THE PARADISE OF EARTHQUAKES.--FROM GUAYAQUIL TO QUITO.--A RIDE
OVER THE MOUNTAINS.--ALL CLIMATES UNITED IN ONE.--THE PLAINS OF
ECUADOR.--CHIMBORAZO AND COTOPAXI.
The incident of the breakfast naturally drew their attention to the
earthquakes that frequently shake the mountainous parts of South
America, and render life and property more uncertain than in regions
which are not subject to these disturbances.
"Ecuador may be considered the paradise of the earthquake," said the
Doctor, "though it is not much ahead of Peru and Chili in that respect.
To give a list of the earthquakes that have destroyed life and property
in this country since it first became known to the Spaniards would be to
recite a long series of dates; Guayaquil has been shaken up a great many
times, but it has suffered less than the capital. Here, at the
sea-coast, we are somewhat removed from the centre of the disturbance,
but by no means out of its reach."
"We will hope," said Fred, "that the violent earthquakes will postpone
themselves until our departure."
Dr. Bronson and Frank emphatically approved Fred's suggestion, and the
Doctor proceeded with his comments.
"The central portion of Ecuador," said he, "is at an elevation of
several thousand feet, and contains many active volcanoes. The valleys
in which are the cities and cultivated part of the country are rarely
less than 6000 feet above the level of the sea, and some of them rise to
10,000 or 12,000. The highest of the mountains is Chimborazo, 21,422
feet high; it was for a long time supposed to be the highest mountain of
America, but modern surveys have shown that it has several superiors. It
is the sixth in elevation of the chain of the Andes, and these in turn
are surpassed, in the Old World, by several of the Himalayas. The best
known of the active volcanoes is Cotopaxi, nearly 19,000 feet high, but
there are others that rival it in destructive energy.
"We shall have opportunity to study these volcanoes quite nearly,"
continued the Doctor, "as we go to Quito and the region around it. There
does not appear to be any danger of an eruption at present, and if we
allow our minds to be constantly filled with dread of a catastrophe we
shall not enjoy the journey. So we'll let the earthquakes take care of
themselves, as they generally do."
[Illustration: THE CENTRAL PART OR ECUADOR.]
In the afternoon they arranged for the storage of such baggage as they
did not wish to take with them. Trunks were left behind, and the whole
trio was reduced to light marching order, in accordance with their
custom when making the excursions of which we have read in "The Boy
Travellers in the Far East." Toilet bags, with a small stock of
underclothing, an extra suit of clothes for a change in case of being
drenched with rain, and overcoats, rugs, wraps, and blankets, for the
cold weather at great elevations, comprised the equipment for the
journey to Quito.
Travellers must carry their own bedding and provisions while journeying
in the interior of Ecuador, and, in fact, in most of the South American
countries. This was the custom adopted by the old Spaniards, and customs
change here very slowly. Hotels are scarce, and the lodging-houses along
the road give little more than a roof for shelter, and sometimes not
even that. If a man ventures to travel without carrying his own supplies
he will often go hungry; but, on the other hand, he may be sure of the
most uniform kindness from the people of the country. They will give him
the best they have, but very often they have literally nothing to offer.
[Illustration: LAS BODEGAS, GUAYAS RIVER.]
The Guayas is navigable by small steamers from Guayaquil to Bodegas, a
distance of seventy miles. Our friends took passage upon one of the
steamers plying on the river, and were safely landed at Bodegas after a
pleasant run of eight or nine hours. Frank recorded in his note-book
that the river is not a swift one, and flows through a flat country in
which there is not much of interest beyond the vegetation. "The banks,"
said he, "are lined with groves of bananas and plantains; the fruit of
these trees forms an important article of food with the inhabitants, and
it is no wonder they are not disposed to hard labor when they can supply
themselves without it.
"The banana can be eaten raw, but the raw plantain is considered
unhealthy. Both plantains and bananas are cooked in a variety of ways,
baked, boiled, fried, or roasted; they can be formed into a paste after
cooking, and then dried, and in this condition the article can be kept
for a long time. Humboldt estimated that four thousand pounds of bananas
can be produced in the same area as thirty-three pounds of wheat or
ninety-nine pounds of potatoes. They are cultivated with very little
labor, and there is nothing which the soil produces that gives so great
an amount of food from a given area of land. If a man will live only on
bananas he can take things very easily.
[Illustration: A HOUSE IN THE TROPICS.]
"In addition to the banana and plantain forests we saw many plantations
where coffee and cacao are grown, and some of them were of great extent.
Then there were orange and lemon groves, fields of pineapples, mango and
bread-fruit trees, and great numbers of cocoa palms. There were many
canoes and _balsas_ on the river; the balsas are nothing but rafts made
of the trunks of the balsa trees. Half a dozen logs are lashed together
with withes and cords, and braced with cross-pieces of wood so that
there is no danger of separation. On the top of the raft a flooring of
bamboos or split palms is laid, and on this flooring they build a hut in
which the people live, often for weeks at a time.
[Illustration: CACAO.]
"Some of these balsas are larger than others, in consequence of the logs
being longer and more numerous. The huts on the larger rafts contain
several rooms, and are equipped with conveniences for living quite equal
to those of huts on shore. There are places for cooking, coops for
fowls, pens for pigs, and nooks among the rafters where edibles can be
stored, out of the reach of the four-footed inhabitants. A whole family
will live comfortably on a balsa, and few of them are destitute of pets
in the shape of monkeys and parrots. Some of the rafts carried such an
abundance of monkeys and parrots that it was not easy to say if they
were not the possessors of the establishment, carrying the men, women,
and children to a market in Guayaquil. The monkeys and children appeared
on the most familiar terms, and as the latter were unencumbered with
clothing they were not to be readily distinguished from their tailed
associates.
"Balsa wood is as light as cork, and remains a long time in the water
without any tendency to absorption. The balsa raft was in use long
before the visit of the Spaniards, and the craft we have seen are
probably identical with those that met the eyes of Pizarro at the time
of the conquest.
"Occasionally we saw monkeys among the trees on the shore, but they
evidently did not like the steamer, and were careful to keep at a
respectful distance. There were birds of brilliant plumage, but we did
not hear a song from one of them; a gentleman who was our
fellow-passenger says that most of the birds of this part of the world
have no knowledge of music. There were plenty of alligators lying on the
banks; we took several shots at them, but soon desisted, as we bagged no
game, while the alligators seemed to enjoy the sport and the waste of
our ammunition. Many of them were lying with their mouths open, waiting
for the flies to settle in their throats; when they judged that a
sufficient number had assembled they suddenly closed their jaws,
swallowed the flies that were caught, and set themselves for more. They
make splendid fly-traps, and Fred suggests that they should be
introduced into New York and other cities to take the place of the many
patent machines that are now in use for catching flies."
Down to quite recently the route from Bodegas to Quito was simply a mule
path; a wagon road has been completed for a part of the way, and is
ultimately intended to reach the capital. A railway is projected from
Guayaquil to Quito, but for the present the mule path must be the
reliance of travellers. A wagon was obtained, for carrying our friends
and their baggage to the end of the road which traverses the level
country up to the foot of the mountains. It was a rickety affair, but
served its purpose, which is all that can be expected of a wagon under
ordinary circumstances.
At the end of the road our friends were deposited in a village which is
chiefly inhabited by _arrieros_, or muleteers, and their families,
together with a sprinkling of other natives more or less interested in
the traffic passing between the capital and the seaport. The arrieros
are a very important part of the mountain population of Ecuador, as
there is no travel or transportation away from the rivers and wagon
roads without them.
[Illustration: ARRIERO AND TRAVELLER.]
Fred made the following note concerning the arrieros, and the journey
towards Quito:
"The business is entirely in the hands of the natives or the
half-breeds, as no genuine Spaniard would consider it high enough for
his dignity. Some of the arrieros possess many mules, but the most of
them have but half a dozen, or perhaps ten or twelve, and travel
personally with their trains. The _peons_, or servants of the arrieros,
are likewise of the native race, and accustomed all their lives to
hardship and toil. Their wants are few, as they live on food that can be
easily transported; their general outfit for the road is a cotton shirt
and trousers, a straw hat, and a _poncho_, or blanket with a hole in the
centre, through which the head is thrust. This poncho is striped with
gay colors, and is very often quite attractive to the eye. Each arriero
or peon carries his own food, which usually consists of a few red
peppers, a bag of parched corn, and another of barley meal. With this
slender nourishment they pass their lives on the rough roads among the
mountains, and immediately on arriving from one hard journey they are
ready for another.
[Illustration: IN HOLIDAY COSTUME.]
"We were surrounded by half a dozen arrieros at once, and there was no
difficulty in making a bargain, as several trains had just arrived from
the mountains, and were anxious to return. We engaged five mules, three
for ourselves, and two for our baggage; the owners endeavored to
convince us that another animal was needed for the baggage, but as we
had less than three hundred pounds of it altogether, we were not to be
convinced. Our arriero promised to be ready to start early the next
morning, but it was nearly noon before we got away. We tried to hurry
him, but it was of no use; he was anxious enough before making the
bargain, but now that it was settled, and competition was out of the
way, his anxiety had ceased.
"The baggage was piled on the mules that were to carry it, and when all
was ready we mounted our saddle animals. They were not very
prepossessing in appearance, and looked as though the mountain journey
would be too much for them, but they were the best in the train, and we
concluded to be content with the situation. Mules are considered better
than horses for this sort of work, as they are surer in their footing,
and will venture in places where a horse refuses to go. Bulls and
donkeys are also used here for carrying burdens along the mountain
roads, but they are not equal to mules.
[Illustration: A PACK-TRAIN UNDER WAY.]
"We filed out of the village, accompanied by several travellers who were
going in the same direction, so that altogether we formed a long
cavalcade. As we ascended the hills the road became very rough, and
frequently the path was blocked by trains going in the opposite
direction. In spite of all the good-nature that the arrieros displayed
towards each other, there were several serious detentions; we found the
donkeys more obstinate about holding the track to themselves than the
other animals, though none of the latter were to be praised for their
courtesy.
"Some of the trains we met were laden with coffee and cacao on its way
to the seaport, while others carried potatoes, barley, pease, fowls,
and other produce intended for consumption in the country. The people
were, without an exception, civil and obliging, but they could not
always induce their beasts to follow their example. Many of the men were
accompanied by their wives and daughters, but whether the latter were
going for a pleasure-trip or formed a part of the working force I am
unable to say.
"The road increased in roughness as we advanced; properly speaking, it
was not a road, but simply a track worn in the rocks by the feet of the
animals that had travelled there for hundreds of years, and by the water
that sweeps down in torrents during the rainy season. In some places the
way was a sort of rocky staircase, and our mules placed their feet in
steps which had been worn to a depth of five or six inches. It was often
so steep that if we had not leaned well forward we should have been in
danger of a backward somersault, and the consequences of such a fall,
especially if the man should carry his mule with him, are fearful to
think of.
"Accidents are frequent here, and the great wonder is that there are no
more of them. Fortunately, we did not meet any of the descending trains
in the most dangerous spots, where the path wound around precipices or
through narrow defiles; there are many places where it does not seem
possible for two animals to pass in safety, and I can well understand
that there is a foundation for stories about men engaging in fights for
the right of way. The unprogressiveness of the Spanish people in Ecuador
is shown by their being content to get along with this kind of road
between their seaport and their capital city during three centuries!
"Night came upon us while we were climbing the hills, and as it is very
dangerous to travel after dark, we halted where there were a couple of
rude huts, not sufficient for sheltering our party. The arrieros and
their peons slept outside with their animals, while the travellers were
made as comfortable as their blankets would permit on the floor of the
huts. There was the solid earth to sleep on, and we were relieved from
monotony by the presence of innumerable fleas. In the morning, each of
us felt sure he had been bitten at least three thousand times, and Fred
thought he could count not less than four thousand distinct and
well-defined bites. Fleas are even cheaper than bananas to cultivate and
much more abundant to the acre; it is certain they are not destructive
to life, for if they were there would be no living thing in Ecuador.
"Before going to bed we supped from some of our provisions, aided by a
dish of stewed potatoes prepared by the owner of the hut where we slept.
A favorite dish among the mountaineers is potato stew or soup, which is
known as _locro_; sometimes it is prepared plain, while at others it
contains chicken, beef, or any other obtainable meat. The presence of
meat adds materially to the dish for European palates, and when well
prepared a dinner of locro is not to be despised.
"Our surroundings were not conducive to late sleeping, and we were off
soon after daybreak. The morning was very cold, but as the sun ascended
in the heavens the air grew warmer, and we ceased shivering. In a little
while we reached the summit of a ridge several thousand feet above the
level of the sea, and had a magnificent view.
[Illustration: A MOUNTAIN CASCADE.]
"There was a mist when we started, but it rolled away when we came to
the top of the sierra; on one side we had the lofty mountains far above
us, and on the other the country dropped away at our feet till it was
lost in the distant shore of the Pacific. The great snowy peak of
Chimborazo was in full view, and we longed to ascend to its summit and
look out upon the wide stretch of land it commands. One traveller says
the view from its top would embrace an area of fully ten thousand square
miles, and I can readily believe him. Nobody has yet been there, and the
name of the man who first ascends it is destined to be remembered.
[Illustration: BARON VON HUMBOLDT IN 1802.]
"Humboldt and his companions endeavored, in 1802, to ascend to the top
of Chimborazo, but were obliged to stop short when they had yet two
thousand and more feet above them.
"They were stopped by an immense chasm that stretched across the line
they were ascending, and by the inconveniences that are generally
experienced at high altitudes. Blood spurted from their eyes and lips,
and they breathed with great difficulty. According to barometrical
observations, Humboldt was within 2138 feet of the summit when he turned
back.
"Boussingault and Hall have since ascended to within 1729 feet of the
top of the giant mountain, by taking a route different from that
followed by Humboldt. They experienced the same difficulties in
breathing and in the rush of blood to the lips and eyes; both of them
were enfeebled for some time after making the journey, and their
experiences were altogether such as to deter any but the hardiest of men
from attempting the ascent of Chimborazo.
"But though we cannot climb to the top of this kingly mountain, we may
look at it as much as we please, and very beautiful it is in the
contemplation. It is a sharp cone, sharper and more pointed than
Fusiyama or Etna, sharper even than Tacoma or Ranier in our own country,
and sharper again than magnificent Avatcha, the great landmark of
Kamtchatka. Its summit is covered with perpetual snow; it stands within
less than two degrees of the equator, and the palm groves of the tropics
are spread almost at its feet. Eternal winter wraps its head, but
eternal summer smiles below. Standing where Humboldt stood, all the
seasons of the year and all climates of the globe may be passed in
review.
"But I'm stopping you on the sierra while telling you about Chimborazo.
Well, the mules have had a chance to breathe, and we'll move on.
"From the top of the sierra we descended the slope to the valley of the
Chimbo; the road is steep, and in many places slippery, and more than
once we thought we would not get down without a serious accident. Here
and there our mules put their feet together, and slid with a velocity
that made our hair rise under our hats, and our teeth shut closely
together; we shall hereafter have more respect for the intelligence of
the mule than we ever had before. One of the baggage mules tumbled, and
was pitched together in a heap, but he gathered himself together, and
rose again as though nothing had happened.
"We passed many places that reminded us of the northern states of our
own country; the valley is elevated eight or nine thousand feet above
the sea, and the climate is quite unlike that of the region around
Guayaquil. Wheat, barley, potatoes, and turnips are cultivated, instead
of the tropical products which we saw along the banks of the Guayas; at
a little distance the dwellings of the people have a substantial
appearance, but a closer acquaintance shows that they are built of mud
and are anything but attractive on the inside.
[Illustration: NATIVE HUTS NEAR QUARANDA.]
"We stopped for the night at Guaranda, which is on the west bank of the
Chimbo River, and is said to be a healthy place of residence throughout
the year. It has a population of about two thousand, but there is hardly
a decent house in the place. The buildings are low huts of _adobe_, or
sun-dried bricks; the streets are made lower in the centre than at the
sides, and when the rains fall there is no danger that the foundations
of the houses will be damaged by water.
"Dr. Bronson said that we were in the centre of the region which
produces the celebrated _Chinchona_, or Peruvian bark, which has such a
great reputation in curing fevers. It takes its name from the Countess
of Chinchon, who was cured of intermittent fever by its use at Lima,
about the middle of the seventeenth century. It was then taken to
Europe, and the knowledge of it was spread through the civilized world."
"Quinine is produced from this bark, is it not?" Frank inquired, when
Fred read the note quoted above.
"Yes," replied the latter, "quinine is an alkaloid, made from Peruvian
bark, and was discovered in 1820. There are several other alkaloids in
the bark, but none are as important as the one you have just mentioned.
Any doctor can tell you of its qualities, and a great many people who
are not doctors are familiar with its uses.
"No traveller will venture into a malarious region without a good supply
of quinine, and in some countries it is almost as important to have it
as to be provided with food."
Having answered Frank's interrogatory, Fred continued with his
observations upon the trees that produce the valuable bark.
"There are no less than twenty-one varieties of trees producing the bark
from which quinine is made," said Fred, "but some of the most valuable
of them are extinct, owing to the reckless way in which they have been
stripped. The trees grow on the slopes of the Andes, in Peru, Ecuador,
and other countries; they have been successfully transplanted to India,
Java, Algeria, and the United States; and the future supply of quinine
for a feverish world will probably come from other countries than South
America.
"The _cascarilleros_, or bark-collectors, are obliged to go far into the
forests in search of trees, and they suffer many hardships and
privations in pursuing their industry. The best of the trees have been
destroyed; we asked if we could see one, and were told we must make a
journey of several days to do so, as none now grow in the neighborhood
of Guaranda. A gentleman who lives in Quito told us he had seen a
chinchona tree sixty feet high, and six feet in circumference; it
yielded two thousand pounds of green bark, or about one thousand pounds
when dry. Another tree that he saw gave three thousand dollars' worth of
quinine; but such trees are rare.
[Illustration: AMONG THE LAVA BEDS.]
"We left Guaranda very early in the morning," Fred continued, "and when
we jumped into our saddles we could hardly see where they were. There
is a ridge to cross, after getting out of the valley of the Chimbo,
which it is desirable to pass in the forenoon, as the wind blows
violently there after the sun has passed the meridian, though it is
quiet enough in the morning. We crossed the ridge, with the great
mountain rising before us, and then descended to another valley to the
city of Ambato, which has nothing in particular to recommend it.
[Illustration: VIEW OF COTOPAXI.]
"To describe the dreary road from here to Quito would be tedious
reading. It passes through a region of volcanic origin, where the rocks
are piled everywhere in great confusion, vegetation is restricted, and
the miserable villages of the natives are repulsive in every aspect. It
winds over hills and ridges, or through valleys and along the banks of
streams; it rises in some places ten or twelve thousand feet above the
sea-level, and nowhere is it less than eight thousand feet in elevation.
The latter part of the journey is over a wagon road, passing in full
view of the volcano of Cotopaxi, and crossing a ridge that suddenly
brings us in sight of the capital city, nestling at the foot of
Pichincha, the volcano which more than once has threatened to ingulf it
in total ruin.
[Illustration: VIEW OF QUITO AND THE VOLCANO OF PICHINCHA.]
"The country improves as we approach Quito. There are farms in great
number, and the fertile slopes of the hills appear to be well
cultivated. Before we reach the ridge which reveals it, we traverse a
valley that might be made far more productive than it is, and when we
come to the banks of the Machangara, the river that flows past Quito, we
can hardly realize that we are nearly two miles up in the air. But it is
really so, as the elevation of the city is little less than ten thousand
feet; and people afflicted with pulmonary complaints would do well to
stay away from it."
[Illustration: INCA GATEWAY AND FORTRESS IN THE ANDES.]