Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1888-06-28
COFFEE AND COCOA.
THE PEOPLE, CUSTOMS AND PRO-
DUCTS OF GUATEMALA.


turesque Dress.
The part of Guatemala we are now in is
called the costa Cuca, and from San
| Sebastian to San Felipe. ten miles away
and near the mountains, the road passes
| through a succession of coffee plantations,
| 70 one not familiar with it, it would ap-
pear to be bright. fresh leaved tree of a
rather rich and glossy green. but with its
| limbs covered with parasitical green
growth resembling small acorns. which
| illusion is dispelled when the regular
rows of trees are seen and the careful cui-
tivation of the ground noted. While
great care must be taken of the coffee
tree. it is not circumstance to that re-
quired by the cacao plant, which much
resembles it. Cacao. or in English cocoa.
the source of chocolate. Is more abun-
dainty grown in Ecuador than in any
other portion Of this hemisphere, and the
Guayaqul cocoa Of commerce commands
price in Guatemala city of $1S per
"carga. or sixty pounds. so it may be
seen that it is a valuable crop The cocoa
of Guatemala is a much finer variety and
sells at $35 per carga, right here in the
country, but the amount raised is not
sufficient for home consumption. and but
little of it finds its way into the outside
world
The plant has so many natural enemies
that many fnqueros are deferred from at
tempting it's cultivation The tree is
planted from the seeds. which are no
sooner put in the ground than large ant
searches for them and ruins many; when
the tree appears and is cbout three feet
tall, deer, attracted by the richness of the
leaf. risk their lives for feed of it; when
these dangers are past and the fruit ap
pears, squirrels come to eat it in large
numbers and any decent sized cacaotal
must have two hpntsmen to kill squirrels
| Thus it may be- seen that chocolate Is q
universal favorite During this time the
ground must ba as well weeded and
cleaned as Chinaman' s kitchen garden
And in addition to this each cocoa tree
requires madre or mother. which Is
shade tree planted for it's own particular
use. With such great care necessary, it
is not strange that many prefer coffee
planting
| ANOTHER VIEW OF 1T
| And It occurs TO me. how few who sit
slipping Maillard's or Mennier's chocolate
ever give a thought or ever know Of the
immense labor of it's productionl On the
other hand it has it's advantages, for
while a coffee tree is fairly on the down
grade to worthlessness after bearing eight
years, the cocoa tree is scid to bear
abundantly for seventy five years. and
even more. Some cacaotals near the
frontier of San Salvador. are so old that
the oldest Indians in the vicinity testify
that they were fourishing plantations
when they were children and the trees
bear as well today as ever The coffee
| I'll. Ill
planted at the same time every available
space was utilized. consequently they all
failed at the same time. and San Felipe,
from being thriving. busy town. became
but a place to live in, and | failed to see
it's attractions even in that respect. When
the coffee trees failed many fnqueros
planted sugar cane. This requires. from
planting to maturity. only nine months.
but is not so profitable as coffee.
The cocoa fruit as it appears on the
tree is a pear shaped green mass about
nine inches long. and in circumference
not so large as an average pineapple. The
inside of this pulpy sheath is divided into
cells, about twenty, each containing one
cocoa berry Children and women are
employed to prepare it for market. and it
is not sight which would induce one to
be anxious to drink the cocoa he has seen
cleaned. Each berry is surrounded in its
cell by a sweet, pasty brown and greasy
substance which the Indians like, so each
berry goes to an Indians mouth, where
the sweet coating is sucked off and
chewed: but this in reality does not af
feet the berry. because under the brown
paste there is parchmentlike shell which
is impervious to the Indians saliva. and
comes off only in the roasting. leaving the
inside meat pure.
SOMETHING ABOUT BAD INDIANS.
A marked difference is apparent between
the true Indian of the Indian town and
the one who has had much contact with
whites and ladinos The former is always
respectful and polite and he is a natural
gentleman. He, never approaches you to
speak without removing his hat and bow
ing low, and he never retires without ex-
cusing himself until he may return The
latter is usually disrespectful and Of an
insolent disposition-eager to take every
undue advantage Of his masters leniency
and has to be taught by the generous use
of club The ordinary feelings of the
human heart are unknown to him You
can govern him, and govern him well. by
simply causing him to fear you.
The art of lying is unknown in the
| United States Wneu compared Will Iuo
state of perfection 1t has reached among
some OF these Indian tribes You may tell
an individual in your employ to do a Ger
tain thing, but you must accompany him
to see that he does it, because if he does
not feel like doing it he will come back
and lie about it. Hit one of them with
your fist or kick him out of your house.
and he will complain to the nearest al
calde, and will have twenty witnesses to
swear that they saw you beat the COM
plainanr over the head with a club until
he lay insensible in his own blood. and
tfiis though they may have been miles
away at the time
Many of the Indians are weavers and
pottery makers. The cloths they produce
are very pretty bright colored fabrics,
beautifully embroidered in cotton or silks
as the wearer may desire. The shirt OF
their costume Is made like q square bag.
with . hole for the head and holes for the
arms, and when the skirt is fastened
around the waist With 3heiS pretty belts,
the lower part Of the skirt becomes pet
ticoat- Dress prettily shaped and well
washed Indian girl In this costume, give
her bright tu5ban. and let her balance
the earthen water jar gracefully or hea
head. and you have picture not soon to
be forgotten; and yet they seem to be un'
aware how picturesque they look--Guate'
mala Cor New York Times