The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-24

B. Cleveland of Linden, Ala.
 Camp Quinchecoto, Ecuador, 2; A;. Ion,
 My Dear Father:
 You wrote in a recent letter of having seen certain newspaper articles on Ecua- dor. l was tempted to reply to some ol the articles that you mentioned, SO as to disabuse your mind of ideas you must have gotten from those articles, but as | knew 1 would soon come farther up coun- try, I decided to wait, thus giving myseit a chance to be more sure that some Of the men who are responsible Tor the 1ary tales printed. have, to say the very least handled the truth with penurious fru- gality."
 In going through that part of the cour- try adjacent to the railroad line from Guayaquil up to this point. l have not heard of any, serious epidemiss or ye,iow Down alon gthe coast these things may flourish. but I have my doubts These people never heard of such diseases, ana much less flourish. The Americans here are exceptionally healthy. The company has large staff of physicians, but thelr presence is simply precautionary meas ure, and if the truth were known, the Jamaica negroes down below Aiausl re" quire more attention than every one else on the line combined. This is due to thelr filthy habits. and they are as healtny here, am told, as on their native island. Some man in speaking of the doctors down here to a Washington Post reporter gave the number one hundred AS matter of fact there are just about one dozen, strung along the line all the way from Guayaquil to this place. They nave less to do than any one else in Ecuaoor' and are quite expensive luxurles.
 Speaking of tigers, partners, etc. tnat are supposed to prowl around the camps at night and terrorize every one, l just want to say that I have ridden over these trails and earre tsras at all 1mes oi wi9 Sn | beast that have seen was red FOX, run ming up a mountain side In the Jungies along the coast there is plenty or large game, but when you begin to climb the hills, you leave them behind.
 Linton's parents were very much dis | turbed about an alleged revolt on the par, of the natives in which several were kiiied and wounded. There was no truth m the report at all. One of the labor foreman | below Alausi had trouble With couple | of Jamaicans and couple Ok shots were | fired. This was last June, l believe Al any rate it was before I came down here | and l understand that no one was even | wounded The country is under the ilper- | al govern ment 1t is likely to remain so. | and when the Guayaquil and t1ulto trans run into the capital cit yof Quito. the country will blossom like the rose. The possibilities of the country are not rec | ognized at all by the average Ecuauo, l rian. The foreigners recognize It. ana | so do Ecuadorians of General Alfara | stamp. Just when trains will run lhto | Ecuador Is a prediction I don't care to
 
 | a little higher in the gSod opinions or my employers perhaps my predictlons will be more valuable. It will not now, ever. be long. The most difhcult part or | the construction Is well under way ana | la heinz successfully pushed. The man | aging director MT. Archer Harman, was down here during the session of Congress:
 I was glad to renew my acquaintantoe t | with him. He didn't tarry long, but ne | stayed over night in the Ticsan camp ana | I had a chat with him. He had two l friends and fellow directors with nm
 Riding mule back over the marrow f IPai,s s1iv MT. Harman, however, Is a veteran ana
 has ridden over these trails when they
 were considerably narrower. | We'll the party of bridge surveys 10 I which I had the honor to belong Is no | more After the line leaves Guamote
 there isn't d sufficient number or cross
 ings to justify sseparSatte, s Ste, party tSe nr ni.
 vision Engineer of the Fourth Divislon'
 and I was ordered to this camp. and re-
 ported to Colonel Skunk, the chiet To-
 eating engineer.
 sites MT. Fox gave me couple of days
 leave, so I could see my comrades doWh
 the line. l spent last Thursday with three
 of them, Mahaffey. Linton and Bowloy.
 at Bugna. Keller was not there. lie IS
 still on duty at headquarters at Nlcto-
 ria and although we wired him to come n1
 up he didn't put in an appearance we l
 and means to invest our savings 10 the
 best advantage. We arrived at satls-
 factory conclusion and before many years
 have passed, We will be back to our na-
 tive land to enjoy the profits of our in | Vestment. There isn't any secret apout
 it especially. We intend starting plant
 atlon before long, In fact we are al
 ready looking around for the most sul.-
 able place to have it located. We decid- l ed not to take any decided step unti } next spring. We will then know to a dead certainty whether We will be rein , | stated at West Point or not. My natuf'
 ally hopeful disposition makes me be lieve, like MT. Micawber. that somethlhs
 will turn up." The others do not express much hope, but neVertheiess they oinlr fnI, object to my suggestion that we go slow ly until next spring. Lucky are the ner who have money invested here. ftr net
 the road opens the country up, ana TOT eign blood is infused fortunes VIII pe am glad to report all three of tn ) boys looking the picture of health IheS are quite as delighted with ana as tU vH, ] | thllsiastic about the country as l am W z talked over our cadet days and remlnded each other of a good many incidents con . nected with our stay there. It Is happy 3 faculty of the human mind to recall ohIS . inc nleasant memories. Unpleasant mem
 ories there are, of course, but notWlth- = standing this is true, l would above eE-
 erything else like to return ana speIu .h tIi'
 remaining one year and lay hands on tne
 diploma I have ever prized so hlghly , | Having to alter the course of life l had 1, | manned out does not disturb me a tenth f mart as much. as missing the opportunitN r to graduate from the greatest military / academy in the world. ~ When you bring mamma and the otner' down for run over the line your son IS
 in a modest way helping to put through and the conductor announces 'Guamote, n change over to the left side of the car f and everybody look out for snow capped | ChimboraZo. It won't be long before you
 can see it. Before you have lost sight ol , it Cotapaxi, rightly styled the mos
 stately of mountain peaks, will appear
 In sight of this camp besides these two
 there are plainly visible Charhalrazo. Si gachos, Altan, Fungarahua. Sangay anf others of less note. There are no violent iv active volcanoes among them. Altar may be seen smoking at times. Sangay is most active. Its rumblngs are heart for miles from time to time, and at night the smoke is quite plainly seen coming from its crater. Altan is broken up ana ia quite Jagged. due to a violent eruption fourteen years ago. Fungarahua smould CTS quietly and so does CotapaYi. It i a beautiful sight on clear day to seC them They day l got here COlone shunk called me out of the tent to looi at Cotapaxi. 1t is sixty miles from hero
 and it's outline against the sky Is very | distinct The slopes are perfectly sym | metrical from every point one views 1t. Ii is quite an honor to belong to Colone l Shunk's party, and l am quite proud tC
 have that honor The old gentleman re tains his mental faculties but is quite fee ble in body. His assistant engineer Mir Dubois is a clever engineer, and Incl cially. The others of the party ire Messrs | Read Fifth Division Enginpar Dayis