Norwich bulletin., 1920-05-07
IN THE DAYS NEWS
Guatemala.

"A condition of upheaval, not neces- sarily from political causes, is nothing new to the Republic of Guatemala. This country has wonderfully rich and fertile soil and it's climate rarely is eqialled,'' says a bulletin from the National Geo graphic society.
 "The city of Guatemala, which is nov, being gradually rebuilt was the scene of one of the most violent earthquakes known in Central American history. The earthquake extended over several months during the latter part of 1917 and the early months of 1918. It began Novem- Der IT, 1917. On Christmas night in the parks of the city, beneath a full moon in an untroubled sky, the populace huddled watching in fear and misery their homes, the trees. and the earth as well, creep, writhe and twist 2
 'On the night of January 24, the moon again beamed from a cloudless sky upon these people as they saw nearly every re- maining edifice in their city tumble in whirlwinds of dust. The tremors seem ed to center under the very city itself, and spectators have said that they fear c1 that the earth would give way and a volcano form in the very heart of the city. The houses and bell towers crum- bled water mains were broken, the sew age coozed up in the streets. and, in the cemeteries, skeletons were shaken out of l their collins
 One can take a steamer from New 1 Orleans and in three days reach Puerto ] Barrios, on the Gulf of An1atique, along 1 the sunny eastern shores of the coun- l try, where stately palms wave in greet 1 ing.
 | Along this seacoast and farther inland | large banana plantations cover thousands i of acres. This one comparatively small country raises for it's own and the out | side worlds consumption about ten mil ] lion punches of bananas a year. The val 1 ley of the Motagua river is considered one of the most densely vegetated regions of the world.
 But the most important crop of the state is coffee. Upon the slopes of its mountains, 1,5oe to 5000 feet above the sea level. these fields of trees in, full l bloom, with their wealth of fragrant white blossoms, are indeed a beautiful sight. And equally beautiful are they
 when the berries have become brigh red. AS soon as the coffee beans art picked, they are pulped to prevent fer mentation in the pulp. which would stair them, after which they go into grea
 fermentating tanks, where they remain l from A to AS hours, in order to take of
 the sweet, gummy substance on the hull
 Then they are washed and spread to dr.
 .
 skin is taken off the coffee is ready fo
 the market In 1916 Guatemala produces about 90 million pounds of coffee.
 "A fascinating land Guatemala is toe
 with it's dense tropical forests coverin
 more than a million acres, whose gian
 trees are linked together by trailin
 vines above gorgeous carpet of orchid:
 waxen begonias, the peculiar blossoms c the plantin, and scarlet poinsettias. | ha home of the Maya-Quiche Indians. who's history reads like romance. At Quir "sgua are located some of the most re
 markable ruins to be found in the Amer
 cas. Many queer old monoliths, resen bling. to some extent Egyptian obeliski
 from the top Iof which gigantic face stare at the intruder, still stand in an e2
 cellent state of preservation, as well a
 many rocks carved in the shapes of ar
 imals, by an ancient people. Excava tions in the vicinity have revealed tn