Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1917-03-10
i. NE would scarcely consider a
a place 1850 miles inland a sea-
y port; and yet Iquitos, the
only eastern outlet for Peru,

| ~ NE would scarcely cOnSluef
place 1850 miles inland sea-
Y port; and yet Iquitos, the
| only eastern outlet for Peru,
near the confluence of the many riv-
ers which form the Amazon, is visited
regularly by large, ocean-going YES
sells.
The two-weeks' journey upriver,
from Para at the mouth, is rather mo-
notonous; there is little to see on
either bank except low, swampy jun
giles, save a few important places, such
as the city of Manaos, Santarem, Boa
Vista, and some others, where the land
Is comparatively high, until one
reaches his destination, which Is only
1913 feet above sea level, writes Samuel
e. Bayless in the Bulletin of the Pan
American Union. At last he steps out
on the large, -million-dollar float
ing wharf of the boat company; and
then comes the big surprise, for Iqui-
tos is not at all the rough, frontier
Amazon city one sometimes reads
about. Writers of such articles can
not have known the place well, or have
not seen it of late years; for there Is
much of comfort, beauty and sub
stance in this the capital of the great
province of Loreto, which occupies
nearly the whole of Peru east of the
Andes, and contains more than $780,
900 square miles, or as much as three
or four of our states put together.
The city is comparatively new, being
scarcely more than a third of a GEN.
fury from the jungle stage, and owes
Its growth and prosperity to the ever
increasing demand for rubber. In fact,
it Is one of the great rubber ports of
the world. The first thing person
naturally notices is the buildings in
the business section. These are the
city hall, a commodious and well-built
structure, as Is also the prefecture, or
statehouse; Masonic hall-the lodge
has quite a large membership among
Iquitenos and foreigners; various
storehouses; two very large barracks
for the soldiers; provincial prison, and
the splendid new hotel, the Malecon
|
handsomely decorated, three-story edi.
flee, having all modern improvements
and conveniences, which was built at
a cost of $250,000 by Sr. Otoniel Vela
a public-spirited and very wealthy gen.
tleman. This hotel is on the street
facing the river, and has its own drain.
age system directly into the stream.
Residences Are Up-to-Date.
With the exception Of a few palm.
matched houses on the edge of town
the residences, too, are of brick and
concrete, with tile or galvanized-iron
roofs. Most of them are Brazilian In
style. That is, one room clear across
the whole front of the lot, or solar
flush with the street; and back of that
two rows of rooms, one on either side
Of the patio, or courtyard, which opens
into the front room. All the rooms
are large and airy. The fronts Of
some OF the houses are beautifully
decorated with colored French tiles
and the interiors are up-to-date in al
their appurtenances.
All the buildings, both public ani
private, are exceptionally good, fan
better than their counterparts in many
places Of equal size In northern Sontl
America. Mexico and Central Amer
lea.
/. The number of. inhabitants Of The
city varies, from 10000 during tn,
hlgh-water period to 18,000-it ma!
drop to 12,000-in the dry season
when the undergraduates are out.
Being the capital, the local assem-
bly,, or consejo provincial, meets here
as well as the superior and mino
|. courts. The project, or governor, /.
appointed by the authorities in Lima
but the alcalde, or mayor, is elected
, and he and the members of his coun
, ell may be (some usually are) foreign
ers-merchants as q rule.
That part of the Peruvian arm,
which is stationed here is wei
equipped, drilled and differed. Their,
! is splendid parade ground about I
> mile and half from town, where |
! is a pleasure to watch the troops u
drill and target practice. The gov
, eminent gunboats and transport ar
] usually stationed here. They wer
built In Europe and brought over I'm
der their own steam.
The public schools, four in mum
Der. are well taught and attended. tn