The New York herald., 1873-05-05
where the wife is little better than slave to her

where the wife IL little better than slave to her
n1'' THE HOUSES OF THESE INDIANS
are OF the rudest possible description, consisting
only OF heavily thatched root raised upon poles,
with the flooring built about six feet from the
ground. Occasionally portion OF the sides is
enclosed with cane or split PALM but this is rare.
A nre on pile or stones in one corner serves for
and the culinary utensils consist simply OF few
gourd calabashes an iron pot or two, and hollow
day and half upon the Cuia brought the Cap
tain and his party out upon the waters OF the Boa
ya and In country OF an entirely different charac-
ing. Here they found themselves in low, nat land
on muddy, sluggish river, the banks OF which
were covered with plantations OF bananas and
plantains and dotted with the abodes OF the liDros
who lnhabit this part OF the domain.
Ihe condition OF these people is hardly better
little II better being built in the same way but
with the sides closed In and occasionally the inte-
rior divided into two or more rooms.
THE ORDINARY DRESS
OF the men is similar to that OF the Indians, and
the same may be said Of the women except that
the skirt OF the negro woman is Q trine-lust
trlne-lOnger, and in addition, she wears hand
kerchief tied arouna her neck which falls down In
front to conceal the breasts-a desirable result
which, II must be confessed 1t does not very effect
ually accomplish. These people are passiOnately
fond OF music and dancing, and indulge In frequent
fandangoe. they are I'M, more socia6e than the In
that are sometimes picturesque, but neveE re.
wssd and Se tooo TO nd or RTs lazy
people people than these ibrsSs. s Living In country
where everything grows almost spontaneously
raise W enough to keep themselves nom starvation;
and were It not for the fish that abound In the
Atrat0 they would frequently suffer from famine
lers out upon the Atrat0, and here they stopped
at the little village Of veiia, where
THRY MET THE FIRST STANDARD
that they had seen Senor Don Carlos Lemos the
only white man IN the village and the leading man
Of all the region round about By Don Carlos they
Of his three houses at their disposal. T6is house
was vastly superior to anything that they had seen
on their journey; Its sides were plastered and
story containing one room, around which ran
balcony. Here they rested for the night, and in
the morning started on
THEIR JOURNEY UP THE RIVER
with two fresh peOrs or canoemen, and large
canoe containing ranch, or little hut, constructed
Of cane and leaves into which the traveller might
became oppressive.
The canoe was propelled by the forward peom,
sat in the stern ana steered with q paddle, keep
Ing the canoe close to the bank In the shallow
water, and as much as possible out Of the current
craft was kept in motion. The endurance Of these
fellows was wonderful. With but two light meals
the heavy under way against the current at
the rate Of two miles an hour for six hours at q
time without the least rest The Atrato, upon
MOST MAGNIFICENT RIVER
1000 feet wide at distance OF $50 miles fr ON its
mouth, it is capable Of hoating the heaviest ships
to this point, even when at its lowest stage. And
yet this river, draining an area OF $4,000 square
miles, supporting population OF $4,000 souls, and
one Of the richest gold regions OF the world, is
comparatively unknown. The fact, however, that
at certain portions Of its course 1t fows within q
few miles OF the Pacific coast now threatens to
raise 1t from its obscurity, and the recent sue
cesses Of our explorers render 1t probable
1ns e Ata er w YET % one fe % the
The banks of the AtratO present to the eye
AN ENDLESS PANORAMA
OF luxuriant vegetation, exhibiting the thousand
and one curious and fantastic forms into which
nature loves to weave her tropical mantle. Above
the dense, rank underground, which forces itself
towering tops have doubtless witnessed the roll OF
the seasons for centuries. Here one beh0lds a
s sn Or ta an arg o1 gigantic
pletely hidden by the leaves and flowers OF innu-
merable orchids and vines that cling to It for sup
men, with scarce leaf, holding alOft it's crooked
and giant arms, which afford resting place for
hundreds OF screaming parrots or family OF chat
tering monkeys, who grin at the vOyagers as they
pass and cut strange capers apparently for their
special amusement
nous alligstors sleep in the sun, waking only to
side aziy into the water at the shout OF the boat
man or the crack Of q ri1e. Now and then we
passed
propelled by q crowd OF wild-look1ng, halfnaked
negroes, who work with long polascas walking
monotonous chant that sounds strangely in keep.
ing with the wild surroundings OF the scene. These
are otiTgos or odrQete,tos, trading between
Cartagena and Qutod0, laden on the upward
voyage with cottons, dntsddO salt, knives, guns,
pistols, yankee notions" and trlnkets OF all sorts,
and on the return taking rubber, ivory nuts,
gOld orquilla and the various species Of dyewOOds
tnat are found In this region.
All this was interesting enough at first, but soon
agers cramped in close quarters, broiled by the
vertical rays OF the sun, stinng IN the close atmos-
phere and creeping along at snail's paee, ionged
over the desolate waste Of the alkall plains.
The only variation to the monOtony was passing
an occasional house, surrounded by its little plan:
tation OF plantains or sugar cane, in the door OF
which its inhabitants would appear and drawl out
their lazy
'BUENos DIAs, sENoREs,n
followed by the never-failing inquiry, Que tie7ae
para uessddra (what have you to sell y Our scien-
ttc expeditionists did not relish being taken for
Yankee pedlers, but entered into the spirit OF the
occasion and made ridiculous offers for barter that
would bring out shouts OF laughter from their
questioners, who were doubtless surprised to find
that anything 6at the love OF gain could tempt any
The first night after leaving vejia they stopped
at the house Of Sonora Florinda Dias. Here,
managed to pass quite comfortable night in spite
OF the Growing OF cocks, the grunting OF pigs, the
barking OF dogs and the crying OF children ali the
arose from the fact that the basement Of the house.
that is, the space between the oor and the ground
was occupied by the hogs, and the odOr that stole
through the many chinks OF the floor was suggest
i've OF anything but altar OF roses or the "Bam oil
Thousand Flowers" Three and half days OF
such travelling made the party surlciently
DIsGUsrBD WITH CANAL TRAVELLING
TO De glad enough TO reach Qulbd0. Here they were
well received by Senior Don Matthias Baldric, who
furnished them with comfortable quarters that
seemed quite luxurious alter their recent expe.
riences.
Quibd6 the capital OF the province OF the Atrato,
Is town Or city OF some two or three thousand
Inhabitants, OF whom considerable number are
OF Spanish descent, but by far the greater portion
are negroes. IL Is quite prettiy situated on blun
on the right bank OF the Atrato just below its con-
nuence with the Cuita, but its cane houses, with
their clumsy, thatched roofs, give 1t q mean and
poverty stricken appearance Its streets are quite
clean, but 1t Is by no means free from the dis
agreeable smells common to all Spanish Ameri.
can cities. The Spaniards Of the place are
mostly engaged in trade, and some OF the stores
show stock OF goods that IL by no means small or
badly selected. They supply the region round
about for many miles with stores Of ali sorts, re.
cav n maj hot 10