The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-10-11
HOME LIFE IN CARACAS.
PECULIAR SOCIAL AND POLITI-
 CAL CONDITIONS.
Earthquakes--BsAutIf View from a
 nIIItop-"At Homes"

Earthquakes-Bsautif View from a
 HuItop-"At Homss."
 Special Correspondence of the Journal
 and Courier.)
 Caracas, Venezuela, Sept. g, 1902.
 During these stormy times in Aenez- uela of course military rule prevails at the capital. Soldiers patrol the streets and guard all the avenues of approach and are very particular concerning the business of people who happen to be walking abroad after lamp-llghting. When you are challenged by the words, Alto! Quien Vive?' (Halt! Who goes there; or Where do you live ), if you do not stop instanter and have the Span ish password on the tip of your tongue you are more than likely to be pune tured by bullet, or feel the trowel- shaped bayonet jabbed somewhere in the region of the ribs. Nowadays wise foreigners stay indoors after sunset and keep well away from the vicinity of the forts at any time of day. The other evening a newcomer from the United States was quietly walking toward his hotel after a conference with the Uni- ted States consul, during which that gentleman had carefully instructed him in the countersign and endeavored to give the proper Spanish twist to his un- accustomed toogue over the words, when he was sharply challenged at the intersection of two streets by two guards at once. In the sudden fright and confusion of the moment memory very naturally took flight and he could not recall 8 word of his late lesson in Spanish. All he could say was Don't shoot; for Gods sake don't shoot!" Of course the words were unintelligible to the Venezuelans and bang! bang! went the muskets of both guards, but luckily no damage was done to the American, owing to the darkness and poor mark manship. He dropped himself and his dignity to the ground, then sprang up and ran like deer, lodging corners till safe under cover.
 The clean, narrow streets of Caracas are paved with small sharp cobble- stones and the sidewalks are of port land cement. The several tramway lines are all narrow-gauge, with queer little cars of English make, each square-box fitted with four benches. The city occupies the bed of an oncient lake, which is said to have been dried up and elevated by some early earth quake. There is nothing Indian about it now, except its name, and no trace is left of the proud and hardy race that the conquerors found in the beautiful valley. But everywhere are traces of the frequent earthquakes to which all the Andean regions are peculiarly sub ject. In the year 1912 the whole city was shaken down at once and upwards of twenty thousand people were buried in the ruins. The great "terrimote" happened on Holy Thursday. when the entire population was assembled in the churches to render homage to the day, and probably the mortality was greater than if the people had not been thus massed together. A number of times since then the city has been partially destroyed by terrimotes and the people live in constant dread of another great disaster; so that at the slightest sings, such as trembling of the earth, or sway ing of doors, or rattling of dishes on the shelves, at any hour of day or night, they rush en masse to the nearest plaza where toppling walls will not be so likely to crush them. Should you stay here a week. you are likely. almost any night, to see crowds Of undressed citi- zens, just as they sprang from their beds, stampeding in one direction. and few minutes later shame-facedly skulking homewards. Yet these same fearful citizens are extremely sensitive on the subject of earthquakes and will emphatically deny to strangers that there are ever any such things in Ven ezuela! Should you corner them with proofs of the great disaster of 1912, and later disasters of similar character, they will hastily change the subject to Gal weston floods, Kansas blizzards, Minne- sota cyclones and common accidents by fire and water elsewhere.
 Perhaps the most beautiful spot in this beautiful capital Is the singular. cone shaped hill of considerable height and extent, upon which is located the distributing reservoir of the city water works and a fine public garden. Guz- man Blanco transformed the little isola- ted peak into fashionable park and promenade, after the manner of Santa Lucia"-a similar hill in the heart of Chili's capital. It is adorned with flow CTS and shrubbery along open and shaded walks, winding round and round to the summit, the apex and central point being marked by colossal statue of Blanco, the sef-styled "Illustre and 'regenerador" of his, country. He was really it's Boss Shep- herd" and did as much toward beauti- flying this capital as the late Governor Shepherd did for the District of Colum- bia. Ffom this hilltop one may study at leisure the whole city, spread out be- low, the greater extent of the plain and mountain masses. At the eastern end of the valley stands the city of Petare, capital of the Venezuelan state of Bolivar, it's domes and spires and public buildings plainly visible from Monte Calvario, as the truncated cone is called. The view is one of min- gled loveliness and grandeur. Wild ca nary-birds fit among the flowers, and the music of innumerable church-bells comes back in softened echoes, repeated from the mounts aims in saddest and soft est melody. Among Caracas many churches the most splendid is that near the Capitol building, known as La Egle-