The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1911-04-07

La Guaira was the scene Of the in
carceratlon Of many of the consplr'
ators Of the various movements be-
tween 1896 and the final throwing of
of Spanish dominion, in 1910, and the
principal dungeons where these pris'
oners were kept under the streets
near the sea wall. They have been
destroyed in later years, although the
outlines of some of the entrances may
be seen in the walls which keep La
Guaira creek within its bed.
Among the old historic points IN
teresting to the modern student ana
traveller, nothing seems to me quite
so worthy of attention as the house
which now occupies the site in the
gardens where lived the Spanish gov,
ernor, so aptly described in Kingsley
| famous book, Westward Ho.' The
old house was partially destroyed by
the terrible earthquake which caused
almost the total destruction OF La
Guaira. Caracas, and other cities Of
| Venezuela on Holy Thursday, March
| 26, 1912, but the present structure, re-
| built on the old foundations, Is evil
| IDENTIFY similar in construction and
form to the other.
The gardens. the flag payments,
and the graveled walk leading from
! the seashore, are more or less as they
must have been when the Amyas
| Leigh of the story came with his
brother Frank, who sought his lady
here, only to find the Rose of Tor
ridge" in possession of his enemy
Don Guzman Maria Magdaleno Soto
mayor de Soto The house stands TO
! the eastward Of La Guaira proper, on
an eminence overlooking much OF the
town and commanding an excellent
view of the harbor. The Macuto steam
tramway and the electric lights are
| about the only things one finds near
| it sufficiently bizarre to destroy the
conceit of barking back to that earlier
time, for in little else is the imme-
| diate scene changed.
There are three trails over the
mountains leading from La Guaira to
| Caracas by which one may reach the
! capital on horseback in four or five
hours, presenting vistas of exquisite
! beauty. The most picturesque prob
ably is via Galipan, small village at
an elevation of about 5000 feet, from
which Caracas on the one side and
the Caribbean Sea on the other are
visible.
The Caracas railway offers also a
most delightful trip, rising to an ele-
walton of 5000 feet in 81 miles OF dis
tance. 1t is a succession of sharp
| curves and steep grades, and as II
climbs the mountain side one encoun-
ters scenery rare in its variety. Tho
sea. the harbor the towns OF La
| Guaira and Maiquetia, and the Hat
plains Of Gao Blanco are far below.
/ Coffee plantations are passed, and
! groves of banana trees wave In the
| hreeze. The line creeps around the
| Drecipitous cliffs of FL Boqueron, with
| the homes of goatherds and Canary
Island truck farmers tn the gullies rar
below The majestic mountains tower
! high above, and canyons stretch OUT
beneath with thread-like rivulets now
ing along their sandy beds. There IS
much that reminds one Of TIE scenic
changes of the Rio Grande in Utah
and Colorado, but the low English en-
gines, the short train of small coaches
little resemble the enormous trains
Of that road.
After a two.hour climb the summit
is passed, and the train debouches
into the rich valley Of the Guiria
wherein lies Caracas, but that is an
| other story.