Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-05-10
iusvas river. which are brought down to pass.

ing steamers on balsas. an odd sort of raft made
by flashing half dozen palsam logs together
and flooring them with split bamboo. These
highly original craft are about the most pictur-
esque objects 70 be seen on the river. and.
having been invented by the ancient Peruvians.
are precisely the same today those that met
the eyes of Pizarro and his gang more than
$50 years ago. Balsa wood is as light cork.
and remains long time in the water without
any tendency to absorption. The RATS vary in
size, the logs in some being longer and more
numerous than in others. They are the homes
of Q considerable floating population" most
Of them having q hut on top, whose dried
thatch looks in the distance like a wandering
hay stack. This forms the sole. roof tree and
habitation of the owner and his family, who
spend their lives contentedly on the water,
literally sharing bed and board with the house
hold pets to which all are addicted-black pigs,
fowls, dogs and monkeys.
When a steamer anchors anywhere along the
coast Of Ecuador, always. OF necessity. away
out from shore, it is presently surrounded bv
these balsas. each loaded with strangely dressed
or nearly naked natives of swarihy hue, clamof-
ing TO sell fruits, monkeys, melons, parrots, or
specimens Of wretched pottery. The lower
decks Of the steamers that ply these waters are
open and used rs a sort of general store house
for oil manner of commodities. from cattle TO
precious metals. Proceeding on Its southwark
way, it gradually becomes packed 10 the roof
with an odd collection of goodness knows what
II
property OF a different individual. who goes all
the way to Valparaiso and back. a voyage of
nfty-four days. in order to dispose of it to who
ever may come on board to buy at intermediate
ports. Many OF these itinerant traders are
women. and they sleep on top of their stores Of
oranges, pineapples, bananas, ct cetera. re
gardless Of the scorpions. yipers. or other YER
MN that may be lurking in the yellowing heaps.
Every comerciante has a travelling companion
IN the person OF parrot or monkey, which
sleeps at her side and eats out of the same
dish until sold. On this side OF the continent
a fairly respectable monkey can be bought for
about 81.
The river front Of Guayaquil presents lively
scene all the year around. British steamers
from Panama and Payta arrive once a week and
CHILEAN steamers twice 4 month, while Yankee
steamboats, run regularly up and down the
river, half a dozen sailing vessels. principally
French, are always lying in the harbor, and
hundreds of dug-outs. RATS and canoes are con-
stantlv gliding to and fro. But the Gaisas are
most attractive to the stranger. and his curios-
ity never flags as to what their varying cargoes
may be.
PEDDLINa BREAD AND WATER.
Still more interesting is the bray Of the
water-bearing donkeys as they trot through the
streets selling the indispensable liquid, for
there is not drop of fresh water in the local
ity. Each beast is laden with two casks. or
enormous earthenware jars. slung one on each
side of him In a sort ofrawhide frame. Though
one sees many men and women on the streets
pretty much unclothed and children entirely
So the donkeys all wear the Misunderstanding
pantale ties, not from motives of mOdesty, but
10 protect their limbs and bellies from the at
tacks of the gadfy, whose sting is like the
puncture OF a red-hot darning needle.
Bread as well as water. is peddled about the
streets, unprotected from dust or other con-
tamination, on uncovered trays toted on the
heads of ragged, dirty and bare-footed men.
who usually economize their greasy hats by
placing them on top of the load. In the streets
are many small booths where Yankee notions
are for sale. The shoemaker puts his bench
out on the curbstone, the tailor runs MS Amer
lean sewing machine on the sidewalk and
keeps his sizzling goose on the doOrstone.
La the indescribably poor and filthy market
plaza the smallest of sales are conducted by
Indian women, each dressed only in a short
scant and very dirty calico skirt and an ex-
tremely decollette chemise. while their lords
and masters swallow the few pennies they can
earn in the shape of chichi. II IL happens that
either sex desires TO make a change of raj
ment-which is seldom done for purposes of
cleanliness, but only when the vermin become
unbearable-he or she Is not in the least en-
barrassed or hampered by the presence of
lookers-on, but calmly proceeds to disrobe in
thu public square.
DRIED HUMAN HEADS.
There is another article of Ecuador's COM
merce which, though not reckoned in any
market reports, is worthy of especial notice.
viz, human heads. dried and pressed to about
the size OF your fist. each wearing the most
Hfe-llke expression upon the perfectly pre-
served features. Most OF the faces are elabor-
ately tattooed and all have long black hair.
the lips sewn together with fibers twisted into
coarse twlne hanging down over the chin in
heavy fringe like that In a macram's lambre-
gum. Centuries ago a tribe of Indians living
near the northern border of Ecuador used to
preserve the craniums of their dead in this
manner. Nobody now living knows how it was
done, but 1t Is supposed that the bones were all
drawn on; bit by bit through the neck and
then the head was buried in the hot
dry sand until it shrank away to
one-fourth its former size and became
perfectly preserved. As household adorn-
ments the gruesome recuordos of dead folk
are certainly not handsome, but they are very
curious, especially since the art OF preparing
them has long been lost and the sewed-up lips
tell no secrets. They used TO bring about SO
apiece, but now command all the way from
SlOO TO S5OO and are very scarce at that. Years
ago the Ecuadorian government put a stop TO
this sale, as II was learned that some modern
Indians. instead of dealing exclusively in the
brain pans OF their defunct ancestors actually
made business of preparing fresh ones for
the market Since long-haired ones sold for
the highest price they took especial care of tho
capillary adornments of their wives and
daughters with a view TO cutting their heads
of. one by one. There is no doubt that this
traffic in dried heads cost many lives for the
price paid by museums and curio hunters was
enough to set an Ecuador Indian up in af-
fuence for all the rest OF his days, could he
manage to judiciously market his superhuous
children and relatives. FANNIE b. WARD.