The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-02-21

men, who have come over from Inc olu
country for this special undertaking. are
doing q great work, and wearing. as they
do. the long, black continental frock dang
ling to the heels. without hoops or hustle.
they show in such omission remuneration
of the pomp and vanity of the world which
is commentaries In the words of an old
Spanish proverb: "Ihe French language
was made to converse with ladies ana ~ !,
nIomats. the Spanish to converse with Goa.
A Devout Catholic Country.
This is a very devout Catholic country,
The pope speaks and the people serve anu
the president of the republic sees that they
do. While a church marriage IS not a state
marriage and therefore not binding, church
and state themselves are as CLOSE t1s CUT
ors of the rainbow.
A concrete illustration OF this Jl&tapoSl-
tion may be cited in the Sunday night con
certs given under the auspices OF the Col
obian battalion on the spacious poruc0
entrance of the cathedral. 1t Is a gooa
band and marches up under the gulae ol
soldiers with pomp and with llghted ker,
osene lamp on the end of pole at the neid
of the procession-the lamp enclosed III
glass case just like the ones used Tor we
old-fashioned gas lamp. The band taxes
it's stand and six soldiers stand III a paralel-
logram stiff as the rows OF "i1 NE cr ,1'.
sic is volatile and vivacious, tropical M, M
of warm fancy and passionate grace Inc
little plaza in 'front.' blossomng with scarlet
bell flowers and powered with palm or pepper
tree. fern or saffron, sprinkled acacia n Is
crete walks in the shape of Maltese
cross. Here, under moonlight, walk those
night-eyed Carmencitas. with glances
through their, tresses black. like stars
romance. The Indian from the San Bias
country puts in his foot for promenade
along with Jamaica, Spanish and French
blacks, and Europeans lend their lnhar-
monious voices to softer Spanish notes. 80
that it is a kind of stand-off between
elements.
The People the Isthmus.
Among these blacks there is much differ
ence. First, | would divide the population
into Europeans, Americans, Spanish white,
Spanish black, Jamaicans, natives from the
French and German islands, and native In
dians. The leading industrious lement
seems to be the Jamaicans. These negroes
are about and thrifty, but were apparently
say she is Jamaican seemed to have
some slur in it. No doubt it is on account
of their energy. 1t is said that laborers
from that island were the best imported
during canal times. The Spanish negroes,
or negroes of any Romantic nation, do not
appear to- consider energy any part of be-
coming hauteur. | must say, however, that
the Spanish negress in spite OF lnertneSs,
wears a certain air that knows not of time
or money, but only of slowly modulated.
stockings; they stick the bare feet III Il Slip
per, and yet have a fascinating, romantic
bearing. The hair parted down the middle,
behind is braided under each ear, and that
braid is full of gay colored flowers. Around
the neck is thrown rich, deeply frinsed
Grape scarf, with careless toss. Ihls Is
called the raboza, and with lownecked
dress the full bosom is only obscured by the
gathering of the body about the shoulders
with some ribboned stuff. Two or three
soft, fluffy hounces fall to the waist
founces with deep, lacy looking borders,
and the frock, of muslin or some tloaty ma
terial, is flecked with bright figures, some
times breezy looking lnerry stripes, always
beautifully white. The dress and arm fall
in n way to Danish the notion of weight
from the observer, but not OF WEAKNESS.
For every movement seems languld as 1t
is Turing. This founce affair from the
shoulders is called the polleras. and the
whole costume is seen to best effect IN the
dance called the tambor. This dance under
waving trees or upon sWard, win ripple or
color and rapture OF grace, wakes up the
butterfly in nature, and life gets light and
happy winged with dreams of May times.
But should clodhOpper of Il Jamaican
happen to come up III pair of brogans at
this moment il jars you out OF your dream
with the rude suspicion that man was made
mostly out of dust OF course there is
much mixture of all these races, and the
result is complicated and perplcxing. Yet
| should say that the Spanisn-the romance
prevails against all odds.
Poppie who Perpetutlly Sleep.
If anything could have added briskness and
cleanliness and thrift to these people II
would have been the money and opportunity
that were turned loose during canal days.
But no, then passion rose but the higher
against the mighty flood of foreign progress
and pelf. They were no more to be swept
away from their natural loves and hates
and natural tendencies than that Weighty
redwood i'll Il dead heavy sleep even under
the heaying tide of the Pacific. Beauty
and uniqueness and incidence and artistic
expressions cling to these mlldenS OF a nation
now almost numbered among the world S
ruins, like dim draperies to their monastery
memories whether in pew or plaza III market
place or tripping along the murallaS on gaia
afternoons.
Las Muralas, or the wall, surrounds the
old city with pondcrousness. Twenty-Five
feet wide, it is Il summer carnival scene
Sunday afternoons. The band is Iii
Chiriqui Plaza, or Plaza de Armas; just
under the wall and the air is glad. There
was IA great job on when this wall was
built. Money money money was asked Tor
from the king of Spain. One afternoon the
king looked out of his window in meditation.
Il am trying to see, he replied, If that
wall has yet reached far enough across the
ocean to be in sight" But it seems ever
lasting.
Under part of it is Chiriqui prison. Ad-
joining the prison Is the barracks Tor the
In front of this prison on the plaza, the
criminals sentenced to death are shot,
though the sentence is rarely carried out
one criminal having been shot i'll the last
thirty years.
These cells are simply arched depths
opening on one side of the wall and run
ming back for twenty feet. Thick parti-
tons separate them with small connecting
opcnga Fifteen or twenty wretches
stay in each cell, which is open on the plaza
through heavy bars. Half naked, filthy
desperate-looking. they prowl about like de
mons sleeping on an inclined board shelf run
ming continuously down the side. Some are
locked to rings in chains. All are chatty
and defiant and allowed many privileges.
They make sticks and cocoanut shell souye-
Mrs. and are permitted to buy tobacco and
what not with the proceeds, Sometimes
they kill one another. One brute. born In
Africa. is Gagged alone, and looks like
veritable devil. He has committed two
cruel murders, tried to kill the jailer, and IS
in for twelve years. He told me he likes 1t
and would kill again if necessary to get
back; all in the presence of the guards. Gen
eral summer day chat goes on between guard
and prisoner and yam root and beans are
fished out of Il bucket to them daily. In
one dungeon, dark and dank. they crawl on
their bellies like vipers, with the cunning,
cowed, cruel white of their eyes rolling sui
lcnly and sidewise at visitors. entered the
Como rod tame First ser