The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1912-11-12
GUATEMALA, H
OF LITTLE REPUBI JCS
y lropicai Switzerland of Twenty-eight Volcanoes
waterfalls 700 Feet High-Big Coffee Plantations
IN the Hands of Germans-The Biggest Relief Man
in the World.

mere IN Guatemala city. which Is al
iilosI as nigh as Denver, can see
rlsinS from the Volcano de
Aqua, n last night there WAS fire all
along Its south slope. MANY of the
strangers here thought the mountain
was In eruption, but afterward dig
we're II was only forest fires which
mao sprung up in the woods. The
most " the volcanoes of Guatemala
are perfect cones, and many Of them
are the equals Of FuSiyama IN their
symmetrical outlines.
Looking at the map below us. we
see hat one OF the mountains is half
blown away. This is the volcano of
Santa Maria, which purst forth about
ten years ago and destroyed many vii
lagos. covering the country with vol
canic ashes. Farther over YOU may
see pacaya, which has had half a doz-
en- cruptiOns since the Spaniards
came.
Sulphur lakes and the Well of
Death.
Some Of the lakes Of Guatemala are
wonderfully beautiful. Lake Atitlan
which IS on h west slope, is an i'm
menEe sheet Of blue, with FIVE volca-
noes surrounding it. and Amatitlan,
which is ar hour or sc by rail from
the capital, is in sight Of Volcano de
Aqua, and is al beautiful as any lake
in Switzerland. Both OF these lakes
are great resorts, and in the future
they may be winter homes for the
United States. Lake -Atitlan has IS
islands and the native Indians will
row you about from place to place.
It's waters have no large fish. and the
story goes that this came from their
being cursed by the priests because
the people Of the capital got their fish
from there n made the Indian
slaves do the fishing. Another Won
derful lake is that Of Yzohel on the
Atlantic side OF the country. It is
really an arm of the seas which flows
through a rough canyon with a val
ley n there spreads out in a wide
sheet Of silver.
And then there is q sulphur lake in
the Tecuamburro volcano, which is
1900 feet in diameter. It lies right in
lam from many of the oldest and to
the orator and its st~raw-colored wa
ters bubble forth sulphuTous gases.
This lake is like the Dead sea in that
1t has no fish, and not far from it Is a
little geyser called the we'll of Death,
which is said to Kill birds, reptiles or
anything hat passes which breathes
its fumes. I heard Of a similar geyser
during my stay in Central Africa, and
| vas shown photographs Of deer which
had been killed by it.
Some Wonders Of Guatemala.
| But these are only 4 few of the
wonders OF Guatemala. The whole
country is one Of mountains and val
leys; or great canyon and Stalactite
caves. 1t has one waterfall 700 feet
high, and hot springs which remind
me OF the Yellowstone. There is q
volcanic LAKE surrounded by basalt
cliffs $50 feet tall, and the surface of
the lake itself is higher than the top
OF Mount Washington. Another lake
is said to nave q kind of red fish
which were imported by the early
missionaries, and about forty miles
from here on the road to Salvador is
the Bridge Of Slaves, which was built
100 years after Columbus discovered
America. 1t is ten feet wide m 375
feet long. It is made Of stone, and
there are many legends concerning
the building. One Of these is that the
devil put it up in a single night on a
contract with h architect, who
agreed to give him his SOU as the
price of the job. The devil had fin
ished laying the stones into place and
had about completed the work when
the day al dawning. Just at tina,
time, however, the mar who had
made the contract repented, and ask
ed back his SOUL, thrusting at the same
time a crucifx in the face Of the devil
His satanic majesty thereupon tried
to Kick over the bridge: but he sue
ceeded in knocking out only one stone
which, I am told, is still lacking.
A White Mans Country.
Guatemala lies in-the tropics, but
its altitude makes It a white mans
country. The climate Of the up
lands is perpetual summer. The
winter Of the capital is warmer thar
that of Los Angeles, and one a have
any kind Of climate he wishes By
choosing the altitude. There are
in fact, q half-dozen ones There
is the hot zone, which runs along the
sea level. This is SO warln that ne.
groes are brought in to work the
plantations. Above 900 feet, thu
climate is cooler, II at from 2,60t
to 5000 the temperature ranges from
62 to II the year through. II you
want TO go still higher. Q a fine
colder weather. In the whole repub-
lie there are only two seasons, the we
and the dry, and on the higher land:
the wet season is pleasant. The rain