A GLIMPSE AT GUATEMALA,
AND SOME NOTES ON THE
ANCIENT MONUMENTS OF CENTRAL AMERICA.
By ANNE CARY MAUDSLAY
AND
ALFRED PERCIVAL MAUDSLAY
With Maps, Plans, Photographs, and other Illustrations
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1899.
[Illustration: ALERE FLAMMAM.]
PRINTED BY TAYLOR AND FRANCIS,
RED LION COURT, FLEET STREET.
DEDICATED TO
FREDERICK DUCANE GODMAN, D.C.L., F.R.S.,
AND TO THE MEMORY OF
OSBERT SALVIN, F.R.S.
CONTENTS.
Pages
PREFACE ix
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii
LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS xix
CHAPTER I.
THE VOYAGE 1-8
CHAPTER II.
THE CITY 9-14
CHAPTER III.
THE START 15-23
CHAPTER IV.
ANTIGUA 24-29
CHAPTER V.
THE VOLCANOES (and Note by A. P. M.) 30-40
CHAPTER VI.
THE ROAD TO GODINES 41-46
CHAPTER VII.
THE LAKE OF ATITLAN 47-59
CHAPTER VIII.
THE QUICHÉS AND CACHIQUELS (by A. P. M.) 60-70
CHAPTER IX.
ACROSS THE ALTOS 71-79
CHAPTER X.
USPANTAN AND THE RIO NEGRO 80-90
CHAPTER XI.
COBAN AND THE VERA PAZ 91-100
CHAPTER XII.
RUINS AT RABINAL (by A. P. M.) 101-104
CHAPTER XIII.
THE ROAD TO ZACAPA AND COPAN 105-117
CHAPTER XIV.
COPAN 118-126
CHAPTER XV.
COPAN IN 1885 (by A. P. M.) 127-133
CHAPTER XVI.
COPAN IN 1885 (_continued_, by A. P. M.) 134-142
CHAPTER XVII.
COPAN TO QUIRIGUA (and Note by A. P. M.) 143-151
CHAPTER XVIII.
ON THE WAY TO THE COAST 152-156
CHAPTER XIX.
CAJABON AND THE NORTHERN FORESTS (by A. P. M.) 157-173
CHAPTER XX.
THE RUINS OF IXKUN AND THE PINE RIDGE (by A. P. M.) 174-192
CHAPTER XXI.
CHICHÉN ITZÁ (by A. P. M.) 193-211
CHAPTER XXII.
LAGUNA AND THE RIO USUMACINTA (by A. P. M.) 212-223
CHAPTER XXIII.
PALENQUE (by A. P. M.) 224-229
CHAPTER XXIV.
TIKÁL AND MENCHÉ (by A. P. M.) 230-241
CHAPTER XXV.
CONCLUSIONS (?) (by A. P. M.) 242-253
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE HIEROGLYPHIC INSCRIPTIONS (by A. P. M.) 254-272
INDEX 273
PREFACE.
The Archæological results of my seven expeditions to Central America
are in course of publication in the 'Biologia Centrali-Americana,' and
eight parts containing about 200 plates have already been issued to
the public; this is necessarily a costly work which is not likely to
find its way into many private libraries. It has therefore frequently
been suggested to me that I should publish a less ambitious and less
expensive volume giving a general account of my travels as well as
some description of the ruins visited; but, alas! I have to confess
a hopeless inability to keep a regular journal, and my note-books
are for the most part full of measurements and compass and sextant
observations, and would furnish but a poor basis of a book of
travels. When, in 1894, my wife accompanied me to Central America,
a splendid opportunity offered of avoiding all responsibility in
the matter. She should keep a diary and write the book, and I would
add some archæological notes! It was to be a small book with a few
illustrations, and was of course to be published within six months
of our return home. However, when we did get back to England there
were other matters which called for our attention, and the notes had
perforce to be laid aside. During the following winter a fair start was
made, and some experimental illustrations were prepared; but each of us
discovered in the other a deeply-rooted objection to process-blocks and
shiny paper, so we began to dabble in photogravure and typo-etching.
Then the archæological notes began to expand, and as we had then no
publisher to put a proper curb on our whims and fancies, the book
continued to grow on a soil of hand-made paper and to blossom with
coloured plans, chromolithographs, and photogravures. It may fairly be
described as a growth, for the pages and illustrations were printed
off as they were finished, a few at a time, and the text broken up.
If the errors and repetitions are numerous they may in charity be
ascribed to this unorthodox procedure, and such errors would have
doubtless been altogether avoided if we could have submitted the proofs
in their entirety to any of the numerous friends who have from time
to time given us advice and assistance. From Sir Clements Markham and
Dr. Keltie of the Royal Geographical Society wise counsel and kindly
help to travellers seems to flow in a perennial stream; and in this
connection I would gladly pay my tribute to the memory of one who was
beloved by all travellers, the late Secretary of the Society, Henry
Bates, who, after my return from my earlier journeys, was almost alone
in offering encouragement, pointing out to me the importance of the
work which seemed to have fallen to my lot to undertake. My friend,
Mr. Francis Sarg, for many years Imperial German Consul at Guatemala
City, to whose ready help and never-failing hospitality the success
of my earlier journeys was largely due, has added to the long list of
his thoughtful acts of kindness by making many valuable suggestions
and by saving us from many errors, especially in our descriptions
of the Indians and their customs. Of my obligation to Mr. F. DuCane
Godman, the editor of the 'Biologia Centrali-Americana,' it is not easy
for me to speak in measured terms; and as he would be the first to
deprecate the only expressions by means of which adequate thanks could
be tendered to him, I must here content myself with assuring him of my
gratitude for allowing me to reproduce the reduced copies of certain
maps, plans, photographs, and drawings which have already appeared, or
are about to be issued, in the Archæological section of the 'Biologia.'
The greatest pleasure which the completion of this volume could have
afforded to my wife and myself has, alas! been denied to us: we cannot
place a copy of it in the hands of Osbert Salvin. What loss science
has suffered by his death it is not for me to say; but how great
the loss is to his friends I have good reason to know, for to his
enduring patience, his never-failing sympathy, his sound advice, and
affectionate friendship I owe more than I can here express. In the
preparation of this volume, about the land he knew so well and with
which his name must ever be associated, he took such a kindly and
helpful interest that his connection with it will always remain amongst
the happiest of our memories.
I cannot close this preface without offering my sincere thanks to Miss
Annie Hunter and her sisters, and to all those who have been concerned
in the preparation of the drawings and the reproduction of the
illustrations, for the interest they have taken in the work entrusted
to them and the carefulness with which it has been carried out. In
conclusion, I am glad to express my acknowledgments for the good
services rendered to me by the companions in my travels, the men of the
Lopez family, and especially my friend Gorgonio, whose gentle manners
and sweet disposition helped to smooth over many a bad half-hour during
my earlier expeditions, and whose ceaseless vigilance over the welfare
of my wife during our last journey did so much to lessen for her the
discomforts of camp-life.
A. P. M.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page
ACAPULCO: A SNAPSHOT OVER THE BULWARKS. (Photograph by A. P. M.) 6
LANDING AT SAN JOSÉ. (Drawn by Ada Hunter from a photograph.) 8
CITY OF GUATEMALA, from the Cerro del Carmen. (Drawn by BLANCHE
HUNTER from a photograph.) 9
CHURCH ON THE CERRO DEL CARMEN (2 views). (Drawn by BLANCHE HUNTER
from photographs.) 13
STONE IDOLS ON THE ROAD TO MIXCO. (Drawn by BLANCHE HUNTER from a
photograph by ARTHUR CHAPMAN.) 15
A STREET IN MIXCO. (Drawn by BLANCHE HUNTER from a photograph by
A. P. M.) 19
A MIXCO WASHERWOMAN. (Drawn by BLANCHE HUNTER from a photograph.) 20
INDIAN "CARGADORES." (Drawn by ADA HUNTER from photographs by
A. P. M.) 21
ANTIGUA AND THE VOLCAN DE AGUA. (Photograph by A. P. M.) _to face_ 24
ANTIGUA. " " _to face_ 26
AN ALCALDE. (Drawn by BLANCHE HUNTER from a photograph.) 28
THE PLAZA, ANTIGUA. (Photograph by A. P. M.) _to face_ 28
AGUA FROM SANTA MARIA. " " 30
ANTIGUA. A RUINED CHURCH. (Drawn by BLANCHE HUNTER from a
photograph.) _to face_ 30
INDIANS FROM JOCOTENANGO, ON THE MESETA, VOLCAN DE FUEGO. (Photograph
by A. P. M.) 37
THE FIRE PEAK AND MESETA. {(Photographs by OSBERT} 39
THE PEAK OF ACATENANGO, FROM THE MESETA. {SALVIN, F.R.S.) }
INDIANS OF THE ALTOS. (Drawn by BLANCHE HUNTER from a photograph.) 42
SPECIMENS OF NATIVE TEXTILES AND EMBROIDERY. (2 plates.) (Drawn from
the original materials by ADA and BLANCHE HUNTER.) _to face_ 42
INDIANS OF THE ALTOS. (Drawn by ADA HUNTER from a photograph.) 43
A BARRANCA. } (Photographs by A. P. M.) 44
INDIAN CARRIERS.}
A HIGH ROAD. (Photograph by A. P. M.) 45
LAKE AND VOLCANO OF ATITLAN. " " _to face_ 46
NOONDAY REST. " " _to face_ 48
SUNSET, THE LAKE OF ATITLAN. " " _to face_ 48
ESQUIPULAS. " " 50
VOLCANO OF ATITLAN. " " _to face_ 51
SAN ANTONIO. " " 52
" " " " 53
BOYS IN SCHOOL. " " 55
AN INDIAN LOOM. (Drawn from the original Loom by BLANCHE HUNTER.) 56
A WOMAN WEAVING. (From the 'Codex Mendoza.') 56
INDIANS AT SAN ANTONIO. (Photograph by A. P. M.) _to face_ 56
WATER CARRIERS, SAN ANTONIO. (Drawn by BLANCHE HUNTER from a
photograph by A. P. M.) _to face_ 56
PANAJACHÉL AND THE LAKE OF ATITLAN. (Photograph by
A. P. M.) _to face_ 58
PILGRIMS AT EVENING PRAYER. " 59
ON THE STEPS OF THE CABILDO, ATITLAN. " 60
THE PLAZA, ATITLAN. " _to face_ 62
"EL SACRIFICATORIO," UTATLAN. (After F. CATHERWOOD.) 68
QUEZALTENANGO. (Photograph by A. P. M.) 79
LOOKING BACK ACROSS THE RIO NEGRO. " " 82
ZOPILOTES. " " 90
COBAN. " " 91
THE CHURCH, COBAN. " " 93
A COBANERA. (Drawn by ADA HUNTER from a photograph.) 94
THE PLAZA, COBAN. (Photograph by A. P. M.) _to face_ 96
THE CALVARIO, COBAN. (Photograph by A. P. M.) 100
A TEMPLE NEAR RABINAL. (Photograph by OSBERT SALVIN, F.R.S.) 101
SQUARE ALTAR, COPAN VILLAGE. (Drawn by ANNIE HUNTER from a
plaster-cast.) 118
COPAN. STELA B. (Photograph by A. P. M.) _to face_ 120
" IN THE GREAT PLAZA. " " _to face_ 126
" THE SCULPTURED DOORWAY, restored. (Drawn by E. LAMBERT from
photographs by A. P. M.) 130
" THE EAST SIDE OF THE SCULPTURED DOORWAY. (Photograph by
A. P. M.) _to face_ 130
" A FRAGMENT FROM THE HIEROGLYPHIC STAIRWAY. (Drawn by ANNIE
HUNTER from a plaster-cast.) 133
" A SCULPTURED SLAB FROM THE WESTERN COURT. (Drawn by ANNIE
HUNTER from a plaster-cast.) 142
QUIRIGUA. STELA F. (Photograph by A. P. M.) _to face_ 146
" STELA D, NORTH FACE. " " _to face_ 148
" STELA D, EAST SIDE. " " _to face_ 148
" THE GREAT TURTLE. " " _to face_ 150
CARIBS BUYING FISH AT LIVINGSTON. " " 156
A HAMMOCK BRIDGE. " " 160
CAJABON. " " _to face_ 162
SKETCH OF A TEMPLE ON HILL-TOP NEAR YAXCHÉ. 176
SCULPTURED MONOLITH AT IXKUN. (Photograph by A. P. M.) _to face_ 176
EARTHEN POT FROM YAXCHÉ. (Drawn by ANNIE HUNTER.) 177
ON THE PINE RIDGE. (Photograph by A. P. M.) 183
ON THE BELIZE RIVER. " " 187
CARIB WOMEN. (Photograph by H. PRICE.) 192
CHICHÉN ITZÁ. THE CASA DE MONJAS. (Drawn by ANNIE HUNTER from a
photograph by A. P. M.) 202
" " MY ROOM, 1889. (Photograph by H. N. SWEET.) _to face_ 202
" " "LA IGLESIA." " " _to face_ 202
" " FOOT OF THE NORTH STAIRWAY OF THE CASTILLO. (Drawn by
ANNIE HUNTER from a photograph by H. N. SWEET.) 204
" " THE CASTILLO. (Photograph by H. N. SWEET.) _to face_ 204
" " THE BALL COURT TEMPLE, restored. (Drawn by ANNIE
HUNTER from photographs and plans by A. P. M.) _to face_ 206
" " MURAL PAINTING OF A BATTLE, from the Great Ball Court
Temple. (Traced by A. P. M. from the original and reduced.)
_to face_ 206
" " MURAL PAINTING OF A HUMAN SACRIFICE, from the Great Ball
Court Temple. (Traced by A. P. M. from the original and reduced.) 207
" " FIGURES ON THE WALL OF THE SCULPTURED CHAMBER.
(Drawn by ANNIE HUNTER from a plaster-cast.) 208
PALENQUE. GORGONIO LOPEZ, 1891. (Photograph by A. P. M.)
_to face_ 224
" THE EASTERN COURT. " " _to face_ 226
" THE WESTERN COURT AND TOWER. " " _to face_ 226
" CARVED PANEL from the Temple of the Foliated Cross. (Drawn
by ANNIE HUNTER from a plaster-cast.) _to face_ 228
" THE TEMPLE OF THE SUN AND THE PALACE. (From a photograph
by A. P. M.) _to face_ 228
THE SERPENT-BIRD, from Tikál. 229
SACLUC (LA LIBERTAD). (Photograph by A. P. M.) 230
TIKÁL. VIEW FROM THE (DOORWAY OF THE) GREAT TEMPLE E. (Photograph
by A. P. M.) _to face_ 232
" TEMPLE marked A in the plan. (Photograph by A. P. M.)
_to face_ 234
" CAMP IN THE FOREST. " " _to face_ 234
LACANDONES. " " _to face_ 236
THE RIO USUMACINTA AT MENCHÉ. " " _to face_ 236
MENCHÉ. POTTERY INCENSE BURNERS. (Drawn by ANNIE HUNTER.) 238
" TEMPLE A. (Photograph by A. P. M.) _to face_ 238
" FRAGMENT OF A STONE LINTEL. _to face_ 240
FLORES. (Photograph by A. P. M.) 241
THE ISLAND OF FLORES. " " 243
THE SERPENT-BIRDS, PALENQUE. 253
MONTH AND DAY SIGNS. (AFTER LANDA.) 255
MAYA NUMERALS. 256
SIGNS FOR PERIODS OF TIME. 259
GREAT CYCLE SIGNS AND DAY SIGNS. 260
MONTH SIGNS. 261
HIEROGLYPHIC INSCRIPTIONS. _to face_ 262
MAYA INSCRIPTIONS FROM PIEDRAS NEGRAS. (TEOBERT MALER.) _to face_ 264
ADIOS! _to face_ 272
LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS.
Page
PLAN OF THE RUINED TOWN BETWEEN GUATEMALA AND MIXCO. (A. P. M.) 18
UTATLAN, the ancient capital of the Quichés. " _to face_ 62
RUINS NEAR RABINAL. (2 plates.) " _to face_ 102
" " " Ground-plan of Tlachtli Court. " 104
COPAN. Plan of the principal ruined structures. " _to face_ 118
" Sketch-map of the site of the Ruins. " 127
QUIRIGUA. Plan of the Ruins. (C. BLOCKLEY and H. W. PRICE.)
_to face_ 148
IXKUN. Plan of the Ruins. (A. P. M.) _to face_ 174
YAXCHÉ. Ground-plan of a Temple. " 177
" Arrangement of Mounds on a hill-top. " 178
CHICHÉN ITZÁ. Plan of the Ruins. " _to face_ 200
" " Plan of the Great Ball Court. " _to face_ 204
PALENQUE. Plan of the principal group of Ruins. {(Surveyed by } 218
{H. W. PRICE.)}
" Plan of the Palace. " _to face_ 226
" Plan and Section of the Temple of the Sun. " 228
TIKÁL. Plan of the Ruins. (A. P. M.) _to face_ 232
" Plan of the Foundation-mound and Temple A. " 233
" Plan and Section of Temple B. " 233
" Plan of Temple D. " 234
MENCHÉ TINAMIT. Plan of the Ruins. " _to face_ 238
MAP OF GUATEMALA AND THE ADJACENT COUNTRIES. 272
The Maps and Plans are reduced copies of those already published, or in
course of publication in the 'Biologia Centrali-Americana' (Archæology).
END PAPERS. Drawn from ancient American originals by Miss ANNIE HUNTER.
PHOTOGRAVURES. By the SWAN ELECTRIC ENGRAVING COMPANY.
CHROMOLITHOGRAPHS. By W. GRIGGS & SONS, Ltd.
ETCHINGS ON TISSUE. By the TYPOGRAPHIC ETCHING COMPANY.
INDEX. By Miss M. H. JAMES.
ERRATA.
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: The following errata have been corrected as part
of the process of producing this e-text. Spelling, hyphenation,
punctuation etc have also been standardised.
Page 151, _for_ Brockley _read_ Blockley.
" 4, " dosing " dozing.
" 191, " Izamal " Yzamal.
" 176, " Manakin " Manikin.
" 81, " Mosos " Mozos.
" 72, " Patzum " Patzun.
" 190, " Stevens " Stephens.
" 85, " Ututlan " Utatlan.
A GLIMPSE AT GUATEMALA,
AND
SOME NOTES ON THE
ANCIENT MONUMENTS OF CENTRAL AMERICA.
CHAPTER I.
THE VOYAGE.
We left England early in October, 1893, and on the 13th November found
ourselves in San Francisco. Our passages were taken in a steamer
advertised to sail from that Port on the 18th of the month for San José
de Guatemala, but no sooner had we set foot in the Palace Hotel, than
the Influenza fiend seized us both; so we were obliged to give up our
cabins in the steamer, and, as soon as we were well enough to travel,
were ordered by the doctor to leave San Francisco and its cold winds
for the more agreeable climate of Monterey. The railroad took us in
four hours through the fruitful plain of San Joaquin, and landed us
almost at the door of the Hotel del Monte, a huge low wooden building
standing in the midst of a grove of magnificent evergreen oak trees,
and surrounded by beautiful flower-gardens and exquisite green grass.
The many porticos and verandahs were bowers of roses and heliotrope
and every variety of creeper, and the garden beds were brilliant with
magnificent dahlias and chrysanthemums and numberless smaller flowers.
Chinese gardeners could be seen in all directions tending the plants,
and watering the lawn-grass to keep it fresh and green, in striking
contrast to the yellow stubble which during the dry season covers the
face of the surrounding country.
The Hotel del Monte is a favourite winter resort of people from the
Eastern States as well as from California, and it would be difficult
to imagine a more attractive place in which to seek health, warmth, or
pleasure. Everything possible seems to be provided for the amusement
and comfort of the guests; but in the late autumn it is almost
deserted, and the dozen of us who sat down to dinner were lost in the
huge dining-room built to accommodate nearly two thousand guests. We
found many attractive walks in the neighbourhood, either across the
great sand-dunes down to the fine hard sea-beach, or up amongst the
beautiful groves of immense live-oaks and cedars with which the place
abounds.
One morning on coming down to breakfast we were told that we were
wanted at the telephone, and found that an old friend, Professor
Holden, was speaking to us from the top of Mount Hamilton and bidding
us to visit him at the great Lick Observatory, of which he has the
charge. It was with regret that we left the enchanting land of flowers
and green grass; but our time was short and the prospect of seeing the
stars through the biggest telescope in the world was too attractive to
be missed. So, following the directions conveyed by telephone, we took
the train to the town of San José, where we passed the night, and on
the following morning, in a pouring rain, packed away in a two-horse
wagon with a high top and heavy leather curtains buttoned down to keep
out the wet, we began the six hours' journey up the mountain.
There was nothing to be seen but fog and smoking horses, and although,
as usual, we were assured that the weather was most exceptional, no
one attempted to predict anything better; and, indeed, it grew worse
and worse until our arrival at the top of the mountain, when it was
difficult to see more than a few yards around us, and we seemed to be
standing on a small point of rock while the world below was filled with
cold whirling mist, which penetrated to the marrow of our bones.
During our three days' visit, once only, for a brief hour, did the
clouds break and show us to the east the great mountains rising to
the height of the Sierra Nevada, and to the west the broad plain we
had crossed, which, protected by a low range of hills from the cold
sea winds, yields that abundance of fruits which, fresh or preserved,
yearly finds its way to foreign markets. Towards the north we could see
the smoke of San Francisco, and even in the partial clearness make out
the ships lying in the harbour.
Despite the bad weather our visit was made most enjoyable, but it was
a real disappointment not to get so much as a peep through the great
telescope. However, we could not afford to miss another steamer, as
that would have meant losing too much of the dry season in Guatemala.
So reluctantly bidding our host good-bye we went to San Francisco,
still followed by clouds and fog, which not only detained the steamer
for twenty hours in the harbour, but clung to us tenaciously until we
had been at sea five days and had run over a thousand miles.
Our ship, the 'San Juan,' belongs to the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company, and runs between San Francisco and Panama in connection
with the steamers sailing from Colon to New York. The accommodation
was fairly good, but she carried too much deck cargo for comfort or
safety, and one felt that she might labour dangerously in a heavy sea.
Since our return the news has reached us of the wreck of the steamship
'Colima' of the same line, occasioned by the shifting of the deck
cargo, and we feel thankful to have been spared the dreadful fate which
befell her passengers.
Our fellow voyagers in the 'San Juan' were mostly men, Americans and
Spanish Americans, and they were distinctly dull. Indeed life on board
was monotonous enough to all of us. The Spaniards took their boredom
quietly, but it became well nigh intolerable to one Western American,
whose talk was of twenty-storied houses and other boasted signs of
progress at his own home, and who was now bound for Guatemala, where he
apparently hoped to make a rapid fortune by running trolley-cars on the
streets of the capital and generally electrifying the city.
The first few days of the voyage were certainly dull enough to tax
anyone's spirits; but when we were about 200 miles north of Cape St.
Lucas the dark pall of clouds broke away, and the sun burst out in all
his glory, changing the sea from a leaden grey to a wonderful blue;
awnings were stretched over the decks, and we lay languidly in our
chairs watching the changing shadows, while the great rollers of the
Pacific gently rocked the ship, and soft warm winds blew over us. So
soothing and delicious a motion I had never before experienced at sea,
and in spite of my rooted objection to a ship I fell a victim to the
lazy charm that seemed to hold sea and vessel in a sort of magic spell,
and for the first time in my life I thoroughly enjoyed a sea voyage.
Soon we came in sight of the black-looking foothills of the Mexican
coast. As we slowly sailed into the tropics, they lost their bareness,
and became clothed with a rich vegetation, and then fringed with
bananas and cocoanut-palms. Gradually rising higher, the hills grew
into mountainous masses broken by volcanic peaks, and from one lofty
cone a wreath of smoke drifted languidly on the breeze.
As the temperature of air and water grew warmer the sea became alive
with flying-fish, and shoals of dolphins, four or five hundred
together, played round our bows or dashed across our course, leaping
and throwing up the water in fountains of spray. Large turtles floated
past lying asleep on the surface of the water, their shining backs
catching the sunlight and reflecting it like mirrors. The sea-birds
regarded them as convenient resting-places, and almost every sleeping
turtle carried on his back a dozing bird which flapped lazily away,
apparently shocked at the behaviour of the turtle when the approach of
our ship caused him to take a sudden dive below.
All day the sea and its inhabitants yielded us endless amusement; the
evenings were gorgeous with tropical sunsets and the nights revealed
a brilliancy and glory in moon and stars that surpassed all my
imaginings. We sat up late watching the north star sinking lower and
lower, and marking the rise of strange constellations towards the south.
It must be remembered that I am a very bad sailor, that my experience
of sea voyages had been confined to many rough and wintry passages
across the North Atlantic, and that all the softness and colour and
beauty of a tropical ocean broke on me like a revelation.
Our first port was San Blas, on the Mexican side of the Gulf of
California. It boasts no harbour, so that we dropped anchor in the
open roadstead, and lay as near shore as safety permitted, rocked by
the big rollers of the restless Pacific as they passed to break on the
sandy beaches and rugged cliffs of the coast. A few thatched cottages
were clustered round the Custom House, and others were dotted along the
beach half-hidden amongst cocoanut-palms and bananas and a tangle of
tropical vegetation, whilst behind them rose a fine mass of mountains
clothed in the softest imaginable shades of green with lovely blue
distances stretching for miles into the interior. Big picturesque
boats, rowed by Mexicans in huge broad hats and clean white shirts and
trousers, came to deliver and take back cargo, and to supply us with
fruits and vegetables. With our glasses we watched the great dexterity
with which the boats were handled and guided safely through the heavy
surf.
It was rather late in the day when we weighed anchor, and sailing
close in shore we could entertain ourselves until dark marking the
varied play of light and shade on the rocky shore as the sun sank, and
watching the pelicans perched on every point and ledge of rock, some
idly sunning themselves out of reach of the spray, but the majority
choosing to stand where the surging waves could just wash over their
feet, whilst others wheeled overhead in slow heavy flight searching
for their food. It was an exciting moment when a great bird high up in
the air would suddenly fold his wings together and fall with a splash
on the water, whilst his long neck and beak were shot out to catch an
unwary fish just under the surface; then having secured his supper he
would fly away to enjoy it in a safe retreat amongst the rocks.
Sailing under cloudless skies and lovely stars through another night,
we arrived at Manzanillo, the port of Colima, proud in the possession
of a railway and a weekly train from the port to the city. Here we
landed, to enjoy an hour's walk through the little town, and resting
under the trees of the Alameda I had my first glimpse of a tropical
garden.
Whilst waiting for the boat to carry us back to the ship we enjoyed the
excitement of watching the natives trying to spear a great skate, or
devil-fish, as the sailors call it. As soon as the harpoon struck, the
cord was attached to a boat, and the fish swam rapidly away towing the
boat after him with the greatest ease. The struggle must have already
lasted half an hour when we sailed out of the bay and the fish was not
yet vanquished. Later in the day we saw one of these monsters jump
right out of the sea and with a great flop strike the water again,
spreading out his flat proportions like a table, and making a sound
like the report of a cannon.
On the evening of December 7th we arrived at the Port of Acapulco,
and sailed into the beautiful bay, through a tortuous channel between
high cliffs, guided by a feeble light perched on the rocks above us.
The sea was a marvel of beauty, glowing with phosphorus, and alive
with illuminated fish and dolphins darting about and leaving long
streams of light behind them. Through this molten silver sea we glided
to our anchorage near the town. As we neared the shore long narrow
dug-out canoes lighted by great flaring pitch-pine torches carried by
mahogany-coloured boys swarmed out of the darkness, and before the
anchor was cast the ship was surrounded by a fringe of bum-boats,
filled with fruit, vegetables, and pottery, and presided over by
swarthy Mexican men and women.
It was a pretty and amusing scene, and as the bum-boat women and their
smuggling propensities were well known to the ship's crew, a lively
fire of chaff and bargaining in a strange jargon of Spanish-English
immediately began, and continued, as far as I know, all night. It
certainly was a noisy night, and was rendered doubly unpleasant by the
arrival of huge coal-barges manned by picturesque little black devils
in dirty white garments, carrying flaring torches, who passed the night
supplying us with coal and smothering us with dust.
When the sun rose on the next morning the heat was excessive, and as
the town itself looked unattractive, and the surrounding country,
although beautiful to look at, suggested malaria, we did not attempt to
land, but contented ourselves watching the vendors of fruits, who when
the day broke were still actively engaged in bargaining. On leaving the
harbour before noon we hugged the coast even closer than before; so
that besides the entertainment afforded by the ocean and its varied and
interesting population, we could rest our eyes on the refreshing green
vegetation covering the mountains, which pile themselves up, range
after range, and on the rocky headlands and shining sand-beaches of the
coast-line.
[Illustration: ACAPULCO: A SNAPSHOT OVER THE BULWARKS.]
Sailors fight shy of the heavy seas in the Gulf of Tehuantepec caused
by the northerly winds which rush across the isthmus from the Atlantic;
and during the winter months, in spite of the increased distance to be
travelled, they gain all the shelter they can by hugging the shore. On
this occasion there was no exception to the rule. The weather had been
hot, cloudless, and calm, but as soon as we entered the gulf we felt a
quick fall in temperature and a distinct increase in the motion. When
about halfway round the gulf, we dimly discerned on the horizon the
beginnings of the long line of mountains and volcanoes which follow the
coast almost from Tehuantepec to Panama. Gradually as we sailed nearer
individual volcanic peaks rose above the broken mass: first Tacaná and
Tajumulco, the highest of them all, and then the crests of Santa Maria
and Atitlan, and last of all we could recognize the soft outlines of
Agua and Fuego, shaded by fleecy wrappings of cloud, and knew that our
voyage was near its end.
In full view of this grand panorama of mountains we cast anchor at the
port of Champerico, where for many long hot hours we lay rolling in the
heavy ground-swell of the open roadstead, while discharging and taking
in cargo and waiting for the passengers to come on board. The town was
_en fiesta_ on account of the visit of General Barrios, President of
Guatemala, and his staff, who were to be our fellow-passengers to the
port of San José. Several ships lying in the roadstead were dressed
with flags, and even our dirty old steamer did her best in the way
of bunting to do honour to so distinguished a guest. We tried to be
duly impressed by the festivities and rejoicings, but the grand blaze
of blue lights and showers of rockets which followed us out to sea
hardly compensated for loss of time and the general discomfort of an
overcrowded ship. The President's party took entire possession of
everything; they sprawled all over the decks, went to sleep in our two
deck chairs, and succeeded in breaking both of them. Fortunately, a
short night's sail brought us to the port of San José, and also to the
end of our pleasant voyage.
Again we anchored in the open sea, and when the time came to go
ashore we were each in turn swung over the ship's side in a chair and
deposited with a bump on the top of the other passengers and piles of
baggage in a large lighter which swayed alongside. This operation was
reversed when we neared the shore, and a cage was lowered from the iron
pier which loomed prodigiously and alarmingly high above us, and we
were swung up in safety. Thank goodness there was no sea running, only
the long undulations of the swell which beats ceaselessly on the coast.
Even so, landing was an unpleasant experience, and what it must be on
a rough day my mind refuses to contemplate; but one must remember that
even the terror of seizing the right moment to scramble from a surging
lighter into a heavy iron cage, which at one moment strikes against the
bottom of the boat and the next moment hangs threateningly overhead,
is preferable to that of the older method when the lighter was dragged
through the surf, and the unfortunate passengers landed, soaked and
terrified, even if they were lucky enough to escape a capsize and the
teeth of hungry sharks.
A long glistening hot sand beach facing south, a background of
palm-trees and bananas, a few houses, and an illimitable ocean
describes the port of San José. There is not a decent inn in the
place, and our condition on seeing the only train for Guatemala leave
without us (owing to the delay in getting our belongings past the
custom-house) would have been pitiable, but for the kind hospitality of
Colonel Stuart, the agent for the steamship line, who took us into his
house on the beach and made us most comfortable for the night.
The next morning we took the train for the capital, distant about 70
miles. Our way lay through a thick growth of wild vegetation, varied by
banana-plantations and groves of cocoanut-trees laden with fruit. Every
small tree supported a wealth of flowering "morning glories" and other
creepers, while big patches of sunflowers filled in the open spaces.
[Illustration]
The railway soon began to ascend, and making innumerable turns among
the mountains opened up charming views of the tropical forest, and gave
us glimpses of the sea and the shining sand beach stretching for miles
along the coast. Not the least interesting features in the journey
were the endless variety of strange fruits offered us for sale, and
the glimpses of native life which we caught at the wayside stations.
Through ever-changing scenes, always climbing and winding through the
mountains, we reached the pretty lake of Amatitlan, at an elevation of
about 4000 feet above the sea, and, rising still another 1000 feet, we
arrived late in the afternoon at the city of Guatemala, standing on
a level plateau seamed with great ravines, or barrancas as they are
here called. Two of these big ravines nearly encircle the city, and as
they slowly but surely eat their way backwards threaten to curtail its
growth.