The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1897-06-24

farther on another 10, 900 foot volcano:
and farther yet another, more lofty than
all, its top lost in the clouds Fleecy
vapors, rising from the bottom, moved
slowly up the mountain sides; but other
wise there was no sign of life. Leaving
the Canine Real and St. Andres village
on our right, we descended by precipitous
trails sometimes almost overlapping the
water Winding round and round the
boulders, when half way down we found
ourselves upon projecting shelf of rock,
with sheer drop of 1000 feet close to
the trail. At the bottom was fertile
plain, sloping to the water; on the oppo-
site side another mountain wall, rising to
the same height with that on which we
stood, waterfall making silver line
from its summit to the lake below In the
middle of the plain, buried in foliage,
with here and there church tower peer
ing through, nestled the vllarge of Pan
ajachel. A party of Indian men and wo-
men, moving toward it, single tile from
the foot Of the hill, looked like pigmes-
the whole beautiful prospect, rugged
heights, Arcadian valley and shining
water-bathed in the indscribable soft
ness of atmospheric effect peculiar to this
land of eternal summer. The descent was
very steep and the view of the mountain
walls sublime. AS we advanced, the plain
shaped itself into triangle, with its base
on the lake, the two mountain ranges con-
verging to point, througlh which mar
row detile leads to the village of san An
dres. The valley reached, we entered
Panajachel through orange groves and
coffee trees, and rode directly to the house
of the cure; where our letters of intro
duction obtained us a cordial welcome
and lodging for the night. After brief
rest and a four o'clock dinner. with a
two down to the lake. The path lay
through tropical garden, in which flour
ished the best fruits of Central America :
avacados, lines, jocolas, pine apples
hedged by aloes, so feet high. How shall
l picture that wonderful lake? We came
to its border at a point where some boil
ing springs bubbled up SO near the edge
that the waters intermingle-the one very
hot, the other very cold. Walled on every
side by vast cliffs and darkly Swallowed by
towering volcanoes, there are narrow
gorges here and there, leading to fertile
valleys. Streams of considerable size pour
into the lake over rocky beds, or leap
foaming, down the cliffs. There is said
to be little gradation of depth from its
shores, and the bottom has not been
reached with line of 800 fathoms. The
most remarkable thing is that though we
mar eye has seen the outlet. The lake
receives several rivers and all the water
shed of the surrounding mountains; but
there is no known channel by which the
great volume can be carried Off Nor are
the waters chiefly evaporated, as in the
/ valley Of the Dead Sea: and the surface is
plainly at about the same level in all sea-
sons. Many people believe that this plain
was an ancient crater, in the midst of
which the volcano Atitlan was thrown
/ up-much as Nesuvius sprang from the
ancient SOmma; but it seems to me a more
probable theory that the lake originated
in the canning mp of the valley by the
rising volcano. There are thousands OF
small cavities i'll the lava, and possibly
| through these the surplus water flows. to
reappear again in the copious springs of
the southern shore. Water fowls are
abundant, swarming about within reach
of hand, as if they had never learned the
fear of man; but the only fish caught in
the lake are some midgets the size of your
smallest finger. These are in such count
! less myliads, and so good to eat, that they
supply all the surrounding villages with
an important article of food. According
to the historian, Juarros, the water of
Atitlan is so cold that all who venture to
battle in it find their limbs frost bitten
and swollen-an erroneous theory as we
presently proved. Directly opposite, ten
miles across, lay the ancient town of San
tiago de Atitlan, famed in legend and his
tory; but from our point of observation
there was no sign of life about tiff we
may except the little 30 foot steamer
| anchored near the shore. The men of our
party who had been bathing behind a
projecting point of rocks, regardless of
Juarros' assertion-came back with fresh
| ly shaver faces and asked us to guess
where in that forsaken spot they had found
a barber shop. The tonsorial artist was
the cures bare footed servant and ''all
out DOORS was his place of business, his
razor one of the pumice stones which
strew the beach. The people who live
hereabouts prefer these sharp bits of rock
to the best Sheffield steel, for they never
get out of repair and make an admirably
clean shave-though it requires consider
able practice to avoid taking off the cuti-
Gle with the beard.
! The road next day was rough and wild
deyond description, with a succession of