Andrew Jackson Lamoureux

“ During the American civil war the planters of Ecuador entered largely into the production of cotton, which at that time yielded large profits, but the industry has declined to very insignificant proportions since then because of inability to compete with the lower cost of production in the United States. The output of sugar and tobacco is small, but could be largely increased, as the conditions of soil and climate are favourable. Much of the sugar-cane produced is turned into rum, which is consumed in the country. The tobacco grown is of excellent quality. ”

“ Farther north nearly the whole of the depression is filled with lavas, tuffs and agglomerates, derived from the Tertiary and recent volcanoes which form the most striking feature of the Andes of Ecuador. These volcanoes are most numerous in the northern half of the country, and they stand indifferently upon the folded Mesozoic beds of the Western Cordillera (e.g. Chimborazo, Iliniza, Pichincha) , the ancient rocks of the Eastern Cordillera (Altar, Tunguragua, Cotopaxi, Antisana) , or the floor of the great depression between. The lavas and ashes are for the most part andesitic. ”

“ Very little is definitely known of the affluents of the Morona, Pastaza and Tigre, as the territory through which they run has been but slightly explored. The Santiago, which enters the Marañon near the Pongo de Manseriche, is formed by the confluence of the Paute, which rises in the province of Azuay, and the Zamora, which has its source among the mountains of Loja. According to Alexander Garland (Peru in 1906) , the rivers of eastern Ecuador are navigable at low water for steamers of 2 to 4 ft. ”

“ As a rule, the mestizos of Ecuador are ignorant, indolent and non-progressive. As in Colombia they are the artizans and small traders and the Indians are the farm labourers. The land is held by a few proprietors, and caste sentiment is strong among those who claim unmixed European descent; consequently the mestizos have limited opportunities to improve their condition.
The whites form an exclusive governing caste, as in Chile. The territory of the republic is divided among a very few of them, and its government is in their hands. ”

“ There is no great display of arboreal vegetation anywhere except in the valleys and lower passes where the rainfall is abundant, but in general terms it may be said that the rainfall and vegetation which characterize the Quito basin soon disappear as one proceeds southward, and are substituted by arid conditions. ”

“ The staple foods for the common people are potatoes on the plateau (which are chiefly consumed in the form of locro, or potato-soup) and yucca- or cassava-meal in the warmer regions. Although cattle and horses were not known before the Spanish conquest, they have become since then important products of the country. The best grazing lands are on the lower elevations west of the Cordilleras in certain districts of the plateau and on the slopes of some of the higher Andes, as on Chimborazo and Antisana. ”

“ One of its plateau tributaries, Rio Pedregal, rises on the slopes of Cotopaxi and is celebrated for its three beautiful cascades, the highest of which is about 220 ft. The Toachi and Quininde have their sources on the western slopes of the Cordillera. The Guayas or Guayaquil river is in part an estuary extending northward from the Gulf of Guayaquil, bordered by mangrove swamps and mud banks formed by the silt brought down from the neighbouring mountains. ”

“ Most of the country between the Andes and the sea is covered by Tertiary and Quaternary beds; but the range of hills which runs north-west from Guayaquil is formed of Cretaceous and porphyritic rocks similar to those of the Andes. In the intra-andine depression, between the East and West Cordilleras, recent deposits with plant remains occur near Loja, and to the north-east of Cuenca is a sandstone containing mercury ores, somewhat similar to that of Peru. ”

“ In 1902 a signal victory was won in a law permitting civil marriage, but in 1904 a social revolution was effected by legislation, which placed the Church under State control, forbade the foundation of new religious orders and admission into the country of new religious communities, and provided that the members of the episcopate must be citizens of Ecuador. The higher dignitaries of the Church are an archbishop at Quito, and six suffragan bishops at Cuenca, Loja, Ibarra, Riobamba, Guayaquil and Manabi. ”

“ There are civil courts of first and second instance in the larger towns, and consular courts in Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca with jurisdiction in commercial cases. There are also police commissaries in the departments and justices of the peace in the municipalities, the latter having jurisdiction in civil cases where the amount involved does not exceed 200 sucrés. The laws of Ecuador are based on the old Spanish laws and procedure, and include civil, criminal and commercial codes. ”

“ Iliniza, which stands west by north of Cotopaxi, has two pyramidal peaks, and is one of the most interesting mountains of the Ecuadorean group. It stands at the western end of the Tiupullo ridge, and overlooks the Quito basin to the north-east. The French academician Bouger, who was chief of the scientific commission sent to Ecuador in 1736 to measure a degree of the meridian on the equator, made a trigonometrical measurement of Iliniza, and Wagner ascended to within 800 ft. of its summit in 1859. The geological structure of the mountain furnishes no evidence of volcanic activity. ”

“ The eastern part of this territory is also claimed by Peru, which would have the effect, if allowed, of restricting Ecuador to a comparatively small area covered by the Andes and western Cordillera and the narrow plain on the Pacific coast. From the Santiago river, a western affluent of the Marañon, the boundary line runs south-west and west across the Andes to the head waters of the Macara, down that stream to the Chira, or Achira, whose channel marks the frontier down to about 80° 17′ W., where a small stream (the Rio Alamo) enters from the north. ”

“ The eastern range was found to receive the heaviest snowfall. The elevation at which human residence is possible seems to be unusually high in Ecuador. Many of the towns and villages of central Ecuador lie at altitudes ranging from 8606 ft. (Ambato) to 9839 ft. (Machachi) . The capital city of Quito is 9343 ft. above the sea, and is celebrated for its agreeable temperature, and also for its healthiness in spite of prevailing unsanitary conditions. ”

“ The Imbabura volcano, celebrated for its destructive eruptions of mud and water, stands midway between the two ranges at the northern end of the plateau, and belongs to the transverse ridge of knot (nudo) which unites them. It is the most northern of the higher peaks of Ecuador, with the exception of Cotocachi, and possibly of Chiles on the Colombian frontier, and reaches the elevation of 15,033 ft. Ibarra on the northern flanks of the volcano has suffered severely from its eruptions. ”

“ The insect inhabitants of Ecuador, like the birds, include a large number of genera and species, but no complete entomological survey of the country has ever been made, and our knowledge in this respect is insufficient to warrant a detailed description. In one ascent of Pichincha in 1880, Mr Whymper collected 21 species of beetles, all new to science, between 12,000 and 15,600 ft. elevation. On Cotopaxi, at elevations of 13,000 to 15,800 ft., 18 species of the genus Colpodes were collected, of which 16 were new. ”

“ There is only one highway in the country on which vehicles can be used, the paved road extending southward from Quito 115 m. on the Guayaquil route, which was begun by Garcia Moreno but has been allowed to fall into neglect. Other roads have been projected to the coast and one to the eastern territory. The ordinary roads are rough mule-tracks. These are difficult at all times, and in the rainy season are quite impassable. On the Pacific lowlands the rivers Guayas, Daule, Vinces and Yaguachi have about 200 m. ”

“ They are subjected to incredible abuses under Spanish colonial rule, their numbers being reduced to a fraction of the former population, and even yet they are subjected to a kind of debt-bondage which is slavery in all but the name. Notwithstanding all this they still represent from two-thirds to three-fourths of the actual population of Ecuador. East of the Andes the forests are inhabited by tribes of what are termed “aucas” or “infieles” (infidels) —Indians who are independent of both church and political control. ”

“ Bats also are very numerous, especially in the eastern forest region, where the vampire bat is a serious obstacle to permanent settlement. The avifauna of Ecuador is distinguished for the great variety of its genera and species, among which are many peculiar to the Amazon valley, and others to the colder uplands. ”

“ Its summit comprises a group of eight snow-clad peaks, and its crater is surrounded by a steep and jagged wall of rocks. There is a tradition that this mountain was once higher than Chimborazo, but a series of eruptions caused the cone to fall in and reduced its summit to its present altitude and broken appearance. Altar has shown no signs of activity since the discovery of America. Sangay, or Sangai, the next and last large volcano to the south, is in a state of frequent eruption, however, and is known as one of the most restless volcanoes of the world. ”

“ Cattle, horses, asses, sheep and swine were introduced by the Spaniards, and thrive well in some of the provinces. Excellent horses are reared in the uplands, as well as mules and cattle, the pasturage on the mountain slopes being good, and alfalfa being grown in abundance in many districts. The Reptilia include countless numbers of alligators in the Guayas and its tributaries and in the tide-water channels of many of the smaller rivers; many species of lizards, of which Mr Whymper found three in the Quito basin ”

“ These officials cannot be re-elected to succeed themselves. The president, whose salary is 12,000 sucrés per annum, has a limited veto power, and may convene extraordinary sessions of Congress for a specified purpose, but he has no further authority over that body. He appoints the diplomatic and consular representatives of the republic and the governors of the provinces, exercises a limited control over the administration of justice and public instruction through the appointment of officials, and is chief of the small military force maintained by the republic. ”

“ Executive power is vested in a president and vice-president elected for periods of four years by a direct vote of the people. (Under the constitution of 1884 the official terms of these two officers were not wholly synchronous, the vice-president’s term beginning with the president’s third year.) ”

“ Finance.—The revenues of the republic are derived from import and export duties, liquor, tobacco and stamp taxes, inheritance tax, salt, gunpowder and playing cards monopolies, consular charges, and sundry miscellaneous receipts, including those from posts, telegraphs and railways. ”

“ Of these totals, all but £127,532 of the imports and £441,679 of the exports passed through the port of Guayaquil. The great poverty of the people has been a serious obstacle to the development of a larger commerce.
Agriculture.—The agricultural industries on which the export trade depends are almost wholly restricted to the western lowlands, and include cacao, coffee, cotton, sugar, tobacco, rice, yucca and sweet potatoes. The Guayas basin and the district about Machala are celebrated for their cacao, and produce about one-third of the world’s supply. It is the staple product of the country. ”

“ Iron ores and lead are credited to several provinces, and platinum has been found in Esmeraldas, where emerald mines have been worked ever since the Spanish conquest. Coal of good quality has been found in Azuay and at other points, and petroleum is known to exist in several localities. Salt springs near Riobamba and at Salinas, in Imbabura, have long been used by the natives in the manufacture of salt.
Manufactures.—The manufacturing industries are chiefly of a primitive character and have been developed to meet local necessities. ”

“ The western chain has the distinction of having the highest summit, the eastern the greatest number of high summits and the highest average elevation. From the time of Humboldt’s visit to this remarkable region down to the present time there have been many diverse calculations of the height of these peaks, but with a considerable variation. It is estimated that there was a considerable decrease in the elevation of this part of the Andes during the past century, Quito having sunk 26 ft. in 122 years, Pichincha 218 ft. ”

“ The Piojes live in permanent communities and cultivate the soil. The total number of “aucas” or uncivilized Indians in the republic has been estimated at about 200,000, but this estimate covered a larger area than Ecuador actually occupies and is evidently too high. Their settlements are usually small and very much scattered, and their aggregate number is evidently much under the earlier estimates. An official estimate given to Mr Whymper in 1880, however, places the population of Oriente (the eastern territory) at 80,000, which is probably more nearly correct. ”

“ In the higher altitudes there are wide variations in the snow-fall and intensity of the cold even on the same mountain. The line of permanent snow is much higher on the plateau side in both ranges, the precipitation being greater on the outer sides—those facing the forested lowlands—and the terrestrial radiation being greater from the barren surfaces of the plateau. ”

“ On the uplands, wheat, Indian corn, oats, barley, potatoes and vegetables of many kinds are successfully cultivated, but wholly for home consumption. The vine is successfully grown in the warm upland valleys, both for its fruit and for the production of wine. ”