Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-12-27

rugged mountains. Otherwise there Is
nothing about Honda to distinguish II
from a thousand other towns Of Span
ish-Amerlca. II has the usual plaza,
and
TALL LOWERED CHURCH,
and rcgs OF whitewashed houses roof
ed with red tiles and suburban cot
tages matched with straw, all shaded
by cocoa trees and groups Of graceful
palms There are a few very old build
ings of Spanish origin, whose enor-
mously thick walls were built with
especial view TO Withstanding the
| earthquakes that are frequent in this
| locality; but In spite or their solidity,
most Of the old houses We're long ago
shaken into ruins. To my mind the
most interesting thing about the
| place is the remains Of an antique
! bridge. which the conquerors built in
/ the year 1901. Its quaint arches are
/ yet entire and the high stone walls on
! either side show inches. now disman-
! tied, where saints and cIucifixes used
| To stand commanding the worship Of
] en- wayiarer, chose stern crusaders
| built for all time and In the midst OF
| their cruelty and greed for gold they
) never forgot the outward tokens OF re-
| iglon. The Magdela river, which is TO
| Colombia what The Nile Is to Egypt Is
| navigable FOR small vessels many miles
| above Honda Il runs through nearly
! en- the rich state OF TOlma, which, be-
J ing level with the stream. and regularly
| overfiowed gith It's rising tide after The
rainy season ig tho best agricultural
portion Of the republic Until within
| the last few years. Tolima supplied the
J greater portion Of ColOmbia's export
agricultural trade. lately however. the
| two eastern states have been more ok
tenslvely cultivated. and these. besides
| being so conveniently situated for for
! eign trade. possess remarkable fertility
| OF soil. and the added advantage Of
/ being lntersectcd by several consider
/ able streams. SO for the last decade
they have been yielding at least two
thirds NJ Colomhia's entire export pro-
| duce The Cauca river. which runs
/ through this region Is Itself naylgable
| for light draught steamers 10 call, q
| place about 1J miles from the Pacific
seaport. Bnenventura. In oar favored
| land one can hardly realize what an In
| cstimable boon q nayigable river Is in
a roadless country The canca valley
Is best described as a level upland
being a series OF
/ IINCuLTIVATED MEADOWS,
lying nearly eoo0 feet above the sea,
overgrOwn with tall rank grasses. II
Is the ideal grazing land OF the world,
and besides might easily DE made to
produce cotton coffee sugar cane, to-
bacco, as we'll as corn. potatoes and
other products Of the temperate zone.
Its AVERAGE temperature Is only II de-
grees f. and rs present population Is
bel W 100000 is50,her magnificent riv-
en- Is the Atrato. whose valley Is much
like that Of the upper Magaaleua.
Bogata De Santa Re. the capital Of
Colombia. Is only 20 miles from Honda
but the tourney thereto. leading over
the main cordillera ~ the Andes. Is
extremely tedious ana can only be
made on muleback From time To timo
during The last ouater century various
North American companies have at.
tempted the construction Of railroad
between Those two points. Some Is
miles Of track have actually been laid
but those IN CHARGE Of the work have
been compelled. again and again. TO
abandon u. on account OF revolutions
and the lmpossiblllty Of securing labor.
ers The natives viii not work and so
far. no amount Of pay offered has been