

in fragments was abundant.
find,
but
121
when we
he utterly
failed.
although plain pottery
was built on a promontory surrounded, except at one narrow neck, by steep barrancas
several hundred feet deep and to the rivers at the bottom
The whole
fortress
were probably tunnels from the summit, as the
there
ancient Indios were very expert in underground work.

is
from these tunnels, most
ice-stone
was obtained.
likely, that
much
of the
It
pum-
Across the barranca towards the
town are the remains of three fine watch-towers, from

which a good view of the entire fortress, as well as of the
surrounding country, may be obtained. Remains of other
similar towers were seen far
up the mountain
slopes on
and from these the warders signalled with

smoke the approach of hostile visitors.
either side,
or
At
the beginning of the present century the palace of
the Quiche kings

its
fire
was
in such a state of preservation that
plan could be easily traced, even to the garden.
But
unfortunately a small gold image was discovered in the

ruins
and
this
determined the Government to search
which tradition has always located in the

In this search the palace was utterly
ruins of Utatlan.
hardly
a wall would have been left standdestroyed and
ing had not the Indios, indignant at the wanton destrucfor treasure,
tion of their once
famous
capital,
become so turbulent
that explorations were no longer safe.

sion
from the capital made a
full
In 1834 a commis-
and careful report on
the condition of the ruins, and on this report Stephens

largely rests in his interesting account of Quiche.
in 1840, at the time of his visit,
he found
many
Even
traces
GUATEMALA.
122
which are now gone, especially the Sacrificatorio, which

was a quadrilateral pyramid, with a base of sixty-six
feet on the side, and a height, in that mined condition, of
thirty-three feet.
One
side of this awful relic of
human
misery was plain, though bearing traces of painted figures

of animals
but the other three sides were supplied with
steps in the middle, as
may
be seen in the illustration,
taken from Catherwood's sketch.
S 1
1.
These
stejDs
were only
jfe.
Quiche Altar
of Tohil
(Sacrificatorio).
eight inches wide on the tread, while the risers were
seventeen inches,
the descent very
awkward
proportion that must have

for the priests
if
made
they were
more modern monks.

met on our return a marimba, carried by two men,
while the three players followed, beating out clear and
as corpulent as the
We
agreeable notes.
frame between seven and eight feet
long and twenty-nine

thirty strips of hard
inches
high,
supports
on cords
wood, beneath each of which
is
TROM COBAN TO QUEZALTEXANGO.

a wooden resonator duly proportioned for tones.
music was always attractive, and just
2^V:
^\-
now
it
123
The
drew a long
GUATEMALA.
124
cups,
three
sale
were small crabs dried on
large size,
Other interesting things for
for a medio.
dried shrimps of
spits,
raw cotton white and brown, floss silk, cloths

both cotton and woollen, fresh
and preserved squash, bread,
sugar-candy, and eau sucre
colored
pink,
tery, ropes
leather
tin-ware,
pot-
and bags of
pita,
sugar-cane,
sandals,
coconuts, baskets, and cheap

foreign wares.
of
six
In this town
thousand inhabitants
there are very few manufactures.
We
saw
boldly eating the
caught in a
"^'"'*'
woman
game
she
hair.
little girl's
had before seen aged Ha-
women engaged
waiian
in this fascinating pursuit
but
they always seemed ashamed to be seen by strangers.
Not
Quiche
so the
hand out
To
woman
the wretch even held her
for us
the fountain in the midst of the Plaza
women came
for water.
The
men and
latter all carried their water-
jars on their heads, while the
men always
slung them on
Convicts were at work on the streets, or
their backs.
They were chained in

having shackles about the waist and ankles. The
carrying stone for the church.

pairs,
boxes, flat ones form bowls and platters,

become chocolate-cups. The black color
permanent, although scarcely penetrating the hard surface it is made by a
ladles
the very spherical onef?
make
while those of the shape illustrated

is
bean that
light, are strong
Trujillo,
Calabash-cups, although very

I have one, given me by Don Eamon Viada of
have not been able to identify.
which
and durable.
is
as delicate as porcelain.

cabildo
was the most important building
125
in the town, as
the parish church had so decayed that the walls of the
The new construction

of adobe, with trimmings of stone taken from the ruins,
The whole town looks dingy,
will not last many years.
and even dirty, owing to the universal use of adobe. The
entire
nave had had to be removed.
roof-tiles are
not so well made, nor so carefully kept in place,
towns
on the other hand,
as in
some
some
of the streets are paved, there are
of the smaller
but,
some side-walks,
subterranean street-drains, and street-lamps or candles.
The Quiche Indios
of the present
day are not
The women are

men wear slashed
looking as the Mayas.
and not neat
in front
closed
jackets,
in cold
the
and put on
so good-
badly dressed,
loose
trousers,
like a shirt,
and
weather a narrow blanket, or poncho, with fringed
Some of these ponchos are figured, and most

them have a border, more or less elaborate, woven
These Indios are small of stature and light
at each end.
limbed, with scanty but common beards, round faces, and
small hands and feet they are by no means as modest as
those of Alta Verapaz, and evidently unused to seeing
ends.
of
strange white men.
Women
carry their babies on the
back while washing clothes at the fountains or by the

streams.
At home hammocks
Vegetation
is
serve well for cradles.
not free from pests here, for
black warts on the oaks, and smut

the corn.
The
Ustilago segetum) on
corn-stalks are of the size
of our field-corn
Frank considered
it
but the juice
is
and appearance
much
marigolds {calendula) scent the
wiltmg
sweeter,
and
quite as good as that of the withered
sugar-cane brought up here from the coast.
are
we saw
air,
Everywhere
and bunches
at every altar in every church.
of
them
GUATEMALA.
126
The
commemoration of the Conquest,

so
we were told and it was rather curious to see the degenerate Indios decorating their houses and holding high
holiday far from the memory of the horrible tortures
fiesta is in
;
same conquest. Red

hung from every door and window,
fit emblems of
inflicted
on their ancestors in
this
flags
the bloody event
The excellent mozo Ramon Ghisli, who had come with

us from Coban, was now ready to return. We would
gladly have engaged this capital fellow to go with us
all
the way, but
it
was impossible
pay, and with his carcaste
on
so I
gave him extra
onions he started back
full of
Our mules were not very good, so

send them back and get others here.
his long journey.
we
decided to
Ramon had
kept well up with the animals, had helped
bravely in crossing the Chixoy, and had yielded implicit

obedience to Santiago,
man worth
who
three of himself.
and delivered the mules
little
persisted in ordering about a
Ramon
got safely home,
all right.
alcalde in green spectacles exerted himself to
find animals for us,
as
we were anxious
to get
away,
was full of dirty children and even dirtier

and the food far worse than anything we had
since the hotel
dogs,
'
framework used for carrying small articles

by the Caribs, and carcaste by the Indios of the
It is well to explain that the
on the back
interior.
is
called kataure
Ramon
carried in his not only all
my
photographic apparatus,
the camera and box of plates being carefully wrapped in water-proof mate-
but also our cooking utensils and his own luggage. After he left us we
found so much trouble in hiring suitable carcastes that we purchased one for
rial,
a few reals and

niently.
fitted it
When
up with
pita cords,
which served our purpose very conve-
a desirable view presented, a whistle brought the
mozo
to our
and from ten to fifteen minutes only were required to unpack, set up,
expose one or two plates, repack, and remount our animals. It may be interesting to state that in all this long journey, where plates were carried in this way,
not one was broken, nor was a piece of the apparatus damaged.
side,
FROM COBAN TO QUEZALTENAXGO.
127
We
had rain that night and the next

day but our new horses were brought in fair season.
When we came to settle the bill we found the wretched
landlord had charged seven dollars, given the bill to his
hitherto found.
;
wife,
Finding expostulation with the
and hidden himself.
senora of no
effect, I
despatched Frank to lay the case
before the Jefe, while I tried abuse
from
effect of bringing the landlord
him a ladron
called
ment
many
of the
had the desired
this
his hiding-place.
(robber), and, to the intense
we heard
we departed. The
until
comandante and two
The
but mule).
boys caught the phrase, and
man
amuse-
bystanders, described the meat he had
set before us as ^mula solamente (nothing
the poor
it
shouted at
Jefe sent
the
soldiers to bring the " robber " to
and mine host thereupon told us to pay what we

pleased.
The comandante suggested three dollars as the
proper price but we gave him four, and soon after nine
reason,
o'clock
we
scraped the
The road
led
mud
of this
down immense
deposits of pumice
town from our
barrancas, where
some eight hundred
feet.
we saw
feet thick.
Min-
gled with this layer were large blocks of lava, seemingly

ejected
crater
de
from some crater
We
passed a
Lemoa on
the
little
map
all
the people had gone a
whose borders were swarming

This
village, hardly as large as its
is
to Santo
a neat, attractive
name
is
little
long, with clean
fountain and eucalyptus-trees in the Plaza, and
an ancient church.
Close at
hand
older town, which we, to our regret,
At
but where was the
Four leagues from Quiche we came
Tomas Chichicastenango.
streets, a
hamlet marked San Sebastian
but
fishing on a lake near by,
with ducks.
eruj)tion
the cabildo
we were
are the ruins of
had no time
politely received,
an
to visit.
and our beasts
GUATEMALA.
128
of burden,
Jefe
The
horses and a
both biped and quadruped, unloaded.
had telegraphed
to
Santo Tomas for
mozo, and we were assured that after almuerzo these
would be ready.
The church,
town.
here for the

cense,
first
In this faith
strolled
about the
as usual, attracted our attention
time
which seemed
same material
we
we saw
to be
gum
the Indios burning incopal, or precisely the
their ancestors used in idol worship.
Mari-
golds were strewed all over the floor, and the odor
oppressive, even without the
and
incense
was
and innumerable
was covered with plates of beaten

An image of a
silver of no very good workmanship.
man on horseback, with a beggar by his side, excited our
curiosity, which was not destined to be satisfied, although
our mozo declared it was Santiago (Saint James). We
pushed our explorations outside the church, and climbed
by an external staircase to the organ-loft, which was
candles.
The
floored with
altar
hewn boards not otherwise smoothed.
An
ancient organ, hardly larger than an ordinary davenport,
stood in the midst, wholly apart from the bellows, w^hich
were worked by a suspended lever much as an ordinary
The keys were deeply worn by long use,

horny fingers, or both, and they covered two octaves and
a half the stops were simply strips of hard wood projecting from the side of the case, and beyond the reach
of the organist.^
The locks on all the doors were of
forge-bellows.
some, indeed, reThere were many similar organs in the old churches,
but they were so securely fastened together that
to the lumber-rooms
I could not get at the internal mechanism without too much disturbance, and
No modern organs of
I concluded that the instruments were imported entire.
any size were seen outside of the metropolitan cathedrals and yet even a large
organ is very easy to transport. One little instrument that I tried was not in
1
moved
In the old church at Trujillo Frank

found a modern French cabinet-organ of remarkably sweet tones.
tune, but the pipe-tones were good.
129
wood, and most primitive in design. All the worshipping Indios seemed very devout, chanting their prayers
in their native tongue to the bare wall or a door-post,
and they paid no attention
to us as we passed them,
although outside they generally bowed respectfully.
In a little shop at a street corner we found our
almuerzo (there
Our
was.
is
no posada)
and a very good one
it
was a very respectable woman, whose
hostess
house was well furnished (sewing;-machine and rockino-chairs
among
other comforts), being quite a different per-
who
son from the one
her position,
diente,
walk
rumseller.
came
half-tipsy Indios
and soon
for a
own country would occupy

While we were waiting, two
in our
drank a small tumbler
in,
of aguar-
settled themselves quietly on the side-
drunken
sleep,
undisturbed by the passer-by.
Our way from Chichicastenango ^
led out over a
narrow
ridge or series of ridges, with deep barrancas on either

side.
The road was good, and hedged part
of the
My
but our animals were of the poorest kind.
way
little
horse went slowly, and at last his legs seemed to collapse,
and he came
him.
to the ground, leaving
He was
not worn out, he was a
For miles Frank and

It
to
and the
trees
readers,
who
how they
are
trick horse."
perhaps
it
bestias.
lightning flashed in the
were dripping with dew.
In stumbling over this crooked name,
my
standing over
''
walked on, leading our
grew very dark and misty
distance,
me
occurs to
me
that
it
With
would be
fair
familiar with Indian names, to state
less
G is always guttural ch is like tclie ; h is

pronounced like h ; x is sh ; u is the French ou ; v is
equivalent to w ; and the vowels have the Italian values. Of the Indian
names the signification is not always known, but there are certain terminations
briefly
strongly aspirate
are pronounced.
is
common enough and
well understood as
;
tepee,
a mountain or high thing, in
Alotepec, Quezaltepec, Coatepeque, Olintepeque, Jilotepeque.
Those who are
curious in these matters will find another note in the Appendix.
GUATEMALA.
130
we agreed that in
the darkness it was unwise to travel, and we looked
anxiously for a camping-place, although the muddy
every
desire
on to
get
to
Solola,
ground, dripping bushes, and threatening sky gave no
Twice we were misled by

whose glow is so steady that we
hope of a comfortable night.

the gleam of
mistook
no
it
fireflies,
As we
for light in a distant house.
could find
camp, a high bank on one side and a
safe place for a
seemingly deep ravine on the other bordering the narrow

cart-road,
we walked on
in the utter darkness until
we
almost ran into two ox-carts with a squad of whitecoated soldiers,
who
told us
we had
lost
our path in the
dark, and were on the road to Totonicapan, and a long
We
returned with them to
we found
comfortable lodgings in
league beyond Encuentros.

the latter place, where
the house prepared for the expected visit of the President.
We
occupied his room, which was temporarily furnished
with plenty of Vienna bent-wood furniture, and decorated

with a full-length,
life-size
and a small portrait
painting of President Barrios
Two
of his wife.
bedsteads of the
box variety were quite bare, as His Excellency always

carries his bedding,
and we did
not.
After some excel-
we
spread our blankets
lent chocolate, but no other food,
and
slept.
How
cold that
Thursday morning was when we started
The thermometer marked 46 at half-past

six o'clock, and we were at an elevation of eight thousand
feet.
We had a fine carriage-road for our travel to-day,
at daybreak
on which
with
my
I
^^
used Frank's mare, while he tried his luck
trick horse."
For a while
all
went
well,
and
Frank made the little beast go ahead, while I stopped to

pick up some lava fragments in one of the cuttings and
;

SO
when Frank's turn came
odd
it
I could
131
how
see perfectly
looked to have a horse collapse under his rider.
Along the road were

our willows
elder-trees
(Samhucus) pollarded like
however, they were not shady, but in
as,
way of fine views, we voted them a nuisance. It was

down hill all the way, and as we approached Solola the
the
view of the Lago de Atitlan and the volcano was disWe had surfeited, perhaps, on the glories of
appointing.
landscape, and had expected something finer, with an im-
more than average size,

and a town whose white houses and red-tiled roofs were
almost concealed in trees and flowers. However critical
mense
lake, several volcanoes of
we might
be,
we were
glad enough to see the town, and
we had
not less to find a posada, where

as store-room and bedchamber.
miserable horses
and
as in duty bound, ^
we
We at
a room to serve
once sent back our
after reporting to the

strolled
comandante,
through the Plaza, send-
Santiago in search of bestias for our next stage.
ing
Here we
first
found the ripe fruit of the sapote (Lucuma
inaimnosa), and did not like
rough, and leathery;
the
it.
meat
The
outside
was brown,
reddish, surrounding
smooth nut, and the whole flavored with cinnamon.
Some
sapotes were as large as a coconut, but generally they
were not half that

^
It is the
The Plaza was
size.^
full of
duty of every person to whose house strangers come
people
to pass the
night to report to headquarters the name, where from and whither bound, so
that
we
could be tracked
all
over the republic from the central telegraph
office
often very useful.

Guatemala City,
2 There is no little confusion in the nomenclature of the sapotes, or sapodillas.
What is usually called sapote in Guatemala does not belong to the genus Sapota,
in
but to an allied genus Lucumafand

apple.
The true sapote has
is
known
in the
several seeds; the
West Indies as themammee-
mammee
only one.
An
allied
The sapoton, or big

genus contains the star-apple {Chrysophylhim cainito).
sapote, does not even belong to the Sapota family, but is a Pachira.
GUATEMALA.
132
buying and
and
it
selling.
seems that this
grain [tingo)
cials
is
is
the great wheat-market.
This
small and round, and the Government
weighed each bag, which should contain
one
or
also
Mule-trains came in and went~out,
hundred and
an important
fifty
pounds.
article of
among
six arrobas,
Fat-pine (ocote)
commerce
principal source of candle-light
offi-
here, as
it
is
is
the
the Indios.
Solola and Atitlan.
The church is large, but of no architectural pretensions

and among its contents we noticed several strange
;
things.
human
hair,
figure
a drunken man.
color
of Christ,
with glass eyes and long
wore a crown cocked over
On
his left eye like
the wall of the nave was a water-
drawing passably done, representing a young
falling
man
headlong over a precipice, while through a sort of
Lutheran window, or peep-hole, in the sky a rather young

female
is
trying to catch
him with
a long vine.
The
133
legend states at length that the youth, in passing along

the edge of the terrible precipice above the Lago one dark
night (when he had been to his club), mistook the gleam

of the water for the path,
he
and forced
his horse over.
As
he breathed a prayer to the "Mother of God," and
fell,
window and jerked him up again with a
she opened her
In testimony whereof he offers this
grape-vine.
tal^let,
Near the main entrance was a large altar-piece,

with a deeply sunken cruciform panel containing a very
etc.
realistic crucifix,
glass eyes, sweat, long hair,
indeed, everything that could
drops,
to
a civilized being
much
thicker,
it
disgusting
while from the five wounds pro-
ceeded skeins of crimson thread,

being
make
and blood-
and
all
that
from the
side
these knotted together in
a mass, black with the kisses of the worshippers of the
On
blood of Christ.
Roman
life-size,
one side of this panel were painted,
soldiers
mocking the
suffering Saviour
while on the other was a Guatemaltecan general, in
full
uniform, weeping at the sad sight, and using such an
embroidered handkerchief as the nuns make at the presJust behind
ent day.
him was an attendant who had
caught
off his
wig on the point
feature
Frank
interprets differently,
head
is
a shining casque, while
flowing plume.
and brighter
With
all
what
call
a wig
is
due deference to his younger
a part of the Guatemaltecan uniform
flesh-color.
and thinks the bald
eyes, I submit that such a helmet
of such close-fitting shape,
This last
of his lance.
was never
and even
if
made
would not have been painted
Unluckily I did not take a photograph, to
settle, if possible, this
important dispute.
Frank was
asking every one he met about
mules
and we had not found any when, late in the
busily
GUATEMALA.
134
he met a gentleman walking alone in the
afternoon,
He asked
public garden near the Plaza.
the oft-repeated
question in Spanish, when, to his surprise, the person
asked him
Jefe,
Don
if
he spoke English.
M. Galero
J.
This proved to be the
and when told who we were
and what we wanted, asked us
to
come
to the Jefaturia
As Senor Galero was high in favor with

Government and beloved by his people, our very
agreeable visit was interrupted by a serenade to his Excellency and after he had promised to send us his own
in the evening.
the
mules that very night for our journey to Totonicapan,
we took
The
our leave.
public garden especially interested me, since all
the flowers (except an orange-tree) were such as I might
home
find at
Pinks and
but times and seasons were sadly mixed.
gladioli,
sunflower
and white
lily,
all
blos-
The fountain was painted blue and

and sadly disfigured the
the national colors,
white,
garden, which otherwise was not laid out with any
somed together.
taste.
Our apartment
pletely fire-proof
and several
in this only hotel in Solola
walls, roof,
of the floor-tiles
and
floor
were brick or
tile,
were deeply impressed with
dog-tracks (made, of course, before the kiln),
sembling the
was com-
fossil footprints in
much
re-
the red sandstone of the
Sweet peas and geraniums in abundance, carnations, marigolds, campa-
nula, yarrow, pinks, sweet-williams, chrysanthemums,
poppy, princess'-feathers, fuchsia,
linaria,
primrose,
gladioli,
gilliflowers,
mignonette,
sunflower,
amaryllis,
adenanthera,
iris,
scabious, abutilon,
Lilium candidum, peach, eveningalyssum, larkspur,
willow,
lialsams,
dahlia,
brugmansia,
spider-lily,
canna, hollyhock, eucalyptus, ragged-lady, roses (4), yellow sweet-clover, asparagus, Hydrangea hortensis, blue African lily, lupine, Boston-pink, woolpink,
broom.
cypress,
sedum,
agave,
chelidonium,
euphorbia
(long-leaved),
and
A low
Connecticut valley.
table,
one chair, a hard-wood
table called a bedstead, furnished this
was one door and a
single
135
wmdow,
room
the
iron grating, suggesting a prison-cell.
It
and there
latter,
with
its
was clean and
quiet,
and good enough.
m the
tropics to teach one that the less unnecessary fur-
It does
not require long travel
niture in a house, the fewer lurking-places for cockroaches,

centipedes, scorpions, snakes,
ants
and other disagreeable ten-
and comparative emptiness decidedly reduces the
broke down
my hammock
During the night
temperature of a room.
and the sympathy Frank expressed
was half-awakened by the
noise,
as he
would have been very
soothing had he not fallen asleep again in the midst of

it,
leaving
sympathy
me
sitting
in the
on the
floor.
He
continued his
morning, when the dreadful jar was
almost forgotten.
Early next morning we were on our way, mounted better than we had been
for we left Frank's mare with
;
Santiago to rest for a week, and with the Jefe's mules

we rode briskly on to Argueta,
a small hamlet with a
deserted convent or monastery, in front of which flowed

a clear cool brook, and near by
We
water-power.
was, for
was an ingenio moved by
got our almuerzo here, early as
it
we were warned that we should find nothing to

From Argueta the road was very hilly,
eat until night.
and we climbed until my barometer said 10,450 feet.

Wheat abounded everywhere, and there were- fenced
The mozos we met carand redes (nets) of pottery
threshing-floors of beaten earth.

ried packs of woollen blankets
several
had pine-boards hewn smooth, three
eight long.
rots.
So
feet
wide by
In the trees were flocks of bright-green par-
many
little
streams had to be crossed that
we
GUATEMALA.
136
often wondered
one rivulet winding in
Except in the ravines,
up while the
many of them, parts of

devious way among the foot-hills.
where we had to zigzag down and
they were not,
if
mozos patiently climbed the banks
toiling
too steep for horses, the road
In one place, however,
country for road-building.
had
paved with stone
to climb a stairway
and walled with masonry.

built into
and
mile,
and took us up
We
by the barometer.
it
but
it is
old,
and some
to the Jesuit Fathers.
way
were
fine all the
long,
and the daylight
This extended
just a
could not learn
It is
of the
much
thousand feet
its
age nor the
mozos attributed
out of repair, and I
The views
but we knew our journey was
fancy that most of the travel over
for our
we
on edge
In places earthen pots were
were used to cap the masonry.
tiles
set
the walls to collect water for the wayfarer,
more than a
builders
was generally over a good
it is
on
foot.
too short to permit us to wait
all
mozos to come up with the camera.
Indeed, I
hardly cared to reduce to black and white the glorious

colors the light
was painting on every
side.
of the forest faded into the blues of the
turquoise, gold
and
and the very gray
more varied than
On
silver
glittered
of the rocks
The greens
sky as in the
from the streams,
seemed to be richer and
usual.
the hill-sides were ancient potato-fields only culti-
vated by digging the tubers^; and this process has gone
on for years,
the Indios digging
at the
slope as potatoes are wanted, leaving
bottom of the
enough
for seed,
and arriving at the top by the time the rains begin. As

the small stems were quite dead and dried up, we could
not ascertain the species of this aboriginal potato
it
was
certainly not the
common
but
potato of cultivation

The
[Solanum tuberosum).
had never been planted, but

from the remotest time,
Inclios
137
declared the potatoes
had dug them
their ancestors
en todo tiempo,
senor.
Around us on the mountain-top were spruce-trees of immense size, four feet in diameter, and pines two feet larger
and beneath these giants of the
forest flocks of black
sheep were feeding, watched by shepherdesses not
As black
shades lighter.
cloth
is
much worn by the
many
Indios,
they cultivate the black sheep rather than pay the dyer.
Cactus on pine-trees, crimson sage, and a minute violet
not an inch high, were novelties by the roadside.
Not a
few of the pine-trees had been hacked with machetes until

a considerable niche was formed in the stem
and the pitch
dripping into this receptacle was then fired to light a camp.
We
found no villages on this road, but we were seldom
out of sight of some herdsman's hovel.
noon we came
to the
brow
Late in the after-
of the cliff that
bounds the im-
mense valley of Totonicapan on the east. The sun was

low on the horizon before us, but I was absorbed in the
beauty of this grand view.
over the rocks
dian City
On our
left
a waterfall dashed
below us were the white walls of the In-
we had
so greatly wished to see
roads and
and the whole surface, as

well as the slopes far up the hills, was cut into numerous
fields of wheat and maiz of many shades of green and
streams traversed the valley
Far
brown.
in the distance
smoke
rose over Quezalte-
nango, and the broad highway between was plamly visible

for
many
miles.
My
mozo was
close at hand,
and
my
box
minutes I had two photographs caught

which we began the very steep descent.
We
little
found
lodffina: at
in
in ten
;
the Hotel de la Concordia.
after
Our
room contained three board bedsteads and one wash-
GUATEMALA.
138
we had no
Usually
stand.
wash-stand, but either per-
formed our ablutions at the courtyard fountain, or else

had our valet Santiago pour water over us from a
calabash.
As we had a
letter to the Jefe,
at once to present
next
it,
fine one, the best in the
We
and
Indio, stupid
went
found his house,
fat,
town, with beautiful roses in the
but the Jefe himself was a
in order to get our animals for the
stage as soon as possible.
neat courtyard
David Carney,
who
could say
little
dumpy
little
than " Si,
else
After some delay he promised us two mules
Senor."
In his parlor I noticed a
in the morning.
evidently in use
and there was a decided
about the house, probably due
fine piano,
air of
comfort
to the lady rather than
the lord.
That night was very

o'clock the
thermometer told
rometer stood at 8,860

this
cold,
feet.
and
in the
morning at seven
forty-five degrees,
As
usual,
we went
and the bato church
was the largest and cleanest we had yet
seen, but
the images, including an Indio-colored Christ, were perhaps
The church has now the old

the new one) all to itself, and in addition
more hideous than

Plaza (north of
ever.
a very large paved courtyard, with square chapels in the

outer corners.
In this courtyard
dian
women
veils
and candles, both
women
conducting some
we found a troop
mummery which
of great size.
Some
of In-
required
of the poor
were so tipsy that they could hardly care for their
which were perilously near to setting their neighAfter various marches and counterclothes on fire.
candles,
bors'
marches, songs and responses, the performance ended in

a loud explosion.
is
Of
all
the Indian towns, Totonicapan
supposed to be the most Indian, and the people are
'
1^1
Pf,

thorough idolaters
still,
the Christian religion.
we found
as
139
with hardly the dimmest idea of

They moreover dislike foreigners,
The fountain and
to our cost.
the old Plaza were both
much
sun-dial in
out of repair, and in the
Plaza Nueva the fountain supported a traditional Indian

fresh
from the shield
men
as other
originally,
without clothes, he had been girt with
doubtless
stucco,
damp
are,
Made
of Massachusetts.
because of the cool weather and his
station.
Generally the streets were paved, and drained in the mid-
They
dle.
intersected at right angles;
and as the houses
had few outside windows and the courtyard gates were

almost always closed, the town had a very dull, deserted
We
look.
way
did peep into some doors and windows, in a
I should hardly tolerate in
by one
of these
at work,
who
any other barbarian
and
window-peeps we discovered a weaver
The loom had two
invited us to enter.
harnesses worked by the foot of the weaver, and twelve
more pulled by a boy at the side; the bobbins were wound

on bits of small bambu. It was a long way back in the
series of the evolution of a modern carpet-loom, and yet it
did
its
work exceedingly
well,
if
This art of weav-
slowly.
ing has been practised in this city from

times,
and the Indios declare that the same utensils have
been used, without essential modification.
we saw were on one

been simpler.
bed-cover
while
We
most ancient
woven
we were
called
couples,
pattern,
All the looms
and they could hardly have
bought for four dollars a large woollen

in elaborate design,
which kept us warm
in these highlands.
on the Jefe again as he was marrying several
and he repeated
us before one o'clock
his promise to procure
so
we
left
him
mules for
for a while
and
GUATEMALA.
140
town and found a potter
strolled about
He
at work.
used both white and dark clay, and his wheel and kiln
were similar to those in use with
had not
arrived,
At two
us.
and we declared the Jefe a
the mules
Frank
liar.
must have called on him twenty times, besides the visits

of ceremony we made together three times a day.
After
a while two alcaldes came to our room and begged us to
go to the cabildo and inspect the mules they had captured
Another
for us.
for there was not one

Then they brought two to the
failure
carry our burden.
one
a pack-mule that refused to be saddled
mozo came
baggage
quite drunk, and
wanted a dollar
We
to Quezaltenango.
and he went
diablo,
mozo without the intervention

clear
him
told
and
cool, like
steep
to carry our
go to the
to
of the
The weather was
a fine October day in

frost
New England
At
on the lowlands.
some places a hundred
and
authorities,
dropped rapidly down, and then came to a

road, in
then a
to the Plaza, captured a
on foot for Quezaltenango.
and there was white
to
hotel,
and so the day wore away.
On Sunday morning we went

started
fit
first
we
fine carriage-
feet wdde.
Except the
descent at the city limits, and an equally steep
ascent about half a league beyond, the road
and bordered with agaves, some now

Just before
we came
to Salcaja
was
level,
in bud.
we had
a fine view of
the plain where Alvarado fought so desperately, was
wounded, and
finally
Though conquered
Alvarado now.
but above
it
conquered the brave mountaineers.

then,
they certainly need another

covered the distant city,
pale mist
towered the volcano Santa Maria,
as regular as those of Solola.
Cristobal
and San Francisco,
cone
Northward we saw San
two
pleasantly situated
We
towns.
at
San Luis
crossed a river which flows into the Pacific

so the backbone of the continent
and we were on the

it
we watched
the
girl (the
lic)
shop,
women
Beggars came
cord.
little
passed,
We
or-
and as we waited
them mozos,
customers, among
mostly for aguardiente,
and
was
slopes of the setting sun.
dered our ahnuerzo in a

for
141
also,
for eggs, spices, chillis,
and among them an
we had
only one of this class
idiot
seen in the repub-
one received a drink, another a handful of red pep-
and others food.
pers,
Before one o'clock
walked
we were
having
in Quezaltenango,
six leagues in four hours
and a
half,
excluding
The Hotel de Europe proved very comfortable,

The Cerro Quemado (Burned
Mountain), just overhanging the city, was a more attracstops.
and the table was good.
tive volcano than the loftier

for time to climb to the
Santa Maria
and
longed
broken crater from whose
l3lack-
ened sides the huge lava-stream had descended towards

the
city
(the
ancient Exancul), turned suddenly
when
almost upon the outer walls, and then stopped forever.
The market-place was very

bustle of the builders,
attractive
who were
piling
for besides the
up the cut and
sculptured stone of the most imposing public edifice I
have seen in Guatemala, the

ited
many
their brilliantly colored merchandise to great advan-
This
tage.
is
the centre of the trade in native cloths
and many beautiful and durable
and
cloth-merchants exhib-
in
stone
woven here
the neighborhood from cotton and wool.
The
generally used
in
building
canoes back of the town, and

Plaza
is
double,
is
fa^brics
are
comes from the
one half bounded by the church
Juan de Dios, the stone penitentiary, and shops
vol-
The
a light-brown lava.
of
and
San
its
GUATEMALA.
142
space
occupied by a garden surrounded by a wall of
is
carved stone and provided with stone seats.
pond
in
the midst has a pavilion, or band-stand, on an island.
The other
half of the Plaza
market-place
here
new
the
are
paved, and used as a
is
buildings
for
the
Government.
Near by the hotel
saw a
clearly than I did,
To
my
first
and knocked
glance
it
which
sign, of
note, thinking to profit thereby
all
my
fidiis
Achates
a National Seminary of Young Ladies

venture to explore
The church
of
facade ornate,
octaves,
three
bells,
hide, as usual, the others
ing this church

curious
histories
and
so
was simply
we
did not
The
bound
old organ, of four
and in the two towers
beams with rawThe cloisters adjoin-
to the
on yokes.
were interesting, from the multitude of
paintings
;
it
San Juan de Dios was large, and the

worthy the principal church in a city of
had been recently painted
Ladies,"
it.
twenty-five thousand inhabitants.
hung seven
Young
it.
SENORITAS
N^Ê
but to the critical eye of
made a
it more
the romance out of
read, " Collection of
COLEGIO
but Frank saw
in
they contained, mostly of Scriptural
them Christ was always represented
a shaven monk, with the girdle of the Cordeliers.
as
In the
old lumber-room of the church were the remains of an
ancient organ, and heads, bodies, and arms of saints,
not
relics,
but the
membra
disjecta of the dolls that are
seen similar places, which Frank

^
It
We
had often
"
"
property-rooms
called
put together and dressed up on holy-days.
was here that the Vice-President, Flores, was torn to pieces by

when the Church was in power.
in the last days of the Confederacy,
women

in one
we found boxes
of
143
wigs and beards, and in another
a figure of Christ with permanently bent legs, and staples
^^?*iiiii>ii
|:il'i
Church
in
his
Sunday
ankles to
1
It
strap
at
Quezaltenango.
him on
to
was both amusing and
trash used for religious purposes.
the mule on
pitiful
Palm
to see the
GUATEMALA.
144
We
went
dormitories
to the National Institute
the
for
preparation
lanterns were
young men who study
an expected
for
and saw very good
visit
the
of
In
here.
President,
hung along the colonnades, and blue and

met the eye on every side.
white (the national colors)
There was something homelike in the narrow, crooked

so different from the tasteless rectangles of
streets,
most other Guatemaltecan
cities.
Then,
clean, well paved, and provided with
too,
they were
sidewalks,
in
where they were very steep, with bridges

over the gutters, which in rainy weather must be torStreet-lamps and letter-boxes, plenty of founrents.
some
places,
tains (and the water
is
cold and excellent), gave an air
The houses
and usually had the window and door-
of civilized comfort very agreeable to us.
were well
jambs
built,
of sculptured
stone.
There were plenty of win-
dows, and the gates were often ajar, revealing flowers
and fountains
and
in blossom,
Cienega
is
where an
in
many
courtyards.
also bore half-ripe fruit.
picturesque
artist
Peach-trees
has
many
washing-place,
a chance for
were
In the suburb
or
lavadero,
sketching the
Indias.
We
Sunday observance than we had

sunset the military band,
Towards
yet seen in Guatemala.
of twenty-five instruments, played for some time in the
saw more tokens
of
was more amusing to me to see the people

with their obsolete European costumes and Sunday manners than to listen to the music, which Frank said was
Especially effeminate boys wore very high heels,
good.
garden
but
it
them a standing in society they could never attain

otherwise.
The garden was not so good as that at Solola,
to give
but contained, in addition to the
list of
that place, clean-

pink-catcbfly,
der,
daisy, wall-flower,
flax,
and Canterbury-bells.
city of nearly twenty-five
the majority Indios
bachelor's-buttons,
thousand inhabitants
has grown up gradually on the ruins
of the ancient Xelahu, until
tance to Guatemala City.
it
is
only second in impor-
Its port is
Manuel Lisandro
Champerico, from
Barillas.
which a railroad extends some distance into the

(to
145
interior
Retalhuleu, 1884), and will one day enter the
Abundant water-supply,
cluding a night-school
schools of various
for artisans,
city.
grades,
in-
good hospital,
female orphan asylum, convenient public buildings and

a suitable penitentiary, a bank, public lavatories, and
the hot
springs
of
Almolonga, are but

10
some
of
the
GUATEMALA.
14G
attractions of
of
what was once the
Los Altos.
We
had
letters to
Lisandro Barillas
the Jefe politico General Manuel
but he was so occupied in preparation
for the visit of the President that
to
capital of the province
add to
his
we thought
it
best not
occupations by calling on him.
On
the
Four Alcaldes of Quezaltenango.
death of President Barrios, General Barillas succeeded to

the Presidency
and
was his administrahe became President by
so satisfactory
tion that at the next election
popular vote.
Monday morning was
quite cold
and misty
but
we pho-
tographed the church, with the kind co-operation of the

resident curate, Padre Felipe Sora,
opened doors, and did
all
147
who lowered
he could to help
us.
curtains,
When we
took the exterior we attracted a great deal of attention
and fortunately the chief alcalde, who had assured us

that we could get no inozos that day, as it was a fiesta
honor of the President, noticed our performances, and,
being a personable man, was seized with a strong desire
in
to
have
his ritrato.
He
offered to get us our
would only photograph him
so I bade
him
mozo
if
to the hotel,
explaining to him that the portraits could not be seen

until I returned to the North,
and that
him a
Honest soul
dollar for each picture.
all this
and on
his
way he
I sent
due time the
silver dollars
should charge
!
he agreed to
joined to himself three of his
them the
colleagues.
result
months
after,
and in
were scrupulously returned.
In
mean time our alcalde Florencio Cortez provided our

mozo, and we started to walk back soon after two o'clock.
the
We
both hoped to see this pleasant city again.
Cuatro Reales of Honduras.
CHAPTER
V.
FROM QUEZALTENANGO TO THE
/ÛR
mozo was only fifteen years old, and liis

load was so heavy that we had to wait for him
^-^
little
at every turn in the road

little
fellow
miles,
for
As we reached
the
until, after
whom
there were
at the city
We
helping the poor
Frank took the load
high ridge where there
view of Quezaltenango, we noticed that

of
PACIFIC.
many on
all
the road
and removed their
hats, as
is
himself.
the last
looked
if
the mozos
back
in salutation.
did not reach the hotel at Totonicapan until nearly
eight o'clock
but
we had no
trouble in the clear night,
except in trying to get a drink at a way-side fountain,

into
which we nearly tumbled headlong.
The President
of
thirty riders
arrived in the morning with a cavalcade
and several large mule-wagons.
Plaza was deserted, and the streets almost empty.
The
All
the Indios kept within doors, and evidently were not anx-
The usual nuisance

and it was very amus-
ious to honor the chief magistrate.

of soldiers, however,
ing to watch them
was there
fire
the guns in the Plaza for a salute.
and we
To obtain animals was our
first
graphed to the Jefe of
who had promised
his
mules
Solola,
desire,
tele-
to send
but he answered us that he could not, as he was
called away, with all his attendants.
imprisoned in this Indian
city,
and
So we seemed to be
I resolved to apply at

headquarters.
Guatemala
Not expecting
City, I
suitable attire for
alternative,
to
of his attendants I obtained
for the evening.
In the
wandered impatiently about the town.
J.
the
main
altar,
149
meet the President out of

had no letters with me, nor even any
a visit of ceremony but there was no
and through one
an appointment
PACIFIC.
we
mean time we
In the church, over
Rufino Barrios.
saw, what had before escaped notice,
three life-sized figures representing
God and
Christ kneel-
ing to and crowning the Virgin Mary, over whose head a
dove hovered.
God had
a white beard
while Christ's hair was black.
nor anything else

here, surprised
we
and hald head,
Neither this Quaternity,
noticed in the service of religion
me; though the shudder
of disgust
was
GUATEMALA.
150
stronger than
when
stood
on the threshold of the
sanctuary of Kali, near Calcutta, and saw the hideous

idol
with
its
gory
and necklace
lips
bleedmg human
of
heads.
In the evening the President received
my
me
where we had called on the
in the sola
case, while
Frank looked
very politely
I stated
Jefe.
window.
in at the
Senor
was much better looking than he appears in his

portraits
he was not a large man, but muscular, and
with a very determined and intelligent face. His little
daughter, who had been educated in New York, acted
as his interpreter
and never, among the scores of interpreters I have had in many countries, have I found
so capital a one.
Once only my Spanish failed me
and instantly the little girl repeated in idiomatic, concise English, her father's question.
I told him I had
more important business with him at the capital, but
Barrios
that at present I wished only the privilege of hiring or
He
purchasing bestias for our journey to Solola.
summoned
the stupid
had not furnished us
Jefe and asked
little
as
we
requested.
are none), replied the Indio.
" Then
to-morrow, or you shall suffer for

Barrios
us his
it
own mule
No hay "
(there
make some before

!
it
" said
President
to let
but his wife, a perfect shrew, declared
should not leave town.
ter, I
him why he
him know if they were not

the morning. Next day the Jefe offered
and told
furnished us in
me
"
at once
If I
had liked that Jefe
bet-
would have wished that the mule might run away
with his wife and break her neck.
At
last
he got us
two good horses, for which he would take no pay, as

were amigos
del Presidente.
arrangement, and
we
started
A mozo was
him
we
included in this
at noon,
we
following
FEOM QUEZALTENAXGO TO THE
We
soon after two.
shook
and were glad enough
off
PACIFIC.
151
the dust from our
to leave Totonicapan,
feet,
where we
had found the Indios so impudent and disobliging that

at one time I feared I should have to shoot some of them
my
with
revolver in driving
After the
them from my
steep ascent of twelve hundred feet,
first
rode rapidly over the level plateau

haste
we
;
but with
all
we
our
could not get to those steep and difficidt stairs
Luckily
before dark.
with us
door.
we overtook two
ladinos,
who
rode
and we consequentl}^ were saved by their guid-
ance the discomfort of a camp in the cold night.
Argueta we were put into a large room
we had some
room we made a
At
in the deserted
monastery, where
excellent coffee.
middle of the
fire
In the
of the fat-pine that
we had gathered in the mountain in preparation for camping out, thus taking off the chill which is very decided in
these high altitudes
and the
clear burning chips of ocote
did not smoke us out.

-
We
were up at
and although
for Solola.
pile of
five
was
it
still
next morning {muy temprano)
dark, got our coffee and started
In the corridor of the monastery was a large
an odd-looking corn, the kernels shaped
corn, but yellow,
and much
like rice-
Six grains, which I
larger.
brought home, were planted in Worcester County, Massachusetts,
and they
all
grew,
some
to a height of seven-
teen feet, with a diameter near the

inches.
them
of
three
to ripen.
In the pale
smoking.
dawn we saw
We
the distant volcano of Fuego
rode on briskly in the cool morning, get-
ting to our hotel at eight.
and
ground
The season, however, was not long enough for
fastest ride
we had
Certainly this was the best
in Guatemala.
We
took no time
GUATEMALA.
152
photograph the town.
to rest, but at once proceeded to
down
we
Lago de Atitlan
by a path about twelve hundred feet in perpendicular
It was a league and a half from, town to shore.
descent.
climbed
After almuerzo
We
were in another climate.
cold of the
town above
every side by vast

noes, there
and
cliffs,
were yet
us, flourished
in legend
across
and
opening on the Lago here
volume pour
of considerable
down
was the ancient town
We
history.
Walled on
here.
and overshadowed by high volca-
over rocky beds, or dash foaming
Ten miles
cannot bear the
fruits that
fertile valleys
Streams
there.
Oranges, sugar-cane, avo-
and other
cados, limes, jocotes,
to the
into
it
the high
cliffs.
of Atitlan,
famed
stood in one of those mysteri-
ous places seemingly below the rest of the world, for wê
could see the water
valley
fall into this
but no
human
eye sees the outlet, nor are the waters, as in the valley of
the
Dead
The
Sea, chiefly evaporated.
dently of nearly the same level at

opinion of some observers
valley
was an ancient
it
is
sprung from the ancient

origin of the lake
up a
valley.
is
seasons.
all
In the
midst of which the
much
Somma
as
Vesuvius has
but the more probable
that the rising volcanoes
In the lava are
evi-
is
not improbable that this
crater, in the
volcano of Atitlan has risen,
surface
many
cavities,
dammed
and possibly
through these the surplus waters flow, to reappear in the
many
copious springs of the southern shore.
minded
We
were
to try the truth of that strange assertion of Juar-
ros that the waters are so cold that all
have their limbs
frost-bitten
and swollen.
who venture
The water
in
wâs
clear and sweet, and we waded out some distance before

there was depth enough to swim. From the sandy bottom
rose abundant bubbles,
probably
of carbonic acid, as
;;
FEOM QUEZALTENANGO TO THE

they had no smell.
It
PACIFIC.
was a most refreshmg bath,
but not so cold as the old historian reported.

perience, as
we
153
cool,
new
ex-
stood drying on the shore, was a shave
with pumice-stones, which abound here.
care
little
is
needed to avoid taking the cuticle away with the hair

but these stone razors are admirable substitutes for Sheffield
steel,
and are always sharp.
abundant, and very tame.
would be
and we
of great geological
will speak of its depth
Water-fowl
good survey of
were
this
lake
and antiquarian interest;
and formation
in a later
chapter.
Boat on the Lago de Atitlan.
We
should
much have
ruins on the other side
liked to cross the lake to the
but the sight of the only boats
on the lake, as well as our limited time, deterred

have never before seen boats constructed on these
the handles on the stern seeming necessary to
large,
us.
lines
lift
the
clumsy craft out of the water.
Oh, the hot climb up that

at half-past one,
Solola
hill to
and did not get back
until six
then so tired that, soon after comida, we
We
;
fell
started
and were
asleep, in
spite of the music and rockets within a few rods of our
bedroom.
The decencies
of life are
as elsewhere in Guatemala,
was the
neglected here,
and our only washing-place
which we leaned while Santiago

Those who have
water over us.
veranda-rail, over
poured a calabash of
much
GUATEMALA.
154
some idea
travelled in Central France will have

privies of Central America,
indeed,
if
it
where they
exist in
were not for the hungry dogs,
of the
any form,
who
act
would be in a most disgusting
as scavengers, the streets
condition.
'y\
Sketch
Map
of the
Lago de
'
ikSSfW^'/^y^'
Atitlan.
All this day the mountains were clear
but on the mor-
row the clouds came down again. We called on the Jefe

to say our adios, and found that neither he nor his secretary could tell us the names of the immense volcanoes
before his very eyes every time he went out of his housedoor.
However, he called
in
an old Indio, who pointed
out the distant Fuego, Agua, and Pacaya, and the nearer
Atitlan,
San Pedro, and Santa
Clara.
All these volcanoes
PACIFIC.
155
have been duly baptized into the Church, to induce them

to act as
good
and
citizens
christianos.
The Jefe had promised me

have the horse of the
his mule,
alcalde, as his
from the breaking
sore back
two mozos
weight by the
mare, Mabel, had a
secured for a dollar and
twenty-five cents
to take our luggage
increased in
cloths
Quezaltenango
started.
Frank's
Frank
when he
but
on her hind-legs
rose
we had purchased
mare was a
little
the saddle all right
much
far as Antigua, and at noon
as
to
of the tenedora, or crupper,
We
on the journey to Solola.
and Frank was
character.
we
She took
tried to bridle her, she
and proposed
very naturally declined, as
in
boxing-match.
he had no
fists to
match
and as Santiago and the mozos had been sent ahead,

we hardly knew what to do, until an old Spaniard kindly
came to our aid and taught us a trick. He tied some
hers
rope around the creature's left ear,
proceeding to
which she made not the slightest objection,
and
insert-
ing a stout stick and twisting the rope so as to have a
was able to keep her down while

Frank put on the bridle. She was perfectly still as long
but
as her ear was in limbo, and did not seem to suffer
it was useless to try to hold her by oncaie force or by
Every time she was bridled we had to go
the nostrils.
firm hold of the ear, I
through the same process.

"VVe first
feet, to
half
rode
down a very
Panajachel,
from
Solola.
steep grade, sixteen hundred
pleasing village a league and a
Here are cultivated
fields
on the
borders of the lake far surpassing anything of the kind I
saw elsewhere
gated by the water of

cascades
They are completely irrimany brooks, some of which make
in the republic.
by the wayside.
Panajachel
is
the garden of
GUATEMALA.
156
Solola
with about twelve hundred inhabitants,
has,
it
besides its agricultural advantages, various minerals
Hot-springs come to the surface on
especially fine clays.
The road was being
the lake shore.
had
glad, however,
to travel slowly,
loitering, as the
Semetabaj,
of
repaired,
and we
of the excuse for
views of the lake and valley were not to
be lightly passed by and forgotten.
slow climb
and
Then came a
fourteen hundred feet
town
which showed us as
with a remarkably
never designed a
only attraction a ruined church
dome
fine
finer.
San Andres
to
hundred inhabitants,
of seventeen
its
long,
On
even Sir Christopher
we
this long climb
Wren
lingered
Lago de Atitlan and its

The sun was in our faces, and shone over the
volcanoes.
The three
silvery waters with the effect of moonlight.
to
photograph the
black giants
last
once
view
of the
so terrible,
now
so solemnly
grand
kept back the surging sea of cloud from the Pacific

that seemed struggling to climb their sides and reach the
human
was visible as we
looked our last on the beautiful lago and turned to a road
quite unlike any we had travelled before.
lake.
Not a
And now
boat, not a
being,
every day brought a quite
physical aspect of the country changed
enough, the night was the
entr'acte.
immense wrinkles
Chichicastenango to Solola
to ride.
and, strangely
To-day we were
of the earth, while
we had
As we went up and down, the

had three " wide
light faded
As we passed the camps

fires
of the
and we
many
darker.
still
leagues
mozos de cargo
dazzled us and
road some way beyond seem much
from
travelled with them.
rivers to cross," as well as
the bright light of their
experience,
and vegetation, but the very
as not merely the flowers
crossing the
new
made the
came at
We
FROM quezaltp:naxgo to the
Here the good resolves never
last to a plain.
in this country after dark,

at Encuentros,
made when we
lost
were renewed and strengthened
now and then we saw
through one, we found
157
to travel
the road
for every
dim gray path what looked
in the
like ink-puddles, but, to our horror, as
ride
pacific
it
we were about
to be the
to
head of an im-
mense barranca w^hich was gradually

eating
way
its
into
the
The walls
which the road extended.

of
barranca were perpendicular,
this
and apparently thirty yards deep

it
over
plain
was only one
our path.
and
of a dozen intersecting
have never since then
passed a dark spot in the road at night
without thinking of those awful abysses

lying in wait
to
entrap the
places were hedges of agave,

;
last,
"We had no
and we saw here and there
little
difficulty in finding
who
fortunately,
all in
was well able
bed
where the posada
led Mabel, did not like to leave
the road, and the burden, as usual,
were
In
about half-past nine, rode into Patzun.
for Santiago,
Road
while the barking of dogs became more frequent,
and we at
was
the
in
Evidently few here travel after dark.
traveller.
a house
Washout
unwary
fell
to bear
on Frank,
it.
but he at last aroused a
who,
The inhabitants
man
to direct us,
and we found a good posada, with a comfortable room,

clean beds, and hot chocolate.
We
eight.
slept long,
and did not get our early meal
until
Santiago added to his disrepute by failing to find
any sacate (green fodder)

found a supply at once.
for the animals, while
We
Frank
always had to buy or pay
separately for our sacate and corn
seldom was either to
GUATEMALA.
158
While our
be found in a posacla.
went
rated
with sculptured angels at the angles.
(?)
was a wedding,
chancel-rail
the
public
fountain,
Inside,
couple kneeling within the
under one red shawl.
The
officiating priest
As we rode out
seemed to be an Irishman.
passed
were feeding we
which had a curious campanile deco-
to the church,
there
bestias
to
of town we
which excellent water is
brought from a distance of several miles by a very
The fountain was
ancient aqueduct.
a column
more or
less
ornamented
of a circular or polygonal basin,
of the usual form,

rising in the midst
which catches the water
from one or more spouts near the top
falling
From
column.
women
this
common
of the
drink and
basin horses
dip water, the spouts being quite out of reach.
The Indios place their water- jars on the edge of the large
basin and conduct the water by a bambu j)ole just long
enough to reach from the spout to the jar.
At
eleven o'clock
we reached
Patzicia, but did not stop
even to examine the ruined church.
we had
noticed a long
cliff
some ten
The evening
feet high,
evidently
caused by a comparatively recent subsidence
we saw
before
and here
other evidences of earthquakes in remote ages
before the present
town was
built.
On
the trees by the
road was a beautiful yellow bignonia, and in the yards we
saw
fine
double pink and white dahlias growing as trees,
fifteen feet high,
and with stems eight inches
in diameter.
Chimaltenango, the head of this Department, did not
and we did not linger.

The road was level, but winding and dusty.
interest us,
approaching the volcanoes
We
were
Agua and Fuego, which kept
changing their relative position in a very puzzling manner.

Several small hamlets
San Lorenzo, San Luis, Pastores,

and Jocotenango
served
as
PACIFIC.
milestones
159
on our way.
Near the last place we discovered a man on fire in the

road and it was no easy matter to extinguish the confla;
gration.
Tobacco did the mischief, and aguardiente pre-
vented the senses of the poor Indio from working fast
enough to save much of his clothing and as we rode

away we saw his companions stripping the smoking rags
;
Antigua and the Volcan de Agua.
from
del
his singed body.
Commercio
About dusk we came
in Antigua, the capital of the
to the Hotel
Department
of Sacatepequez.
to the Plaza,
and from
the cabildo photographed
both the
Early Sunday morning

the second story of
great volcanoes
we went
Agua and Fuego.
Directly before' us
were the ruins of the palace of the Viceroy, the arms

of Spain carved in the stone, which still stands firmly, a
century after the terrible earthquake which shattered the
On the
rest of the building and ruined the whole city.
GUATEMALA.
160
left
stood the roofless cathedral, and dotted thickly over
eighty,
the plain were other ruined churches,
which looked
hestias
saddled,
as
it is said,
We
recently demolished.
if
had our
and rode over to Ciudad Vieja, distant

This was the second city founded by
about a league.
Alvarado (Tecpan Quatemalan being the

stroyed, together with the
widow
first),
and
de-
of the Conquistador, in
1541, by the earthquake and torrent of water from the
The town
ancient crater of Agua.
After
watching a
man make
small enough now.
is
roquetas
rode to the Banos de Medina, which

culty in finding;
we
(rockets),-^
we had some
we
diffi-
took, however, at last a short cut
through a coffee plantation where the berries were large
The baths are in a small house of several

The one Frank and I occupied had a large tank,
deep enough for a swim the water was slightly sulphurous, and but a few degrees warmer than the atmosphere.
It was wêll worth the real it cost us.
and ripening.
rooms.
In the afternoon we strolled among the ruins of Antigua, which are very fascinating.
of solid
masonry, with vaulted
and supporting a mass
All the churches were
roofs,
some
of vegetation,
still
entire,
among which the

of money in build-
The outlay
must have been enormous for material and transportation (many of the tiles
being Spanish), although the actual labor was by unpaid
Phytolacca was common.
ing
all
these
elaborate churches
slaves.
We
motlier
and child found walled
The
cases
were told strange
of these
attached to one stick.

effect
upon the
was increased,
rockets were
As they were
in a
church
tunnels
bamhu, and usually three were

and valued for their
the proportion of explosive powder
of
fired in daylight,
ear rather than the eye,
each
stories of the skeletons of
discharge giving three sharp cracks.
PACIFIC.
161
connecting the churches and nunneries just outside the

city
etc.
infant skeletons in a vault of one of the nunneries,
With
Ruined Church
hither
we poked
these romantic associations in mind,
in
Antigua.
and thither among the mighty ruins
but
we
found only the curiosities of architecture (of these there
were enough to occupy me many days) and the traces

Frank found
the treasure-hunters had left in the walls.
11
GUATEMALA.
162
in one of the vaults a well-drawn fresco covered
thick coat of whitewash, and
we
with a
tried to pry off a por-
but could not succeed without too mucli damaging
tion
it.
Horses were pasturing on the grass-grown roof of a
part of one of the churches, and a few had portions
still
was occupied by
these we saw some finely carved
in use as places of worship, while another
In one of
a blacksmith.
wooden
All about the city eucalyptus-trees had
panels.
been planted.
The roads
or public promenade,
is
are very good, and the alameda,
The corner houses
attractive.
often had most comfortable projecting windows, so placed
that one could see in both streets at once.
There are two industries

interest to the visitor,
is
done in a most
in
Antigua of considerable
the carving
of cane-heads,
manner, equalling, perhaps,
artistic
the famous ivory carvings of Dieppe, in
the manufacture of
which
Normandy
or effigies, mostly of
dolls,
and
cloth,
representing every costume and occupation of the Indios.
These
little figures
have
seldom
more than
inches high
five
often an expression that would not be thought
possible, considering the material of their fabric.

is
another place where these
a
in
single family, I believe,
Antigua we found
much
dolls, or
Solola
mimecos, are made,
having the monopoly

greater variety.
but
Especially
good are their figures to represent the Nativity of Christ

for
is
it
customary in
many
of the
towns to keep open
house at Christmas-tide, and each household
tries to pro-
Germany
a Christmas-
vide a Bethlehem,
tree
is
arranged
Men from
made
as in
but the groups of Shepherds, the Wise
the East, as well as the Holy Family, are often
in the
of cloth.
much
most careful and
artistic
way,
all
from
bits

Here
my
bought
first
163
mule, paying for her eighty
Guatemaltecan money
dollars in
PACIFIC.
(silver of the value of
the buzzard dollar of the United States), the purchaser
giving United States gold at twenty per cent premium
consequently the mule cost really sixty-six dollars and
After riding her two months I sold her
sixty-seven cents.
for a
hundred
and then
the hotel
We
dollars.
felt at leisure to
was a
engaged two mozos de cargo,
look more about the
where chicha
cldcheria, or place
Near
city.
sold.
is
is here made from jocotes, and the cider-like

drunk from pint bowls or calabashes. Intoxication follows and we frequently heard women shrieking
This drink
beverage
is
arms
in the
ter greeted
of
men, while unearthly
Owing
the outcries.
and laugh-
yells
to indulgence in this
mozos could not walk in the morning,

and we spent some hours in searching for others. The
dissipation, our
best
we
could do was to get one for six reals to take our
carcaste to Ciudad Vieja, the Jefe at Antigua giving

requisition on the
comandante there
sent Santiago with a drunken
mozo
me
for another.
direct to
We
Guatemala
and we afterwards found that the wretched mozo,
when
well out of the city, dropped his burden and ran
City
away, compelling Santiago to get a substitute, with
whom
he arrived safely.
For ourselves, we retraced the road of yesterday to

Ciudad Vieja, and found the cabildo, where the soldiers
captured the necessary mozo,
the bayonet
forced
service.
the
literally at the point of
but he was a capital fellow, in spite of his
While the hunt was
looked about the town

except
elaborately
in
but there was not
wrought doors
There were few indications
of the
of
progress,
we
much
to see,
the
church.
awful ruin the flood
GUATEMALA.
1G4
from Agua had brought upon the town
some
of the
but
buildmgs seemed to be partly restmg on sub-
Some
structures of older date.

called soldiers told us
we
haughtily declined to go
uniform
of the slaves in
could not go into the presence
comandante without taking
of the
1541
in,
off
our spurs
dered him to come out and receive the Jefe's
meekly obeyed, seeming
be
to
so
and
or even dismount,
or-
He
letter.
very decent fellow.
Clouds covered both volcanoes, and our road led south-
ward between them. We had a good enough road, down

hill constantly, and winding into the valleys on the side
of Fuego,
often
The
crossing
streams of clear cold
fine
was still smoking,

as
it has been since 1880, when there was a slight eruption.
We could see that the crater-wall was broken down to
water.
crater of the volcano
give issue to
Gases have
what looked more

acted
colors,
scoriae
on the
extensively
which displays many
like
than lava.
whole
summit,
from the decomposition
of
the lavas.
As
the day closed, the road became bad
and
full
of
The foothills wêre capped with irregular

lava, which in the sunset looked not unlike the
small stones.
masses of
We
ruined castles on the Rhine.

canefields,
Ocean.
and we often caught a glimpse
At seven we rode
hotel comfortable enough
horrid
were in the region of
noise,
drums,
into Escuintla
1)ut
rockets,
all
of the Pacific
and found the
night there was a
bombs, and shouts,
and we dreamed that the town was being captured by

storm.
We
had entered the region
of railroads
again
and
our train started next morning at half-past six for San

Jose, on the Pacific.
The
fare for the
round
trip
was
;;
We
three dollars.
only
had a second-class
first-class carriage
At the
PACIFIC.
reserved
is
165
carriage, as the
the
for
President.
station, in the lowest part of the town, the height
above sea-level
is
eleven hundred feet
three miles out the grade
is
and
for the first
The remainintr
rather steep.
twenty-five miles offered no difficulties in road-building
but the culverts and bridges are fast decaying, and as
they are not promptly repaired, the road
The run was made
There were
rate of speed.
fine
lagoons,
did
however, see
crossed
several
shallow
evidence
of
much
ill-health
The
were loose enough.
sea,
As we
stations.
the natives, although the manners and customs
railroad {ferro-carril) ended in

San Jose, at the head of a
iron pier extending some six hundred feet into the
a respectable
fine
a high
and the country looked low and uninviting.
not,
among
line
safe.
views of the volcanoes,
and some interesting scenes at the

approached the coast the
not
is
certainly not
two hours,
in
beyond
station
in
the surf, but not where vessels can come
alongside.
We
had seen the
Antigua, and
for
some
passed on
rolled
it
day before as we rode from
Pacific the
was, as always, a welcome sight to me,
of the pleasantest years of

its
shores or on
my
its islands.
life
have been
To-day
its
waves
up on the sand in so inviting a way that as soon
we had found the hotel on the beach and ordered

almuerzo, we returned to the pier, and, under its shelter,
stripped and waded in.
The rollers took us off our feet
as
and as large sharks were snuffing about

iron piles of the pier, within a
sufficiently exciting bath.
few yards
just outside the

of us,
we had a
have never seen such large
sharks before, even in the shark-haunted shores of the
GUATEMALA.
166
Hawaiian Islands
Antilles or the
but
it is
claimed that
The young
sharks however have no such scruples and we kicked
several of the little fellows out of our way.
The ironwork was thickly covered with barnacles and other crustaceans, and it took considerable skill to avoid being
they dare not venture between the
piles.
;
dashed against
On
this.
the pier-head there
spent
much
train.
was a
cool sea-breeze,
was
pier
built here in
1868
usual severity soon after destroyed

structure
piles
was
are of
The end
provided
like
of the
wharf
three
steam
most
and stout
twenty-five
small
is
covered by a shed, where are
vessels
tons,
are provided
Even with
pier.
the
do not care to wait long
task
is
boat
to
the
iron
always
human
cage used
laid
along the pier,
ling of freight,
much
the Oregon coast,
San Francisco.
in
of
easy,
some
and
rough weather
freight to the pier-top.
completion of the railroad, in
to
not
to bring cargo
lighters
a passenger gets a wetting in jumping from the
to hoist the
been
As San Jose
hoisting-engines.
lighters
between ship and
many
The
with auger-
fitted
the ports on the Pacific coast, merely
of
an open roadstead,
there,
and the present
it,
and hollow,
iron
but a storm of un-
more substantial manner.
built in a
cast
by which they are screwed down into the sand.
points,
is,
and we
of our time there while waiting for the return
of
1880, the
thus
which
and sugar,
Since the
tracks
is
facilitating the
have
hand-
lumber coming from
coffee,
and hides going
To-day two ships were
at
anchor,
and a steamer was expected.
As we
sat in
the cool shade on the end of the pier,
looking dreamily over the Pacific, I
felt
that the journey
fro:m
quezaltexaxgo to
tpie pacific.
we had made
across the continent, as
it,
was
167
far pleas-
anter than when, in 1869, I had used the railroad,
then but a week
old.
difference between the
We
decided unanimously that the

two oceans was not a matter of
had seen the middle Atlantic smooth

as a mill-pond, and had been miserably seasick on the
fancy merely.
raging Pacific
so without going deeper into this ques-
our thoughts wandered from one thing to another,
tion,
mine going back

at our left hand,
to the days
when
Istapa, the old port
was more than a swamp, and when the
Spanish shipyards there were
workmen who had
humming with
the busy
learned their craft on the Rio Tinto
at Palos or on the sandy shores of Cadiz.
My
Why
had the
place
become
down
the coast for an answer to a suggestion that came
eye wandered up and
But only a rather steep beach was
to me.
cliff,
so changed
there,
no
not even a detached rock, to solve the problem of
whether the coast was at the same

teenth century
answer
for this
my own
level as in the seven-
was the way
question.
rise
was trying to
would
of eight feet
explain everything about that deserted harbor; but there
was nothing except the steep slope of the beach to indicate any change of level.
Had I been able to see any
rocks within the limit of two miles, I should have left the
cool pier and trudged through the hot black sand to ask
them. Frank's more practical mind was working in
another direction and he took up the conversation with
;
a question whether a railroad to the Atlantic would
change
this
Then we
port as well
as the rest of the republic.
discussed the several schemes proposed for in-
fusing a commercial spirit into this charmingly uncom-
mercial country
and although we had not yet seen the
GUATEMALA.
168
route selected for the Northern Railroad,
we had been
over the track of several of the other paper railroads,
and on our map
that
sketched the roads.
inseparable
Here
the
is
several additions of a later date,
companion
we
map we made, with

map which shows
enough what can, and in time probably will, be

done to open the country. First we discussed a road
fairly
RAILROADS
FOK
GUATEMALA
l*ro}>osed
Built
from Livingston to Coban,
we were
and
as
the
problem unhesitatingly.
to
open the coffee region
we
we
fresh from the very route,
The
road,
tackled
decided,
should run up the coast towards Cocali, turn through the

forest six miles to Chocon, crossing the
Chocon River on
a single span, then over the smaller Rio Cienega and along
the north shore of the
Lago de
Izabal, then a little to the
northward of the Rio Polochic, bridging the Cahabon

near the limestone ledges east of Pansos, thence through
Teleman, and by nearly the cart-road route to Coban.

haps a hundred and twenty-five or thirty miles, in
Perall,
of

single track,
result in quadrupling the coffee export
would
of Guatemala.
It
169
PACIFIC.
would then be
of the delicious oranges of
Florida can never raise
Teleman,
and Chocon could be marketed

a plantation of coffee and fruits.
would pay from the
and
all
train.
such as
of the Cienega
Alta Verapaz be
More than
through
first
oranges
mahogany
the
more
profitable to raise
this,
the road
Before us on the
west coast was the sugar and cacao region,
that
land
that produces the royal chocolate which outside barbarians never get, but
ly
which might be raised very extensive-
from Soconusco eastward
if
a railroad should be built
over the level lands from Escuintla to Retalhuleu and
Ocos.
road from Guatemala City through Salama to
Coban would not only open the
rich sugar estate of
San
Geronimo, but connect the capital with the Mexican

system, which will probably go to Coban eventually.
At
Belize the English are trying to build a road inland to
Peten to open the logwood and mahogany forests
and
they need a road along the coast to open the settlements

that
now have no
forty miles, at the outside,
The roads
Livingston.
Trujillo
by water.
outlet save
in
will extend
between
and Puerto Barrios, there connecting with the
projected lines
problems.
presents
The
and
any very
financial question
and with the exception

for a
hundred and
would connect Belize with
Honduras
Not one
Northern Railroad of Guatemala.
roads,
difficult
is
of
these
engineering
the only obstacle
of the first two,
both
coast
they would not pay

the plantations that would
bearing,
came
of simple construction,
few years
that
is,
spring up along their
until
way
into
that,
however, in this climate, would not be long, even for

india-rubber.
GUATEMALA.
170
We
when
had not
it
finished our discussion of the
was time
for ahuuerzo
hotel, where, besides
railways
and we went
to
a good meal and the largest plan-
tains (thirteen inches long) I ever saw, there were a
ber of captive animals,

bright
little
the
the
num-
most attractive being a
monkey who was very eager
watch.
Bread-fruit (Artocarpus incisa).
to open
my
CHAPTER
VI.
GUATEMALA
CITY.
took two hours and a

THEandrunourbackcomidaEscuintla
was welcome
In
the church, an ancient
the evening we
and found the
confusion
the
to
half,
at five o'clock.
to
strolled
building,
altar
inside in
all
was hidden from profane eyes by a cotton
made
while preparations were being
December
8,
the
curtain,
for tlie fiesta
One
Immaculate Conception.
attendants showed us with great pride a huge
of
of the
doll, repre-
senting the Virgin Mary, standing on a blue globe studded
with silver
and on twisting
out,
The
priest
examine the
if
feet
was a
delight of
such were his
Queen
us to
Heaven," and
As we returned
met a
women.
to
religious
In a small plaza
saw, covering a figure of the Virgin, a booth decorated
with
and
flowers
spectable rank,
in horrible
These
cooked, but
especially
we
apples
make an
long
strings
men and women
of
(of re-
were assured) were dancing, disguised
masks representing
little
a sweet pickle.
fruits,
Before this image
manzanillas}
of
a marimba, and soon
procession, consisting mostly of
we
devotees.
dignity wished
lace robes of the "
we heard
was thrust
the Indian
to note particularly the decorations.
the hotel
culehra gixmde
his tail the serpent's tongue
intense
the
to
Beneath her
stars.
about
excellent
devils
and animals.
the size of crab-apples
duke
the senoras
are
know how
tasteless
to use
them
unfor
GUATEMALA.
172
Escuintla
and
its
the favorite watering-place of the capital,
is
baths are certainly attractive,
Guatemalans, whose city
some
The
commerce and
citizens,
in
five
is
meet
supplied with miserable water.
agriculture.
the republic, as the lines

will
especially to the
thousand in number, are occupied
cuintla seems destined to
Ocos
In the near future Es-
become the railroad centre of

from Puerto Barrios and from
there.
Early in the morning of the third day of our stay at

this place
places,
we
started out for one of
the best bathing-
on the way taking several photographs.
bath-house
we
passed, the
men bathing
At
tank came
in the
out frequently through the wide-open door to talk with
women who were washing clothes in the brook outAs these men were wholly naked, I wished to phoside.
the
tograph this " custom " of the country
saw the camera they modestly
but
when they
retired within
and shut
the door.
Our own bath, an open pool some fifty by a hunfeet, was of a depth increasing from three to eight
feet.
A high brick wall bounded one side, and we were
A shed in
told that beyond this was a bath for women.
which
to dry
tile
platform
on
which to undress, and a
but the water was cool
one's self, was all the apparatus
and of a wonderful clearness, and we prolonged our
swim. The fee was only a medio (five cents). In the
season, which extends from December to March, doubtbut we had the pool
less the crowd is disagreeable
dred
entirely to ourselves.
After almuerzo
dusty road
from the
it
port.
we
started for Amatitlan
and a weary,
was, although the main road to the capital
Frank's mare seemed as though sunstruck,
GUATEMALA
CITY.
173
and sank down powerless by the road.
We
were near a brook.
Fortunately
we
poured cool water on her head,
We
and she soon recovered.
met great herds
of cattle
on their way from the dry uplands to the juicy pastures
and
of the lowlands,
also stages full of miserable people,
shaken and dusty, and with the look one might fancy
a soul in purgatory would assume,
it
had a
always
supposing
face.
The Falls of the Michatoya by the roadside relieved the

monotony of the way, but were not so beautiful as I had
expected from Stephens's account.
We
the ferro-carril laid as far as Palin
beyond Amatitlan, on
it
its
way
has since (1886) reached.
to
found the
and
it
Guatemala
Basaltic rock
along the road, and so were beehives,
rails of
was graded
City,
which
was abundant
generally made
from a hollow log and hung horizontally under the eaves

of the houses.
very good
it
Honey, costing us a medio a quart, was
wax, however,
is
a more valuable product, as
plays a very important part in the service of religion,
masses costing so
seem
many pounds
to be quite inoffensive,
close to the house-doors.

this district,
candles.
Sugar estates were common in
the water-power being generally furnished
by the Michatoya
did not
wax
The bees
and the hives often hung
of
indicate
river.
The chimneys
of the ingenios
severe or frequent earthquakes
here.
Oranges, not of the finest quality, sold at three cents a

dozen.
Late in the afternoon we passed some cochineal
plantations in a rather neglected state, and soon after
is
Palin
is
the market-garden and orchard of the metropolis, and the fruit
good, but not cultivated with any care
Guatemala any attempt

vegetables.
to procure
new and
nor
is
there here or elsewhere in
choice varieties of either fruits or
GUATEMALA.
174
entered Amatitlan, where
we found
a pretty
little
posada.
Our mozos, who were fine fellows, were not far behmd us.
The barometer told us that we were 3,650 feet above San
Jose.
In the morning,
up our
We
we made
finding sacate very dear,
bestias' breakfast
with maiz, and started betimes.
rode to the Lago de Amatitlan, which
is
very shal-
In the depths of
low, but clear near the shore.
this lake
were thrown, according to tradition, immense treasures

and every now and then some ancient idol or bit of pottery
is
dragged up.
siderable
size
On
the banks were willows of con-
altogether,
whole scene was very
the
different
from any-
thing we had found
in the republic.
The fishermen's
boats were of a pe-
culiar shape,
projecting
below
the water-line, so
Section of Boat at Amatitlan.
that a cross-section
amidships would be like the diagram.

cut back to the
main
road,
we were
In trying a short
lost in
a cafetal, and
had to ask the people in charge to open a locked gate

and
let
us out upon our road.
We
dred feet and found a good path.
were deposits
of fine pumice,
ascended seven hun-
In various places there
much
of
which had been
excavated, leaving caverns large enough to shelter
many
We entered the capital about

people from the weather.
noon, meeting Santiago on the outskirts, who conducted
us to the Hotel del Globo.
At
this hotel,
which was kept
by a wretched German, we found our mozos, and the
GUATEMALA
CITY.
175
luggage we had sent from Coban and Antigua, in perfect

order.
We
were now
city well
in the principal city of Central
worthy
of study
tative one, for all that.
but not at
all
America,
a represen-
After the earthquake of Santa
Marta, in 1773, had ruined the beautiful city of Antigua
Guatemala, the inhabitants sought a more stable

farther from the slopes of the great volcanoes
valley of the Hermitage
was
ests the visitor

its
but
all
and the
towards the north.
selected,
Here was the half church, half
site,
fortress, that still inter-
around was a
elevation and distance from
sterile plain,
and
any port seemed most
unfavorable to the growth of a large
city.
miles separate Guatemala City from
port of San Jose
its
Eighty-four
while the Atlantic ports are more than a hundred leagues
away, with no carriage-road between.
and other disadvantages, the

to be the largest
It
the country
posing
all
and most important
numbers among
;
size, if
and
its
its
In spite of these
city of Saint
James has grown
of Central America.
churches some of the finest in
other public buildings are of im-
devoid of any architectural merit.
the houses are of one story
laid out at right angles,
and
and the paved
of nearly
Almost
streets,
uniform width, do
not attract the stranger as he rides over the exceedingly
rough pavement.
Indeed,
our
first
impressions were
had we not seen Coban, Quezaltenango, Solola, and Antigua,

all of them much more
beautiful than any part of Guatemala City ?
It was not
until we were well out of the city that we were pleased
with it,
not until it became a confused mass of white
very unfavorable
for
walls almost hidden in foliage, with the church-towers

rising above,
and
in the distance those
two noble
volca-
176
guatp:mala.
GUATEMALA
noes higher
of sixty
177
their heads well in the clouds.
still,
thousand inhabitants, with
mingling
nations and tribes,
nineteenth century in
city
houses extending
its
and south, with a population
six miles north
was
CITY.
many
of
the sixteenth with
many customs and
the
business Avays,
not to be seen at a glance, was not to be under-
We
stood even after a sojourn of a few days.
the faculty of
our English cousins
America, spend a few weeks,
even
envied
who can come

days, and
to
then
go home and write with more knowledge of the places

they have just glanced at than the inhabitants ever
possessed.
As we entered
fort of
all
San Jose
we
the city
;
and
passed at some distance the
was
it
pointed towards the city
Taking no
strained
it
significant that the
was supposed
interest in military matters,
believe
to
are
undesirable
barbarous age,
relics of a
I did
if
which
guns
to protect.
I
am
con-
not unnecessary
not go any nearer to see
whether, as in the case of San Felipe, the guns were
more deadly
to those within than those outside the fort
but the walls looked queer, and
we were
assured that
they were of adobe, painted to imitate stone blocks,
kind of Quaker wall.
Although the Plaza
is
always the principal focus of a
Spanish town, no street ever leads directly to
by
as
it,
if
public square of
it,
all
lead
we found ourselves in the

Guatemala before we had been an hour
accidentally
and
so
was simply a square taken from the tiresome rectangles of the city and only on one side had it
any sufficiently imposing boundaries. The Government
in the city.
It
had suppressed the

still
priestly
power
but
its
monument
towered above the very insignificant buildings used

12
GUATEMALA.
178
as
Government
This metropolitan cathedral
offices.
is
about two hundred and seventy-five feet long, with some

architectural pretensions, but belittled
by
The
which were added a few years ago.
ers,
statues of the four Evangelists

in front detract
interior
is
from the
plain.
front tow-
its
colossal
which guard the platform
effect of a
The
good fa9ade.
In a vault beneath the church repose
the remains of Rafael Carrera, the former President of

the republic.
On
the evening of the seventh of Decem-
ber the whole front was illuminated with small lamps in
honor of the Immaculate Conception.
Within was a large
doll dressed to represent the Virgin
Mary, " sanctissima,
purisshna, caramha
heathen exclaim.
with
stars,
carissima,"
as
we heard
She stood on a blue
ball
a young
spangled
and trod the culebra grande as at Escuintla.
All the choir-boys wore
scarlet
robes.
It
seemed
as
though the attendants rather hustled the gauze angels,
which trod on snakes
in imitation
of
Madonna.
The
other churches were numerous, and the more imposing

date from the days of the Spanish domination,
good things, including plenty

hands.
Santiago carried
from which
my
I not only
all
money, were in priestly
Perhaps the most curious of
that one on the Cerro del

city.
of
when
all
the churches
is
Carmen which antedates the

camera out
to the distant hill,
brought away a picture of the
church, but also chose that position for a view of the

city, after patiently
from the volcanoes

self
waiting for the clouds to

of
Fuego and Agua.
roll
away
The church
it-
seems more a fortress than a temple of the Prince of
Peace.
The heavy gates stood
ajar,
courtyard of two centuries agone.
round tower, seemingly
solid,
and we entered the
In the midst stood a
and decorated by a
fillet
GUATEMALA
CITY.
179
carved with cliernbim in low
relief.
Within the dark
was still and deserted only the graves beneath the pavement of tombstones were tenanted. A
curtain hung before the image at the altar, and a care-
church
all
fully written notice requested the
not to uncover
visitor
the Virgin without permission of the sacristan.

bell-tower
hung a
with the date 1748,
bell
'^^^^^^^î'^^j;^'--
Church
"';
^
''^"^^V
of the
much
We
call
liave
modern date
its
of 1872,
sound,
Two
hung by
wasted the whole morning in a
on the President.
-^^'
when
the
been brought with so
difficulty into this lonely valley.
the painfully
twenty-eight
Carmen.
years before the city was built within
heavy, awkward burden must
"^
In the
others, with
its side.
futile
attempt to
His house was a large one-story
building at the corner of the Plaza, not distinguishable
from
its
surroundings except by the guard of soldiers at
GUATEMALA.
180
the gateway to
its
The
interior courtyard.
charge refused to take
my
card
in, telling
corporal in
several false-
hoods as to the whereabouts of the President his master

but at last a superior
who
officer arrived,
at once ordered
we were soon
the fellow to take the card, and
ushered,
without further ceremony, into the bedroom of the Chief

of the State.
O O O
It
is
the custom in this
country to arrange the chairs in a
re-
ception-room on either side of a sofa
O O O
^^^^ ^^ right angles to it

is
place of
this
moved about
He had
not
forgotten
and was
affable,
He
fectly.
called
an
said
President Barrios occu-
honor when
conversed he
seeming
on the sofa and enter-
sit
on either hand.
tain his guests
pied
expected to
until
entered
we
sat
interview at
our
and the host
but
we
as
by
side
side.
Totonicapan,
understand our wishes per-
to
we should have
all
officer to conduct us to the
we asked
for,
Department
and
of the
where Senor Lainfiesta, the Secretario de Estado

Despacho de Fomento, also promised to expedite our
Interior,
en
el
business.
Some days
later,
while discussing the resources
of Guatemala with the Minister of Foreign Relations, I
spoke incidentally of the bad arrangement of the Guate-
malan exhibit at Boston in the International Exhibition

whereupon the minister asked me to accompany
of 1883
him to the President and acquaint him with the matter.
;
We
went
at once,
was gratifying
lent corporal
we
simply
to see the stupid soldiers
jump up and
passed in unannounced.
full of disorder,
newspapers,
all
across the street
and
and the
it
inso-
salute the cabinet officer as
The
President's
articles of daily use,
mixed together.
room was
with books, guitars,
In the courtyard was a
GUATEMALA
and several sheep,
fine bull
CITY.
181
just imported.
I felt that
Senor Barrios greatly improved on acquaintance, and his

bright, quick eye
was decidedly
He was
intelligent.
not
but stout, with an air of military stiffness which
tall,
wore
refer
slowly.
off
In our conversation I asked
me to any printed accounts
him
to
of his personal history
but he smiled and said, " That, senor, has never been
Alas for the progress of the country
written."
life
was soon
to
man, who
internal prosperity of his

effected
fifty
by
years
There
all
that
end by violence, in an attempt to restore
the confederation of the republics,

to this energetic
a scheme very dear
in ten years did
own
more
republic than
for the
has been
the governments of Central America in
is
in
Guatemala but one theatre, and
we went on a Saturday
eral imitation
of the
night.
The
to that
building, a gen-
Eglise de la Madeleine in Paris,
stands in the centre of a plaza of considerable size laid
The Government subsidy of

$25,000 to $40,000 permits the employment of good
and we saw a
artists for five or six months in the year
"
Mujer
del VenLa
play
Madrid
company fresh from
out as a public garden.'
gador."
The
ballet
was
tolerable,
the
passing the females in skill and agility.
kept by the
trance.
visitor,
males far sur-
The
tickets are
the coupon being taken at the en-
The auditorium was lighted by gasoline
suffi-
1 It was in this garden that the attempt was made to kill President Barrios,
on the evening of Sunday, April 13, 1884. He was walking with General
Barrundia, the Minister of War, when a bomb exploded, severely wounding
both; but to allay public excitement the President bravely walked twice
around the garden, and then home. The would-be assassin was captured, and
proved to be a former conspirator whom Barrios had generously pardoned.
The bomb was loaded with poisoned
bullets.
GUATEMALA.
182
ciently, but the decoration
was
plain,
and not
attractive.
The parquette was
occupied almost exclusively by gen-
who gazed
serenely at the ladies in the boxes
tlemen,
which surround
way
and were gazed upon
this,
in turn in a
The
that would scandalize even a Boston audience.
wife of the President, a lady of great personal beauty,
was pointed out
to us
and we were assured that
not improper to stare at her, even with glasses.
it
was
In
all
such places the audience always claims quite as
much
my
boxes I
attention
as
the
stage
and among
the
of
noticed an elderly lady of decidedly American appearance,
and
fancied she might be
Susannah Penol,
later, as I
to
whom
was ushered
distinguished
the
had
letters.
Madame
few days
into her reception-room, I
once that I was not mistaken
for
had
capital portrait of the lady I
saw at
on the wall was a
seen.
Our hotel proved a most wretched one the comida

was poor in quality and insufficient in quantity. A
ballet-dancer and her pet dog took most of the best bits
as the various dishes were passed among the company.
Our host proved much the same sort as we had met at
Quiche
and we were compelled to move to the Gran
;
Hotel, which
On Sunday
we found very
comfortable.
the correct course
is
to see a cock-fight in
the forenoon, a bull-fight in the afternoon, and to go to
church and wash up in the evening.
gramme, and
in the
morning
Colonel Pratt (formerly of

learned
many
We
varied the pro-
visited the Chief of Police,
New
York), from
whom we
points of interest in the municipal regula-
tion of this city.
The Cemeterio, or Campo Santo, next
claimed our attention, where
we found catacombs
underground and lighted by a
clerestory.
partly
Several very
GUATEMALA
183
CITY.
showy monuments have been erected since the prohibition

though but few of them are
in good taste. A far pleasanter visit was to the " Bola de
Oro" baths, near the Teatro Nacional, where we had two
of burial witliin the cliurches,
good batli-rooms,
The water
reals.
baths
in the
city
sure on the mains
all
not good, and in the
disagreeable.
The
and not being
sufficient to
a douche, the water for this purpose has to be

into
an elevated
for four
pres-
regulated by water-towers, usually
is
built into the house
is
was
turbid character
its
and plunge,
witli douclie
From
cistern.
the bath
supply
pumped
we went
to
an
exhibition of native products and industries in the build-
Nacional.
ing of the Instituto
good one, and some

sugar,
More
and wax
of the products
were
interesting to
The exhibition was a
of
me was
as chocolate,
exceedingly high
the Instituto
quality.
Origi-
itself.
Government confiscated
nally a monastery, the
rice,
it
when
the religious orders were suppressed, and President Barrios

established in the vacant halls a college
creditable to
any country.
We
which would be
went through the
reci-
bedsteads looked neat and comfortable,
tation-rooms, the phj'sical laboratory, the dormitories,
where the iron
into the printing-room
menagerie, where were

beasts
and
birds.
We
thence through the garden to the
many good
specimens of native
next visited the meteorological ob-
where hung a dismal painting of some poor Indios being torn to pieces by dogs at
the command of the Conquistadores, and finally the muservatory, the faculty room,
seum, where, together with stuffed animals and birds, a

series of
specimens of native woods (labelled only with
native names), minerals, ores, and the rest,

choice collection of antiquities.
we found
Here on the walls were
GUATEMALA.
184
the dress-swords of Alvarado and Cortez, and strange
wrought iron
stirrups, of
and weight, that
had brought
the Conquistadores
from Spain. ^
of great size
In the cases were
grotesque incense-burners that ray

friend E. Rockstroh
from the country

dones
a lava
idols
had brought
of
the Lacan-
from various
mask from Copan
places,
(figured
on page 200), figurines in terracotta with tails and tigre-heads,

stone figures with turbans,
all
on a subsequent morning made

their impression on
my
plates.
Spanish
stirrup.
But an incense-burner
of
red
clay found
the
Lago de Ama-
in
titlan failed to excite
the
film,
so
delicate
dark was
the room and so
re-
fractory the color
the form
was most
complicated,
quite
rivalling in this re-
spect those ancient
Japanese
bronzes
used for the same

^
One
of these stirrups
(seen in the figure), given

to
nie
by Don Enrique
Toriello, then Jet'e at LivTerra-cotta Figurines.
mgston,
faires
and Consul-General of Guatemala
pounds, and
is
seventeen inches long.
at
New
r
now Charge di, Ai-
York, weighs
five
and a half
GUATEMALA
many
In the library are
purpose.
CITY.
185
valuable manuscripts,
mostly unpublished, but of interest to the historian and

antiquarian.
Almost worn out with
sight-seeing,
we
stopped at a
restaurant near by, and with our lunch had some native
cerveza negra,.
We
lasses.
an
had
beer brewed
unpleasant
lost the cock-fight
from mo-
but there was to be
a bull-fight in the afternoon, to which we were strangely
and we purchased
attracted,
under the roof at
seats
three reals, walking over to the Plaza de Toros at four
There was a
o'clock.
seven thousand
enclosure.
The
immense
in the
As an
audience
fair
perhaps
exhibition-drill.
wore red jackets, blue trousers, and white
soldiers
caps and cross-belts.
The
evolutions were well done to
the bugle-notes, ai:d the whole performance was to
much
like a ballet,
simply a complicated
concerted movements of the
or
circular building or
we had an
overture
six
human
me
series of pre-
body.
mounted on a superb white

horse, then rode across the ring and formally asked leave of
The Chief
the Chief of the Corrida to open the games.
horseman clad
tossed
the
him
a roll of colored paper, which he carried to
Amador
Toro and then backed gracefully out of
del
the enclosure.
Seville,
in black,
Then came
the Espada, Manuel Aguilar of
with three Banderilleros and as
followed by horses, mules, and mozos.

five
" bulls,"
of
many
Picadores,
There were only
which three were oxen,
and
they
have been, for any fight they showed. The

Picadores did their work, and the Primero Espada did
might
all
some excellent dodging

bloodthirsty had
but this did not satisfy us, so
we become.
At
first
we wanted
to
have
a horse killed, and at last nothing short of the death of
GUATEMALA.
186
a
man would
satisfy us.
thing of the kind
But we were not
and after the bulls had trotted about
the Plaza until half-past five, the
audience dispersed.
unsatisfied
audience have
to see any-
show was
What would
So far as the City of
the bull-fight
is
Roman
done in the Flavian amphitheatre, had
and disap-
their wild-beast propensities been thus excited
pointed
and the
over,
Guatemala
is
concerned,
growing unfashionable, and even with the
populace such uninteresting shows cannot long attract.
The Guatemaltecans should import some

able
''
Cribb Clubs" of our Northern
wish to see
human
blood flow.
At
of the fashion-
cities,
if
they
present there
is
still
more
brutality in the sparring exhibitions of Boston than in
the bull-fights of the Central American city.
Our day was not yet ended and as we crossed the Plaza
on returning from a call on a friend, we
found the pavement crowded with people and dotted with
little fires, over which various Indios were cooking doughThe fritters were eaten
nuts, fritters, and chocolate.
with plenty of honey, and were very palatable.
Another night we had an opportunity to see one of the
;
in the evening,
common in former days,

afterby law, but now occasionally allowed, as
religious processions so
wards prohibited
there
is little
danger of a renewal of the priestly power, and
these spectacles please the priests,
This particular one, which
women, and
we attended
and
image was not
set
on
fire,
with squibs and
all blazing
:
was carried through the streets with

and fireworks. It was a miracle that the
tinsel,
music, flowers,
the crowd
was in
huge doll,
in part,
honor of " Nuestra Senora de Guadeloupe."

all lace
children.
but no accident
especially
Roman
when the " toro,"
candles, ran through
befell, so far as I
knew.
GUATEMALA
am somewhat
187
confused as to the person the image repre-
was
sented, but
CITY.
was
told that she
visiting the holy lady
who lived in the church to which the

marched. On arriving at the door the visitor
(santissima senora)
procession
was obliged
to tip over
tal position.
It
was no doubt
utterly undignified that
church and see
At
and go
how
we
in
head
first in
but
all right,
it
a horizon-
seemed so
did not care to go into the
she got up again.
the hippodrome in the plain of Yocotenango, to
which the horse-cars run from the grand Plaza, horse-races
May, August, and November, at which times

are offered by the Government and the Sociedad
are held in
prizes
Zo6tecnica.
It
was
interesting to see
how
the State had occupied
the buildings of the banished or suppressed communities.
In the Franciscan convent was the Revenue and Cus-
toms Bureau
the Post-Office occupied the church and
convent of the Third Order
(of St. Francis)
and Telegraphs divide the
fine
of the suppressed Sociedad
the Treasury
house formerly the home
Economica
and the Bureau of
Liquors and Tobacco holds the splendid building of the
Dominican
friars.
Other of the confiscated
edifices
are
used as schools, and are most admirably suited to the purpose.
There are eight elementary schools for boys, and ten
for girls
two
finishing schools or academies for each sex
and others and two asylums,

which collect in the morning the young children of poor
parents, instruct and feed them, and return them at night
six night-schools for artisans
to their homes.
There are two establishments for second-
ary instruction, one for each sex, directed by foreign professors
and well
installed
already mentioned.
one
is
the Institute Nacional,
All these institutions are supported
;;;
GUATEMALA.
188
by the Government, much
of the system being
enlightened policy of General Barrios.

cial
instruction,
and
also
due to the
Provided for spethe same way,
supported in
are the Technical School (Escuela de Artes y Oficios), well
provided with laboratories and steam-power
the Agricul-
tural College, with fields near the city for practical
work
a Business School, with night sessions for clerks
Law
School, Medical School (Medicina y Farmacia), Normal
School,
besides
Polytechnic Institute,
many
and
School
Design
of
schools supported by private means.
Benevolent institutions, too, are not wanting,
them the Asylum
for
Orphans and Invalids
among
the Central
Hospital, where four hundred patients are cared for daily
The Penitentiary seems to be well conducted, and the House of Correction has extensive workshops, in which good work is
done. No less than twenty public fountains and washingand the Military Hospital
in the
suburbs.
places adorn and keep the city clean.
All business
small,
is
not conducted in the shops, which are
and seldom make much display
markets, one of which, the Nacional,
and seems
every
sort,
to contain within its
in
but there are two

is
very extensive,
bounds merchandise of
one place pottery,
in
another fruit
saddlery and cloths, confectionery and hardware, bread
and guns, are
close at hand.
of the necessaries of life
The
prices are high, even
and the cheapest things were
pottery and nets, both of Indian manufacture.
not a
little
amusing
to
It
remember that the great
was
retail
stores of Boston were imitating the variety-shops of this
nncommercial
city,
kinds of goods,
and collecting within their walls
from
all
shoes to hats, from dinner-sets
to carpets, from stoves to books.
The country
variety-
GUATEMALA
stores
of
New England
almost everywhere
189
CITY.
are outdone in both cases.
else, it is
As
expected that the purchaser
down the price. Among the curiosities

market we found native jackets {guepiles) made in
will try to beat
of the
the simplest manner, but embroidered with the greatest

labor and most barbaric fancy of color and form.
the
women
many
cloak
take great pride in
and the showy garments
deficiencies in the rest of the wardrobe.
Indian
Pottery.
These
CHAPTER
VII.
GUATEMALA TO ESQUIPULAS.
EARLY one morDing Frank and I rode out

and np
hill
an elevation
to
of
of the city
twelve hundred
passing the aqueduct and getting several fine views
feet,
of the capital,
better
in
some respects than the view from
Carmen for now the two volcanoes were

As the road was excellent, and our animals were
clear.
in thorough trim, we both got more enjoyment in the
saddle than from almost any other mode of sight-seeing.
the Cerro del
We
was
were leaving the volcanoes of Antigua

before us, and
we
but Pacaya
had entered a distinctly volcanic

region.
We
passed
several small
lages, in
^^^B^-:;r.^^^<:^^^^^^^^^^-'
one of which
we breakfasted
honey and
Pacaya, Fuego,
vil-
on
tortillas.
Agua.
Cerro Redondo
is
small hamlet of perhaps a thousand inhabitants, whose

chief occupation
is
coffee-culture.
hill "
which
name is a small, very regular volcanic cone,

number less regular extending towards the Pacific
gives the
one of a
The "round
Here in the road-cut were black volcanic sands

and plenty of vesicular lava. As the daylight waned, we
met men, women, and children coming from their day's
coast.
work
in the caf etal,
and a contented, happy company they
We
were.
ment
of
191
town
of the Depart-
did not arrive at the chief
or Cuilapa,
Santa Rosa, Cuajinicuilapa,
as
it is
until nine o'clock.

Here we found a
wretched posada, where we shared our room with an enor-
often abbreviated,
mous cockroach an inch wide and two and three quarter

inches long.
Although we had a letter to the Jefe from
the Department of State, we did not care to wait in the
morning for him to get up so after climbing into the
;
church-tower and over the roof,
we
rode on to the fine
old bridge over the Rio de los Esclavos.
This, consisting
masonry arches spanning a rocky ravine, bears the

dates 1592-1852.
Our path followed the valley for some
of ten
time, and at a convenient place
we had a bath
As we
rapid river, whose waters were agreeably cool.

left
the
our path
river
nearly eighteen hundred
led
in the
up a very steep ascent
On
Hunapu "
feet.
the
way we had
sev-
volcanoes, Pacaya,
Fuego, Agua, and Acatenango,

clustered together, and
eral fine views of the "
in
the clear atmosphere
seeming to be
close at
hand. Pacaya seemed

to
have the
laro;est
^-^
while
crater,
had none
Hunapu from the East.
Agua
visible
from
On
this side.
the top of this " lad-
der" we rested our animals on a grassy plain where they

could pasture.
the
way
up, and
We
had noticed cotton-trees (Bomhax) on
we found some
repairing the road had
which
is
left,
pleasantly acid,
to
hedging {Bromelia Pinguin).
wild pines that the
and we tracked the

the
pines
used
men
fruit,
here
for
The curious umbrella-ants
{(Ecodoma) were common on the path, each carrying

bit of leaf
wherewith
to stock the formicarium.
its
puff
GUATEMALA.
192
of the breath
would overset these heavy
sail-bearers,
which
We
had no time to follow them home

when we came to Azaciialpa, still
leagues from Jutiapa, we found this large village
go in Indian
file.
on this occasion
for
some eight
(twelve hundred inhabitants) had no posada.
Indeed,
it
had nothing but corn and beans, and even water was
scarce
we pushed on
so
into the night through an un-
we
known
country.
bestias,
though a senora sold us a bottle of excellent honey.
We
After dark
had seen from the
could buy no maiz for our
above, in the fading light, a
hill
magnificent valley of great extent, broken by ridges and

ravines,
and we had hoped
some decent
to find
shelter.
But when the moon rose over a volcano, we decided to
camp
and picketing our steeds on a
fine
pasture,
we
on our blankets, undisturbed except by the wind,
slept
which was strong at times.

were 3,152
above the
feet
Our barometer
I
sea.
told us
we
noticed that in the
was apt to be windy at night.

In the morning our honey, a little bread, and some
unripe oranges gave us a very unsubstantial meal nevertheless at daybreak we saddled and rode on.
We saw
highlands
it
many
pigeons,
and crows.
little
At La Paz we found a very neat
where we stopped
signs
my bowl
cockroach.
gray quails that ran along the path,
It
for almuerzo
but alas for external
of black-bean soup contained a patriarchal
was pleasant
to see
through the open door
our animals eating a good breakfast of sacaton.

farther on
house,
was a
clear stream
over a dusty plain
among
but most of the
little
way was
espina hlancas'^ {Acacia) and
See note on Zompopas in the Appendix.
These acacias not only yield gum-arabic, but the pods contain so much
tannin that they are used to
make
ink.
calabash-trees, lava streams
and blocks.
The
193
surface of
the ground was cracking open with dry shrinkage, and
was little to interest us. Our Yankee nature asserted

itself, and we whittled at some of the little purple-spotted
calabashes as we rode along.
The rind is very hard, even
and the inside is solid and consistent as
in young fruit
an unripe squash. The odd-looking, speckled blossoms
there
spring from the trunk of the crabbed-looking tree {Crescentia cujete).
About noon we came
to Jutiapa, situated
on a plain
through which the Rio Salado has cut a deep valley.
We
entered by a gateway and found the Plaza.

This
was paved, and in the midst a dribbling fountain indicated
a very insufficient water-supply for the town.
Before us
was the church, behind us the Casa Nacional, and the

other sides were occupied by stores and the house of the
Jefe.
Our anxious inquiries for a posada were met with
the too frequent answer that there was no such thing
here in this town of some twelve hundred inhabitants.
Good fortune
directed us to inquire of a person in a shop
at a corner just beyond the church
and
this resulted in
a most hospitable invitation to the house of Seiior Alonzo

Rozales, a Spanish gentleman whose
name
will be
always
room opening
a charm to conjure by. He
to the street as well as into the patio, and we at once felt
at home.
We had walked many miles, I leading, Frank
gave us a large
driving, the poor tired animals.
It
was
fifteen leagues
from Cuilapa to Jutiapa, and the road was very hard and
maiz very
mozos,
scarce.
We
whom we had
overtaken on the road
were obliged to wait here for our

sent from
;
Guatemala but had not
and we were happy enough that
the necessary delay came in so comfortable a place.

13
Our
GUATEMALA.
194
iis new mats for oiir bedsteads, and pillows

trimmed with lace in Spanish style then, after killing a
very large and crusty scorpion which had established him-
host brought
self
over the door, presented us with a bottle of Val de
Pena,
fine red
wine from Spain,
and
left
us to our
rest.
Sunday morning came, but no signs of our mozos. The

church was closed, as there was no resident padre we got
in, however, while an attendant opened it to do some work
on the bells. The roof was apparently arranged for a
;
"Within
fortification.
we saw
built into the stucco over the
the skull of an Indio
(?)
agua hencUta, and a painting
representing a padre offering the consecrated wafer to a
kneeling
ass,
apparently
in the office of the
communion,
as the padre holds the chalice in his other hand.
the background perhaps the owner

the
has long mustachios, wears a turban, and holds np
of
figure in
hands
No
in astonishment.
subject could be obtained there
and
his ass,
Christ
we concluded
rode
why
ass
his
explanation of this curious

;
and after rejecting Balaam
was the
As volcanoes
that this
Jerusalem.
to
into the Church,
not asses
ass
on which
are baptized
There was a worn-out, poverty-stricken appearance to

the town
not a cultivated plant to be seen, as
vegetables and
more
fertile
fruits are
mountain
grown
at
valleys.
some
all
the
distance, in the
Some
of
the
larger
houses, indeed, have a few flowers in their patio
these are quite invisible from the street.
No
but
fruit
was
in the shops or for sale in the streets, and our animals
were fed on
squashes.
Perhaps
at
the
annual
fair
(November 15) this ancient town, which under the

name of Xutiapan existed long before the Conquest, may
assume a
livelier
appearance.
Still
195
anxious about our
mozos, we walked back several miles on our road, though

the high wind
made
in the afternoon, Santiago arrived with the
hired in Guatemala
brought with him
more
and
little
daughter.
we had bargained
for,
This was
and
was
woman seemed quiet and inoffensive,

who could hardly walk, and was carried
but the
and the
to our astonishment the latter
his wife and
of a caravan than
puzzled
At last,
mozo we had
travelling very disagreeable.
child,
always on her mother's back, was a good
little
indeed, the most reasonable child I ever saw.
thin.i:i^,
I acqui-
esced in the arrangement the more readily becaiise I saw
that the
unwilling to have her husband go
from home that he might not return to her.

was a handsome, strong fellow, and proved well
away
He
woman was
so far
worth
all
the woman's care.
On Monday we
started our mozos
and luggage at
the morning, and left our kind host before seven.
six in
We
were almost surrounded by small volcanic cones, but

This gave
Suchitan was the only one we identified.
signs of its fiery origin
little
the
to unpractised eyes, for
lower slopes were covered with shrubs, and here
and there a
while
fields
little
house peeped out
among
extended to the cloudy summit.
was the wind on the plain
the
trees,
So severe
at the base of this volcano
that our animals several times turned from the path to
seek shelter.
five
leagues
Three leagues out we passed Achuapa, and

both small villages.
farther Horcones,
Clematis grew over the bushes and softened the rough
appearance of the calabash-trees and espina blancas,

almost the only vegetation on this dry and unpromising
upland.
We
had frequently seen the ocean from our
GUATEMALA.
196
highway during the past few days, and now we saw the
volcanoes of Salvador, one of which was smoking, which I
sujDposed to be Izalco.
over the plain, as
some bed
if
and brought down
was well
stone
tortilla-stones,
Blocks of lava were scattered
had been broken up
of lava
by an avalanche.
in fragments
all
The
suited for the manufacture of metatles, or
and fragments were scattered
about, as
all
well as several half -finished metatles, spoiled by an un-
We
lucky blow.
did not learn with
cutting
could not find any one at work, and
what
tools this rather difficult stone-
The honey
accomplished.
is
good, perhaps
made
of Suchitan is very
partly from acacia-flowers
its flavor
being not unlike that of the famous honey of Auvergne

in France,
We
noon
also,
a region of extinct volcanoes.
arrived at Santa Catarina about three in the after-
and fed
there, while our animals rested
the cabildo,
we bespoke
a comida at a
the Plaza, and then explored the poor
little
little
in front of
cook-shop in
church, which
was dark, windowless, and wholly bespattered with batWe beat a hasty
pictures, crucifix and all.
filth,
and after a wash
retreat from this unseemly sanctuary
in the public fountain, returned to the cocina, where we
were served with
and
coffee,
and a half
for
cents.
tortillas, fried
eggs, plantains, frijoles,
which we paid three
As
reals, or thirty-seven
wê left the tow^n
we
passed a noisy
trapiche, or sugar-mill, consisting of three vertical

rollers
turned by four oxen.
the ancient cider-mills in
could
make
It
New
wooden
sounded very like one of

England.
good mill
a fair percentage of sugar out of the crushed
cane passing through these
rollers.
From the town we found a rather steep descent, and at

the bottom a large river to ford, whose bed was
full of
loose
rocks,
making
the passage
very
197
We
difficult.
had not gone two leagues from Santa Catarina before

darkness came on, and we camped by the roadside. A
cheery fire and our blankets made the camp very comfortable, and the little child was quiet all night,
not
civilized
The
enough, Frank declared, to cry instead of sleep.
was very heavy
dew-fall
probably always
is
it
so at this dry season.
We
while
were up at
we got
the
peace with
life
all
burning and made
fire
honey and wheaten

our out-door
and sent the men
light,
in
rolls
this
men, and
we
breakfasted well,
With
indeed,
good climate made us

satisfied
water
to find
coffee.
feel
at
nay, pleased with
The morning was cloudy but

we knew the clouds did not mean rain at this season, and
we were in the saddle before the dew was quite dried from
our blankets. As we went along we several times passed
black obsidian chips, some recent, but most of them quite
everything that befell
old,
evidently
work
us.
the refuse of the knife-makers, whose
in ancient times
was much
in
demand
slim blades used in circumcision were

once, then consecrated
in
the long,
never used but
the temples or broken
and
those knives used for other purposes were of course brittle,
and soon destroyed.
We
arrived at
Agua Blanca about
eight o'clock,
and
stopped to feed our bestias on cornstalks and squashes.
The former were kept high up
in the trees,
which neither
cows nor pigs could climb, while the squashes in endless

variety nearly
filled
a small house, through whose
bambu
walls the wandering hogs could smell the coveted food.
The town
is
appropriately
named
" White Water," for
the only supply was very milky in appearance and very
GUATEMALA,
198
clayey in taste.
of
Monte
is
directly over the town, the volcano
Rico, long extinct,
the landscape.
which
Almost
is
the most striking feature in
Cultivated to the very edge of the crater,
said to contain a large lake, the fertility of the
was greatest
fields
due,
top,
at the
no doubt, to
the waters of the crater
while the lower slopes are
comparatively
dr}^
and bar-
ren.
Around the base are
many
smaller cones, which
remind one of those which

dot the slopes of Êtna and
give the
Sicilian
volcano
name "Mother
the
Mountains."
of
Not a league
beyond we crossed the only
we saw
clear
stream
day
but even this water
was not very pleasing

the taste.
road
all
to
Bars across the
made us
fear
we had
missed the path and were
no longer
real; "
Mozo on the Road.
less.
in the afternoon,
we
tidings of our guide
in the "
camino
we were, nevertheAt Piedras Gordas,
stopped for food, in hopes of hearing
and mozos, who had started before
us.
Our frugal meal of plantains, tortillas, and red bananas

was constantly interrupted by the pigs who were stealing
For miles there
the sacaton from our hungry animals.
camps of the
marking
the
fireplaces
were booths and stone
pilgrims
who
At
pulas.
journey to the sacred Sanctuario de Esqui-
we camped in a
mountains. No human
six o'clock
high up in the
few
near, but a
199
cattle
pine-forest
fine
habitation
was
The
pas-
were seen here and there.
turage was good between the scattered trees of this grand
We built a roaring
park.
from the
trees,
pegged
which cast curious shadows
fire,
our
enjoyed
securely,
bestias
a good lomilomi, or Hawaiian massage, and both
fell
awoke with the strong impression

There was no noise, not
that something was wrong.
asleep.
Suddenly
even the cry of a night-bird
only the soft sough of the
Frank was breathing

quietly at my side, the fire was out, and the night was
As I sat up to look about, a
cold outside the blankets.
dark object caught my eye in the dim distance, and
without much thought or reason I went towards it,
simply because I felt impelled to do so. There was no
night-breezes
in
the
pine-tops.
consideration of personal danger, but an overpowering

feeling
that
thought as
all
I got
was not
as
it
it
looked like the
there were the short, straight horns, the hoofs,
and I saw the switch of a tail.

dream. I had seen the " father
human
first
near the black object, which seemed to
move towards me, was amusing,

devil
The
should be.
was very
It
of
form, but never so undisguised
in
lies "
;
and
like
many
was
filled
The next moment a joyful hinny discovered our mare Mabel, who recognized me before I
Putting my arm around her
could plainly see her.
with
curiosity.
neck, I found the remnant of the horse-hair lariat with
which Frank had fastened

camp, more than an eighth
her.
I tried
to
return to
of a mile away, but could
not orient myself in the dark, and had to call to Frank.
GUATEMALA.
200
Guided by
his answer,
I retraced
my
stumbling
steps,
had unconsciously crossed in going out

and we found the peg and again secured Mabel. In this
curious way we were saved a long hunt for the next
into a brook I
day.
At daylight we were on a very good road, and soon

after eight we stopped at a sugar-plantation for some
Here was a fine stream, tocoffee and frijoles negras.
gether with vats formerly used for indigo-making,
Hill rose above hill,
useless.
far
away
places,
as ever.
By
now
and Esquipulas seemed as
the roadside were the pilgrim
frequent and extensive, and
we
fire-
noticed a large
deposit of a pink-colored rock, which I supposed might
contain manganese {Rhodonite).
The specimens
away, I regret to say, were afterwards

camps.
The
last hill at
left at
brought
length climbed, before us lay an
extensive valley reachiitg to the distant
mountains of
Merendon, the boundary of Spanish Honduras.
Lava Mask
one of our
in
the
Museo Nacional.
CHAPTER
VIII.
ESQUIPULAS AND QUIRIGUA.
HAVE
grouped in this chapter two most interesting
monuments
of the past,
mission seems to have been
a Christian
temple whose
and a pagan grave-
fulfilled,
yard where stand the monuments of unknown kings or
They are not inaptly
heroes.
joined
for in this busy,
matter-of-fact, commercial age,
it is
ishable records of our brothers
who have
the unending
us, if
but for
signify that there
monuments
is
the temple
raised by pious labor to

more than the present to live for,
of the dead to carry
so soon lost in earthly
We
preceded us in
march of life upon this globe should detain

a moment, with the lessons they may teach
to thoughtful minds,
the
well that the less per-
on the personalities
life.
gazed from the precipice at the white building,
large even on so vast a plain,
and began the steep
de-
was almost dead in appearance.

There were many houses and rooms to let, but no
and as our mozos had not arrived, we rode
posada
The
scent.
little village
to the Santuario
down
the single street of the town.
It
was wide, paved with cobbles, and bordered on either side

by the booths and lodging-sheds for the merchants and
devotees who still crowd the town at the festival season.
Two streams, one the headwaters of the Rio Lempa,
flowed across the road beneath solid masonry bridges.
GUATEMALA.
202
Into two of the posts of one of these were inserted two

ancient sculptures, said to have been brought from Peten,
but more probably from the neighboring ruins of Copan,

One was the grotesque head
just beyond the mountains.
human
of a griffin, the other a small
figure
with a pre-
The Santuario is an imposing

structure, massive rather than elegant, and dazzling in its
Towers rise at the four corners, divided into
whiteness.
head-dress.
posterous
four stages, of which the lower one
is
broken only by a
window on the side the second is pierced by

the
an arched window and decorated with pilasters
small oval
third, still
square, rises above the general roof with two
windows on each side the fourth, octagonal in shape,

A large
has a single window on the alternate sides.
dome rises in the midst, figures of saints and a clock
;
mark
the facade, and the whole structure rises from an
extensive platform
masonry
posts,
surrounded by an iron fence with
and approached by a broad and easy
flight
of steps.
On
entering, the first thing noticed
was the immense
thickness of the walls, ten or twelve feet at least,
reminder that this
is
an earthquake country.
was paved with large

places.
Among
tiles,
the pictures was
needing
floor
repairs
in
one of the Last Supper,
it
a decidedly local one of people lassoing
We
had hardly glanced about, when a curious
and near
Christ.
red
The
figure presented himself, speaking tolerable English very
rapidly, and, after the usual interchange of compliments,
introduced himself as Dr. Jose Fabregos y Pares, a traveller
young
and then presented

cura,
his church
his
companion, the handsome
Padre Gabriel Davila, who welcomed us to
and showed us the
curiosities
of the place.

of course,
Firstj
Christ,
''
we wanted
Our Lord
to
famous black
the
see
203
This miraculous im-
of Esquipulas."
whose shrine devout pilgrims have gathered even

pilgrims numbered
from distant Mexico and Panama,
age, to
many
in former years as
tival,
was
made
in
as fifty thousand at a single fes-
Guatemala City
in
1594 hy Quirio
Catano, a Portuguese, at the order of Bishop Cristobal de

Morales, on
The
the
petition
pueblo of Esquipulas.
of the
sculptor was paid " cien tostones,"
a testoon being
of the value of four reals, or half a dollar
and
meet
to
expense the Indios planted cotton on the very land
this
where the sanctuary now stands.

tury and a half the image stood
For more than a cenin the village church,
where the miracles wrought spread
The
archbishop
first
Figueroa,
laid
the
which he did not
of
its
fame very
Guatemala, Pedro
Pardo
foundation of the present

live to finish,
but died Feb.
far.
de
temple,
1751,
2,
praying with his last breath that his bones might rest
at the feet of this
image
of his Lord.
In 1759 SeSor D.
Alonso de Arcos y Moreno, President of the Real Audiencia

of Guatemala, completed the great work, at a cost, it is said,
of three million dollars
and on January 6
image was translated with

Cliurch.
Twelve days
all
later, the
the
pomp
of that year the

of the
Romish
remains of the pious arch-
founder established a brotherhood
The
worthy people who should take upon themselves the
material support of the edifice but Padre Miguel Munoz,
bishop followed.
of
writing in 1827, says that this laudable custom had died

out
among
the whites, only the Indios holding to the com-
Those of Totonicapan furnish a certain amount of

wax and provide for some offices of the Church those
of Mexico visit the shrine in Holy Week with offerings
pact.
GUATEMALA.
204
wax
of
while from Salvador are brought wax, incense,
balsam,
oil,
and brooms.
Now, with
all this
we
expected to see something re-
markable, but saw only an ordinary altar-piece, with plain

curtains before the miraculous image.
was not a
It
holy-
service time, consequently the curtains could not be raised;
the padre, however, after sending Frank's revolver out

of the holy place, took us behind the altar
to a small glass
was much
room where the black image
than
less
by time,
ever, only
life size,
and
silver
very black,
stands.
It
painted, how-
inferior in conception
and wearing long female

figure,
and admitted us
and execution,
Ex-voto pictures and gold
hair.
images and tokens hung upon and around this
and in the same chamber were figures of Joseph
and Mary, together with angels with cotton-wool wings.

It
was impossible
me to
for
feel
any
of the
awe with which
past generations of Indies have regarded this black Christ.
My
imagination
not wholly dulled, and I have
is
felt
curious sensations before the horrible idols of the Pacific

islanders, before the placid features of a gigantic
Gods
in the Hall of
the Vatican.
pers
my
and before the Jove
of
have been in the holy places of many
and have
nations,
at Canton,
Buddha,
a sympathy with the worship-
felt
even the black
cliffs
thoughts captive.
nothing but the husk,
of the supposed Sinai
But here
have led
in Esquipulas there
nothing
was
solemn, nothing holy
was the most respectable thing

in the church. It was, moreover, no strange thing to pass
into the vestry and overhaul the boxes of gold and silver
the portrait of Figueroa
ex-votos
these
They were
we could purchase at so much an ounce.

new friend Dr. Jose declared,
indeed, as our
" very curibus."
All parts of the
human
body, healthy
ESQUIPULAS AND QUIKIGUA.

or diseased,
many
animals, and other objects of
desire or solicitude, were to be found here.

of-fact
Northerners
may
it
men and
human
To our matter-
be necessary to explain the
theory and object of these works
Medical
205
of
surgeons are almost
native platerias.
unknown
in
the
remote regions of Central America, and a sick or injured
man, while applying

the
nearest
among
all
known
or
'platero,
remedies, sends also to
silversmith
part made; this token some friend,

able to
(common
enough
the aborigines), and has a model of the affected
make
if
the patient be un-
the journey himself, carries to the mysterious
image, whose power to heal he devoutly believes
in.
It
The barren woman

in the northern climes, instead of being bowed down with
her sad lot, obtains an easy consolation in a pug or lapis
a faith, rather than a mind, cure.
dog
but her Indian sister takes a truer view of the pur-
pose of her
life,
and
in her prayerful longing devotes in
much
Hannah, the wife

Elkanah, devoted the unbegotten Samuel to the Lord.
efhgy the coveted offspring,

of
as
Like the Hebrew barren wife, the Indian goes up on a

pilgrimage to the most sacred shrine, makes her offering,
and breathes her prayer.
The
Eli of the Sanctuary bids
her " go in peace."
The accumulated offerings of gold and silver images

not always,
are sold to pay the charges of the Templo,
however for report has it that the Government some
years
ago seized
fifty
thousand
treasure and appropriated
it
to
dollars'
its
own
worth of
this
use.
Dr. Jose invited us to share his room, which
we
gladly
his
He had just returned from Honduras, and was on

way to an Indian city in Guatemala where was buried,
to
his certain information,
did.
an immense treasure
of the
GUATEMALA.
206
ancient
locality,
will
not
I fear
Don
kings.
though
my
tell
the
readers
exact
Jose will find no treasures
greater than the beautiful opals he brought from beyond
Mountains.
the Merendon
bought oranges of a
asked, ten
believed
in
me
As we
the Templo
left
giving her the price she
little girl,
for a cuartillo (three cents)
and
I almost
miracle-working image when the
the
girl
more oranges
I ought to have inVery late in
sisted on having twenty for a cuartillo.
arrived,
having been lost in the
the afternoon the mozos
Cerros, where we strangers had found a plain path withThere was not enough daylight left to give
out guides.
brought
three
us a photograph of the
Even
Santuario.
image, but
at the present
we
the white
got
day the annual
festival,
extending from the sixth to the ninth of January, brings

together
many
people,
but
perhaps quite as
much
for
trade as for worship.
As we rode out
men
of the
town
repairing the aqueduct,
the water in Esquipulas
unbroken
hill
is
in the
morning we passed
which
reminds
We
very bad.
eighteen hundred feet to
forty-six hundred, glancing
back for a
the divide,
we had
that
climbed an
an altitude of
last
great white temple, monarch of the plain.
me
look at the
As we
crossed
a fine view of Quezaltepeque, with
Monte Rico and Suchitan looking in the distance much

more volcanic than when we passed them on the road.
Hard as the ascent was, the descent was even worse
;
twenty-one hundred feet of exceedingly bad road delayed

us greatly, and
Quezaltepeque.
it
was long after noon when we arrived at

There was not much to see here.
In
the dirty church I noticed
a picture of the " Virgen
de Lourdes," and a contribution-box for offerings to that
modern shrine
burner, which
207
and Frank found a very curious incense-
certainly did not give evidence that the
command-
second
ment had been

As we
stayed only an
broken.
hour
for
our
al-
muerzo and comida
we
much
did
sides the Plaza
and
combined,
not see
the
main
we
followed
be-
street
the
Incense-burner.
latter
out of the
town, fording a stream of some
and bordered with
We
were now
a winding,
in
clear,
with gravelly bed
fruit-trees.
the picturesque valley of the Hondo,
and generally rapid stream
our path
and again was high above it on the

"We passed through San Jacinto about dusk and
sometimes crossed
cliffs.
size,
it,
camped a few miles beyond, having

after dark, as
go a long way
both sides of the road were fenced,
a most unusual thing.
We
unsuitable place, kindled a

to our camp,
to
at last stopped at a very

fire
which guided Santiago
and then decided to have our mozo and
an early start in the morning.

Frank took his revolver and went back nearly two miles,
where he found the Indio sound asleep in a house. Father,
mother, and child were quickly routed out, and when
they came up we comforted them with some hot coffee.
Towards morning it rained, but not through our blankets
and before the morning mist had risen quite above the
his family with us for
GUATEMALA.
208
hills
around
us, I
my
had
The daylight
camera at work.
showed what a queer bedchamber we had chosen. Acaciabrambles were thick enough, and there was no level
ground
while behind us was a high limestone
cliff
closely
resembling a columnar basaltic formation, and just across
We
the road a precipitous descent to the river.
mozos on
and followed soon
at six o'clock,
Santa Elena we saw
many
cultivated,
erally
temp-
resist the
ting river no longer, but had a delightful

clear, cool water.
At
after.
fan-palms, cultivated as mate-
At Vado Hondo we could
rial for hats.
sent the
swim
the
in
All the valley was beautiful, and gen-
here
with sugar, there with corn,
and we saw several small
As we approached
sugar-mills.
lower valley the
the
through the clouds and was very hot
sun broke
when we came
but
to the wide gravel bed of the sometimes broad river above
which Chiquimula stands, the heat was most unbearable.
On
a plateau to the right stood the ruins of an immense
church, while
valley.
We
far
away
rode up
to the
hill into
left
the
and, as usual, found no posada.
stretched a fertile
town
We
at eleven o'clock,
did,
however, find
good food and a very comfortable room at the large mercantile house of Senora Anacleta Nufio de Monasterio (this
was the mark on her
china).
in the patio were orange-trees
water.
went
The important matter
to church, finding
it
The house was
large,
and a fountain
of
of
and
good
lodgings settled,
out of repair and dingy.
put ourselves in thorough moral order,
we wished
to
To
decided to offer
here at this ecclesiastical centre two tallow candles,
a penance
we
perform at Quezaltepeque, but
could find no candles for sale near at hand.
I placed
the candles, lighted, in silver candlesticks, which were
209
empty on the grand altar, and sat down on the doorstep

Soon an attendant came and
to see what would happen.
and on being assured
candles
the
offered
I
had
asked if
"
in a very satisfied tone
that I had, exclaimed " Buen
;
nevertheless he took the poor candles from their place of
honor and put them before an empty

the
saint-case.
above were perhaps as well
saints
satisfied
Well,
;
but
Frank here below was rather indignant, and declared he

would never offer a candle again. But what else could
we expect for making light of the candles ?
We
Don Ezequel Palma, a military

man past middle age, who was very polite and who sent
his private secretary, Dr. Domingo Estrada, to show us the
called
on the
Jefe,
lions of Chiquimula.
We
rode
the ruins of the
first to
we had seen the remains of the church

The same earthquake that in 1773
in the morning.
destroyed Antigua shattered this town and caused the
ancient town where
removal of the inhabitants some distance to the west-
The old site was a better one but the people

moved away to save the trouble of clearing up the ruins.
The church was two hundred and fifty feet long, and
seventy-five wide.
The immense walls, ten feet thick,
ward.
were
still
standing
but the vaulted roof blocked the in-
The
terior with its fragments.
place were
now
ruins of this once holy
used as a cemetery, the rank in this
world of the occupier determining the distance of each

grave from the altar-end
while outside were the neg-
The brambles and thorny

unpleasant for living beings, and
lected ashes of the commoners.
plants
made
we
away as soon as possible.

passed the new hospital, which Dr. Estrada showed
the locality
got our horses
We
us with pride
it
will be,
if
14
ever completed, the best
GUATEMALA.
210
in Guatemala.
showed us
visit to
of
fields
red cane, small,
but very sweet.
made
in Buffalo, N. Y.,
There were two small
one
a sugar-estate in the valley
mills, both
turned by wind, the other by oxen
product
and the
about nine hundred pounds of brown sugar
is
a day.
At
the next morning
five
military band of the

several times
We
left
before
the ancient
we were serenaded by
town, an honor we had
and the
town
of
the
received
was very good.
music
Chiquimula at eight o'clock,
although our hostess, Seilora Anacleta, wished us to stay
and join an expedition

ine " las ruinas,"
of her friends to
an excursion
Copan
exam-
to
wê longed to make, but
could not then.
The road
gigantic
pulpy
We
fragile
lasso,
These curious trees looked
cacti.
but
Frank
tried
and the horse
with
branch
not
could
pull
(chiefly
it
On
shall never again lasso a prickly cactus.
by the road
trees
many
Zacapa was good, and we saw
cylindrical
and
raw-hide
his
off
to
were
euphorbiaceous trees)
to twenty inches long, of some

As we approached Zacapa we crossed the
Hondo by a ford where the water was not two feet
deep but the path was very long and winding, and the
current rapid.
As usual, there was no posada but a call
on the Jefe, Don Brigido Castaileda, resulted in a page
large
nests,
eighteen
mud-wasp.
being sent to conduct us to the decent house of a widow,
where we found
was
lodg;ino;
and comida.
Our
for a blacksmith, our animals needing
There were three
lierreras in the
town
first
search
re-shoeing.
but one was
another had no charcoal, while the third had no
and there was no lending among these sons
sick,
nails,
of Thor.
So
Frank had
and
to do the
211
work himself with hammer and axe
his general handiness again stood us in stead.
was
enough
little
to attract us in this town,
the next morning (Sunday)
followed before the weekly
we
There
and early
sent the mozos ahead
was
of the militia
drill
and
fin-
In Zacapa the Government has a large tobacco-
ished.
factory
and the
'
Zacapa puros
much
" are
liked
by
smokers.
All the
we passed
way
out of town the fields were dry, although
several small streams,
and beyond San Pablo a
grove of fan-palms watered by a
No
fine brook.
fruit
was anywhere to be seen, not even on the great cacti.

The Motagua River we had looked for at every turn, and
at last wê came upon a stream so rapid that it does not
even water
tion, but
its
dry banks.
swim was out
of the ques-
our bath was very refreshing.
At Zacapa we left the volcanic region and afterwards

we saw no more lava or tufa, but a formation resembling
;
old red sandstone, mica schist, slates, milk-quartz,
some serpentine.
mountain-belt.
We
and
were then in the metamorphic
The shapes
of the hills of course
changed
with their geological nature, and we missed the beautiful

cones that had formed a characteristic of our daily land-
we had our first glimpse of Tajumulco from

the Chixoy valley many weeks before.
On this road we saw the Palo Cortez,
one of the
scape since
most splendid flowering-trees I ever saw.

leafless,
and covered with dark-pink
large numbers,
mass
it
of rich color,
in sight
at
once.
It wâs large,
flowers.
Never in
brightened the dark forests with
and as many as
Surely
we
five or six
could
its
would be
have made a
endar marked by some remarkable plant each day
cal-
and
GUATEMALA.
212
this
Sunday was a
named
in
honor
red-letter day,
marked by
this tree
fine arbo-
of the great Conquistador.
rescent composite, with dark-orange blossoms of the size
and shape
that
my
of thistles, closely recalled the
dear friend Horace
Mann
Hesperomannia
(the younger) discov-
ered during our explorations in the Hawaiian Islands,
twenty years
before.
In the afternoon
tano,
we
passed the rancho of
where we saw good
Don Caye-
but did not stop until
cattle,
some distance beyond, when we boiled our
coffee
by the
roadside and I photographed our travelling arrangements.
Although we arrived
at
Gualan
more than the usual trouble

goitre,
in finding a lodging
man, who was
last a deaf old
we had
at half-past five,
also
but at
burdened with a large
took us into his comfortable house of two rooms,
while Santiago,
who
professed to be familiar with the
The town was insignificant and decayed, although on the main road from
Guatemala City to the coast. After a supper of the
toughest meat we had found in this republic, our host
gave us his daughter's room and while Frank attempted
place, took our animals in charge.
to
make
the
little
bed comfortable,
slung
my hammock
The daughter, about sixteen, was

rather pretty, and we were sorry to incommode her but
she turned in with the old man, and we could hear that
from the dusty
rafters.
they were both asleep long before we got used to the
squeaking noise of a lizard in the thatch and to the
showers of dust every motion of
down from
my hammock
shook
above.
"We were at the head of navigation on the Motagua,
and decided
while
to send our
we took a
canoa.
mozos on
to
Los Amates by land,
Santiago had promised us one in

the morning, but could not find
it
found a boatman, and reduced his

Just as
^2.50.
higgage,
we were
we met our
Calvario,
many
whereupon Frank
price from ^4.00 to
;
returning to the house to get our
with a
useless Santiago
had kindly consented, as an

take us for $6.00.
213
we passed
In going to the river
which was elaborately walled
two hundred
feet
brought us
the
but the roots of
shrubs were prying the masonry open.
of about
man who
especial favor to him, to
descent
to the river
bank,
and we found the water cool and good.
Our canoa was a good " dugout," with a mat of split

bambu for our seat, and our boatman managed it very
skilfully, avoiding the frequent shoals and taking full
advantage of the current. Bathers and washerwomen
were common along the banks,
little
the
latter
with precious
clothing, but usually working under a palm-leaf
shelter.
Often they did not hear the paddle, so noisy
were their tongues, until we were
they generally ducked when they saw

alligators,
upon them
close
and
White herons,
us.
and iguanas were common
enough, and
we
saw two very round turtles about a foot in diameter.

Twice we touched bottom in the rapids but the skill of
the paddler kept us bows on and saved us a wetting.
;
was wide, and we saw three

mules crossing, as our bestias would have to do later in the
They waded two thirds of the distance and swam
day.
At Barbasco the
river
the rest, one being carried by the current into the bushes
down
The exhilarating motion was

our struggle up the Rio Polochic
contrast to
was no such
1
in
stream.^
interest in the valley of the
Another time when Frank was crossing he had
nearly lost his animals.
to
marked
but there
Rio Motagua
swim
for his
life,
and
GUATEMALA.
214
and not until we approached
as in that of the Polochic,
Los Amates did we come to the
In
forest.
many
places
banana or plantain suckers had got entangled in the

bushes overhanging the banks or on shoals, and were
The river is about a hundred

yards wide at Los Amates, where we landed after a canoa
voyage of five hours and a half. The steep bank was
rooting and
growing.
muddy, and the whole town likewise, as far as we could

see.
Four open-walled reed huts shelter all the inhabiThe view riverwards was
tants, both man and beast.
attractive, as the river
trail
seemed the only way out of
We
forest-environed spot.
this
walked into the woods on the
northward to El Mico, about three quarters of a
league
here the ground was utterly water-soaked, and
we saw nothing
interesting except
two humming-birds
They were so absorbed in their

deadly hatred that we stood some minutes within arm's
length without interrupting tliem. Near the houses the
having a
bitter duel.
manaca-palms overspread the path

forming
arches,
groined
comida was tolerable

abundant,
many
so
were
vaults
but
dogs
flies
and
in
of
most perfect Gothic

green.
Our
mosquitoes
were
and
were
living
and
pigs,
there
chickens with their wings turned inside out and
their feathers put on the
stones
at
the
doo;s
wrong way.
We
could throw
without attracting; notice
but
found the people evidently did not like to have the

pigs
insulted.
Our senora was a curious specimen,
all
skin and bones,
clad in a scant dress, a large straw hat, and apparently
At
night she put us on a shelf of slim bambus that would
not bear our weight standing, though they made a fairly
nothing
else,
and smoking an ever-burning
cigar.
We
comfortable bed.
poultry
neath us,
shared this
loft
215
with corn and
and looking down into the common room bewe saw by the light of a bowl of oil strange
domestic scenes.
and smoking
earth floor
Women
cigars,
and
it
were swinging in hammocks
and children lying naked on the bare
was pleasant
to see
such at-one-ness
and the utter absence of anything like bashfulness.

Our calendar alone informed us that the next day was
Christmas, and we spent it in waiting for our mozos and
bestias,
who
arrived about three o'clock.
resting here on their

south.
way
They kept us out
we found
a pretty
sat
on the
Friedmann mines, farther

the mud, and were the only
to the
of
On
comfortable seats in the town.

trees
We
inches in diameter, which were
sheet-iron pipes, fifteen
little
the mano-o and orano-e
yellow orchid {Oncidmm
.^).
In the houses we saw tanning done, without a vat, by
making a bag
decoction,
placed.
of the hide
and
filling it
with the bark
which slowly percolated through and was
re-
The remains of an English steam-launch were
scattered about, sheets of copper from her bottom serv-
ing as clapboards to part of the house where
we
lodged.
At night the men of the place were all drunk and very
The fires were kept burning late, and cast weird
noisy.
gleams through the open
slat walls into
the darkness.
Havina; ena-as-ed a ajuide for the so-called Ruinas at

Quirigua, at eight o'clock the next morning
adios (after paying our hostess
nineteen
we
reals
said our
for our-
and mozos) and started down the river bank.

Across the river were the largest bambus we had seen in
selves
the country, some joints at least six inches in diameter.
Our path led through a canebrake, and often

the loose banks of the Motas:ua that I feared
so close
on
we should
GUATEMALA.
216
drop
For two hours we went on in
in.
only to
rifle
came
and here
of black waters
first,
We
pullet's).
then turned to the
to the Quirigua river,
creek
and
my
and
more resembled a
which
and muddy bottoms.
crossed safely, our
on the
Santiago waded in
little
mozo leading
Once
care.
(less in
left
heart sank, for I have a great dread
I followed close
with great
way, stopping
a turtle's nest of fourteen small eggs
than a
size
this
mule
his wife
and we
all
by the hand
in the thick forest, our guide did
empty a generous bottle of aguardiente he

had brought with him so that within an hour he knew
his best to
Cohune
and similar palms were on all sides, and we first saw
here the iiacaija {Euterpe edidis ?),
a slender palm with
Enormous trees with buttresses
edible pods or buds.
were prominent
even the goyava took this form here
among the lower palms, and ginger and wild bananas
very
little
about the road, or anything else useful.
bordered the rather indefinite path, which we had constantly to clear of vejucos and fallen palm-leaves.
round
holes,
large
as
as a
flour-barrel,
palm-stumps had been eaten out by
little
^wetting
mule
slid
soaking
this
large
Many
showed where
insects.
brook with chalybeate waters cost us both a

for Frank's
down
my
muddy
mare stuck
and
my
a steep bank backwards into the water,
saddlebags.
road,
champas
in a mud-hole,
After travelling three hours on
we came
fast
to a clearing,
going to ruin.
where were two
Mr. A. P. Maudslay,
an Englishman who has spent much labor and money
in
exploring Guatemaltecan antiquities, had been here twice,
and not only cleared a considerable space around the

monuments, but had cleaned the stones, and
even made moulds in plaster of some of them; he had
principal

the champas that sheltered us.
built
also
217
our wet things over a
ment (A on the
plan),
fire,
and went to the
which was
close
at
We
spread
first
monu-
hand.
Mr.
Catherwood's sketches, published in Stephens's most
in-
teresting Travels, led us

to expect rough menhirs
analogous
quite
to the
Standing Stones of Stennis, or
known
those better
of
Stonehenge.
Here, rising from a pool

of water collected in the
Mauds-
excavation Mr.
lay had
made
to
exam-
ine the foundation,
was
a monolith of light-col-
ored, coarse-grained
well
carved
entire
surface
sandstone,
over
its
except top and bottom.
On
the front and back
were full-length human

figures,
not
deities,
but
attempted
likenesses,
joined with
the tigre's
head to indicate
tainship,
and a
Remains
at
Quirigua.
chief-
skull
to
represent
death.
were covered with hieroglyphic inscriptions

tinct,
but not
Frontispiece.)
intelligible
(See
have given to be per-
mitted to read the stone-cut story

ever inspired half the curiosity.
sides
quite dis-
any living being.
to
What would
Both
No
locked chamber
When was
this stone
;;
GUATEMALA.
218
by whom, and
set up,
when
portraits,
do for their
questions
is
of idolos
is
to
what purpose
did. these persons live,
The mocking answer to all these

The native name
the stone before us.
cut in
an
idle one, unless
used in the Greek sense
distinctly as the tombstones in our
While the hieroglyphs are similar
and Palenque, they are
of
the
the denominative
Egyptian obelisks.
dead as
modern graveyards.
to those at Copan
not, I think, identical,
they are of the nature of
and
fancy
cartouches
copy Mr. Maudslay's plan
group of monuments, from which
of this
are the
fellows.
for these are no gods, but memorials
of the
Whose
and what did they
it
will at once
be seen that their relative position to the other remains

puzzling
is
for
the
in
the
time, and
photography.
We
extreme.
our imaginings
left
proceeded to the practical work of
was
shadows on the monuments,
This was no light task
behind trees which cast
for the sun
while the shady side was almost invisible in the camera.
swarmed
Insects
almost insupportable under
However,
readers
focusing-cloth.
away a dozen
pic-
I can with no greater difficulty explain to

this
cemetery looked
aid of Mr. Maudslay's rough plan,
We
rubber
the
succeeded fairly in carrying
Whether
what
tures.
my
and the heat was
in front of the lens,
like,
even with the
more questionable.
is
entered a clearing, some four hundred feet square,
made only
the year before, but
undergrowth, so that our
men had
freely to expose the stones.
The
already covered
with
to use their machetes

level
was low and the
soil full of
water, which stood in pools here and there.
On
was a mound, more than two hundred
our
left
long, which we did not
inspect,
placed three monoliths.
The
and
first
in front of this
feet
were
(A) was the smallest
\HC
sSîl
Ci^^'y-
^--- 1'
P!>)âJt.c^
MONOLITn AT QUIRIGUA,
E.

the second (B)
was four
219
feet wide, three feet deep,
23erhaps sixteen feet high;
and
the third (C) was four feet
nine inches wide, two feet nine inches deep, and eighteen
feet high.
Both
B and C
tops of all were left
Two
stood on irregular ends, and the
much
taller ones stood
as they
came from the quarry.
on the opposite side of the clearing.
Monolith at Quirigua, F.
was inclined (as it was to a much less extent

when Mr. Catherwood made his drawing, forty years ago),
and the under side has been protected from the weather,
One
(F)
so that the face

intact.
is
well preserved, the large nose being
This face, unlike the one on the opposite
below the general
level of
side, is
the sculptures, suggesting a
GUATEMALA.
220
substitution of the present portrait for the original one.
The
inclination
tical
is
about thirty-six degrees from the ver-
and as the stone
ground,
it
is
about twenty-five feet alDOve
must be wedged with large foundation-stones,
or be buried deep in the soft earth.
Of
all
the portraits cut upon these stones, this leaning
The hands and feet

are represented in the same conventional manner as on
the stone marked E but the immense size of the nose, as
The
well as of the ears, distinguishes it from all others.
monolith has the most remarkable.
cast of countenance
is
very Egyptian.
On many
of these
sculptures are seen indications of the worship of the cross

(as in
bol
is
the figure on the reverse of E), although this symusually of complicated form, as on the celebrated
tablet at Palenque.
The monolith B has on the
breast, in
place of the cross, the double triangle, sometimes called
Solomon's Seal, and, like the cross, a well-known symbol

of primitive worship.
now
The nose
the upper side of F,
is
of the figure
on what
is
broken, but was of large size
originally.
There were several curious features in the decorative

or symbolic
work on the monument marked E on the
The plumes above the head are very extensive,

and there are two distinct heads of the tigre, superimposed with two well-modelled hands extending from the
The face is much injured. The ears are enorunion.
mous, and beneath the chin is a projection reminding one
One arm,
of the " beard-case " of the ancient Egyptians.
plan.
with ruffled sleeve, holds an instrument much like a

" jumping-jack," or else a human body impaled, while the
other
The
is
concealed beneath a richly ornamented target.
feet are turned out,
and on them
rest
what
closely

resemble
221
hats with plumes, while the pedestal (part
felt
of the one stone) on
which the figure stands, bears the
death's-head surmounted by a small head with the re-
markable ears of the chief
On
figure.
the reverse the
features of the figure are
A dia-
better preserved.
dem
distinct
under a
and very
realistic
is
large
jaguar-head, the ears are
covered by strap-like or-
naments, the sandals

elaborately wrought, and
the
ornaments
hat-like
much more
distinct than
on the other
costume
The
side.
more
is
elabo-
rate,
although not cut
in so
high
Two
relief.
large
masses (D and G)
like
the same
of
bowlder-
stone
are
placed unsymmetrically
Monolith E (back).
in relation to the other
monoliths, and rest on separate cross-stones.
carved
all
over with
figures
and
inscriptions,
They
are
being
fashioned at one end into the head and claws of some monster.
Aryan head, with mustache and

carved in high relief on the other. ^ If
decidedly
ing beard,
is
Although on the
flow-
these
and in the photograph as well, this head has the

a more careful examination of the photographic
image magnified shows that the upper portion of the seemingly human face is
^
stone,
appearance noted in the
text,
in truth that of a tigre, while the flowing beard
mutilated
human
face.
is
the remaining part of a
GUATEMALA.
222
were
altars,
they must have been very inconvenient ones,
as they are about five feet high,
upper surface
is level.
We
tions of the cemetery as
being
still
We
ing
little of
the
did not visit the other por-
shown on the
know
did not at the time
and very
plan, because
we
of their existence, our guide
imder the malign influence of the
bottle.
boiled our turtle's eggs (these, by the way, no boil-
ever hardens), drank coffee and limonade, and ate
sardines
among
these
an interesting
after
and the swarms
ment
Maya
The heat
only three hours.
visit of
of insects
and then departed,
relics,
by day gave us no encourage-
though we could not leave
to pass the night there,
without a hope that we might return, and perhaps dig
Although
about the stones.
visitors
do not often get to
these monuments, some have left the proofs of their low
sense of propriety in inscriptions scratched on the stone.
who wander through
Truly the Indios
and
call
fellows
cemetery
this
the figures idolos are more civilized than those
who have
desecrated the stones by their otherwise
unimportant names.
Our way out was a return
for
two
and then
miles,
branched into another path, where the marks of the

railway surveyors were plainly
and
visible,
it
seems that
the Ferro-carril del Norte will come close to the Ruinas

of Quirigua.
As we
left
the lowlands
we came upon
ledges of sandstone perhaps a mile from the Ruinas, of
the same kind used for the monoliths

find,
but
we
could not
perhaps owing to the dense vegetation, any signs of
quarry work.
In the path
apparently ancient
near at hand.
As
we saw fragments
of pottery
and there are no modern habitations
the path
wound up
the hill
we
crossed
a sandstone ridge and had fine views over the valley of

the Motagua.
It
was pleasant
to get
again, and on solid dry ground
223
among
the pines
mud
When we
I think I dread
more than any other impediment in the road.

struck the " camino real " late in the afternoon, Santiago
went to the little village of Quirigua to get the traps he
had left there, while Frank and I went on to the hacienda
of Senor Rascon, late Jefe of Izabal,
the
office of
whom we had met
in
Secretario Sanchez in the City of Guatemala.
This hacienda was a mud-house with poor accommoda-
and
tions
little
food
but as
only one egg
it
cost us only
The old senora
had no reason to grumble.
two
reals,
we
had
in charge
but overcome by Frank's plaintive appeal,
she scrambled under the bed where the hens were roost-
and managed to coax another from one
ing,
We
of them.
were here entertained by the process of branding
cattle,
not an
and
attractive exhibition of brute force
brute suffering.
We
were
in
the
saddle at seven, expecting a hard
The road was bad enough, muddy even

day's journey.
when steep. In places it was paved but this was worse
still.
The flowers were interesting, and the splendid
;
butterflies
were
flitting
the way.
all
fine
passion-
flower which Frank gathered for me, and a cj^press-vine

{Ijjomcea),
were among the old friends in a new
Several trains of pack-mules on their

City passed us, and
we had
way
to
place.
Guatemala
to use care to avoid being
bruised by their loads, which they did not hesitate to

push into us if not driven aside. As Mabel had cast a
shoe,
Frank walked almost
occasionally as a bridge
when
As we
we had an attractive view
wide.
all
the way, using the mare
the stream to be forded
was
came out on the northern slope of El Mico

of the
Lago de
Izabal,
and
later
GUATEMALA.
224
of the
town
itself,
where we arrived early in the afternoon,
finding quarters in the posada of Senora Juana, an ancient
Her house, at the extreme east end of the

town, was large and ruinous but we had a comfortable
and cool room and a very decent comida. In the garden
mulattress.
the seiiora had roses, gardenias, caladiums, hibiscus, and
The town, with
the Mexican vine {Antigonon leptopus).

its
white houses, low
us of Belize
level,
and ditched
reminded
but while the capital of British Honduras
On
alive, Izabal is dead.
the hill westward
At
made a
with lighthouse and town-bell.
and
streets,
was a
is
fort,
5 and 6 a.m., and
The wharf
at the custom-house was long, but had only two feet
of water, so shallow is the lake at this side.
The shore
was sandy, and the water clear. The principal streets
are lighted by gaz (kerosene)
and as the ditches on
at 6, 8,
9 p.m., the fort
noise.
either side are worse than the gutters in

this
is
New
Orleans,
a necessary precaution.
In the photograph of Izabal, taken from the end of the

dilapidated wharf, the fort
large warehouse
seen on the hill above the
is
at the right
belonging to Mr. Potts,
is
the cluster of buildings
gentleman who has a
fine
collection of native orchids in his garden, the only one

in all the republic
who seemed
in horticulture.
The church
and on the
at the
Campo
hill
Santo.
is
to take
much
interest
just behind this dwelling,
extreme right of the view
is
the
In the foreground the corroded piles
show well the action
of wood-destroying animals in the
tropical fresh waters.
We
saw
also in Izabal a very interesting collection of
antiquities
from the mines
Motagua.
There were clay heads of curious workman-
of
Las Quebradas, on the
;;

ship, obsidian
and
225
knives, arrow and spear heads
flint
me most were three small

They represented human figures
but what attracted
whistles of
terra-cotta.
in a squat-
ting position,
loins,
and a
paunch
or turban, on the heads.
coif,
fellow reminded
and was
with maxtlis, or waist-cloths, about the
all
me
One
little fat
of the Chinese roly-poly mandarins,
of light-colored clay.
Another,
who
also
had a
of generous proportions, presented the profile of
an Egyptian sphinx.
But the
third,
which was four and
Izabal.
a quarter inches high and of a dark bronze
close resemblance to a
figure
North American Indian.
had earrings precisely
Professor
Putnam
whistle could be
color, bore
like those copper ones that
discovered in the Ohio mounds.
made
The
to sound three notes, the
piece being at the posterior base.
I tried to
This
mouth-
buy these
interesting relics, which were found buried at a consider-
able depth, but the owner would not part with
and as the whole
collection
is
15
them
kept in a basket and often
GUATEMALA.
226
handled, I suppose the photographs I took will soon be

that
all
left
is
of
Clay whistles modelled in
them.
grotesque form, which also sound three notes,
found
to-dciy in the plazas for sale
workmanship
work
of the
may
of these ancient terra-cottas surpasses

of
modern
any
Indios.
During the night we were awakened by the noise

the
surf on the beach
piazza there
be
but the material and
but
was no wind.
when
of
went out on the
Before morning the
'^
City of
the very steamer that had nearly

journey
the Rio Polochic arrived from Pansos.
Belize"
finished our
in
daybreak
found that the bats had ruined
lasso, the reins of
my
some
shaddocks,
toranjas, or
saved for planting.
bridle,
We
my
At
raw-hide
and had eaten the seeds of
hung
which we had carefully

all
these articles from the
ceiling to avoid rats or cockroaches.
Frank and Santiago had no end
of difficulty in getting
our animals on board the steamer
but
it
was done
at
everything else that Frank attempted, and just
last, as
before
noon we
started, after
an excellent breakfast on
board, in which Senor Gomez, the newly appointed Jefe

jDolitico,
joined us.
We
were now back to the land of
and as we steamed across the lake to Santa Cruz

we had a tropical downpour. As the steamer was out of
fuel, we coasted the lake to a place about a league above
rains
Castillo de
cords of
night.
San
Felipe, where, after getting
some three
wood on board, we tied to the trees for the

At daybreak we took on more wood, and then
went on to the old -fort, where the comandante had some

wood to sell, and used his authority to press the soldiers
and bystanders to load it. As it was Sunday there were
plenty of loafers around
but one dandy
who had on
b.
227
clean shirt would not work, and another fellow had a
stomach-ache and could not
was
respected,
but the military authority
The piloton the upper deck, and our
and the wood soon loaded.
roomy place
comfort was in marked contrast
canoa-voyage up, some months
house was a
fine,
to the experience of the

before.
Islands and
la-
goons succeeded each other rapidly, and we soon crossed

the Golfete and were in the beautiful
three in the afternoon
ston,
we
Rio Dulce.
At
arrived at the wharf in Living-
and our pleasant journey was
Whistle from Las Quebradas.
at an end.
CHAPTER
IN THE
physical
THE
varied but
it
is
OLDEN TIME.
America are rich and
features of Central
the story of the races which have peo-
pled
IX.
tinged with a romance and clouded
with a
mystery which accord intimately with the cloud-capped

summits, the impenetrable
Stories written in stone,
forests,
and the
earth-fires.
man
whose authors no
knows,
whose meaning none can
read, carry us back
tory and beyond legend
and until patient study unravels
the enigma, as
nes
is
it
must
beyond
his-
in time, our vision of the aborigi-
illumined only by those legends which beautify
and corrupt
as mythic
if
We may
all history.
we
treat all legendary lore
are willing to forget that a
myth
is
the
creation of an advanced thought and civilization which
we do not
usually concede to the long-perished races
have preceded us
or
we may simply
been preserved for us, smile at

its
what has
accept
its simplicity,
who
wonder
beauty, or puzzle our brains to connect and classify
with similar matter from

times.
In an uncontroversial
slight glimpses of early
upon
other
this continent,
spirit I
human
and leave
sources
races
and
at
it
of other
would accept the

which have lived
to others the task, agree-
able to their tastes, of weighing, measuring, and analy-
zing these stories of a simple people
speak for themselves.
who can no
longer
IN
THE OLDEN TIME.
In most ancient times Votan
known
as Tabasco,
whom by patient
-^
came
229
to the coast
labor he civilized, thus founding the
pire of Xibalbay^
now
found savages inhabiting the country,
and the dynasty
or his immediate descendants built
Em-
He
of the Votanides.
Nachan
or Culhuacan,
whose ruins at Palenque in Yucatan have astonished

and students since
travellers
their
all
Similar
discovery.^
with the same hieroglyphic characters, are
ruins, inscribed
found at Copan in Honduras, Quirigua, Tikal, and other

places
and the
arts of architecture
and sculpture show
in
these remains a development not attained by any succeed-
ing inhabitants of this continent until the present century.
While Xibalbay was

tions
of
still
extending
its
empire over por-
Mexico and Central America, another leader
brought with him from the North a people called Nahoas,
who founded
southwest,
a city not far from Palenque, towards the
naming
called Tultecas).
Tula (whence
it
The
this people are often
chief bore a symbolic
name, as
is
even now usual with the Indian tribes of North America,
and Quetzalcoatl (serpent with the plumes of the quetzal),

as he is known in the Guatemaltecan
or Gucumatz,
legends,
by
his
superior ability (called magic by the
people), brought his
power
to such a
to overshadow the flourishing Xibalbay,
inhabitants were scattered
height as wholly
whose conquered
in various directions.
Some
Mexico and founded a monarchy

(according to Clavigero, in the seventh century of our
era), which after four hundred years of prosperity was
went northward
to
destroyed by famine;
and the
survivors,
Le mi the de Votan.
Pronounced Shibalbay.
Discovered by Spaniards in 1750, but no
until 1834.
cle
by their
Charencey, Alengon, 1871.
H.
led
illustrations
were published
GUATEMALA.
230
king, Topiltzin Acxitl, returned to the fruitful lands of
Central America, and in Honduras founded the kingdom

of
Hueytlat, with the
known by
principal
city
of
now
Copantl,
the wonderful ruins of Copan.
Other immigrations are mentioned by tradition, but no

definite account of their origin
able,
however, that certain
is
given.
It
seems prob-
Mam^
tribes, called
or
Mem,
came from the North and destroyed both Tula and NaAnother inroad, led b}' the four chiefs Balam
chan.
Agab, Balam Quitze, Mahucutah, and Iq Balam, advanced as far as Mount Hacavitz in Verapaz, north of
Rabinal
and here these
and founded
that tribe
remained as freebooters
chiefs
known
as the
They
Quiches.
constantly attacked their neighbors, and offered the captives taken in these encounters to their
with
Avilitz
Quiche
and Hacavitz, formed the
god
Toliil,
who,
trinity in
the
Force and stratagem proving of no avail
cult.
against them, the surrounding tribes gradually submitted
and when peace was

veniently
hands
established, the four captains con-
disappeared, leaving
of three sons, Iq
the
government
Balam having no
now we have the curious account

known author of the " Popul Vuh," or
in
offspring.
the
And
given by the unsacred book of the
Quiches, of which two translations exist, one in Spanish
by Ximenes, the other

de Bourbourg.
The
in
French by the Abbe Brasseur
annalist
tells
us that
before
the
departure of the four chiefs they charged their sons to
undertake a journey to the East
and the new
rulers, in
obedience to this command, passed the sea easily (Lago
de Izabal
^
?)
and came
to the city of a great lord called
Meaning dumb, because they could not pronounce
Cakchiquel alphabet.
certain letters of the
IN
Nacxit,^
who
THE OLDEN TIME.
instructed
them
in the art of
231
government
and invested them with the feather umbrellas,^ throne,

and other symbols whose Indian names both translators
fail to interpret.
On
joy
them with
their return all their subjects received
but so numerous had the people become that
Hacavitz could no longer contain them, and
Mount
now began
the dispersion of the tribes.
One branch went westward and founded Izmachi, a

city some distance westward of Santa Cruz del Quiche.
No rude
who
Indios these
Izmachi of stone and
built
mortar.
From
centre
this
grew the Quiche power,
until
it
reached from the borders of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean,

and eastward to the Lago de Izabal. Several tribes or
feudatory monarchies owed allegiance to the ruler of Izmachi and if we may believe the ''Popul Vuh," we must
;
recognize a feudal system quite as elaborate as that of
Europe
in the
Middle Ages.
to fourteen, or
line of
monarchs, extending
even twenty-four, exercised authority
but
so obscure are the accounts that the line cannot at present
be followed.
Only
this
seems
clear, that there
were but
three great families of the Quiches, and these lived in peace

for a time in their
new
lands, perhaps during the fifth
sixth centuries of our era.

tribe of Ilocab,
At
last the jealousy of the
or the ambitious designs of the kings
Cotuha and Iztayul, kindled the

wars that in local importance
Eome and
and
Carthage.
first
of a long series of
rivalled those
between
In the security of a long peace the
Topiltzin Acxitl, the Tultec king of Copantl.
This recalls the Kahili, or feather standard, the symbol of authority in the
Hawaiian Islands.
GUATEMALA.
232
guards of Cotuha were surprised by well-armed visitors
from Ilocab
but so complete was the military system of
the Quiches that immediately the
hosts were collected,
battled with the rebels, and after utterly routing them,
reduced some to slavery, and sacrificed others on the

bloody altar of Tohil.
The successors of Cotuha and Iztayul were Gucumatz

and Cotuha II., during whose reigns the capital was removed to the site called Utatlan or Gumarcah. On this
platform, so admirably adapted for fortification, palaces
and
altars, as
well as fortifications, were built of cut
Watch-towers rose high
stone.
in air,
and answered to
those in the surrounding mountain regions.
Tlie Plaza
was paved with a smooth white cement superior to the

stucco of Pompeii, and the ruins so distinct forty years
ago
tell
a plain story of an advanced civilization.
be of interest to
read what
say of themselves, that

before us.
we may more
all
this
monuments
the
and refinement of Athens and Rome, to be
succeeded by ignorance, slavery, and degradation

alas
them
clearly see
Their greatness passed away, as did
art,
learning;,
Ô'
may
It
most remarkable people
this
nation
of the
New World
what
to tell the story of
has
it
and
but few
left
once was.
So slight are the glimpses we have of that
past, that
the picture must be a shadowy
outline at best
worth while to trace even the
outline, for the
will apply to the other inhabitants of
but
it is
portrait
Guatemala as well
The wisdom of the kings was magic

even to the Spanish annalists, and these tell of the " Rey
portentoso" Gucumatz that, like the prophet Mohammed,
as to the Quiches.
he ascended into heaven, where he abode seven days
and that he descended into
hell,
where he tarried other
THE OLDEN
IN
He
seven days.
an
tigre,
lasting seven days,
and
that
European black
of
233
transformed himself into a serpent, a
and a mass
eagle,
TIME.
of clotted blood, each
change
mystic number of the Cabala
"And
art.
surely,"
says
the
Spaniard, " great
was the respect he gained by these miraand all those of his kingdom."
Nothing puzzles the student more than the duplication
and interchange of names but let it be remembered that
the Quiche names that have come to us are rather titles,
and this is especially the case with Gucumatz, a word
cles before all the lords
equivalent to the Aztec Quetzalcoatl, which
any distinguished reformer or leader of

from the
''
applied to
Cad-
his people.
mus and George Washington might both

I will translate
is
claim the
title.
Popul Vuh," using generally
the Spanish version of Ximenes, as less influenced by the

theories of the translator than the later one of Brasseur
de Bourbourg.
and
''
of
Then the word came
shades of night
it
Tepeu Gucumatz
to
and wisdom
and for mutual guidance.
And
Huracan, the Voice which sounds

first
the second
is
the
The
to light the
name
the Flash of Light
signification of these
Tepeu, high.
is
names, as given by a distinguished scholar, is as

Vuch, opossum
;
virile (xiphil,
and racan, great)
is
moment when he was
brum
this
the Lightning
Hunahpii, the one master of supernatural power

Gucumatz, decorated with feathers Xmucane, female vigor
follows
of
way
the Voice of Thunder
they descended to Gucumatz at the

^
These three are the Heart of Heaven, and
the third.
is
the
in
spoke to Gucumatz and said to him
together, to join speech
the
time to consult, to consider, to meet and hold coun-
It is
sel
begin with the creation of the world
man.
and
ococ, to enter)
Xpiyacoc,
mem-
Huracan, one very great (hun, one,

Chirakan, ostium vagina;
Cabracan, second great one
GUATEMALA.
234
considering the
will retire
and
work
Know
of creation.
that this water
give place to land, which shall appear
everywhere; there shall be light in the heaven and on

earth
but
we have
and honor
made no being who
yet
They
us.
and
spoke,
shall respect
land appeared
the
because of them."
After the mountains and plains and rivers and
all
animals of the forest had been created, the gods proceeded

to
form man.
First they
made him
descended and beat upon
Not being
able to
of
that being,
make man
mud; but
the rains
and he
dissolved.
according to their desires,
they called to their aid the mysterious powers of Xpi-
yacoc and Xmucane, magic adepts, and by incantation

learned that
man
should be
the pith of bulrush.
made
of
wood, and
woman of
human
This second edition of the
was little better than the first, although more durable.

The stiff, wooden images had neither fat nor blood
they could speak and beget children, but lacked intelligence. Their eyes were never turned to heaven, and their
tongues never glorified Huracan. Then there fell from
species
heaven a torrent of bitumen and pitch on these ungrateful
children, a bird
named Xecotcovuch
tore
out
their
eyes, another, named Camulotz, cut their heads, while an
animal called Cotzbalam ate their
balam crushed
their bones.
and the Tucum-
The poor wretches climbed
their roofs to escape the flood
beneath them, and the
flesh,
but the walls crumbled
trees fled
from them, and when
they sought refuge in the caves of the mountains, the

stone doors shut in their faces.
Of
all
the
numerous
progeny of this wooden couple, only a few were preserved,
and from them have descended the apes
present day.
of the
IN
THE OLDEN TIME.
235
was more successful, as maiz was used

Xmucane ground the
to form blood and flesh and fat.
corn and cunningly concocted nine beverages, which were
changed into the various humors of the body. This first
successful creation was fourfold, and the names of the
third attempt
quartette were identical with those of the four chiefs
conducted the Quiches to Mount Hacavitz.
men
primitive
slept, their
wives were
built,
who
While these
not, however,
by robbing the men, but of the remaining portion of the
same meal.
The
celestial
powers did not, however, have everything
as they wished.
The man was
perfect, for his teeth
much
safety,
were defective
like the apes to
by no means
tolerable, but
;
and he was
built too
carry himself erect with perfect
hence he became ruptured.
But there was no
time to try again, for they had already a rival in the

person of Vucub-caquix,
sort of Lucifer
himself to be the sun, moon, and
was punished, the "Popul Vuh"

tempted to translate
that
literally,
my readers may judge
book, and also of the
among
its
all
who imagined
the stars.
tells at
How
length; and
"I
he
am
using the text of Ximenes,
both of the style of this sacred
mode
of
thought and the
belief
the Quiches at the time
when Utatlan was
in all
glory.
" This
is,
or was, the cause of the destruction of Vucub-
Hunahpu, so was called

Xbalanque these moreover Avere gods, and therefore that arrogance seemed evil
to them, in that it claimed superiority to the Heart of
It will not
Heaven and they said, the two young men
caquix by the two young men.
the one, and the other
was
called
be right to let this go on, for

earth;
and
so
we
men
will try to shoot
'
will not live here
on
him with the blow-gun
GUATEMALA.
236
when he
(cerhatana)
able
him
and then
is
eating
we
will shoot
him and
dis-
will be dispersed his riches^ his precious
and his emeralds, which are the foundation of his

greatness;' and so said the youths, each one with his blowstones,
Now, that Vucub-caquix had two

the elder was called Sipacua, and the second was
Cabracan, and their mother was named Chimalmat.
gun on
sons
called
his shoulder.
She was the wife of Vucub-caquix.
And
that son of his,
was great mountains, that

one moreover in one night before dawn made the mountain called Hunahpupecul, Yaxcanulmucamob, Hulisnab,
because in a night Sipacua made a mountain and his
brother Cabracan (this is, of two feet) used to move and
Sipacua, whose pasture-ground
And
shake the mountains both great and small.
so more-
over these two sons of Vucub-caquix became proud

thus said Vucub-caquix
'
And
I,'
am
the
maker
said Cabracan,
molish
all
am
the world.'
^
:
Know
ye that I
am
of the earth,' said Sipacua
who moves the

And thus the sons
he
and
seemed
'
and
earth, I will de-
of Vucub-caquix
became arrogant even as their father was arrogant

this
and
the sun.'
and
two youths, Hunahpu

our first fathers and
evil in the sight of the
Nevertheless
Xbalanque.
mothers were not yet created, and thus the two youths
plotted the death of Vucub-caquix, of Sipacua, and of
Cabracan.
"'
And
here follows the telling of the blow the two
youths gave to Vucub-caquix, and
how
each one was de-
stroyed by his arrogance.

" This Vucub-caquix had a tree of nances, because that
and every day he climbed the tree to

eat the fruit. This Hunahpu and Xbalanque had observed
that it was his food and they lay in ambush, the two
was
his only food
IN
THE OLDEN" TIME.
among
youths, under the tree hidden
237
the leaves of the
And then came Vucub-caquix and
grass.
while he was yet
Hunahpu fired a shot which was well

aimed, and hit him in the jaw then, groaning, he fell to
the groimd.
And as soon as Hunahpu saw Vucub-caquix
climbing the tree,
he sprang with the greatest promptitude to catch
fall,
Then Vucub-caquix
him.
it
off at
go
and
the shoulder
seized
Hunahpu' s arm and tore
and then Hunahpu
so the youths had the best of
beaten by Vucub-caquix,
it,
let
Vucub-caquix
for they
were not
who ran home carrying Hunahpu's
arm, but holding his broken jaws.
"'What
has happened to you?' said Chimalraat to her
husband Vucub-caquix.
''
'
What
has happened
a blow-gun and unhinged
my
teeth,
arm
and
Put
against they come for
And
" But in the
my
jaw
how they ache
of one of them.
caquix.
But two devils shot me with
it,
it
they knocked out
But
in the
have here the
smoke over the
the two devils
all
'
said
fire
Vucub-
then she hung up the arm of Hunahpu.
mean
while
Hunahpu and Xbalanque were
what was to be done; and having

taken counsel, they went to speak to an ancient man
whose hair was white, and an old woman who in truth
was very old and so great was the age of the couple that
they walked bent double. The old man was called Saquinimac, and the old woman was called Saquinimatzitz.
And the two youths said to the old man and the old
woman,
" Come with us to get our arm at the house of Vucubcaquix.
We will go behind you, as if we were your
grandchildren whose father and mother were dead and
consulting as
to
'
if
they question you, say that
we
are in your
company,
'
'
GUATEMALA.
238
and that you are travelling about extracting the maggot

that eats the grinders and other teeth; and so Vuciibcaquix will look upon us as mere lads, and we will
Thus spoke the two
advise you what" to do further.'
youths.
"
It is well/ said the elders
'
And
clining on his throne.
re-
then they went on, the two
who was groaning
of Vucub-caquix,
When
with the pain of his teeth.
asked,
and the boys, he
he saw them, the

'
"
Whence come you, grandparents ?

We, lord, are going to seek our remedy.'
'
"
'
"
How are
'
who
sons
"
you seeking your remedy
are with
you
No, lord, they are our grandchildren
'
tortilla,'
Are these your
had compassion on them

''
to
and the two boys playing behind them, and they
went under the house

elders
and then they came
Vucub-caquix's house, where he was
the corner of
elders,
so far as to give
we have
but
them a
bit of
the elders replied.
Just then the lord had a very sharp twinge of tooth-
ache, so that he could hardly speak
and he begged them
to have pity on him.
"
'
What
is it
that you do
what do you cure
'
said the
lord.
"
'
Sir,
our cure,' said the elders,
maggot from the teeth
'
is
to extract the
and we cure eye-troubles, and
likewise broken bones.'

" Well, if this is true, cure
my toothache for I am
without rest, and cannot sleep, and my eyes trouble me also,
since the two devils shot me, and so I cannot eat.
Now
have compassion on me, for all my teeth are rattling
'
about
THE OLDEN TIME.
IN
"
Surely,
'
pull out
Oh
''
'
without
"
And
"
We
'
sir, it is
a maggot which injures you
your teeth and
my
we
will
put others in their place.'
perhaps that won't succeed
239
but
can't eat
teeth and eyes.'
they replied,
will put others in their place
we
will
put in
ground bone.'
"
But
"
this
ground bone was only white corn.
It is well,' said the lord
'
them
'
them out and put
pull
in order.'
"And
then they took out the teeth of Vucub-caquix
and
was only white corn that they put in the place of teeth,
and the kernels of corn shone in his mouth. And his countenance fell, and he never more appeared a lord but they
And
took out all his teeth, and left his mouth smarting.
it
when they cured the eyes of Vucub-caquix, they tore

Then they took away all his money, and
out the pupils.
for he was no longer great nor
he did not know it
And this was done by the counsel of Hunahpu
arrogant.
;
and Xbalanque.
"
And Vucub-caquix
arm
quix
and
also
and
so
died,
Chimalmat
was
and then Hunahpu took

died, the wife
lost all the treasure
of
his
Vucub-ca-
of Vucub-caquix.
Then the doctor took all the precious stones which had
The old man
puffed him up with pride here on earth.
and old
woman who
when they took

it
reunited and
only
to
cause
his arm, they put
was
the
well.
And
it
it
and
in its place,
and
they did these things
death of Vucub-caquix because his
pride seemed an evil thing to them.
youths, and
did these things were divine
So did the two
was thus done by the command
Heart of Heaven."
of
the
'
GUATEMALA.
240
Then follows an account

cJios "
(four
continues
"
Then
hundred young men)
how
follows
and evil-doing of
destroyed the " cuatrocientos niucha-
how he
Sipacua, and
of the pride
and the Chronicle
Sipacua was conquered and killed
how another time he was overcome hy
the youths
Hu-
nahpu and Xbalanque to them he appeared contemptible

And Sibecause he had killed the four hundred youths.
j)acua was alone fishing and hunting crabs on the river
banks this was his every-day diet. Days he spent seekThen
ing his food, while at night he moved mountains.
Hunahpu and Xbalanque made an image of a crab. They
made the large claws of the crab of a leaf which grows
:
on the trees and
called
is
ec,
smaller leaves called jâhac
they
made
in a cave
rivulet,
am
"
And
'
they made
it
and placed
am
only looking for
eat.
they asked him,
Only
fishes
and
'
What
crabs,
and
is
your food
have found none
since the day before yesterday I have not eaten, and

I
cannot bear
"
it
Meaban, where he was con-
not going anywhere
something to
"
and claws
shell
replied,
'
ones of other
Then they went along and met Sipacua by the

and asked him where he was going. And Sipacua
quered.
"
hill called
little
and the
And
of flat stones.
under a
and the
Then
in truth
my
hunger.'
said they
it is
'
There
very large
is
a crab below in the gulch
would you might eat that
Sipacua.
but
it
bit us,
We
and we were in terror of
wanted to catch
it, or else we would have caught it.'
" Have pity on me and take me where
it,
'
and
now
it
is,*
said
'
THE OLDEN
IN
"
'
We
do not wish
to,'
Go up
lose your way.
will be in front of
it
said they
under a great
and making hovol you

Hunahpu and Xbalanque.
:
said Sipacua.
'
plenty of birds
T alone
will
"
me
miserable
'
you
know where
but go, you cannot
'
;
will
hill
go straight to
they are,
rock.'
to catch
because
we
"
Do
it ?
not
tried to catch
we crawled in on our
by a trifle we could not catch it.
bellies
well for you to go in pursuit tail-end

"
it,'
them with the blow-gun.

and in return for them I
And shall you truly be able
and so
it/ said
perchance you had not found
could not, because

;
making a
is
will shoot
us return for no purpose
us
it
go and show you where there are
I will
go under the
'
if
241
stream, turn to the right, and you
noise
"
TIME.
it,
and
So
it
make
it
and
bit
will be
first.'
It is well,' said Sipacua.
'
And
then they went with him to the gulch, and the
crab was lying on his side, and his shell was very brightcolored
and here under the valley was the
youths.
to eat
'
Hurrah!' said Sipacua, joyfully
for he
it,
down
retreated.
And
'
Did
"
'
I did n't catch
up high,
"
n't
it
you catch
and
it,
And immediately
fell
all
quietly
it ?
I just missed
will be well for
he had got in
he tried to
but the crab rose up, and he at once
the youths said to him,
"
and he wished
And
was dying with hunger.
enter lying
secret of the
me
it
to enter
but as
head
he crawled in head
it
has gone
first.'
first
and when
but his knees, the mountain toppled
down upon
his breast,
down
and he returned no
And thus was Sipacua conquered by the youths Hunahpu and Xbalanque
and they tell that in ancient times it was he who made
more.
x\nd Sipacua became stone.
16
'
'
GUATEMALA.
242
Under
the mountains, this elder son of Viicub-caquix.

the mountain which
is
called
Meaban he was overcome,
and only by a miracle was he conquered
and now
will
who was puffed up with pride.

" The third fellow who was arrogant, the second son
of Vucub-caquix, who was called Cabracan, used to say,
I am the one who destroys mountains.'
And so it came to pass that Hunahpu and Xbalanque
we
tell of
the other
'
''
declared that they would put an end to Cabracan.
Then
Huracan, Chipa-caculha, and Raxa-caculha spoke unto
Hunahpu and Xbalanque, saying

Vucub-caquix must be destroyed
"
'
commanded, because he does evil upon

because he makes himself very great, and this
This have
the earth
ought not so to
the sunrise.'
"
'
Heart
be.
Arise now, and seek
There
they replied,
is
'
and
no danger.
Heaven, above
of
him towards
So spoke Huracan to the two youths.
It is well,'
to risk.
that the second son of
also.
all ?
seems good to us
it
Is not
'
yom' greatness,
Thus spoke the two
youths in reply to Huracan, and at the very time Cabra-
can was shaking the mountains.
Hardly had he shaken
them a little, kicking with his feet on the ground (then

he was breaking the mountains great and small), when
the two youths met him and asked,
''
Where are you going, boy ?
'
"
'
am
not going anywhere,' he replied
'
;
am
only
here shaking the mountains, and I shall always be shak-
ing them.'
"
'
Then
What
Cabracan to Hunahpu and Xbalanque,
do you come here for
nor do I
names
said
know what you
I don't
are here for.
recognize you,
What
are your
THE OLDEN
IN
*^
We
'
243
TIME.
have no name,' replied they
hunters with the blow-gun, and
We
bird-lime.
we
'
we
catch
are
only
birds
with
and have nothing, and we are
are poor
tramping over the mountains great and small.

the East
we
see a great
mountain, and
And
so lofty that
very pleasant.
it is
So
high, to catch a single bird.
'
it
mountains,'
then you will aid
if
in
sweet odor
overtops
So we have not been able,
other mountains.
overturn
its
Here
the
all
is
it
is
so
be true that you
it
Hunahpu and Xbalanque,
said
us.'
will
Have you seen

mountain of which you speak ? Where is it ? I
Where did
look at it, and I will topple it down.
you
see
"
It certainly is true,' said
'
this
Cabracan.
'
'
it ?
"
'
There,' said they,
"
'
Very
well,' said
be strange
if
we
'
it is,
where the sun
Cabracan,
'
let
us go
rises.'
and
will take our blow-guns, and
if
there
left.
we
a bird
is
will
One
don't get some birds between us.
on the right hand, the other on the
will go
it
'11
We
shoot
him.'
" So they
be said
went on happily, shooting birds (and it should

that when they shot, it was not with balls of clay,
down
Then the
but only with a puff of breath did they knock

the birds), and Cabracan went on astonished.
youths made a
fire
and
fire
set
about cooking the birds in the
and one bird they anointed with
they put on
desire
is
it.
'
This we
tizate,
strong upon him, smelling
its
savor.
bird shall conquer him, for in conquering

fall to
(wise
the ground
is
to light.'
the Creator
and
!)
white earth
will give him,' said they,
in the
before
'
when
This our
him he must
ground must he be buried
human
beings are brought
So spoke the two youths, and to themselves

GUATEMALA.
244
Great desire had Cabracan in his heart to

Then
they turned the bird on the fire and
eat of it.
Now it was brown, and the fat of the
seasoned it.
so Cabracan
birds ran out, and the savor was delectable
was most eager to eat them, and his mouth watered, and
they said
it.
the saliva dropped from
And
the birds gave out.

"
'
odor
"
What
I
He
for his
And
is
smell
this
give
it,
because of the delicious smell
then he asked them,
your food
me
Truly
it is
an appetizing
bit.'
spoke, and then was given a bird to Cabracan

destruction
and he quickly
finished the bird.
then they went on, and came to the birthplace
where was that great mountain.
of the sun,
But Cab-
racan was now sickened, and he had no strength in his

hands and feet, because of that earth which they had
put on the bird he ate
and now he could no longer
do anything to the mountains, nor could he overturn

them.
So the youths tied his hands behind him, and
likewise tied his
feet together,
and threw him on the
ground and buried him. So was Cabracan conquered

by Hunahpu and Xbalanque alone. It is not possible
to tell the feats these youths did here on earth."
The author of the " Popul Vuh," however, goes on to

tell of some of the wonders they did in Xibalbay,
and my readers would
which Ximenes considers hell,
but I have translated perfind the story very amusing
of the Quiches ten cenideas
show
the
enough
to
haps
turies ago.
The Quiche kings had removed their capital from

afterwards called Utatlan,
Izmachi to Gumarcah,
not far from the modern Spanish town of Santa Cruz
del Quiche
and
it
was the poor remains
of this city,
THE OLDEN TIME.
IN
245
destroyed three centuries and a half ago, that I visited in
The
journeying through Guatemala.
one, well suited for the metropolis of
dom
was a
fine
an extensive king-
and mountain-passes gave access
for while roads
situation
mountains formed a wall easily
in all directions, the very
guarded, and watch-towers to discover approaching danger.
It
was
situated not unlilê
Granada on the Vega
and
like that noble capital
in the Sierras of
Andalusia
was well fortified, and embellished with all the knowledge and taste of the time.
On the platform where Frank and I had stumbled over
Moorish kingdom,
of the
it
the confused piles of rubbish and tried in vain to trace

the
buildings, so
distinct
mighty Gucumatz had
only forty years before, the
built high
the altar of the bloodthirsty Tohil,
steep
pyramid
in the centre of
now
the rebuilt Gumarcah,
Our knowledge
Utatlan.
called
of
the
ceremonial of that Quiche worship

is
but slight
to give
of
an
but enough
is
known
air of reality to the pile
rubbish that alone marks the
site
of the holy place of this an-
kingdom.
cient
base
of
sat
and the
the altar,
walls arose about
near the
me
city
Ancient Temple.
{From an old Manuscript.
the ruin of
was new and full

a suitable distance from
three centuries departed, and again all

of busy
life.
Around me, but
at
the altar-temple, were the palaces of the princes, built of

cut
stone
stucco.
floated
and covered with the most
From
the
banners of
flat roofs of
many
brilliant
white
these massive dwellings
colors
and strange
devices
GUATEMALA.
246
arches of evergreens and flowers spanned every entrance
whose
to this Plaza,
stucco,
and heaps
was
floor
of the smoothest, whitest
were piled at the
of fragrant flowers
palace-doorways and about the great altar that towered

like a
mountain of
All around
light in the midst.
were the phantom forms of the Indios, clad
and expectant
of rich colors, but silent
know them
all
their tongue.
in
seemed to
and understand
It
was the most
sacred festival of the year

rains
me
garments
the
had ceased, and the sum-
mer was beginning,

and a
summer at Utatlan was a delight unequalled
the outer
in
world
For many months the high

priest
and
had hidden
king
himself from the sight of man,
high in the mountains that overlook the Quiche plain.
was
casa verde he
prayer and
In his
eno;ao;ed in
meditation,
his only food
was
fruit
while
and un-
Indio Sacrificing.
His body was
cooked maiz.
unclothed, but stained with dismal dyes
day, as the sun rose and
set,
and twice every
he cut himself wîth an
obsidian knife on his arms, legs, tongue, and genitals,
that he might offer his choicest blood to the divinity he
worshipped.
Once only
in his life
must he do
this
scattered in the remote mountain-hermitages were
nobles keeping
the fathers of
and
many
him company in the spirit. These were

the young men who had not yet offered
IN
their blood,
THE OLDEX
TIME.
and had been selected

and
of their king
247
to be the god-children
In these lonely retreats
priest.
manly
fathers taught their sons
and drew
duties,
the
their
blood from the five wounds.^
The
votaries
had gathered from their various
cells at
the somid of the drum, which was beaten only on most
solemn occasions, and were marching in procession to the

Plaza.
them
I could see
as they filed on to the
narrow
causeway that led into the town, and then they were
to sight as they climbed the steep ascent.
silence these
men and
lost
In profound
youths, naked as they were born,
entered the enclosure and seated themselves at the foot

of the altar-steps.
The solemn
silence
was now suddenly
broken by a crash of trumpets and drums, while a procession of a different kind took
up
its
march
to the tem-
Bright colors and the gleam of gold and precious
ple.
stones, the clang of barbaric music
and the sound
songs, reached the eye and ear as the idols,
been carefully concealed since the last
brought to the place of
were, not
sacrifice.
fiesta,
of holy
which had
were now
Strange things these
of " heaven above, nor the
earth beneath,
nor of the waters which are under the earth," but carved
from wood and stone and decked with beaten gold, hung
with jewels, and borne triumphantly on the shoulders of
the noblest citizens.
Then
all
was joy and
bustle in the
The hermits were clothed with new robes and

welcomed back with honor, the high priest put on his
Plaza.
robes and mitre, and for a while the people gave them-
It is probable that at this time
have no
they circumcised their sons, although
direct statement to that effect.
The Mayas practised
measure, which seems to have had no religious significance.
were used, and only once.
we
this sanatory
Stone knives
GUATEMALA.
248
up
selves
seemed as
music and dancing and ball-playing
to
But a terrible solemEven among the dancers I saw men
clothed in a peculiar but rich garb,
generally
other people, but not always foreign
men had
through
it
had no other end.
if life
nity was to come.
these
and
knew
for days before the festival
of an-
that
gone freely
the town, entered any house, even
the
royal
where the food they sought was freely given

them, and they were treated with marked respect. Outside the city-walls were some of them, with collars about
palace",
their necks, attended
by four
perhaps
the king's guard.
women were
Food, drink, and even the
honored
officers of
free to these
men but they were captives taken in war, or

men who were obnoxious to the king, and were
;
to be sacrificed to Tohil.
terrible
death awaited them
but they regarded their fate as a matter they could not

help,
and with Indian
stolidity enjoyed the frolics of the
people and smiled at care.

little
any one seemed
It
was strange
proaching death of their fellows.
was coming
to see
how
by the certainly apEvery one knew what
to be affected
but no dread anticipation marred the festive
scene.
The music ceased

placed
on the
altar-top,
and the
by one up the steep
chief priest,
who
the chief idol

priests
was
and nobles
strug-
steps of the altar to the
stood high on the sacrificatorio in the
sight of all the people.
a shudder,
Plaza,
by the hair and passed them,
seized the victims

gling, one
the
in
among
There was no murmur, not even
the multitude, only the involuntary
shrieks of the sacrifice as the priest cut into his breast
with the stone knife and tore out his ouiverina: heart.
Holding
this
in
the
golden
spoon of the temple, he
THE OLDEN
IN
placed
reverently
it
the
in
chanting this prayer
TIME.
mouth
249
of the
" Lord, hear us, for
Give us health, give us children and
may increase
Give
we may be nourished and
thy people
that
live
be
are thine
prosperity,
Hear our
cations, receive our prayers, assist us
"So
we
loudly
!
that
us water and the rains,
mies, and grant us peace and quiet

cried,
idol,
"
suppli-
against our ene-
And
the people
Lord!"
it,
The body had been extended on a rounded sacrificial

stone and the neck held securely by the yoke but now
it was hurled down the side of the pyramid where there
were no steps, and those appointed carried the remains
to the caldron whither those who had the right came
for the cooked meat, the hands and feet being reserved
for the officiating priest.^
One by one the victims were
offered to the idol, while the pyramid was no longer
white, but crimson and their death-shrieks were ringing in my ear, when Frank laid his hand on my shoulder
and asked if I was asleep. Called back to deserted ruins
and the humdrum present, I could not entirely shake
;
off
the impression of the past.
where we were
sitting
so
On
that
peacefully,
little
mound
hundreds,
yes,
thousands, of our fellow-men had writhed in agony to

satisfy
ceptable
the
enmity of their fellows or to be an
offering
be their creators.^
^
the
to
gods
who were supposed
ac-
to
Truly there are few nations whose
have often had the pleasure of conversing with cannibals, and they
me that the hands were the choicest morsel. It will be noted
always assured
that the Central
American Indios always boiled
the Pacific Islanders as generally roasted

served in the Vatican Library
is
it.
their cannibal food, while

In one of the manuscripts pre-
a clear picture of this process, and the kettle
seems large enough to receive the body whole.

^ It is the way of Christian communities to speak with holy horror of the
human sacrifices these heathen were accustomed to offer at each new year to
GUATEMALA.
250
religious history
is
pleasant reading
let us
turn to other
matters.
The more
is
artificial
civilization
the desire for offspring
becomes, the weaker
and we must relegate the
Quiches, by this rule, to a very primitive state, for the
burden of their prayers was
''
Give unto us children,"
and their faith was incarnate in works. They believed,

with the psalmist, that " children are an heritage of the
Lord
happy
is
the
man
Hence the birth
them."
that hath his quiver full of

of a child
was a most
auspi-
cious event, to be celebrated with feasts and rejoicings,
and
With
each
returning
birthday
was
duly
remembered.
the truest mercy, they put an end to
all
children
born deformed or defective in mind or body
deformed or idiotic persons are exceedingly rare
hence
among
their descendants.
The Quiches possessed the art of writing, though in

logographs or ideographs, and they were skilled in the
use of colors.^ I present some of the more common
much in the same way
While the Indios did what they honestly believed was right, and did it in a most merciful manner, without torture, the cruel invaders, in the name of the gentle Jesus of Nazareth and of
the Mother of God, burned these poor Indios alive by hundreds (Las Casas
Let the
says hy thousands), or gave them to be torn in pieces by the dogs.
Christian nations hold their peace over the human sacrifices of Central America, when they remember the Holy Inquisition, St. Bartholomew, and the
tortures of Jews, Turks, witches, Quakers, and other heretics, sanctioned by
their gods
the bloodthirsty Christian Spaniards sjDoke
of these sacrifices three centuries ago.
the Christian Church,

sacrifices of
sacrifices to
murders so
cruel, so
unprovoked, that they make the
the Indios seem no worse than justifiable
Tohil so
much more
homicide.
sinful than the sacrifices so
Were
common
the
in this
enlightened nation of children born, or unborn, to the Molochs of Comfort or
Reputation?
1 The Spaniards found, according to Herrera (Decade III. lib. iv.), paintings done at Utatlan eight hundred years before the Conquest, in which were
represented the three kinds of royal insignia,
than that of the Aztecs.
indicating an antiquity greater
IN THE OLDEN TIME.
251
forms, traced from the copies in Kingsborough's " AntiquiTlie
ties."
two interlocked elbows,
first,
month
fourth day of the
signifies
the
one of the elbows was colored
red in the manuscript, while the other was green, both
having an inner border of yellow.
was
and
blue
of
The simple hinge
with a yellow articulation; the
red,
Ideographs.
hinge enclosing a dagger was yellow and green with

red inner borders, and the dagger was red, yellow, and
The character denoting or representing a temple

and its usual colors are red and
yellow
but it must not be supposed that these colors
blue.
is
readily recognized,
;
were always the same, they evidently depended on the

the
of
taste
with
long
scribe.
rude figure of
censer
handle
through which the priest

could blow upon the burning
gum
incense,
copal
always
used
as
denoted
Ancient Incense-burner.
sacrifice.
This art of
pictorial representation could not strictly be called writing, but
was a very
useful substitute for
continued long after the Conquest.
it,
and
it
was
have thought, after
looking at some of the caricatures of the priests of the
new worship which was

rite of
forced upon these Indios, of the
baptism, and of the sacrifice of the Mass, that per-
GUATEMALA.
252
haps these unfortunate subjects had as much influence in

the wanton destruction of aboriginal literature as had the
alleged doctrine of devilish things with which the books
The
were said to be imbued.

to
have
felt little fear of
knew
they
Satan.
old Spanish priests ought
The shaven crowns
were easily represented even by
men than
knew
a creature they
the Quiches, and the
padres
the
of
skilled draughts-
less
new
so well as
doctrines gave the
irreverent splendid chances for effective caricatures.
In textile work they were advanced, obtaining results
with their rude hand-looms that even to-day would hold

their
own
against the machine-made fabrics of the pres-
ent day for durability and aptness of design, even
as
the barbaric cashmere shawl cannot be equalled by the

skilled
artisans of France.
region
produce
made
cloths
of
To-day the weavers of
works of
weaving a
inches wide
I once
art.
girdle on a
;
watched an Indian
woman
narrow loom not more than
six
and without pattern before her she traced
figures resembling those in the old manuscripts,
try abounds in dye-stuffs, so
it
is
though
The coun-
mingled with very modern-looking pictures.
not surprising that
their color-sense has been well developed
by
use.
For
they were limited to cotton and wool in the looms,
reserving the pita and other coarser fibres for
and
and
very attractive design
of honest material, while their shawls or blankets
are often
fibres
this
hammocks
redes.
Pottery of good shape and well baked
is
found
among
the ruins of Utatlan, and Stephens saw a figure of terracotta that
and bake.
must have required no

All
the
potsherds
little
skill
to
model
a diligent though not
extended search gave us were of dark red
color,
hard
THE OLDEN TIME.
IN
253
baked, and evidently portions of spherical vessels.

sign of roof-tiles
although figured
The Quiche
Not a
was seen, nor any painted fragments,
work was common enough.
rivers
abounded
in fish,
mountains in game, while the

crops with
querors
little
found
that
civilization
wealth which roused

resistance
No wonder
labor.
all
and the
forests
and
produced abundant
fields
the
Spanish con-
astonished
them, a
their terrible cupidity,
but a
more determined and bloody than they had
found in Mexico.
It
may
not interest ray readers to go deeply into the
forms of government in those ancient times, but

be said that
it
was an
aristocratic
When
in this peculiar way.
Ahpop)
may
it
monarchy hereditary
the principal king (Ahau-
of the dual reign (there
at a time) died, the

oldest brother,
were always two kings

crown he had worn passed to his
who performed
the functions of Ahpop-
Camlia, and as second king had share in the government.
The
oldest son of the
Ahau-Ahpop, who during the
life
had been Nim-Chocoh-Cawek, became Ahpop-Camha, and his cousin (son of the king's brother),
of his father
who had been Ahau-Ah-Tohil
or high priest of this god,
Nim-Chocoh-Cawek, the elder son of the new sovereign

taking the vacant post.
In this wise method of
civil
never needed, and each king had
service regencies
fitted himself,
were
by exercise
of subordinate but important offices, for the supreme rule.

If
any one
of these dignitaries proved his unfitness for
advancement, he was passed over, and the next in rank

chosen
and thus through a long
series of offices.
corrupting influences of so-called popular elections,
The
which
are usually manipulated by a few conscienceless politicians
"
GUATEMALA,
254
who
use the " dear people " shuply as cat's-paws, are cer-
tainly avoided
but was
it
not possible to hasten the suc-
have a sort of " commission of lunacy

condemn an unpopular candidate, and so advance another
cession, or to
unrighteously
The
insignia of the four chief dignitaries
were feather canopies,
of
which the king had
others in descending series.
A council of
four,
and the
the chief families
advised the monarch in his government.
The judges, who were also tax-gatherers, were appointed from the noble families, and held office during
good behavior death was the penalty for impeding these
Capital punishment was renmagistrates in their office.
;
dered more bitter by the confiscation of the victim's possessions
and the enslavement of
Breaches of trust ranked

adultery,
his
among
first
immediate
relatives.
crimes, and homicide,
confirmed robbery, larceny of sacred things,
witchcraft, rape, were all capital crimes
who hunted
and the strangers
or fished in the forests or rivers of the country,
as well as the slaves
who ran away
the second time, were
punished with death.
There were laws against polygamy, and only the

wife was legitimate
tions of
modern
among
but, as
times, there
first
the most civilized na-
were many concubines.
In
Guatemala perhaps this practice was more open and

Only the chilhonest than in modern states and times.
dren of the lawful wife could inherit, and the man who
died
without lawful issue was buried with his wealth,
consisting generally of cotton cloths, ornaments, feathers,
The laws of all the

Central American tribes were severe, and differed somewhat from those of the Quiches. But it has not seemed dewe will rather consider some
sirable to discuss these here
and
cacao,
which served as money.
THE OLDEN
IN
common
of the customs
the
kingdom
to
TIME.
most
255
of the inhabitants of
Guatemala, and so pass beyond the
of
walls of Utatlan, to which, however, wê shall presently

return.
Agriculture
among
the Central American nations
mostly confined to the planting of maiz and beans
was
(frijoles),
which were staple products and served as a currency

gross, while cacao,
which was
said to
have been
in
first
planted by Hunahpu, eighth king of Quiche, served for
They
small change.
their
clothing,
cultivated cotton,
and tobacco, which they smoked with
common drink, but

and soldiers who had distin-
moderation.
Chocolate was not a
reserved
the
for
which furnished
nobles
guished themselves in battle.

great ceremony.
The cacao was planted with
Seeds of the largest pods were selected
and carefully fumigated with copal and other gums
and
these seeds were then left in the open air four nights
during the time of the

planters
full
moon, and meanwhile the
attended assiduously to their marital
duties.
Onions, plantains, potatoes, yams, chickpease, squashes

of various kinds, supplied their table,
fruits
added to their comfort.
were very fond of flowers

tivated
and many native
The Indios
then, as now,
but whether they generally cul-
them, or found enough growing spontaneously,
we do not know.
Certainly there were royal gardens at
Utatlan.
In manufactures, weaving was of
first
importance, and
the threads were dyed with indigo, cochineal, or purple.
Embroidery was
plants they plaited
much used. Then from

hammocks and nets, from reeds
also
fibrous
(jimco)
they wove hats of great durability, and from withes,

baskets and sacks.
The
potter's
work was
also of great
GUATEMALA.
256
importance, and the vases, bowls, and jars, often of great
were colored with certain waters and mineral deI do not know that they had any glaze, other
posits.
size,
than perhaps
salt.
They had no iron, but they made tools from an alloy

of copper and tin to which they gave an extraordinary
hardness, and they also used obsidian for knives and
Remains of knife-faccutting instruments generally.
through
the country, and often
tories are common enough
Gold was
too where the raw material is not m situ.
found in the streams, and the goldsmiths attained no
making ornaments, which were often enriched
in
skill
little
with precious stones, especially opals from Honduras.

Curious feather work was brought from Tesulutan in
Verapaz.
They made paper from a bark called amatl, and also

used parchment. Maps were plotted, and the scribes had
books in which were entered
and
all
the divisions of the land
to these, as to a registry of deeds,
disputes about real estate.
compiled great books,

these,
he
tells us,
who have
tions.
many
were referred
who
Chroniclers there were

of
which Las Casas saw
all
and
were burned by the early missionaries,
thus earned the curses of succeeding genera-
Superhuman must have been
their
good deeds to
counterbalance this destruction
The Quiches, Cakchiquels, and nearly all the other

tribes divided the year into eighteen months of twenty
days, adding five days (consecrated to Votan) to complete
the cycle, and every fourth year
still
another day.
There
were twenty day-names, of which we have three slightly

differing lists
weeks.
but the
month was not subdivided
into
IN
We know
THE OLDEN
TIME.
257
games and amusements of

the Indios in ancient times but Torquemada has described
for us one national game, which seems to have required
but
of the
little
more
and
skill
agility
than the game of court-tennis
The court
do not speak of the effeminate lawn-tennis).

consisted of
hundred
and
two
These walls were thirty feet high,
from twenty
in each, at a height of
was a stone ring usually sculptured

manner. At the
feet,
open
ends
of
the
court were two
little
temples.
to twenty-four
in
some
careful
ball of
and
large
rubber,
and about one
parallel walls very thick,
feet apart.
(I
very hard, was used
by the players, who

received the coming
ball,
not on a bat or
racket, but
padded
on the
buttock,
from which the player
endeavored
throw
it
to
^
^
Ring xfor r,
Ball Game.
Stone r,
through the
ring, but
without touching
it
As
with his hands.
the
was only about eighteen inches in diameter, this

was a most difficult feat, requiring great flexibility of
the pelvic and thigh muscles.
The victor was allowed
hole
to take the clothes of
be supposed
Remains
any
went
of the spectators
game
so
it
may
in
scant
garb.
of these ball-grounds are found in
many
cities,
these
and the stone ring of the

^
to
the
illustration
Monarquia Indiana,
17
lib.
is
ii. cli.
at Chichen Itza
xii.
GUATEMALA.
258
four
is
it
diameter,
in
feet
and decorated with the
symbols of Quetzalcoatl.
would be supposed their arts

would provide arms both offensive and defensive but
there seems to have been nothing of peculiar originality.
nation of warriors,
it
Arrows and darts, often poisoned, hatchets and wooden

swords, in which were inserted obsidian teeth, were their
weapons of
quilted
offence,
and those
of defence
were coats of
which the Spaniards were not slow to
cotton,
adopt, and shields of skins lined with cotton.
While the
generals and other officers were clothed in skins of pumas,

jaguars, eagles,
the rank and
and other animals,
teponaztleSj
an Alpine
had any
file
battle with yells
it
especial uniform.^
and the lugubrious
sort of
does not appear that

All joined
blasts of the tun or
trumpet sounding even worse than
lure.
Let us return to Utatlan, and follow for a while the
Under brave kings their bounds

had extended, and towns, tribes, and nations were comfortunes of the Quiches.
pelled
acknowledge the kings of Utatlan as their
to
In
lieges.
sions arose
manded
all
;
this external prosperity, internal dissen-
and the
privileges
plehs, incited
by demagogues,
which the king, Quicab, was compelled
to grant after the palaces of the nobles
by the mob.
mob-rule.
this
de-
had been sacked
Another more serious trouble arose from

It
was the custom
for the rulers of the
conquered tribes to reside at court at least a part of the

year
and the two kings
of the Cakchiquels,
Vucubatz, were visiting Quicab, when a

^
Among
Huntoh and
street-riot, of
the curious illustratious in the Kiugshorough Collection are coats
to the nobles, consisting of a shirt of simple body-form,

embroidered or painted with various devices. With these are helmets, sometimes of conical shape, but frequently in form of animal heads.
of
armor belonging
IN THE OLDEN TIME.
no importance in
the
surrender
turned
itself,
and they loudly
Cakchiquels,
Cakchiquel
wise old king warned
mob
the
of
to
against
upon
called
kings
these
259
the
Quicab
their
to
The
fury.
danger, and ad-
their
them to retire to Iximche, or Tecpan QuauhteThey did so, and this city became their capital.
vised
malan.
Now
the fortunes of the Cakchiquels wax, while those
and
The new
Quiches wane.
the
of
inhabitants
its
prepare
for
capital
the
is
strife
fortified,
evidently
impending.
The
first
attack
is
made by
the Quiches, wdio are
beaten, and for a few years remain quiet.
Quicab
dies,
and Tepepul
II.,
Their king
the ninth king, reigns with
The kings of the Cakchiquels were now

Oxlahuhtzi and Cablahu-Tihax, under whose reign a fam-
Iztayul III.
caused by unusual cold, troubles the capital.
ine,
The
Quiches saw a chance again to subdue their rebellious

vassals,
pomp
with
and an army was gathered, which with great
set
out
it.
from Utatlan, carrying the
deserter from the Quiche
kings of Iximche of
pared
for
we have
''
the
their peril,
contest.
In the
as the
dawn began
Tohil
army warned the
and they bravely preCakchiquel
this description of the battle
As soon
god
Chronicle
to brighten the mountain-
tops the war-cries were heard, standards were unfurled,
diîms and conchs resounded, and in the midst of this
clamor the rapidly moving
files
of the Quiches
were seen
descending the mountains in every direction.

''
Arrived at the banks of the stream that runs by the
suburbs of the city, they occupied some houses and formed

in battle under the
Iztayul.
command
of the kings Tepepul
and
GUATEMALA.
260
"
The encounter was awful and
The
fear-inspiring.
war-cries and the clangor of the martial instruments stupefied the combatants,
the Quiches were broken, and confusion entered
little
The most
their ranks.
and the
Iztayul,
who
of their
army
fled
without
fight-
were so great that they could not be
losses
Among
calculated.
and
made
of both armies
Notwithstanding, after a
their enchantments.
use of all
ing,
and the heroes
the captives were the kings Tepepul
surrendered, together with their god
Tohil, the Galel-achi
and the Ahpoi>achi, grandfather and
son of the keeper of the royal jewels, the die-cutter, the

treasurer, the secretary,
and
all
were put
children, that
it
and plebeians without number
to the sword.
was impossible
Our
old
men
tell
us,
to count the Quiches
my
who
Such
perished that day at the hands of the Cakchiquels.
were the heroic deeds with which the kings Oxlahuhtzi
and Cablahu-Tihax, also Roimox and Rokelbatzin, made

the mountain of Iximche forever famous."
After this defeat the Quiche kings appear in history
only as names,
of
which seven, including two appointed
by the Conquistadores, complete the list. Dull as was

and none of the
their decline, their ending was brilliant
;
people of Central America
made such
a brave struggle
for independence as this grand old tribe.
Other nations occupied portions of Guatemala

before
we
follow the course of the Cakchiquels
consider some of these.

of Tultecs
who had
left
At
and
ma}'
In Soconusco were several bands

the Aztec plateau, and in course
of time were attacked by Olmecs and reduced

abject slavery.
we
last this
most
to the
became unbearable, and by
the advice of their priests they decided to emigrate
and
under sacerdotal guidance they journeyed twenty days
THE OLDEN
IN
TIME.
261
along the Pacific coast, until they came to the Rio Michatoya,
where the
priest
who had
led
this event caused
re-
foundation of Itzcuintlan (Escuintla)
by
The delay and uncertainty
died.
the
sulted in
them sickened and
some who were weary of the journey. The greater part

went on twenty leagues farther and here came another
;
remaining there at Cuscatlan (San Salvador)
halt, half
and Xilopanco (Ilopango), while the others wênt on to

the Gulf of Conchagua, on the bounds of Honduras and
These
Nicaragua.
Exiles,
and
people
their descendants Pipiles.
The Cakchiquels soon got
own
of their
were called Cholutecas, or
people,
the
into trouble with a branch
Akahales,
who
occupied the
country between the Volcan de Pacaya and the Lago de
The king
Izabal.
of the
Akahales wâs Ychal-amoyac,
a brave and wealthy man, whose capital, Holum, rivalled
Tecpan Quauhtemalan.
His wêalth was coveted by the
and he was summoned to their

the impending fate, he obeyed the
victorious Cakchiquels,
court.
Warned
of
summons, accompanied only by
five
of his friends.
As
they entered the audience chamber, in the very presence
two kings the unfortunate Akahales Avere assassiTheir riches were seized, and their towns quietly
nated.
incorporated into the Cakchiquel kingdom.
of the
Although the Akahales seem
to
have submitted with-
out fighting, some of the neighboring tribes saw with
concern this lawless act of the powerful kings of Tecpan,
and
felt
that their turn might come next.
Wookaok,
king of the Atziquinihayi, whose country bordered on the
Lago de Atitlan, and Belehe-Gih, a mountain cacique on

and the former
the borders of Quiche, became leaders
intrenched himself in a strong fortress which the Cak;
GUATEMALA.
262
cliiquels besieged for fifteen days,
to the
and on
its fall
they put
sword the entire garrison.
Now
the Cakchiquels were by far the most important
was near
The white men had
the close of the fifteenth century.
already landed on the coast of America, and the history
Insurrections
of the tribes was hastening to a close.
here, treasons and plots there, make the substance of
what there is to tell. The attempt of Cay-Hunahpu to
of the ruling tribes of Central America, and
incite rebellion
it
shook the kingdom, but failed in the end.
Revolutions gradually loosed the feudal chains that bound

the subject tribes, and several of
independence.
who
Chief
among
them proclaimed
their
these were the Sacatepequez,
chose a king from their
own
tribe
with the
title
Achi-Calel, and the capital of their kingdom was Yampuk

only three kings reigned, until the Conquest. The Pokomans from Cuscatlan came to Sacatepequez seeking
and they were well provided with lands and settlements by the Sacatepequez, that they might not ally
land,
themselves with the hated Cakchiquels.
In 1510 the king of the Cakchiquels, Oxlahuhtzi, died,
and the next year his colleague, Cablahu-Tihax, died

and Hunig and Lahuh Noh succeeded their fathers.
also
;
Their reign was remarkable for an embassy sent by
Montezuma
to the kings of Central America.
object of the Mexicans
not explain.
may have
the
been, the Chronicles do
Fuentes supposes that not Montezuma, but
the eighth Mexican king Ahuitzotl was the one

to
What
communicate with
this king carried his
shores of the Pacific
ever penetrated the
his southern neighbors.
arms
Ocean
who
tried
Certainly
as far as Nicaragua along the

;
but there
interior of
is
no proof that he
Guatemala.
Whatever
IN
THE OLDEN TBIE.
263
or an allimet with poor
the ambassadors wanted, whether conquest
ance agamst the
commg
invaders, they
success.
At Utatlan the Quiche king refused
to them,
on the excuse that he could not understand
to listen
They went thence to Tecpan, where

but we do not hear that
they made any treaty. When they came to the chiefs of
and they
Atitlan they were driven away by arrow-shots
retreated to Utatlan, when the king warned them to
what they
said.
they found a better reception
leave his capital that very day, and the country within
twenty suns.
This
is
the only record
we have
of
any
communication between Mexico and Guatemala before
march of Cortez.
In Utatlan Vahxaki-Caam and Quicab were kings when
a Cakchiquel wizard, who some say wâs the king's son,
came by night to the palaces of Utatlan and yelled and
the famous
shouted so that the poor kings could not sleep
and as
bootjacks were not yet invented, they had to listen to

this ancient tomcat,
who, when they put their heads out
window,
them mama-caixon and other dreadNext day the king called
of the
called
fully opprobrious
together
all his
epithets.
wizards and offered large rewards for the
A Quiche wizard
capture of the nocturnal enemy.
under-
took the task, and chased the foreigner a long time, both
jumping from mountain
At
to mountain.
last
he cap-
him before the royalty

he had made the horrid
tured the Cakchiquel and brought
he had insulted.
When
asked
if
noises at night, he replied that he had.
king,
you."
"^
you
shall see
Then the
what a
nol^les
festival
" Then," said the
we
will
make with
began a war-dance to celebrate
the capture of that wizard, and transforming themselves

into eagles, lions,
and
tigers,
they danced around and
GUATEMALA.
264
All things being ready for his
clawed the poor Indio.
turned to the king and
execution, he
crying, " Wait a
Know
the
all
others,
until you hear what I wish to say
bit,
hand when you will

despair at the calamities which are to come upon you,
and that mama-caixon must die and know that some
to you.
that the time
is
at
clothed not naked
men
and armed, men
you
like
and
terrible
from head
cruel, sons of
to foot,
Teja, will
come, perhaps to-morrow, perhaps the next day, and will

destroy
all
these palaces,
for the owls
and
and wildcats, and
When
court shall pass away."
him, and paid
rificed
will
Warring here and
dwellings
the grandeur of this
he had spoken they sac-
attention
little
there,
make them
all
suffering
to his prophecy.
defeat
seldom, but
came at
Tecpan, and
troubled with diseases and epidemics, a plague

last
which nearly depopulated the
was
especially
among
fatal
the
city of
nobility,
both
kings
So great was the mortality that there was not
dying.
time to bury the dead, and they were often
left
to
the vultures.
When
this scourge
had passed, Achi-Balam and Belehe-
Qat were called to the throne, and during their reign came
the news of the terrible
work
of the Spaniards in Mexico.
These young kings decided to send an embassy to the
mighty
chief of the invaders, begging his protection
aid against their enemies.
We
have to-day the
and
letter of
Cortez to Charles V., dated in Mexico, Oct. 15, 1524, describing this
embassy
of
Guatemalans to surrender their
country and countrymen to the foreign devils

destroyed
North.
quels
their
neighbors beyond the
forests
who had
of
the
One almost feels that these wretched Cakchideserved
the miseries
they brought upon them-
IN
Whether
selves.
Central America
did
THE OLDEN
TIME.
265
by any combination
could
man can say.

and no human or divine
the Lacandones, no
time had come,
change the event
but
the
tribes
of
have resisted the invaders, as
it is
Probably their
influence could
sad to see these
many
tribes,
was gathering over their devoted heads,

fighting among themselves in the most headstrong way
and so they fought until the coming of Pedro Alvarado.
Guatemala held three hostile camps,
the Quiches at
Utatlan the Cakchiquels at Iximche or Tecpan Quauhtemalan and the Tzutohiles at Atitlan.
December 6, 1523, the greatest general and most trusted
friend of Cortez, Pedro de Alvarado, departed from the
City of Mexico at the head of three hundred infantry (of
whom one hundred and thirty were archers and gunners),
and one hundred and twenty cavalry. He took four small
cannon, in which were used stone balls, forty reserve
while, the storm
horses,
tecas
and
his native allies
were two hundred Tlaxcal-
and one hundred Mexicans, besides a large number
of tlamenes to carry the baggage.
With
this warlike array
went two ministers of the Prince of Peace, Juan Godinez

and Juan Diaz. The conquest of Guatemala was the end
to be attained.
Alvarado marched south to Soconusco, and here met his

first
opponents.
Unlike the contemptible Cakchiquels,
the brave Quiches wQuld

of their country,
hastened to join
make no terms with
the invaders
and as the Spaniards approached they

the men of Soconusco, and near Tonala
The Indies
were utterly routed but they fell back and made preparaOxib-Queh was then Ahautions for a greater struggle.
Ahpop of the Quiches, and his fellow-king or Ahpop-Camha
fought their
first
battle with the white

;
men.
GUATEMALA.
266
was Beleheb-Tzi
Tecum-Umam and Tepepul were
the
Tecum, as commander-in-chief of
other principal chiefs.
the army, designated Chuvi-Megena (Totonicapan) as the
His army was immense
rendezvous of the Quiche forces.
army of Gerbut no one knows the exact number of naked
(the annalists
many
!)
soldiers
make
equal to the enrolled
it
he brought together.
After the victory at Tonala, Alvarado marched inland
towards Zapotitlan, the capital of Suchitepequez

he approached the
some
spies
mountains with friendly messages to their
in the
No
city, sent
and as
he had captured
chiefs.
answer, either good or bad, was returned, but a battle
was fought on the Rio
Tilapa, and again the Spaniards
Some
of the inhabitants of Zapotitlan
were victorious.
from a distance to the invaders and invited them to
called
come
own
into the city
but Alvarado preferred to choose his
time, and the Indios again attacked him.
Desperately
fighting, they were constantly driven back, and the in-
vaders trampled over their bodies even through the streets

of the city
ended
and
for half a league beyond,
and Alvarado returned
the market-place.
More
in a
way
that
is
painful to read about.
of the Indios that the stream
men and
The
and camped
locusts than
plains of the River Olintepec so great
their blood.
battle
loss of the
in
human
went on destroying army
beings, these land-pirates
army
to the city
hungry
like
where the
after
On
the
was the slaughter
was colored for days with

Spaniards was only a few
horses wounded.
Tzakaha was occupied without

ican allies changed the
name
resistance,
and the Mex-
to Quezaltenango.
Under
a canopy of branches the ambassadors of the Prince of
Peace offered
sacrifice to the
god of
battles.
Here
at the
THE OLDEN TIME.
IN
first
267
Guatemala these blood-stained

No wonder that the priests have in their
mass celebrated
murderers knelt.
in
turn been driven from the country
Xelahuh was found
and here Alvarado rested
deserted,
three days to remove the rusting blood from his arms.
Then came the news that another Quiche army (Alvarado

writes to Cortez that it was composed of twelve thousand
men from
Utatlan and countless numbers from the neigh-
towns)
boring
marched out
to
was
approaching
and
meet them on the magnificent plain
be-
This was
the
tween Quezaltenango and Totonicapan.

decisive battle,
and marvellous are the Indian legends
gathering around
Over the head
it.
of
Tecum, the Quiche
commander, hovered a gigantic quetzal (the

chief),
who
last the
moment
Spaniards
the
nafjual of the
savagely attacked the Spanish general.
At
Spanish lance killed the bird, and at the same

the unfortunate
Tecum
fell lifeless
at the feet of
the Conquistador.
In his report to Cortez, Alvarado writes
" That day I
and captured many people, many of them captains
killed
and persons
of rank."
war (both men and

women) were branded on the cheek and thigh and sold
All the prisoners taken in this
as slaves at public auction, a fifth of their price belonging
King of Spain.
The last army of the noble Quiches being destroyed, and
to the
their
utmost
efforts
being unavailing to turn aside the de-
stroyers of their country,
it is
not
difficult to
imagine the
terror in Utatlan or the hurried counsels of the
In desperation they decided to
two kings.
sacrifice their city, if
they
might destroy at the same time these invincible Spaniards.

The enemy was to be lured within the walls, and the only
GUATEMALA.
268
two means
wooden
enemy
and then the thatched and

be fired, and so the imprisoned
of entrance closed,
were to
roofs
destroyed.
It
was an
have been successful with a
He
rado.
and might
wary general than Alva-
effective plan,
less
discovered the plot after he had entered Utatlan
but feigning friendship, he managed to get out of the city
on the plea that his horses could not bear the paved
streets,
and the next morning begged the honor of a
visit
from the two kings.
Oxib-Queh and Beleheb-Tzi came

with a considerable retinue of nobles, and Alvarado re-
them with pretended
ceived
friendship.
When
all
the
preparations were made, a party of soldiers loaded the

guests with chains, and then their host" bitterly reproached
them
tial
By
a court-mar-
alive.
This hor-
(the poor heathen) for their plot.
they were condemned to be burned
sentence was carried out, and during Holy
rible
Week,
April, 1524, the last legitimate sovereigns of the
most
powerful nation in Central America perished in the flames.
Bishop Marroquin named the city that succeeded Utatlan,

Santa Cruz (holy
because the Indian capital was
cross),
captured on Good Friday
Alvarado wrote to Cortez " That

:
to the service of
the lords
land
and
His Majesty,
burned them [yo
might bring them
determined to burn
for the well-being
their city to be burned
The
and peace
queme), and
los
and razed
of this
commanded
to its foundations."
scattered Quiches, driven to fury by the awful
death of their beloved monarchs, fought to the death
and Alvarado was obliged
to
Iximche to demand aid from
despatch messengers to
his
Cakchiquel
allies,
who
hastened to send four thousand warriors to crush the

bleeding remains of their ancient rivals.
IN
The reception
THE OLDEN
seem tame enough

rebellions
and
the
Many
country.
Henceforth the
tribes followed the
example, and submitted without a struggle.

(Escuintla) refused
Atitlan,
only outbursts against indi-
battles are
vidual oppression.
of
of the Quiches,
their
of
destruction
martyrdom
after the
defenders
sole
269
of the Spaniards at Iximche, the fights
with the Tzutohiles, and

the
TIME.
Cakchiquel
Itzcuintlan
but the Spaniards entered the city
on a stormy night and murdered most of the inhabi-
Alvarado marched to San Salvador in
tants.
unorganized
considerable
Iximche, where he founded on the
kingdom
the
capital
of
patron
Santiago
(Saint
and
opposition,
of
returned
of
to
25th of July the
Guatemala,
James)
spite of
claiming
Spain.
This
as
was
afterwards removed to Almolonga (Ciudad Vieja).
While
allies
in Iximche,
what
his true
of the Cakchiquels
cess
Xuchil
had
fallen
Alvarado showed his foolish Indian
One
character was.
had
but the
of the chiefs
just espoused the beautiful prinlustful
eye
of
the Conquistador
on her, and he sent for her on the pretext

that he wished to consult her about the jêople to the
southward
in
whom
he intended to subdue.
The husband
well-grounded alarm begged the general, with tears
in his eyes, to return his beloved wife, offering
petition
a rich
present of gold
with his
and ornaments.
the proud and hard-hearted Spanish knight,
"But
who thought
he did honor by his passion for the bride of a Cakchiquel
prince,
as
he had
done in Mexico with the
daughter of one of the lords of Tlaxcala, accepted the

present, but refused with disdain the prince's petition."
Again Alvarado
upon the kings

ehe-Qat and Cahi-Ymox, to bring him
called
of Iximche, Belall
the gold and
GUATEMALA.
270
silver
they possessed, even to the royal insignia
and
to
emphasize his demand he snatched from the wretched

kings their earrings, so
physical
''
pain.
within
If
not here, woe be unto you
The
they
that
days
five
know
by a native
kings, advised
the city with their wives
and
shed tears at the
your gold
all
my
well
heart
is
"
!
priest, decided to leave
children,
and they
reso-
when Alvarado sent friendly

messages and promises to them. Then the Spaniards
began a war of extermination and slavery against
the Cakchiquels, and the Quiches and Tzutohiles now
lutely
refused to return
took the side of the invaders against their hereditary

All
enemies.
destruction
this
upon Guatemala
misery had come
and
When
one year, 1524.
in
the
tribes
were conquered, one by one, their sufferings only com-
was the slavery to which the

Indian population of Guatemala was reduced that death
was welcomed by the sufferers, and the Quiche nobles
menced
for so terrible
refused to rear children to serve their conquerors.
do not care to follow the history of Guatemala
under Spanish rule

through
the
tyranny.
iniquit}^
Priests
;
it
sloughs of
and
would be no pleasure excursion

deceit and over mountains of
soldiers vied
with each other in
and the Indios, then as now, seem
to
have
been the most moral part of the population.
In closing this long chapter on the early people of

the kingdom, I would call the attention of
to
the present
tionship,
according to
ethnologist
classifies
rather than by
Guatemala and
Indians of
Dr.
the
Otto
Indios
my
readers
their
rela-
Stoll.
This learned
mainly
by language
physical data, and I
am
myself seep-
IN THE OLDEN TIME.

value
the
of
tical
who
Bengalis
linguistic
losing
their
their
very
tionships
little
and
the
be-
should be put on lingual rela-
stress
any system
also do I protest against
founded on the cranium alone
classification
from
but
Bengali does not thus become an Anglo-Saxon.

lieve
know
mother-tongue
with their brethren;
disassociation
disuse or
distinctions.
speak English most perfectly, and I can
imagine
well
of
271
of
the ^vhole
body, outer integuments as well as osseous frame, must

be called in witness
human
and one day perhaps the study
of
proportions and physical peculiarities will result
in a classification in
which language plays no
at least a very subsidiary one.
us take
the
chart
we have
of
In the
part, or
mean time
let
the Swiss professor as the best
The nineteen tribes or famfollows, and their location

ilies Dr. Stoll names as
is indicated by the numbers on the chart
thing
at present.
1.
Mam.
2. Ixil.
G.
Quekehi.
11. Cakchiquel.
16. Cliorti.
7.
Choi.
12. Pipil.
17. Alaguilac.
Maya.
3.
Aguacateca.
8.
Mopan.
13. Siiica.
18.
4.
Uspanteca.
D.
Quiche.
14. Pupuluca.
19. Carib.
5.
Poconchi.
10. Tzutohil.
15.
Pokomam.
Of the Aztec stem, only the Pipiles (12) are found in

Guatemala. They are probably the descendants of the
Tultecs,
who were subdued by
the Olmecs.
stem are the small tribe of Pupulucas

bean stem
is
(14).
Of the Mije
The. Carib-
represented on the coast by the Caribs (19)
and of these so many differing accounts have been given
am tempted to give a fuller description.

When the West Indies were discovered, they
that I
pled by several races
but
were peo-
among them none were
so formi-
dable as the inhabitants of the southern islands of that
GUATEMALA.
272
sea,
now
called,
from
their supposed
chose their
to
home far from
but seldom
They were understood
the sea.
have the habit of eating their fellow-men
and
corruption
The
name, Caribbean.
Caribs dwelt also in the valley of the Orinoco
the
oppro-
" cannibal."
term
brious
from
Caribal
of
we have
that
it is
Whether they did
limit
their diet to the orthodox
fare or not,
clear
is
by no means
for the Spanish con-
querors did not scruple to

indict,
condemn, and put
to death the innocent natives
who opposed them,
and
no
stouter
oppo-
nents than the Caribs did
they
find.
are
tribes
Two
distinct
generally
in-
cluded under the name,
the black Caribs, and the
yellow: the
straight
black
latter
hair;
with
but
the former are no doubt

the mixed breed of the true
Carib (who was generally

Carib
Woman.
at
intruder)
and
tlie
African slaves
tection of the aborigines
from
war with the European
who
escaped to the pro-
their tyrannical masters.
In 1796 England removed these troublesome people from

St.
Vincent to Eoatan,
coast of Honduras,
one
of the
Bay
Islands off the
whence they gradually emigrated to
THE OLDEN
IN
the mainland
Belize to
and now their
TIME.
273
villages
are found from
Cape Gracios a Dios.
All along this coast they are of distinct and uniform

character, to the casual observer differing little
negro type
of
powerful limbs,
is
good
as well as
To one who
men.
used to study the physical character of men, the out-
ward resemblance
is
muscular build, and
stature, firm,
women
from the
woolly
to the negro
but the nose
is
is less
The hair
mouth not so
marked.
less flattened, the
The shoulders are broad,

but so are the hips and the narrow pelvis of the African
is generally wanting.
The fingers have large joints, and
from the last all the fingers, but especially the thumb,
wide, nor are the lips so thick.
;
taper sharply to the end.
and the
feet
The heel
are very broad.
interest to the student of the
is
not so projecting,
Other differences are of
human form
rather than to
the public.
Almost
speak some English,
all
seldom
using the
baby-talk of the negro, but not always conforming to the

correct idiom
always use their
more familiar
own language
still
with Spanish, they
in conversation with each
grammars and vocabularies of the dialects

spoken by these islanders and by their namesakes in
South America have been published (as may be seen in
other.
Several
the
of books given in the Appendix), but I have not
list
studied this language enough to learn the difference,
if
any, between the speech of the yellow and the black tribes.
The Caribbee has a
disagreeable sound,
trast to the Spanish
frequent,
ing
it
but the syllables her and hub are
and the enunciation
very
difficult for
perhaps by con-
is
exceedingly rapid, mak-
an alien to catch the words.
Add
men and women
speak
to this the curious fact that the

18
GUATEMALA.
274
a distinct language, and the obstacles a learner meets are
To
important.
and woman words
man
here are a few of the
illustrate,
Man.
Woman.
Father
yuraaan
nucuxili
Mother
Sou
Daughter
House
ixanum
macu, imulu
nirajo
niananti
nirajo
tubana
tujonoco
Earth
nonum
cati
Brother
ibuguia
The
Igaryhai, " let
water
"
alone
it
Kimoi, "
Lord
(?)
becomes familiar with such expressions as
traveller
"
nucuxum
let
"
Bur aba duna
us go
" III hj, " I don't
know,"
me
nu, " bring
" Fagai, " paddle
"
Mawer,
pronounced
with a
contemptuous nasal twang that would outdo the veriest

Yankee.
beyond
Talkative
them
camp
in
it
difficult
is
when
of themselves,
love
Superstitious
easily disturbed.
they are not in public very religious
human
strange stories told of
was the
victim.
cross on the
house to keep out the
with
they
self-
to
;
an extreme,
but there
sacrifices in
are
which a child
have noticed that they put a rude
window and door openings
Caribs, I
treated,
and their
well
have a very good opinion

is
quiet
to
have had a hard
at night, unless they
Good-natured
work.
day's
measure,
devils.
When
an unfinished
of
becalmed in a dory
have often heard the prayer
" Sopla, Sa7i Antonio, barba de oro cachimbade plata!

Blow, Saint Antony, with golden beard and silver pipe
And
edly,
if
the
the
saint
next
did
not
blow when
proceeding was
to
asked
make a
"
!
repeatcross
of
THE OLDEN TIME.
IN
sticks
and tow
reading
the
general
are
met
less
Prayer
Lord's
The worship
a breeze.
is
astern
it
of
275
this last performance, like
backwards,
Mafia (the
usually
devil)
but they do not like to talk about
musical
raised
I believe
it.
than any of the black races
Caribs
I
have
but they are fond of noisy drums, and will dance
Some
until utterly exhausted.
of their dances last
two
days.
Indian
Of
all
Women, Pocomam
the languages of Central America, no one has
been more studied than the Maya.
Yucatan, and there

it.
Tribe.
In Guatemala
many
it
is
It is the
language of
foreigners both speak and read
the parent tongue of the great
majority of the tribes, including the Quiches, Cakchiquels,
GUATEMALA.
276
CZ5
H
W
-3
o
P5
<1
THE OLDEN TIME.
IN
and Tzutohiles,
may
see
The reader
those long-time enemies.
by the table
the similarity of
277
of
words
certain
borrow from Dr. Berendt
common words
in
sixteen of
these dialects.
The Lacandones, those unconquered Indios

macinta, speak a dialect cognate
with that spoken in
Yucatan, Campeche, and the sacred island Cozumel
what gives additional
interest to the
fact that all the inscribed
Quirigua,
Maya language
monuments
and Usumacinta belong to
interpreted, this
is
Usu-
of the
is
and
the
of Tikal,
Copan,
this race,
and
if
probably the key.
The Quekchi language (6) is spoken by the Indios of

Coban Cahabon, Senaju, and adjoining parts of Alta
Verapaz, while close at hand (San Cristobal, Tactic, Tucurii, La Tinta, and Teleman) we have the Poconchi form.
Externally both tribes are alike, although the Quekchis
perhaps dress rather better.
The extant
literature of the Quiches has been freely
consulted in the preparation of this cha^^ter.
what the
readers like to see

" Popul
Vuh
"
Are u xe oher
u
is
tzili
like
varal Quichbe
This
is
of those
the
the beginning of the story
who were
land that
Varal xchekatzibah, xchikatiqiba

pucli
of
bi.
vi oher tzili,
Would my
original language
is
formerly in the
called (Quiche.
There begins and commences
u tiqaribal, u xenabal the knowledge of the earlier time,
ronoliel
xbau
pa 'tinamit the origin and beginning of all

done in the Quiche state in the
home of Qniche men.
Quiche, r'amag Quiche vinak.
Uspantan has a
the
Cakchiquel
little
dialect
language we
ing remnant in the
''
all
have
to
itself
most
(4).
Of
interest-
Cakchiquel Manuscript," next in
GUATEMALA.
278
importance to the
creation
the
of
Quiche narrative
Popul Vuh."
''
was
as
copied,
is
In
the
it
natural,
account
from the
but the main portion of the work
is
a history of the revohition which led to the departure
from Utatlan and the occupation of Iximche, and also

of the advent of the Spaniards and the subsequent events
until the establishment of Christianity as the State re-
The author was the grandson of the king who

and his story goes to the
died of the pest in 1519
year 1582, when another member of the same family
ligion.
continues
it
to 1597.
The Tzutohiles
(10),
who,
will be
it
are
still
of
the
same
spirit
remembered, were
the Lago de Atitlan,
a fighting tribe on the shores of
and when Mr. Maudslay
attempted to photograph them, the
women shook
their
The unwillingness to be photographed

I also found among the Quiche women (old ones) of
Sacapulas
but a word from the comandante subdued
in his face.
fists
their opposition.
The
Ixils
(1)
dwell in
Sierras west of
the
Coban,
Mames (2) are found at San Marcos, Chiand Huehuetenango, all westward to Socouusco
and south to Ocos. The Aguacateca (3) occupies a small
space north of Utatlan, and the vocabulary given by
and the
antla,
differs entirely
Stoll
quoted.
capa,
Chorti (16)
from that
is
of Dr. Berendt's already
spoken at Chiquimula and Za-
and in the opinion
some
of
is
the sculptors of the glyphs at Copan.
the
language of
Sinca (13) and
Alaguilac (17) are almost unknown, and Stoll cannot

classify
The
Dr.
them.
personality of these tribes
Stoll's
learned
treatise
is
and
wholly absent from
my own
knowledge
IN
of
their
appearance and
ited to lead
noticed
THE OLDEN TIME.
me
way
to venture
what every one
to
else
of
279
thought
fill
is
the void.
speaks
of,
too
I
the
lim-
have
sober
Mozos de Cargo, Quicho.
bearing of
ten
the
seen the
but I have
of-
de cargo brighten
as
Guatemaltecan Indios
face
of
my mozo
I greeted him, and I have been even led to think that

his
mourning expression
is
worn much
as civilized ladies
GUATEMALA.
280
wear
their black,
to save themselves
laid aside in the family, or
Many
of the
men
trouble.
with a friend they can
It is
trust.
are well formed, although small, and
their faces are often very attractive.
be neater in their persons and
I believe
them
to
garb than the ladino
population.
Carved stone Seat (Museo Nacional).
CHAPTER
X.
THE REPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA.
FOR
almost three centuries Spain governed Central
America (1524-1821) by the Audiencia Real.
Every
upon the Indios
act of oppression that could be exercised
was invented by the foreign rulers, and the native population
was greatly reduced by
such a course always

acts
most
the
perpetrators.
thirst
for
brought
terribly
wealth
the
this
mismanagement
but
re-
upon
The
that
foreigners
to these shores pursued
them
still,
and the brave
resistance to
wrongs un-
limited, that the Spaniards themselves chronicle,
does
not
seem to
have awakened that

spect in the
Arms
of
Guatemala.
re-
bosoms of the Conquistadores that
it
now
rouses in the heart of every generous student of the past.
was " spoiling the Egyptians " and although Las Casas and some of the missionaries tried faithfully to protect their flock, and although
the King of Spain made decrees, the powers of evil
The Indios were lawful
prey,
it
seemed to have their own way in
this distant colony.
GUATEMALA.
282
We
cannot but admire the undoubted courage and in-
difference to personal hardship exhibited
tadores
were
but
little
tliat
must not blind us
by the Conquis-
to the fact that they
better than freebooters in their treatment of
the American nations they subdued, and that their policy,

so far as they
had any, was
of the
most
selfish
and narrow
Jealousy of other nations, especially of England,
kind.
who was now beginning
to try her
hand
in ruling the sea,
although in a rather irregular way, led to the establish-
ment
of all the important cities in the
of the interior,
mountain region
where they might well escape the notice
The natural walls that Nature had

made very useful to their utmost extent
of other nations.
provided were
the ports were but conveniences to help the invaders to

supplies
means
from the mother-country and afford a necessary
for the exportation of their ill-gotten gains,
general commerce was discouraged in every way.
and
The
buccaneers helped to discourage the growth of ports, but
Home Government did quite as much in this direction.

The atrocious system of eneomiendas, by which the native
population was reduced to an almost hopeless slavery, was
permitted, if not encouraged, by the Church, and no attempt
was ever made to develop the country on a basis of improvement in the Indian population and the animal,
vegetable, and mineral wealth of Guatemala were treated
much in the same way,
a prey for the present robber.
The Indios were all subdued, except the Lacandones far
the
on the northern
jugation
bear
fruit.
frontier,
who were
and the iniquitous policy
too poor to pay for subof selfishness
began to
Unlimited power and immunity in the hands
of the clergy begot intolerance.
The shepherds became
the wolves, and not only devoured their
own
flocks,
but

the entire country as
pression
grew
well.
283
Monopolies, corruption, op-
like true tropical vegetation, until the air
and then came the
became too
close for healthful life
mentation.
Uprisings of the Inclios had occurred before the
death of Alvarado (1541),
fer-
for example, the brave attempt
Honduras but these rebellions

were all crushed by the iron hand of the Adelantado and
by his generals. Now came the low murmur of a rising
tempest over the land, and the winds were blowing from
of the Cacique
Lempira
in
Now
a different quarter of the heavens.
was uneasy, and

vest of the wind
Not
it
it
the ruling caste
was about to reap the

had sowed.
inevitable har-
in the province of Guatemala, not at the seat of
the Audiencia Real, but on that disturbed strip of land
along the Pacific coast of Nicaragua and San Salvador,

scale,
and
vents bristle threateningly, appeared the
first
where earthquakes are on the most

volcanic
forcible
remonstrances against this aged and encrusted

In 1811 there were risings,
tyranny.
mentos
The
system of government taught a distrust of
selfishness
permeated individual character as well
as the nation at large

in
little 2>^ônuncia-
but there was no combination to insure success.
false
others
terrific
his neighbor.
No
and no
man
could put confidence
leader appeared to unite the dis-
cordant elements, the evolution of a free state was very
was as much owing to the supineness of Spain as to any forceful act on the part of the
provinces.
We have here no war of freedom, no Washington, no Bolivar.
Sporadic murmurs were heard now
and again they came to the ears of the people and set a
slow,
and at
last
few men
to thinking
until in
1821 the then representative of Spain, Gavino
the
number
of these thinkers grew,
GUATEMALA.
284
Gainza, joined the rebels,
much
as a disappointed politi-
cian of the present day leaves his party for the
camp
of its
opponents, and independence was solemnly proclaimed,
Guatemala.
September 15, in
acquiesced
American
in
Spain
seems
an act which deprived her
colonies
but
mismanagement had
it
may
left little
be
of
to
have
her fair
supposed that her
value in the possession.
Three centuries of abasement had been a most inopportune school for the freedom of a republic, and one cannot
be surprised that the change was no easy one, or that the
results
have not, even after two generations, been
the patriots
Subjectively,
all
that
among these first rebels may have wished.

"Be thou fed " is very easy; but objectively
the result seldom meets the
Slavery was abol-
command.
ished forty years before the great Republic of the North
dared to do that right
was very embarrassing,
for not only
left
were there no means
the forced repair of roads, bridges, and other
for
means
but this eminently proper step
of
intercourse, that
in
a tropical country need
constant vigilance, but the commerce between town and
town
fell off,
and the
little traffic
that had led a struggling
existence for some years with Spain and other European

countries
now
died out entirely, and the revenues of the
State were affected with an atrophy that crippled every
attempt of the Government to improve the internal communications of the country.
made
The
clergy,
who had perhaps
the freest use of forced labor, in covering the land
with elaborate churches and convents that

of the
Government
of the present
in repair, felt aggrieved

tion,
all
the revenues
day could hardly keep
and uneasy.
All was in transi-
and there were few wise men to guide the counsels.
The stream was
turbulent,
and not
easily kept within its

proper channel.
be found
Is
it
wonderful that round blocks should
square holes under such circumstances
that the political equilibrium,
all
There were two

ing elements,
much
To
Democratic.
who
them
called,
Liljeral,
or
the former belong:ed the leadino; fami-
clergy,
who with
these
few families held
and a few
who from
satisfied
with the existing order of things
bitterly
resisted
personal
flocked all those
or
religious
any innovation,
upon the privileges
who
of
this
and
standard also
rejected the superstition into
who
these
all
any attack
To the
Liberals
did not enjoy monopolies, and
men
the dangers which threatened
but
were
feelings
:
esjêcially
Church.
the
of the lower
could not be worse off under any change
fallen,
Central, or Servile, as
classes,
to
reason
rallied oppos-
and the Federal,
themselves for an aristocracy
came
or
possessed certain monopolies and feared to lose
the
around which
the Conservative,
was variously
lies,
parties,
unstable, should turn to
this signal disturbance or that, without
it
285
of intellect,
their
country,
which the
in their eagerness to
local
who
there
lût
who saw
and who
Church had
hold up the ex-
ample of the United States of the North to their newly

emancipated countrymen, forgot the radical difference
between the Anglo-Saxon and Spanish stock and train-
Then came in the feeling of race-prejudice and

when one remembers that three quarters of the population was Indian, and that of the other quarter was
ing.
composed the entire ruling
class,
it
will
perhaps be a
matter of surprise that more evil did not come from

this threatening condition of affairs.
If
the Indios
of
Guatemala had not been the most peaceable and lawabiding of their kind
known
to history, they
might have
GUATEMALA.
286
improved the opportunity to repay

flicted
upon
As
their ancestors.
it
all
the miseries in-
happened, they could
at least be conscious of their power.
With no
dom
of
fixed policy, the ancient States of the king-
Guatemala cut
from Spain.
adrift
At one time
except San Salvador, entertained the idea of union
all,
with the new Empire of Mexico under Iturbide, but they

escaped that complication
Mexican throne
and at
by the early collapse of the
last,
representatives of the States
on the
met
1st of April, 1823,
in the City of Guate-
mala, and the Asamblea Nacional Constituyente, after
long debates and

be
supposed,
influence,
many
propositions, in which, as
might
Church party had no unimportant

Federal Constitution was proclaimed on
the
Nov. 24, 1824.

Three years later the Vice-President, Flores, was murdered in Quezaltenango by a
gated,
it
is
mob
of female furies insti-
claimed, by the Church party, and his body
was stripped and mutilated by the
fiend-like
This was done in the church as the wretched

to the altar,
and
it
was done
name
in the
women.
man
of
clung
religion.
The consequence immediately following was an

ever, sent
an army
abso-
San Salvador, how-
lute reign of religious fanaticism.
to restore order,
and on March
16,
1827, attacked the capital; but these troops of the Liberal party
were driven back, and
ren warfare was kept up.
for
two years a
bar-
In 1829 General Francisco
Morazan led the Salvadorenan army
to
now
After a battle
success attended the Liberals.
Guatemala
and
last-
ing three days they entered Guatemala City in triumph,
banished the leaders of the Central party, and suppressed the convents.
In 1831 Morazan was elected Presi-
287
dent of the RepulDlic or Confederacy, and for ten years
government.
his party held the
foreigner
Morazan's administration
vahie of
is
not easy for a
trustworthy information of the true
get
to
It
man
but while the
seems to have been patriotic and of excellent private

he was not strong
character,
enough
warring elements around him.

bitter
to
enemy
and while
which the party
in
it
control
the
The Church was
his
to
long endured the low estate
power had reduced
there
it,
was
no lack of grumbling, nor of even more active endeavors to find a champion.
mean time an
In the
Indio of low birth ^ and wholly
uneducated, but of great courage, had come into promi-
nence as a leader of bands of marauding Indios.
young
Carrera,
disturbed
defeats
he was, saw his advantage in the
as
condition
at
of
his
country,
and after various
hands of the President, at
the
Rafael
last
drove
Morazan from Guatemala, and the Confederation came

to an
end (1839).
Carrera favored
the Church
party, but
slightest intention of letting the
knew how
gracefully.
to use
In
all
it,
previous revolutions the defeated party
gles of the past
John
so the State
was kept unanimous
that could not obtain now, because neither
much
party had
He
rule him.
and the clergy generally submitted
had been banished, and
a condition
Church
had not the
real
power
few years.
L. Stephens,
left
It
after the constant strug-
was while our countryman
whose fascinating account
of his travels
^ Carrera was a servant in the family of the Marquis de Aycinena

afterwards a drummer-boy in the regiment under his master's command. A pamphlet
;
was published
nena.
From
to prove that this
young half-breed was a natural son of Ayci-
the countenance as represented on the coins there
Negro and Indian, rather than Spanish, blood in
his parentage.
is
indication of
GUATEMALA.
288
was on a diplomatic mission to

Central America that young Carrera was gathering his
will always be a classic,
power,
and
most
Fundador de
to
is
it
distinguished
this
of the information about Carrera
the Republic),
la
is
Repuhlica de
the
title
reign
the word
that
Carrera,
Guatemcda (Founder
of
Carrera.
his administration
is
traveller
due.
he claimed on the coinage of
Rafael
Guatemala during
is
used intentionally
and after a long
he was
able to
designate his successor and die in his bed, while his chief
antagonist, Morazan, after a most persevering struggle
was shot by
The tomb of Carrera is
Guatemala City.
for the union of Central America,
grateful
countrymen.
metropolitan church in
his un-
in the
On
Don Vincente Cerna
the death of Carrera, in 1865,
succeeded to the Presidency
289
but he did not possess the
power over the Indios that Carrera held, and before his
term of office had half passed, disturbances broke out on
the northern frontier, where a
gang
collected a
pressed,
and Barrios executed
man named
Barrios had
This insurrection was sup-
of outlaws.
;
he however
left
a successor
in the person of Serapio Cruz, a very corpulent

for all that a typical brigand,
a guerilla
war from
distilleries of
who
mountain
his
for
man, but
some time waged
retreats, capturing the
aguardiente (then a Government monopoly),
and destroying what he could not carry away.

to this
enemy on the
less disturbing
outskirts of the republic
Joined
was a no-
element in the legislature in the person of
Don Miguel Garcia Granados, who was most active

attacking the Government. As the Presidential term
Cerna ended, a
of
rival in the political field, General Victor
Zavala, seemed likely to be elected
Cerna was
in
re-elected.
but by a close vote
In 1869 a loan was' negotiated
London which enabled the Government to pay its most

All
pressing debts, and quiet was apparently secured.
this time, however, the insurgent Cruz was strengthening
his band in the mountains, where he was joined by a man
in
destined to hold the chief place in Guatemala, General J.
Rufino Barrios
approached the
state,
expecting
and in December, 1869, the

capital.
pillage
The
city
not destruction,
if
rebel
army
was in a most excited
when
the
news came that the head of Cruz would

soon be in the city. It was true a party of Indios had
attacked and defeated the chief, and now brought his
unexpected
bleeding head to the President.
was photographed, and
This disagreeable trophy
prints were sold in the shops for

19
GUATEMALA.
290
The
fifty cents.
was over
rebellion
Barrios fled to Mexico.
for the time,
and
President Cerna was very lenient
and Granados was merely banished, and

put under ten thousand dollars' bond not to return to
to his enemies,
Guatemala.
men
Banished
are always dangerous, and
was no exception.
satisfaction with
Granados
Seeing his opportunity in some

the
dis-
governmental policy, he invaded
Guatemala, and was at once joined by General Barrios.
The march from Mexican territory was almost a triumphal procession, and on the plain between Quezaltenango
and Totonicapan (the Esdraelon of Guatemala) the decisive battle was fought.
Cerna could not trust his geneand
rals,
so took
the field in person.
For a time the
was with him but Barrios brought up his troops

good time, and the national army had to give way.
battle
in
President Cerna rallied his forces at Chimaltenango, only

to be again defeated
San Lucas, a small

fled
to
submit
and
village
after
making a
final stand at
between Antigua and Mixco,
Chiquimula, where he advised his followers to

the
to
conquerors,
while
he
went over into
Honduras.
On
the 30th of June the
"Army
of Liberators" en-
was proclaimed President

The new President found an empty treasury, and called upon the merchants for a loan.
The
authorities were very careful to say that this was not a
forced loan but the method was very much of that character, for a list was made out of all the merchants in
the city, and the proportion each one was thought capable of paying set against his name.
The "subscription
paper " was then sent around, and few dared to refuse.
tered the capital, and Granados
pro
tein][)ore.
No wonder
291
that Central Americans do not wish to be
thought rich or prosperous
Granados was nominally
President; but no one doubted that the
man
soon to become
was in reality acting in that capacity even

then, although it was convenient for him to have Granados
his successor
arrange the finances as well as the disturbed

Several
press,
reforms were
proclaimed,
and the abolition
of
as
politics.
freedom of
the
the monopoly of distilling
Before three months had passed, the clergy
aguardiente.
began to make trouble, and
September,
in
1872,
the
Archbishop and the entire Order of Jesuits were banished

the
republic
inciting
for
insurrection
Santa
at
Rosa.
The San Franciscans, Capucins, and Dominicans were

expelled the following year.
This was briefly the story
of the beginning of the reign of Barrios.
On June
General
1871,
30,
J.
Rufino Barrios was
elected President of the independent republic that Carrera
claimed to have founded
began to make
and from that date Guatemala

His iron will determined
real progress.
that Guatemala should indeed be chief of
American
the
Barrios,
He
States, so that
union of
all
there
the
when
States,
all
the Central
the time came to renew
cherished
scheme of
could be no question of her leadership.
so far succeeded that his country has undoubtedly
made more material
progress
in
the ten
years of his
administration than the other Central American Republics
have made
in half a century.
Without going into even a

of
the
republic
under
Barrios,
must be mentioned, such

tution, Dec.
confiscation
9,
of
brief history of the politics
certain
important acts
as the adoption of a
Consti-
1879, the expulsion of the Jesuits, the
much Church
property and
its
appro-
GUATEMALA.
292
priation to the uses of public education, as well as for
and government
hotels
have
acts
which have greatly
this once priest-ridden country.
advanced
it
offices,
the churches and monasteries
am
of religion, or
undervalue the
at variance with the particular
offices
branch
Church whose property was so treated. Guatemala

less
and could some of those
of the
needs more religion, not
pure and devoted priests of the Cliurch of

I
would not
thought that in speaking of the sequestration of
Rome whom
have rejoiced to meet in many a remote region, turn
their energies
Central America,
to
would be
it
well.
It cannot,
however, be too clearly stated that what was
called the
Church in these lands was a church
other purpose than those truly religious
The evidences
prove.
of
men
for
any
could ap-
corruption are too clear to
admit a doubt that the clergy had ceased to do the

people any good
they failed to do their duty, in their
eager struggle for temporal power
and to-day the
did churches they built are in ruins, or

trations of
church
some itinerant
edifices
enough
priest.
left to
splen-
the minis-
There are in Guatemala
to contain the entire population,
not a tenth part of which ever enters for worship, since

the majority has been repelled rather than attracted by
the unfaithful padres.
The
power
legislative
is
in the
Asamblea Nacional
of
Guatemala, which convenes on the 1st of March annually
and
although
its
it
necessary.
lic is
ordinary sessions last only two months,
may
Owing
continue in session another
month
if
to the adoption of a code, the repub-
generally saved the " hayseed " law of the Northern
legislatures
and the "judge-made" law
and the work
of
the Asamblea
is
of the courts;
greatly lightened.
The

deputies
who compose
the Asamblea are elected on the
basis of one for every
twenty thousand inhabitants, or
elected for a
term of four years
but the terms are so
arranged that one half of the deputies
two
To
years.
State
Each
number.
for a fraction exceeding one half of that

is
293
is
changed every
these deputies the various Secretaries of
make formal
reports regarding the matters usually
contained in the President's Message to the Congress of

the United States.
The President
of
Guatemala
vote for the term of six years
two persons
to succeed
him
elected
is
by direct popular
and the Asamblea
elects
turn, should he die or
in
was elected.
republic, Guatemala
cease to act during the term for which he

Profiting by the example of the older
has rejected the farcical election
where the people are supposed

a
President.
Relaciones Exteriores
....
....
Gobernacion i Justicia
Hacienda y Credito Publico
Guerra
Fomento
Instruccion Publica
These
of State.
is
used in the North,
The President appoints
Secretaries of State
.
still
to elect electors to elect
officials,
the
following
Foreign Affairs.
Government and
Justice.
Treasury.
War.
....
Interior.
Public Instruction.
with nine Counsellors, form the Council
For the purposes of government the republic
divided into twenty-three Departments, which are sub-
divided into sixty-one Districts.
eleven
cities
In these Districts are
{ciudades), thirty -two
towns
(villas),
two
hundred and ninety-nine villages (pueblos), fourteen hundred and six settlements (aldeas), fifty-nine shore hamlets
(caserios
litorales),
and
three
thousand
seven
294
GUATEMALA.
hundred and forty-two
interior hamlets {caserios rurales).
The Departments, with
their chief towns, are as follows
Departments.

irresponsible politicians
who
295
use popular votes simply to
forward their private ends.
The organic law of Guatemala is the Civil, or Roman,

The code is the result of careful study and adaptation to
the needs of the country, and not the result of the tinkering of village Solons and the decisions of wiseacre
judges, as is that heterogeneous mass, amorphous and
illogical, the common law.
Wherever especial needs
have arisen, the code has been supplemented by decretos
conforming to the system. The judiciary is appointed,
and the members hold office for four years. It cannot be
denied that some of the lower judges are not always men
of considerable legal attainments
but it will be remem;
bered that they do not usurp the

is
legislatiAê function, as
too often the case with judges
under the
common
law.
Although the country
is
of the
Roman
Catholic form
of religion, the Constitution allows full liberty of worship

to other sects, within their respective churches, but for-
bids
acts
subversive
invalidate any civil
of
public
order,
or which
or political obligations.^
standing this liberty, there
is,
I believe,
but one Protes-
tant congregation wôrshipping in the republic.

that the offices of religion are used most by
dust and
community.
seems
women and
The ruined churches, crumbling
serving only as cemeteries of the
monuments
It
Guatemala certainly cannot be called a
by the dying.
religious
might
Notwith-
of a departed worship.
to
dead, are
Perhaps some day a
1 " Art. 24. El ejercicio de todas las religiones, sin preeminencia alguna,
queda garantizado en el interior de los templos; pero ese libre ejercicio no
podra extenderse hasta ejecutar actos subversives 6 practicas incompatibles con

y el orden publico, ni da derecbo para oponerse al cumplimiento de las
la paz
obligaciones civiles
jioliticas."
296
GUATEMALA.
may
purer religion
within their walls
and
rebuild these fair temples

all
Great Father, to be refreshed with new
the
call
Guatemaltecan children of
the
life
and
courage.
In sad contrast with the religious

the military vigor.
It
dred rank and
all
difficult
of
life
Guatemala
to obtain the
the army, even in a time of peace
statistics of
said that the standing
and
is
fifty-three
army numbers
with eighty
file,
other
officers,
jefes
but
is
exact
it
is
twenty-five hun-
and two hundred
while the militia, including
males not physically exempt, between the ages of
eighteen and
Under
amounted
fifty,
control of the
street-lighting,
army does not
tion to the population as in

republics,
it
is
cost so
some
people,
May
the time
when
shall
throw
soon come
off the
While
much
it
is
in propor-
of the other Central
nevertheless a terrible drain
upon the resources of the

moral effect of a military
apart from
the bad
as seen in all history.
life,
this
incubus and devote
the development of her vast resources

I pass to a
are the police,
and the Polytechnic School.
possible that the
American
1883 to 49,835 men.
in
War Department
beautiful republic
all
her energies
to^
more agreeable theme, the foundation-
stone of a republic,
public
instruction.
On
Dec. 13,
1879, President Barrios by decree established the present

excellent system of compulsory
and gratuitous elemen-
tary education.
the primary schools are
Under
this in
taught reading, Spanish, knowledge of objects, writing
and
linear drawing, geography, history, morals,
liteness.^
and po-
For those who wish to go beyond these elements,

y
" Lectura, nociones practicas de la lengua patria, conocimientos de objectos,
escritura
dibiijo lineal, geografia e historia,
moral y iirbanidad."
297
equally gratuitous facilities are afforded for learning Span-
grammar, book-keeping, elementary natural history,

geography, and history of Central America, and some other
ish
branches (complementary).
In 1883 there were in Guatemala eight hundred and
primary schools, divided thus,
fifty
and forty
sixteen
for girls,
for boys, five
two hundred and
thirty-six
artisans' evening-schools, forty-seven
hundred
;
mixed,
a Sunday-
workmen, one also for women, and nine comThe attendance at these schools
was 39,642 pupils, 27,974 males and 11,668 females;
there were 735 male teachers, and 302 female teachers,
school for
plementary schools.
while the cost was $241,499.14, or $6.09 each pupil.
These schools, scattered
all
over the republic, meeting
sometimes in old convents or other confiscated church

buildings, sometimes in the cabildo or in buildings especially provided, are visited
and inspected frequently by
suitable persons appointed
by Government, who do the
duty laid upon them far more intelligently than most of

the
New England
school-committee men,
have had
experience of both.
Teachers' institutes are held in three places each year
in
November, and the teachers are expected
gather what
responsible
these
or interest
may
and
teachers
I believe there
to
keep
well
is
up
a general care
to
and
be provided for
the Government appoints the teachers,
As
them.
new matter
to attend
the
it
is
among
requirements.
Wisely, the schools are not overloaded, as are those in
many Northern
the aim
is
cities,
with every conceivable subject; but
to give every child the beginning of
tary education, which he can,

greatly expand.
if
an elemen-
circumstances permit,
GUATEMALA.
298
There are also
private schools, with 1,870
fifty-five
$84,154, of which the Government pays
pupils costing
$4,944.
The secondary
instruction
is
given in several high
schools or academies, of which the most important

Instituto Nacional, Central de
Hombres,
the
in the City of
The spacious
accommodate the physical and chemical
Guatemala.
formerly church
buildings,
property, well
the meteorological
laboratories,
is
observatory (the
most
complete in Central America), the zoological museum,

mineral cabinet, and
courts
is
lecture-rooms,
a good zoological garden.
class-rooms and offices are
while within
the
Besides the numerous
commodious dormitories
pro-
vided with iron bedsteads and kept in very neat order.
The corps
of instruction consists of a director
and twenty-
seven professors, and in 1883 there were two hundred
and one hundred and thirty day

pupils, with twenty-three pupils in the normal departThe day-pupils pay a
ment, and eleven free pupils.
matriculation fee of $10 annually, and $3 for an examand
fifty-three boarders,
ination in each course.
The
institute costs $19,839.00,
or $180.75 for each boarder, and $105.30 for each daypupil.
found
it
have examined the work of the

very creditable, quite equal in
to that of
Boston.
the boys in the
The
girls
are
pupils,
many
and
respects
Latin and high schools of
not neglected* although their
instruction does not proceed to the extravagant lengths
common
in
the eastern United States and in England,
where the endeavor

tellect to the
made
to
train
the
female
in-
standard of the male, and so wholly unfit
matrimony and maternity the unwho are subjected to such training. The
for the privileges of
fortunate girls
is
299
Institute de Belen, Central de Senoritas, has a faculty of
one preceptress and ten female teachers in charge of one
hundred and twelve
the nation 78,000.
pupils, costing
This school occupies an extensive building, with suitable
cabinets and a gymnasium.
kindergarten
is
attached
to this school.
In Chiquimula
is
director, six professors,

ers,
is
one
the Instituto de Oriente, with
and thirty-three boys, nine board-
and fourteen day-pupils.
More important than
this
the Instituto de Occidente, in Quezaltenango, with a
twenty-two professors, and two hundred and
director,
Cabinets of minerals and other nat-
twenty-one pupils.
ural objects, a chemical laboratory and a meteorological
In the same city
observatory, help in the instruction.
a similar school for
is
with a preceptress {directora),
girls,
eleven professoras, and eighty-two pupils.

Professional instruction, which in the United States of
the North
lic
is
not deemed a part of the system of free pub-
education,
is
here undertaken by the Government
and
four faculties are established to teach law {derecho y notariado), medicine
and pharmacy, engineering, and
losophy and literature.
Each
dean, secretary, and four vocales

of
branch,
while
the
a council
four
the
to the nation.
seventy
sole
directivas)
administration
Forty professors teach one
hundred and thirty-three pupils
at a cost of $24,903.96
The law claims forty-two pupils; medengineering, eleven and literature, ten.
Special
instruction
also
the
in
charge of the
{juntas
directories
charged with
of the professional schools.
icine,
who have
study and other matters peculiar to their
courses
form
phi-
of these faculties elects a
capital
does
not
seven
stop
schools,
here,
for
costing
there
are
$21,762.24,
GUATEMALA.
300
and teaching two hundred and forty-two pupils

following branches
in the
Music and Oratory
66 pupils.
Commerce
50
"
Design
62
^'
Arts and Occupations
55
"
The Poly-
school for deaf-mutes has nine pupils.
technic School
is
under the direction of the Minister of
War, and has eighty

the system of marks
pupils.
It
is
interesting to note that
in use in this institution has recently
been adopted in Harvard University.
While
am
aware that a mere table of numbers, a cen-
sus of pupils and teachers, even
illustrated
if
with the
courses pursued and the instruments for instruction, can-
not convey to
sults
my
readers a fair understanding of the re-
accomplished by the system of public education in
Guatemala,
may
be permitted to say that I have for six
years performed with attention
board of one of the largest
my
cities
duties on the school-
in the North,
interest in the subject of education led
me
to
and
mv
examine the
schools of this Southern city, with constant comparisons
with the type most familiar to
which
me
and the conclusion to
was that the system in Guatemala was

excellently suited to the country and people, that the
Government had done better than my own Government in
I arrived
the North, and
if
the results were not in every case
that could be desired,

teachers.
it
was not the
have examined
schools, containing both ladino
both
fault of schools or
public
the North.
cramming
I did not see
and private
and Indian children, and
have found many well-instructed boys and

the execrable system of
all
so
girls,
much
in
but never
vogue at
the sallow, pimply, stooping,
301
weak-eyed boys that form so large a minority of the pubI am sure that if fewer
lic-school children at home.
" branches " are taught here, less ill-health results
am
quite ready to honor good health before
and
mere book-
learning.
With some hesitation, I add to the means of education

Before the election of Barrios
the modern newspaper.
there were but two
"
Gaceta
and "
La
La Semana," both proceeding from one pen,
and the journal
official
publications of this class,
of the Sociedad
Now
Economica.
are in the capital four printing establishments,
of publications is a very respectable one.

The
" El Guatemalteco " presents four times a week all
contracts,
all
there
and the
list
announcements, including the text of
'^
official
official
public grants or
a plan which must place a check on extrava"
La Estrella de Guatemala,"
an independent daily
La
Gaceta de los Tribunales," twice a month " La Gaceta de
los Hospitales," monthly; "El Horizonte " and "El Engance or improper favoritism.
;
" Diario de Centro- America, ""

;
say o," weekly, are published in the capital.
nango
" El Bien Publico "
publication.
twice a
In Quezalte-
a well-written twice-a-week
In Mazatenango " El Eco de los Altos,"
month;
in
is
Antigua "El Eco del Valle," daily; in
Chiquimula " El Oriental," weekly in Salama "' La Voz

del Norte," in Coban " El Quetzal," both weekly, have a
;
considerable local circulation
and during the
session of
the Asamblea full stenographic reports of the proceedings

are published in the " Diario de las Sesiones."
I
cannot say
much about
the Guatemaltecan libraries,
although not for the reason that made the chapter "
Serpents "
in the History of
national library
is
Norway
so famous.
very small, and the treasures of
On
The
manu-
GUATEMALA.
302
which survived the ungentle hands of the early

have been so carelessly guarded that the choicest
script
rulers
are
now
in foreign
hands (French and German)
and the
printed volumes relating to the history of Central

ica,
or the publications of the native Press, are difficult to
There are no important bookstores in Guatemala,
find.
and
Amer-
difficulty in obtaining a sight of
had the greatest
Fuentes and Juarros, both of which
found only in
In an old curiosity shop a copy of
private libraries.
Villagutierre Soto Mayor's " Historia de la Conquista de

la Provincia de el
Itza "
was held
at $50, or twice the
price the old folio fetches in London.
With no Coast or Interior Survey (except the temporary

work of the Commission on the Northern Boundary), there
are few scientific or historical publications issued
by the
Government.
The debt
of
Guatemala
is
reported at a total (1885) of
$5,817,947.19, drawing interest at six per cent.
made up
An English
of the following items
loan for which Guatemala be-
came responsible
in
the
days
of
the
$554,268.83
Confederation
An
It is
English loan of
1SG9
(by President
3,599,771.75
Cerna)
Government bonds
in circulation
(Interior
1,663,906.61
debt)
$5,817,947.19
For the payment of the bonds

ing-fund
duties
is
of the Interior, a sink-
provided, consisting of fifteen per cent of the
on imports, the sums received for exemption from
military service, etc.
between
fifty-five
The income
The average
duties on imports are
and sixty per cent ad valorem.
of the republic during the year 1882
was
303
Direct Taxes.
39^ on
real estate
Road tax
$103,886.05
....
....
Military tax
Abated taxes
34,830.85
13,925.17
4,132.56
$156,224.63
Indirect Taxes.
Duties on imports
1,698,469.93
Duties on exports
66,685.36
Harbor dues
Stamped paper and stamps
Impost on native flour
Impost on salt
Impost on legacies
.
Beneflcio de Reses
3,960.22
114,221.57
47,198.19
27,454.58
11,514.06
99,964.59
on transfers of real estate
53,530.42
2,122,998.92
Tax
Tax
Tax
Tax
for higher education
for municipios
$10,127.87
10,678.62
for police in the capital
113,296.13
for hospitals
119,507.26
Telegraphs
....
Mails
Mint
Fondos
55,575.96
25,687.95
19,518.51
6,513.19
judiciales
360,905.49
Excise on liquors
Excise on tobacco
Excise
$1,266,042.43
346,263.15
on gunpowder and
saltpetre
23,994.31
1,636,299.89
Various income
135,457.44
Contracts, etc. (anticipation of taxes)
2,030,033.01
^6,441,919.38
Of the expenses of the Government for the same

period,
the
it
will be seen
fiscal
from the following abstract that
army expenses form more than a
sum, even in a time of peace.
sixth of the entire
GUATEMALA.
304
Expenses of Administration.
Department
"
"
"
"
"
of the Interior
$167,349.25
" " Treasury

" War
" Justice
" Public Instruction
" Foreign Affairs
.
208,872.45
....
.
1,164,521.37
723,746.93
252,891.62
80,850.11
$2,598,231.73
General Expenses.
Collecting direct taxes
"
Excise on liquors
"
indirect taxes
" tobacco
Higher instruction
$6,962.01
32,410.52
126,031.04
....
....
96,289.65
25,418.55
15,704.77
Municipios
Pawnshops and pensions
45,053.54
42,725.16
Mails
101,288.61
Telegraphs
Mint
20,539.59
2,986.76
Mobiliario
Hospitals
136,794.20
Police
148,128.12
581.52
Confiscations
6,033.37
Jiidiciar}'
'
Extraordinaiy
Gunpowder and
saltpetre
6,606.92
2,960.64
816,514.97
Interest
....
" gunpowder
....
Purchase of tobacco
"
and
99,342.05
salt-
petre
Repayments {Devolutiones)
$200,325.81
5,795.70
14,373.07
Public property
6,197.09
Accounts
2,010.24
328,043.96
Funding bonds and obligations

Subsidy to street-railroad
Various paj'ments
2,554,076.94
833.33
205,721.45
$6,503,422.38

However dry long columns
of figures
305
may
be,
they
tell
the story in the shortest way, and will give to those inter-
work
ested in the
mala anticipates
from import
the
method
income
duties.
into its
other Governments, that of Guate-
taxes, borrows,
Its chief
tions.
Government some insight
of a
many
Like
methods.
and
issues paper obliga-
from the
is
have in another place described
and
of taxing the sale of liquors,
may
here that the tax seems to be collected with fairness

the heavy import duties offer a
and
was
difficult
of
$50,000
what they
just
matter to
The currency
of about
Guatemala
of
public,
coin,
meet
its
with the exception
is
like the silver
worth only about seventy

Northern Re-
but, unlike the
therefore
to float her debased
American
gold.
To
needs the Government sometimes mortsrasres to

its
house in pawn
revenues in part, or even puts a custom-
and cases have occurred where
its
subsi-
have been suspended by arbitrary decree for a year,
Hence the unwillingness
or even longer.
any enterprise that

aid.
is
Guatemala has not the power
and the standard
money-lenders
dies
is silver,
are, it
Government paper, and,
face in gold
its
If the ports
would be a
the revenue from imports.
collect
currency of the United States,

per cent of
say
but
some very ingenious and amusing methods
told
Guatemala were not
very
premium on smuggling,
that had been used to evade the customs.

of
and
liquor
sale of
Even the
orders on the
heavy import
is
largely
mail-subsidies
customs.
embark in
dependent on Government
when
This,
paid are paid with
together with the very
duties, certainly checks the
foreign capital
to
investment of
though to those within the country, and
informed as to methods, the duties are

purchasing Government bonds at
20
fifty
much
lightened by
per cent and paying
GUATEMALA.
306
them
for duties at par.
which
do not think
it
By
this
and similar
practices,
best to describe, large mercantile
establishments derive great profit at the expense of the

revenues.
commerce there are but three

El Banco Internacional " and ' El Banco
To meet the needs

banks
two,
''
Columbiano," are
third
is
in
in
of
the City of Guatemala, while the
These have between them a
Quezaltenango.
capital of perhaps $5,000,000,
and they do the business
banks of
and exchange.
circulation, deposit,
rate on deposits subject to sight drafts
is
of
The usual
three per cent
per annum, and on current accounts and discounts twelve

per cent
while they pay their stockholders from twelve
The Banco
per cent to twenty per cent in dividends.
ternacional has called in but seventy per cent of

stock.
its
In-
capital
These banks date only from 1875, and their notes
are hardly current outside the larger
cities.
Many
of the
principal mercantile houses do a larger banking business,
and hold extensive private deposits.

Of large corporations Guatemala has but few.
of the
Piers
(Compania de
los
Muelles de San Jose y
Champerico) has a capital of $250,000

said to be
landing
immense, as
facilities
it
That
its
profits are
holds the monopoly of
on the Pacific coast.
The
the
all
railroads
between Guatemala and San Jose, and between Cham-
and Retalhuleu, are capitalized at about $5,000,000.

The proposed railroad from Puerto Barrios (Santo Tomas)
to the capital, at present mostly owned by natives, will,
perico
it is
supposed, cost from twelve to fifteen millions.
street railway in
Guatemala has a
The
capital of $200,000.
The Government owns the entire telegraphic system of

the republic, and all the towns of any importance are con-
307
nected by more than three thousand miles of wire, with
The expenditures
be nearly twice the amount of the
seventy
offices.
of this
bureau seem to
receipts,
and from the
nature of the country the cost of maintenance must be very

great,
owing
to the rapid
growth of
tropical vegetation
and
the destruction wrought by insects, especially the comajen

yet the tariff
is
reasonable, and one can, while paying for
a message, pay also for the answer {contestacion
2^cigcido).
Both the designs on the telegraph blanks and the paper

used are much better than the companies in the United
By
States supply to their customers.
has communication with South
cable
Guatemala
America, Mexico, the
United States, and Europe.
The mail
service
excellent between the principal
is
towns and foreign ports
but owing to the nature of the
country the time consumed over the less-frequented roads

is
very great.
As a
fair indication of the
development of
the country since 1871 under the administration of President Barrios, the great increase in the
sent through the mails
number
total
reach
letters,
be cited
papers,
amount
of matter
for in that year the
and
thousand, while in 1884
fifty
millions.
of
may
circulars
it
did not
exceeded three
Guatemala has joined the Postal Union, but
demands ten cents per rate on letters leaving her ports.

While so many of the great nations put upon their postage-stamj)s the portraits of their rulers or most distin-
guished
men
to be spit
upon and defaced,
this republic,
with
better taste, submits only the national bird (quetzal) to

this
rough treatment.^
^ A new series of stamps was issued in 1886; and it is reported that they
were furnished to the Government free of cost by a private individual, who
asked as his only compensation the entire lot of stamps of the old issue then.
GUATEMALA.
308
What
a people imports
moment
always a matter of no slight
is
studying their social condition
in
amining the
which
classified list
official publications,
and on ex-
have taken from the
one will see several very curious
facts.
amount of cinnamon is imported, chiefly to

chocolate, when it might readily be raised at home,
First a large
flavor
indicating that the enormous duty
of one
hundred per
cent does not prevent importation or stimulate
The same may be predicated
duction.
wheat, and
wheat
flour, for
ported
is
people.
The
little
Few
printed books are im-
and as the domestic publications are unimportant,
infer that the
Guatemaltecans are not a reading
an idea
table also gives
worthy
is
wax,
but mills are scarce, and pri-
wanting.
we must
and
of white
pro-
bees flourish in the uplands, and the
of the best quality
is
vate enterprise
home
of attention.
of the duties levied,
That the reader may see how
the commerce of the United States brings to Guate-
mala,
have given a table
than England or France,
and go
of imports
it is still
by countries.
Nearer
cheaper to pass her by
to the distant markets.
CLASSIFICATION OF IMPORTS BY SEA IN

Values.
....
Oils (vegetable)
$14,839.45
Aguardiente
Cotton thread and cloth
1884.
Duties.
$14,128.30
35,124.70
43,694.75
1,607,362.34
1,594,750.48
Firearms
1,758.00
2,435.00
Shoes
3,697.42
3,926.28
20,845.00
20,194.45
2,600.00
1,575.00
$1,686,226.91
$1,680,710.26
Cinnamon
Carriages
Carried forward
on hand.
....
Evidently the rage for old postage-stamps has a money
this contractor expects to get a corner
doubt he will make
Drofit
on
basis,
on old Guatemaltecan stamps
his venture.
and
and no

Brought forward
1,686,226.91
Barle3'
White wax
Beer
Preserves
Glass
Money
Sundry
Drugs
articles
Stearine, crude,
Matches
Flour
and candles
Iron in bars, etc
Instruments,
1,680,710.26
4,386.20
438.62
3,122.50
2,982.20
29,856.20
30,267.96
47,539.87
41,851.68
10,725.63
8,397.56
82,932.00
309
free
11,375.40
11,594.34
21,462.94
22,794.77
14,798.15
11,563.22
7,235.76
7,359.43
118,490.00
139,082.10
85,852.25
99,637.37
agriculture,
arts, and sciences

Wool, thread, and cloth
Printed books
Sweet liquors
Linen cloth
Earthenware
Timber for building
Machinery
.
2,728.80
272.88
146,294.34
159,381.69
12,627.50
1,252.75
5,386.65
5,893.49
11,743.17
11,236.54
15,490.86
14,129.36
35,594.00
free
48,475.70
4,847.57
Medicines
52,952.85
54,326.68
Hardware
23,738.46
21,954.95
1,143.50
1,865.46
Wooden
Articles
furniture
for
institutions
of
charity or public education
Paper
Perfumery
Petroleum and naphtha
Pianos
Tanned
leather
Prenderia fina
....
.
Utensils of tin, iron, etc.
Clocks
Empty bags
10,837.94
free
41,694.37
29,358.39
5,873.65
6,034.26
14,764.00
8.439.30
10,950.00
6,470.00
56,863.84
31,263.10
19,145.00
1,914.50
24,678.26
21,245.84
3,956.00
786.55
25,384.83
free
".
Salt
Silk thread
and cloth
Saddles
Carried forward
4,122.30
12.778.56
102,835.72
116,936.29
946.25
1,082.00
62,802,231.80
$2,568,149.67
GUATEMALA.
310
Brought forward
Hats of
all
kinds
$2,802,231.80
$2,568,149.67
23,751.68
24,369.35
Corrugated iron, barbed wire,

carts,
....
pumps
Wheat
Railroad supplies
18,462.70
1,536.91
60,128.51
28,362.68
328,426.37
Wine
free
48,697.40
52,165.24
$3,281,698.46
$2,674,583.85
IMPORTED IN
1884
FROM
England
France
$1,735,954.87
450,365.75
CALIFORNIA
391,782.50
Germany
170,824.35
NEW ORLEANS
NEW YORK
103,548.24
98,296.18
Switzerland
75,173.61
Spain
69,387.49
Italy
51,632.60
China
Belgium
29,781.25
48,594.32
Belize (British Honduras)
28,937.48
Central America
United
vStates
14,569.77
of Columbia
10,314.05
Chile
2,536.00
^3,281,698.46
California furnishes most of the flour and wheat, but
New
York
Orleans most of the timber for building, while

contributes printed books, canned goods, clocks,
arms, and patent medicines.
From
New
fire-
the three ports of the
United States which are in direct steam communication
with the ports
of
were imported,
Guatemala goods valued

less
at $593,626.92
than came from France and Germany,
and not a third part
of
what England
sends.
Yankee
traders are certainly left entirely behind in Guatemaltecan
commerce.
Without going deeply
into the causes
which
311
drive the United States from a natural market, I will
which an
state several facts
intelligent reader
may
inter-
pret for himself.
The
man
largest mercantile houses in
Americans
of the
Guatemala are Ger-
When
North are absent.
it
was
suggested to the agent of one of the largest cotton-mills

in
New England
that the cases in which
its cloths
were
usually packed for market could not be handled in a country provided only with mule transportation, the
agent thought
bales,
it
Ready-made
not worth the trouble to pack in smaller
the
did
as
English and French
manufacturers.
clothes are cheaper in France,
Germany and
Yankee
France.
If I
and shoes
want barbed wire
for
in
my
my
my warehouses, or rails for

my English correspondent can deliver all these
to me on my wharf at Livingston much cheaper than I can
buy any of these manufactures of iron in protected New
fences, corrugated iron for
tramways,
England, from her experience in her tropical
York.
nies,
knows how to prepare merchandise, and what
colo-
sorts are
needed for the trade with tropical America; she buys the
crop of mahogany, logwood, and coffee, and saves exchange
by
selling her
ports her
own
own
products, and at the
for the fresh fruit
these countries
and
is
for
If it
were not
which the United States needs, there
would probably not be a single

a way-station.
same time sup-
vessels in the carrying trade.
line of steamers
on the Pacific
side
between
Guatemala is merely
Finally, the sarsaparilla goes to England,
there manufactured into extract or syrup for the
use of the immense establishments of patent medicines

in the
Now
United States.
let
us see what Guatemala contributes to the
needs of foreign nations
and
I give a table of exports
GUATEMALA.
312
for
two
former
now
years, that the changes

staples, such as indigo
exported
is
insignificant
may
the exportation of coffee
fell
sugar was influenced by the
owing
low
prices ruling in foreign markets.
Of the
and cochineal, the amount
off,
to a short crop
be noted.
TABLE OF EXPORTS.

must be educated
sess natural riches
But
as
all
it
313
and to develop it the country must posand the opportunity of marketing them.
these elements work, not in a line, but in a circle,
Without revenue, government cannot provide
were.
for free education
establish
without education, a people will not
a wise form of government
without a wise
government, the resources of the country cannot be developed to yield a proper income.
All these things are
The government must foster education

property it must encourage those occupations
interdependent.
and protect
which increase the material wealth of the people.
means
creased wealth
expenditures for public works
grow
In-
and permits greater

so government and people
larger revenue,
;
together.
Possessed of a remarkably
climate, a
fine
geographical situation, and great variety in
favorable
its fertile soil,
Guatemala has a population poor and unable
to undertake
Money must
important works which require capital.
there-
fore be sought abroad to develop the riches of the land,
which are
in agricultural products rather
and the Government
offers to
than in mines
any industrious, respectable
colonists suitable tracts of public land (terrenos haldios),
together with exemption from duties and taxes for ten

years.
That
this offer
may not seem
too attractive,
it
must
be added that the best public lands remaining undisposed

of
are remote
from
part
with dense
great expense.
virgin soil
is
with no adequate means of
ports,
They are
communication.
forests,
Besides,
it
also
to
is
covered for the most
be cleared away only at

well
known
broken up, mysterious fevers and malarial
emanations are liberated from the

these are
that whenever
not dangerous to
men
of
soil
and although
good constitution,
GUATEMALA.
314
Not only
they certainly are not pleasant.
and
enterprise
perseverance are needful for the planter, but a respectable

capital as well
houses, wharves, and bridges,
own
is
his
and
carts.
day's labor
from
o'clock to
two
for rest
six o'clock in the
with an hour from ten o'clock to
to six at night,
and another from one
for breakfast (almuerzo),
eleven
and
roads,
both by the day and by the task, and wages
are very low.
morning
own
make
his tools, animals, boats,
Labor
own
for the colonist has to build his
is
paid from twenty-five to
fifty
Laborers are also hired by the month, with allow-
cents.
On the Atlantic coast the Carib is a

workman when properly managed, while
ance for rations.

strong
good,
in the interior the Indios
and ladinos supply
fully the
and some of the
prices, as
present demand.
Articles of food are cheap,
by the Minister of the
given
and mutton, eight cents per pound
good
thirty-seven and a half to
size,
follows
Interior, are as
beef, pork,
fowls of
sixty-two
cents
rice,
a dollar and a half to two dollars per arroba (twenty-
five
pounds)
flour, eight to
hundred pounds)
fanega
maiz, a
nine dollars per quintal (one

dollar
hundred ears)
dollars
black,
or
dollar
and a half a hundred
cheese,
red,
twelve
(four
four to
to
six
dollars
itself
and wholesome, none
in
to
beans,
a quintal
three
white,
eggs, a
milk, six cents a bottle
twenty-five
cents
pound
its
instalment,
is
butter,
Guatemaltecan cookery,
sixty-two cents per pound.
though simplicity
and a half
al-
excellent
of the vile saleratus-bread, tough
doughnuts, and clammy pies
(I
have great respect for
a good tart) which are the curse of the country cook-
ing of
New
England.
But
let
the
comida consist of
THE KEPUBLIC OF GUATEMALA.

only
and huevos
frijoles,
tortillas,
315
these
staples
are
always well cooked.
Of the industrial and mechanical

very
little to
tery already alluded to.
and
Guatemala has
arts
show, apart from the woven fabrics and potTailors
and shoemakers abound,
a climate where the former might almost
this in
be dispensed with, and where the latter
On
moiety of the population.
work
for not a
the other hand, there are
few cabinet-makers, although the native woods
workman.
choicest material for the skilled
offer the
There are no
foundries or forges worthy the name, and all machinery
made
imported, and repairs must be
New
Orleans.
Glass,
porcelain,
is
San Francisco or
in
and stoneware
is
all
im-
ported, although the materials, of the best quality, are
found here in abundance.

tiful,
and the consumption
sheet
is
France.
Fibre-plants and rags are plenof paper
that used
imported,
for
While coconuts, sesame, cohune,
and croton grow abundantly, there

manufacture of the vegetable
oils
more than fourteen thousand
that
large
is
but every
stamps being made in
is
castor-lDcan,
no commercial
and we have seen

worth were
dollars'
imported in 1884.
While the general climate
of
Guatemala
is
remarkably
healthy, the people are exceedingly careless of all sani-
tary precautions, especially in the matter of drainage and

the waste products of the
intervention
endangering
the
hot
of
many
vultures and
body, trusting to the
dogs to remove
health-
Yellow fever was common through
filth.
lowlands
whooping-cough,
human
of
the
measles,
parts of the country.
Pacific
and
coast
small-pox
in
1883,
prevailed
The consumption
and
in
of patent
medicines and empirical preparations, obtained from the
GUATEMALA.
316
apothecary rather than the physician,

proportion to the
population.
Vital
is
enormous
statistics
in
are not
obtained with the greatest accuracy, and only the constant care of the superior officer enables
cember 31
Years.
result
worthy
The following table is tolThe population is, as estimated on De-
of attention to be obtained.
erably accurate.
any

patients died, the following
ten victims
is
317
numbering over
list of all
Consumption
Fever (perniciosa)
Dyseuteiy
75
74
68
Entero-colitis
63
Yellow fever
52
Enteritis
42
33
24
Pneumonia
Alcoholism
Small-pox
18
Cachexia paludica
18
Typhoid fever
11
Of the consumptive
patients, probably the
majority
were foreigners seeking safety in the mild climate of
Guatemala
and
in the
others the disease
was not
of
throat origin, but sprang from that unclean state that
wise physicians are beginning to recognize as phthisical in

its
tendency.
I wish I could say
more
of the remedies of the Indios.
In a land abounding in healing plants,
would be sup-
it
posed that the inhabitants would be expert in their qualities
and so the Indios
are, if report
may
be trusted (they
are said to cure even hernia, by applying astringent herbs

to
the
But they are shy, and unwilling
tumor).
display their knowledge before strangers
among them was
too short
The Caribs do not seem
to
invite
to possess
and
my
to
stay
their confidence.
much knowledge
of
the healing art.
From
the bodily
the moral diseases
ills
of a people one turns naturally to
and
it is
interesting to note
what are
the crimes and misdemeanors to which punishments are
most frequently
allotted.
Of 9,303 persons tried during
GUATEMALA.
318
the course of 1883, 6,125 were accused of misdemeanors

(faltas),
class
and 3,178
of crimes {delitos).
764 were acquitted, while of those tried for crimes
1,515 were judged not guilty,

inals
Of the former
leaving only 1,663
out of a population of a million and a
crim-
quarter.
The carefully prepared tables published each year by the

Government show that there is hardly one delinquent for
each
thousand
inhabitants
that
notwithstanding the
greatly inferior numbers of the ladinos, this class claims
many more
convicts
and that eighty per cent of the
criminals have no education.
Crimes or Delitos.

and undergoing a whipping
prayed
me
Misdemeanors or
to suppress.
faltas.
319
but this the principal citizens
GUATEMALA.
320
hard labor
provided in great variety.
is
a proportion
large
that as
crimes
of
punished as in any other country.
I believe also
detected and
is
have been enabled
to follow several cases through the courts,
and found the
decisions in strict accordance with the law, both in crimi-
nal and civil actions.

It
would be unfair
scenes in the
life
to pass in complete silence the darker
of the
Guatemaltecan republic
but I
confess to an ignorance as to the exact truth of the stories
that have been whispered about,
whispers indeed
I heard myself while in the City of Guatemala.
that
Distin-
guished members of the old conservative party assured
me
that they lived in
daily dread of the
Government.
Spies and informers were ready at all times to entrap
them
an unguarded moment they should utter their
in
if
opinion of the political situation, or condemn

Trial by court-martial
ruption.
of injustice
and
really
was
might
result in their
told that the laws,
official
cor-
that most odious form

banishment or death
however generally wdse,
depended on the caprice of the President, who
them whenever he saw occasion.

I am sure that these persons believed what they told me
with bated breath
but I also know to what extreme
could suspend or annul
opinions political
republics.
Barillas,
On
it is
dislikes
will
lead
in
these Southern
the death of Barrios and the accession of
said that eight hundred political prisoners
were released from the prisons where they had been im-
mured by the late President, often without even the form

of a trial.
The universal rule of favoritism is too evident to be concealed, and the amirjo del Presidente has
certainly undue power. To our Northern haste the tedious
delay of all official work is a marked contrast, for the

have not the
321
wisdom, or cunning of the members of our Northern legislatures, who remain in session an
officials
skill,
unconscionable time, apparently overwhelmed with work^
although when they at
The Government
results.
name
last adjourn, the records
Guatemala
republican in
is
only, the President having actually as
much
irre-
power as the Czar but so far as actually proved,

power is used with moderation, and is perhaps a po-
sponsible
this
of
show scant
litical necessity of
the country and race, however repug-
As
nant to Anglo-Saxon ideas.
in all small governments,,
much form and red-tape, and the individual or

company who has business with the authorities must have
there
is
an accredited agent at the seat of Government to present

petitions, press
suit,
or patiently await the result
no
person at a distance has any prospect of prompt attention.
With
the exception of some of the higher
are but few Guatemaltecans

ers,
and among
ceal
the
who
the Indios there
feelings
outsiders are regarded.
welcome foreign-
really
is
little
attempt to conwith
which
While the future growth
of the
jealousy
of
there
officials,
or
distrust
country depends on the introduction of foreign capital,

there are not many,
now
that Barrios
will dare to offend popular prejudices
the part of foreigners
who
here, or intend to do so.
either
is
no more, who
by openly taking
have invested capital
The popular
idea of the day
is
a renewed confederation of the five republics, with Guate-
mala
at
the
head
means no extension
this
of
for-
eign relations, but the impotent self-sufficiency that has
always distinguished Central America and retarded her

advance.
Many
to
indications point to
renew the confederation
an attempt
in the near future
of the five republics,

21
and
it is
GUATEMALA.
322
not improbable that Mexico
may
tral American Estados Unidos.
be included in the Cen-
was the ambition
It
of
General Barrios to become emperor or president (the name

matters
little) of all
in the attempt.
Central America
lost his life
His death will not deter the politicians
of the several States
may
and he
from attempting a revolution which
aggrandize their private fortunes in the general
turbance.
If
Mexico
a very
dis-
inferior nation both in the
character of her population and in natural resources
could be
left
out,
it
would seem very
possible to unite
again the fortunes of Guatemala, Honduras, San Salvador, Nicaragua,
would not
alliance
and Costa Rica
but such a confederacy
attract foreign capital as readily as a treaty
between quite independent republics, owing to a
widespread distrust of the permanency of any confederacy.
If
the
laws of the United States stretched to
the Isthmus of Darien, doubtless capital would eagerly
enter this rich field; but at present
it
is
as safe under
the laws of Guatemala as under those of any Central
American country.
As England and Germany always
protect the interests
of their subjects wherever invested, and as the United
States
Government has neither the
guard the
will
nor the power to
interests of her people in foreign lands,
it
is
not strange that Englishmen and Germans embark in

profitable enterprises in the Central-American Republics
while Americans hesitate.

for our
tions
At
present
we have
to trust
commercial rights to the general laws of na-
and the
Government.
favorable
inclinations
of
the
existing
CHAPTER
XI.
VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL PRODUCTIONS.
^'P'ROPICAL
the
vegetation cannot well be described

that
fact
derstand, need
general
The
features.
inadequacy
of
it
real
threshold
to
that
tropics
language
English
the
trouble
the
of
to
but
to
un-
sketch
the
meets
the
hard
is
not prevent an attempt
on the
novice
even when seen
is
the
utter
express
the
variety and luxuriance he sees in the vegetable wôrld.
Even
color his vocabulary fails him,
in
include
in
the
name
" green "
so
many
and he must
distinct
tints
that at last he relinquishes the difficult task and falls
back upon the commonplace epithets, or leaves his tale

untold.
In the abundance, in the confusion, of plant-life
the observer sees that as he goes from shore to

tain the trees
readily
divide
regions
tinct
moun-
and plants are not the same, and he

the
vegetation
into
four
will
tolerably
dis-
these are the Shore, the River-bottoms,
the Upland, and the Arid plain.
On
all
the
low Cayos that are almost awash with
every wave, and on the low margin of the mainland,
extending up the wide rivers for miles, are the mangroves

dull
[Rhizojjhora
look not at
7nangle),
all
giving
attractive.
the
landscape
They make indeed a
hedge of interlaced branches and tangled roots inhospitably
forbidding
landing
on
the
shores.
In
their
GUATEMALA.
324
branches
are
bromeliads,
orchids,
and
showy
other
plants, while above all this comparatively
low bush
rises
the graceful coco or the confra (Manicaria Plukenetii).
The presence
haunt
of the
indication
grounds
mangroves
of
when
for
is
unreason
suited
considered
an
malaria, but on insufficient
these trees are
admirably
shore
equal
of
usually
is
which with
coconuts,
for
away, the
cleared
are popularly regarded
token of a
as
salubrious climate.
As we
follow up the rivers from the
the mangroves breaking their
and bambus
the gaps
fill
shore, wê see
dense wall, while reeds
until at last
mangroves have
And now
disappeared, as the rich valleys are reached.
no one, or two, or
Two
the
of attractive
cohune and the mahogany
form and
indicating the richest
region
ground
is
but
man
where
trees are, however, prominent,
interfered,
river
can claim supremacy.
species
six
soil.
presents
among
size,
its
has not
both trees
and both by their presence
The unspoiled
wonderful
forest of the
variety
above the
roots the exceptionally rich soil
almost bare, dwarf palms, wild bananas, gingers, and
ferns scantily covering its surface.
From
the trees hang
long vines [vejucos), some of them of value for cordage,

others,
as
the
paullinia
(P. sorhilis) and zarza
[Smi-
lax sp.), possessed of medicinal properties, while others
are full of grateful sap.
Endless variety reigns, and on
every side
observer
the
puzzled
sees
different
trees.
Often the stems are so covered with orchids, aroids, and

other parasitic and climbing plants that they can hardly
be recognized,
and
their leaves
part of the fresh canopy
the ground.
and flowers are but
some sixty
From a mountain
feet or
more above
ridge this forest looks

a level
like
325
even as the top of a well-trimmed
plain,
and there broken by the

giant mahogany, or seamed by the river and its affluhedge
sm^face
its
here
is
Rosewood, cedar, palo
ents.
mulatto, cacao,
de
figs,^
are all here, and the palms, from the noble cohune to
the insignificant chamaedoras, are
among
During the season of flowers the
the other trees.
yellow
brilliant
tamarind (Schizolobium),
the wild
of
plentifully scattered
the equally bright magenta of the Palo de Cortez, and

the white of the plumosa, appear to the observer from
above like a rich mosaic, while

ble to one
here
is
who
beneath these
is
not merely luxuriant,
color
all this
All veo;etation
trees.
There
composite.
is
it
invisi-
is
are no solitary trees, no hermits, in the vegetable world.
Every trunk
like
is
but a
trellis
for
some
vines,
matapalo, strangling the fostering tree, or a
the
nest for plants that do not seem able to get

forest
on
own stems.
must make sure
their
blossom, I
self,
and not part
have seen
enough
stock a
hothouse.
plants
in
the ground,
the
but
trees
orchids
a passing word, for
quite as
hollow of a branch, or
slender,
of
is
it
the
inistletoe-like
bearing;
in
the
tree
it-
hanger-on.
on their trunk and
and other choice
plants
to
The matapalo deserves more than

it is the type of a numerous group
tropics.
the higher branches
that
up
branch in
find
If
some
of
sino-le
branches
of
them,
of
in
innocent-looking
This vine
often
among
either
vine,
may
start
from
it
germinates in the
the
other parasites of
case
it
clinging
is
at
first
timidly to the
1 These are not the edible fi.^s, liut many varieties of the fig family that
form an important food for monkeys and birds. In the latter part of this
book 1 have given a list of the more important trees of this forest region.
326
tree for support
GUATEMALA.
and protection.
Soon the vine grows

a huge serpent,
until its proportions resemble those

of
Matapalo Tree.
and
its
has reached the topmost branches and mingled

own foliage and flowers with those of its trellis.
it
327
The standard tree is from that moment doomed, and

wastes away in the murderous grasp of the vegetable
anaconda.
The matapalo may fall in the ruin of its
decaying foster-parent, but not infrequently
pared for the emergency by sending out
and
splitting the
so that
it
main stem
can stand alone
into
has pre-
it
many
numerous
a guy
buttresses,
a very remarkable
and
tree,
one often used as a boundary-mark.
we
In this region of the river-bottoms
long
but
it
must be
treasures
its
wôuld
left, for
many volumes
fill
could linger
a scientific description of
the
of
this,
and the explorer has not yet collected
rial
needed.
months
Any
who would
botanist
size
of
the mate-
devote
three
to the thorough exploration of the valley for-
Guatemala ought to add not
ests
of
dred
new
species to the
of
flora
than a hun-
less
the region, and
also
determine the species of most of the beautiful cabinet
woods now known only by

Climbing the
and here
tion,
hills
in the
their native names.^
brings one to a very distinct vegeta-
uplands are trees in masses
that
is,
there are whole forests of one or two species, and the
common
representatives of the kinds most
in the cooler
There are pine-trees as much as
regions are found here.
Professor Sereno Watson, of the Harvard College Herbarium, collected,
during two winter months in the Department of Izabal, five hundred species of plants, many of them new to science (Proceedings of the American
Academy
of Arts
and Sciences,
vol. xxi. pp.
of these will be found in the Appendix.
He
456
Notes of some
than twenty-
et seq.).
collected
no
less
five species of palms.

^
In the Appendix will be found a
names
but as these vary
in.
list
of the
woods under
the different provinces,
it
will
use in determining the trees from which they are obtained.

said to be furnished
little
Rosewood is
not connected botanicallj^, and
by at least three trees

name " cedar " is as puzzling.
the application of the
their local
be of
GUATEMALA.
328
eight feet in diameter, and spruces of
little less size.
also of several species are abundant
but the palm family
in the dryer
a,lmost disappears
palm climbing out

abundant enough
While
is
only the cabbage-
soil,
and that
of the rich lowlands,
is
not
give character to the vegetation.
to
ground
in the lowlands the
the grass carpets the
and
Oaks
is
devoid of sod, here
extending to the very tree-trunks,
soil,
kept in fine order by the numerous sheep.
Agaves
are found on the hillsides, creepers like the clematis take

the
place
the vejucos, and stevias, bouvardias, and
of
dahlias that of gingers and marantas.
The fourth region

others.
changes of
watered.
dry lava plains where
comprises the
It
where the
quite as distinct as either of the
is
temperature
diurnal
soil,
though
considerable,
are
the
and
scant and insufficiently
rich, is
Here are found the calabash-tree [Crescentia
cnjete), espina blanca, or
{Acacia spadicifera)
gum
arable,
coarse
Avhile
and the cockspur

covers the
grass
ground between the lava blocks.

In Guatemala there are two families of plants,
and Orchid,
tractive
presenting
known
species
and
of
at-
and beautiful appearance, at the same time by no
means devoid
Chief
numerous
Palm
of
commercial importance.
among palms
also
as
stands the cohune {Attalea coliune),
manaca and
palm has no stem,
its
is
When
enormous leaves
ground more than thirty

the pinnate fronds
corozo.
feet.
The
rising
from the
rhachis, or midrib, of
of a rich red color,
than a man's wrist, the
young, the
and larger round
distinct, conduplicate divisions
being long and broad.
Mr. Morris estimates a leaf he
saw
at sixty feet in length
in British
Honduras
feet in breadth.
and eight
have never seen one more than forty

feet long
of the
and
five
manaca
as
wide
it is
ing across the roof.
manaca
rises,
state,
but
tliis is
not an
uncommon
329
size
cut for tliatching, one leaf extend-
After remaining some years in the
the stem begins to
and as
elongate,
the leaves become smaller, as
it
the case with the
is
coconut and other palms so far as known.
The
leaf-stems
are persistent, giving the tree a rough, untidy look, but
doubtless having a purpose to
Nature.
This palm
to fruit.
The male
is
fulfil
now known
inflorescence
economy
in the
and begins
as corozo,
an immense mass
is
of
of
more than thirty thousand staminate flowers in a compound raceme between four and five feet long these have
a heavy, not disagreeable odor, and attract a great many
bees and wasps, so that on one occasion the mozo who
;
me
climbed the stem and cut for
These insects were so persistent after a
badly stung.
great
deal
a fine specimen ^was
of
shaking that
the
camera was used as
quickly as possible, specimens were saved, and the spadix
was, with the too-attractive flowers,

river.
The
pollen,
which under the microscope shows
a form exactly like a baker's
from the four hundred and

it
would
fill
roll, is in
fifty
for
outside,
child.
such abundance
thousand stamens that
The
a pint measure.
the inflorescence, looks like leather,
on the
thrown into the
spathe, or cover of
is
deeply furrowed
and would make a commodious bath-tub
The
fertile
spadix has shorter branches,
with the rather large flowers succeeded by from

nuts, the whole bunch,
which
is
five to ten
about five feet long and
weighs more than a hundred pounds, bearing from eight
hundred to a thousand
half inches long,
nuts.
These nuts are two and a
and covered with a
fibrous
husk and so
thick a shell that the valuable kernel cannot be extracted
GUATEMALA.
330
Attalea Cohune.
A Staminate blossoms.
C CImter of unripe nuts.
D Transverse section of n%U.
B Stem of same.
E Longitxulinal section of nut.
in quantity without powerful
Like the coconut, the

as in that
palm two
fruit is
and expensive machinery.

normally three-celled.
of the cells give
up the struggle
But
for
CHOC UN PALMS.

existence in early
life,
so in the coliune
in the scores of nuts opened,
Professor
abortive cells
may
have never,
cell.
cells in several speci-
In the illustration of this palm
the bunch of nearly ripe nuts
diagram of flowers and
and
found more than one
Watson has noticed two
mens, but never three.
331
is
clearly shown,
fruit the fibrous
be seen.
The
and
in the
husks and the
natives crush the ripe
nuts between stones, and after pounding the rather small
mahogany mortar, boil the resulting cake

until the oil floats
this is skimmed off and boiled again,
to drive out the water.
The average 3deld is a quart of
oil from a hundred nuts.
The oil is said to be superior
to coconut-oil, a pint of it giving as much light, or rather
kernel
in
burning as long, as a quart of the
latter.^
It
is
not
probable that the manufacture will pay in the presence
more
the
of
older, the
tractable
coconut.
As the cohune grows
hitherto persistent leaf-stems drop, the scars
disappear, and the smooth stem rises thirty to fifty feet

clear to the
crown
of leaves at the
summit.
The pimento-palm has a small cinnamon-colored stem

for house building, as is also the poknoboy
The warree cohune {Bactris co(Bactris halanoidea).
much used
armed with
Jiime),
spines, bears
an edible nut much easier
to crack than the larger fruit of the attalea.
bage-palm {Oreodoxa oleracea)

valleys,
nor
is it
and the base
of the leaf
eaten to any extent.
{Euteiye edidis)
is
common
is
in the
cab-
upper
a very poor cabbage,
In the forests the pacaya
a slender tree, the
buds being the edible part

^
is
The
unexpanded
and these are on
flower-
sale in the
Mr. Coffin, the hospitable magistrate at Punta Gorda, gave me some of the
and in the limited experiments I have tried with it, its properties much
best oil
resemble those of coconut-oil.
GUATEMALA.
332
market-places tied in neat and attractive bundles.

taste
it is
On
rather insipid.
In
the ridges the Acrocomia
sclerocarjM flourishes
stem
its
like
is,
the
warree cohune, armed with formidable spines,

which serve as pins, needles, and awls. The
Acrocomia vinifera
Motagua.
the
valley of
also
common
is
in the
Along the
river-
banks the Desmoncus, a climbing palm,
common and
very
explorer
but
it
shows such a curious adap-
tation of parts to special ends that its
may
qualities
bad
be overlooked by the natural-
understood that in the
It is generally
ist.
is
very troublesome to the
palms the palmate form
the
foliage
of
earlier,
and that the growth or development
is
of the midrib results in a pinnate or feather
form.
This
is
seen to be the case in the
coco-palm, where the

or fan-shaped
months
old
when
but
puts
it
first
off
leaves are palmate
the palm
these childish gar-
ments and dons the toga virilis

form.
the
at
the
stop with the
midrib,
end
mere lengthening
but transforms the
into
claws
to
stem to climb into sunlight.

tip to
the
l#
show how
leaflets,
blades,
in the pinnate
In the desmoncus the development
does not
of
a few
is
this is
Here
done
leaflets
the
aid
is
limp
a leaf-
the ribs of
instead of expanding into thin
have thickened and bent backward to
serve as the barbs of an arrow and allow moLeaf-tip of
Climbing Palm
the
stiffly
tion in one direction only.
The
leaf
can push
bent fingers through the thick foliage, where

they stick fast and hold up the stem.
Calamus rotang)
(
333
The rattan-palm
of the East Indies climbs over the trees
The Guatemalan climber bears a small

cluster of spiny but edible nuts.
The graceful little
Chamaedoreas may be found in flower or fruit at almost
any season of the year, and their slender stems make good
walking-sticks.
The confra (Manicaria Plukenetii), ho
way.
in a similar
useful
in
for
clumps of
celled,
(
thatching, grows only near the sea, usually

five or
more.
and about two inches
Cocos nucifera)
though we
is
too well
globular
diameter.
in
known
Of the other
palms few have been

have no meaning for
fifty
or
and
identified,
is
sure to turn
and although possessing a comabove many more beautiful and honest

is
if
names
The
;
species of
of these flowers are not attractive to
any useful
known.
more
their local
flowers, only the vanilla has
not necessity
coco
us.
are parasites
mercial value far
as
one-
but I must confess that the brilliant colors
and bizarre forms
They
when
The
need description,
to
the family of orchids the collector
with eagerness
me.
is
consider the commercial importance of
shall
the nuts presently.
To
The nut
vanilla moreover
for
an
qualities, so far
article of luxury,
doubtless the chemist will discover,
he has not alread}^ done
so,
a substitute in
some
of
the thousand and one products of the decomposition of

coal-tar.
Epidendrum hicornutuTYi and

the Schomhurgkia tihicina are very common, affecting
mangroves especially. On orange-trees in the Motagua
All along the coast the
valley grows a bright
little
yellow Oncidium, the flower
being the largest part of the plant.
In the mountains
is
an orchid which bears several long spikes of rich purple
GUATEMALA.
334
which with the pure white
flowers,
orchid are
popularly
much used in church

known of the vanilla (
ground
ckisters of a
So
decoration.
little
F. planifolid) that I
is
may
be pardoned for quoting from Mr. Morris the directions
from his Botanical Department
lately issued
of Jamaica,
which are entirely applicable to the plant in Guatemala.

In the Chocon forests it grows abundantly and fruits
naturally, the insect needed to fertilize the flowers being
present
and the pods are
Vanilla.
" This
is
of excellent quality.
a vigorous, soft-stemmed vine, the
cured fruits of which are the valuable vanilla-beans of
commerce.
If cuttings are
taken, their upper ends, or
portion to appear above ground,
mined by examination
in the axil or
may
readily be deter-
of the base of the attached leaf,
upper face of which
is
a small growth-bud.
Cut the stem with say three or four joints at one fourth
an inch below the basal node or
of
then place the
joint,
base of each cutting shallowly in prepared
against
soil
the bole or trunk of a rough-barked, low-branching tree,

as,
for instance,
calabash,
or on
low-trellised
frame
three or four feet high, the supports of which should
be unbarked logwood, yoke, or calabash.

" If
the
orchid in
insect
its
which
natural
fertilizes
habitat
to secure a crop of fruit
it
is
is
if
of
this
not present, in order
This
may
In the flower
white column, at the summit of which

cap or anther, which
flowers
necessary that the flowers
should be artificially fertilized.
accomplished as follows.
the
is
is
be easily
a central
a detachable
touched on the lower front edge
with a sharpened pencil or knife-blade will adhere to the
The pollen masses contained in the anther

must then be made lightly to touch the sticky disk sitimplement.
VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL PKODUCTIONS.
Each flower must be
uated on the front of the cohimn.

at
so treated
noon
or about
33b
the day on which
of
it
opens.
"
To
gather
cure vanilla-beans,
when
steep
full,
for
about two minutes in boiling water, and place in flannel
\yhen perfectly dry, place them the
to dry in the sun.
next day on plates of iron or
with sweet
to keep
oil,
tin,
them
them
When
have a uniformly rich brown
Complete
and plump.
soft
the curing process by exposing

for several days [weeks].
anointing once or twice
carefully in the sun
quite cured they should
color,
and the
full
fragrance
of this valuable product."
In
my own
cult properly to
of
the
experience
have found
dry the pods in the
on the
rainy season
the hot-air dryers
now
and prefer
coast,
generally
very
it
diffi-
damp atmosphere
to
used for tea,
use
coffee,
cacao, etc.
Of the family
gold-fern
of
ferns
(Gymnogramma
little
aurea)
The
a common weed at
need be
is
said.
Livingston, and adiantums, lygodiums, and selaginellas

are found everywhere in the forests.
While the small
ferns are abundant, tree-ferns are very scarce, only one
specimen being seen
(in the forests of
El Mico), and that
not a fine one.
Mahogany.
From
the small extent of coast-line pos-
sessed by Guatemala, her
mahogany
exports are perhaps
not so extensive as those of the two Hondurases on either

side of her.
In 1884 there was exported of
(mahogany being the

ingston) a
chief)
measurement
from the port
woods
of Izabal (Liv-
of 352,066 feet, valued at four
cents a foot, or $14,082.64;

Belize for the
all
while the shipments from
same time were about 3,000,000
feet,
worth
GUATEMALA.
336
This
$150,000.
not because the Guatemalan forests
is
yield less of this valuable
wood
on the contrary, mahog-
any-trees are very abundant in the Chocon forests, on
the smaller tributaries of the Polochic, and in the Mo-
tagua valley.
have myself seen hundreds
immense
of
trees deep in the forests, while along the larger water-
courses the trees have generally been cut.
In British
Honduras the origin and existence of the colony

mahogany-cutting. The mahogany-lands are
to
hands
of a
few proprietors who will not
settlers, since the
young
trees
grow rapidly
due
nor allow
sell
;
is
in the
and
it is
said
that in thirty years from a clearing, logs of large size
may
be cut from the shoots which spring
The
stumps.
business of mahogany-cutting
made
organized and
republic,
much
the most
the
thoroughly
In the neighboring
of.
mahogany-land belongs to the
the
of
is
from
Government, which allows any one to cut the timber on

pretended payment of
five
dollars
stumpage.
few
private individuals cut here and there and in a desultory
way.
The work
at a
by Caribs, who are
mahogany bank
skilful woodmen.
montero strikes alone into the forest

If
trees.
is
generally done
The hunter or
and searches for
he finds enough of a suitable
size
(squaring
not less than eighteen inches) within reasonable distance
from the
"-'bank," a road
is
opened from the tree to the
Often the buttresses are immense, and the plat-
river.
form, or ''barbecue,"
ground.
The
log
is
is
raised
dozen feet from the
roughly squared, hauled to the river,
usually by night, by the light of pine-torches, and only
when
floated to port
the market.
regions.
The
is it
best
trimmed
into its final shape for
mahogany comes from limestone
With
the
mahogany
is
337
usually found the cedar {Cedrela
from which cigar-boxes are made, and which
odorata),
mahogany)
also used (as is
is
for single-log canoas, dories,
and cayucos.
As an
logwood ranks next
article of export,
any, of which the best
Usumacinta.
It
is
and much
feet high,
mahog-
to
found in the region of the
is
not a large tree, fifteen to twenty

easier to handle
than the mahogany.
The dark heartwood alone is used.

The Santa Maria (Calophyllum caldba) is much used in
house-building.
Rosewood [Dalbergia) grows to a large
size and is most beautifully veined, as is also the exquisite
Palo de mulatto {Spondias lutea)
and are
have used rosewood logs
difficult to transport.
but both sink in water,
twenty inches thick to support a
cistern,
as they are
almost imperishable, and not attacked by insects.
Sapo-
When
freshly
dilla
(Achras sapota)
hewn,
its color is
loses this
easil}',
is
nearly as heavy.
curiously red, beefy in tone
but
on exposure, and shrinks considerably.
but
is
so
is
soon
tough that splinters are used as nails in
Salmwood [Jacaranda, sp.) is light

and much used for door and window frames.
soft
it
It splits
woods.
colored,
Ziricote
beautifully veined.
Two
species of pine are
or ocote,
whence
is
common, the
Piniis ciibensis,
obtained the fat-pine which serves
as candle for a great majority of the people of Central
America, and the long-leaved pine [P.

the mountains.
have placed
other woods valuable in
many
and known only by their
in the
maciôioliylla)
Appendix a
list
of
of
ways, but never exported,
local
names.
The two products that in former years ranked high

among the Guatemalan exports, indigo and cochineal,
22
GUATEMALA.
338
have now been so completely superseded by other dyes,

the product of the laboratory, that they no longer need
be considered of importance, although enough indigo

still
made
is
to supply native dyers, the Indios especially
prizing the true indigo blue.
Both
dye-stuffs
were
chiefly
cultivated on the Pacific slopes, and I have seen half-
neglected nopaleras in the vicinity of Antigua and

titlan, the
and neglected
sugar-cane and retiring to the roadside
and uncared-
corners, while the cochineal insect, unfed
gradually disappearing.
for, is
Ama-
nopal or opuntia generally yielding place to
In 1883 there were ex-
ported 135.02 cwt. of indigo, valued at $16,881.25; while

in 1884 only 62.67 cwt., of a value of
more decided decrease
$7,833.75.
seen in the exportation of cochi-
is
neal in those years, the amounts being 184.01 cwt., of a
value of $9,200.50, in 1883, against 8.12 cwt., valued at
$406, in 1884.
It has
my
been
fortune to visit
many
regions of the world, and I have visited

idle curiosity, but
of the tropical
them not from
with a genuine interest in their inhabi-
tants and productions.
have looked upon the human,
animal, and vegetable population of these places as closely

as
my
limited knowledge and the time allowed
permit.
It is
capabilities of
climatic
me would
an agreeable study to place the physical

a
region,
influences,
situation, side
by
the
side
the richness of the
geographical
and
soil,
the
commercial
with the people, their mdustry,
strength, and intelligence, and from these premises
draw
the conclusion of the might-be.
Once
in travelling alone on horseback over the desert
lands which
lie
between the mountains
of the Island of
Maui, of the Hawaiian group, I was impressed with the
VEGETABLE AND AXIMAL PRODUCTIONS.

desolate, arid land of that great plain.
and
verbena,
parched
malvaceous
Ten thousand
above
feet
me
Stunted indigo,
thinly
was cracked
which
soil,
weeds
covered
the
every direction.
in
dome
the vast
rose
339
of
Haleakala, bare on this landward side, but which had

sent
down
for centuries volcanic ash to
and which now was covering these

the decomposition of
and found
it full
of cane.
As
plains
is
its
make
this plain,
earlier deposits
rich lavas.
examined
of the elements best suited for the
with
this soil
growth
many of our own Western

what was known as the Great
the case with
comprised
in
American Desert, which have often impressed me as the

most inhospitable land, not even excepting the Sahara,
have ever seen, this Hawaiian plain needed only water to

turn the desert into a
Government
of
I laid before the then
fertile field.
Hawaii
my
plan for reclaiming this land,
The
which in great part belonged to the School Fund.
Minister of Foreign Relations, the Hon. Robert C. Wyllie,
a most remarkable man, saw the physical possibilities, but

also the financial impossibilities, so far as the
Government
Years went by, when on a second
was concerned.
to Maui I had the pleasure
in part been carried out
of seeing that
by private
ing sugar plantations, valued at
parties,
many
my
visit
plan had
and prosper-
millions, occupied
the once waste land.
In travelling through Guatemala I was convinced of

the physical advantages the country possessed, though
I
was not blind
to
the indisputable fact that
countries I have seen, Guatemala, in
other
States
of
Central America,
of
all
common with
the
makes
least use
of
her natural advantages, and does least to overcome those

obstacles Nature has
thrown
in her
way.
My
readers
GUATEMALA.
340
in
discussing
the
pardon me, I
trust,
if,
present
outcome
the
soil,
trained
and curbed by an extended experience, sugthe same time what the wonderfully fertile
will
gest
at
lands
Indian
geration,
those not
and
let
my
imagination,
Guatemala might yield, properly cultivated.

will endeavor to guard myself from all exag-
of
While
of
briefly
Plough
Type
Guatemaltecan Agriculture.
of
cannot conceal from myself the fact that

familiar
with tropical luxuriance of growth
fruitfulness will not fully acquit
me
of
fault
this
so generally charged to travellers.
Arranging the products
Sugar-cane.
to be described,
not in a scientific order, but in that sequence which their
commercial importance seems to

leads
and
It
is
better
deem
of
competition of
cane
bold
assertion
suited
to
tlie
the very
that
by
side
side
of cane
inferior
sugar-beet.
no country or climate
culture
of
of
sugar-cane.
the choicest
is
have
varieties
with that usually cultivated on
the Atlantic coast (Bourbon),
growth
easily
more importance than the
watched the growth of four

of
sugar-cane
this in spite of the difficulties of the labor
which
supply,
artificial
suit,
compared
in Louisiana, the
West
this
with the
Indies, Guiana,
the Hawaiian Islands, India, the East Indies, Egypt, and

the Mauritius, and I have ascertained the cost of
tivation, expense of living, yield
^
cul-
and freight of product
Labaina, Salangore, Elephant, Ribbon.
341
to market, in all these various centres of sugar-production, in a
much more
elaborate
way than would
be in
place to record in this book.
At
the
present
sugar-plantations
any importance
of
are on the Pacific side of Guatemala, although some, as
that
San Geronimo, near Salama, are in the high

The valley of the Michatoya is full of small
of
interior.
A Primitive Sugar-mill.
plantations,
exported
in
or
ingenios.
From
the
1883, 44,927.27 cwt.
Pacific
sugar, valued
of
is
very great,
raised in the
Department
of
Much
manufacture
is
of the
it
is
cooled in
Chiquimula
is
not exported.
by the rudest wooden
wooden
at
less.
and the sugar resembles the poorest quality

sugar;
was
The home
and most of that
$223,136.35; in 1884, about 7,000 cwt.
consumption of sugar
ports
mills,
of maple-
blocks in hemispherical
GUATEMALA.
342
form, and comes to market wrapped in corn husks,

it
is
called
That
stood,
^:>?ie/(2.
the
I
give
arroha
production
sugar
the
the Government.
equals
when
statistics
finca
is
for
may
be
better
under-
1883, as published by
a plantation
a manzana
an acre and three quarters, more or
less
an
weighs twenty-five pounds, and a quintal one
hundred pounds.
VEGETABLE AND ANBIAL PRODUCTIONS.

is
chiefly a small red variety.
343
Escuintla and Jalapa have
nearly the same area of cane planted, but the former, by

superior machinery, produces forty times the
much
sugar, and ten times as

at present
is
The
panela.
amount
of
cultivation
almost confined to burying the seed-cane and
trashing, that
is,
stripping the lower leaves twice in a
In the rich valleys of the Atlantic, cane will grow
season.
nine feet in as
many months,
will yield four tons of sugar
twenty years without

and may be ground during nine months of the
to the acre, will rattoon freely for
replanting,
Much
year.
of the product of the cane
With
converted into aguardiente, or rum.

of the experimental plantation to
know
no sugar
of
which
fincas in northern
in
is
Guatemala
the exception
have referred,
Guatemala, although
there are several in similar situations in British Honduras.
well-known saying
It is a
that "
ical
in this
Wherever mahogany will grow, there every tropand wherever logwood grows,
product will flourish
Cane certainly
there you can produce the finest rice."

is
no exception to
Coffee.
this rule.
Second
on the
list
both from the importance of
from
the world
part of
its
may
be
placed
coffee,
the present product, and
very excellent quality.
On
the coast the Li-
berian coffee flourishes, and as the berries do not drop

as soon as ripe, the trouble of harvesting
ened.
Most
of
difficult to
crop
the
goes to England, and
it
exported
is
much
less-
from Livingston
has up to the present time been
obtain the best quality, except through Eng-
land.
In 1883, 404,069.39 cwt. of a value (at twelve
cents)
of
$4,848,832.68 were exported.
Government
levies
On
this
the
a tax, varying year by year, pro-
portioned to the harvest.
344
GUATEMALA.
The present importance
coffee
crop,
October, 1883, and ending June, 1884
Departments.
shown
commencing
of the coffee interest
by the following table of the
is
VEGETABLE AND AXLMAL PRODUCTIONS.

It
345
begins to bear the third year, produces three to four
hundred pounds per acre in the
fifth
maximum
old
exhausts
Coffee
and
the tenth,
in
the
is
year, attains
in
the
its
thirtieth.
more than any crop except
soil
tobacco.
Cacao.
All through the forests of the Atlantic coast
cacao grows wild, and even in this condition generally of
On
choice quality.
tions,
insignificant (1,492
is
Just over the Mexican boundary, in the
in 1884).
lbs.
the Pacific coast are the chief planta-
although the amount exported
province of Soconusco, grows the most celeljrated cacao
known
and probably careful
would produce the same
tion
tory.
Throughout the
results in
raised than before the Conquest,
when the
as money, and chocolate a royal drink.
cacao requires protection,^ which

it
cultiva-
Guatemalan
probably
repul3lic there is
the cacao never outgrows
and
selection of seed
less
terri-
cacao
was current
nib
Like the
coffee-tree,
must be continuous,
for
but a thin shade such as the
India-rubber affords will answer very well, and in this case

the madre cacao
is
profitable.
cacao-plantation should
be in full bearing about the seventh year
much
curing of the pods requires

cultivation of the trees
ties
is
and while the
care and experience, the
very simple.
The many
and the interesting process by which the bean
varieis
pre-
pared for market are well described in the pamphlet to
which
reference
valleys
of
the
been made.
has
Polochic,
yield a rich return.
Cacao:
How
to
the
Chocon, and Motagua would
from the bean, and
samples of very high quality.

^
in
In Guatemala are several factories
for preparing chocolate
Jamaica Government.
Plantations
grow and how
to cure
have seen
generally,
not
It
is
it.
Loudon: Prepared by the
if
GUATEMALA.
346
always, flavored
beverage
is
with
cinnamon, and wlien used as a
churned or beaten into
froth.
Theobroma Cacao (Chocolate Tree'

A Enlarged flower.
B Stamens mid pistil.
C Andrcecium.
D Petal.
India-riibber.
grows wild in
Like
all
E Ovary, vertical.
F Ovary transverse.
G Pod section.
H Ripe pod.
the cacao, the
the coast valleys
Castilloa
elastica
but although the Gov-
ernment has placed a bounty on plantations
of
this
very

desirable tree, few
have been formed.
the Indios collect the
gum hi
Now,
quote from Juarros
what
as formerly,
a very wasteful way, and soon
the supply will be greatly lessened.

^
347
am
tempted to
I believe is the earliest notice
Castilloa elastica (India-rubber Tree).
of the use of India-rubber for waterproof garments.
"
On
pricking the trunk of this tree [ule] an abundant juice

issues,
which
serves, as Fuentes assures us, to coat a boot,
with which one can pass a stream or a

^
Compendio de
1818.
la Historia
swamp dry shod."
de la Ciudad de Guatemala,
t.
2,
p.
95, ed.
GUATEMALA.
348
The castilloa grows to a height of about forty to fifty

feet, and its clean, smooth stem may be two feet in diameter at the base. The leaves are large, oblong in shape, and
The foliage is light green in color, and not
rather hairy.
very dense. The small greenish flowers appear in February and March, and the seed ripens three months later.
Mr. Morris^ gives the following account of the rubber
gathering
''
The
castilloa rubber-tree is
chouc, or the
gummy
when about seven

from
at present,
gatherers,
who
to be tapped for caout-
to ten years old.
trees
The milk
its
tapping the trees
is
obtained
is
growing wild, by men called rubber-
Toonu
is
after
The proper season for

the autumn rains, which occur
[ule].
have ripened their
after the trees
fruit,
and
The flow
before they put forth buds for the next season.

of milk
milk,
are well acquainted with all the localities
inhabited by the
some months
fit
substance produced by
most copious during the months of October,
November, December, and January.
The rubber-gatherers
commence operations on an untapped tree by reaching
with a ladder, or by means of lianes, the upper portions
of its trunk, and scoring the bark the whole length with
deep cuts, which extend all round. The cuts are sometimes
made
tree
at other times they are shaped simply like the letter
so as to
form a
series of spirals all
round the
V, with a small piece of hoop-iron, the blade of a

or the leaf of a
palm placed
cutlass,
at the lower angle to
spout to lead the milk into a receptacle below.
form a
A number
of trees are treated in this manner, and left to bleed for

several hours.
At
the close of the day the rubber-gath-
erer collects all the milk, washes

1
The Colony of
British Honduras.
it
by means of water,
D. Morris, London, 1883,
p. 76.

and leaves
it
standing
He now
the next morning.
till
349
pro-
cures a quantity of the stem of the moon-plant [Colony ction speciosum),
pounds
a bucket of water.
it is
added to the
into a mass,
it
and throws
into
it
After this decoction has been strained,
milk
rul)ber
in the projoortion of
one
pint to a gallon, or until, after brisk stirring, the whole
The masses of rubber floating

on the surface are now strained from the liquid, kneaded
into cakes, and placed under heavy weights to get rid of
milk
of the
all
is
coagulated.
watery particles."
It
is
true that either very heavy
weights are not handy, or the honest Indian wishes to

sell
water at the price of rubber
examined them freshly brought
have
for the masses, as I
in for sale, contain a large
quantity of water held mechanically in the interstices.
Alum
is
sometimes used to coagulate the milk, but
thought to render the
grown
first
gum
hard and
tapped,
which
is
Guatemala forbids the tapping
of
tries to regulate
full-
milk when
equivalent to sixteen pounds of
rubber, worth from ten to twelve dollars.
law
less elastic.
tree should yield about eight gallons of
is
Although the
young
of
the frequency of the attack,
trees,
it is
and
ineffect-
ual to prevent the gradual destruction of the wild trees
through improvident bleeding, and only the establishment

of private plantations will prevent the final extinction of
this
The Para rubber

swamps unfit for culti-
most valuable source of rubber.
{Hevea
vation
hrasiliensis)
;
grows only in
the true rubber [Ficifs elastica), so popular a house-
plant, does not
seem to thrive and yield a supply of rubber
away from
native East Indies
of South
its
America [Maniliot
and the Ceara rubber
Glaziovi)
is
not of easy
culti-
vation, so that the Castilloa certainly promises to be the

tree, of the
many known
to produce rubber,
most
likely
GUATEMALA.
350
to supply in cultivation that useful
now
cannot
gum
civilized nations
do without, although the science of adulter-
has progressed so far that an ordinary pair of
ation
so-called rubber boots contain hardly a spoonful of the
pure gum, the rest being sulphur, coal-tar, and other

matters.
The
seed
trees should be planted forty feet apart
is
very perishable,
it
and as the
should be planted, or at least
packed in earth, as soon as gathered.
One
Sarsajjcirilla.
or vines,
tic
common
seaboard
the most troublesome vejucos,
through the forests of the Atlan-
all
Probably the
the zarza, or sarsaparilla.
is
American public
compounded
of
familiar with the popular remedies
is
in part with this valuable medicinal plant,
which, belonging to the Smilax family, affects damp,
warm
climbing to great heights over the trees.
forests,
The portion used is the long, tough root

gatherer digs and pulls from the loose
'
the stem, which in due time replaces
The
to be again robbed.
dled,
and
soil,
its
replanting
stolen roots,
roots are washed, loosely bun-
sold to the dealers,
up into tight
this the zarza-
who have
the fibres
made
a few hundred of which are then
rolls,
pressed together and sewed up in the thickest hide that

Ccin
be found
for the "
wrapper in the tare
of the
sarsaparilla exported
and Honduras
custom of trade
more
" includes the
costly drug.
Most
of the
from Belize comes from Guatemala
but from Livingston more than 60,000
pounds were exported in 1884, of an appraised value

ten cents per pound.
The plant
is
easily propagated
of
by
cuttings or seeds, and of course needs no cultivation or

clearing
root
the yield will average twenty pounds of dried
from each
plant.
VEGETABLE AXD AXIMAL PRODUCTIONS.
351
No export from Guatemala

Bananas and Plantains.
value than have the promore
rapidly
in
increased
has
The permanent establishment of
ducts under this head.
New
between
lines of steamers
Orleans and Livingston,
and the bounty offered by the Government, stimulated the

planting of
tlie
many
Under contract with the steamshi]) com-
river-banks.
the producer
panies,
bunch
small fincas along the shores and on
(of
bananas at 50 cents a
his
sells
not less than eight hands) during five months
of the year,
and
for
cost of production
37^ cents the
may
rest of the jêar.
The
be placed at 12|- cents per bunch.
All these prices are in silver currency of the value of the
sham
dollar of the United States.
Plantains are sold at
25 cents a bunch of twenty-five, sometimes commanding

$1.25 per hundred.
The
this business go, as
profits of
usual, not to the producer, but to the
steamer-companies.
dred bunches of good fruit
middle-man or the
man
For example, a
the cost to
He
delivered on board the steamer.
is
raises
him
is
a hun-
$12.50
paid in the best
season $50 in silver, for which he can get $40 in Amer-
The steamer people, after a voyage of four

days, during which all their expenses are paid by the
passenger-list and the Government mail-subsidies, sell the
bananas on the wharf in New Orleans for $125 in gold,
clearing $85
or its equivalent,
while the planter, for
ican gold.
a year's labor put into the bananas, gets $30.
have
put the price paid the planter at the highest, and the
sales in
New
profits of a single
$40,000.
him
rich.
The
Orleans at the lowest.
cant at these figures, and
Half
round
it
trip
this shared
is
not
of
loss is insignifi-
uncommon
two weeks
to
for the
exceed
with the planter would make
GUATEMALA.
352
If the planting of
must
raise
montli
enough
bananas
to profit the grower, he

twenty thousand bunches a
say
own
to freight his
is
steamer, and be independent
of the present monopolies of the Italian fruiterers.
extent of this business is seen in the fact that
The
from Liv-
ingston in 1883 were exported 29,699 bunches, and in

1884, 54,633, or nearly double the amount.
This
is
not the proper place to enter into a detailed
history of the banana,
its
culture and
its
varieties
there
is
much
certainty
but
unthe
in
Northern markets as to the distinction
between
bananas and plantains,
which
it
may be well
to re-
At
pres-
move.
ent plantains are
not brought to the

Bunch
of
Plantains (young).
Boston
York markets.
Botanically,
between these two
it
as
fruits,
or
New
difficult to distinguish
is
connecting varieties run
imperceptibly into the two extremes
no one, however,
would ever mistake a typical plantain for a banana,

Of
either single or in bunch.
banana (and
including the seeding-banana of

or
three
these are
are raised for
is
two hundred,
Chittagong), only two
give
no inducement
no more
to
least
exportation in Guatemala, and
by no means the
people will
the varieties of the
all
have myself seen at
best
for
but as
the
steamer
a choice variety,
improve the stock.
there
Both yellow
and the former sometimes have two hundred and fifty bananas on a bunch,
and
red
grown,
are
varieties
The plantain
weighing, unripe, ninety pounds.
when
ripe (I
is
have never seen a red variety), and
yellow
is
much
and more curved than a banana, while the bunches

are looser and much smaller, seldom numbering more
larger
Some
than thirty-five
fruits.
of fifteen inches,
and some are quite palatable uncooked
but the usual
Few
qualities
surpasses
stated
them
to eat
either
is
fried.
the
the plantain, which in this respect
of
banana
and
substance
be
authoritatively
and seven square
same land planted with wheat
When
the plantain
twenty to thirty years

admirable meal
and
(better
feet
of
thousand pounds of nutritive
from plantains, which will support
sons, while the
but two.
may
it
that sixteen hundred
rich land will produce four
is
if
dried,
it
fifty per-
will support
will
keep from
dried before ripening, an
than arrowroot) can be made
from the ground white
fruits,
conserve not unlike a
fig in flavor,
from
baked or
our Northerners appreciate the wonderful nu-
of
tritive
way
plantains attain a length
while
tile
ripe fruit
and
of
forms a
course free
the seeds so troublesome in that fruit.
One hun-
dred parts of the fresh fruit contain twenty-seven parts

of nutritive matter, easily digested
starch.
may
The comparative
be thus stated
cost
and
and superior to pure
profit of the
two
fruits
GUATEMALA.
354
The second year the
increase
would be
plantain, and the product has reached

five
Of the
thousand per acre.
tant by-product.
much
the
finer.
is
the ground after the fruit
much
trunks are
no account has
fibre
is
banana (Musa
both stems being
possible four
pounds of
fibre
as the stems should be cut to
gathered, these large fibrous
way
in the
in
It will be
of cultivation.
remembered that the Manilla hemj)

species of
thirty-
fair to
inner portion
At present the
each stem
wasted and
in
more than
become an imporThe plantain contains more fibre than
been taken, although this bids
the banana,
in favor of the
is
the product of a
textilis).
Usually bananas or plantains are planted in a cafetal

or in a cacao or orange orchard, to
plants,
and
shade the young
after three or four years are
more permanent
removed as the
trees attain their growth.
All the fruit
exported must be cut and shipped while quite green and

not fully grown
and
this,
conjoined to the tar and bilge
smell of the steamers, certainly gives the fruit a flavor
does not have in

full
its
its
when allowed
native land
it
to attain
growth and then slowly ripened under shelter
from the sun.
Bananas, like some pears, should not be
allowed to ripen on the
There are two
trees.
articles of food
and commerce which
should certainly attract the attention of merchants, and

so of the
tains, as a
public,
in our
fresh plan-
most nutritious and delicious vegetable, more
costly than the banana,
the
Northern States,
though
of easier transport
dried plantain, for which there
is
and
already an in-
creasing market on the Pacific coast.
Fita and Sisal

tain-fibre calls to
Heinj:).
The
mention of the plan-
mind two very valuable
fibrous plants

present
at
cultivated
little
home consumption.
The
Guatemala, except for
in
or
^îto,
silk-grass (^Biômelia
belongs to the pineapple family, and
'jyita)
355
very com-
is
monly used for hedges in the interior of the country.

The long sharp leaves are rotted, and the fibre exby the rudest means, usually by pounding on
tracted
stones
running stream
in
most durable and

Avhence the
It
name
also called
is
hammocks and bags and
desirable
The other plant
cords.
Sisal
product makes
but the
most cultivated
is
Yucatan,
in
hemp, from the shipping
henequen {Agave
ixtli),
Common
sembles the century-plant.
port.
and much
re-
over the mountain-
ranges, certainly to a height of eight thousand feet,

is
exported to the annual value of
grows
poor
in
dry
and
soil
An American
cuttings.
From Yucatan
except for hedges.
used,
little
is
The
$500,000.
easily
ixtli
machine removes the pulp and
and the
is
then baled and shipped without further trouble.
filire,
according to the " Textile Record," costs the
product
planter two thirds of a cent per pound, the
New York
is
pound
is
freight to
three quarters of a cent, and with com-
missions and incidental expenses, the
a cent and
a half,
and
it
total
charge per
sells for
hemp is quoted at 30 per

The species and varieties
five
ton.
of
the agaves or henequen
and pulque plants are not
clearly distinguished
types are tolerably distinct.
Agave Americana,
cultivated in Mexico for the juice which
mented
is
growth
in a stemless condition
called pulque.
from
In the English market Sisal
to seven cents per pound.
is
is
propagated by
cleans the fibre at the rate of a leaf a minute,
The
it
it
The plant
after
but two
or maguey,
when
fer-
some years
of
throws up a stem very
GUATEMALA.
356
The
rapidly to a height of forty feet, or even more.
Mexican
stem before
cultivator, however, nips this
has
it
attained two feet
and
scooping a large
hol-
low in the cut stump,

waits
The
collect.
sap to
the
for
yield
a vigorous plant
the
from
and
continues
sap
to
run for three months
is
from two
to three
hundred gallons
agave,
The
must be
it
re-
membered, grows in the

driest
the
of
The
soil.
leaf
and
is
fibre
very
is
used to
make paper
of the
strong,
toughest and most durable kind.
The Agave
henequen,
is
ixtli,
larger than
the last species.

the
,
plants
years
old
may be
cut,
or
are
the
When
three
leaves
and a good
plant should yield from

fifty
Pounding
to a
hundred
Rice.
annually, the
The contincutting being repeated every four months.
uous fibres in a leaf are sometimes five and a half feet
leaves
long,
and are used by the natives without spinning.
The
of the ixtli subjected to this pruning
life
allowed to flower,
may
357
and not
extend to ten years, but usually
several years less.
is
Bromelia pita produces a much
finer
As
not so easy to handle.
and stronger
fibre,
come to
market they are often confounded, even by the Indios,
and the term '' pita " is not infrequently applied to the
but
is
these fibres
product of agaves, and even of plantains.
The genus Fourcroya,

valuable
Rice.
closely allied to agave, also yields
fibres.
The
upland variety grows remarkably well
Chocon River, producing

two crops a year of very heavy rice. All through
the logwood country it might profitably be cultivated
but up to the present time not enough has been raised
in
bottom-lands
the
of
the
fairly to
how much
determine
There are no suitable
be.
the yield per acre
rice-mills,
hulled by the rude and wasteful
may
and the grain
method
of
is
pounding
in mortars.
Oranges.
plant
many
to
sand-banks
of
delusion which has led so
Tlie
on
orange-trees
the
frost-visited
Florida has at least turned the attention of Americans

to
the desirability of orange-walks not too remote from
The Florida oranges, while
our principal fruit-markets.
sweet and juicy, are wanting in
mandarin
of
variety,
which
is
far
inferior
that variety raised in China.
oranges,
which
Florida, are
not
are
generally
first-rate,
and
especially the
flavor,
to
the fruit
Even the Louisiana
superior
in both
to
those
States
seen the foliage utterly destroyed by frost,
an
from
have
acci-
dent which must seriously interfere with the succeeding crop. As a substitute for these unsuitable regions,
GUATEMALA.
358
Guatemala
Polochic,
the
great
offers
quality
the
of
the
uncultivated fruit
nearly equal to the Syrian oranges
any
ally,
At Teleinan, on
advantages.
that
is,
is
than
finer
have seen in Jamaica or the West Indies gener-
and
the same fruit can be raised on
all
the bot-
Lemons do not do so
a cooler climate and must
tom-lands of the Atlantic coast.

well, as this
fruit
requires
relegated to the higher interior valleys
be
grow wild in remarkable perfection,

as hedge-plants.
being
but limes
used
often
Raised from seed, the plants at three
On
years are six feet high, and in five are bearing.

the western side limas,
toranjas,
many
shaddocks,
or
varieties
grow very
Oranges of
well.
can be grown in the greatest perfec-
tion in the rich valleys

tain oranges
sweet lemons, citrons, and
or
and yet
it
difficult to ob-
is
enough for home consumption even where
the alcaldes are not so stupid as one reported during

the cholera scare in 1884,
trees in his village to be
sure to cause cholera
who
ordered
all
the orange-
cut down, as their fruit
Along the coast
of
was
Honduras,
near Trujillo, I have bought for one dollar a barrel the

finest limes I ever saw.
Coco7iuts.
will
On the
sandy shores, where no other
grow, the coconut flourishes.
As a
rule the nuts
are not so large as those of the Pacific Islands
have seen some of good
size
fruit
but I
on the north shore of the
equally low shores
The low, sandy cayos and the

of Manabique are admirably suited
coconut-walks.
In one place on the Hondureilan
Island
for
Roatan.
of
coast a large factory
was established
at great cost, but
some reason not known to the writer it has been

abandoned and now, nowhere on the northern coast of
for

Guatemala
the
oil
to the
any organized attempt
is
or fibre (coir or cobre),
359
to prepare either
and the nuts are shipped
United States or to England.
Prolific
these palms require no care after they
come
bearers,
into bear-
year; and as they bear heavily by
ing in the fourth

the seventh year, a
young walk soon becomes a source
Usually a tree produces a flower-spathe every
of profit.
month;
so there
stages.
On
are
generally on
a tree nuts in
all
a single spadix I have counted five thou-
sand nine hundred and
fifty
staminate or male blos-
soms, and fifty-two pistillate or female.
Of the latter
not more than thirty, and usually only twenty, develop

into nuts
bly
but a young tree in a good
bear
worth
$9.
that
worth $3 per annum.
is
In a walk, however,
The trade
usually
sell
green nuts
in
is
rich milk of the nut
when
cut with a knife.
When
damp
disappears,
and
completely
filling
is
a good
of course limited
No more
than the
fruits
so green that the shell
fully ripe,
the
tree
but they
apiece.
found in the tropical
is
piled in a
it
two cents
at the rate of
delicious drink
proba-
and sixty nuts per annum,
hundred
three
soil will
nuts
is
easily
may be
The milk
occupied by a porous mass
place and left to germinate.
place
its
is
the cavity and of the consistency of
sponge-cake, quite edible withal.
As the shoot pushes
through the eye and breaks through the thick husk, the
innocent-looking
the coconut
sponge seems to absorb the meat
when
this is finished, the plant has, as it
were, hatched itself from the old shell, and
continue
life
on
its
of
own
basis.
The coconut
is
ready to
presents a
good illustration of the development of pinnate or feather

leaves from palmate (or leaves shaped like a fan),
all
GUATEMALA.
360
the early leaves of this palm being of the latter class,
while the
noble
leaves
the
of
mature palm are long
pinnate.
the trees
If
are planted
about sixty to the acre in
ordinary situations, such a plantation should not cost,
^0,1'^'U^'^
Growth
of a
Young Coconut.
including the land, more than forty dollars until the trees
bear
and
in eight years the planter
may
of at least eight thousand nuts annually,
net him about two hundred dollars.
expect a crop
which
should
It is a great mis-
take to plant the nut on the surface of the ground, as
it

361
is
liable to be
overturned by the winds, or too thick, as
it
then grows
tall
The exports
previous
thus
to
187G
and spindly, and bears poorly.
of coconuts
from Belize during
six years
1882, as given by Mr. Morris,^ are shown
GUATEMALA.
362
thousand plants to the acre should yield, at six cents
hundred and twenty dollars the
per pine, a
and a hundred and eighty
first
crop,
Whether
dollars afterwards.
these fine fruits can profitably drive the inferior pineapples
West
the
of
Indies from our markets,
wild pine, in which the fruit
compact head, but
common
in the
mountains
yet
doubtful.
not crowded into a
is
more acid and
is
is
of
less
flavor, is
but I have never seen this
species offered for sale.
Nutmegs.
While
do not know of a dozen trees of
the nutmeg, outside of the Chocon plantation, the
soil
and
The nutmeg
requires at least eighty inches of rainfall per annum,
begins to bear when eight or ten years old, and improves
for a century.
The first few years the yield is from one
to five thousand nuts, of from sixty-eight to one hundred
and twenty to tlie pound. In the Botanic Gardens, Triniclimate are admirably suited to this tree.
dad, the net yield per tree has been
more than twenty
pounds (say eighteen hundred nuts), with an average

price of fifty-four cents per pound.
to three
the
hundred and
mace
is
fifty dollars
per acre.
The value
of
In the Chocon region the trees
additional.
have not yet matured
This would amount
but there seems no doubt that the
conditions of growth and fruitfulness are better than on
the
Island
of
Trinidad,
and with these
trees
planted
thirty feet apart, or forty-five to an acre, allowing one
third to be male or barren trees,
1,600 X
.30
= 48,000 nutmegs
we
should have at least
to the acre.
Averaging the
nuts at ninety to the pound, the crop would weigh five
hundred and thirty-three pounds, and at fifty cents per

pound would amount to two hundred and sixty-six dollars.
Considering the
less
expense for care this perma-
3G3
neut crop would require, the profit would be sufficient
The
even at forty cents per pound.

not bring so high a price as
Maiz. Indian
the republic,
Indian
when
red, fresh
mace does
old and golden-colored.
corn {Zea mays) grows well
Yet the kinds cultivated are not
tribes.
growing
quality, although
The
freely.
over
all
and forms the most important food
of the
of fine
stalks are often
a dozen feet high, and three ears are not uncommon.
The corn
Three crops can be raised annually.

stored
and transported
When
in the husk.
is
always
the Spaniards
came among the Central Americans, they found the

milpas of maiz carefully cultivated
and as to-day the
first
little
cornfields are found all over the country cultivated
precisely as the ancients
product
manner.
is
to-day prepared and eaten in the same old-time
Mr.
tunately too
Belt,^ in his
little
maiz better than

'^
were doing centuries ago, so the
known,
work on Nicaragua, unfor describes the preparation of
have seen done elsewhere.
In Central America the bread
made from
prepared at the present day exactly as

Mexico.
The grain
wood-ashes or a
metatl,
is
little of
slightly concave stone,
on
which
it
it is
bruised,
of the paste
into
is
and
it is
all
rubbed
it
was
boiled,
says
the maiz
is
in ancient
along with
alkali loosens the outer

off
at a time
with the hands in

is
called a metatle,
is
shaped like a rolling-pin.

as
The
lime.
skin of the grain, and this
running water
of
first
is
little
it
He
placed upon a
from the Aztec
rubbed with
another
is
little
water
stone,
thrown on
thus formed into paste.
it
ball
taken and flattened out between the hands
cake about ten inches diameter and three
teenths inch thick, which

^
The Naturalist
is
six-
baked on a slightly concave
in Nicaragua, p. 56.
GUATEMALA.
364
earthenware
[or
called
tortillas,
elling,
iron]
and are very
preferred
wheaten
flour.
The
pan.
cakes
made
so
When
nutritious.
are
trav-
them myself to bread made from

well made and eaten warm, they
When
are very palatable."
Besides the importance of this grain for

it is
who
necessary for the horses,
human
food,
could not well endure
Much might
the hard steep roads on sacate alone.
be
exported to the neighboring republics.

Wheat.
Throughout the uplands much wheat
The straw
generally small, but the grain heavy and
is
In the grain centres, such as Solola, the wheat
good.
is
inspected and weighed by
seed
grown.
is
sown
is
Government
in drills rather than broadcast.
bread made from this
home wheat
The
found the
of a uniformly
though sometimes dark colored,
quality,
officials.
indeed
good
it
is
superior to the bread found in the country throughout
the United States.

Potatoes, and other Food-Flants.
opher
may
However the
philos-
try to confine his attention to those products
of a country
which may have a commercial value, be he
cynic or epicurean he will be interested in those fruits
and vegetables not necessary

none the
I
have
less
to the support of life, but
very important factors in
briefly noticed the principal
human
fruits that
exported from Guatemala, and have
passed
comfort.
may
be
unnoticed
the scores of valuable woods, because I can add nothing

to the general
knowledge of
For the same reason
these.
have omitted the hundred and one drugs or medicinal
plants
country
but I should
if
fail
in
did not tell of
my
duty to this pleasant
some
of those fruits
vegetables that add to the pleasure of
life.
and
VEGETABLE AND ANBIAL PRODUCTIONS.

The common potato
365
have already mentioned in a
The sweet potato {Batatas

from the huge purplefleshed tuber to the delicate little yellow form
but it is
The yam {Dioscorea) is much
very little cultivated.
more common, but dry and tasteless. The cocos or kalo
(Colocasium esculentuin) grows well in the wetter lands,
but is more common in Belize than in Guatemala, and
chapter
former
edulis) will
grow
136).
(p.
in all its varieties,
in neither place
that
attains the prominence as a vegetable
enjoys in the Pacific Islands or in China and the
it
East Indies.
The cassava {ManiJiot
tant a food in South America,
is
Carib use, and I have never seen

coast
it
it
inland or on the south
as a dietary its importance merits attention,
In a dry climate
should be exported.
and
utiUssima), so impor-
here mostly confined to
have specimens four years old
Frijoles, or beans, black, white,
and good.
and
still
keeps well,
it
perfectly good.
red, are very
The Mexicans are the
and
greatest
abundant
consumers
of beans in the world, and their neighbors southward
probably rank next.
The breadfruit (Artocarpus
incisa)
grows remarkably
well in Livingston and Belize, although I think the fruit
smaller than
full
in the Pacific islands.
grown, but not
baked
fruit sliced
the uncooked fruit
and
is
fried is a delicacy.
very unpleasant.
bers (including a small
grow
good),
melons,
among
the corn, as in
New
of
Squashes, cucumis
very
and pumpkins are planted
England.
Indeed, the variety
and one may
fifteen kinds in a single heap.

us.
when
and the
The odor
spiny wild one which
well,
of squashes is very great,
pumpkins are with
Carefully baked
ripe, it is a fine vegetable,
is
Some
They are
see a dozen or
fed to cattle as
are so hard that they keep
GUATEMALA.
366
The
a long time.
chiote
{Sechium edule)
is
a rapid grow-
ing runner, often covering the houses, and bearing a fruit
about the shape of a pear and three inches thick, covered

This was abundant
with soft prickles.
and in the
villages,
p)lazas it
was
all
through the
sold parboiled, fried,
much
like a vegetable
Tomatoes grow everywhere, and are
of great impor-
or preserved in sugar.
It tastes
marrow.
tance in the kitchen, next to the universal chile [Cap-
anmium).
sicum
Peppers
other
of
especially a large green one which
kinds
are
used,
minced
meat coated with egg and crumbs and served as Chile
Pawpaws {Carica
relleno.
wild species
is
a cantaloupe, and
filled
(a small
and the
with pungent
eaten raw, or cooked
is
making tough
The akee {Blighia scqnda) is much like a
Its juice is of the greatest use in
in tarts.
tender.
custard
common
Pacific coast)
seeds like those of the tropceolum,
meat
stuffed with
2^ci2)aya) are
abundant on the
fruit, as large as
is
when
cooked.
The avocado {Persea gratissima)

In Peru it
that have many names.
is
one of the fruits
is
called jKilta,
and
the Mexican aliuacatl was twisted by the Spaniards into
aguacate and avocado, and the English corrupted this last

into
alligator-pear.
tween vegetable and

at
There are
first.
Intermediate,
fruit,
many
like
few strangers
varieties
the
carica,
be-
like the aguacate
but the best
is
pear-
shaped, weighing about a pound, with a shiny purple,
Between the skin and the rather large

a greenish pulp nearly an inch thick, which is
leathery skin.
kernel
is
the edible part of this delicious fruit.

consistency,
and ma}^ serve
be eaten alone, or with
It is of a buttery
and
The sapote
as substitute for butter,
salt
and pepper.
367
[Lucuma mammosa) somewhat resembles the aguacate

the size and position of the edible pulp
is
but the outside
rough and brown, and the salmon-colored interior
and
insipid
Among
mango
in
is
inferior.
the
rank
first
of
may
fruits
be placed the
West Indian is
far inferior to the East Indian representative.
As a mere
shade-tree the mango is beautiful
but the rich juicy,
(Mangifeiâ indica), although the
golden-meated
slightly
fruit,
with a flavor
tinged
turpentine in the poorer sorts,
is
of
a never-to-be-forgotten
The unripe fruit is good baked or made into a

when it much resembles ajDples in taste. The slip-
delight.
sauce,
pery, juicy meat,
and the strong
to the large flat stone,
make
it
for the novice to eat this fruit
fibres
he should have plenty of
When
may
mango
sent
The
it
is
to,
although
have planted seeds
from Hawaii, and they have
grown rapidly and promise

grafted as easily,
the tree does
be resorted
the natives usually hack the stem.

of the sour
this
anything but an easy task
water and napkins within reach.

not bear well, root-pruning
which attach
The mango may be
well.
said, as the
cherry or apple.
icaco (Clnnjsohalanus icaco), or coco-plum,
grows
near the shore, and makes an excellent preserve;
so
does the manzanilla, a small crab-apple.
In the interior, a tree very
commonly used
for fences is
the jocote {Sjjondias jj^^^yurea?).
This bears a plum-like
fruit all over the smaller branches,
which
is
either yellow
The stone closely

or red when
The juice when ferresembles a medium-sized peanut.
mented makes a very popular drink (Chicha). To propripe,
agate the tree
it is
which
may
cutting,
and very
juicy.
only necessary to plant a branch or

be several inches in diameter, and
it
GUATEMALA.
368
takes root and bears the next season.
the species of spondias, but
much
it is
like the hog-
Peaches grow in the highlands, but
of Jamaica.
of the poorest quality,

fruit at the
not sure of
smaller than the
and more
S. duleis of the Pacific Islands,
plum
am
and the
same time.
trees are in blossom
Figs grow very well
Guatemaltecans import canned
yet the
New
from
figs
and
Orleans.
The star-apple ( Chrysophyllum cainito), so popular in the

West Indies, the mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), the
most
delicious fruit of the East Indies, the loquat [Erio-
hotrya japonica), the durian {Durio zihethinus), that foul-
but
smelling
pleasant-tasting
fruit,
bhel
{jEgle
didcis),
and a
the
marmelos), the Marquesan plum {Spondias
grow here, but do not.

goyavas grow wild, but are of very poor
host of others might
Guavas
quality
vas, but
or
have not found the very
Cherimoyers [Anona cherimolia) are very
of its kind.
common
in the uplands, extending even into the region
of occasional frosts.
The
A red-pulped
sour-sop {Ano7ia muricata)
and
coast,
grow
strawberry gua-
fine
have planted seeds of the black guava, the best
is
is
variety
seldom absent from a Carib
finely on the Pacific slope,
equally well on the north.
is
much
prized.
cultivated all along the
Grapes
village.
and would probably do
That most pleasing
fruit of
the passion-flower {Passiflora sp.), the granadilla, or water-
lemon,
may be
found, in the season, for sale in every plaza
in the highlands.
The more common kind
of a large hen's egg,
matic
jelly of
and the tough
is
of the size
shell contains
an aro-
which one can eat almost without
this fruit is sold at ten for acuartil (3 cents).
The
limit
larger
species has a fine purple blossom as large as a saucer,
while the fruit
is
more than a
foot long.
These vines
The tamarind [Tmn-
are easily propagated by cuttings.
arindus
found
officinalis) is
369
over the country, and
all
pulpy pods make a wholesome and cooling drink.

are
many
other fruits which I have not tasted and can-
not describe
but they are generally those that a stranger
While
does not especially like, nor are they abundant.
our
its
There
common garden
vegetables can
be easily raised,
if
kept from ants, especially from the ravages of the zompopos, there are few gardens that contain
With food
for
man,
it
is
On
cattle thrive.
grass
is
of
them.
important to provide well for
his faithful servants, horses, mules,
uplands the pasturage
any
and
On
cattle.
the
good, and the sheep and neat
the lowlands
and
in the river valleys
must be planted, and the Guinea grass [Fanicum
jumentorwn) and Bahama grass {Cynodon dactylon) are
On
usuall}^ chosen.
naturally,
the ridges
and in the
told, as that of the
Coma3âgua
in
Paspalwn distichum grows

I
am
of Yoro, Olancho,
and
interior the grass
famous plains
is
the same,
Honduras, where one acre will pasture two
animals, while in Texas four acres will barely feed one.
The fauna
of
Guatemala has been almost as much neg-
lected as the flora; but although insect-life seems abun-
dant,
and many
that animal
is,
of the rivers
life is
swarm with
comparatively scarce.
red-deer, peccaries, javias, turkeys,
almost the whole bag.
Among
the
are here fairly represented, the

cdhifrons) being the
most
Game
believe
certainly
and pigeons being
mammals
little
attractive.
face nearly devoid of hair,
fish, I
the
monkeys
white-faced (Cehiis
This monkey has a
and as white as a European.
The hands and feet are very well formed, the nails espeand the tail is quite long. It seems less difficult
for him to stand erect than for most monkeys, and when
cially so,
24
GUATEMALA.
370
domesticated (an easy process) he
is
an affectionate
pet.
The howling-monkeys [Mtjcetes stentor) will be remembered by every traveller as the noisiest of the nocturSeveral other small monos are common
nal animals.
in the forests (/Si'mm apella, S. fatuellus, and S. capucina),
where they feed on wild-figs and other fruits. The pezote
(JSfassua solitaria)
is
found in the forests of the eastern
mountain-ranges.
The manatee,
or lamantin
found in the Golfo Dulce,
is
[Manatus Americanus), once
now
seldom,
the coast of Guatemala, although
Honduras, where the hide

I
is
still
if
ever, seen
on
found in British
used for whips, canes,
etc.
have seen the tracks of the danta (Tapirus Americanus)
in the
Chocon
forests,
but never the animal, as
habits
its
more nocturnal than mine. Conies {Lejms Douglassi),

taltusas {Geomys heterodus), mapachines {Procyon cancrivorus), and armadillos (Dasypus sp.) are common articles
Red-deer (Cervics dama) are
of food among the Indios.
are
found in the
interior.
Peccaries (Jabali, Dicotyles tajagu)
feed in droves in the bottom-lands, and are perhaps the
most dangerous
of the wild animals of
sharp tusks will cut terribly, and the

stupid to be frightened
It is
Guatemala
little
beast
their
is
too
away when thoroughly angered.
said that even the jaguar fears to attack a drove, but
skulks behind, hoping to pick up a straggler.
They
can,
however, be tamed, and I have seen them with domestic

pigs about the streets of San Felipe, Pansos, and other
The white-lipped peccary, jaguilla, or warree

{Dicotyles torrpiatiis), makes its presence known at a con-
places.
siderable distance
by the peculiar odor emitted from a
small pouch on
back.
its
The hunter, when killing, takes

it would quickly taint
care to cut this sack out at once, or

the entire body of this otherwise good pork.
371
In the open
have often found peccary tracks, but never unaccompanied by the full, round print of the jaguar. When
forests I
pursued, the peccary takes readily to the water, and swims

rivers.
The
jaguar, or tigre, as he
Central America,
fears
is
is
always called in
not a very dangerous animal, as he
man much more than man
especially fond of dogs,
and
The
fears him.
tigre
is
will enter a house at night to
carry off the prized morsel
sometimes when hungry he
him away from

a house-yard, and one of my monteros was attacked by one
when sleeping in the forest. In this case the tigre was in
complete darkness, and was badly gashed by the man's
machete but so far from being frightened, he actually pursued the montero more than a mile to the nearest house,
where a gun was obtained and the wounded animal shot.
I have seen skins between five and six feet long, exclusive
of head and tail.
The puma {Fells concolor) is more common in the mountain regions, and the ^' lion " that descended from the Volcan de Agua and ravaged the country
about the young City of Guatemala {antifjua) was of this
species.
The ocelot {Leopardiis parclalis) and coyote ( Canis
will persistently resist all efforts to drive
ochropics) are also found in the interior.
Of creeping things the warm regions

are supposed to be prolific.
rible serpents,
whipped up
I
was ready
coils
the
of
had been told
the
earth
of the ter-
boas that hung from the trees and
and
others, until
around every
tree, or their
deer, the deadly tomagoff,
to see their folds
under every bush.
was
to be deprived of a
in the rivers
and lakes because
must beware
of scorpions
of the alligators,
and centipedes.
the alligators are few in number, small in
Now,
size,
swim
and
in fact,
and very
GUATEMALA.
Oi 2
deficient in courage.
every one in Guatemala, and I

I
was
able to kill only one,
feet in length.
hundred in Florida to
seldom got a shot at any
Tliere are a
much
and he was not over seven
larger one
came ashore
to lay
her eggs near a house on the Chocon plantation, and was
The musky odor
killed.
of the alligator is very strong
during the breeding season, and the eggs (which

eaten by the Caribs) have a very strong flavor.
are small,
less
end, and rough
than three inches long,
when
split in spiral strips.
foot long, are eaten,
The iguana
alligators, not
said,
by the Indios.
it is
have already described.
They
alike at each
dry, the shells contract,
Young
are
and
finally
more than
So abundant are
these delicious reptiles that they are sometimes brought

to Belize
by the dory-load
and one may
see several hun-
dred Caribs each carrying home one or two iguanas,
still
but with toes tied together, over the back.
Of
alive,
many kinds, from the harmless

which make a squeaking in the thatch at
other lizards there are

little
fellows
night, to the long-tailed, crested lizards which
hens' nests
rob the
and even make way with the small chickens.
Fresh-water turtles are abundant, and one, the hikatee,

is
excellent eating
let's,
of
so are its eggs, of the size of a pul-
which some two or three dozen are found
in a
nest six or eight inches below the surface of the sand.
The
sexes are easily distinguished by the shape of the
the female having a shorter and thicker one.

tle (including
shell) are
The
tail,
sea-tur-
the hawksbill, so valuable for the tortoise-
very abundant, and are caught in seines by the
use of floating decoys.
hundred and
fifty
Some
of these turtle
weigh one
pounds, and their steaks are white and
tender as the best veal.
have never been on the shore

and so can say nothing of the
at the egg-season,
am
but I
iguana.
much inferior to
common thing to capture
told they are

It is
have had a flapper bitten
wound has healed
373
taste
the eggs of the

sea-turtles
which
by sharks, and usually the
off
well, the soft scales covering the
stump
completely.
Of the
most troublesome are those which get

or behind the water-jars, and make a
frogs, the
into the cisterns
very loud and disagreeable noise.
On
the Atlantic coast snakes are
than on the
harmless,
Two
Pacific.
one
green,
seen once in a while
that
snakes
all
long,
the
less
common
snakes, quite
other reddish-brown,
are
but although the natives believe
are poisonous,
short, thick snake of
much
slender
dark
only the tomagoff,
color,
the
rattlesnake,
a
and
the coral snake are really venomous, and these are rarely
seen.
Stories are told of boas seen lying across a road
with head and
tail
concealed in the trees on either side
but they lack confirmation, and perhaps
may
be classed
with the absurd snake story told by Juarros.^
The supply of fish is good. The saw-fish grows to a

great size, and its teeth are very long and sharp.
The
jew-fish
is
good food.
large,
weighing several hundred pounds, and
is
Snappers, mullet, bone-fish, king-fish, and a
score of others of
which we know^ only the
local
names,
including one with solid red meat, are found in the rivers
and bays.
Of crustaceans, the crayfish takes the place of
the lobster, and a small crab
groves and in
swampy
common among
is
forests
larger crabs
shores in breeding-time, but not in such
come
Compendio,
t.
ii.
p. 94,
manto the
numbers as at
Belize.
^
the
Concerning the Tepulcuat.
GUATEMALA.
374
Scorpions are large and dreaded
more painful than
that of a hornet,
and not abundant even
but their sting
in their chosen haunts.
pedes are seen on the tree-stems, and
This articulate
during the rains.
and
in its motions,
not
is
and they are sluggish,
is
many
Centi-
drowned
are
by no means quick
a prey to the agile cockroach.
falls
Spiders are abundant, both in species and individuals
and Mr. Frederick Sarg,

beautifully,
of
Guatemala, has drawn most
and carefully described, many new

the most dreaded
species.
The hairy tarantula
is
on the rocks by the
river-sides are perhaps larger.
The
birds of
Guatemala are
but others found
of great beauty
and the
quetzal (Macropliarus mocino), the pavo {Meleagris

lata),
and the curassow, are perhaps unsurpassed
in splen-
The wild turkey was supposed
dor of plumage.
ocel-
to be
peculiar to Honduras, but has been found in Verapaz.
Toucans with enormous
bills
and
brilliant colors, parrots
even more brightly colored, especially the guacamayo

[Psittacus Tnacao),
and many
frequent the river-banks

social
and noisy
species of humming-birds,
the palomas, or doves, and the
yellow-tails are on the trees, especially
the qualm (Cecropia sp.)
the white cranes and the great
pelicans frequent the shoals
the johncrows (Cathartes
am-ed) congregate on the trees about the towns and serve

as scavengers
and owls, hawks, and eagles are
distinct
elements of the Guatemaltecan avifauna.
Not less brilliant than the birds

The superb blue butterfly (Morpho
trees with its
are the lepidoptera.

sp.) flits
wings spreading nine inches
smaller relatives,
black,
blue, carmine,
among
the
with this are
and yellow
some
with swallow-tails (Papilionidoe), others short and broad.
Among
the beetles are two of
immense
size,
the Her-

beetle {Dynastes Herciilis)
ciiles
cinus longimanus)
and the
in length,
one
beetle
gives
375
and the harlequin
{Aciô-
the former attains a size of five inches
Another
latter infests the rubber-trees.
of the Elateridse [Pyroj^horus nyctophorus)
most
and constant
brilliant
bright as the cacuyo of the
West
quite as
light,
All through
Indies.
the highlands wasp-nests of large size and curious form

are seen in the trees
and on
trees
ants also build mud-nests in the
Many
posts.
chapters might be written of
the habits of the Central American ants, which are per-
haps the most abundant of indigenous
which nms rapidly
" crazy ant,"
ingly without
any
object
insects,
the
little
in all directions, seem-
the zompopos, or leaf-cutters
(CEcodoma), whose trains are seen
through the
all
for-
bearing above them the great sail-like fragments of
ests,
leaf they
have cut to stock their homes
(white ant), which destroys dead-wood and

light
the fire-ant
and many others.
the comajen
is
intolerant of
The zompopos
are
very destructive in the vegetable garden, and indeed
would quickly destroy a cacao, orange, or

tion
if
coffee planta-
allowed to establish their immense burrow in the
Some
midst.
of the
burrows are thirty
feet in diameter,
and can only be destroyed by persistent

coal-tar,
and
struction.^
efforts,
fire,
carbolic acid being the best agents of de-
The
sandflies are almost
unendurable along
the coast at certain seasons, and so are the mosquitoes

(the genuine Culex mosquito, with striped
lancet) on the rivers.
ston
but
A bite
by
all
House-flies are not seen at Living-
through the country the " botlass "
this fly leaves
rounded by an inflamed
^
body and black
persistent black
circle.
See Appendix for account of
tlie
is
a pest.
spot,
Jiggers, beef-worms,
habits of the zompopos.
sur-
and
GUATEMALA.
376
coloradias are troublesome about the towns and where
there
is
The garrapatos
uncleanness.
{Ixodes hovis) are
often found on horses and other animals, and
Man
are as large as a coffee-bean.

pest
off,
especially
Among the
both as an
if
one has a monkey.
mollusks the conch
and
article of food
much sought
the
found in some
but
it
and the varied inhabitants
considerable variety,
and study by
is
noise.
king,
and
at least
pink pearl
a conch-soup
said (with
some
rea-
Madrepores, corals, seaof reefs, are
and are now the subject
two competent
(Medusce), Portuguese
star-fish
fine
I consider
son) to be a strong aphrodisiac.
fish
queen,
for cameo-cutting.
of the shells.
quite equal to oyster-soup
fans,
an instrument of
the two last being the best for eating, while the
first is
an important place
liolds
as
Three kinds are distinguished,
is
full
but they are so large that they are easily picked
horse
when
does not escape this
found in
of collection
observers.
Jelly-
men-of-war {Pliysalia), and
{Asterias) are abundant, and a naturalist would
have a good harvest on the cayos and

Honduras.
Passiflora
Brighami, Watson.
reefs of the
Bay
of
CENTRAL AMERICAN VOLCANOES.
CHAPTER
XII.
EAKTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES.
MUCH has been written

and feelings
ter
dwelling
among
the
of the effect
upon the charac-
of a people caused
mistake to suppose that the eye sees
It is a
by constant
more marked phenomena

all
of Nature.
that
is
im-
pressed on the retina, that the ear catches more than an

insignificant share of the innumerable sounds fallino; ceaselessly
on the tympanum, or that the mind interprets
of the marvels that each instant presents to
it.
many
Only the
educated eye, the practised ear, the cultivated mind, can
what the Creator has placed before it in this

whose wonders no human understanding,
appreciate
beautiful world
however taught,
is
capable
The worldly wisdom

breeds contempt "
humanity
is
of
the
Jungfrau.
wholly comprehending.
saying that " familiarity
applicable to the greater portion of
and dwellers among the Alps cease
indeed they ever saw, what

plain with
of
to see,
strikes the dweller
if
on the
awe as he gazes for the first time at the

To a thinking, studying man, familiarity is
the mother of awe.
In a region where the molecular forces, those mighty

slaves of a Divine Will, are
speak
working out of doors,
so to
where from the summit of a volcanic peak one
can count scores of others ranged on his right hand and
on his
left
where he can
see,
if
he has opened the
GUATEMALA.
378
door for such vision, the cooling globe wrinkling with

age, the force of contraction liquefying in fervent heat
the solid materials of the earth's crust and pouring out

into daylight the molten rock, or puffing out the dust of
ground
stones
to
powder
the
in
gigantic
mill,
heart, his brain, his very being, will be enlarged

reflections that
the Indio
who
come
to
him
same volcano.
His
is
very
fertile
where
by the
Not so
never seek the
feet
He knows
summit, where no maiz can grow.
ground
his
milpa on the lower
lazily cultivates his
slopes of this
moments.
in such
his hut
is
that the
placed
he has
nothing that an earthquake can destroy, and the showers

of ashes, while injuring his present crop, are a pledge of
increased fertility in the future

of lava he can run, should they
then from the streams
come
in his
way.
When
a more terrible outbreak of the great mass above

disturbs
natural
his
stolidity,
he attributes
upon
agency, and calls
it
his
to
some super-
especial saints
Have not
the protection due their votary.
him
for
the Central
Americans baptized their volcanoes, and have not these
huge Christians since that
members of the Church ?

The people who live
rite
in
been quiescent and proper
the midst of this region of
volcanic disturbances have not been elevated by
commu-
nion with this manifestation of the agencies of Nature.

Their religion
tions
is
not autochthonic
and are not tinged with the
Even
their choicest tradi-
come from the non-volcanic lands

their hell
an Eastern
is
no
religion
lurid
glow
fiery furnace,
introduced
to the eastward,
of the earth-fires.
and the apostles of

their
to
imagination
that supposed element of future punishment.
suggestion of fire-worship
appears,
it
is
Where
always called
EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES.

forth by the sun,
that
source of Hfe and
379
warmth and
growth.
And
yet, here is a
their
springs
country where volcanoes
cluster,
number reaching several hundred,

where hotare more common than the cold-springs in most
countries,
and where earthquakes are very frequent and
The volcanoes of the Hawaiian Archipelago

are larger, those of Java more destructive, and the equatorial group of South America is loftier
but here between Popocatepetl and Istaccuahuatl, the giants of the
plain of Anahuac, and the Costa Rican Turrialba extends
an unbroken line of mighty cones and gaping craters.
Somewhere on that line, smoke is ever rising and at
destructive.
night the mariner along the Pacific coast sees the beaconfires
lighted by no mortal hand.
We
must not expect
quakes
to
account, or even
careful
;
if
referred to at
native
find in
any
eruptions or earth-
notice, of
all, it
records
will be
much
quotation I have already given from the
where Cabracan
is
the mountains.
In the three centuries
'
said to be in the habit
as in the
Popul Vuh,"
of
shaking
and a half
since
Spain sent her educated sons to this land, with the

exception of some three hundred earthquakes and half a
hundred eruptions, we have no better record.

true that
While
it is
geology has existed as a science only within
the present century, yet one would suppose that a catas-
trophe causing the death of hundreds of people and the

destruction of
minuteness
much property would be
in the annals of the time
entered with some
but were
it
not for
the masses and church processions to calm the trembling
earth or appease the angry mountains, the worthy padres
would perhaps have
failed to notice these disturbances of
GUATEMALA.
380
Nature in their
we have
the
of
in matters
parochial
of
early
Even the
records.
experiences
vulcanology are
the
of
stories
Spaniards
mingled with devils
so
and unholy work that they are nearly incredible

the
volumes lying
stone
ten by the hand
about
Nature,
of
the
and
mountains, writ-
rather than
human
the
must be our guide.
chronicles,
VOLCANOES.
Stephens has described some of the Central American
volcanoes from
a geologist,
of
personal
and
the
in
but not with the pen
visits,
last
years
of
Empire able geologists^ redescribed some

peaks
but there are
still
the French
same
the
of
more than a score
of lofty
cones that no geologist has ever ascended, and there are
many
rising
from an almost unbroken
forest,
whose
vol-
Even
America
canic nature has not yet been fully determined.

in the present age of j)hysical research Central
has been sadly neglected

that some young
man
is
and hardenmg
sinews,
and we may express a
even
now
hojDe
training his thews
his constitution
by virtuous
and
absti-
nence and careful exercise, as well as training his mind

to interpret
and
his eye to see the rich harvest that here
awaits the proper explorer.
tempt the task.
No
feeble student need at-
Death surely waits
for
him
in
the
jungle, on the precipices, in the treacherous craters, even

in the posada to
which he brings
his exhausted frame,
should he be so foolhardy as to ascend a volcano in this

tropical climate.
^
Dollfus
Guatemala
et
Montserrat,
et Salvador.
Voyage geologique dans
Paris,
1868.
les
republiques
de

This
not the place to enter into a scientific descrip-
is
even the
of
tion
phenomena
me
that
little
if I
may
tempting
field
What
me
authorities
list
quotations from wdiat
faintly
when my
and
truly scientific explorer.^
my
excuse for inaccu-
personal observation
of
and they
fails,
any misstatements.
I give first
country
an enumeration of the earthquakes.
finally
Hot and mineral
springs are very frequent all over the
but as their chemical constituents and medi-
properties
have not been determined, and their
physical peculiarities are not noteworthy,
them by
in this l)rief survey
Indios do not seem to have

cinal virtues,
we may
made much
use of their mediof the vol-
have myself seen of the extinct
craters in the republic of Guatemala, I
have collected in
pass
with the remark that the
and turn at once to a catalogue
From what
canoes.
what a
of the principal volcanoes, then of their best-known
eruptions,
cinal
readers
can only claim to have consulted the best
must bear the blame

a
for the
is
my
he considered the poetry of
same time show
at the
there
of the volcanic
but perhaps
have said already will be
and
racies,
known
make some few
Mr. Darwin once wrote

geology.
is
America
of Central
pardon
will
381
am
convinced that
this list barely a tithe of the distinct
volcanic vents.
The Soconuscan volcano Istak has never
been
and some have doubted
described,
others
of the
whose names are
in
have been examined by geologists.

extreme
east
^
Not
end of
northwestern
America, we
find
it
extends
the
south
the
existence
its
list
Beginning at the
chain
in
Central
fifty-five
degrees
and while the volcanoes are generally

for the pseudo-geologists
recent lava or in everv railroad
who
see glacial action
embankment.
very few
in
line,
on every bed of
GUATEMALA.
382
there are several subsidiary lines at right angles to the
general trend,
IN GUATEMALA.
Name.
Tacana
Tajumulco^
Santa Maria (Exancul)
.
Cerro Quemado
....
Present State.
Last Eruption.
Quiescent
1855
Extinct
18,317(?)
"
11,415
Quiescent
1785
10,205
Extinct
Zunil
"
"
Santa Clara
San Pedro
Atitlan
Active
Acatenango
Fuego
Active
8,554
8,125
1852
9,870
1880
12,075
Quiescent
Agua
Pacaya (Pecul)
Cerro Redoudo
Tecuamburro
....
....
13,563
Extinct
12,337
Quiescent
1775
Extinct
3,550
"
"
Cliingo
Amayo
Mita
Suchitan, or Santa Catarina
Monte Rico
6,500
"
"
"
5,000
1469(?)
''
Ipala
IN
Ana
San Salvador 2
....
Cojutepeque, or Ilopango
5,460
SAN SALVADOR.
Apaneca
Izalco
8,390
"
"
Moyuta
Santa
Height.
San Vincente
Tecapa
Extinct
5,826
Active
6,000
"
"
"
constant
6,000
6,182
3,400
Quiescent
1643
7,600
Extinct
"
Usulutan
Chinameca
San Miguel
Conchagua
Quiescent
5,000
1844
Active
Quiescent
^
Vandecrehuchto.
6,244
3,915
Rockstroh.

IN
HONDURAS.
Name.
Present State.
Zacate Grande
Tigre
383
Congrehoy Peak
Last Eruption.
Height.
Extinct
2,000
"
2,632
Quiescent
8,040
Extinct
1,000
Bonito
Bay
Islands
IN
NICARAGUA.
Coseguina
Quiescent
1835
3,600
"
Chonco
....
El Viejo (Belcher, 1838)

Santa Clara
"
"
Telica
Active
Orota
Quiescent
Las Pilas
Axusco, or Asososco
5,562
4,700
1850
"
.
4,000
Extinct
Momotombo
Active
Momotombito
Guanapepe
Extinct
Nindiri
Quiescent
3,800
4,690
1852
7,000
1858
3,000
"
Masaya
Active
Morabacho
Extinct
Zapeton, or Zapatera
...
Ometepec
Madeira
5,250
"
Active
1883
Quiescent
5,050
5,000
IN COSTA RICA.
Orosi
Rincou de
...
la Vieja
Los Votos, or Poas

Barba
Turrialba
Chiripo
8,650
"
Extinct
Miravalles
Tenorio
Irazu, or Cartago
Quiescent
...
....
5,500
"
"
Active
Extinct
"
10,500
1726
11,450
12,533
GUATEMALA.
384
Besides the volcanoes contained in the preceding

there are in Columbia three volcanic peaks
list
Name.
Present State.
Height.
Pico Blanco
Extinct
11,740
Rovalo
Chiriqui
(?)
7,021
(?)
11,265
The volcanoes on the Atlantic coast have been little

Congrehoy Peak has the sharpest cone I have
noticed.
ever seen, almost
equal-
ling the impossible cones

in
Humboldt's
of
flip,
the
Congrehoy Peak.
photograph
was able
rising above the low-lying clouds
ing too securely to
my
ago,
only
was
defective.
Trust-
made
just before is quite

is
perhaps the
an eruption said to have taken place a few years
when
far as
the
a
and
the mountain-top
of
The sharpness
the mountain looks.
result of
that
:
;
camera, I did not measure the
angle, although the sketch I
as
regret
make
to
drawings
"^
Cnrf]illfiva,s
Cordilleras
the crater
Belize,
fell
in
and ashes were carried as
hundred and
fifty
miles.
Belonging
same system as Congrehoy and Bonito are the

Bay Islands. Of these, Utila shows streams of vesicto the
ular
basaltic lava,
older basalt
and fragments of a more compact,
but I have found neither on this island
nor on Roatan any signs of a crater.

is,
however,
distinctly
volcanic,
The formation
and apparently
of
period anterior to the eruptions which built the Island
Oahu in the Hawaiian Group,

I judge by the
amount of decomposition and degradation, the lavas
of
in both cases being similar
character.
composition and physical
385
have mentioned the deposits of volcanic sand found

on the north shore of the Lago de Izabal, in a region
I
surrounded by wliat are thought to be calcareous mountains
and
comb Range
may add
that several peaks in the Cocks-
of British
Honduras appear from a distance
of perhaps forty miles to be volcanic cones.
Passing over the traditional outbreaks of the Central
American volcanoes
Conquest, the
the
before
recorded eruption was that of Masaya in 1522
Spanish chroniclers
tell
tempt of the Dominican

to
and
friar Blase
companions
his
an iron bucket from
(lava) in
The bucket,
El Infierno de Masaya, or Hell of Masaya.
the lava
and the
a very amusing story of the at-
draw up the molten gold
as well as the chain
earliest
which held
melted on approaching
it,
and the pious Churchmen, instead of being en-
riched by the precious metal, were poorer by the cost of
According to the same authority, the
the expedition.
Indies at certain seasons cast living maids into the crater

to appease the
that
fire,
it
might not break forth and
injure their crops.
This would indicate a continued state
of activity, without
an outbreak from the
in the
Halemaumau
ous that in Yucatan
crater,
of the volcano Kilauea.
the
Mayas
much
as
It is curi-
maidens to
sacrificed
water by casting them into the sacred well or Cenote of
Chichen Itza
and a similar
Ilopango in modern times.
is
has been
and in 1858 another
tion took place,
cone
sacrifice
directly over the
made
Lake
source of water in that dry land
slight one.
Masaya,
of
and
encroaching upon the area of the lake.
its
the
Brasseur de Bourbourg,
25
ii.
44.
The
only
ejections are
But
I will
the eruptions in a tabular form for convenience

1
at
In 1772 the next real erup-
put
GUATEMALA.
)86
LIST OF
THE EECORDED ERUPTIONS IN CENTRAL

AMERICA.
Year.
Volcano.
1522
Masaya
Fuego
1526
1565
1581
1582
1585 and 1586
1614
1623
1643
1651
1664
1668
Pacaya
Fuego
"
"
"
"
San Vincente
Pacaya
"
"
1670
(?) in Nicaragua
1671
Pacaya
"
1677
1686
1699
1705
1706
1707
1710
1717
1723
1726
1732
1737
1764
1770
1772
1775
1775
1785
1798
1799
1803
Fuego
"
"
"
"
"
"
two eruptions
Irazu
Fuego
Momotombo
Izalco (formation of)
Masaya
(?) in Nicaragua
Pacaya
Cerro
Quemado
Izalco
Fuego
Izalco
1821
(?) in Nicaragua
1829
Fuego
1835
Coseguina
EARTHQUAKES
A]!fD
VOLCANOES.
Year,
Volcano.
1844
San Miguel
1847
1850
1852
Telica
( -0
i^
387
Nicaragua
Momotombo
Tacana
Fuego
"
"
1855
1855
1856
1857
1858
Masaya
1869
Izalco
1870
Ilopaugo (Lago
1880
1880
cle)
Fuego
Omotepec
1883
EARTHQUAKES.
I
my
do not propose to weary
readers with a
list
of
the three hundred earthquakes that have been thought

severe enough to be recorded
but a picture of Central
America would be unrecognizable without some color of

the natural disturbances that are inseparably connected
in the popular
mind with
this part of the continent.
In 1541 the capital of the kingdom of Guatemala,
Ciudad Vieja, was a young and flourishing

in July,
1524, between the mountains
in the place called
city.
now
Founded
Agua and Fuego,
Almolonga ("water-fountain"), with

James of the Knights of
the proud title of " City of Saint
Guatemala,"
it
had grown
numerous misfortunes,
to
to a respectable size, in spite of
which Juarros devotes an entire
chapter of his "Compendio."
An
earthquake in 1526, so
severe, says Bernal Diaz del Castillo, that
men
could not
stand, seems to have frightened the population less than
did an enormous lion

clad slopes of
Agua
in
(puma
?)
which descended the
forest-
1532 and made great havoc, until a
reward of twenty-five gold dollars and a hundred fanegas
GUATEMALA.
388
of
wheat induced a peasant
to kill the monster.
Politics
made more disturbance than

The Conquistador Alvarado was
recently dead, his widow, Dona Beatriz de la Cueva, had
claimed the government, and the obsequies of the dead
and the ceremonials of the new ruler were agitating the
city when the sudden and terrible destruction of both
Accounts of the catastrophe
ruler and her capital came.
which some one has
vary, as is usual with all history,
"
probabilities and possibilities extracted
wisely called
"
from lies
but from nine extant descriptions and an
had, as
usually the case,
is
the forces of Nature.
examination of the physical marks which three centuries
have not wholly

fair story of the
effaced, I believe the following to be
event
always a rainy month in Guatemala, and
September
on Thursday, the 8th, a storm began which was violent
is
even for that place and season.
and continued
Two
day.
earthquake
to fall all that
Rain
called the Volcan de
felt,
in torrents,
day and Friday and Satur-
hours after dark on the
shock was
fell
last
day a severe
and from Hunapu, since
Agua, came an avalanche
of water,
immense rocks and entire forests. The terror of the earthquake and the roar of the unseen torrent
wrought the excitement of the inhabitants to the utmost.
Soon the deluge reached the city the streets were filled to
overflowing, and the houses were beaten by the waves
carrying with
it
and battered by the great
trees brought
by the
torrent.
was that of Dona Beatriz,

She was preparing for
the widow of the Adelantado.
bed but startled by the earthquake and the terrible noise,
Among
the houses most exposed
endeavored to obtain safety in a small chapel near by,

and while clinging to the crucifix was killed by the fall

of
389
Her house was uninjured.

All
very
of
life
was
great
the loss
six hun-
chapel wall.
the
through the city
dred Spaniards perished, and the loss of Indios and Negroes
was
far greater.
In the morning the remains of the city
trees, rocks, and mud of the

was then that the disheartened survivors
remove a league eastward, to the present
hardly appeared above the

avalanche.
decided
It
to
Antigua.
The earthquake did not destroy the city, still less

was there an eruption of water from the volcano but
;
the crater of the long-extinct cone had been

the rains, and the tremor shattered the loose
and
crater-lip
let the
great body of water
side of the mountain.
filled
dam
down
There was water
in
with
of the
the steep
the crater
long before, and the crater to-day shows marks of the
The destruction of the

city was considered a judgment of Heaven upon Dona
Beatriz for certain impious remarks made in her bereavement, and it was with difficulty that her family were
broken wall and emptied lake.
able
bury her remains
to
On May
23, 1575,
in consecrated ground.
San Salvador (Cuscatlan) was
stroyed by an earthquake which also greatly
Antigua.
de-
damaged
Afterwards the latter city had an experience
that would have discouraged the people of any Northern
was badly shaken, and on

Then it was rebuilt enough to
town, for in 1576 and 1577

Dec. 23, 1586, destroyed.
it
be again shattered on Feb. 18, 1651, and again on Feb. 12,
1689, and Sept. 29, 1717.
The day
Antigua was destroyed completely
March
4,
then the
while.
after this last shock
but for all that, on

1751, the chronicler writes " many ruins," and
centre of
disturbance goes
southward
for a
In April, 1765, several towns were destroyed in
GUATEMALA.
390
San Salvador, and the next month many in the Department of Chiquimula in Guatemala while during the fol;
lowing October the " earthquake of San Rafael " shook
many Guatemaltecan towns to pieces.

On July 29, 1773, Antigua was again
such a thing was possible
destroyed,
if
and although her inhabitants
momentary discouragement and permitted

the Government to be removed to the Valley of the Hermit-
yielded to the
age, they have never allowed the ruins to
and to-day the
become
traveller gazes in astonishment at the
shattered walls of nearly eighty churches
ment
of
desolate,
the town.
still
the orna-
The Antigua that once sheltered

its situation and
eighty thousand inhabitants, beautiful in

distinguished by
its
tive in its ruins
its
architectural display,
still
is
attrac-
forty thousand inhabitants go in
and
out under the shadow of the volcano and await the next
destruction,
which may come to-morrow or years hence
the lesson that

self
is
past
is
all
forgotten.
that the ruined churches, so fresh after
mythe sun and

confess
rains of a century have penetrated their shattered walls,
inspired no apprehension of danger
great interest rather than warning
they were objects of
and
it
was no strange
thing that those born in that charming place should cling

to
it
still.
In 1774 nearly
all
San Salvador were
the towns on the Balsam Coast of
ruined.
hope
my readers understand
the delicate gradation in the terms used in speaking of
A place is
misfortunes of earthquake countries.
" shaken," then " shattered, then " ruined," and finally
" destroyed " by the visit of a temblor ; and it is a very
the
'
nice matter to decide exactly where one term
ate
and another
not.
is
appropri-
391
In February, 1798, San Salvador was badly shaken
and after a rather long
rest,
broken by " no great shakes,"
two very destructive earthquakes were

October, 1839.
was destroyed
greatly ruined
On
Sept. 2, 1841, Cartago, in Costa Rica,
in
June, 1847, the Balsam Coast was
on
May
16, 1852, the disturbances occurred
northward, in the vicinity of Quezaltenango

1854, San Salvador was destroyed,
the last time.
March and
felt in
On Nov.
6,
on April 16,
not, however, for
1857, Cojutepeque was badly
shaken, and the same misfortune came upon La Union
The following December houses were

shattered in Escuintla and Amatitlan
Dec. 19, 1862,
Antigua, Amatitlan, Escuintla, Tecpan Guatemala, and
Aug.
25, 1859.
the neighboring towns were severely shaken
1870, Chiquimulilla was
done in Cuajinicuilapa
destroyed, and
month
June 12,
much damage
later a severe
earthquake
was felt in the Departments of Santa Rosa and Jutiapa

March 4, 1873, San Salvador and the neighboring towns
were destroyed,
a process they must have become quite
accustomed to by this time,
and
eighteen months later
was the turn of Patzicia to be destroyed, while Chimaltenango, Antigua and the vicinity were only ruined.
The
year 1878 was marked by the destruction of several towns
it
San Salvador, and on Dec. 27 and 30, 1879,

most of the small towns in the neighborhood of the Lago
de Uopango were overturned.
Hardly a month passes without some slight tremor in
in Usulutan,
western Guatemala.
In
recent
years
so
much more
attention has been paid to seismology, or the observation
and record
of the time, duration,
quake shocks, that the longer

increase of slight tremors
and direction
lists
but this
seem
is
of earth-
to indicate the
not probable, and
GUATEMALA.
392
certainly the volcanic eruptions have diminished in force
Fuego, the most important, lays claim to
and frequency.
twenty-one of the
fifty
American volcanoes
recorded eruptions of the Central
but during the present century
it
has cast out merely sand, and no lava streams.
have never had the experience of a very severe earth-
quake, although I have had the pictures swing on the

walls and the plastering crack and
fall
therefore I
borrow the description of an earthquake, that the

given
may seem more
just
is
The night of the 16th of April, 1854, will ever be
''
one of sad and bitter
On
list
The following account
real.
considered very truthful
must
memory
for the people of Salvador.
that unfortunate night our happy and beautiful capital
was made a heap of ruins. Movements of the earth were

felt on Holy Thursday, preceded by sounds like the rolling
of
heavy artillery over pavements and
like distant thunder.
The people were a little alarmed in consequence of this

phenomenon, but it did not prevent them from meeting
in the churches to celebrate the solemnities of the day.
On
Saturday
The people
celebrate
all
was
and confidence was restored.
quiet,
of the neighborhood assembled as usual to
the
The night
Passover.
of
Saturday was
was also the whole of Sunday. The heat,

was considerable, but the atmosphere was calm
tranquil, as
it is
and
true,
serene.
For the
first
nothing unusual occurred
three hours of
the evening
but at half-past nine a severe
shock of an earthquake, occurring without the preliminary

noises,
alarmed the whole
houses and
city.
made encampments
Many
in
families left their
the public squares,
while others prepared to pass the night in their respective

court vards.
393
" Finally, at ten minutes to eleven, without premonition
any kind, the earth began to heave and tremble with
of
such fearful force that in ten seconds the entire city was
The crashing
prostrated.
of houses
and churches stunned
the ears of the terrified inhabitants, while a cloud of dust
from the
falling ruins enveloped
them
in a pall of im-
Not a drop of water could be got

and suffocating, for the wells
penetrable darkness.
to relieve the half-choking
up or made
The
clock-
tower of the cathedral carried a great part of that
edifice
and fountains were

with
in
it
its
filled
The towers
fall.
dry.
San
of the church of
Francisco crushed the episcopal oratory and part of the
Santo Domingo was buried be-
palace.
The church
neath
towers, and the college of the Assumption
its
entirely ruined.
of
The new and
separated in the centre, and
its
walls
fell
were rendered uninhabitable.
all
remark that the walls
left
Merced
the
of
outward
Of the private houses a few were
ground.
but
beautiful edifice of the
was demolished, the church
university
was
It
to the
left standing,
is
worthy
standing are old ones
of
all
modern construction have fallen.

The public
of the Government and city shared the common
those of
edifices
destruction.
" The devastation was effected, as

first
ten
seconds
for
we have
said, in the
although the succeeding shocks
were tremendous, and accompanied by fearful rumblings

beneath our
feet,
they had comparatively
for the reason that the first
ravages.
Solemn and
had
terrible
left
but
was the
trifling results
little
for their
picture presented
on the dark funereal night of a whole people clustering

in the plazas
to
Heaven
and on their knees crying with loud voices
for mere}', or in agonizing accents calling for
GUATEMALA.
394
their
whom
and friends
children
buried beneath the ruins.
they believed to be
A heaven opaque and ominous
a movement of the earth rapid and unequal, causing a

indescribable
terror
an intense sulphurous odor
filling
the atmosphere, and indicating an approaching eruption

of the volcano
streets filled
threatening walls; a
with ruins, or overhung by
suffocating cloud of
rendering respiration impossible,
dust almost
such was the
spectacle
presented by the unhappy city on that memorable and
awful night.
"
hundred boys were shut up
valids crowded the hospitals,
in the college,
many
and the barracks were
infull
The sense of the catastrophe which must have

them gave poignancy to the first moment of reflection after the earthquake was over.
It was believed that
at least a fourth part of the inhabitants had been buried
beneath the ruins. The members of the Government,
of soldiers.
befallen
however, hastened to ascertain, so far as practicable, the

extent of the catastrophe, and to quiet the public mind.
was found that the loss of life was much less than was
supposed and it now appears probable that the number
of killed will not exceed one hundred, and of wounded,
It
Fortunately the earthquake has not been followed
fifty.
by
rains,
which gives an opportunity
archives, as also
many
of the valuables contained in the
dwellings of the citizens.

still
to disinter the public
The movements of the earth

and the people, fearing
continue, with strong shocks
a general swallowing up of the site of the city, or that
may be
buried under some sudden eruption of the volcano,
are hastening away."
In 1859 the city was again in order,
as the seat of government, after
remove
it
it
an ineffectual attempt to
to the plain of Santa Tecla, ten miles distant.
EARTHQUAIvES AND VOLCANOES.
The
is,
395
birth of the volcano of Izalco occurred in 1770.
It
indeed, only a lateral opening of the volcano of Santa
Ana, which,
^tna,
like
a mother of mountains.
is
San
Marcellino, Naranjo,Tamasique, Aguila, San Juan, Launita,
and Apaneca
of the
seem to be her
all
main volcano was, previous
At
rancho.
Near the base
offspring.
to 1770, a large cattle
the close of 1769 the people on this estate
were alarmed by subterranean noises and earthquake

shocks,
which continued
about half
emitting
a mile from
fire,
in
the
so terrible a neighbor
boys,
who came
and
loudness
opened
earth
the houses on the
hacienda,
The house-people
smoke, and lava.
from
it
increase
February 23, when
until
severity
to
fled
but the vaqueros, or cow-
new
daily to see the
monster, declared
grew worse and worse, throwing out more smoke and
flame daily, and that while the flow of lava sometimes
stopped for a while, vast quantities of sand and stones were
thrown out
instead.
For more than a century
this action
has gone on, and the ejecta have formed a cone more than
six
At
in-
from ten to twenty minutes, loud explosions
oc-
thousand feet high, or higher than Vesuvius.
tervals of
cur, with dense
By night
smoke and a puff
the view from Sonsonate
cloud of smoke
is
of cinders
is
seem to ignite vapors, which flash

stones roll
down
very attractive, as the
Well may the
always active
darker mass and
like lightning.
(optical, probably),
Salvador," the lighthouse
it is
this
As
these
the steep sides of the cone, they leave a
some distance
the caldron boils over, sending

the cone.
stones.
illuminated by the molten mass within,
and the red-hot stones shoot through
faint track
and
rills
and sometimes
of molten lava
sailors call
of Salvador.
down
this " El faro de
Like Stromboli,
and while most volcanoes are noted for
GUATEMALA.
396
the irregularity of their eruptions, Izalco
(1798, 1869, 1870).

Pacific, exhibits this
San Miguel
rising
dred
is
the largest active volcano in San Salvador,

of perhaps sixty-five hun-
Like most of the Central American volcanoes,
feet.
is
a very regular cone, and
beautiful colors render
From
class.
exceedingly
The volcano of Tanna, in the western

same pulsating character.
from the plain to a height
mass
its
is
though sometimes acting with unusual violence
regular,
it
form,
its
size,
and
one of the grandest objects of
the deep green of the forest
its
which surrounds
base, the color fades to the light green of the upland
its
grass, then to the deep red of the scoriae,
Above
grayish-white.
smoke
floats lazily
away.
ever-changing cloud
the
all,
Of
American volcanoes,
published
many
years ago by
of
have selected the account
Don
ascent of San Miguel, because
is
the accounts of ascents
all
of Central
and the top
Carlos Gutierrez of his
seems to convey a
it
fair
idea of the simplest form of mountain-climbing and of the
appearance of an active cone.

"
We
noon
He
San Miguel on the
started from the city of
of the 7th of
says
after-
December, 1848, directing our course
towards the western border of the plain where
dark bulk of the volcano.
At eleven
rises the
o'clock at night
we
reached the foot of the mountain, distant four leagues from
Although the moon shone with extraordinary
the town.
brilliancy
we
and the night was one
considered
it
of serenest beauty, yet
safer to take shelter in an Indian hut for
the remainder of the nig-ht than trust ourselves amonoj the

fissures of
At four
the mountain
in the morning,
in the treacherous moonlight.
with the
earliest
commenced our ascent on horseback.
dawn
We
of day,
we
however soon
found our course so much impeded by masses of lava, over

which
it
was
397
we were
to force the animals, that
difficult
compelled to dismomit and pursue our journey on foot.
About half way up the mountain the dikes of lava became

less frequent, and the ground more firm and open, and,
although quite precipitous, yet not
This oj)en
belt,
ascent.
of
difficult
however, does not extend to the summit,
and long before we reached
it
we were again driven upon
the beds of sharj), rough, and unsteady lava.

"
Our course now lay through a deep channel formed

between two vast currents of lava, composed of enormous
crags, which in 1844 had flowed out from fissures in the
We
side of the volcano.
these walls of rock
had not proceeded far between
when we found
the scoriae beneath
our feet so yielding and unsteady that wê could scarcely
Frequently we
retain our foothold.
yards, thus losing in a
moment
cost us great labor to accomplish.

efforts
slid
back three or four
the advance which
it
Nevertheless, after
many
and through much exertion, and after having
fered several severe
falls,
throat of the mountain.
we
had
suf-
succeeded in reaching the
Here the lava was
solid
and the
and though the slope was very steep and dan-
scoriae firm
gerous, yet
we found
it
easier to proceed here
than over
the soft and yielding ashes below.
" About mid-day
we reached
the
summit proper
of the
mountain and stood on the edge of the great crater,

which is surrounded by a wall of immense rocks, irregular in height,
The
and having a
circuit of a mile
area within these strange bulwarks
descendino:,
we found with alarm
that
and a
level
half.
but on
was traversed
varying from one
it
by profound fissures,
yards in width, from which escaped dense
in every direction
foot to five
is
clouds of sulphurous smoke.
About
in the centre of this
GUATEMALA.
398
mouth
area was the yawning, active crater, or

crater, or
mouth
of the volcano.
any moment
fissures
to sink into
the
Our guide peremptorily
refused to advance farther, insisting that

at
of
some one
which yawned beneath the
we were
of the
liable
numerous
superficial crust.
He
added further that in the neighborhood of the crater the

gases were so pungent and the sulphurous odor so overwhelming that we could not escape suffocation.
" The alarm with which our guide endeavored to inspire
us did not, however, get the better of our curiosity, and
we determined
to reach the crater.
Providing ourselves
with long staves with which to test the nature of the
At every
ground, we advanced carefully and slowly.
step
the clouds of smoke became more dense, and the odor of

the gases escaping from the multitudinous fissures more
overpowering.
Our
efforts,
however, were amply repaid
by the sight which met our eyes when we
of
flame,
before, I
had seen the volcano
of living fire
throwing
out
floods
and
of
its
it
tame
us.
in
comparison with that before
have described.
is
paled and grew
The
It is of irregular width, in
;
of this orifice, or cleft,

it.
One
is
which
some places
in others, fifty or sixty,
dividing the greater crater from side to side.
fathom
crater, as
in the centre of the level area
only ten or twelve yards broad
of Izal-
fiashing tongues
incandescent lava
but sublime as was the spectacle,
before observed,
reached
Nothing could be grander or
the brink of the crater.
more magnificent.
" A few months
co, with its crown
finally
The depth
so great that the eye cannot
sees only a vast gulf of
molten lava,
over which plays a pale and sulphurous flame, reflected

again and again from burned and blistered rocks, fan-

tastic in
199
shape and capricious in position, which form the
walls of the
Thick whorls of smoke drifted up
orifice.
from
all
sides, so that at
guish
my
companion, distant only a few yards.
scribable
magnetic
rivet our eyes
times I was unable to distm-
influence
or
fascination
An
inde-
seemed to
on the molten floods surging below
us,
and
which, from their roar and vibrations, seemed to threaten
momentarily to
rise
and overwhelm
us, as if the
volcano
were on the verge of eruption.

"
Our contemplations of this fearful orifice were therethe smoke and odor overpowered us
and
a few moments we were forced to abandon our posi-
fore brief,
in
Volcan de Coseguina, from the Sea.
tions
and seek a breath of pure
We
air at a distance.
returned rapidly to the place where
we had
left
our guide
and casting a farewell glance over the strange area before

us,
commenced our
descent, reaching
o'clock in the evening,
Of the eruptions
none in the
have surpassed that of Cose-
This mountain forms the eastern gate-
of the Gulf of Fonseca,
Conchagua
other side of the rather narrow entrance.

bly high (3,600
by
its
at six
weary and exhausted."

the Central American volcanoes
historical period
guina in 1835.
ward
of
San Miguel
feet), it rises directly
irregular
outline,
scarred
rising on the
Not remarka-
from the
slopes,
and
sea,
and
desolate
GUATEMALA.
400
appearance conveys the impression of a greater than

real mass.
On
its
the 20th of January, 1835, the disturb-
ance began with very loud explosions, heard for a hundred
Above the mountain
leagues.
an inky cloud which
rose
spread outwards precisel}^ as Pliny describes the terrible

cloud that rose above Vesuvius in 79, spreading like an
Italian
pine.
From
this
column
produced either by the
sand darted lightning-flashes,

friction of the
cles,
or
immense quantity
sudden
by the
minerals into the
much
heated vapor and
of
of
rough mineral
projection
of
cooler atmosphere.
spread, the light of the sun
parti-
hot gases and
As the cloud
was obscured, everything
looked sickly in the yellow light, and the falling sand
and lungs. For two days the explogrew more frequent and louder, while the eruption
of sand increased
and on the third day the terrible noises
were loudest in an almost absolute darkness. The rain of
irritated both eyes
sions
sand continued until a deposit of several feet had formed

for
many
leagues around the crater.
gua, more than a hundred

several inches deep, and
it
At Leon,
in Nicara-
miles away, the sand

fell
in
was
Vera Cruz, Jamaica,
Santa Fe de Bogota, and over an area nearly two thou-
At Belize the noise of the exwas so loud that the commandant mustered his
troops and manned the forts, thinking there was a naval
sand miles in diameter.
plosions
action off the anchorage.

noises were heard,
For eight hundred miles these
and the vibrations near the volcano
must have been indeed
terrible.
We
can credit the ac-
counts of the terror of the wild things of Nature as well

as of
human
beings.
For thirty leagues around, the
as-
tounded people believed that the Last Judgment had

come, and in the darkness, thick with the falling ashes.

groped hither and thither, bearing
crosses,
401
and uttering
prayers inaudible to themselves in the crash of elements.
At the end
and ex-
of forty-three hours the earthquakes
plosions ceased,
and with a strong wind the ashes were
gradually blown
away from
The
the atmosphere.
ing light of day showed a gloomy outlook.
had opened a mile
in diameter,
a crater
and vast streams
had flowed into the gulf on one
side,
of lava
and into the ocean
While the verdure was gone from the land,
on the other.
pumice covered the sea

Terrible as
was not
Ashes cov-
On Coseguina
ered the country on every side.
return-
was
this
for a
hundred and
fifty miles.
outbreak, the explosive violence
so great as of the eruption
from some unknown
vent whose deposits are about Quiche in Guatemala, in

the valley of the Chixoy, and elsewhere
in
some
prehistoric time
thrown out sand and pumice
greater quantity than did Coseguina, as

deposits about the
me
by the
see
Lago de Amatitlan
of the
it
occurs
that the so-called volcanic lakes of Central America
deserve a short notice.
would not claim that there are
not here genuine pit-craters
On
lagos or lagiinas.
volcanoes are craters

others,
filled
with water and called
the summit of
filled
many
of the extinct
with water, as Ipala and
and as Agua was before the destruction
crater-lip in
are
we
in
Lago de Amatitlan.
With the mention

to
and Pacaya has
many
1541
of the
while in San Salvador and Nicaragua
lakes, usually of small extent, but
sometimes
so large as to mislead the casual observer as to their ori-
gin,
though of undoubtedly volcanic nature.
class is the
this last
Lago de Masaya, from whose deep pool the
people of the neighboring village obtain
Coatepeque
Of
is
all their
water.
another volcanic lake, whose walls are so

26
GUATEMALA.
402
steep that they can be descended only at certain points by
means
of ladders
there are
many
and steps cut
pits,
in the lava rock.
Finally
sometimes no more than a hundred
feet in diameter, but of very great depth, and
filled
some-
times with fresh water, but more commonly with saline
waters so strongly impregnated as to be undrinkable.

The great lakes of Amatitlan and Atitlan are not certainly volcanic, although their
hot-springs and guarded by volcanoes,
that
is,
result
are dotted with
shores
they
are not,
actual craters; but the former seems to be the
a subsidence caused perhaps by the removal
of
from lower layers by eruptions of Pacaya,

of no considerable depth, while good authority
of material
and
it
is
has considered the Lago de Atitlan the result of
damming
up a valley and streams by the masses of the volcanic

group of the same name. A glance at the map of this lake
(p. 154) as given by the French geologists whose opinion
is
quoted, will show that the volcanoes occupy a position
not far from the geometrical centre of the Lago, or where
they should be
if
pare with this,
the lake
you
if
was an ancient
will,
crater.
Com-
the plan of an undoubted
volcanic lake, that of Ilopango in San Salvador.
body
of
as
also the Great
is
water
is
This
not only the seat of volcanic eruptions,
Lake
of Nicaragua, but probably
fills
a depression that has been the result of the coalescence

of
several
points
of
eruption.
have before
interesting report to the Guatemaltecan
my
friend
Edwin Rockstroh
me
the
Government by
of his observations
the eruption of one of these craters in 1880.
made on
The lake
is
9,200 metres wide from east to west, and 7,300 metres
from north to south, with an area
of 54.3 kilometres.
Completely surrounded by precipitous mountains, inter-

ruptecl
only
on
the
by
southeast
the
403
narrow gorge
through which the waters of the lake are discharged,

it
receives
as
its
no important
emissary
is
of
affluents
much
greater volume at
than these insignificant brooks,

terranean springs,
from the surface
indeed one
it is
all
and
seasons
probably fed by sub-
of these, near the south
ilVt'jf
Lago de llopango,
1880.
shore, enters with such force as to cause a ripple
surface of the lake.
Soundings indicate a cup-like bottom
with an extreme depth of
The
(209.26 metres).
and
feet,
in
on the
less
than seven hiuidred feet
level of the lake has often changed,
1880 the surface-level
fell
more than thirty-four
leaving exposed stumps of trees encrusted with cal-
careous deposits.
It
was before the
last eruption well
stocked with fish of the varieties called by the people
who
lived near
by mojarra, hurrito (both species
of the
GUATEMALA.
404
genus
At times an
cldinholo.
asphyxiated
partly
sulphurous gases
of
tion
and
Heiôs), ^;e^?esca,
driving them to the shores, where they
What
the fishermen.
greater disturbances
fell
the
a prey to
is
from
told in the following extract

;
the author,
Don
Camillo Gal-
van, formerly Visitador-General, writes as follows
The people
fish,
the fishermen did on occasion of
a Guatemaltecan journal
"
erup-
around the lake, Cojute-
of the pueblos
when the
which they knew by the
peque, Texacuangos, and Tepezontes, say that
earthquakes came from the lake,
was a sign that the monster
lord
disappearance of
fish, it
of those regions
who
eating the
and probably would consume them
fish,
dwelt in the depths of the lake was
shortly, unless provided

diet
worthy
of his
allay hunger.
with a more delicate and juicy
power and voracity
the monster only eats
The
all
fish as
men
for they say that
eat fruit, to refresh
and
by the
fish
natives, deeply afflicted
famine, the failure of an article of commerce and their
ordinary
Then the
diet,
collected at the
sorcerers {los hrujos)
throw flowers and
fruits
command of their chiefs.

commanded the peoj)le to
the
into
lake
if
the trem-
blings continued, they were to cast in animals, preferring

conies
then
{Lepus Douglassli), taltusas [Geomys

armadillos
cancrworus).
{Dasyjms),
and
lieterodus),
mapachines
(Procyon
These animals must be caught alive and
cast living into the water, under penalty of
hanging with the vine zuiak.
If
no
less
than
some days passed, and
the tremors continued, and the fish did not come out of
their caves, they (the brujos) took a girl of
from
six to
nine years old, decked her with flowers, and at midnight
the wizards took her to the middle of the lake and cast
1
La Sociedad Economica, No.
6,
March
14, 1880.

her
in,
neck.
405
bound hand and foot and with a stone fast to her

The next day, if the child appeared upon the sur-
and the tremors continued, another victim was cast

into the lake with the same ceremonies.
face
''Even in the years 1861 and 18G2, when I visited

these towns, they told me, though with
much
reserve,
that the people of Cojutepeque and Chinameca kept this
barbarous custom to prevent the failure of the
Near the end
of
November, 1879, a
series
fish."
of earth-
quakes shook the lake (more than six hundred were
and on Jan.
counted),
about four
four and
On
feet.
11,
1880, the waters had risen

day, between
the next
half-j)ast
seven in the afternoon, 13,790,000
half-past
cubic metres of water escaped from the outlet of the lake,
making a stream
which received
plantations on
is
volume than the Seine at
The
Rhine at Basle.
Paris or the
As
of greater
this
did
torrent,
damage
great
Jiboa,
to
the
were accompanied by the
discharge of sulphuretted hydrogen,
On
river
banks.
its
usual, the earthquakes
tities as to
little
now
in such
quan-
be very unpleasant at the city of San Salvador.
the 9th of January there appeared floating on the sur-
face
numerous
flakes of a black
which
sulphide,
slight explosion.
in
contact
On
foam composed
of ferric
with flame burned with a
the 20th, at eleven o'clock in the
evening, a great disturbance was noticed in the midst of

the lake, and the next morning a pile of rocks was seen,
from whose midst arose a column
of vapor.
than a month this vapor column was

pile of rocks
all
and the
near the centre of the lake increased, while
was heated and the sulphurous vapors extended

Beyond this no permanent
the neighborhood.
the water
over
visible,
For more
GUATEMALA.
406
volcano was formed above the level of the lake (1,600
above the
feet
It is
sea).
dangerous to form conclusions as to the general
course of volcanic action anywhere, for science
much
in the
is
very
dark as to the causes of eruptions and earth-
quakes, as to the condition of the interior of our globe,
whether
fluid or solid,
and
also as to
whether the lavas
poured out during an eruption have been
fluid since the
earth was formed, or have been suddenly melted either as

cause or effect of
what we
American volcanic
call
region, as
an eruption.
was
of this chapter, little has been
exploration,
tific
and the
In the Central
stated at the beginning
done in the
facts recorded,
way
of scien-
beyond popular
accounts of some especial disturbance, are so meagre that
no large space would be required to present them to the

This
reader.
is
not, however, the place to enter into a
and
scientific discussion,
must content myself with a few
bare statements.
In the
the volcanoes of the country discharge
first place,
both ashes and lava, the latter being most frequently trachytic.
in
Basaltic lavas occur, though less frequently than
Mexico and farther northward
and the columnar
ture seen so well at Regla in Mexico
On
mala.
is
struc-
very rare in Guate-
the other hand, pumice and obsidian, which are
classed with the acid or trachytic lavas, are abundant, the

latter furnishing material
has
many
mala near the boundary

is
former
applications in the arts of the present day.
have seen both basalt and

sand
for knives, while the
common on
Another feature
basaltic rapilli in
of
eastern Guate-
San Salvador, and
basaltic
the southern coast.
of the Central
American volcanoes
their remarkable regularity of form.
This
is
is
due to the
;;

and lava of
fact that the emissions consist of ash
more
slight
In the Hawaiian Islands, where the basaltic lava
fluidity.
is
407
than in any other volcanic region, the lava-
fluid
streams often flow for months, and extend
fifty or sixty
miles from the crater, building by successive eruptions a
cone of great diameter in proportion to their height
Mauna Loa having

level,
a diameter of ninety miles at the sea-
with a height of
and a slope
than fourteen thousand
less
The eruptions
of the
of masses of rock
which
of about seven degrees.
American volcanoes are mainly
are piled regularly about the base, in this
way
the height, and great quantities of sand which
and
terstices,
the in-
which
growing cone and cements
No
gether the sand and larger fragments.
modern times, has been found

distance from its source.
at
least of
From
increasing
fills
finally of lava in a thick, viscid state
clings to the slopes of the
feet
to-
lava-stream, at
any considerable
the specimens I collected in some of the ravines
which traverse the older
deposits, I
saw that
in
ages the outflow was not only different from
modern times, but
of great variety of
form
in
former
that
of
contem-
poraneous streams, although the chemical composition did

not vary essentially.
Earthquakes are mainly due to the injection of intensely

heated lava into strata of cold rock in the process of forming dikes.
When
a volcano pours
mit-crater, the eruption
tremors, as
and
is
may
its
lava out of
its
sum-
be wholly free from earth
often the case on the Hawaiian Islands
this gives rise to the popular belief that active volca-
noes are in some

forces.
way
a safety-valve for the subterranean
When, however, the shrinkage
of the earth's crust
or the explosive force of pent-up vapors cracks the solid
GUATEMALA.
408
rock, thus giving passage to the molten
mass which must
be supposed to underlie this volcanic region, the sudden

contact of two bodies of very different temperatures (per-
haps two thousand degrees) must cause vibrations entirely

sufficient to
account for the worst earthquake recorded.
That the supply

of this region,
Izalco,
of
molten rock
we have
is
ample beneath the crust
proof in the constant activity of
which for more than a century has poured out lava
with the other ejections.

This theory of earthquake action
is
so simple that it
any one who has observed the

powerful vibrations excited by placing a cold kettle upon
must commend
itself to
a hot stove, or by admitting with force a stream of hot
water into a bath-tub partly
may
be stated also that lava
filled
is
with cold water.
It
a remarkably poor con-
ductor of heat (I have been able to walk over a crust that
bent beneath
my weight,
and again where
I left footprints
in the half-hardened lava), and solid lava
a temperature of less than two

feet of a
degrees.
might retain
hundred within a few
molten mass ranging among the thousands of
The
secular refrigeration of the subterranean
molten masses due to the slight conductivity of

is
solid lava
well illustrated in the temperature of hot-springs, that
remains unchanged for centuries.

Eruptions are usually of an explosive nature in the
Central American region (as described in the outbreak of
Coseguina), and the ejected ash
great distance to form by
its
is
scattered often to a
decomposition layers of
especially fitted for the cultivation of coffee, sugar,

vine.
Sulphur
is
soil
and the
not so abundantly deposited as at ^tna.
Hekla, or even the Mexican volcanoes.
APPENDIX.
APPENDIX.
WHAT
an attic-room
dix
to the
is
is
maker
to the thrifty housewife,

of
Some
a book.
an appen-
things that do
seem to be in place in the parlor or chamber are yet

and altogether too good to be thrown away, so they
are put into the garret to await the expected use.
In a book
not
useful,
there
matters that the writer thinks ought to interest
are
some reader, things that will be missed if they are not under
I mean between the covers of the volume in
the same roof,
and yet the skill is wanting to incorporate these odd
hand,
pieces (of furniture, if you wish) in the orderly chapters of the
book. And so I give you here several long notes and some
longer
lists.
A LIST OF COMMON CABINET WOODS, DYE-WOODS,
AND TIMBER.
Almond {Amygdalus communis).
Fustic {Madura tinctoria).
Ronron.
Guachapeli,
dark, vcr}- hard
Fnnera.
and strong wood, used
Mahogany (Swietenia mahogant)^
building.
of various kinds, as
red, cir-
cular, buttress.
in boat-
Madre cacao {Erythrina)^

soft.
Alligator wood {Guarea Swart-
zii).
Mangrove {Bhizophora Mangle)
Trompillo.
ver^'
the wood is dark red, and
;
Tepemis,
durable.
Mangrove
is
(i?.
Candel)
the
very heavy and takes a
fine
guis-cati)
Blood -wood
polish.
Granadillo,
yellow.
wood Una de gato {Pithecolobium un-
red wood,
very solid dark-
much used
for tables.
{Laplacea
toxylon).
Palo de Cortez.
hcBma-
APPENDIX.
412
Palo de mulatto (Spondias lutea), Cedar {Bursera)
a most beautiful and durable
Tamiagua.
Anime {Hymencea courha-
wood, ver}' heavy.

Cola de pava.
Sangre de perro.
Locust,
Cedar (Cedrela odorata).

Coco-wood {Inga vera).
Tatascame.
Locust {Byrsonima cinerea).
ril)
is
from
this tree
gum-copal
obtained.
Saradillo.
Cambron.
Gum-thorn {Acacia Arahica).
Ira^-ol,
yellow and ochre-colored.
Chaquiro.
Cotorron.
Seeliillo.
Quiebra-hacha
{Sloanea
Jamai-
black wood.
Copalchi, quinine-tree; the bark
Sare.
censis),
Volador.
Brasiletto {Ccesalpima crista).
is
Tatamite.
demand.
Goyava {Psidium)
and
compact,
used, and the
wood
is also in
wood hard Mammee {Lucuma mammosa)

not of
the wood is very hard and
;
though
heavy, but splits
great size.
Arnotto {Bixa orellana)
variet}^,
with white wood.
Chipilte.
Meloncillo,
easilj'.
dark.
Quita calzon.
Zorra.
Marillo.
Palo grande.
Medlar.
Pigeon-wood
Bambu {Bamhusa).
Hjiiliguiste,
light-colored wood.
Coccoloba diversi-
folia).
Rose-apple {Jamhosa vulgaris).
Conacaste.
Sebesten {Cordia sebestena).
Balsam-tree (Chcsia rosea).
Gorrion.
Calabash-tree,
Guaje (Cresce7itia
ciijete).
Canelillo.
Chicate.
Tempisque.
Rosewood {Dalhergid).
Pie de paloma.
Guilsinse.
Nance,
dye-wood.
white and close
Orange {Citrus),
grained.
Chichipate.
Cuaquiniquil.
Varillo.
Sunzapote.
Copinol.
Sicamite.
Chaperno.
Guaquilite.
Sandbox-tree
Hura
crepitans).
Screw-pine (Panf?awMs)
wood
is
the heart-
\Gvy hard and orna-
mental.
Salm {Jacaranda)
much used
light-colored,
for door-frames.
Ironwood {Laplacea hcematoxylon)
Pine, ocote {JPinus cuhensis).
APPENDIX.
413
plum {Spondias purpurea)

Santa Maria {Calophyllum ca-
Pine, long-leaved (P. niacrophyl- Spanish
lum).
Poknoboy {Bactris halanoidea).

Sandpaper-tree ( Curatella Americana),
the rough leaves used
for sandpaper.
Hog-gum
laba).
Filo.
Macaligua.
(Si/m2)honia
glohuli- Loro.
Madrefera.
fera).
Walnut [Picroden dron juglans)

Tamarind ( Tamarindus Indica).
Sincho.
Pomegranate {Punica granatum).

Sapodilla (Achras sap)ota).
Ziricote,
beautifully
marked
Melon.
Espina blanca (Âcacia Arahica).

Copal {Hedvngia halsainifera')
heavy.
Copalche, ^xnî^Stryclmos pseudo- Pine, mountain {P. Ayacahuite).
qiiina).
Pine {P.filifolia).
Pimiento {Pimenta vidgaris).
Maho {Spondias?).
Zebra-wood {Eugenia fragrans). Sapoton {Pachira macrocarpa).

Mignonette-tree {Lawso)tia iner- Tamarind, wild {Pithecolobiian
771
Jilicifolium)
is).
Totascamite,
Guazuma
yellow.
( 6r.
White-wood {Oreodaphne leucox-
tomentosd)
ylon)
Pepeto.
Willow, 3-ellow {Salix).
Dulcete.
Ebony, mosaic {Prya ebenus).

Balsam (Myrospermum salvato-
Oak
{Ilex sideroxyloides).
Tamacillo.
riensis).
Zapotillo.
Pimientillo.
Caumillo.
Qualm
Cecropia peltatd)
LEAF-CUTTING ANTS.
The Q^codoma, Zompopos,
or leaf-cutting ants, are such a pest
to the fruit-growers of Central
America that
have quoted from
Mr. Belt the most satisfactory account of their habits that has
ever been published.
He
says
" The
first acquaintance a stranger generally makes with them is

on encountering their paths on the outskirts of the forest crowded
with the ants,
one
lot
carrying off the pieces of leaves, each piece
about the size of a sixpence and held up vertically between the jaws
of the ant, another lot liurrying along in an opposite direction empt}'
handed, but eager to get loaded with theh leafy burdens.
If he fol-
APPENDIX.
414
lows this last division, it will lead him to some 3'oung trees or shrubs,
up which the ants mount, and where each one, stationing itself on the
edge of a leaf, commences to make a circular cut with its scissor-like
jaws from the edge,
its
When
hinder feet being the centre on which
the piece
is
nearly cut
looks as though
it
would
detached, the ant
finall}'
is
off,
fall to
is
still
stationed upon
the ground with
off at
a moment's delay
it
turns.
and
it
but on being
and arranging
itself,
once on
its
return.
come
in
it
again,
and without
itself,
hurries along the well-worn path.
other paths, each thronged with busy workers,
burden to
its
Following
seen to join a throng of others, each laden like
it is
it
it
it,
generally found to have hold of the leaf
with one foot, and soon righting

its satisfaction, it sets
it
As
it
proceeds,
from the sides,
main road often gets to be seven or eight inches broad, and

more thronged than the streets of the city of London.
" After travelling for some hundreds of yards, often for more than
until the
half a mile, the formicarium
reached.
low wide
and immediately around
which the bushes have been killed by their buds and leaves having
been persistenth' bitten off as thej- attempted to grow after their first
defoliation. Under high trees in the thick forest the ants do not make
their nests, because, I believe, the ventilation of their underground
galleries, about which they are very particular, would be interfered
with, and perhaps to avoid the drip from the trees.
It is on the outskirts of the forest, or around clearings or near wide roads that let in
the sun, that these formicariums are generally found. Numerous round
tunnels, varying from half an inch to seven or eight inches in diameter, lead down through the mounds of earth
and many more from
some distance around also lead underneath them. At some of the
holes on the mounds ants will be seen busily at work bringing up
little pellets of earth from below and casting them down on the
ever-increasing mounds, so that its surface is nearh' fresh and new-
mounds of brown
is
It consists of
claye3'-looking earth, above
looking.
" The ceaseless

asks.
What
vegetation
is
one with their power, and one
not eaten off the face of the earth?
in the tropics,
and ever
toiling hosts impress
forests can stand before such invaders?
How
Surelj*
is
it
that
nowhere but
where the recuperative powers of Nature are immense
active, could such devastation be withstood.
None
of the indigenous trees appear so suitable for them as the introduced

ones.
"
In June, 1859, ver\' soon after the formation of
leaf-cutting ants
came down upon
it,
and
at
my
garden, the
once commenced denud-
APPENDIX.
ing the j'oung bananas, orange, and
415
mango
trees of their leaves.
followed up the paths of the hivading hosts to their nest, which was
about one hundred jârds distant, close to the edge of the forest.
The nest was not a very

it
large one, the low
being about four yards in diameter.
holes up
At
mound of
first
earth covering
I tried to stop the
but fresh ones were immediatel}^ opened out.
down below
the
mound and
laid bare the
I then
chambers beneath,
dug
filled
with ant-food and ôung ants in every stage of growth.
But I soon
found that the underground ramifications extended so far and to so
great a depth, whilst the ants were continually at work raakhig fresh
it would be an immense task to eradicate them by
and notwithstanding all the digging I had done the first
da}', I found them as busil}'' at work as ever at ni}' garden, which the}'
were rapidly defoliating. At this stage our medical officer, Dr. J. H.
Simpson, came to my assistance, and suggested the pouring carThe suggestion
bolic acid, mixed with water, down their burrows.
proved a most valuable one. We had a quantity of common brown
carbolic acid, about a pint of which I mixed with four buckets of
excavations, that
such means
water, and, after stirring

I could hear
it
it
well about, poured
it
down
their burrows.
rumbling down to the lowest depths of the formicarium,
The
was all that I could

drawn oft" from my
garden to meet the new danger at home. The whole formicarium was
disorganized. Big fellows came stalking up from the cavernous regions
four or five feet from the surface.
have wished
effect
the marauding parties were at once
below, only to descend again in the utmost perplexit}'.
" Next day I found them busil}" emplo3'ed bringing up the ant-food
from the old burrows and carrving it to a new one a few yards distant and here I first noticed a wonderful instance of their reasoning
powers. Between the old burrows and the new one was a steep slope.
Instead of descending this with their burdens, the}" cast them down
on the top of the slope, whence they rolled down to the bottom, where
another relay of laborers picked them up and carried them to the new
burrow. It was amusing to watch the ants hurrying out with bundles
of food, dropping them over the slope and rushing back immediately
for more.
They also brought out great numbers of dead ants that the
fumes of the carbolic acid had killed. A few days afterwards, when
I visited the locality again, I found both the old burrows and the new
one entirely deserted, and I thought they had died oflT; but subsequent
events convinced me that the sur%'ivors had only moved away to a
greater distance.
It was fully twelve months before my garden was
again invaded. I had then a number of rose-trees, and also cabbages
;
APPENDIX.
416
The
growing, which the ants seemed to prefer to everything else.
rose-trees were soon defoliated, and great havoc was made amongst
the cabbages.
them to
I followed
and found
their nest,
it
about two
hundred yards from the one of the year before. I poured down the
burrows, as before, several buckets of water with carbolic acid. The
water
is
required to carry the acid
down
to the lowest chambers.
were at once withdrawn from my garden and

two days afterwards, on visiting the place, I found all the survivors
at work on one track that led directly to the old nest of the year before, where the}' were busily employed making fresh excavations.
Many were bringing along pieces of the ant-food from the old to the
The
ants, as before,
new nests others carried the undeveloped white pupae and larvie.
and the next day the formiIt was a wholesale and entire migration
carium down which I had last poured the carbolic acid was entireh'
;
deserted.
"Don Francisco Velasquez informed me in 1870 that he had a

powder which made the ants mad, so that they bit and destroyed each
other.
He gave me a little of it, and it proved to be corrosive subliI made several trials of it, and found it most efficacious in
mate.
A little of it sprinkled across
turning a large column of the ants.
one of their paths in dry weather has a most surprising effect. As
soon as one of the ants touches the white powder it commences to
run about wildly, and to attack any other ant it comes across. In a
couple of hours round balls of the ants will be found
all
biting each
and numerous individuals will be seen bitten completely in

News of
two, whilst others have lost some of their legs or antennae.
fellows,
measformicarium,
and
huge
the
carried
to
the commotion is
uring three quarters of an inch in length, that only come out of the
nest during a migration or an attack on the nest or one of the workother
ing columns, are seen stalking
As
would soon right matters.
down
with a determined
air,
as if the}'
soon, however, as they have touched
them the}' rush about, their

by some of the smaller ants already affected
by the poison, and they themselves begin to bite, and in a short time
become the centre of fresh balls of rabid ants." ^
the sublimate,
all
their stateliness leaves
legs are seized hold of
wish
could quote
all
Mr. Belt's interesting article; for
his concltision as to the use the ants
they are so incessantly collecting,

ably true.
is
make
of the bits of leaf
an ingenious one, and prob-
It is certain that the little fellows arc

^
Thomas
Belt,
The
Naturalist in Nicaragua, p. 71.
never seen
APPENDIX.
417
taking a nibble of their burdens, whicli would probably be the

case if this material was intended for food ; and Mr. Belt thinks
that the smaller ants, who seldom leave the nest and never carry
up into very small

which serve as manure for a minute fungus, which is the
It seems that " some of the ants make mistakes,
real ant-food.
and carry in unsuitable leaves thus grass is always rejected by
them. But I have seen some ants, perhaps young ones, carrying
leaves of grass but after a while these pieces are always brought
out again and thrown away.
I can imagine a young ant getting a severe ear-wigging from one of the major-domos for its
leaves, have the task of cutting the leaves
bits,
stupidity."
QUICHE PRAYER.
Here
is
a translation
have made from the Spanish version
given by Milla of a Quiche prayer
supposed Christian,
it
and as the petitioner
is
will serve to illustrate the theological sta-
tus of the Indio converts, and no less of their descendants of the
present day.
Compare
it
with the heathen prayer (p. 249)
O Jesus Christ my God, thou God the Son with the Father and
Holy Spirit art but one God
To-da}- on this daj', at this hour,
on this day of Tijax, I invoke the holy spirits who attend the dawn
and the last glimmerings of da}'
With the holy spirits I pray to
thee, O chief of the Genii who dwell in this mountain of Sija-Raxquin
Come, blessed spirits of Juan Vachiac, of D. Domingo Vachiac, of
Juan Ixquiaptop blessed spirits of Francisco Ecoquij, of Diego Soom,
of Juan Ta}-, of Alonso Tzep holy spirits, I repeat, of Diego Tziquin and Don Pedro Noj you, O priests, to whom all things are
open, and tliou Chief of the Genii ye Gods of the mountain, Gods of
"
the
the plain,
now
Don Puruperto
candle
Come
Martin,
come, accept
this incense, accept
mother mine, holy Mary, and thou m}^

Lord of Esquipulas, the Lord of Capetagua,
Captain Santiago,
Saint Christopher,
thou Lord and King Pascual, be present here
this
also
And
thou frost, thou
God
of the plain, thou
God
Quiacbasuhip, thou
Lord of Retal-euleu [here follows a long list of names of towns and

mountains]
I make m3-seif compadre and comadre, I who pray
I
am the witness and the brother of this man who makes himself your
son, of this man who prays.
O blessed sphits, suffer no evil to
!
27
"
APPENDIX.
418
come
to him, nor let
him be
speak, I the priest, I
who take him under
Do
find his food.
in
who burn
any way unhappj'

this incense, I
one who
I the
who
him, I
pra}' for
m}- protection, I beseech 3'ou that he
may
thou then, God, send him his money
easil}-
do not
allow him to get sick with fever, let him not become paralytic, let
him not be choked with a cough, let him not be bitten by a serpent,
let him not be swollen with wind nor asthmatic, let him not become
mad nor be bitten by a dog, let him not perish by a thunderbolt,
suffer him not to perish by rum, nor die by sword or stave, neither
assist him, O clouds! assist him, O
let an eagle snatch him awa}^
Aid him, Saint Peter, aid him.
lightnings assist him, O thunderclap
I then who have spoken
Saint Paul, aid him, thou Eternal Father
for him thus far, I pray that sickness may come upon his opponents
;
may encoun-
grant that when his enem}' goes forth from his house he
ter sickness
grant likewise that wherever he ma}' please to go, there
may meet with difficulties. Do your dutj- against enemies wherever

they may be do it as I pray 3'ou, blessed spirits
God be with you
So be it
God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost
Amen, Jesus "
he
THE NAMES OF GUATEMALTECAN TOWNS.

It is
riginal
uncertain whether at the present day any of the abo-
names
of places survive, for the successive invaders
the North or from beyond the seas,

stroy towns, imposed
new names on
if
from
they did not utterly de-
the conquered places.
We
speak of the ruins of Palenque or of Quirigua, but we do not
know
the former
venience,
b}^
names
name
the
ingenuity has been expended in

still
name
extant, even the
the undetermined
ones
and call them, for conmodern village. Much

the derivation of Indian names
of these places,
of the nearest
of the republic itself being one of
for while
Guatemala
is
undoubtedly
name of the Cakchiquel capital, Tecpan Quahteknown whether this was named for Prince
indeed whether the prince of that name ever ex-
taken from the
malan,
it
is
Jieutemal, or
isted.
not
Quiche
is
derived from qui, " many," and
or from queclie, quecludau,
meaning "a
forest,"
clie,
an
" trees
inappro-
name now. No less questionable are the derivations of

"
T-ucuruh, " town of owls ; " Es(Îtz)cuintlaQn') " land of dogs
Izmachi, " black hair " and many others.
priate
"
APPENDIX.
The termination
2ân
means
419
a " standard " or " chief place
hence, 3Iayapan of the Mavas, and Totonicapan of the Toto-
Tepee
naques.
is
a " mountain," or " high place
" hence, Alote-
peque, Coatepeque, Olintepeque, Jilotepeque, and Quezaltepeque,
all of them in mountainous regions, the second being a volcano of considerable heigiit. Tlcui means a " city " or " home "
;
hence, Atitlau, " the

etc.
with
of the old
woman
(Atit)," Zapotitlaviy
The most common termination is tenane/o, a Mexican word

the same meaning as tlan,
IIuekuetenan<jo being
much
equivalent to " the
House
home
ancient abode
"
Chimaltenango to " the
of the Shield."
troublesome matter
is the varying and uncertain orthography of most of the names now in use. Goattemala, Gautemala, Guatimala, are all used by writers. The termination p)a7i
is often in official publications spelled pam.
Quczaltenango is
though seldom, written Quetzaltenango and Cumareah

Gumarcah, Izabal or Yzabal, Jutiapa or Xutiapa, are common
variations.
The omission of the letter n in such words as Montezuma and Montagua, and at the end of Escuintlan, is the rule
in Guatemala
but foreign writers do not always regard it. The
interchange of h and v is common,
as bejuco or vejuco ; benta
or venta.
So far as sound goes, the name of the large macaw
may be Juacamalla or Guacamaya. Tzolola was one form of
jSoIold ; Taltie, of Tactic ; and Mictlan, of Mita.
It is quite possible that Soconusco is derived from xoconoclitli,
a word meaning " wild figs," and Honduras from fo7iduras^
meaning " depths," although the application may not be clear
More satisfactory are Michatoyatl, " a river
at the present day.
the Rio
abounding in fish;" Paxa, "water which separates,"
Pax, or Paz, having always been the boundary between Guatemala and San Salvador. Tonald, the " City of the Sun,"
and Gtimarca((i)h, " ruined houses," are generally admitted to
])ropcrly,
or
be correct derivations.
The Spanish invaders exhibited slight inventive powers, and

some half a dozen saints were made godfathers and godmothers
to all the Indian towns that were important enough to be rechristened
and Santos Juan, Jose, Tomas, and Marcos, and
Santas Maria, Lucia, Ana, and Catarina are the favorites, al;
though Pedro, Esteban, Jago, Miguel, Antonio, Cristoval, Pablo,
APPENDIX.
420
The proper
and Clara are by no means neglected.
name of the capital city of Guatemala is Santiago (St. James)
and if the ambitious projects dear to the late President Barrios
should be accomplished, as seems not improbable, England will
have to be satisfied with St. George, and leave " The Court of
St. James " to the Central American kingdom.
To the Anglo-Saxon such names as True Cross, Holy Cross,
Thanks to God, City of Angels, Nativity, and Holy Saviour seem
Izabal,
wholly inappropriate as names of places
but to the devout
Spaniard they were evidently favorite appellations.
Nor
are
they very different from Praise-God Barebones, Faith, Prudence,
and the
like,
which we know were not uncommon appellatives
amono; the Puritans.
NO RUINS OF DWELLINGS.
In
all
the remains of ancient cities or holy places hitherto
discovered in Central America, there are temples or oratories,
and
so-called palaces, but not a sign of
human
habitations
even
the palaces are apparently too small for comfortable habitation,
and the temples would not admit more than four or five persons
Herrera says there " were so many and such
at the same time.
stately Stone Buildings that it was amazing; and the greatest
"Wonder is, that, having no Use of any Metal, they were able to
raise such Structures, which seem to have been Temples, for
Always of
their Houses were always of Timl)er and thatched."
less durable material than stone, the houses have disappeared,
and we must not infer that there were no dwellers about the
places where we find to-day only monuments of the dead or reAt the present time there is many a village in
ligious edifices.
Guatemala where the church is the only building of masonry,
all the houses being of the most perishable materials, as palm
stems and leaves, bark and mud. If the town of Livingston were
destroyed to-day and not rebuilt, there would be nothing on the
site after two years to show that men had ever lived there.
It would certainly be interesting to learn why many of the
temples have doors, passages, and even rooms that a man of
average stature cannot stand erect
in.
APPENDIX.
421
MIXTURE OF RACES IN CENTRAL AMERICA.

To show how
difficult the
study of race peculiarities must be
where there is so much amalgamation,

the names of some of the crosses
in a country
of
Crosses.
Mestizo (Ladino)
I give a list
Male.
Female.
Spaniard.
Indian woman.
Castiso
Spaniard.
Mestiza.
Espanolo
Castiso.
Spanish woman.
Mulato
Morisco
Albino
Negro.
Spanish woman.
Spaniard.
Mulata.
Morisco.
Spanisli
Tornatras
Albino.
Spanish woman.
Tornatras.
Spanish woman.
Negro.
Indian woman.
Caribujo
Lobo.
Indian woman.
Barsino
Coyote (Indigene). Mulata.
Tente en
Lobo
el aire
....
(wolf)
woman.
Grifo
Lobo.
Albarazado
Coyote.
Indian woman.
Clianiso
Indio.
Mestiza.
Mechino
Coyote.
Loba.
Negress.
GUATEMALTECAN COOKERY.
I
is
do not speak of the tables of the upper classes, wliere variety
found in Guatemala as well as elsewhere
cookery that a stranger finds in travelling,
but of the
it
may
common
truly be said
it has not a national character, nor does justice to the

What there is of it is, however,
abundant material at hand.
good a fresh tortilla is better than the cakes of the Northern
backwoods, and the wheaten bread made by the panadero of the
Frijoles, or beans, the most
village is exceedingly palatable.
popular general dish, are always stewed over an open fire, and
Eggs
are much better than the baked beans of New England.
are always present, cither fried, poached, or baked in the shell
when fried, always seasoned with tomato,
(Jiuevos tibios)
that
chillis,
and vinegar.
with plenty of garlic
made
Salchichas, or sausages, fried in

;
of figs, pork, fowl,
lard,
meat Jugate, a potage

sugar, ginger, cinnamon and allspice,
f/igote,
or hashed

APPENDIX.
422
bread, soup, and innumerable ollas,
are present as
solid dishes,
Besides the vegethe meats generally being of poor quality.

chiotss,
palm-cabbage,
there
are
gardens,
tables of Northern
and, best of
all,
many
For verduras, or greens, there are

however, better than spinach or dande-
plantain.
plants, none,
In the shore
and the ensaladas are not remarkable.
region one can have most delicious turtle-steak, white and tenperhaps the best native dish,
der as veal, iguanas fricasseed,
lions
I am sorry to say I have not

and flavors.
kinds
many
of
fish
and
eaten),
served as " esencia," but
coffees
bad
of
the
I have spoken
which I never found
chocolate,
the
have not said enough about
Perhaps the best is prepared entirely at
carelessly prepared.
home that is, the beans of cacao are carefully roasted, as coffee
might be, and the shells removed by rubbing in the hands. The
javia-steaks, armadillo
(which
metatle then serves to crush the oily mass, as corn

in tortilla-making
sugar
is
vanilla to flavor the crushed cacao, which
may be run
grinding, and
is
prepared
added, and enough cinnamon or
becomes pasty by
into moulds, or simply dropped on
These chocolate-drops are dissolved in boiling milk as wanted, and the whole churned to a
Prepared in this way, chocolate is much better than the
froth.
some
cool
surface to harden.
cake chocolate of the manufacturers. An ancient recipe was

much more complicated than this, and although I have never tried
it
myself, I venture to give
hundred cacaos,
pods of
chilli,
treating
it
to
my
them
readers.
It is this
as has been described,
"
One
two
a handful of anis and orjevala, two of mesachasil
may
be replaced by six roses of Alexandria, powdered), two drams of cinnamon, a dozen each of almonds and
or vanilla (this
a pound of wliite sugar, and arnotto to color it."

This mixture must of course be whip])ed to a froth.
Perhaps the people of Guatemala are as cleanly as others but
filberts, half
according to our observation the
common
practice
was
to allow
the dogs to lick the dishes, which received no additional washing.

It
was the custom also at the table d'hote in the hotels to finish
filling the mouth with water and spurting it on the
a meal by
Once, when we stopped at a way-side house to get

some coffee, the senora made a little fire out of doors, put the
coffee in a very black pot to boil, and, after fanning the reluctant
tiled floor.
APPENDIX.
423
fire
with her straw hat, threw herself on the ground near by to
rest
and smoke her
pivro.
When
the pot
was near
to boiling, she
reached out her bare leg and tested the temperature of the contents
with her toe, as a Northern cook might have used his finger. Frank
was scandalized
but, after all,
it
was merely a matter
of taste.
PHOTOGRAPHS USED IN ILLUSTRATION.

In stating that the scenes illustrated in this book are
photographs,
it
may
all
from
be added that the clearness of the atmo-
sphere enables a distant view to be taken with great distinctness

(unfortunately lost in the mechanical reproductions) even in
minute
The lens used for views not requiring extreme

was the Dallmeyer single landscape,
a lens unsur-
details.
rapidity
passed for
purpose
its
while for architectural subjects, or those
The
Ross rapid rectilinear was generally used.
in motion, a
plates were those prepared by Allen
&
Rowell, of Boston,
For apparatus, the camera

American Optical Company's make,
fitted with a changing box containing eighteen plates, and also
with an attachment, arranged by the author, for making two or
as usual,
was a 5
the
of
finest
quality.
8 size of the
three smaller pictures on the
my
5x8
plate.
I carried
no
tent,
on
For the stereoscopic pictures, I used
The plates were developed
Euryscope No.
lenses.
but changed
plates at night under a blanket, depending
touch rather than sight.

a pair of
months afterwards, with a very small percentage

later journeys in Guatemala I have used plates
of failures.
of the 8
4x5
In
10
be
have used a strong barrel
and cork-dust with complete success. It is a matter of deep
regret that the method of mechanical reproduction utterly deIn cases
stroys all the beauty of the original photographs.
size
but for
preferred.
all
purposes of illustration the
For packing the plates
size is to
where phototypes are presented from ink-drawings, these have

drawn directly from a transparency which I have
made from the original negative and projected in the lantern.
The drawings are of large size, and reduced to one quarter, or
even less, in the phototype.
This method insures at least
generally been
accuracy of outline.
424
APPENDIX.
MONEY
IN GUATEMALA.
Persons interested in silver coinage might have a good field

and one of the Government collectors, who
had a fancy for numismatics, showed me a curious lot he had
for collection here
received in payment of taxes.

Maximilian coins from Mexico
were the rarest but every country of Central and South America was well represented.
Among current coins the dollar of
Peru and Chili (soZs) are most common and the smaller change
is mainly in Guatemalan and Hondureiian currency.
The dollar
(peso, piece of eight) contains eight reals, and the real two
;
medios, or four cuartillos.
This last
the smallest coin used,
is
although the cent (centavo') has been coined.
real is twelve
and a half cents, a medio six and a quarter, and a cuartillo

three and an eighth but in the text I have spoken of these coins
;
as valued in gold, or, approximately, ten, five,
and three
cents.
CERTAIN HEIGHTS DETERMINED BY THE FRENCH

EXPEDITION.
Tactic
4,725
Santa Catarina (Pueblo)
CoLaii
4,356
Esquipulas
San Cristobal
San Miguel Uspantan
2,324
....
2,986
4,643
Paso del Rodeo
2,744
6,040
Los Horcones
3,637
Cunen
5,942
Piedra de Amolar
2,340
Sacapulas
3,826
Quezaltenango
7,697
Copan
Vado Hondo
Chiquimula
Totonicapan
8,150
Zacapa
449
Sololci
7,041
Psacaya
8,366
Guatemala City
Antigua
5,013
Volcan de Agua (summit)
5,072
"
"
""
Ciuclad Vieja
5,151
"
"
"
Santa Cruz del Quiche
6,621
1,830
....
....
(S.
1,450
3,901
Palin
3,753
Acatenango
Cuajinicuilapa
2,848
Volcan de Atitlan
Cerro Redondo
3,542
Cerro
Los Esclavos
2,394
Santa Maria
Agua Blanca
2,658
Suchitan
4,108
Lago de Atitlan
Lago de Am atitlan
Lago de San Cristobal
Santa Catarina (Rio)
2,251
Volcan de Fuego
"
(crater bot.)
Amatitlau
"
1,244
Maria)
Escuintla
"
1,237
12,313
6,828
12,087
(La Meseta)
13,127
12,001
13,616
.
Quemado
11,723
10,201
11,483
.
5,112
.3,895
4,643
APPENDIX.
I find it impossible to reconcile
of the
French Expedition with
servers
425
some
of these
my own
but usually the difference
is
measurements
or those of other ob-
not greater than might be
expected from observations with the aneroid barometer.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Land
usually bought and sold by cahallerias (33.33 acres),
is
manzanas (a square of one hundred

The most common weights are
the quintal (a hundredweight) and the arroha (25 pounds of
16 ounces each). Among the Indies other weights and meashect areas
(2.47
acres),
yards), or varas (2.78 feet).
ures are used, but
They
them.
and
could find no trustworthy information about
also retain the old cacao currency to
some extent,
have been offered cacao-beans for small change, as the

cuartillo is not common away from the large cities.
I
400 cacao beans

8,000
"
"
24,000
"
"
=
=
contle.
jiquipil
carga
=
=
20 eontles.
3 jiqiiipiles.
A LIST OF PLANTS OBSERVED IN GUATEMALA.

I am indebted to my friend Professor Sereno Watson, of
Harvard, for the identification of species, which to the number of
sixty he has already determined from some five hundred that he
collected in the Departments of Livingston and Izabal.
I did
not myself
familiar to
make any
me
collection, but noted the
genera that were

So little has
as I travelled thi'ough the country.
been published about the Guatemaltecan Flora that

tured to add these notes to Professor Watson's
Clematis americana. Will.
Near
dioica, L.
Panajachel.
caripensis,
HBK.
Izabal.
HBK.
Sau
Davilla rugosa, Poir.
Banks
lucida, Presl
Chocon.
Livingston.
Dry
hills
near
Rio Chocon.
Guatteria Jurgensenii, Hemsl.
Shores
of Lago de Izabal, Chocon.
Jose.
Dulce, Rio Chocon.
have ven-
Quirigua.
Tetracera n. sp.
tiapa.
polycephala, Bert. V. de Agua.

sericea,
Doliocarpus pubens, Mart.

Curatella americana, L.
Sacapulas, Ju-
list.
of Rio
n. sp.
Anona squamosa,
muricata, L.
L.
Livingston,
Cunen, Uspantan.
APPENDIX.
426
Anona
Common,
Cheriniolia, Mill.
fHampea
Sea-shore near Liv-
palustris, L.
stipitata,
(?)
Watson.
Large
Chocon.
tree,
Paritium tiliaceum, A. Juss.
ingston.
Xylopia frutescens,
Aiibl., var. glabra.
Pavonia racemosa, Swartz.
Shores o^Lago de Izabal.
Cissampelus Pareira, L.
Rio Eriodendron
Izabal,
Shore
near Santo Tomas.
Rio Dulce.
Sacapulas, Chocon,
ceiba.
Quirigaa.
Dulce.
Bernoullia flammea, Oliv. Istapa.

DC. ? Izabal.
Rio Polo- Cheirostemon platanoides. Hum. & Bon.
Nymphaea ampla, DC.
V. de Fuego, Encuentros.
chic, mouth of Rio Chocon.
Helicteres guazumsefolia, HBK.
Cerro
Argemone mexicana, L.
del Mico.
Draba vulcanica, Benth. V. de Agua.
tropceolifolia,
Rio
Pachira macrocarpa.
San Felipe.
Motagua.
Moringa pterygosperma, Gaertn. Za-
Cleonie polygama, L.
insignis, Sav.
capa, Chiquimiila.
sp.
Bi.xa Orellana, L.
Xylosma
nitida,
Rio
laurina,
Oliver.
Izabal,
Gomphia (Ouratea)
Chocon.
Polygala asperuloides, IIBK.
Izabal.
HBK.
Hura
Uplands.
Poinsettii.
euphorbiaceous
trees
in
cordata,
Lago de
Willd.
sp.).
Portulaca
Cunen
oleracea,
to Quiche.
Livingston,
L.
Chocon.
Phytolacca
icosandra,
L.
Antigua,
Santa Cruz del Quiche.
Amaranthus
paniculatus, L.
Rio Dulce,
Chocon.
WatV. de
Fuego.
Chocon.
tree,
Low, wide-spreading
tree, Izabal.
tree.
Symphonia
" Hogglobulifera,
L.
gum." Large tree, Chocon.
Calophyllum Calaba, Jacq. Livingston.
Marcgraavia
var.
Cunen,
Hemsl.
Clusia guatemalensis,
I'ectiflora,
Triana
Goudoutiana.
Ruyschia Soui'oubea,
Sauraujia oreophila,
Jutiapa.
Sida rhombifolia, L.
Lago
Izabal.
Matapalo
Izabal.
Quercus (2
Watson.
Rio Chocon.
Large
eastern highlands.
Drymaria
Vitis sicyoides, var. ovata, Baker.
son.
Sacapulas, Zacapa.
crepitans, L.
Two
guatemalensis, En-
vulpina, L. var. Izabalana,
termined.)
Euphorbia
Chocon.
Chocon.
gler.
lanceolata,
(Several sp. on coast, not de-
Croton.
HBK.
de Izabal.
Jatropha Curcas, L.
Janipha Manihot,
tomentosa,
Rio Gouania tomentosa, Jacq.
Cliocon.
Casearia Brighami, Watson.
Chocon, Quiri-
cacao, L.
gua, Pansos.
Guazuma
Chocon.
Oncoba
Red petals at Omoa.
Chocon.
Theobroma
A. G.
Alsodeia guatemalensis, Watson.
Chocon,
W.
& Planch.
Chocon.
Livingston.
Hemsl.
V. de
Fuego.
pauciserrata, Hemsl. V. de Fuego.

La Tinta. Several
banks of Rio Chocon.) Sauvagesia erecta, L. Cerro del Mico.
Hibiscus Abelmoschus, L. Izabal.
tenella, Lam. Barbasco.
Gossypium barbadense, L.
Living- Salix (2 sp.). Lago de Izabal, Rio
Abutilon.
(Trees at
allied sp.
ston.
Polochic Amatitlan
,
APPENDIX.
Erythroxylum
Linnm
Madura
Livingston.
sp.
Benth.
guatemalense,
Agua.
Byrsonima crassifolia,
HBK.
Cult.
Watson.
Lanieri,
Tree
Lindeniana, Juss.
Cuilapa.
Stigmaphyllon Lupulus, Watson.
Chocon.
Izabal.
Chocon
Anacardium
Rio Dulce.
var. hirsutum, Radl.
Izabal.
Rio Chocon.
Halicacabuni, L.
Cayo Pa-
Indigofera anil, L.
Sesbania exasperata,
Desmodium.
Chocon.
Paullinia sorbilis, Mart.
Quercus (2 sp.). Uplands above Cunen.

Tephrosia toxicaria, Pers.
Rio Chocon.
Serjania mexicana, Willd.
DC.
Naturalized.
occidentale, L.
loma, Pacific coast.
Cardiospermuni grandifloruiu, Swartz,
velutina,
Chocon.
Chocon.
" Jocote."
Mangifera indica, L.
Hirsea reclinata, Jacq.
trees,
" Maho."
sp.
Chocon.
Rourea glabra, HBK. Lago de Izabal.
Connarus Pottsii, Watson. Shores at
Cho-
con.
Spondias lutea, L.
purpurea, L.
Izabal.
sp.
aurantiaca, Nutt.
Y. de Peperomia (2 sp.). On
Bursera gummifera, L. ?
Izabal.
Bunchosia
427
Chocon.
at
Mucuna
guatenialensis, Turcz.
Melia Azederach, L.
Escuintla, Izabal,
El Mico.
puriens,
DC.
Guarea bijuga, C. DC. ?

Swietenia Mahogani, L.
Chocon.
toluiferum,
Chocon, Qui-
Vado Hondo.
W.
Erythrina velutina,
Myroxylon Pereirae,
naturalized.
HBK.
2 sp. at Chocon, another
Livingston.
Klotzs. Escuintla.
HBK.
S. Coast.
Poinciana jûlcherrima, L. Antigua.
Hsematoxylon campechianiim, L. Usumacinta Valley.

Shores.
Citrus medica, var. Limonum. Natural- Guilandina bonduc, L.
Cpesalpinia (2 sp.). Chocon and Pacific.
ized.
Oxalis dendroides, HBK.
Cerro del Dalbergia calycina, Benth. Chocon.
rigua.
Cedxela odorata, L.
Mico, 1500
Chocon.
Cassia fistula, L.
ft.
Tribulus cistoides, L.
Guaiacuni
Shores.
guatemalense, Herb.
amorphoides,
Bauhinia (2
Chocon.
Liebni.
(?)
Hippocratea ovata, Lam.

discolor,
Rio Dulce.
Schlecht.
Rio
Chocon.
Dry
DC.
uplands.
Mimosa pudica, L.
casta, L.
Livingston.
guatemalensis, Benth.
Dulce.
Zizyphus guatemalensis, Henisl.

Cecropia palmata,
Chocon, Quirigua.
sp.).
Entada scandens, Benth.

Prosopis juliflora,
Chocon.
+ sp.).
Rio Chocon,
Rio Polochic.
Picroena excelsa, Lindl.
Ficus (3
Livingston,
at
Kew, Zacapa. Tamarindus indica, L.

Hymensea courbaril, L.
Izabal.
Wimmeria
common
Shores of Lago de
Quassia amara, L.
Alvaradoa
sp.
another at Antigua.
officinale, L.
Chocon.
W. Rio
Dorstenia contrayerva, L.
ley.
Castilloa elastica, Cervant.
Acacia Farnesiana,
W.
Jutiapa, Cui-
lapa.
Chocon.
Chixoy Val-
spadicigera, Schlecht.
arabica,W. Jutiapa.
Calliandra saman, Gr.
Pithecolobium
sp.
(4-1- others.)
Santo Tonias.
Vado Hondo.
APPENDIX.
428
Inga vera,
W.
Rio Chocon, Rio Polo-
Schizolobium
sp.
Wild tamarind."
"
Rio Dulce, Rio Chocon.

Chrysobalanus Icaco, L. Shores.
Chocon.
Hirtella americana, Aublet.
Rubus sp. Alta Verapaz.

Jambosa vulgaris, DC. Rio Dulce.
Psidium guava, Radd.
Rio Polochic.
Rio Dulce,
Rhizophora Mangle, L.
Santo Toiuas.
Cacoucia coccinea, Aublet.
Rio Cho-
common.
Naturalized,
San Pedro Sula.

Oreodaphne sp. Cunen.
Sechium edule, Sw. West coast, Cerro
Redondo.
Cucumis Angaria, L. Punta Gorda.
West coast.
Luffa acutangula, Roxb.
Lagenaria vulgaris, Sw.
V. de
Cyclanthera explodens, Naud.
Fuego.
Hemsl.
guatemalense,
Cho-
Encuentros, Solola.
Benth.
cordata,
Guate-
mala City,
Coban.
gracilis, Hemsl.
Psychotria sp.
Rio Chocon.
Bouvardia sp. Cunen.
Chimaltenango.
leiantha, Benth.
Livingston.
sp.
Ageratum conyzoides,
Common.
L.
Quiche, Cunen.
Mikania guaca. Chocon.

Wedelia phyllocephala. Kernel. Chixoy
Valley.
Verbesina gigantea, Jacq.

Dahlia
Zacapa.
Quiche, Quezaltenango.
sp.
V. de Fuego.
Tagetes micrantha, Cav.

sp. 2.
San
Cristobal, Patzim.
Uplands.
Lobelia fulgens, Willd.
V. Santa Maria,
cordifolia,
H&A.
Coban.
Lobeliacefe (3 sp.).
Chrysophyllum Cainito, L.
Fevillea, sp.
Carica Papaya, L.
with
Sapota Achras, Mill.
small,
unedible
fruit.
Valleys of Volcan de Fuego.

Passiflora Brighami,
ston,
Living.ston.
observed.
calcarata, Bertol.
Trujillo, Palin.
sp.
L.
3 sp.
sp.
Stevia sp.
Naturalized.
Persea gratissima, G.
Microsechium
Ximenia americana,
Exostemraa
Terminalia Catappa, L.
Chocon.
2 sp. Chocon, 1 at Uspantan.
con, Zacapa.
Quirigua, Rio Polochic.
con,
Begonia scandens, Sw.
Rondeletia
Jussifca repens, L.
Antigua,
Amatitlan.
San Sambucus
Pauses,
Jutiapa, Zacapa, Chixoy.
sp.).
coccinellifera, Mill.
Loranthaceae.
Felipe,
sp.
Cereus (2
Opuntia
chic.
Watson.
Living-
Lucuma mammosa,
multifiora, A.
Jasminum
Allamanda
Rio Chocon.
G.
DC.
Chocon.
(?)
Naturalized.
officinale, L.
Rio Chocon,
cathartica, L.
Rio Polochic.
edulis, Sims.
guatemalensis Watson.
Chocon.
choconiana, Watson,
Vinca
rosea, L.
Plumeria rubra L.
of
lunata, Willd.
bers
coriacea, Juss.
Chocon.
Antigua.
quadrangularis, L.
(?)
this
Several
family
Asclepias curassavica, L.
mem-
on
Rio
Livingston,
Uspantan, Antigua.
El Mico, small
plant with veined leaves, Chocon. Limnanthemum Humboldtianum, Gr.
Lagoons, Rio Chocon.
Turnera sp. San Pedro.
suaveolens,
(Brugmansia)
Aristolochia, sp. with immense blos- Datura
3 sp. Rio Chocon,
soms.
Roatan.
Humb., Bonpl.
Izabal.
APPENDIX.
429
Physalis peruviana, L.
Acrocomia sclerocarpa.
Capsicum
Cocos nucifera, L.
frutesceus, L.
aniiuum, L.
Attalea cohune. Mart.
Jutiapa and
Crescentia Cujete, L.
dry-
uplands generally.
Jacaranda sp.
Fine
Bignoniaceae.
3 sp.
Bactris balanoidea,
Wendl.
cohune, Watson.
tree,
Chocon.
Chocon
Twenty-five
lected at
forests,
Izabal.
Chocon.
sp.
palms were
col-
Chocon, but have
Antigua.
not been determined yet.

Chixoy Commelyna cayennensis. Rich.
San
Valley.
Felipe, 2 sp.
Cunen.
Marty nia sp. Chixoy Valley.
Pontederia sp. pink flowers. Livingston.
Jacobinia aurea, Hemsl. Chocon, Quiri- Bambusa (2 sp.).
Motagua, Chocon.
gua.
Zea Mays, L.
Ipomoea bona-nox, L.
Agave americana, L.
1 sp.
Achiraenes
Batatas,
coccinea,
Pers.
Lam.
Calonyction
Eight other convol-
sp.
Fourcroya gigantea, Vent.

Pancratium caribaûm, L.
Grande, Rio
vulacese noticed.
Cuscuta
sp.
Crinum
Zacapa.
Cordia Sebestina, Jacq.
Smilax
Escuintla.
L.
Salvia coccinea,
Quiche.
Jutiapa.
Jutiapa.
Escûipulas.
Golfete.
Jaccj.
Tillandsia (2 sp.).
Bromeliaceae (several sp.).
Heliconia Bihai, L.
Ayacahuite, Erenb.
sp.
Rio Dulce.
Pansos, Quirigua.
Quirigua, Rio Dulce.
Renealmia
Lindl.
sp.
Zinziber sp.
sp.
Monstera
(2 sp.).
Aroids of
many
sp.
Livingston, Chocon.
and several genera.
Wolfia punctata, Gr.
Rio Chocon.
sp.
Euterpe oleracea, Mart.
sp.).
Chocon.
Epidendrum bicornutum, Hook.

Schomburgkia tubicina, Lindl.
Oncidium citrinum, Lindl. Los Amates.
HBK.
Notylia guatemalensis, Watson.
oleracea.
Manicaria Plukenetii, Gr. and Wendl.
Ornithocephalus
Pottsise,
Watson.
Bletia Pottsii, Watson.
Livingston.
Desmoncus sp.
Acrocomia vinifera, Oersted.
Chixoy Valley.
Maranta (2
Vanilla planifolia, Andr.
iridifolium.
edulis.
Oreodoxa
Chixoy
Pita.
macrophylla, Parlat.
Typha
Izabal,
Karatas, Lemair.
Pinus cubensis, Griseb.
Abies
Chocon.
Santa Cruz del Bromelia Pinguin, L.
3 other sp.
Avicennia nitida,
filifolia,
Rio Dulce.
sp.
officinalis.
Valley.
Jose.
sp.
Cayo
(?)
P(jlochic.
San Ananassa sativa, Lindl.
Heliotropium curassavicum, L.
Lantana
Karw.
ixtli,
Quamoclit, L.
Salvinia auriculata, Aubl.

Izabal,
The number of Orchidacese in

Guatemala is very large.
APPENDIX.
430
LIST OF
WORKS RELATING TO CENTRAL

AMERICA.
bibliography of works that contain information about
full
the region through which

fill
much
a voliirae
brief list of
some
we have been
travelling together would
larger than the present
of the
more important
titles
but the following
may
aid those
who
are interested in the past history or the future prospects of the

tropical part of this continent.
have not thought
it
worth
while to mention those unprinted works not at present acces-
nor the ephemeral publications of simple
sible to the public,
tourists
AcosTA, Fr. Jose de,

villa,
Historia natural y moral de las Indias.
Se-
1590.
Adam, Lucien.
Du
Etudes sur six Langues Americaines, Paris, 1878.
Homines et du parler des Femraes. Paris, 1879.

Alcedo, Antonio de. Diccionario geografico-historico de las Indias
occidentales 6 America es a saber de los re^^nos del Peru, Nueva
Espafia, Tierra Firme, Chile y Nuevo Rejno de Granada. Madrid,
parler des
1786-89.
y,
^
^
y..
vols.
An
English Translation, with Additions,
b}'
G. A. Thompson, was published in London, 1812-15. 5 vols,

Ancona, Eligio. Historia de Yucatan, Merida, 1878.
Andagoya, Pascual de, Narrative of. Translated by C. R. Markham. Hakluyt Soc. London, 1865.
AsTABURUAGA, Francisco S. Repiiblicas de Centro-America o Idea
de su Historia i de su Estado actual. Santiago, Chih, 1837.
Baily, John. Central America; describing each of the States of
Guatemala, Honduras, Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. London, 1850.
Baldwin, John D.
ology.
New
Ancient America, in notes on American Archse-
York, 1872.
Bancroft, Hubert H. Native Races of the Pacific States of North

America. San Francisco, 1875 et seq.
Barcia, Andres Gonzales. Historiadores primitivos de las Indias
occidentales, que junto, traduxo en parte y saco a luz, ilustrados
con eruditas notas y copiosos indices el Senor Don Andres Gonzales

Barcia, del Consejo y Camera de Su Majestad.
Madrid, ano
1749.
APPENDIX.
Bard,
431
A. "VYaikna Adventures on the Mosquito Shore. London,

12mo.
Bastian, A. Die Culturlander des Alten Amerika. Berlin, 1878.
S.
1855.
2 vols.
Steinsculpturen aus Guatemala.
Bateman, James.
1843.
Berlin, 1882.
Orehidaceae of Mexico and Guatemala.
London,
fol.
Bates, H.
W.
Central and South America.
Memorias para
Belaez, Garcia.
Guatemala.
Belly, Felix.
Guatemala, 1851.
The
le
Nicaragua
et le
Paris, 1867.
Naturalist in Nicaragua
dence at the Gold Mines of Chontales
and Forests.
antiguo reino de
2 vols.
travers I'Amerique Centrale
Canal Interoceanique.
Belt, Thomas.
London, 1878.
la historia del
London, 1874.
Fr. Pedro.
Beltran de Saxta Rosa,
a Narrative of a resi-
Journeys in the Savannahs
Arte del Idioma Ma^â redu-
cido a succintas reglas, y semilexicon Yucateco.
Mexico, 1746;
also Merida, 1859.
Benzoni, Girolamo.
Venice,
1556.
History of the
1572.
(First ed.
new World.
1565.)
Travels
1541-
English Translation,
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Berendt, Dr. C. H. Analytical Alphabet for the Mexican and CenNew York, 1869. American P^thnolotral American Languages.
gical Societv.
Remarivs on the Centres of Ancient Civilization in Central

America, and their Geographical Distribution. New York, 1876.
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and
Flora
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Contributions to the Knowledge
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J. W.
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America Septentrional. Madrid, 1746.
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Boyle, Frederick.
1868.
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BoTURiNi, Benaducci.
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APPENDIX.
432
Brasseur de Bourbourg. Histoire des Nations civilisees du Mexique

et de TAmerique Centrale durant les siecles anterieurs a Christophe
Colomb, ecrite sur les documents originaux et entierement inedits,
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Popul Vuh. Le Livre sacre et les Mythes de I'Antiquite Aniericaine, avec les Livres heroiques et historiques des Quiches. Ouvrage
original des Indigenes de
Guatemala, texte Quiche
et traduction
Paris, 18G1.
fran9aise en regard.
Bibliotheque Mexico-Guatemalienne, precede d'un coup

Paris, 1871.
les etudes Americaines.
Grammaire de
parallel avec ses
la
langue Quichee
d'oeil
espagnole-frauâise mise en
dialectes Cachiquel et Tzutuhil, etc.
deux
sur
Paris,
1862.
Recherches sur les mines de Palenque et sur les origines de la

du Mexique. Paris, 1866.
Vo3-age sur I'lsthme de Tehuantepec dans I'etat de Chiapas et
civilisation
'^
la repnbliquede Guatemala (1859-1860). Paris, 1861.

Breton, Raymond. Dictionnaire caraibe-fran9ais. Auxerre, 1665.
Brinton, Dr. Daniel G. American Hero Myths.
The Names of the Gods in the Kiche Myths of Central America.
Proceedings of the American Philosophical
Philadelphia, 1881.
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The Maya Chronicles. Philadelphia, 1882.

BuLow, A. VON. Der Freistaat Nicaragua in Mittel-Amerika, und
seine Wichtigkeit
fiir
den Welthandel,
Berlin, 1849.
etc.
Freistaat Costa Rica in Mittel-Amerika, etc.
Der
Btam, George.
Wild Life
in the Interior of Central
Berlin, 1850.
Lon-
America.
don, 1849.
Cabrera, P. F. Description of an Ancient City discovered near

Palenque in Guatemala. Translated from the Report of Antonio
Followed
del Rio.
b^-
a History' of the Americans.
Carillo, Canon Crescentio.

Peninsula de Yucatan.
1822.
Manual de Historia y Geografia de
la
Merida.
Casas, Bartolomeo de las. Narratio regionum indicarum per Hispanos quosdam devastatarum. Francofort, 1598. De Bry.
An
b}'
Account
Of
tion hitherto
pub
Voyages and discoveries Made

The most Exact' Relaof their unparallel'd Cruelties on the
the First
the Spaniards in
America
lished
Indians, in the destruction of a
With
Containing
bove Forty Millions of People.
the Propositions offer'd to the
further
Ruin of the West Indies.
King of Spain, to prevent the

By Don Bartholomew de las
|
APPENDIX.
Casas, Bishop of Chiapa,
433
who was an Eye
London, 1G99.
Casas, Bartolomeo de las.
witness of their Cruel-
ties.
Historia apologetiea de las Indias
5 vols, folio in manuscript, at Madrid.
(A copy
is
in the
Force.
Library at Washington.)
Historia de las Indias, ahora por primera vez dada a luz por
Marques de
1875-76.
la
Fuensanta del Valle y D.
J.
S.
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el
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5 vols.
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America, Chiapas, and Yucatan. Loudon, 1844. Folio. See also
Stephens.
Charency, Henri de. Le Mithe de Votan. Paris, 1871.

Charnay, Desire. Cites et Ruines Americaines, Mitla, Palenque,
Izamal, Chichen-Itza, Uxmal, recueillies et photographiees. Texte
par Viollet
le Due.
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49 folio plates.
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Clavigero, Francisco Yavier.

1780.
Storia antica del Messico, Cesena,
4 vols.
Histor}' of
Mexico from Spanish and Mexican Historians, MSS.,

Translated, with Dissertations, b}^ Cullen. London,
Paintings, etc.
1807.
2 vols.
Don J. G. Mara.
London, 1826. 2 vols. Maps and curious plates.
CocKBURN, John. A Journey over Land from the Gulf of Honduras to
the Great South Sea. Performed by J. C. and Five Other Englishmen. London, 1735.
CoGOLLUDo, Diego Lopez. Los tres Siglos de la dominacion EspaHistoria Antigua de Megico traducida por
nola en Yucatan, d sea Historia de esta provincia desde la conquista

hasta la independencia.
2 vols.
8vo.
hf. bd.
Campeche, 1842;
Merida, 1845.
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legidas e ilustradas por Don Pascual de Gayangos.
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la Borde. Relation de I'origine des Caraibes. Paris, 1674.

Diaz del Castillo, Bernal. Historia Verdadera de la Conquista
de la Nueva Espana. Madrid, 1632. Another edition, 1795-6,
Madrid, in 4 vols. English editions True Histoiy of the Conquest
of Mexico. Translated by Keatinge. London, 1800. Memoirs con:
28
APPENDIX.
434
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London, 1844. 2 vols.

DoNDE, Juan, y Joaquin. Apuntes sobi*e
J.
Translated by
G. Lockhart.
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>
DuNLOP, R. G. Travels in Central America. London, 1847.

Dunn, Henry. Guatimala, or the Republic of Central America in
1827-8 being Sketches and Memorandums made during a Twelve;
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Antiquites Mexicaines
DuPAix, Capt.
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Fr.
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Diego.
<
les diverses
expe-
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Historia de las Indias de la
Nueva Espana y
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Islas de Tierra Firme.
~><^
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contenant
du capitaine Dupaix entreprises au Mexique, aux ruines de
Palenque.
DuRAN,
8vo.
;
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Fancourt, C. St. J. History- of Yucatan to the close of the Seventeenth Century. London, 1854.
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Repiiblica del Salvador.
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"
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Dr. Frantzius has also translated from Palaeio the " San
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APPENDIX.
442
ViLLAGUTiERRE SoTO Mayor, Juan de.
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From an Ancient Manuscript.
INDEX.
INDEX.
[Illustrations are
Abutilons,
marked by
italic
pagination.]
Argueta, 135, 151.
88.
Acacia, 192.
Acajutla, 11.
Acorns in bark, 110.
Armor, coats
Agatized wood, 70.

Agaves, 113, 355.
Agua Blanca, 197.
Agua, Volcan de, 159, 387.
Aguacateca, 278.
Army, 296.
Asamblea Nacional,
Aguan
River,
Arms
of Guatemala, 281.
Ass at Jutiapa,
101.
calientes, 5, 81, 381.
Akahales, 261.
Atitlan,
Lago
de, 154, 156, 402.
at, 153.
Volcan de, 132, 382.

Audiencia Real, 281.
Avalanche from Agua, 358.
Avocado
Alaguilac, 278.
Alajuela, railroad, 22.
Alcaldes, 146.
Alenian, Hotel, i)l, 92.
pear, 366.
Azacualpa, 192.
Bahama
grass, 369.
Ball at Sacapulas, 116.

Ball-game, 257.
Balsam coast shaken, 390.
Alligator, eggs, 372.
pear, 366.
shot, 75, 371.
Almolonga, 145, 269, 387.
Bananas, 351.
Alniuerzo, 30.
Altar of Tohil, 122.
Banos de Medina,
Alvarado, Jorge de,

Pedro de, 265.
widow of,
Amapala, 16.
11.
Barillas,
dies, 389.
ruins
M.
27.
33.
in exile, 290.
de, 9, 174.
president, 291.
159.
visited, 180.
of, 161.
Antonio, Saint, prayer

Ants, 375.
in qualm-tree, 57.
to, 274.
Puerto, 00, 61.

Bath, Atitlan, 152.
Bola de oro, 183.
leaf-cutting, 413.
Ciudad Vieja,
white, 51, 375.
Escuintla, 172.
Apes, origin
Bath.)
L., 145.
Barrack Point,
Barracks, Livingston,
Barrancas, 87, 157.
Barrios, J. R. 149.
Aniatitlan, 174.
Laguna
(.êe
Barbasco, 213.
Barbecue, 50.
Amates, Los, 214.
Antigua,
292.
194.
Assassination attempted, 181.
boat
9.
Aguardiente monopoly,
Aguas
of, 258.
defensive, 258.
of, 234.
160.
in Pacific Ocean, 165.
INDEX.
446
Cannibalism, 249.
Canoa, 66.
Cantaras, 117.
Bats, destructive, 226.
vampire, 45.
Bay
Islands, 17, 67.
Campo
Beans, 365.
Belgian Colony, 36, 60.
Guatemala,
Belize, City of, 74.
River,
Santo, Livingston, 27.
Quiche, 119.
Coban, 98.
Beetles, 374.
8.
Bibliography, 430.
Birds of Guatemala, 374.
Black sheep, 137.

Blacksmiths at Zacapa,
Blow-gun, 236.
210.
182.
Caratasca, Lago de,

Carcaste, 126, 198.
Carib boys, 274.
prayer, 274.
Caribbee, 273.
9.
Caribs, 271.
Boas, 62.
Carillo, 22.
Boat
Carmen, Church
at Atitlan, 153.
of, 179.
Amatitlan, 174.
Boca-nueva Valley, 79.
Carrera, Rafael, 287, 288.
Bonaca
Cartago, 9, 22.
destroyed, 391.
tomb
Island, 17.
Botlass-fly, 375.
Bourbourg, Brasseur
Brand on
de, 230.
mare,
Volcan
Cartina,
slaves, 267.
Cassava,
102.
of, 178.
de, 383.
Lago
de, 10.
32, 305.
grating, 32.
Breadfruit, 170, 365.

Breeds, mixed, 421.
Castillo de S. Felipe, 69.
Bridge, Los Esclavos, 191.
Castilloa elastica, 347.
ropes, 107.
Cathedral, Santiago, 178.
vines, 79.
Cayo Paloma,
42.
Cazuela, 82.
Bridling a mare, 155.

Bromelia Pinguin, 191.
Buenaventura, San, 9.
Cecropia-tree, 57.
Cedar, 337.
Bullfight, 185.
Ceiba-tree, 49.
Bulls, gentle, 82
Sacapulas, 115.
Cenotes, 53, 385.
Burial-ground, 119.
mound, 106. (See Campo Santo.)

Burned kings, 268.
Censer, ancient, 251.
Butterflies, 53, 374.
Centipedes, 374.
Caballos, Puerto de,

Cabildo of Coban, 03.
Cabracan, 236.
Cacao, 345, 346.
Caceres, Alonzo
16.
de, 16.
Eiver,
9, 75.
Cakchiquel Chronicle, 259, 277.

Cakchiqucls, 202
Calabash, 123, 103.
Calonyction speciosum, 349.
Calletano, Luciano, 24.
9.
Candles offered, 208.

Cane-brake, 74.
Cane heads,
207.
Central America, bounds,

mountains, 3.
2.
lakes, 9.
Cerbatana, 236.
Cerna, defeated, 290.
president, 289.
lassoed, 210.
Canajpii,
modern,
rivers, 7.
Cactus, 114.
Cahabon
162.
Cerro Quemado, 141, 382.

Cliama, Sierra de, 6.
Chamiquin, 83.
Champa building,
56.
Chaniperico, 145.
Chicaman,
108, 110.
Chicha, 68, 163.

Chicheria, 163.
Chicliicastenango, 127, 129.
Children desired, 250.

Chile, 366.
INDEX.
447
Chile relleno, 366.
Conch, trumpet,
Cliimalmat, 236.
Chiote, 366.
Chiquimula, 208.
various kinds, 376.

Confiscated church, 292.
Confra palm, 333.
Clii.xoy bridge, 106, 107.
Congrehoy Peak,
River,
Constitution, 286.
drink, 422.
planting, 255.
Kiver, 44.
Chontales, 18.
Chorti language, 278.
Church, Carmen,
Coban, ^J^.
i~9.
confiscation, 292.
Quezaltenango,
143.
ruined, Antigua, 161.

service,
Coban,
99.
Circumcision, 247.
City of Belize, steamer, 74.
Ciudad Vieja, 160.
destroyed, 388.
Civil service, Quiche', 253.
Clavigero quoted, 229.

Cleanliness,
384.
Conquistadores, 282.
8.
Valley, 114.
Chocolate, 34G.
Chocon
76.
want
of, 422.
Climbing-palm, 332.
Cloth pattern, 'J5.
Coatepeque, Lago de, 401.
Coban, Canipo Santo, 98.
Convolvulus, 81, 427.

Cookery, 314, 421.
Cooking-bench, 82.
Copan, 229.
Cordoba founded, 20.
Corn at Argueta, 151.
man made
trials, 318.
Coyote, 371.
Crab-catching, 240.
Creation of world, 233.
man,
Criba,
235.
Laguna
Cruz, Serapio, 289.

Cuatro-reales, 147.
Cuajinicuilapa, 191.
Cuartillo, 102.
Indio, 99.
Cuilapa, 191.
Cuchuniatanes,
Cockscomb Range,
6.
Coconut, 358.
young, 360.
Cocos, 365.
de, 10.
Cross-breeding, 421.
Cross on monoliths, 220.
church, 04.
Plaza, 94.
Cobre, 359.
Cochineal, 837.
from, 235.
Corozal mines, 11.

Corozo palm, 329.
Coseguina, eruption, 399.
Cotuha, king, 231.
Court at Livingston, 318.
6.
Culhuacan, 229.
Cunen, 111.
Currency of Guatemala,
305.
Cuscatlan, 261.
Danta,
370.
esencia de, 84.
Deaf-mutes, school for, 300.

Dahlia, 112, 158.
Davila, Padre, 202.
Liberian, 344.
Death-rate,
Coffee, 343.
crop, 344.
Cohune palm,
49, 330.
Coir, 359.
Colegio de Libcrtad, 101.

Senoritas, 142.
Coloradi'a (Leptus sp.), 34.
Comajen, 51.
Comal, 71.
Comayagua
plain, 6.
Coniida, 30.
6.5.
Debt, public, 302.

Departments, Costa Rica, 22.
Guatemala, 294.
Honduras, 15.
Nicaragua, 20.
San Salvador, 12.
Depilto mines, 19.
Deluge, Quiche, 234.
Dentistry, Quiche, 238.
Composite, 87.
Desmoncus,
Conch soup,
Devisadero mines,
376.
332.
11.
INDEX.
448
Dogs,
lialf-fed, 83.
Fruits, 368.
Dolls at Antigua, 162.
Dragon Rock,
Fuego, Volqau de, 151,
Dulce, Rio, 9, 41.

Dwellings, no ruins of, 420.
Galero, Don
Game, 369.
Earrings,
Garden, Solola, 134.

Quezaltenango,
225.
Earthquake, Santa Cruz,
90.
terms, 390.
Earthquakes, 387.
theory of, 407.
Education, public, 296.
conquered, 269.
founded, 261.
Esencia de cafe, 84.
78.
Granada,
20.
Granadillas, 93, 368.
Granados, President, 290.

Grasses, 369.
Grasshopper, 57.
Gualan, 212.
Guanaja, or Bonacca,
Guatemala
Esquipulas, 201.
Santuario, 202.
Ethnograpliic Chart, 271.
Euphorbia, 84.
Exancul, 141.
Expenses of Guatemala, 303.
Exports of Guatemala, 312.
Guatemaltecan names, 418.

Guavas, 368.
Guepiles, 189.
Lago de, 10.

Guinea grass, 369.
Gucumatz, 229.
Gumarcah, 2.32.
Guija,
Heights
Ex-votos, 205.
of mountains, 424.
Henequen,
173.
Hevea
355.
braziliensis, 349.
Eeather-work, 256.
Hikatee, 372.
Ferns, 335.
Ferro-carril del Norte, 62.
Hondo
Feudal system, 231.
Honduras,
Fibre, agave, 355.
Hippodrome,
187.
Valley, 207.
13.
Interoceanic Railway,
name
banana, 354.
Horse astray,
pita, 354.
Hospitals, 316.
plantain, 354.
Ficus elastica, 349.

Figueroa, Bishop, 208.
House, Carib, 30.

Houses in Coban, 96.
Hueytlat, 230.
Fish, 373.
Humming-birds
at Ilopango, 403.
Flores murdered, 142, 286.

Fonseca, Gulf of, 11.
fighting, 217.
235.
Hunapu
volcanoes, 191.
Huntoh, king, 258.
Huracan, 233.
ICACO PLUM, 367.
Jose, 177.
Frank on Mabel,
199.
nest, 57.
Hunahpu,
Frijoles, 365.
Ideographs, 251.
Iguanas, 47, 372.
Frogs, 373.
Ilocab, 231.
106.
17.
of, 419.
ixtli, .355.
Forced loan, 290.
17.
City, 178.
Street, 176.
192.
Forest at Chocon, 324.

Fort of San Felipe, 69.
144.
Garrapatos, 376.
Gil, San, 59.
Girdle- weaving, 252.
varieties, 368.
Escuintla, 164.
Falls of Michatoya,
M., 134.
J.
Goyavas, green,
Elena, Santa, 208.

Encuentros, 130.
mine, 11.
Eruptions, volcanic, 386.
Esclavos, Rio de, 8, 191.
Espina blanca,
392.
55.
INDEX.
Ilopango, Lago de, 402, 403.
449
Lemons, 358.
Lempa, Rio, 10.
Lempira rebels, 283.
Leon founded, 20.
sacrifice at, 404.
Imports of Guatemala, 308.

Incense-burner, 207.
India-rubber, o46, 347.
Libertad, 11.
Libraries in Guatemala, 301.
Indigo, 337.
Ixils, 278.
Limas, 358.
Limes, 358.
Limestone corroded,
Limon, Puerto, 22.
Lion bird, 46.
Iximcbe, 259.
Listones, 95.
Ixtli fibre, 355.
Livingston, 28.
Institute Nacional, 183.
Intibuca, cool, 13.
Istak volcano, 381.

Istapa, 8,
1(38.
Izabal, 224, 225.
Lago
54, 55.
death-rate, 65.
de, 224.
free port, 36.
Izalco formed, 395.
landing, 26.
Izmaclii founded, 231.
street, 28.
Iztayul, 231.
Lobelias, 88.
Jacinto, San, 207.

Jaguar (tigre), 371.
Logwood, 337.
Lomalarga mines,
Los Amates, 214.
11.
Jaguilla, 370.
Jefes politicos, 294.
Machete,
Jesuits banished, 291.
Mafia
Jicara, 123, 124.
Mahogany,
Jocote fruit, 89, 367.

Jocote village, 108.
Jose, San, Costa Rica, 21.
Mail-service, 307.
65.
(devil), 275.
-335.
Maiz, 39, 363.
Mam,
230.
Mama-caixon,
Guatemala, 165.
Juan, San, Rio, 9.
263.
Jutiapa, 193.
Man
Man
Kataore, 126.
Kingdom of Guatemala,
Manaca palm, 49.

Managua destroyed,
Lago de, 10.
1.
created, 234.
on
fire,
159.
Kitchen, monks', 104.
Treaty of,
Manatee, 370.
Manihot, 365.
Labor wage,
Mango,
Kings of Quiche',
253.
314.
21.
367.
Mangroves, 323.
Lacandones, 8.
Ladron at Quiche, 127.
Lago, Amatitlan, 174.
Manzanillas, 171, 367.
Atitlan, 152, 154, 156.
Mapachines, 370.
Maps, 256.
Guija, 10.
Mare sunstruck,
Lamp,
Marimba, 122,123.
Markets in Guatemala,
La Paz, 192.
La Tinta, 81.
La Union, 11.
188.
Masaj'a eruption, 385.
Mask
relics, 224.
Lassoing cactus, 210.

Law of Guatemala, 295.
Legislature, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, 292.
Salvador, 12.
Lemoa,
172.
to bridle a, 155.
native, 98.
Las Quebradas
20.
in
Museo Nacional, 29(?.
Matagalpa mines,
19.
Matapalo-tree, 325, 326.

Maya language, 275.
Measures and weights, 425.
22.
Mecapal, 78.
Merendon, Sierra
127.
29
del, 6.
450
INDEX.
Mcrnmids in cliurch,
Mel ill If, 70, oGo.
Paddle and machete,
112.
Micliatova Falls, 173.
Palenque, 229.
Kin,' 8.
Palin, 173.
Mico, I'^l, crossing, 223.

Miguel. San. 84.
Molina, Don Luis, 95.
Palms, 328.
Palo Cortez, 211.
Panajachel, 155.
Panela, 105, 342.
Pansos, 9, 76.
Papaya, 366.
Paper, 256.
Money
Parties, political, 285.
Volcan (le, 396.

Mines, 11, 14, 19.
Miracle, Esqiiipulas, 206.
Mixcrl races, 421.
in
Monkeys,
Guatemala, 305, 424.

73.
30',).
Passion-flower, 44, 376.
Monoliths, 210, 220, 221, 222.
Patzicia, 158, 391.
Monte
Patzun, 157.
Kico, 198.
JVIonteziiina's
embassy, 262.
Months, Quiche, 256.

Moon-plant, 349.
Morazan, (K'neral, 286.
Mosquito Reservation, 18,
Motngua, Uio, 9, 211.
Mozo iiiring, 78.

Mozo on road, 108.
Mozos (Ic cargo, 78, 279.
Museo Nacioual, 183.
Pawpaw,
366.
Peccaries, 370.
Pelican shot, 42.
Petaca making,
21.
276.
Peten, Laguna del, 9.

Petrifying brook, 104.
Pharomacrus mocino,
Piedras Gordas, 198.
San Jose, 166.

Pimento palm, 331.
Pier,
Pine (Pinus), 337.
Kaiioas, 229.
Pine-apples, 191, 361.
Nfiiads in a spring, 85.
Pine-needles, 110.
Names
Pipiles, 271.
of towns, 418.
Ne\vsi)apers, 301.
Pit-craters, 401.
Nicaragua,
Pita, 104, 357.
18.
de, 10.
Volcanoes, 383.
Nopal. ,338.
Nutmegs,
Ocos,
.302.
Puerto
de, 172.
Pitpans,
8.
Plantains, 351, 352.

Plants, indigenous, 425.
Plaza, Coban, 04.

Sacapulas, 118.
Plough, Indian, 340.
Ocote, 76.
Pocomam women,
Offs))ring desired, 250.
Pocomams,
275.
262.
Oil of cohune, 331.
Poconchi Indios,
Onietepec, 10, 387.
Poknoboy palm,.331.
Omoa, 10.
Montana
97.
Photographs taken, 423.
Naciian, 229.
Lago
65.
Painting, Quiche, 250.
82.
Political parties, 285.

de, 6.
Opals, 14.
Oranges, 357.
cheap, 109.
'J'eleman, 80.
Organs
Polochic, Rio, 8, 72.

Polygamy, unlawful, 254.
Popul Vuh, 230.

Porpoises in Golfete, 67.
Postage-stamps, 307.
in church, 128.
Orchids, 333, 428.
Potatoes, sweet, 365.
Paiu.o, San, 211.
Pottery, 117, 189.

Poyas, 17.
Pacaya palm, 331.

Volcan de, 2113.
Prado, Juan, 105.

Prayer, Quiche, old, 249.
Potato-fields, 136.
INDEX.
Prayer, Quiche, Cliristian, 417.
President Barillas, 145.
451
Rey
portentoso, 232.
Rice-crops, 39, 357.
Barrios, 149,
pounding,
Carrera, 288.
Cerna, 289.
Rivas, 18.
Road-building, 106.
Granados, 200.
Roatan,
how
Rock
elected, 293.
17.
Island, 43.
Rocket-making, 160.
visited, 1-50, 180.
Primavera,
356.
105.
Roof-tile, 89.
Prisons, 116.
Roses, 87.
Privies, absent, 154.
Rosewood, 337.
Procession, religious, 186.

Professional instruction, 299.
Ruins, Antigua, 161.
Don
Rozales,
Aloiizo, 193.
Pronunciation of names, 129.
Quirigua, 217.
Provisions, price of, 314.
Utatlan, 120.
Puerto Barrios, 60, 61.
Sacapulas,
Caballos, 16.
Limon,
Chixoy Valley,
22.
371.
Pumice,
114.
Sacate buying, 157.

Sacatepequcz, 262.
Sacaton, 192.
Pulque, 355.
Puma,
115.
Plaza, lis.
Cortez, 16.
174.
Pumice razors, 15.3.

Punishments in Guatemala,
Punta Arenas, 22.
Saccharine, 64.
319.
Sacrificatorio, 122.
Sacrifice,
human,
Pupuluca, 271.
249.
at Ilopango, 491.
to Tohil, 240.
Qualm-tree,
Salcaja, 140.
57.
Salm-wood, 337.
Quaternity, 149.
Quekchi
Indio,
9-3,
277.
Quetzal, 97.
Quetzalcoatl, 229.
Quezaltenango, 141.
Cristobal, 103.
Felipe, 67, 09.
alcaldes, 140.
church, 143.
Quezaltepeque, 206.
Quicab, king, 2-38.

Quiche, Santa Cruz
language, 277.
Gil, 59.
Jose, 165.
del, 118.
prayer, 417.
ancient, 249.
sacred book, 230.

trousers, 119.
Quirigua, plan, 217.

Kiver, 216.
to
San
168.
Jose', 165.
Eazor of pumice,
153.
Keligion free, 295.

Remedies, Indian, 317.
Rctalhuleu, 145.
Revolution, 283.
Juan, 20.
Miguel, 11.
Tucurii, 84.
Volcan
Santa Ana, 395.
names, 233.
Railroad Map,
Salvador, San, 11.

City destroyed, 392.
San Andres, 156.
de, 396,
Catarina, 196.
Cruz, Alta Verapaz, 90.
breakfast, 103.
Cruz (2), 109.

Cruz del Quiche', 260.
Maria wood, 337.
Volcan de, 141.
Santo Tomas, 36, 60.
Chicastenango, 127.
Santuario, Esquipulas, 202.
Sapodilla, 337.
Sapote, 131.
Sapoton
fruit, 44.
INDEX.
452
Saquinimac, 237.
Sarsaparilla, 350.
Sarstun, Rio, 8.
Sauce, 70.
Schools in Guatemala, 297.
Scorpions, 374.
Teponaztles, 258.
Theatre, 181.
Theobroma cacao, 346.
Tigres, 371.
Tiiapa, Rio, 266.

Tile on roof, 89.
Secondary instruction, 298.
Tipitapa, Rio, 10.

Tizate poison, 243.
Secretaries of State, 293.
Tobacco of Copan,
Segovia, Rio,
Tohil's altar, 122.
Seat, stone, 2S0.
9.
Toldo, 66.
Semetabaj, 150.
Serpientc, 36.
Shaving with pumice,

Sheol,
men
153.
hemp,
355.
Slaves branded, 267.

Smilax, 350.
Snakes, 62, 67, 377.
Solola, 131, 132.
Sonsonate,
Spanish
Tollman, San Lucas,

Tomas, Santo, 60.
9.
Chichicastenango, 127.
Tonala, Battle of, 2G6.
Topiltzin Acxitl, 230.
Toranjas, 358.
Tortilla-making, 71, 363.
Totonicapan, 137, 138.
Trachyte, 406.
Trapiche, 196.
in, 89.
Sinca language, 278.

Sipacua, 23G, 240.
Sisal
15.
Trinity, Quiche', 230.
11.
Trousers in Quiche', 119.
stirrup, 184.
Spiders, 374.
Trujillo, 16.
Squashes, 365.
Stamped paper, 102.
Tucurii, 84.
Stirrup, ancient, 184.
Tula, 229.
Tultecas, 229.
Tultec emigration, 260.
StoU, Dr. A., 271.
Tun, 258.
Stevia, 112.
Street,
Guatemala
City, 176.
Turtle, 372.
Livingston, 28.
Subsidence, 158.
Suchitan, 195.
Turtle nest, 216.

Tzutohiles, 277, 278.
Sugar-cane, 340.
Ulua, Rio,
mill, 341.
Utatlan, 120, 232.
yield, 39.
Sulphur spring,
9.
Uspantan, 110, 277.

Usumacinta, Rio, 8, 116.
crop, 342.
Utila, 384.
63.
Suyacal, 78.
Vado Hondo,
Tactic,
208.
Vampire-bats, 45.
88.
Taltusas, 370.
Vanilla,
Tamahu, 87.
Taxes in Guatemala,
Vara,
303.
3-34.
96.
Vejuco de agua,
Teacliers' Institutes, 297.
Vejucos, 51.
Tecpan Quauhtemalan,
Tecum, 200.
Vine bridge,
160, 259.
54.
79.
Vital statistics, 816.
Tegucigalpa, 16.
Telegraphs, 306.
Volcanic action, 406.
Teieman, 80.
Temple, ancient,
Volcanoes of Central America, 380.

Votan, 229.
Vucubatz, king, 258.
Vucub-caquix, 235.
cones, 407.
245.
Tenedores, 63.
Terminos, Lago de,
Tepepul, king, 259.
8.
INDEX.
Warree,
453
Xicaques,
370.
17.
Warree cohuue, 331.

Washout on road, 157.
Ximenes, 230.
Water-vine,
Xpiyacoc, 233, 234.

Xuchil, rape of, 269.
Xutiapan, 194.
Watson, S., collection,

Weaving, 95, 139, 252,
Wedding
Xmucane,
54.
327.
255.
234.
at Patziin, 158.
Weights and Measures,

Wheat, 364.
Wheat market,
425.
Sololu, 132.
Yam, 365.
Yampux, 262.
Yojoa, Lago de,
10.
Whistle, Las Quebradas, 227.
Zacapa,
Wizard, 203.
Woman
210.
puros, 211.
created, 235.
Woods, native names,
411.
Zapotitlan, 266.
Writing, Quiche', 250.
Zarco, Rio, 74.

Zarza, 350.
Xbalanque,
Ziricote, 337.
235.
Xelahu, 145, 267.

Xibalbay, 229.
Zonipopos, 413.
University Press:
John Wilson
&
Son, Cambridge.
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The Kingdom of Guatemala

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~El==

THE LAND OF THE QUETZAL

increasing importance of Central

America, both geographically and

led the writer of the following pages to collect for his

use and print for the

during three journeys in Guatemala and Honduras.

does not pretend to offer a monograph on Guatemala, nor

fascinated the public nearly half a century ago, the people

States have paid very

country on the northern half of the American

continent has a finer climate or more beautiful and varied

uplands not unlike the plateau of the

lakes as picturesque as those of Switzer-

green slopes that might have been taken from the

for the genuine

Valleys rivalling the paradises of the islands

glens like the Trossachs

pojDulation as various as in that land

but the incom-

Guatemaltecan picture. Then there

dangerous beast or savage

attempts the traveller's

no lurking danger or insidious pestilence

reader than pleasant to the explorer, are rare here, and

seem softened and vanishing

the retrospective eye.

Old travellers know how soon the individuality of a

the Transcontinental Railway traverses the plains

In the sober work to which this Preface introduces the

From an Ancient Manuscript.

The Kingdom of Guatemala

The Atlantic Coast and

Across the Continent Westward to Coban

From Coban to Quezaltenango

V. From Quezaltenango to the Pacific

Esquipulas and Quirigua

X. The Republic of Guatemala

Earthquakes and Volcanoes

Interior of a Carib House

CoBAN CuuRcn AND Plaza

tower of the Cabildo)

Valley of the Chixoy

Lago de Atitlan (from

the road above Paiiajacbel)

Street in Guatemala City

Guatemala City (from

the Church of the Carmen)

Monolith at Quirigua (E)

Two Carib Boys

Carib plaiting a Petaca

(^Attalea cohune, Mart.)

PiGUREs (from an ancient Manuscript)

Barrack Point, Livingston

Entrance to the Hio Dulce

Dragon Bock, Chocon

San Gil (from

author's house at Liviiigstou)

Paddle and Machete

Castillo de San Pelipe (plan drawn by P. E. Blaisdell)

Roof-tile (from a sketch by F. E. Blaisdell)

Plan of Hotel Aleman (by

Interior of tue Church at Coban