The Republican journal., 1897-06-10
Guatemala was Kingdom.
4 Day Among Ruins.


vs. hen Guatemala's second capital
.. f=,.loyed in the height of its glory,
entury and half ago, it had up
... .l a hundred churches, half as
. On ents and monasteries, scores of
4I public buildings, and the pal
ID. humber residences of $50, 900
- Imagine the scene OF desolation
..- these were shaken down without
D.. and half the population buried
r.ins. The disaster occurred in the
a sunday night. Churches and
.dlhces fell with mighty crash,
Is which had stood 200 years
believed to be good for many
rs more, went to pieces like SO
Uses Of cards. The dead We're
united, and the wounded died
Of relief. Those who escaped
t.e mountains. and the earthquake
utlnued with such violence that
days none dared return to the
N ene to-day is not much less
Ian that which greeted the sur
their return from the hills \
5jldings have been erected amid
of the old. and 10000 people
em-yet it is a ruined city OF
walls and crumbling palaces.
Qing We set out early, to gain a
inca OF what Antigua used to be
0.temaia was kingdom First
4. the starting point and central
4 all things Spanish American
i the dusty journey to Antigua
ev from this plaza ii for moth
Here the mountain chain which
back bone OF the hyphen of
Ieeting the two continents. reaches
ttsr altitude. Mountains bound
aw on every side and, stand
4e plaza the twin volcanoes,
ma Aqua. seem to rise from your
.et To the first named volcano is
-ei the earthquake which de
antigua, and also the minor shocks
yet OF almost daily occurrence.
= three peaks is still smoking. and
ew years ago it hurled up stones
tons, accompanied by fire and
>Jroying several Indian villages.
neighbor, Aqua, is the highest vol
Lis part of the world, and also the
9tautiful-a perfect cone, 1000
-l, green with pasTurage and
IONS of corn and coffee, almost to
ads that veil its apex. Fuego has
cen scaled, but it is easy enough to
aqua. Starting in the afternoon.
back, you sleep in small Indian
about half way up, and thence
l-Nt morning on foot to the crater
sawns near the summit The
said to be unsurpassed-of hills
atains bathed in eternal summer
aided by the TWO great oceans; and
Town into the abyss, the rim or
t which has been partially torn
-.. tou see water boiling far below.
auo got its name from this sub
10 lake, NomiJed forth by some
OF nature, il poured down
totally DESTROYED Guatemala :
-al-the city which Alvarado
under the mountain and chris
st. James. the Gentleman.
.-July OF Antigua plaza is sadly
10y its Use as a market place.
ae always sQuattiug around the
Stone fountain, surrounded by
5ets OF fruit and little piles OF
rs. charcoal. taggots, alfalfa and
mmodities and many cheap d.
booths are scattered about. The
4l sellers are mostly Indians. and
lisfiguring booths the munich
IiveS considerable revenue. One
.ie OF the plaza is lined with low
another common feature Of
american cities; and the dim
#tlin the portales represent the
ommerce of the place. Antigua
iually laid out at right angles, at
.e usual checker board plan, but
il the ruins it is now impossible to
- any of the streets. Another side
: fl. r,aza is occunied bv the ancient
au uf La Mercod which somehow
,......r +ha qaneraI destr,c+io, with oo,o