The Republican journal., 1897-07-01

glimpse of Quetzakenango, nestled at the
foot of great range of mountains. Close
behind it the Volean de Quetzaltenango
smokes his grim pipe increasingly. That
it has not always been pipe of peace is
attested by the deep rents in his sides,
from which a mighty ridge of lava trends
off towards the south. Had the overflow
happened to take the city in its course,
there would now be a second Herculaneum
in this vale of endless summer.
Words are wholly inadequate to pic
| ture this remarkable scene, in which the
beauty OF tropical nature is wonderfully
blended with the bleak grandeur of the
mountains. The trim, well built town,
with its population of so, 0O0-its numer
ons churches, many lowered cathedral
and handsome public buildings, its red
rooted Moorish casas, cocoa palms and
gardens-iies directly in that stupendous
| line of volcanoes which traverses this
are active and in whatever direction
you turn, clouds of lurid vapor are seen ris-
/ ing to the turquoise skies. After the Vol
can de Quetzaltenango, the most conspic-
uous of the near by volcanoes is Quenada,
which has an altitude of Is, 900 feet and
whose last grand eruption occurred about
century ago \ little to the southwark
rises the perpetually smoking Y olcan de
Santa Maria, whose crater opens L, 900
feet above the plain. Half way between
this point and Guatemala's capital stand
the twin giants, san Pedro and Atitlan
with the bottomless Lago de Atitlan be-
tween them. Both the brothers show
| signs OF activity, and only few years ago
san Pedro belched forth such quantity
OF stone and lava as to form consider
able island in the lake. Only fifty miles
| due west, is the boundary line Of the Mex
lean State, Chiapas. The country between
presents an unparalleled succession of rug
ged heights and fertile valleys-the latter
! holding some Of the most prolific coffee
estates in the world. The section is rich
also, beyond compare, with rubber and
other natural products; and nobody knows
what mineral wealth may be hidden in
the mountains, the source whence-so
says tradition-came the wealth of the
Indian kings
This plain of Quetzaltenango is classic
ground The present city, at an elevation
| nf q al la no
site of the ancient Nelahue, one of the
largest of the aboriginal cities. In the
/ Quiche language-tha Of the original in
habitants-the word Nelahue signifies,
under the government of Ten" That
| is to say, the town was governed by ten
| principal caciques, each cacique pre-
siding over 5000 dwellings, 10000 in
! all, containing, according to Fuentes.
not less than 800, 900 Inhabitants The
same historian asserts that III the de
/ feat OF the chief Cacique, Tecum Imam,
/ by Alvarado, the inhabitants abandoned
their city and fled to the strongest for
tress of all--Excansel-betw the smo1-
ing volcanoes, Quetzaltenango and Cekak
/ Then the Spanards entered the deserted
/ city captured the caclques that remained
and forced them 10 embrace the Catholic
religion. Two OF the so-called ''cunverts''
We're retained as hostages and the Others
! sent to the fortress, EXcancel. to bring
back the Indians. They returned with
such a multitude-ready to he baptized
and become model Christians, that long
| before all could be induced into the fold,
the priests arms dropped to their sides
| from sheer fatigue; and therefore, being
no longer able to perform the full cere-
mony, they were ever afterwards troubled
| by doubts as to the complete salvation of
ali their flock Though SO sudden an ac-
/ QUESTION on the part of the conquered
people, the new religion seemed to have
thrived apace, as the numerous church
/ towers attest. Quetzaltenango is now the
second city of Guatemala in size and com
mercial Importance. Its Hotel de Europe,
where we are domiciled, is as comfort
| able an inn as may reasonably be desired;
and many of the houses-though of plas-
tered adobe, with iron barred windows
are models of Moorish elegance, with their
great, lofty rooms and inner courts shad-
ed by palms and orange trees.
The central plaza is double, so to say;
one half bounded by the church of San
Juan de Dios, the stone penitentiary and
a line of shops-the square space in the
middle occupied by garden of rare flow
ers, surrounded by wall of carved stone
and provided with stone benches A min
iature lake in the centre has the indis-
pensable band stand, Ga sort of Grecian
temple) on a little island. The other
side of the plaza is paved and used as
market place, and surrounded by the
handsome new government buildings.
| The trade in native cloths centres here,
and is considerable. Some beautiful and
| durable fabrics in cotton and wool are
woven in the neighborhood, and the cloth
merchants in the shops make a rainbow
display of brilliant colors. Besides the
structures already completed, the build