The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1876-11-24
A STRAY TEXiAN
lie Comes from Gnainmni" i"f ""''s
snsr twenty .hvs Years Absr"''-
Central American NllN

DnyIess county, Illinois, whose phr-
.nis and relatives live In Wlla0p
county in this State, and whose people
,rc originally of the llarper's Ferry
.,ock in Virginia, arrived In Dalias
Yesterday from tho City Of Guatemala,
Central America, after an absence Oh
twenty wears from Texas. Mr. Harper
has been engaged for gears ~ trau'he
md freighting in that country
About six months ago he was IN the
CITY of Mexico, where he met M"Jor
], Il. -. Blades, formerly II wen
known citizen and property holder
who recommended Dallas AZ goon
place to 20 to buy mules Mr. Harper
has bought lot Of thirty mules from
Mr.. u. l.. Burrus, the energetic livery
and stock dealer, which he WIZ dri'e
to Austin, where he has Others ara
thence to lndianola, where he VIII
shin them 5000 to Guatamala'
He says none of his home'folkS re
cognized him, although an OLD scho"i'
n,nte whom tie met In San Antonio
recognized him after twenty years,
by his voice, and he met him IN the
dark. He remembers passing through
DalIaa twenty five years ago ON hlH
way 10 Mexico after stock. Inc
changes since then quite took MS
health away. Mr.. Harper has reln-
tlves by the name Of Runnels IN Den
ton county, lie Is about Iorty'ilVe
wears Of age, with iron grey hair nud
fnGe much tanned by his long resi-
deuee In Central America. We found
him very intelligent md pleasant
gentleman, and "a bachelor at that.
He describes Guatemala M II very
beautiful city, and says there are very
few Americans there, which VIII he
gratifying news to joaquin Miller, who
has been 30 long looking for IA place
"whore there were no Americans"
It may perhaps Intorcst our readers
TO know what sort II place this stray
Texan has wandered or into and set
tied IN: Guatemala II the Capital me
republic nj that name, and has pop.
ulation of 10000. This city TX
by far the finest ia Central America,
and stands upon picturesque plateau
ono hundred feet high, three miles
long, and one broad, and occupies the
northern extremity OF plain twenty
one miles long and twelve miles broad,
with mean elevation OF fOrty-live
hundred feet above the sea. Its stun
ton IL uufuvorable for commerce, be-
Ing nearly ninety miles from san Jose
on the Pacific, aud one hundred and
twenty miles fro u lzabal, on the At
lantic side, The volcanoes, Aqua and
FuegO, rise on either side Of tho
town. The streets, all forty feet wide
are laid out with great regularity.
They cross each other nj right Angles,
are badly paved, and not very clean.
Only u few have sidewalks. Water
being scarce on ths plateau, the sup
ply for the city is brought nine miles
by aqueduct, aud distributed by nu'
merous fountains On account OF the
frequency Of earthquakes, tho houses
are but one story high, no that at n
distance only m0notonOus succession
of roofs IL seen, relieved here and
there by the dOmes and clock towers
of the churches.
The city proper contains many large
and well constructed private DWELL
lngs, each surrounded by IA large court
yard, embellished with statuary and
fountains, and orange, oleander and
other fragrant trees. The internal
decorations OF these mansions are at
once tasteful and magnificent, but
glazed windows are almost unknown.
The most usual building materials are
n species OF endurated clay, variety
OF poHHuolnna and mortar, the walls
being universally plastered and white.
washed. The roofs ARE either flat or
covered with tiles, and the general
style of architecture is that of the
south OF Spain.
There ARE several public squares, the
largest or rectangle, 625 feet long by
535 feet wide, has on the east side the
archiepiscopal palace, on the west
the governors palace, ministerial
Offices, etc, with the mint in the rear,
on the north tho city hall, and ON the
south Il line of shops. In the centre
il fountain and basin, formerly sur
mounted by an equestrian statue OF
Charles ~, the horse of which alone
remains. In the centre Of another
square is the theatre, equal in size aud
elegance to any in Spanish America
rows OF orange, oleanL er and other
trees Of brilliant flowers and grateful
fragrance surround the building, while
u profusion OF statues, fountains, ETC.,
placed at intervals throughout the
square, enhances the beauty OF this,
the fashionable evening promenade.
Foremost among the public build.
iugs IL the cathedral, built In 1850 Of
simple and elegant design, and
space of four hundred and
lift, feet square. In the decoration of
the interior n chaste variety IL OBJ
ser,e led, and there are sculptures in
wood aud some fine paintings by ma
tive artists. There are six other
churches, hospital and prison.
Guatemala has the largest number of
educational institutions of auy city I'm