The Republican journal., 1902-10-02


with the precision of checker board,
its forty odd streets which run due east
and west, crossed by AS many more 60
ing north and south, forming" block" as
square as line and plummet could make
them. \ few of them are tolerably well
paved. with wide cement sidewalks
but most of them. with their rough,
sharp cobble stones. broken in many
places, would make excellent paths for
penltents, if painful progress is the
end desired. The system of nomencla-
ture of these streets, and the number
ing of the houses, is easy after you get
used to it. Taking as center the in
tersection of the streets where the
tower of the cathredal stands, the street
running north from that point to the
national pantheon is called Ayenida
Norte-"North Avenue" From the
same starting point, going south to the
Guaira rlver, runs Avenida Sur-''S South
Avenue" Those running east and west
from the cathredal tower-one to the
Central Railway station. the other to
the old high road that leads down to
the sea-are respectively Avenlda Este
aud AvenidaO este-" East" and West
avenues. The streets parallel to these
are numbeIed-ey numbers to the
westward. and odd numbers To the east
ward, such as CaIle street Norte |,
Gale sur /. Gale Estes Gale Oeste TO-
etc. HE houses are also numbered
even numbers on one side and odd num-
hers opposite Besides the streets,
voted to traffic and three Passages,
named lasaie Lmanes. "Paoaje del
Centenario," and '.pasaje de Alta
gracia" One would think that, with
an eXhaustleSs lake OF asphalt within
their borders. the Nenezuelans would
better pave their beloved capital: but
they reason that what was good enough
for the old-time Spanish nobility is
good enough for them. and meanwhile
the wonderful lake is an unfailing
source of revenue from the various
foreign companies thatare mining" it.
The houses of Caracas are all of the
usual Spanish American style, no yari-
alton being permitted by law. They
are OF stone. OF of sun baked mud.
covered with cement that looks like
marble, every year renewed and repaint-
ed in all the colors of the rainbow: pinkS,
puppies and yellows predominating
They are really the very best sort of
houses for the climate, their enormous
earthquake proof, and keeping out both
heat and cold With their deliberately
succeed tacades, Indiau-red, peaked
tile covered roofs and inner court-yarls
with trees and flowers growing Ill them,
they are a Joy forever III the way of
beauty and picturesqueness Among
are its forty-seven bridges, all orna-
mental. which span tie four rivers
running through the valley, and its
great number of costly statues in mar
bic and bronze The most remarkable
bridge is near the railway station. In
general appearance it is an ordinary
stee. construction span, springing from
ole bill to another. over the canon
Ike roadway, 50 far it does not differ
from other bridges the world over
The peculiarly OF this is that it never
had any occupation and probably never
Will have, as at neither end is there
anything in the shape of a road OF path
leading anywhere The great ponderous
work is simply hung up III the air, for
no purpose whatever except that { respo,
the then dictator. desired for some
political reason 10 give d valuable CON
tract to a certain bridge building firm.
The city was already sWarming with
useless bridges, and Cresp0 could think
of no place to put another but this.
where at least it would be out of the
way. SO he gave the contract, the
more cheerfully because it was not his
money that built it; and the people
point with pride to the only bridge in
the world that begins nowhere Other
countries can have bridges needed for
traffic and travel, but few can afford
the luxury of street structures hung IN
the air for ornaments
Among the innumerable statues that
decorate Caracas, perhaps the most
beautiful is that which was erected By
GuZman Blanco in honor of Bolivar,
the local Washington, who filled one
world with his benefits and all worlds
with his name" 1t is a colossal equeS-
trian figure, the horse in the impossi-
bic attitude of the sculptor's magma
ton, ingeniously supported by his tail,
which touches the ground, while his
fore-legs paw the air. The images are
of bronze, the pedestal of blue-grey
granite, highly polished. An inscription
on the front of the base informs be-
holders that Senior Bolivar, pro
nounced See-mone Boleevarl was the
''liberator" of Venezuela, New Ger
NADIA and Peru and the founder Of Boil