Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-05
CAPITAL OF COLOMBIA
BOGOTA A TROPICAL CITY W1Ga
A TEMPERATE CLIMATE.
puilt m n Detached Plateau OF the
Andes 5000 Feet Above
Sea Level.

From the New York Tribune.
Boeota, the capital OF the United STATES
of Colombia. the city of Holy Faith. H.
particularly at the present time' OF more
than passing interest. not only TO TINS coun-
try. but to the whole civilized world as well.
The Panama canal, which, 1t is the 1nten-
ton Of the United States. shall be out
through Colombia's territory. has brought
Bosota in the foreground Of public obser-
walton: and. taking into consideration the
nature and temperament Of the Colombians,
It may be said in this connection that no
matter what the ultimate fate OF the treaty
may be the chances are that 1t viii cause
some sort of a political change in the gov
eminent and map of the country Of the.old
Chibchas.
Bogota occupies a little detached plateau
of the Andes, 6, 75O feet above the level Of
the sea. half a mile higher than the very
top of Mount Washington Its high loca-
ton renders it's atmosphere thin. pure and
cool so that one can almost imagine ones
self in the north temperate zone. Though
only a few degrees from the equator, the
temperature averages so degrees Fahren-
heit, and most Of the northern products are
found. fourishing amid a surprising profu-
sion of tropical fruits and flowers. This
mountain valley is doubly interesting as
having been the traditional heaven of the
Chibchas the ancient people who inhabited
this region in the early dawn Of history.
According to Queseda, at the time of the
conquest (153D the population numbered
about 10000 Here stood their sacred city,
called Bo-cat-a; and the present capital,
which occupies nearly the same site, evil
IDENTIFY took its name from the older one,
though the corrupted modern word has an
entirely different sound, the accent being
given on the final syllable.
The Chibchas.
The Chibchas were a curious race, and
around no spot in the two Americas are
clustered more wild stories and improbable
traditions concerning vanished civiliza-
ton. OF their remoter history the world
knows absolutely nothing, except that they
we're an ancient and powerful people when
the Spaniards found them. three centuries
ago, given to agriculture and the peaceful
arts, and with a government essentially
patriarchal The study Of Chibchan, relig-
ion, from the shattered remnants Of tradi-
ton that remain, is fascinating one.
Their faith seems to have been a strange
mixture of ancient Buddhism modern the
osophy and Bible Christianity, but included
no sanguinary sacrifices like those that
marked the rituals of many of the neighbor-
ing tribes of Central and South America. In
Bohica, their elysium supposed to be liter
ally located on the high plateau, they had
divine mediate or deity of mercy Like
all other races, they, too, had a tradition
of the flood, and a character closely re-
sembling the Hebrew Noah. the Greek Deu-
Gallon and the Mexican Cojcoj; and to COM
plete the scheme of salvation they believed
also in a spirit of evil, who was forever
striving to get the better of the higher
god of SCIENCE as typifed by earthen
images, was almost Identical with the
Buddhist god of wisdom, represented in the
idols that are today found In many Chinese