GUATEMALA, THE COUNTRY OF THE FUTURE 617 



some 23,000 inhabitants 

 we find the unique sight 

 of stately new buildings 

 side by side with crumb- 

 ling ruins. A partially 

 successful attempt has 

 been made to rebuild 

 this once beautiful city. 



The theater is, if any- 

 thing, finer than the one 

 in Guatemala City, but 

 unfortunately stands 

 dark and silent most of 

 the time, as few com- 

 panies venture so far 

 from the beaten track. 



The market here is 

 unusually interesting, be- 

 ing the center of trade 

 for this section of the 

 country. In none other 

 did I see such brilliant 

 coloring as shown here 

 by the costumes of the 

 different tribes of In- 

 dians. 



It was not far from 

 here that I visited, at a 

 place called Cantel, to 

 my mind one of the 

 greatest tributes to 

 American energy and 

 enterprise in the country. 

 Nestled in a fertile valley is a large cot- 

 ton factory, the only one of its kind in 

 the republic. Think of a model factory, 

 employing some 400 or 500 hands, where 

 every bit of machinery used has been 

 brought on the backs of Indians or 

 mules. The factory hands are all In- 

 dians, mostly women and children, the 

 dexterity of the latter being fairly 

 astonishing. 



To reach Cantel one must leave the 

 railroad at the Indian town of San 

 Felipe and ride 40 miles up into the 

 mountains. We follow for several miles 

 a level road bordered by lovely coffee 

 Uncas, the mountains looming ahead dark 

 and forbidding but gradually softened by 

 the light of coming day to a velvety, 

 misty blue against the pale pink of the 



SCKNKS IN THE ^lARKKT : OUKZAI.TKNANGO 



sky. The road winds almost completely 

 around Santa Maria, which rises to the 

 towering height of 11,000 feet. 



As we drew nearer, what at first 

 seemed to be soft, fleecy clouds proved 

 to be clouds indeed, but of steam issuing 

 from the great jagged crater in her side. 

 From here the road begins to ascend, 

 winding up, up, seemingly interminable, 

 like a great white snake crawling into 

 the very heart of the mountains. I was 

 quite unprepared for the grandeur of the 

 scenery, which surpassed anything I had 

 yet beheld. Soft green valleys a thou- 

 sand or two feet below; range after 

 range of mountains rising on either side 

 and looming in front like an impenetra- 

 ble barrier ; rushing, tumbling mountain 

 torrents, falling hundreds of feet in 



