Evening star., 1915-11-21

and it was the capital of Brazil for
200 years. At present it is the capital
of the state of Bahia and one of the
chief commercial ports of the republic.
Bahia has 700 miles of coast line and 1T
has an area about five times that OF
Kentucky. A great part of the state is
mountainous, and much of it is more
than 1000 feet above the level OF the
sea and is consequently healthy. The
country produces great quaint ties OF
tobacco, coffee. sugar and cotton. 1t is
the Cuba of Brazil as far as tobacco is
concerned. yielding something like So
100000 pounds and as much as 2.oe2
pounds to the acre. AS to cotton 1t
grows wild in Bahia and sugar Will
grow anywhere. There are cotton and
SUGAR mills in different parts of the
state.
The city of Bahia has an excellent
harbor. 1t is known as the Bay of All
the Saints. The town stands on high
bluff lining the shore. Its houses are
of three or four stories and their walls,
as YOU look at them from the sea. make
YOU think of pigeon houses the win
dows in the distance looking like holes
The business section is close to the har-
Dor. the chief residences are on the
heights. the city running far back into
the country. Bahia is imposing as
viewed from the sea. Palm trees stand
here and there among the horses,
which seem to rise in tiers up from the
docks. The streets along the river are
paved with asphalt. Some of them have
walls of blue tiles which shine under
the rays OF the sun. The custom house
colored They are dressed i'll b ue su is
and walk with a strut. 1t SENS strange
to hear negroes talk Portuguese.
The market house of Bahia came from
ha 1
Buenos Aires. but bought by Bahia 1t
is a great building of glass and steel,
standing in the lower town close to. the
sea. 1t covers two or three acres and ii
is filled with iron cages and stalls beau
tifully finished. Each stall is a shop.
The market is filled with vegetables
and meats and merchandise of every
description. There is no cold storage
plant connected with it and all meat
must be sold the day that it is killed.
Some does not keep throughout the day.
and as a result the prices go down as
the clock goes around You can buy
tenderloin steak at ; O'Clock for about
one-third of it's cost at noon Most of
the market men and market women are
colored and the porterS are blacks. who
carry their produce around on their
heads.
Another American product is the ele-
vator that carries one up to the bluff.
It's tower is made of American steel
and the motive power is electricity. There
are also electric railways between the
two sections. The latter wind their
way up the hills. They pass many fine
houses and then go on into the new
residential district, where there are
buildings some of which cost as much
as $15O,OO0. Many of them are of stone,
others are of brick and others are wall
ed with bright-colored porcelain tiles
as fine as those of a bathroom Still
other buildings are covered with carv-
ines. The lawns are we'll kept and NIL
ed with tropical plants. Some OF the
houses seem to stand in little gardens
of Eden. Everywhere new buildings
are going up. The laborers are widen
ing the streets. They are laying down
asphalt and putting in sidewalks of
tile. Bahia will some time be one OF
the large cities of South America. 1t
NAV reach million Inhabitants.
Among the new buildings is the state
capitol, or rather the old capitol that
is being rebuilt. 1t was almost de-
stroyed during the revolution few
wears ago, when it was cannonaded by
the federal troops from the harbor.
One of the cannon balls went through
the tower clock of the municipal build
ing, others damaged the capitol it
self.
With all these improvements, it is
surprising how the new tramps on the
heels of the old. Some OF the houses OF