The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-02-18

ing US. And when school was let out
in the afternoon. the boys of Caracas
were added to the crowds, and made
ribald remarks about us.
The South Americans do not look
like other people 1 have seen: the
true South American looks like tan
ned North American. Colonel Goet-
halls, who is in charge of the Panama
canal, is a fine type of the North
American, but so badly tanned that
he would pass in Caracas for a South
American. But there are plenty of
negroes, and plenty showing the In
dian type. Among the native women
We saw many pure blondes. Usually
we saw these blondes behind iron bars
at windows; for all the windows on.
| the lower floors here are barred; to
prevent hot blooded lovers from car
rying off their Sweethearts, suppose.
And behind these barred windows we
also saw very pretty children; hun
dreds of them. These pretty children
looked like children in the north, ex-
cept that they were tanned, as are
all the Spanish.
We called at the White House of
the Venezuelan republic. The guide
said that the White House is open
only when tourists arrive in big par
ties. Anyway, we alighted in the
street, and walked through the en-
trance of the presidents official resi-
dence, passing on the way a great
number of soldiers. Inside a uni
formed man conducted US about. The
White House seems to be of one story
surrounding large court. The rooms
open off this court; the official dining
room, I remember, is separated from
the air and sunlight in the court only
by screen. (By-the-way, saw
toothpickS on the presidents table;
the women may decide whether this
is proper.) We were shown into the
presidents official audience chamber;
| a rather gaudy apartment. There we
saw artificial flowers, although there
were many fine natural flowers in the
court outside. On the walls were two
or three very large (and very good)
oil paintings of Venezuelan heroes,
although believe Simon Bofiver, was
absent, but he is seen in marble in
| most of the public parks. Gin one of
the parks is a very good statue of
| George Washington, and my reeollec-
| ton is that the park is called Wash
/ ingtOn park. In the presidents Off
cia1 audience chamber is also a crayon
picture of the president; it looked like
| a crayon enlarged from a photograph,
and seemed out of place, considering
| the really fine oil paintings surround
ing it Sitting near one of the doors
| of the rooms were two ladies. Our
conductor explained that these ladies
| belonged to the presidents family.
rs one of them his wife?'' we ask
ed our guide, in a whisper.
| The guide explained that the uni
|
culars, but said the president was not
married, although he expected to be
soon.
One of the ladies of the presidents
family asked our guide in Spanish:
do the ladies speak French2' Gre
| ferring to the ladies in our party
I told the guide that three of the
ladies in our party spoke boarding
school French. but were afraid to at
tempt it in Caracas. The guide in
| ternreted this f0 the lady of the T1raSi-
dents family and she smiled. Several
of the rooms leading off from the
court were. bedrooms. partly screened
from public gaze. Our guide told
me the most terrible story about the
president of the Venezuelan republic;
that he lives in the White House with
a mistress. and that he keeps several
at other places. This story may not
be true: the guide had been in Car
acas only a year, coming from Trini-
dad. He further said that Castro. the
president lately deposed, and who oc-
| cupied so much space in the news
papers a few months ago, was a regu-
lar devil If Castro saw a beautiful
woman on the streets. the guide said.
he took possession of her. If her par
/ ents objected, he put them in prison.
/ I am not very particular, but under
the circumstances, I thought it proper
to ask the guide to take US out of the
tainted atmosphere, which he did, we
tourists anyway. The guide says
Castro has about as manv friends in
Caracas as the present president. How
much the guide knows of the politics
} of Venezuela. I had no means of as
pertaining. I did not hear any other
citizen of the city mention the sub
ject.
!. From the presidents house, we went
to the public market. the most inter-