scene of wealth and influence, and the commercial metropolis of the
country, but the home of the most learned men of all Spanish America,
the seat of great schools of theology, science, and art, for two hundred
years the Athens and Rome of the New World, the residence of the
university, as well as the Inquisition, and the headquarters of those
untiring apostles of evil, the Jesuits. The population is said to have
been about one hundred and fifty thousand. It is not known that a census
was ever taken, and this estimate is based upon the size of the city and
number of inhabitants its ruined walls could have contained. It is
situated in the centre of a great valley, between the twin volcanoes
Agua and Fuego; and as the old Spanish chroniclers used to say, had
Paradise on one side and the Inferno on the other. The beauty of its
position and the richness of the adjacent country, the grandeur of the
scenery that surrounds it, have called forth the most extravagant
admiration from travellers, and have made it the theme of the native
poets. Mr. Stephens, who wrote the most elaborate sketch of Central
America we have, some forty years ago, says that Antigua Guatemala is
surrounded by more natural beauty than any location he had ever seen
during the whole course of his travels. The city is watered by a stream
bearing the poetical name of El Rio Pensativo, which encircles the
mountains and winds about through the plain in most graceful curves. It
has for its tributaries many rivulets that water the plain, and finally
falls over a cataract and flows through the valley below to the sea.
This valley was formerly famous for the culture of cochineal, and much
wealth was derived from this source before aniline dyes drove it out of
the market. The cochineal is a little insect which clings to the leaves
of a species of the cactus, known as the nopal, and in the natural state
the white hair upon its body causes the leaves to look as if they were
covered with hoar-frost. Before the rainy season sets in the leaves of
the nopal are cut close to the ground and hung up under a shed for
protection. Then they are scraped with a dull knife, and the insects are
killed by being baked in a hot oven or dipped into boiling water. If the
first process is used, the insects become a brownish color, and furnish
a scarlet or crimson dye. Those killed by baking are black, and are used
for blue and purple dyes. They are then packed up in little casks,
covered with hides to keep out the moisture, and sent to market, being
valued at several dollars a pound. The great part of the expense is due
to the time and trouble required to detach the insects from the nopal,
two ounces being considered a fair result of a day’s labor; and it is
said that it requires seventy thousand to make a pound. When they are
dried they look like coarse powder.
The first capital was founded by Alvarado, the Conqueror. The exploits
of Cortez in Mexico had become known among
[Illustration: RUINS OF THE OLD PALACE AT ANTIGUA GUATEMALA.]
the Indian tribes in the south, and the native kings sent an embassy to
him offering their allegiance to the crown of Spain. Cortez received the
embassy with distinction, and sent Alvarado back with them to take
possession of the country. In 1523 Alvarado left the City of Mexico with
three hundred Spanish soldiers and a large body of natives, and nearly a
year later arrived at a place at the foot of the volcano Antigua, called
by the Indians Almolonga, meaning in their language “a spring of water.”
On the 25th of July, 1524, the festival of St. James, the patron saint
of Spain, Alvarado, under a tree which is still standing, assembled his
horsemen, the Mexican Indians who had accompanied him, and as many of
the natives of the country as could crowd around, when the chaplain,
Juan Godinez, said mass, invoking the protection of the apostle, and
christening the city he intended to build there with the name of San
Diego de los Cabeleleros--the City of St. James, the Gentleman. After
these religious services, Alvarado assumed authority as governor, and
appointed his subordinates.
For fifteen years thousands of Indians were kept at work building the
city. A church was the first structure raised; but in September, 1541,
there came a calamity which entirely destroyed the place, and buried
more than half the inhabitants under the ruins, among whom was the Donna
Beatrice de la Queba, the wife of Alvarado. It had rained incessantly
for three days, and on the fourth the fury of the wind, the incessant
lightning and dreadful thunder, were indescribable. At two o’clock in
the morning the earthquake shocks became so violent that the people were
unable to stand. Shortly after an enormous body of water rushed down
from the mountain, forcing with it large pieces of rock, trees, and
entirely overwhelming the town with an avalanche of earth and ashes.
It has generally been assumed, and is believed by the people, that this
flow of water was a real eruption, and for that reason the volcano was
named Agua. The theory of some scientists is, that the water flowed from
an accumulation of rain and snow in the extinct crater, the walls of
which were broken through by the pressure during the earthquake. Such a
thing is not only doubtful, but almost impossible; and unless the
situation of the crater has changed, there is no evidence of it. Any
torrent of water cast from the crater would have gone down on the other
side of the mountain, and there are ashes upon the slope near the summit
which must have lain there for hundreds of years. About three thousand
feet from the summit there is evidence of a terrible struggle between a
storm and the earth. Great trees were uprooted, rocks were hurled from
their places, and a vast fissure is seen, fifteen or sixteen hundred
feet deep, extending directly to the buried city, growing in depth and
width until it reaches the valley. From this gorge came the mass of
ashes and sand which buried the first Guatemala, like Sodom and Pompeii,
and it must have been carried down by a water-spout or some agent of
that sort.
The cathedral was buried to the roof; but years afterwards, when the
sand was dug away, it was found uninjured, with all its contents
preserved, because of the interposition of St. James. The palace, being
in the immediate path of the torrent, was undermined and overthrown by
its force. The ruins, half covered by sand, are the only remaining
evidences of the massive grandeur of the building, one of whose angles
points in the direction from which the water came. Many excavations have
been made in search of treasure, as Alvarado had the reputation of
keeping there stores of silver and gold. They have resulted in no
remunerative discovery, but have disclosed some fine carvings, wonderful
frescos, and other evidences of the beauty which the place is said to
have possessed. Over its ruins to-day stands a low-browed house, with an
inscription over its door reading, “_Complimetaria Escula Para
Ninos_”--A Free School for Girls.
The tree under which tradition says Alvarado and his soldiers first
camped, and where Padre Godinez sanctified the city by religious
services, is still standing. When I visited it, the most noticeable
things about the place were a wagon made by the Studebaker Brothers, of
South Bend, Indiana, and several empty beer bottles, bearing the brand
of a Chicago brewer.
[Illustration: ALVARADO’S TREE.]
The fountain of Almolonga, which first induced Alvarado to select this
spot as the site of his capital, is a large natural basin of clear and
beautiful water shaded by trees. It has been walled up and divided off
into apartments for bathing purposes and laundry work; and here all the
women of the town come to wash their clothing. The old church was dug
out of the sand, and is still standing. In one corner is a chamber
filled with the skulls and bones that were excavated from the ruins. The
old priest who was responsible for the spiritual welfare of the people
showed us over the ruins, and told us stories of Alvarado and his piety.
He said that the pictures, hangings, and altar ornaments in the church
were the same that were placed there in Alvarado’s time, and unlocking a
great iron chest he showed us communion vessels, incense urns, crosses,
and banners of solid gold and silver. Among other things was a
magnificent crown of gold, which was presented to the church by one of
the Philips of Spain. It was originally studded with diamonds, emeralds,
and other jewels, but they have been removed, and the settings are now
empty. Yankee-like, we tried to buy some of these treasures, for they
were the richest I had seen at any place, but the old priest refused all
pecuniary temptations, and crossed himself reverently as he put the
sacred vessels away. The only people who patronize this church are the
Indians, who, to the number of two or three thousand, live in the
neighborhood, and the ancient vessels are never used in these days, but
are kept as curiosities.
[Illustration: ANCIENT ARCHES.]
The second city of Guatemala was built about three miles
[Illustration: THE OLD AND THE NEW.]
from the original one, a little farther down, and nearly at the foot of
the volcano Fuego. Both of these ruined cities offer the greatest
attractions to the antiquarian, but few have ever visited them, and
very little has been written of either place. In Antigua, as the second
Guatemala is called, is the most extensive collection of ruins that can
be found in this hemisphere. From a tower of the cathedral one can see
on either side the ruins of many churches, monasteries, convents, and
miles of public and private residences, large and costly; some with
walls still standing, liberally ornamented with stucco or carved stone,
but roofless, without doors or windows, and trees growing within them.
The ruins of forty-five churches can be counted, and nearly every one of
them had a convent or monastery attached. Some cover several acres, and
have cells for five or six hundred monks or nuns. Several of the
churches are as large as the cathedral in New York. They are not so much
ruined but that their outlines can be traced, showing the noble
architecture and costly work by which they were built. The force of the
earthquake can be seen by broken pillars of solid stone five or six feet
in diameter; walls of ten or fifteen feet thickness were shaken into
fragments, and buildings with foundations of stone as deep and solid as
those of the Capitol at Washington were crumbled into dust. About ten
per cent. of the houses have been rebuilt, but the remainder are still
in ruins. The inhabitants occupy the old residences that have been
restored, but appear to know little of the place as it was before the
earthquake. They have forgotten what their fathers told them, and no
attempt has ever been made to secure a permanent and accurate record of
the antique conditions.
In the centre of the town is a great plaza, which, as usual in all of
the Central American capitals, is surrounded by public buildings and the
cathedral. In the centre stands a noble fountain, which is surrounded
every morning by market-women selling the fruit and vegetables of the
country. The old palace has been partially restored, and displays upon
its front the armorial bearing granted by the Emperor Charles the Fifth
to the loyal and noble capital in which the Viceroy of Central America
lived. Upon the crest of the building is a statue of the Apostle St.
James on horseback, clad in armor, and brandishing a sword. The
majestic cathedral, 300 feet long, 120 feet broad, 110 feet high, and
lighted by fifty windows, has been restored, and within it services are
held every morning, the faithful being called to mass by a peon pounding
upon a large and resonant gong.
[Illustration: HOW THE OLD TOWN LOOKS NOW.]
Without warning, on a Sunday night in 1773, the disaster came, and the
proudest city in the New World was forever humbled. The roof of the
cathedral fell; all the other churches were shaken to pieces; the great
monasteries, which had been standing for centuries, and were thought to
be useful for many centuries more, crumbled in an instant. The dead were
never counted, and the wounded died from lack of relief. Those who
escaped fled to the mountains, and the earthquake continued so violent
that few returned to the ruins for many days. The volcano, whose single
shudder shook down the accumulated grandeur of two hundred and fifty
years, has since been almost idle, but is smoking constantly, and
emitting sulphurous vapors which tell of the furnace beneath. As if
satisfied with its moment’s work, it stands at rest, tempting man to try
again to build another magnificent city, as firm as he can make it, for
another test of strength. The people, like the dwellers over the buried
Herculaneum, seem to have no fear of ruin or disaster, because, as very
respectable citizens will tell you, the volcano which did the damage has
since been blessed by a priest.
[Illustration: FRAGMENT OF A RUINED MONASTERY.]
In one of the old monasteries, established by the Franciscan Friars, is
a tree from which four different kinds of fruit may be plucked at one
time--the orange, lemon, lime, and a sweet fruit called by the Spanish
the limone. It was a horticultural experiment of the Friars many hundred
years ago, and still stands as a monument of their experimental
industry. It was they who first introduced the cultivation of coffee
from Arabia into these countries, and who discovered the use of that
curious insect the cochineal. The latter used to be an extensive article
of commerce, but the cheapness of the aniline dyes has driven it out of
the market. Now it is cultivated only for local consumption, and is
extensively used by the natives, whose cotton and woollen fabrics are
gayly dyed in colors that will endure any amount of water or sunshine.
Thirty years ago two million tons were exported annually, but now very
little goes out of the country.
[Illustration: JOSÉ RUFINO BARRIOS.]
The progress of Guatemala during the last twelve years, and the
advancement of the country towards a modern standard of civilization,
has been very rapid, and it is due to the energy and determination of
one man, José Rufino Barrios, who stands next, if not equal, to Morazan
as a patriot and benefactor of his country. President Barrios studied
the conditions of social and political economy in the United States and
European nations, and used a remarkable amount of energy to introduce
them among his own people. There has been no man in Central or South
America with more progressive ideas or more ardent ambition for the
advancement of his countrymen.
The prevailing opinion of President Barrios is that he was a brutal
ruffian. He drove out of the country many political opponents who
occupied themselves by telling stories of his cruelty, some of which
were doubtless true. The methods which he habitually used to keep the
people in order would not be tolerated in the more civilized lands. But
in estimating his true character, the good he accomplished should be
considered as well as the evil. Until the history of Central America
shall be written years hence, when the mind can reflect calmly and
impartially upon the scenes of this decade, when public benefits can be
accurately measured with individual errors, and the strides of progress
in material development can be justly estimated, the true character of
General Barrios will not be understood or appreciated even by his own
countrymen. Like all vigorous and progressive men, like all men of
strong character and forcible measures, he had bitter, vindictive
enemies, who would have assassinated him had they been able to do so,
and repeatedly tried it. There was nothing too harsh for them to say of
him, living or dead, no cruelties too barbarous for them to accuse him
of, no revenge too severe for them to visit upon him or his memory. But,
on the other hand, people who did not cherish a spirit of revenge, who
had no political ambition, and no schemes to be disconcerted, who are
interested in the development of Central America, and are enjoying the
benefits of the progress Guatemala has made, regard Barrios as the best
friend and ablest leader, the wisest ruler his country ever had, and
would have been glad if his life could have been prolonged and his power
extended over the entire continent. They are willing to concede to him
not only honorable motives, but the worthy ambition of trying to lift
his country to the level with the most advanced nations of the earth.
Ten more years of the same progress that Guatemala made under Barrios
would place her upon a par with any of the States of Europe, or those
of the United States. While he did not furnish a government of the
people, by the people, it was a government for the people, provided and
administered by a man of remarkable ability, independence, ambition, and
extraordinary pride. While his iron hand crushed all opposition, and
held a power that yielded to nothing, he was, nevertheless, generous to
the poor, lenient to those who would submit to him, and ready to do
anything to improve the condition of the people or promote their
welfare.
[Illustration: FRANCISCO MORAZAN.]
That a man of his ancestry and early associations should have brought
this republic to the condition in which he left it when he died is
remarkable. Without education himself, he enacted a law requiring the
attendance at school of all children between the ages of eight and
fourteen years, and rigorously enforced it. People who refused to obey
this law, or sent their children to private schools, or educated them at
home, were compelled to pay a heavy fine for the privilege. He
established a university at Guatemala City and free schools in every
city of the republic, to the support of which a larger proportion of the
public revenues were appropriated than in any one of the United States
or the nations of Europe. He founded hospitals, asylums, and other
institutions of charity with his own means, or supported them by
appropriations from the public treasury. He compelled physicians to be
educated properly before they were allowed to practise; he punished
crime so severely that it was almost unknown; he regulated the sale of
liquors, so that a drunken man was never seen upon the streets; he
enforced the observance of the Sabbath by closing the stores and
market-places, which in other Spanish-American republics are always
open, and was active for the material as for the moral welfare of the
people. During the twelve years he was in power the country made greater
progress, and the citizens enjoyed greater prosperity, than during any
period of all the three centuries and a half of previous history.
His ambition to reunite the five Central American republics in a
confederacy was not successful; but it was inspired by a desire to do
for the neighboring States what he had done for Guatemala. His ambition
was for the advancement and development of Central America; and while
the means he used cannot be entirely approved, his purpose should be
applauded. His crusade was quite as important in the civilization of
this continent as the bloody work England attempted to accomplish in
Egypt and the Soudan. He was better than his race, was far in advance of
his generation, and while he did not succeed in lifting his people
entirely out of the ignorance and degradation in which they were kept by
the priests, what he did do cannot but result in the permanent good,
not only of Guatemala, but of the nations which surround that republic.
[Illustration: CHURCH OF SAN FRANCESCA, GUATEMALA LA ANTIGUA.]
After the independence of the Central American colonies the priests
ruled the country. Their excesses awakened a spirit of opposition, which
finally culminated in a revolution. The famous Morazan became dictator,
and might have been successful but for a decree he issued abolishing the
convents and monasteries, and confiscating the entire property of the
Church. This was in 1843. Led by the priests, the people rose in
rebellion; but Morazan retained his power until an unknown man, tall,
dark, and blood-thirsty, came out of the mountains--an Indian without a
name, who could neither read nor write, whose occupation had been that
of a swineherd, like Pizarro, who had graduated in the profession of a
bandit, and led a gang of murderous outlaws in the mountains. Urged by a
greed for plunder, this remarkable man, Rafael Carera, came out from his
stronghold and joined the Church party in their war against the
Government.
His successes as a guerilla were so great that what was a small,
independent band became the main army of the opposition, and he led a
horde of disorganized plunderers towards the capital. The priests called
him the Chosen of God, and attributed to him the divinely inspired
mission of restoring the Church to power. The pious churchmen rushed to
his standard, and fought by the side and under the command of the
savage, whose only motive was plunder. He drove Morazan into Costa Rica,
and proclaimed himself Dictator. The Church party were amazed at the
arrogance of the bandit, but had to submit, and he soon developed into a
full-fledged tyrant, ruling over Guatemala until his death for a period
of thirty years.
When Carera died there was no man to take his place, and the Church
party began to decay. The Liberals gathered force and began a
revolution. In their ranks was an obscure young man from the borders of
Mexico, from a valley which produced Juarez, the liberator of Mexico,
Diaz, the president of that republic, and other famous men. He began to
show military skill and force of character, and when the Church party
was overthrown and the Liberal leader was proclaimed President, Rufino
Barrios became the general of the army. He soon resigned, however, and
returned to his coffee plantation on the borders of Mexico. But the
revival of the Church party shortly after caused him to return to
military life, and when the Liberal president died, he was, in 1873,
chosen his successor.
[Illustration: ONE OF FIFTY-SEVEN RUINED MONASTERIES.]
From that date until 1885 there was but one man in Guatemala, and he was
Barrios. He began his career by adopting the policy that Morazan had
failed to enforce. He expelled the monks and nuns from the country,
confiscated the Church property, robbed the priests of their power, and,
like Juarez in Mexico, liberated the people from a servitude under
which they had suffered since the original settlement of the colonies.
Then he visited the United States and Europe to study the science of
government; sent men abroad to be educated, at Government expense, in
the arts and sciences and political economy, and upon their return
placed them in subordinate positions under him. He offered the most
generous inducements to immigrants, and the country filled up with
agricultural settlers, merchants, and mechanics. The population
increased, and the country began to grow in prosperity with the
development of its natural resources, and there was a “boom” in
Guatemala the like of which was never before witnessed on that
continent.
Although he found Guatemala in a condition of moral degradation and
commercial stagnation, he educated the people in a remarkable degree to
an appreciation of his own ideas, and by introducing many modern
improvements succeeded in inspiring them with his own ambition, so that
they co-operated with him in any measure for the welfare of the country.
He secured the enactment of laws which have been of great benefit, and
compelled the natives to submit to what they first regarded as hardships
but now accept as blessings. Roadways were constructed from the
sea-coast to the interior, so that produce could get to market;
diligence lines were established at Government expense; liberal railroad
contracts were made, telegraph lines were erected, and all the modern
facilities were introduced. The credit of the country was restored by a
careful readjustment of its finances, and encouragement from the
Government brought in a large amount of European capital. So that
to-day, while the other Central American States are still in the
condition that they were one hundred years ago, or have retrograded,
Guatemala has stepped to the front, rich, powerful, progressive, and but
for the peculiar appearance of the houses, the language of the people,
and the customs they have inherited from their ancestors, Guatemala is
not different from the new States of our great West.
Under a compulsory education law free public-schools have
[Illustration: FAÇADE OF AN OLD CHURCH.]