Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1902-11-29
MARACAIBO CITY.
Its surroundings-The Pearl Fisheries OF Venezuela.

around an inner court yard. The pub
lie buildings and principal business
houses are set near the lake side and
present a rather stately and Imposing
appearance There are the usual
churches, hospitals, converts. fine
old cathedral and a celebrated uniyer-
sity' Besides the very large shipments
OF "Maracalbo coffee, skins, dye woods
etc. there Is an eyer-incfeaslng i'm
portatlon for the city and the region
around and beyond the lake. Small
steamers are constantly plying between
the city ana distant lake ports, While
neels OF smaller sailing craft bring and
carry commodities of all sorts. Many
OF these lake-b boats are the residences
OF FAMILIES, the only homes they even,
Knew children being born ana reared
IN them and when old enough, adopt
lhG the business Of their fathers and
lnolhers, hardly ever In the whole
course or their lives setting foot upon
land beyond the few ports visited.
hereabouts all business is done in such
q lelsureiy way that foreigners find Il
hard to credit the official reports of
actual exports and imports. There Il
seldom any trace here OF hurry. fret
and impatience, and nothing like bug
tie except sometimes In the rand
loading OF steamer with coffee At If
a. m, all work ceases, for breakfast and
the inevitable siesta, and Il is not re-
suned before 2 or p. m. Meanwhile
the streets are deserted the pOstoffce
and business houses closed and every
body seems to be sound asleep. Not
a soul 10 10 be seen anywhere, except a
few workmen lying upon the docks, or
In the shade of the whispering palms"
In the plaza, often with their heads |
plllowed IN the LAPS Of their faithful
wives, who snooze sitting up.
Minister LOOMS says that the most |
interesting feature Of the MaracaIbo |
basin. together with the similar adj. |
joining area I'm Colombia which * |
drained by the Magdalena river, re- |
lates to their limitless capacity IN the |
line of furnishing North America with |
the best Of tropical fruits, such as ban |
nanas, plne-apples, oranges and aqua |
Gates It is only Il little matter OF |
sixteen hundred miles from the great |
fruit region of Maracaibo, and a hum |
dred miles less from the possible gar
dens and orchards Of the Magdalena, |
TO New Orleans and Mobile points |
through which our northern and west
ern states ought to be much better sup |
pied with southern luxuries than they |
are today Already we receive ex- |
celent coffee from these regions, but
mainly by remote routes or foreign
conveyance. Lines Of steamers to car
ly our flour, pork, kerosne, canned
goods, etc, and to bring back to us
coffee, cocoa, hides and skins, would
soon find abundant freight In fruits of
superior quality to any now imported.
For example, no bananas now reach US
except those varieties which are used
solely for cooking purposes In the coun.
tries where they are grown. Not one
person out OF thousand In the United
States ever tasted the right banana for
raw use-fuly ripe without being par
tally decayed, small, but plump almost
to bursting, juicy and delicious as
California pear. The banana sold in
northern cities Is considered In the |
tropics only tit for frying. or boiling. to
take the place of bread, .or for exp0rta-
ton TO people who Know no better than
to eat them raw. The oranges OF
Venezuela far surpass any that are
imported from the Mediterranean. and
are more juicy than most of the famed
Florida fruit with thinner rind and
fewer seeds. Given ample steam ia
ciilties by sea and land, and modern
refrigeratlng conveniences, our people
might enjoy n great many varieties of
delicious fruits which are now unknown
In the north-such as mangoes, souI-
sops. cus;ard-apples sapodilas, zapo-
toes and granadillos.
As lake Maracaibo is the high
way to the Caribbean sea for the riches
OF its large area on the east side of
the peninsula which forms the northern
end of South America. so Is the Mag
dalena river, on the west side OF the
same peninsula, the great highway TO
us for the trade of Colombia and both
OF them have their mouths wide open
so to speak, toward the mouth of the
Mississippi and the United States-the
Magdalena for almost all Of Colombia
and lake Maracaibo for the rest OF CO.
lombu and most OF Venezuela, To float
their commerce directly to us and to
receive ours in return. Nor are coffee
fruits. cocoa, etc, the only valuable
products TO which we might have easy
access and practically monopolize. BE-
side the ores and asphalt, and gold and
silver mines whose riches are only hint
ed at, there are rare woods In abund-
rose. cedar, tulip and
q hundred other choice varieties for
furniture and interior adornment, TO
say nothing of those that produce In
dia rubber, or bear stores of vegetable
wax, soap, silk and fibers.