Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-03-08


so far as the outer world OF the street is con-
cerned, because Of the high, windowless walls.
The city 10 constructed after no regular plan
but struggles down q gently sloping hillside,
with three considerable streams running
through it Its streets are named after the
saints. famous public men or the dates Of de-
cisive battles-such. for example. the Gale
de San Juan Bautista (St. John street,, Bolivar
street. Fifth of Nav street, &C. A distinctive
feature Of Bogota is it's Eucalyptus trees, of the
globulous variety, which, interspersed with a
few sickly willows, shade every avenue. Less
than quarter of a century ago the first euca-
lyptus was introduced here, and now there are
thousands Of those scraggy, melancholy look
ing treeA
NO coNvENrENCES
There are telegraphs and telephones. electric
lights, street cars and newspapers way up here,
and yet every bit of freight has to be labori-
ousiy lugged over the Sierras on the backs of
men or mules, as described In a previous letter.
On this point let US again quote Mr.. Scruggs.
He saws: None Of the commodious coaches and
omnibuses and not one of these agricultural
implements were manufactured here nor else
were in Colombia. They have all been i'm
ported from the United States and England
brought to Honda by the river steamers then
repacked into small sections and carried piece
by piece over the mountains. One peon will
carry a wheel, another an axle, a third a coup
ling pole or slngle-tree, while the
screws and bolts, packed in small boxes,
are toted by the cargo mules. The upper
body of the vehicle is like wise taken to pieces
and packed in sections. One man will some
times oe a month in carrying a wagon wheel
from Honda 10 Bogota, his method being to
tug it from fifty to one hundred PAGES and then
to sit down for long rest, barely making two
miles a day.. When all the dismembered We
hicle finally reaches its destination the
pieces are collected and put together by some
smithy who may have learned his art from an
or lisb Iv
knows which ought to be the greatest marvel.
the failure to manufacture all these things in
a country where wood and iron and coal are so
abundant or the obstacles that are overcome in
their successful transportation from foreign
countries"
Notwithstanding the enormous cost of con-
structing street car lines in this isolated place
each rail being the load of half dozen men
during several days of difficult mountain climb
ing-they have proved a very profitable invest
ment to the company OF
NEW YORK CAPITALISTS
who own them. There are few carriages in
Bogota, not only because the stony streets
would soon wreck the strongest vehicle but on
account of the great expense OF bringing them
here. Therefore everybody patronizes the
horse cars, and the tariff charged for a ride,
whether 1t be for five miles or block, is a
Colombia real a coin which equals in value
about ten cents American money.
they are continually footing with might and
main to notify people in their houses of the
trains approach. Throughout ali Spanish
America the street cars never run slngly,
but always IN groups; that is. instead of send
ing out cars five minutes apart they wait all
together at the station half an hour or more
and then all sally forth once. six or eight of
them close behind one another. to the other
end of the llne where they walt in a group as
before. Fancy the New Yerk elevated railway
adopting such plan. or the street cars of any
rushing northern cltyi
But IN this Acadia nobody is ever in a hurry
Business never presses and people are content
to collect on the corners and spend half an
hour IN friendly gossip while waiting for the
train. Often the whole string of halted
while somebody who lis coming finishes his
chat en- casa and goes through with the elabo-
rate and lonS-wlnded adIeuX which are the
fashion among these excessively polite Cas-
uanoes. And whenever a passenger gets off,
especially Ii 1t be a female, another wait ensues
while she embraces all her acquaintance who
may chance to be in the same car and ex-
changes with them the customary kisses and
''come and see mes"
VISIT TO THE BARRACKS
The other day We visited the barracks, whose
lofty blank walls line one side of pretty plaza.
Among other curIosities we were shown some
Old bronze carronades, one of which is highly
priced for Its HISTORIAN inscription on the
breech showing that the Spaniards captured IL
from the French at the battle of Paira. The
artillery of the Colombian Guard are furnished
with Armstrong mountain guns and few
Cuttings. Among the latter is one whose vicis-
STUDIES deserve especial mention.
During the last general revolution the con-
servatiye party, which included the church ele-
ment and vas opposed to the so-ca!led Liberal"
government, received information that CAT
hug gun, which should have been delivered to
the government long before the revolution be-
gan had at last arrived at Barranquilla and was
about to be shipped up the river TO Honda.
The insurgents were wotully short of munitions
of warfare and had almost nothing for use in
the interior; therefore they determined to
possess themselves of that blessed gun. But
how to do it was the qaestion-especIally since
it must come through Honda, which at that
time was the main stronghold of the govern
ment forces.
They hit upon plan which never could have
been carried out except in a country like this,
where mems minds are densely clouded with
religious superstition. The revolutionists sent
secret dispatches to their sympathIzers on the
coast, and these. having received the gun from
the ocean steamer, transferred it by night from
its original case to another big box, which they
labeled as containing
THE IMAGE OF SAINT,
designed for a church that was being built at
Manzanares; and thus they shipped it up the
Magdalena. On its arrival at Honda other un-
suspected rebel agents received il with solemn
religious ceremonies and carried 1t through
the streets to the cathedral, where they de-
posted it on the platform in front. There it
remained all day and was publicly blessed and
sprinkled with holy water In the presence OF an
assembled multitude, including a battalion of
government troops. Then twelve strong men
took 1t on their shoulders ostenslbly to carry
it over the hills to the new church.
Of course the ruse could never have sue
ceeded had not the priesthood been In collision
with the insurgents. Had anybody demanded
the opening of the case so that the saint in
stead of his coffin might be sprinkled the near
by Plaza de los Martres, which has been the
scene of SO many executions, would have had
another baptism of blood.
So the death-dealing instrument was borne
in triumph little way up the central Cordil-
lera in the direction of ManZanillo; but il soon
found its way to the conservative camp and
shortly after, at the battle of Garapata, it did
terrible execution against the very men
through whose carelessness it had been allowed
to pass.
a little way from the barracks is one Of the
most interesting structures in Bogota-the old
CONVENT OF SAN DIEGO,
which is now used as hospital for the poor.
This ancient pile was the headquarters of the
army which defended the Colombian capital in
the war of 1860. 1t was finally captured by
Gen. Mosquera; but, being considered the key
to the position, was seized only after great
slaughter.
In the convent garden there is an old stone