598 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



be:i.i^s taken from crumbung towers of 



CHURCHES destroyed BY EARTHQUAKE 



this city has suffered Httle from them, 

 only experiencing slight shocks from 

 time to time. During my entire six 

 months' stay in this country I did not 

 feel even a tremor, and I really think 

 that my friends were rather disappointed 

 when I returned and was unable to give 

 thrilling accounts of one of nature's up- 

 heavals. 



With a population of 100,000 inhabit- 

 ants, the city is laid out on a splendid 

 scale, with broad avenues, fine parks, 

 and handsome buildings. It is one of 

 the best-lighted cities in the world. 

 Street cars, little mule cars, run from one 

 end to the other, and already a conces- 

 sion has been granted to an American 

 syndicate for the construction of an elec- 

 tric line. 



In the center of the city is the Plaza 

 de Armas, with its pretty park, where 

 stands the handsome statue of Columbus. 

 This plaza becomes the rendezvous of 

 fashion three or four evenings of the 

 week, when an exceptionally fine band 

 plays. Here also each morning at 10 

 o'clock a company of the President's 

 Guard of Honor parades. Most inter- 

 esting scenes are also witnessed on the 

 nights of any national holiday or church 

 festival. 



The Indians come in from 

 the surrounding country early 

 in the day and install them- 

 selves in picturesque groups,, 

 selling native sweets, cocoanut 

 water, and beautiful fruits. 

 As night comes on they build 

 fires which illumine their dark 

 faces and brilliant costumes. 

 The trees are hung with gay 

 lanterns and at one side is 

 stretched a great canvas upon 

 which a free moving-picture 

 show is in progress. 



The band plays, and between 

 times is heard the rather 

 weird music of the marimba. 

 This native instrument has a 

 peculiar charm and, in spite 

 of a certain metallic sound, 

 not unlike a xenophone, when 

 played in the open air has very 

 beautiful tones. Often in the dead of 

 night one is awakened by the plaintive 

 tones of one of these instruments as 

 some dark-eyed senorita is being sere- 

 naded. 



The Cathedral, which stands facing the 

 plaza, with its two square towers, is a 

 fine example of the churches of Spanish 

 America. A curious but not unpleasing 

 effect is obtained in the interior by the 

 blue-and-white ceiling. All the churches 

 of the city are rich in wood carvings, 

 paintings, and antique altar silver saved 

 from the ruins of Antigua. 



Throughout the country wherever the 

 churches have suffered from earthquakes 

 and the crumbling towers are no longer 

 strong enough to bear the weight of the 

 heavy bells, these are hung out of doors 

 under a pointed thatched roof held by 

 bamboo poles, which adds greatly to the 

 picturesqueness of the landscape. 



The Teatro Colon, the national thea- 

 ter, is a building of which any city would 

 be proud. It is copied from the Church 

 of the ]\Iadeleine in Paris. It is gener- 

 ously subsidized by the government, and 

 good operatic and dramatic companies 

 come from Italy, Spain, and Mexico. 

 Bull-fighting is, of course, the favorite 

 amusement, and there is a good bull-ring. 



