The Capitals of Spanish America
Part 1
THE CAPITALS
OF
SPANISH AMERICA
BY
WILLIAM ELEROY CURTIS
LATE COMMISSIONER FROM THE UNITED STATES TO THE GOVERNMENTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICA
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE
Copyright, 1888, by HARPER & BROTHERS.
_All rights reserved._
TO
THE MEMORY OF
CHESTER ALAN ARTHUR
TWENTY-FIRST PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
THIS BOOK IS
Dedicated
HIS KINDNESS MADE ITS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE; AND HIS AFFECTIONATE INTEREST ADDED PLEASURE TO ITS PREPARATION
_Mr. Arthur’s Acceptance of the Dedication._
* * * * *
New York, April 7, 1887.
_William E. Curtis, Esquire, Washington_:
DEAR SIR,--In compliance with your request, I enclose an unsigned draft of a letter dictated by Mr. Arthur last November. It was submitted to him a few days before he died, and as he desired to make no further changes in the text, I was to have a clean copy made for his signature; but he was fatally stricken before that was done.
Very respectfully yours, JAMES C. REED.
* * * * *
November 13, 1886.
MY DEAR CURTIS,--The graceful terms in which you propose to dedicate your book to me add still another obligation that I may not be able to repay.
I appointed you Secretary of the South American Commission without your solicitation, because I knew your ability, energy, and industry would be felt as they have been in the effort to bring our Spanish-American neighbors into closer commercial and political relations with us.
I had given much consideration to the subject, and realized what is made so clear in the Reports of the South American Commission, that the future commercial prosperity of the United States required something to be done to extend our trade with the continent southward. The Commission, of which you were Secretary and subsequently became a member, was intended as an initiatory step in that direction.
In my judgment, it is not only the duty of the United States to encourage and assist our merchants and manufacturers in the expansion of their foreign trade, by seeking new markets and furnishing facilities for reaching them, but there is a higher achievement in promoting the welfare of our sister republics through the consistent exercise of every friendly office tending to secure their peaceable development and national prosperity.
I am sure your “The Capitals of Spanish America” will furnish our own people with trustworthy and late news about our neighbors to the southward, and that your graphic pen will make the book as interesting as it is instructive. I shall await its publication with very deep interest.
If my strength permits, it will give me great pleasure to act upon your suggestion,[A] but just now I am hardly equal to the demands of my private correspondence. With cordial regard,
I am faithfully yours,
----
_To_ WILLIAM E. CURTIS,
Washington, D. C.
[A] To write an Introduction to this volume.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
MEXICO.
THE CAPITAL OF MEXICO 1
GUATEMALA CITY.
THE CAPITAL OF GUATEMALA 60
COMAYAGUA.
THE CAPITAL OF HONDURAS 114
MANAGUA.
THE CAPITAL OF NICARAGUA 138
SAN SALVADOR.
THE CAPITAL OF SAN SALVADOR 171
SAN JOSÉ.
THE CAPITAL OF COSTA RICA 196
BOGOTA.
THE CAPITAL OF COLOMBIA 225
CARACAS.
THE CAPITAL OF VENEZUELA 257
QUITO.
THE CAPITAL OF ECUADOR 298
LIMA.
THE CAPITAL OF PERU 355
LA PAZ DE AYACUCHO.
THE CAPITAL OF BOLIVIA 416
SANTIAGO.
THE CAPITAL OF CHILI 454
PATAGONIA 516
BUENOS AYRES.
THE CAPITAL OF THE ARGENTINE REPUBLIC 542
MONTEVIDEO.
THE CAPITAL OF URUGUAY 591
ASUNCION.
THE CAPITAL OF PARAGUAY 623
RIO DE JANEIRO.
THE CAPITAL OF BRAZIL 660
INDEX 707
ILLUSTRATIONS.
MAP OF SOUTH AMERICA _Frontispiece_.
PAGE
It was used in the Days of Moses 2
A Water-carrier 3
Ruins of the Covered Way to the Inquisition 4
Mexican Muleteer 5
Shops 6
Castle of Chapultepec 7
Tile Front 9
The Tree of Montezuma 10
Prince Yturbide 11
General Grant on a Banana Plantation 15
Church of Guadalupe 19
Iztaccihuatl 20
Ex-President Gonzales 22
President Porfirio Diaz 23
The Dome 25
San Cosme Aqueduct, City of Mexico 27
The Palace of Mexico 29
The Cathedral, City of Mexico 33
Styles of Architecture 35
A Mexican Caballero 38
Noche Triste Tree 41
The Picadors 45
Teasing the Bull 45
The Encore 46
Mexican Beggar 48
On Market-day 51
Sunday at Santa Anita 53
A Mexican Belle 54
Cactus, and Woman kneading Tortillas 55
First Protestant Church in Mexico 57
The first Christian Pulpit in America--Tlaxcala 58
Font in old Church of San Francisco 59
View of Guatemala City 61
Ruins of the old Palace at Antigua Guatemala 65
Alvarado’s Tree 69
Ancient Arches 70
The Old and the New 71
How the Old Town looks now 73
Fragment of a Ruined Monastery 74
José Rufino Barrios 75
Francisco Morazan 77
Church of San Francesca, Guatemala la Antigua 79
One of fifty-seven Ruined Monasteries 81
Façade of an old Church 83
A Remnant 85
Fort of San José, Guatemala 87
Yniensi Gate, Guatemala 89
A Volcanic Lake 91
On the Road to the Capital 93
Tiled House-tops 99
Market-place, Guatemala 101
In the Rainy Season 102
Maguey Plant 103
A Native Sandal 107
Ornamental, but noisy 109
A Conspicuous Landmark 115
The Trail to the Capital 116
A Glimpse of the Interior 117
View of the Capital 118
A Popular Thoroughfare 119
Church of Merced and Independence Monument, Comayagua 120
Rubber Hunters 121
The Pita Plant 122
Harvesting one of the Staples 123
The Floating Population 124
Branch of the Rubber-tree 125
A Modern Town 126
Up the River 127
A Mining Settlement 128
View in Nicaragua 129
An Interior Plain 130
One of the Back Streets 132
Plaza of Tegucigalpa 133
Making Tortillas 134
Indigo Works 135
The Tlachiguero 136
View of Lake from Beach at Managua 139
Corinto 140
Hide-covered Cart 141
An Interior Town 143
The Indigo Plant 144
The King of the Mosquitoes 145
A Mahogany Swamp 148
Internal Commerce 149
How the Peons live 150
A Familiar Scene 152
A Country Chapel 153
The United States Consulate 154
Cathedral of St. Peter, Leon 155
The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua 158
Antics on the Bridge 159
In the Upper Zone 161
Volcanoes of Axusco and Momotombo, from the Cathedral 162
Volcano of Cosequina, from the Sea 163
La Union and Volcano of Conchagna 164
The Fate of Filibusters 165
A Farming Settlement 167
The Quesal 168
Landing at La Libertad 173
En Route to the Interior 175
The Peak of San Salvador 177
The Plaza 179
Spanish-American Courtship 180
A Hacienda 182
Interior of a San Salvador House 183
A Typical Town 185
What alarms the Citizens 186
Yzalco from a Distance 189
Yzalco 191
In the Interior 193
Hauling Sugar-cane 194
Crater of a Volcano 197
Rubber-trees 199
The Road from Port Limon to San José 201
A Peon 203
A Banana Plantation 206
Picking Coffee 209
The Marimba 215
Coffee-drying 217
Don Bernardo de Soto, President of Costa Rica 222
Barranquilla 226
Carthagena 227
Entrance to the Old Fortress, Carthagena 230
Colombian Military Men 233
On the Magdalena 235
Colombian ’Gators 237
Vegetable Ivory Plant 239
En Route to Bogota 241
Sabana of Bogota 243
Santa Fé de Bogota 245
Monument in the Plaza of Los Martirs 246
Plaza, and Statue of Bolivar 247
Going to the Market 249
A Caballero 250
An Orchid 251
Over the Mountains in a “Silla” 253
Natural Bridge of Pandi, Colombia 255
Don Rafael Nuñez, President 256
Waiting for the New York Steamer 259
In the Suburbs of La Guayra 261
Still more Suburban 263
On a Coffee Plantation 267
On a Back Street 269
Interior Court of a Caracas House 273
Spanish Missionary Work 276
Woman’s chief Occupation 277
A Bodega 279
A Glass of Aguardiente 281
A Venezuela Belle 283
The Lower Floor of the House 285
An Old Patio 289
Chocolate in the Rough 293
Separating the Cocoa-beans 294
Puerto Cabello 296
Along the Coast 299
The River at Guayaquil 301
The River above Guayaquil 303
An average Dwelling 304
Guayaquil 305
A Person of Influence 306
A Family Circle 307
Cathedral at Guayaquil, built of Bamboo 308
A Commercial Thoroughfare 309
The President’s Palace 310
The Outskirts of Guayaquil 311
A Business of Importance 312
A Pineapple Farm 313
A Water Merchant 314
A Freight Train on the Way 315
A Passenger Train 316
The Common Carrier 317
Hotel on the Route to Quito 318
Waiting for the Mules to Feed 319
En Route to the Sea 320
Somewhere near the Summit 321
The Altar 323
A Street in Quito 324
Where Pizarro first Landed 325
Equipped for the Andes 327
The Old Inca Trail 329
A Typical Country Mansion 331
A Wayside Shrine 332
Charcoal Peddler 333
Government Building at Quito 335
Court of a Quito Dwelling 336
What the Earthquakes left 338
A Professional Beggar 339
An Ecuador Belle 340
A Hotel on the Coast 343
Customs Officers 346
A Home on the Coast 347
Peruvian Soldier and Rabona 349
Looking Seaward 352
A Boatman on the Coast 354
Lima and its Environs 356
A Peruvian Interior 358
Grand Plaza, Lima 363
A Peruvian Chamber 366
Interior of a Lima Dwelling 368
A Peruvian Palace 369
A Peruvian Belle 370
Watching the Procession 371
The Daughter of the Incas 373
Ruins of the War 375
Interior of the ordinary Sort of House 378
A very Common Spectacle 379
A Peruvian Milk-peddler 381
Mindless of Care 383
View of Cuzco and the Nevado of Asungata from the Brow of the Sacsahuaman 389
Between Battles, Balls 393
A Warrior at Rest 397
Gate-way to the Andes 399
Henry Meiggs 402
The Heart of the Andes 404
An Inca Reminiscence 405
Cowhide Bridge over the Rimac 407
Inca Ruins of Unknown Age 408
A Settlement of this Century 409
A City of Four Centuries Ago 410
A Bit of Inca Architecture 411
Relic of a Past Civilization 412
Ruins of the Temple of the Sun 413
An Old Settler 414
Fresh from the Tomb 414
Where Peru’s Wealth came from 417
A Peruvian Port 419
The Old Trail 420
Arequipa 421
The Vicuña 424
Lake Titicaca 425
A Street in Cuzco 428
Ruins of an Inca Temple 429
Convent of Santa Domingo, Cuzco 430
What the Spaniards left 431
Where the Guano Lies 432
A Nitrate Mining Town 433
Guano Islands 435
Across the Continent 437
A Station on the Road 438
Chasquis at Rest 440
Chasquis Asleep in the Mountains 441
A Bit of La Paz 442
The Cathedral at La Paz 443
An Ancient Bridge in La Paz 445
A Bolivian Elevator 446
A Bolivian Cavalryman 447
A Home in the Andes 448
Juan Fernandez 450
Cumberland Bay 451
Tablet to Alexander Selkirk 453
The Harbor of Valparaiso 455
Victoria Street, Valparaiso 459
Santa Lucia 467
The Zama-cuaca 469
Exposition Building, Santiago 471
Statue of Bernard O’Higgins, Santiago 474
Patrick Lynch 475
Peons of Chili 477