Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-03-02
NE would scarcely consider a
place 1850 miles inland a sea-
\ port; and yet Iqaitos, the
only eastern outlet for Peru.

J port; and yet Iqaitos, 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 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
32S feet above sea level, writes Samuel
E. Bayless in the Bulletin of the Pan
American Union. At last he steps out
on the large, half-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,
600 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 q CEN
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 a 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 large membership among
IquitenOs and foreign ors; various
storehouses; two very large barracks
for the soldiers provincial prison, and
the splendid new hotel, the Malecon
Palace, of re-enforced concrete,
handsomely decorated, three-story edi-
fee, having all modern improvements
and conveniences. which was built at
a cost of S250,00O by Sr. Otoniel Vela,
public-spirited and very wealthy gen.
tleman. This hotel is on the street
facing the river, and has it's own drain
age system directly into the stream.
Residences Are Up-to-Date.
With the exception of a few palm
thatched 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 all
their appurtenances.
All the buildings. both public and
private, are exceptionally good. far
better than their cOunterparts in many
places of equal size in northern South
America, Mexico and Central Amer
lea.
The number of inhabitants of the
city varies, from 10000 during the
high-water period to 1S,OOO-it may
drop to 12,OOO-in the dry season.
when the rubber-gatherers are out.
Being the capital, the local assem-
bly,, or consejo provincial, meets here.
as well as the superior and minor
courts. The prefect. or governor, is
appointed by the authorities in Lima
but the alcalde, or mayor. is elected;
and he and the members of his coun-
Gil may be (some usually are) foreign
ers-merchantS. as rule.
That part of the Peruvian army
which is stationed here is well
equipped, drilled and officered. there
Is a splendid parade ground about q
mile and a half from town, where it
is pleasure to watch the troops at
drill and target practice. The gov
ernment gunboats and a transport are
usually stationed here. They were
built in Europe and brought over un-
der their own steam.
The putlic schools, four in num-
hor orn