Guatemala, the country of the future Part 8

CHAPTER VII.

THE LAND OF TRAVEL AND HISTORY.

Guatemala is a fascinating country for the traveler and visitor.

Antiquarians, deep delvers in the majestic monuments of the long forgotten past, seek in the myths, the traditions, the temples and the ruins the riddles of prehistoric civilization. Modern tourists traveling as they will be able to do within a short time by railway from New York or San Francisco to the very heart of Guatemala may lose themselves in admiration of the sublime scenery, the lovely landscapes of valley and mountain lake and forest (the Indian name for Guatemala means abounding in trees), volcanic caps, giant outlines, and cloud-clad craters.

Everywhere they will encounter that diversity which is the chief attraction of natural scenery. They will find also superimposed on the prehistoric Indian civilization the charm of Spanish architecture, customs, character and inst.i.tutions.

Men of the stamp of President Estrada Cabrera who are engaged in the material upbuilding and the political progress of the country may prefer to talk of its agriculture and commerce, its opportunities for the energetic and resourceful people of the northern regions rather than to discuss its picturesque ruins audits fascinating history. Yet they would not have these subjects neglected. Hence the traveler and the tourist always are welcome, and whether they be deeply learned scientific investigators or mere birds of pa.s.sage seeking novelty every provision is made to aid them in their travels.

NATURE'S BOLD HAND.

In the very accurate and complete physiographic description of Guatemala contained in the report of the Intercontinental Railway Survey the following description is given of the great chain of volcanic cones and peaks which add so greatly to the bold picturesqueness of the country.

"The Pacific coast extends generally from the northwest to the southeast. From the sea the ground rises with a very gentle slope inland for almost 25 or 30 miles when the country becomes broken by the lava foothills of the volcanoes which extend from one end of the country to the other and which stand like a giant wall between the coast and the interior. Beginning at the Mexican boundary the line of volcanoes extends nearly parallel to the coast. Back of this is a plateau limited on the other side by the Continental Divide and much broken by spurs which unite the volcanoes with the Divide and the deep valleys between the spurs. The plateau is drained by rivers which run to the sea through the deep canyons between the volcanoes. The Continental Divide begins with the volcano Tacana and making a semicircular bend to the north and east rises again in the volcano Tajumulco. From this point its general direction is easterly as far as the Cerro Tecpam. Tacana and Tajumulco are the highest points on this are being respectively 13,334 and 13,814 feet above sea level. From Tajumulco to near Totonicapam the general alt.i.tude of the Divide is about 9,000 feet, the most prominent peaks being the Cerro Cerchil 11,830 feet, and the Cerro Calel 10,813 feet. From Totonicapam to Cerro Tecpam the general elevation of the Divide is about 10,500 feet with one peak, the Cerro Quiche of 11,160 feet. From Cerro Tecpam 10,050 feet, the Divide turns to the southeast and drops to a general elevation of about 7,000 feet, crossing the plateau and rising again in the Cerro Santa Maria Cauque. Following the hills of Mexico, it crosses the plain near Guatemala City, the suburb of Guarda Viejo, 5,060 feet, being on the Divide."

The heights of other princ.i.p.al volcanoes are given opposite:

Acatenango 13,012 Fuego 12,821 Agua 12,300 At.i.tlan 11,849 Santa Maria 10,535 Quezaltenango 9,358 Pacaya 7,675 Ipala 6,801 Chingo 6,019

VARIETY IN GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE.

In the geological structure of the country unusual variety of character is shown. The quarternary formation, aluvium and diluvium, covers the greater portion of the Pacific coast from the foot of the mountains to the sea. The same formation is also observed in the neighborhood of Guatemala City, the valley of the Pa.s.sion River, Puerto Barrios and various other localities on the Atlantic Slope.

The tertiary formation and particularly limestone covers the entire Department of Peten. Furthermore, limestones and dolomites of the upper cretaceous age are noted from La Libertad toward the Usumacinta River and toward British Honduras. In the localities of San Luis and Santa Barbara there are tertiary limestones and sandstones of Eocene and miocene ages.

The limestones and dolomites of the upper cretaceous age are also found in various localities mixed with tertiary limestone and sandstone as well as conglomerates, dolomites, and limestones of the lower cretaceous age. In other sections they are mixed with limestones and dolomites of the upper carboniferous age mingled with slate, sandstone and pudding stone. The latter formation is found in other sections with precarboniferous limestone and also with crystalline limestone of the azoic age.

The tertiary formation is followed by an azoic formation of gneiss, mica slate, and phylada with large intrusions of granite. A kind of horn-blend slate has been observed in some parts of Izabal.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LANDSCAPE OF GUASTOTOYA RIVER.]

The eruptive formations are composed of porphyry in the north and northwest; of diorite, obsidian, rhyolite, and dacite and of trachyte, together with basalt, rhyolite, obsidian and granite in other sections.

The eruptive formations are further composed of basalt in Pacaya and several other volcanoes; and mostly of ambesite in the rest of the Cordilleras and the highlands.

For the present-day traveler who is interested in earthquakes and their effects and in the ruins of Spanish architecture, nothing more entertaining can be found than a visit to La Antigua, which can be reached from Guatemala City by a few hours' ride in carriage or on horseback. Antigua stretches through the beautiful and fertile valley which in the Indian language means dry lake because the tradition exists that in prehistoric times there was a fine sheet of water covering the land. The panorama which delights the eye from any elevated point of Antigua is glorious. The three volcanoes of Acatenango, Agua (water) and Fuego (fire) lose their majestic combs in the clouds. In every direction spread fertile fields with an infinite number of coffee and sugar plantations in every state of production. The borders of the city are bathed by two charming rivers, the Pensativo and the Portal. In the immediate neighborhood are hygienic baths of pure crystalline water.

PREHISTORIC RUINS AND FAMED LAKE At.i.tLAN.

Many volumes have been written about the prehistoric ruins of Guatemala and especially of Copan. One of the most recent and most sumptuously ill.u.s.trated is that by Anne Cary Maudslay and Alfred Percival Maudslay ent.i.tled "A Glimpse at Guatemala." It was published in London. In this book Professor Maudslay gives the following description of a visit to the ruins at Quirigua:

"The ruins, which are completely hidden in a thick tropical forest, stand about three-quarters of a mile from the left bank of the river Motagua and about five miles from the miserable little village of Quirigua, from which they take their name. They consist of numerous square or oblong mounds and terraces varying from six to forty feet in height, some standing by themselves, others cl.u.s.tered in irregular groups. Most of these mounds were faced with worked stone and were ascended by flights of stone steps.

"The interest centers in the thirteen large carved monoliths which are arranged irregularly round what were probably the most important plazas. Six of these monuments are tall stones measuring three to five feet square and standing fourteen to twenty feet out of the ground. The other five are oblong or rounded blocks of stone shaped so as to represent huge turtles or armadilloes or some such animals. All these monuments are covered with elaborate carving.

Usually on both back and front of the tall monoliths there is carved a huge human figure standing full face and in a stiff and conventional att.i.tude. The sides of the monuments are covered with tables of hieroglyphs, most of them in fairly good preservation. In addition to these tables of hieroglyphs there are series of square or cartouches of what appears to be actual picture writing, each division measuring about eighteen inches square and containing usually two or three grotesque figures of men and animals. The design of these picture writings shows considerable variety and freedom of treatment as compared with that of the large sizes human figures in the execution of which the artist seems to have been bound by conventional rules.

"The largest of the stone animals is perhaps the most remarkable of all the monuments. Its measurement is roughly a cube of eight feet, it must weigh nearly twenty tons and it rests on three large slabs of stone. It is shaped like a turtle and is covered with a most elaborate and curious ornament and with tables of hieroglyphics and cartouches of picture writing. The greater part of the ornament throughout these carvings is formed from the grotesque representations of the human face or the faces of animals, the features frequently so greatly exaggerated that it is most difficult to recognize them, but a careful examination enables one almost invariably to trace back to this facial origin what at first sight appears to be merely conventional scroll work. Forms derived from leaves or flowers are altogether absent; occasional use is made of a plaited ribbon and a very free use of plumes of feathers which are oftenmost gracefully arranged and beautifully carved. The fifteen monuments are divided into two groups; in one the figures are all those of men, in the other of women."

The same authors give the following vivid description of the famed Lake At.i.tlan:

"Our tent was pitched so close to the precipice that even from my bed I had a grand view into the Lake and could watch the black ma.s.ses of the volcanoes looming clear-cut and solemn in the moonlight or changing from black to gray in the early dawn; then a rosy flush would touch the peak of At.i.tlan and the light creep down its side, revealing for a brief half hour every detail of cinder ridge and chasm on its scarred and wounded slopes until with a sudden burst of glory the sun rose above the eastern hills to strike the mirror-like surface of the Lake and flood the world with warmth and dazzling light. Every peak and mountain ridge now stood out clear and sharp against the morning sky, and only in the shadow of the hills would a fleecy mist hang over the surface of the lake far beneath us; then almost before the sun had power to drink up these lees of the night from the deep gap between the hills to the south, a linger of white cloud, borne up from the seaward slope, would creep around the peak of At.i.tlan only to be dissipated in the cooler air; but finger followed finger and the mysterious hand never lost its grasp until about noon great billowy clouds rolled up through the gap and the outpost was fairly captured although the crater itself often stood out clear above the cloudy belt. It was not, however, until the sun began to lose its power that the real attack commenced and the second column deployed through the gap on the southern flank of San Pedro and then from five o'clock until dark there followed a scene which no pen and no brush could adequately portray. The clouds seemed to be bewitched; they came down on us in alternate black and sunlit ma.s.ses, terrible in their majesty; then rolled aside to show us all the beauty of a sunset sky, tints of violet that shaded into pink, and pink that melted into the clearest blue, whilst far away beyond the mountain seaward rolled vast billowy ma.s.ses, first red and yellow and then pink fading to the softest green. Again and again would the clouds roll down upon us, the mist at times so thick that we could not see beyond a hundred yards; then just as quickly it would roll away and reveal a completely new phase of this ever shifting scene of beauty. As the sun sank behind San Pedro all turned again to dark and angry purple with contrasts and reflections like the sheen of a shot silk. Slowly the mists melted away with the fading daylight, Venus hung for a while like a splendid jewel in the air and the mountains turned again to shadowy ma.s.ses outlined against a crystal sky."

FASCINATING HISTORY THROUGH THE CENTURIES.

Historically every period of Guatemala is fascinating. Usually the history of the country is divided into the epochs of the aborigines, the Spanish Conquest, Independence, and the era of liberal governments.

Across the centuries the path of history can be traced. A book written in the 16th century by one of the aborigines of the time of the Conquest and called "Popol-Vuh" or "Book of the People," speaks of the Quiches, vigorous and hardy natives of the soil, forerunners of the Guatemalan people as having reached at that time a degree of advance which singled them out from among the other primitive inhabitants of America. Their religious system was in essence a kind of animal worship whose G.o.ds were personified by the fox, the coyote, and the wild boar to be soon reemployed through natural evolution by the forces of nature such as the heavens, the earth, and the sea. They left as evidences of their worship the mult.i.tude of monuments whose imposing ruins are preserved today.

Pyramids which seem to bear traces of Egypt and characters indicative of a remote Asiatic origin; temples, such as the Temple of the Sun, of grand architecture; and the Palace, dwelling of the King, a holy being and the Supreme Arbiter. The latter is among the most notable of American antiquities and it causes admiration through the graduated pyramid, the triangular vault and the arch forming an harmonious whole.

The Quiche civilization was an advanced one and its government was a theocracy in which the High Priest was both the Supreme Governor and inherited the name of the primitive G.o.d Votan. This theocracy was drawn from among the warriors while the people in complete servitude tilled the fields in order to sustain the worship and raise grand monuments and built numerous cities on the borders of the lakes and rivers.

Agriculture was well advanced. Cacao was cultivated with grand ceremonies and maize or Indian corn which was guarded with profound veneration because according to the ancient tradition man was formed from it. Cotton was also grown and brilliant garments woven from it which were dyed with cochineal and pigments formed from various plants.

Tobacco was cultivated and yucca, beans, potatoes, etc. Various textiles were fabricated of the finest quality and many of the palaces and temples were hung with this tapestry.

Ceramics and various kinds of pottery were manufactured both for use and for ornament. The sciences and the arts were developed. The fame of the Quiche calendar exists today. The aborigines also understood painting, sculpture, and music. They made plumes and cloaks from the feathers of the birds and they wrote upon a paper prepared from the Amatl. Their language was liquid and possessed few inflections. It was the most perfect of the six hundred or more languages which the Spaniards encountered in the Isthmus of Central America. They had a literature of their own and from this fragments have been preserved notably the drama "Rabinal Achi."

SPANISH CONQUEST AND WHAT CAME AFTER.

Guatemala was conquered by the Lieutenant of Cortez, Pedro de Alvarado.

In April, 1524, he crowned his series of victories over the Quiches by routing them on the plains of Urbina, capturing and condemning to perish by hanging the two last Kings of the most powerful monarchy of Central America; Oxib-Queh and Beleheb-Tzy. In July of the same year he founded the city of Guatemala, although this was not definitely established until November, 1527.

Within a few years all the regions of Central America had submitted to the Spanish Crown and formed the Kingdom of Guatemala, to the capital of which was transferred in 1549 the Royal Audiencia or High Court.

Guatemala was the head of Spanish power in Central America under the general term of the Spanish Captain Generalcy for two centuries.

During the two hundred and fifty years following the Conquest the country had three capitals in turn, all named Guatemala City. The first, founded by Alvarado, was on the very spot where he fought the battle which made him conqueror. The Indian kings of the South having heard of the exploits of Cortez in Mexico, sent an emba.s.sy to him which he received with distinction. He sent his favorite Lieutenant Alvarado back to take possession. Alvarado and his three hundred Spanish soldiers were nearly a year in making the journey through the forest. When the Indians opposed him he gave continuous battle and finally conquered. He destroyed their capital, razed the temple of their idols to the ground, and built on its site a church.

For seventeen years Alvarado kept the Indians at work building a new capital on the site of their old one. Then came the earthquake which destroyed the place and buried nine-tenths of the inhabitants under the ruins. A new location was found, but again, in 1773, by the eruption of Santa Maria the capital was destroyed. This is the group of picturesque ruins now known as La Antigua. With the destruction of this capital a third and final movement to the splendid situation in the Hermit Valley was made and the new capital which is the Guatemala City of today was established.

After years of struggle against the Spanish domination, beginning in 1811, Guatemala secured its independence, which was proclaimed September 15, 1821, when in place of the Kingdom of Guatemala there was established "A nation free and independent of every other nation." The history of subsequent years is interwoven with the events of other Central American countries. After many evolutions and disorders as well as revolutionary changes of government, the era known as the period of reform and the re-establishment of the liberties of the country began in 1871.

CHAPTERS OF RECENT HISTORY.

The events which led to the adoption of the liberal Const.i.tution of 1879, which is today in force, do not need to be recounted here. General Justo Rufino Barrios, who had been the leading spirit in the Liberal revolution, was a p.r.o.nounced advocate of the union of all the Central American States in a single federal republic. He endeavored to accomplish this against the opposition of Salvador and was killed at the battle of Chalchuapa in 1885. He was succeeded by General Manuel Lisandro Barillas, who exercised the government from 1887 to 1892. After him came General Jose Maria Reyna Barrios, who during the first four years of his administration gave a good government and worked much for the prosperity of his country. In the last two years, however, through the bad counsels of selfish advisers foreign to his government he sought to extend the term of his authority and was resisted by successive revolutions. He was a.s.sa.s.sinated by a personal enemy of European nationality in February, 1898, and Guatemala was then left in the midst of a most disastrous condition, both industrial and political.

It was at this period that Manuel Estrada Cabrera, the lawyer, came into power and began the series of administrative reforms and measures for the material development of the country which have so vastly improved the condition of the people, have re-established credit and given a.s.surance of further progress under continuous peace and tranquillity.

It is these beneficial measures which have caused President Estrada Cabrera to be signalized as the chief of the modern emanc.i.p.ation of Guatemala in its policies, in its intellectual and moral advancement, and as the author of its present progress. Under his government order in administration has been secured, respect for the rights of all, material development in countless forms, the general improvement of the people and the most perfect harmony and equity in international relations have been obtained. It is the success of these policies, which is now a.s.sured, that makes Guatemala so clearly the country of the future and ent.i.tles Estrada Cabrera to rank with the most distinguished heads of State of the present day.