This extraordinary town does not disappoint expectations by its progress
or present condition. It is in about as advanced a state as it could
well be, considering the troubles it has endured. War and cattle-plague
have retarded the progressive growth of a town that would have been by
this, judging from the spirit of the people, a phenomenon in a century
which has seen cities grow like mushrooms. It is cast on broad lines;
its streets rival those of Washington for breadth, and its houses occupy
as much space as decency requires, for unless they were pulled down and
scattered over their respective lots, it is scarcely possible, with due
respect to height, that they could occupy more.