Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-04-16

there IL a death In MS tufnily ne nus 10
borrow money to bury his dead. If
nc would be married, the priests will
charge him 81 for performing the GER
many. and IL he wants ~ hog or dom
key IL Is only b. going into debt that
he can get them. AS to marriage, he
usually prefers to live without the cere-
mony to paying the marriage fees, and
today, 1t is said. on this account 10 per
cent Of the births in Ecuador are i'll
legitimate. Wages In Guayaquil and
along the coast are much higher than
in the interior. In the cities common
workmen get Is cents day; carpen-
tiers from slb0 to So: masons painters
and blacksmiths about the same, and
men servants employed by the month.
from $40 to Sl2 with board. Women
receive from SO to $40, with board.
Tailors and shoemakers. receive from
| SO to $12 per week, and printers. bakers
and BARRIERS the same. Living Is In
some respects very cheap, but as re-
CARDS imported articles exceedingly
| dear. paid 81 pound FOR canned
meats. and Il camp bed which carry
with me. which would be worth per-
haps 81 at home, cost me In Guayaquil
| IS of our money. Chairs, which could be
| bought for so cents at home, cost here
| So They come in pieces and are put
| together by the furniture dealers. All
| imported articles cost vast deal more
| In the interior on account of the ex-
| means for transportation over the
| mountains except on mules or on the
| backs of men.
FROM BoDEGAS TO QUITO.
This town of Bodegas or Babahoyo
| IL the halfway station on the road to
quito. Here all goods from the interior
| plateau between the great Andean
| ranges are brought and sent down the
| river by raft, boat or steamer. Just
| now the floods are such that he goods
| are brought to the town of Savaneta,
a days ride by canoe, from Bodegas.
| and are brought by water to this point.
| As / write dozens of canoes are being
unloaded and their freight carried onto
| the steamer Picturesque, haif-naked
| poems 20 along the streets with great
| loads Of hides, bags of rubber or boxes
| of lard on their backs. held there by
| ropes fastened above their foreheads.
| They are natives who have carried
their goods on their backs or upon dom
| keys down the mountains for sale.
| They work more like beasts than men,
laboring for the mere pittance which
l have mentioned above. 1t is by such
means that all freight is carried from
| the seacoast to the capital. 1t takes
| twenty-four Indians to carry piano,
and the cost of the freight is greater
| by the time they reach Quito than the
| cost of the plano itself. Thus ordinary
| packages of goods put up In bundles
|
| for mule, and such load from here
to Quito costs from Sc to ST., or from
| $50 to $40 per ton The freight on n
| small boiler recently sent was $1,000.
| and the rates for heavy articles are
such as to prohibit them. The distance
| of this city from the coast is 1870 miles.
and from here to quito Is 1855 miles.
Think of paying $50 for carrying a
| ton of freight l65 miles and you see
one of the difficulties of developing a
trade with interior Ecuador. And still
1t is said that a good wagon road
could be made the whole way The
passes over the mountains in the valley
| are nearly three miles in height, and
| the roads are mule paths, which at this
| writing are almost impossible. ! had
intended to have made the journey to
Quito and bought a camping outfit Mt
Il cost of S55 to do It. Here, however,
am told that at least ten days of
| mule riding through the mud and rain,
| and the Brazilian minister. who has
just come through from Quito, tells
me that he had TO wade part of the
| way through water UP to his waist.
The Ecuadorians may say; "our roads
are for birds, not menN" There is, in
fact, only one good piece of road in
all Ecuador. This is about seventy
miles long, and 1t runs from Ambata
on the plateau to Quito. There is an
English stage coach which carries
you over it, and takes you from one
point to another in about a day and a
half. Ecuador has also about ffty-foui
miles of railroad. This is a narrow
gauge running from station on the
River Guyas. opposite Guayaqull, &C
Chimbo The road has cars md locomo-
tlves which were made in Pennsyl-
vania. and 1t was built by an American
named Kelley. II is now owned by tbs
government. and an American syndi'
cate has. / am told, a concession t.
complete 1t to quito though the reGui'
site capital. $4,000 600, has not yet beer
raised. The road now runs to the foo
Of the Andes, and 1t is said by engineer
that Is completion is without doubt {
mechanical possibility. AS to whether
II would pay or not Is uncertain, a
Is also the question as to how far tn,
government would contribute to IL
support. FRANK G.. CARPENTER