The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1931-03-06
Chief Gateway to cartagena.

in the background and form pleas
ant picture from the water.
Lying parallel to the mainland is
TERRA Bomba island, which must De
skirted by vessels entering the harbor
Of Cartagena. OF the two entrances
the Boca Grande (Large Mouth) is
nearest the city; but it is too shallow
lower entrance or Boca Chica (Small
MOUTH, which lies eight miles distant
is utilized.
Walls in some places forty feet
thick encircle the old town and re,
call the days when the city was one
of the strongest defenses on the Span
ish Main. Although they are now dis
mantled, several well-preserved for
tresses, which dot the walls, present
a military aspect.
Arches, balconies and grills give
Cartagena as Moorish an air as any
city of southern Spain. Crumbling
arches and faded plaster structures
attest the citys age. Many of the
stone and the grills are often wrought
iron in arabesque designs. The doors
and windows which front on the mar
row, dark, cobble-stoned streets are
heavily grilled. Most of the older
houses are built in square shapes
around a patio or courtyard where a
grass-grown plot, a we'll or fountain,
plants, tree or two and usually a
gorgeously colored tropical bird, make
a delightful spot in this always warm
city. The mean annual temperature is
50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Burros and automobiles pass through
the chief gate Of Cartagena, vener
able structure of yellow stone sur
mounted by steeple. Electric lights
brighten the streets that once echoed
to the footsteps of Sir Francis brakes
plundering crew. Tramways roll along
under overhanging balconies Of lilac
or orange plaster. Women in Partisan
dresses shop in the tiny stores with
their stocks of brilliant shawls, jewels,
or luscious tropical fruit, which nestle
in the colonnades surrounding the
Plaza de Los Coches. The marble pull
pit Of the Jesuit church Of Saint John
of God is celebrated throughout South
America.
Negroes and Syrians There.
At present Cartagena is secondary
in commercial Importance to Barran-
quilla, which is also a Caribbean sea-
port. Nevertheless, it does a thriving
trade and two-masted schooners as
well as large merchant steamers line
the waterfront. The bulk of the ex-
ports which pass through the town
consist Of coffee, chicle, ipecac, hides,
gold, platinum, balsam and cacao. Ne
groes in canoes carry on traffic with
natives in the many small towns bor-
dering the mainland.
The larger part of Cartagena's pop
ulation is negro, while mestizos or
mixed Indians and whites form the
comparatively small middle class, and
pure whites of Spanish descent form
only about a tenth. About half the
business in Cartagena is carried on
by Syrians. They have agents through
out the town and country, and no ham,
let in the interior is free from a visit
from a Syrian peddler with his omni-
present pack. The railroad out of
Cartagena extends only to Calamar,
about IS miles distant, but the in
trepid peddlers pierce the interior
afoot or by canoe. Much of the profits
Of the Syrian merchants is invested
in Colombian mines and real estate.
Before the war Cartagena's imports
came largely from Europe because the
average Cartagena business man had
travelled in Europe, was familiar with
European wares and felt a racial
compatibility with Europeans. During
the war when transatlantic CONNER
cial shipping was tied up, he was
forced to become acquainted with
American products. Since then COM
merce between the United States and
Colombia has grown by leaps and
bounds. The proximity Of the two
countries and the rapid delivery of
goods has largely been responsible for
this growth.
After independence was won from
Spain in 1919 Colombia was combined
with Venezuela and Ecuador as "the
Republic of Colombia" Later there
was separation and Colombia be-
came by turns the Republic of New
Granada" "the Confederation of
Grandma" the "United States of Co
lombia," and finally in 1886 again the
Republic of Colombia" Bolivar,
though born in Venezuela, led the Co
lombians to liberty and became the
first president of the republic. He
was banished from Venezuela and re-
tired to country house in Colombia,
near Santa Marta. His home. "the
Mount Vernon of South America" is
today a shrine in which are preserved
many relics associated with his bat.
ties and political triumphs.
Camel Cleared Cou,t~-