The Appeal., 1897-08-14
SALVADOR'S CAPITAL.
AND SOME SCENES OF THAT
PICTURESQUE COUNTRY.
LOftiest Volcano in the Country-San-
salVadors ''Moe'crn Hotel"-Architecture
or San Salva<lor-Ont the Plaza Mayos-
San Saivador's Policemen.

"ard from their fields, and each had cheerv
buenos d1as' (gocd-night), for the stran-
gers Inc oIar Of 'Irsngipani' ora fSge flow
ers' and rlpeni1g fruit filled the air, the music
OF Vesper bells was borne on the breeze: and
later, as we clattered through the darkeniry
streets, military band was calling prom
eEaders to the cent .! plaza. Certainly those
olo- Id "conquistodores" showed excellent
taste in locating their Cities There mus
nave been a vein Of romance somewhere in
t1elf grim and greedy natures, an eye to the
picturesque, as well as to the main chance -
NO city in the world is more beautifully sit
> eated than this. Jorge Alvarado, the dis
eoVerer, conqueror, and first Viceroy of Cen
ira! America, a brother CT Cortez's friend and
lieutenant, founded it in the year 1929 and
eamed 1T In honor Of Our Savior. The ar
eadlan valley is itself tableland. 2, 800 feet
epoVe the nearby Pacific. completely sur
rounded by hills, cultivated to their sim
h1ts while in the farther distance ranges
o. barren mountains fill the horizon. broken
oere and there by sharp, volcanic cones
Lof1iest Volcano in the Country.
Nearest to the city on the north towers
Qcetzaltepeque, now more generally called
San Salvador, AN extinct volcano whose cra-
ter, LOO feet deep, contains q small 1olte
On the east rises San Vicente, the loftiest
volcano In the country, which lifts it's bald
mead 5000 feet above the valley; and to the
eouth ana west are fzalco, San Miguel, Con-
Ctagua, and other volcanoes, some "vivos'
tact1Ve), others slumbering, and few burned
out forever. Ret1osn the capital and San
Vicente Lies Lake Llopongo, which unexpect-
eGly gave birth tosa volcano about een years
ago. Without waning the waters rose sew
eral feet above their usual level, and, flowing
into little stream that had formed it's outlet,
converted It into "a broad and raging river,
which soon !plowed for itself a channel forty
feet deep. Then the water near the middle
OF the lake grew very hot, and suddenly
stony island shot up. $50 feet high by 500 feet
In diameter, surrounded by smaller islands.
At the base of Quetzaltepeque, twelve miles
west of San Salvador is the City of Santa
Teea, 'or New San Salvador" which was
built soon after the destruction of the old
capital by the great earthquake of 1854, with
the design OF moving the seat Of government
thereto. The transfer however, was never
made. Old San Salvador was gradually re-
built, government buildings and all, and Santa
Tecla, with it's wide, straight streets, numer-
ous parks, and new houses, has population Of
1900 or thereabouts, but will probably al
ways remain of secondary Importance San
Salvador has 10000 inhabitants, and the two
cities are connected by mule cars. -: - y,
Sam SalvadOr's 'NIOdern Hotel"
The Salvadorians pride themselves inor-
dinately on the rare possession of so-called'
modern hotel, which, as usual, is charac-
terized as the best in Central America"
May heaven preserve us from encountering
the worst! This boasted inn is long, low,
and rambling, with the inevitable central
''patio,' and kitchen and stable in close
juxtapositon in the rear. On arriving we
had to wait a few minutes outside while a
train of mules, laden with charcoal and
vegetables, filed in at the front door. That
is nothing unusual in Spanish America, where
the great "casas" are built like ports, with
only one entrance-a narrow passage paved
like the streets outside, leading to the
''patic,' into which open all the rooms Of the
house. 1t is not at all uncommon to see
man leading a mule from the street into
shop or store behind the counter and through
a hack door into the courtyard; and many
of the humber houses are built without the
passageway, in which case, if the family owns
a donkey, it has to be led through the parlor
to it's nightly corral in the patio" On en-
tering the dining-room of this modern hotel
the first thing that greets the eye is con-
spicuously posted placard, framed and printed
in big Spanish letters, to the effect that
"guests are requested to sit at table with
the greatest possible decency," as if entire
Gecency could not be expected! The enormous
rooms are very scantily furnished, with es-
Iecial economy in the matter of toilet con-
H4niences. There is not such a thing as
&oor-lock in the whole establishment, for
IRON is costly in Salvador, and steel (spelled
that way) not to be thought of. The doors
of our sleeping apartments do not even latch,
and when privacy is desired we secure it by
making a harricade of the bed and wash
ac2nd.
Collection OF Americana.
The vast, bare sala is hung with odds and
ends of wall paper, a perfect crazy-qult COL
lection of scores OF different patterns in all
the colors of the rainbow, ingeniously COM
bined. The effect is unique, to say the least.
We are told that a travelling salesman from
Yankeeland. having finished his business in
Salvador, worked off his lot of samples upon
the proprietor of the hotel in payment of
board BILL assuring him that the combina-
tion was the most modern" thing out. Evi-
fhcp 6rr1r, fhNt SI0v,,1 ~
brave have heen abroad in Salvador, for that
''sala" boasts of wheeZy cabinet organ,
American make, an American sewing ma
chine, twelve American rocking chairs, all
just alike, and cOlored Autographs of George
and Mary Washington, Lincoln, Mary An
derson, and Mrs. Cleveland.
Like all theolder Spanish American towns,
Salvador is regularly laid out, with narrow,
roughly paved streets, crossing each other at
right angles. The sidewalks, of cement or
adobe brick, are extremely narrow, and kero-
sene furnishes illumination when Luna hides
her face. All the streets slope from both
sides toward the center, and each has one
or naore ":asequias,' or irrigating bitches,
along one or both sides, or down the middle,
always filled with fresh water. These ase-
auias are q pleasing feature et all Saliva
dorian villages. In the rural districts the
women battle in them, very early in the
morning. The stranger who starts out at
daylight is sure to surprise group of naiads
dlSpOrtlng IN the streams, or rather surprise
himself by the sight, for the women do not
hesitate to bid the passerby "Buenos dias
and to exchange a few words of good -natured
banter with him, while keeping their bodies
under water.
Architecture in San Salvador.
Architecturaly, San Salvador is remark
ably ugly town, jts only redeeming feature
being the beautiful gardens and rich vege-
tation. The walls are very low and very
thick, because Of the frequency of earth
quakes; windows barred, facades entirely
unadorned, and instead of the picturesque
red tiles SO appropriate to these 'casas" II
has become modern fad to roof them with
corrugated galvanized iron Indeed, since the
great earthquake of nearly fifty years ago.
(which shook down most of the town, wood
and galvanized iron have become favorite
bVilding materials, because it is believed to
be earthquake proof 1t gives sort of stor-
warehouse effect Ito the place. in un
pleasant contrast to the d-roofed and gayly-
stu coed walls of other Central American
cities. 9e But, though constructed Of lighter
materials, the Moorish plan of inner court
yards railways carried out, and from the
dull unattractive streets you are ushere into
gardens Of wonderful beauty. @ithin the
house walls, where the people pass the