The sun., 1895-05-26

ouills. These were spread out on the deck of
the ship and with them fruits OF different kinds
| smooth, thin-skinned oranges, cocoa nuts, brown
snpodillas, which look like rotten pears, but
have q pleasant and refreshing flavor, and
papayas, large oval fruits with rough brown
skins and a salmon -colored pulp which Is sweet,
but heavy and cloying.
Back OF Manzanillo in the mountains lies
Colimn, where some of the best coffee Is raised,
but the amount produced is small. II may bo
bought at Manzanillo. and differs from other
coffee in having q round bean instead Of
6attencd oval one. The distance between the
two places is about twenty-sevon miles, and
they are connected by railroad. the train on
which runs only twice a week.
To the people of all these little ports the COM
Ing OF the steamer Is u great social event. Oc-
casionally parties of women, bareheaded. In
hounced muslin dresses and gay scarfs, come
aboard while she is lying In the harbor, but
still more often troops of men climb up the
ships ladders order a lunch and wine walk
about the vessel, and, above ALL play on the
piano In the saloon. 1t queer sight to watch
two long rows of swarthy men, with all the
grave dignity of their Spanish ancestors, sit
ting as close together as they can crowd on the
velvet benches of the saloon, listening with
silent delight to a brown. skinned fellow playing
away for dear life marches, dances, and songs.
On the afternoon of April we reached Aca-
pulco, tho coaling station for the ships of this
line, and there were kept till after midnight,
taking on COAL The little harbor Is most lovely,
being egg shaped, and SO surrounded by hills
that, once inside. It Ia difficult to detect the
entrance. Yet there Ia excellent anchorage, the
channel being very deep
Acapulco is itself q small place. but has very
big jail and fortress combined, in full view from
the water. and here tho prisoners are said to
languish In the midst of heat, flth and dep
rivation unspeakable. There was strong
breeze blowing all tho afternoon that we spent
there, but as a general thing the heat is ex-
treme. and the convicts are now being employed
to cut an opening in one Of tho surrounding
hills as to give an entrance to the sea
breezes. We were told. however. that It was
not considered an upwhoiesome place, 1t Is the
best spot along the coast to buy or gather shells,
as they wash up on the shores of the harbor,
where there is no surf to break them; We
found quite variety of them IN the mar ket. AS
goes. These latter were not very good Of their
kind, but even poor mango is better than
We walked from the market to the square,
which is filled with tropical trees and shrubs.
eneountering troops 9f heavily laden donkeys on
little squares or plazas In the midst of the town.
with beds Of flowers and seats scattered about.
no place is go small rs to be wi thout It's band.
In going southwark there is a noticeable
more te and more nor lose tho Spanish look and take
on tho Indian. Those in the north, with q
larger infusion Of Spanish blood, look with con-
tempt on their more uncivilized relations. To a
stranger. however. the natives at Acapulco
with their moro strongly marked and pictu-
were finer than the more Caucasian types We
had seen hitherto. The mantilla, though still
and many Of Of the women went about with i un: A.
covered heads. in their muslin petticoats and
loose chemises half dropping off one bare brown
shoulder. The :real Spaniards were all away,
having taken a two days journey through the
hills TO Colima, where at the cathedral they
would celebrate Easter Sunday.
One of our fellow passengers who had for
merly lived at Acapulco told US how the ship he
once travelled on had been Obliged to wait over
the natives refusing TO work till they mad seen
the insurgents take the town. As the rebels ap-
preached, the regular army, who occupied the
fort, left and proceeded to another part of tho
country. The insurgents entered 1900 strong.