Beautiful Ecuador 



87 



away a cloud, while by night the smoke 

 forms a pillar of fire. Near the snow- 

 line is a huge mass of rock called the 

 Inca's head. According to legend, this 

 was the original summit of the mountain, 

 torn off and hurled down by an eruption 

 on the day the Inca, Atahualpa, was exe- 

 cuted by the Viceroy of Peru. 



After crossing the high pass of Chas- 

 qui, above the clouds, the road lies 

 through rich pastures and fertile fields. 

 The green pastures of the beautiful val- 

 ley of Machachi spread around us, dotted 

 with countless herds of cattle and horses. 

 Beautiful villas set in gardens and groups 

 of trees nestle at the foot of great hills. 



Houses are closer together as we near 

 Quito, the capital. Numberless Indians, 

 men and women, carrying burdens or 

 driving laden mules, form an endless pro- 

 cession. For the entire length of the 

 great Ecuadorian highway, human beings 

 are always in sight. 



The Indians carry everything on their 

 backs. The load is supported by a strap 

 passing across the forehead. Their 

 strength lies in the muscles of the neck, 

 not in their arms. Their gait is a dog 

 trot, which they can keep up all day. 

 They are very polite and submissive. 



A SNOW-WHITE CITY 



Quito is built in a bowl-shaped valley, 

 at the foot of Mount Pichincha. The 

 altitude of the city is 9,600 feet above the 

 sea. The mountain rises in the back- 

 ground to a height of 16,000 feet. The 

 view which presents itself from the sum- 

 mit of this mountain is one of the most 

 superb and imposing possible to conceive. 

 Twenty snow-clad peaks rise before you, 

 ranging from 15,000 to 22,000 feet. It 

 is truly a Council of the Patriarchs of the 

 Andes. 



There are three entrances to the city — 

 ±v/o from the south and one from the 

 north. We enter from the south by a 

 picturesque bridge spanning the Machan- 

 gara River. 



The direct rays of the equatorial sun 

 are white as lime-light, and the first im- 

 pression 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, continually moving. The major- 

 ity are Indians in scarlet or orange 

 ponchos, wide white cotton trousers, and 

 broad-brimmed white felt hats. There 

 are Indians from a hundred different vil- 

 lages, marked by the cut of the hair, the 

 turn of a hat, or the shape of a poncho. 

 The streets are thronged from morning 

 to evening with mules, horses, oxen, don- 

 keys, and llamas with loads of every de- 

 scription. 



Ladies in smart victorias, drawn by 

 Chilian or native horses, drive to and 

 from the shops filled with merchandise 

 from Paris, New York, London, Vienna, 

 and Berlin. Handsome officers in full 

 regimentals stroll along the streets. Gen- 

 tlemen in frock coats and top-hats are 

 everywhere. 



The city is traversed from east to west 

 by two deep ravines, through which 

 Pichincha sends down its torrents of 

 melted snow. The land upon which the 

 city is built is, in shape, like the inside of 

 an oval bowl, at the bottom of which is 

 the Plaza Mayor. The course of the 

 streets is generally regular, running east 

 and west and north and south. The 

 streets are paved with cobbles. The 

 houses, of stone and brick, are mostly 

 built in the Spanish-Moorish style, with 

 courtyards within. The roofs project 

 over the sidewalk and afford protection 

 from rain. Balconies overhang the 

 streets from every window. The ground 

 floor on the street has no connection with 

 the rest of the house and is usually occu- 

 pied by shops. The entrance is always 

 high enough to admit a mounted horse- 

 man with ease. Around the courtyards 

 are galleries, supported by arches or pil- 

 lars. The living rooms open upon these 

 galleries. Servants are cheap and 

 faithful. 



There are several good hotels in 

 Quito — the Royal Palace, Hotel de Paris, 

 Hotel Americano, and the Casa Azul. 



The people of Quito are charming, 

 courteous, and hospitable. I do not know 

 anv citv of its size which contains as 



