GUATEMALA, THE COUNTRY OF THE FUTURE 



615 



of this soil, having been introduced into 

 the new world by a Spanish priest in 

 Guatemala, who obtained the seed from 

 Arabia. The trees are first raised in 

 nurseries, and when a few months old 

 are transplanted. A coffee field in full 

 bloom, with its wealth of fragrant white 

 blossoms, is indeed a beautiful sight. 

 When ready for picking the bright red 

 berries greatly resemble cherries. 



When we arrived at Pacayal the In- 

 dians were still harvesting, the result of 

 a good day's work being about three 

 bushels of berries apiece. Each day 

 these are weighed, the pickers receiving 

 a check and being paid off in full every 

 Saturday. They earn about seven or 

 eight cents a day for twelve hours' work, 

 besides a home, which consists of a bam- 

 boo hut. There is little discontent among 

 these children of the open air, except 

 when occasionally a bottle of "guaro," 

 the cheap alcoholic drink of the country, 

 is smuggled onto the estate. This is 

 generally accomplished by some loving 

 spouse, who travels under cover of the 

 night and by stealth to the nearest village 

 to obtain the coveted beverage for her 

 liege lord. 



As soon as picked the coffee is pulped 

 to prevent fermentation in the pulp, 

 which would stain the bean. From the 

 pulper it goes into great fermenting 

 tanks, where it remains from 24 to 48 

 hours, in order to take off the sweet, 

 gummy substance which is on the hull. 

 It is then washed and spread to dry in 

 the sun on large asphalt terraces called 

 "patios." When thoroughly dry it is put 

 through a huller to take off the fine sil- 

 very skin, and is finally ready for the 

 market. One bushel of berries gives ten 

 pounds of cleaned coffee. The crop of 

 Pacayal last year was 20,000 bags. Each 

 bag is of 130 pounds. 



We had many a delightful dance in 

 the moonlight on these slippery patios, 

 which at night make ideal ball-rooms. 



Many children are employed all day in 

 ceaselessly pushing back and forth the 

 long rows of coffee beans, and at night 

 brushing them under cover as protection 

 from the dew. It was amusing to watch 



them, and we became much interested in 

 one boy in particular as an example of 

 what teaching and the influence of civil- 

 ization can do. He had been brought to 

 the finca a few years before from the 

 mountains, where his parents were wild 

 people, living upon raw things and know- 

 ing nothing of the uses of v/ater except 

 as a beverage. He had learned quickly, 

 and during our visit was promoted to the 

 dining-room as "assistant butler." Dis- 

 liking the length of his hair, however, we 

 attempted to cut it ; but, as we only had 

 finger-nail scissors, the result was some- 

 what startling. It gave his head a Marcel- 

 wave-like effect unusual even among 

 Indians, and from that time on he would 

 have nothing more to do with us. His 

 name was "Saie." 



An early morning ride to the adjoining 

 sugar Unca of Saint Emilia was the most 

 beautiful I have taken. Single file we 

 picked our way through the dense trop- 

 ical forest. A wilderness of giant trees 

 linked together by trailing vines ; a pro- 

 fusion of vari-colored orchids ; a soft 

 pink carpet of waxen begonia ; great 

 splashes of scarlet made by the peculiar 

 blossom of the plantain, and here and 

 there an enormous poinsettia bloom. 

 Over all a tangled mass of blue-and- 

 white morning-glories heavy with spark- 

 ling dew. Coming out suddenly upon the 

 brow of a hill, we saw the white houses 

 of Saint Emilia lying 1,500 feet below, 

 like jewels in a green velvet case. Be- 

 hind towered the mountains and in the 

 distance sparkled the blue waters of the 

 Pacific. 



In this same part of the country, 

 tucked still further away in the moun- 

 tains, at an altitude of 8.000 feet and 

 40 miles from the railroad, lies the inter- 

 esting city of Quezaltenango. In April, 

 1902, it was almost totally destroyed by 

 an earthquake, which occurred at the 

 same time as the wholly unexpected 

 eruption of the volcano Santa Maria. 

 Like the Italians who time after time fly 

 in terror from the shadow of the dread 

 Vesuvius and invariably return, so the 

 people of this country only momentarily 

 abandon their homes. In this city of 



