The Republican journal., 1897-03-04

American continent since Columbus dis
covery. Its story is as follows: Fol
more than century, the place where the
mountain now stands had been profit
able plantation of coffee and indigo, in
possession of the Erazo family, by grant
from the Spanish Crown. The latest
owner, Senior Don Balthazer Erazo, gay
and wealthy hidalgo, was disporting him
self in Europe; when, in December of
| 1863, the poems on the hacienda were
frightened out of their wits by rumblings
under ground and violent tremblings of
the earth, which did not extend over the
in Salvador, but were confined to that
particular locality. They fled from the
place in terror; and returning after week
or two, found all the buildings had been
shaken down, trees uprooted and large
craters opened in the fields where level
earth had been before. A few brave
vaqueros, Cattle herders,) remained near
| by to watch developments. On the 23rd
of February, 1910, they were entertained
by a spectacle such as probably no
other mortal eyes have ever witnessed.
Early in the morning came a series of
terrific explosions which lifted the crust
of the earth several hundred feet and
out of the cracks issued flames and lava
and immense volumes of smoke. The
men fell upon their faces, believing that
the last day of the world had come. An
hour or two later there was another and
9rander explosion, which shook and
startled the country for a hundred miles
around. Rocks weighing thousands of
tons were hurled into the air; and sud
denly the surface of the earth shot up
3, 600 feet into a great round cone. Masses
of lava and blistered stones, issuing con-
stantly from this smokes stack built it up
Balthazer returned, about two months
later, he was amazed to find his beautiful
hacienda exchanged without his knowl-
edge or consent, for first class volcano,
for which he had no use.
Nearing the Capital, evidences of Sal
vador's teeming population became more
and more apparent. The whole Repub-
lie is only little larger than our State of
Connecticut, but is even more thickly in
habited than the land of wooden nutmegs,
averaging S4 persons to the square mile
about 20 times as many as any of the
neighboring republics can boast. The
Salvadorians are more energetic and in
and are engaged not only i'll agriculture,
but quite extensively in manufactures.
But though they work harder and gain
wealth rapidly, they are no better off, for
frequent earthquakes and constantly
recurring political disturbances keep the
country poor When the towns are de-
stroyed by volvanic eruptions, they are
not allowed to lie inr uins, as those of
the other countries, but the inhabitants
at once clear away the rubbish and begin
to rebuild. The city OF our Savior has
been twice shaken down and rebuilt since
Leon was laid in ruins, but tho debris of
the latter has never been disturbed. so.
too, the Salyadorians have always taken
the lead in political affairs in Central
America. This smallest division was the
first to throw off the yoke of Spain and
uttered the first ''grito'' of liberty-as
did Venezuela, one of the least among
the nations of the southern continent
Did you know that San Salvador once an
neXed Itself to the United States of North
America? When it first cut loose from
the mother country, its patriots had the
cordial cooperation of the liberal element
in Nicaragua and Costa Rica; but the lat
ter were quickly suppressed by the I'm
pelial power. Salyador's provisional
Congress was driven from place to place;
but it had the sympathy and: support of
the people and detied the power of Spain.
Finally, as a last resort, the brave but
hard pressed body, by solemn act, pass
ed on Dec. ?, 1922 anne xed their little
province to the greater republic of the
North and appointed Ambassadors to pro-
coed to Washington and ask it's incorpora-
ton into LA Grande Republica de los
Estadas Unidos del Norte Americana
However, before the commissioners could
leave the country, the revolution against
Spain became general throughout Cen
trail America, from the Rio Grande to the
Chagres river. One year after the act of
annexation to the United States was pass
ed, the five provinces joined in one confed-
eracy-and have ever since been fighting
each other in their own happy fashion, on
the question of boundaries, or some other
pretext.
The best of Salvador is not found near
its edges. AS you advance toward the
interior, the straw matched huts and
little fields of sugar cane, corn, beans,
yams and bananas, give place to more
pretentious adobe structures rooted with
tile. Bananas, breadfruit, orange and
cocoanut trees are everywhere firing
ing the fields and half hiding the
houses from view; but in the high
Ell attitudes are miles upon miles