The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-03-21
The CITY OF GUAYAQUIL
ODDITIES OF LIFE IN 4 SOUTH
AMERICAN SEAPORT.
The Public r.yvriser and the Pub
lie Grindstone-BOspita Ca
IhedraI-NOmen.

lie Grindstone-HospitaIi Ca
IhedraI--Women.
Especial Correspondence of the Journal
and Courier)
Guayaquil, Ecuador, Feb. II, 1908.
In this queer metropolis the public
letter writer and the public grindstone
are both established institutions. The
former sits in his doorway, or Oftener
out on the sidewalk, with a small table
beside him, on which are pens, ink and
paper-alI ready to indite love-letters or
legal documents, as his numerous Gus
toners may require. The usefulness OF
this learned individual can hardly be
appreciated in the United States; but
here he is invaluable, because to the
vast majority of the population 1.-The
three R's-reading, riting and 'rithme-
tic, are a sealed book.
I Yet Guayaquil supports two newspa-
pers-''Los Andes" and la Patria."
I They are generally issued at least ten
| days behind date, or whenever it hap
pens to suit the convenience of the pub
fishers, for in this Acadia nobody trou-
bles himself about the doings of the
outer world. The so-called news pa
pers are mostly filled with poetry by
local talent, and essays on every sub
iect under the sun, except, perhaps,
what is actually happening in Ecuador
in the way of revolutions and aspirants
for presidential honors. One must be
very careful about committing himself
on those topics, for quien sabe which
faction may win; and then all those who
were on the losing side find themselves
/ in very unpleasant predicament, in
grave danger of Imprisonment, or BAN
ishment from the country and confisca-
ton of property. This is eminently one
of those blooming republics in which'it
| is safest to have no opinion.
Every night the principal streets of
Guayaquil are patrolled by Watchmen,
and the cry they send forth to mark
the hours is as musical as that of the
muezzin in Constantinople or the holy
city of Fee. At midnight, for example,
they sing out Ave Marie Purissima!
Los doce han dado. La noche es laro
y gereno. Vive la Patria!" Twelve
NASN%A
and serene. Long live patrioticm)
There is very good hotel in Guaya-
quill as inns average in this country
though some of it's arrangements seem
rather funny to the newly arrived trav-
eler from North America. If you are
wise in your day and generation, you
will order waiter to take your table
out on the veranda, where the air is
| fresher and flies not so numerous;
| where you can escape the abomination
of revolving fans, now so deplorably
common in restaurants the world over'
| and, better than all, where you can see
Chimborazo in all his glory and enjoy
| the perfect blue of the sky. the gor-
geousness of tropic coloring and the
summer heat tempered by ocean
breezes However dilatory the SER
wants of Ecuador may be, your meal
will never be a cold one, but made red
| hot by peppers, and with decidedly
more lard and onions about it than the
average northern APPETITE calls for.
| Should you desire boiled eggs, in the
hope that they, at least, intact in their
| shells, may be free from grease and
! garlic-it will be no use to order them
''hard' or soft or medium" because
| there is neither watch nor clock about
| the premises, nor any other method OF
measuring the fighting Of old Tempus.
The people depend entirely upon the
cathedral bells, and upon the great
clock in the tower of the city hall, to
tell the passing hours; but as for min
| MI into tho p11Pul9 -
| lions of the citizens of this glorious re-
public, who believe that time was made
| for slaves and manano (to-morroW)
will do just as we'll as to-day. There
fore, if you want your eggs medium,
| tell the waiter in all seriousness to
keep the water boiling while he says
three Ave Marias; or If hard are pre-
ferred, tell him to count all the beads
in his rosary, Such an order he will
comprehend and obey to the letter.
Whatever shortcomings may be laid
to the door of Guayaquilians. it can
never be truthfully said that they lack
the virtue of hospitality. The gracious
politeness and spontaneous generosity
Of the better classes is an unconscious
expression of their sincere good will to-
ward all mankind; and even the poor
est, whose bamboo casas are occupied
Jointly by dogs, pigs, donkeys, fowls
and humans, will bid you welcome to
the best they have with hearty kind
ness, though they cannot speak a word
of your language, or you understand a
word of theirs.
Some of these bamboo houses are fur
nished with real legance-carpets,
| hangings and upholstered couches from
England, pianos and harps from Ger
many, ornaments and bric-a-brac from
France, Spain and Italy. Over the en-
trance to many of the getter houses are
large squares of tin, painted to repre-
sent the flag of the country to which
the owner claims allegiance, and I'M
derneath printed warning to incen-
diaries and revolutionary looters, such
as the following: THE proprietor Of
this house is citizen of England"-or
Germany, France or the United States,
as the case may be; the robber or
torch bearer being expected to stand in
wholesome awe Of the foreign govern
ment indicated and to believe in the
length and strength of it's protecting
| arm. There Is one commercial house
whose tin flag announces in glazing
colors and letters so large that he who
runs may read, that the owner thereof
is faithful subject of his Majesty,
King dward, and also adds that the in