The Monmouth inquirer., 1925-08-06

groups of Quichuas and a few Span
iards with a great variety of things
for sale.
In one corner of the market are the
butchers, with beef or pork on dis
play, the beef haggIed and chopped
up with a complete disregard of joint
or bone, the pork moi lnfrequently sold
as a whole roast pig. Next to them
may be the millers1women seated on
the ground with a row of opened sacks
before them. in which may be seen
-four made of wheat. barley, corn. or
peas, the dealer measuring out the
flour in a tiny cup or perhaps weigh
ing it with a crude balance.
The common trade balance of EcIia-
dor is a short stick carrying a suspend
ed pan at each end and held up by a
cord about the center. The weight
is a rock about the size of a mans
fist, and, while no tive of them are
ever the same size, the merchant is
always prepared to pledge his honor
that the stone weighs a full and ex-
act pound.
The price for a commodity is almost
never fixed, and as the Ecuadorean Is
always prepared and expects to come
down somewhat from his first price,
it speaks worlds for his optimism that
he, invariably tries to get more. The
bargaining does not actually begin
until you have disregarded the first
figure and, asked, "What is the last
priceY' gel ultimo precio?'1
Quito is almost as large as Quay
aquil, but because of its in~vigorating
climate it has a far more healthy en-
vironment, and the city itself seems
to disclose more vigor among its citi-
zens.
1t is built in a bowl-shaped valley
at the foot Of Mount Pichincha. The
latitude of the city Is 5000 feet
above the sea. The mountain rises in
the background to a height of 10000
feet. The view which presents itself
from the summit of this mountain is
one Of the most superb and imposing
possible to conceive. Twenty snow
clad peaks rise before you, ranging
from $4,000 to $4,000 feet. 1t is truly
a Council of the P~atrIarchs of the
Andes.
Panorama Of the Streets.
The direct rays Of the equatorial
sun are white as fimelight, and the
first impression of Quito is that of a
snow-white city. relieved by roofs Of
rich red tiles. In the streets and
plazas are thousands of people, con
tinually moving. The. majority are
Indians in scarlet or orange ponchos,
wide white cotton trousers and broad
brimmed white felt hats. There are
Indians from a hundred different vii
lagos, marked ty the cut of the hair.
the turn of a hat, or the shape of
poncho. The streets are thronged
from morning to evening with mules,
horses, oxen, donkeys and llamas
with loads Of every description.
Ladies in smart victorias, drawn by
Gillian or native horses, drive to and
from the shops filled with merchan-
disc from Paris. New York, London,
Vienna and Berlin. Handsome officers
in full r~egimentals stroll along the
streets. Gentlemen in frock coats and
top-hats are everywhere.
The city is ~traversed from east TO
west by W deep ravines, through
which Pichincha sends down its tor
rents OF melted snow. The land upon
which. the city is built is, in shape,
like the inside Of an oval howl. at the
bottom of which is the Plaza Mayor.
- %hnsx noaoAc~fkfIffv T. keo
interior towns are apt TO be. more pic
turesque. more untrammeled by civ
ilization in its final manifestations.
Such a city is Lola, the modest metrop-
oils of southern Ecuador. with q popu-
lation of perhaps 10000 or 10000
souls.
The educated class of the Lojanians,
the Spaniards. are very punctilious
in the observance of dress, and 1t is
a ommon sight to see a citizen clad
in very proper Prince Albert, with q
tall hat, cane and resplendent shoes,
picking his way over the uneven cob
bIes, rubbing elbows with a scarlet
ponchoed Quichua or crowdlng by a
group of Canari Indians. with their
hard wooden hats. which look like
dirty, disreputable derbtes.
The majority OF the people one sees
in Ecuador are .Quichuas, a sturdy
people rather short in stature, but
well built and stocky. In color they
closely approximate OUT North Amer
lean Indians, but their features are
less stern and warlike. They do most
of the labor Of the republic and serve
as porters. drovers, farmers, etc. The
women labor as hard as do the men
and take their places alongside them
in the fields.