The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1917-04-12

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to be seen in the ancient Spanish
houses, with their Moorish features
and great moulded doors. Modern
Quito dates from the year 1884,
when new city was established
on the site of the ancient Inca
town, and several fine public build
ings have been erected to mark the
site of the old government build
ings, and some very pretty parks
show the artistic desires of the
people. An atmosphere of an
tiquity, however, clings to the
place and the streets present a
curious contrast between the old
and the new city.
The population is about $4,000.
Automobiles dash along the un-
even streets past the humble
donkey, heavily laden with the
products of the rich agricultural
region which surrounds the capital.
The contrast between the people
who make up the population of the
city is no less striking. The upper
class are to be seen we'll dressed in
fashionable European attire, while
the large Indian population is
dressed in bright colored garments.
and of every description. The
Indians form one of the most inter-
esting features of the city. The
women seem to bear more than
their share of the heavy work, as
they are seen everywhere carrying
large sacks of cocoa beans TO mar
ket. The men wear their hair
long and hanging down their backs
as do the women. Both men and
women wear broad d-brim, hand
made hats of wool or felt, and
stained some bright color.
The city is lighted by electricity
and has electric street cars and
good waterworks. Quito also has
number of daily papers, and ex-
cellent schools, including gymna-
Sums, number of public parks,
theaters and other places of amuse-
ment, and at the central park the
band plays three nights week.
Quito is described as the city of
churches, and it possesses some of
the finest ecclesiastical buildings in
South America, including a mon
astery which ranks as one of the
largest and finest in the world.
The church strongly influences the
life of the inhabitants, and the
public professions and ceremonies
which mark the celebration of
church festivals are characteristic
feature of the city's life. The
powerful influence of the church
upon the life of the city has been
translated into stone and perpetu-,
ated by the architectural dominance
which the church has attained.
Of the we'll known port and citv
Guayaquil little need be said, for
the city of Guayaquil has been no.
torious for heat, yellow fever, and
a variety of deadly diseases, but
which is now changing rapidly for
the better and has to-day a clean
bill of health. Ocean steamers
and ships call there regularly and
take away rich cargoes, and the
government is making every ef-
fort to improve sanitation and
health conditions, and practically
the whole of Ecuador's trade
passes through Guayquil.
The city is surrounded by mag
nifcent cocoa and coffee planta-
tions, and at first glance the bulk
of the population appears to be
engaged in the buying, selling,
bagging or drying of these pro-
ducts. The smell of the cocoa
bean pervades the whole city,
coming from the piles of cocoa
standing on the sidewalks waiting
for shipment, or from the huge
quaptities spread out on canvas in
the streets to dry in the sun.
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