Mountain advocate., 1920-01-23

lea. The entrance to the harbor is
very narrow and is called Boca Chi
ca--thc large entrance known as
Gfande was many years ago filled
with stone to keep the buccaneers
from making a forced entrance into
the city. Just before entering Boca
Chica (Which means Little Mouth)
u pilot came aboard ana steered the
ship thru this narrow shallow way
by the battered forts Of Angelo and
San Fernando. We passed a small
island occupied by a lcper colony
which lies but a short distance from
the pier
Everybody seemed anxious to get
ashore ard explore this ancient Ath-
ems of South America but today a
tumbled down, ill-smellng town of
about $1,000 people Old Cdrtgena
is three fourths Of n mile long and
one hall u mile wide and enclosed by
wall thirty feet high and about
fifty feet thick. We climbed the wall
and walked most around On top of
IT, This wall is supposed to have
cost S9O.0OO,OOO. Long ago the city
was q hind Of bis bank where gold
and silver, mined in the interior,
was deposited awaiting the arrival
OF shops from Spain to taEo it to the
mother country.
There is an old story, told me by
the captain. G. Il. Glenn, most de-
| lightful gentleman, that tile king OF
Spain looked across the Atlantic
with his telescope 20 sec the wall,
thinking il must be large enough to
be seen, Il cost so much money. The
walls are defended By fierce looking
forts and terrible turrets that now
look harmless and delapitated. At
the foot of the wall are excavations
like caves in mountain. in which
poor children are born, live and die.
In another part Of the wall are cells
that had aDciently held prisoners
and now ere the homes of half-nHked
filthy. hulf-brcsds, who sweter and
swarm with yermin. These walls
seem to have proven as much Of q
barrier - progress as to pirates.
On the outside OF the walls there
are native villages of matched huts
that are the pictures of poverty and
5qualor. We looked down from the
top OF the wall into the back yards
Of these huts beneath and in the
shade of Cocoa-nut trees we saw
two native women, apparently about
twenty-five years Of age, washing
clothes.
We next visited that ancient
church Of San Pedro dc Clayer which
was erected soon after the founding
OF Cartegena in 1888. IN this
church ard beneath the altar is the
skeleton Of san Pedro. A priest led
us up the altar steps, raised a cur
tain, turned on an electric light and
there in glass case lay a skeleton, |
holy but harmless. His skull was
as shiny as If vanished, while his |
lesh. which had been dried, was in
. plush sack lying on the skeleton. |
1t is supposed that this man and |
priest had been very great friend
10 tho poor natives and was reward
I'd fer his :aol!ty by 5alng placed in
this church.
We were mex, driven thru the mar
row, dusty streets, which are not |
more than twenty feet wide, to a
suburb called Ximiani, and because
almCs- c;aryono we saw was scratch
ing his or her head or legs. some
one suggested that VIC call the place
Eczema, because we couldn't pro-
nounco It tho way It was spelled.
From my observations Cartegena
is nothing mere than a picturesque
pest mole.
Nothing OF interest ut Porto Col
omb!a where We lef, the steamer and
took a lain lor Garranquiila. a dis
lance Of seventeen miles. There is
nothing large about tAi3 railroad but
'ts fare which Was two dollars. My
good friend iie.dr,cE missed the op-
OF bis lie By not getting
in on this proposition.
3. Il. /. NOTES