226 



MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, WEST INDIES. 



About 30 miles south-east of San Marcos, Quezalteiunigo, second capital of the 

 republic and chief town of the Altos, occupies an extensive space, 7,740 feet above 

 the sea, on a hilly plateau south of which rises the still smoking Cerro Quemado. 

 In 1838 this place was the capital of a state which corapi^ised the three eastern 

 provinces of Totonicapam, Quezaltenango, and Solola. The houses are built of 

 lava blocks quarried at the foot of the volcano. The small industries are repre- 

 sented by woollen and cotton weavers, dyers and leather-dressers. A speciality 

 of the Quiche artisans is the preparation of gold-embroidered mantles, feather hats 

 and the masks used b" the natives in their dances, processions, and scenic per- 



Fig. 95. — The Altos Region, 

 Scale 1 : 1,100,000. 







92° 91° 30' 



formances Probably from this feather industry the city took its Mexican name of 

 Quezaltenango, which means " Green-Feather Town," not, as is often asserted, 

 " Town of the Quezal Birds," a species which is not found in the district. In the 

 capital of the Altos region reside most of the great landowners, whose estates 

 covei- the Costa Cuca slopes facing the Pacific ; here also dwell the traders and the 

 moneylenders, who are the real masters of the land. 



They prefer this salubrious place to Retalhuleu, which, although lying much 

 nearer to the zone of plantations, is one of the most unhealthy towns in Guatemala. 

 Retalhuleu, that is, the " Signal," stands at an elevation of not more than 1,360 

 feet, that is, in the very heart of the hot lands under a climate with a mean tem- 

 perature of 82° to 84*^ Fahr. It is a very ancient market, probably founded by the 

 Quiche kings to procure a sufficient supply of cacao and cotton. Cacao, which 



