William Tufts Brigham

“ While it is possible that the army does not cost so much in proportion to the population as in some of the other Central American republics, it is nevertheless a terrible drain upon the resources of the people, apart from the bad moral effect of a military life, as seen in all history. May the time soon come when this beautiful republic shall throw off the incubus and devote all her energies to the development of her vast resources! ”

“ Coconut-palms and bananas will give a charm to any landscape; yet the little Cayo Paloma hardly needed them, so beautiful was it in itself.
Grand San Gil brushed the clouds from his forehead and looked down smilingly upon us in promise of a [43] fair day as we sailed up the Golfete. A short league brought us to a curious limestone rock on the northern shore,—a regular cube, rising from deep water, and capped with a pyramid of foliage. So unusual a formation could hardly have failed to attract the aboriginal mind; and there may be on the summit some remains,—a sacrificial altar, or stele. ”

“ Close on the shore were red abutilons, and over them crept the long-tubed white convolvulus (Ipomœa bona-nox) and the brilliant yellow allamanda; high up on the wild fig-trees were black, long-tailed monkeys, common and tame, their wonderfully human faces peering down at the intruders, the mothers clasping their hairy little babies to their breasts with one arm, and with the other scratching their heads in a puzzled manner. One of our Caribs shot a little fellow before I could prevent him, and the creature clung, even in death, by his tail. ”

“ Let the Christian nations hold their peace over the human sacrifices of Central America, when they remember the Holy Inquisition, St. Bartholomew, and the tortures of Jews, Turks, witches, Quakers, and other heretics, sanctioned by the Christian Church,—murders so cruel, so unprovoked, that they make the sacrifices of the Indios seem no worse than justifiable homicide. Were the sacrifices to Tohil so much more sinful than the sacrifices so common in this enlightened nation of children born, or unborn, to the Molochs of Comfort or Reputation? ”

“ On the platform where Frank and I had stumbled over the confused piles of rubbish and tried in vain to trace the buildings, so distinct only forty years before, the mighty Gucumatz had built high the altar of the bloodthirsty Tohil,—a steep pyramid in the centre of the rebuilt Gumarcah, now called Utatlan. Our knowledge of the ceremonial of that Quiché worship is but slight; but enough is known to give an air of reality to the pile of rubbish that alone marks the site of the holy place of this ancient kingdom. ”

“ Tropical vegetation cannot well be described; but the fact that even when seen it is hard to understand, need not prevent an attempt to sketch the general features. The real trouble that meets the novice on the threshold of the tropics is the utter inadequacy of the English language to express the variety and luxuriance he sees in the vegetable world. Even in color his vocabulary fails him, and he must include in the name “green” so many distinct tints that at last he relinquishes the difficult task and falls back upon the commonplace epithets, or leaves his tale untold. ”

“ Ten miles across was the ancient town of Atitlan, famed in legend and history. We stood in one of those mysterious places seemingly below the rest of the world, for we could see the water fall into this valley; but no human eye sees the outlet, nor are the waters, as in the valley of the Dead Sea, chiefly evaporated. The surface is evidently of nearly the same level at all seasons. In the opinion of some observers it is not improbable that this valley was an ancient crater, in the midst of which the volcano of Atitlan has risen,—much as Vesuvius has sprung from the ancient Somma ”

“ As black cloth is much worn by the Indios, they cultivate the black sheep rather than pay the dyer. Cactus on pine-trees, crimson sage, and a minute violet not an inch high, were novelties by the roadside. Not a few of the pine-trees had been hacked with machetes until a considerable niche was formed in the stem; and the pitch dripping into this receptacle was then fired to light a camp. We found no villages on this road, but we were seldom out of sight of some herdsman’s hovel. Late in the afternoon we came to the brow of the cliff that bounds the immense valley of Totonicapan on the east. ”

“ Death surely waits for him in the jungle, on the precipices, in the treacherous craters, even in the posada to which he brings his exhausted frame, should he be so foolhardy as to ascend a volcano in this tropical climate. ”

“ Not being able to make man according to their desires, they called to their aid the mysterious powers of Xpiyacoc and Xmucane, magic adepts, and by incantation learned that man should be made of wood, and woman of the pith of bulrush. This second edition of the human species was little better than the first, although more durable. The stiff, wooden images had neither fat nor blood; they could speak and beget children, but lacked intelligence. Their eyes were never turned to heaven, and their tongues never glorified Huracan. ”

“ Being good swimmers, they drop from their perches over the river when alarmed, and after a fall sometimes of sixty to eighty feet the splash is suggestive of broken ribs, or at least a total loss of wind; but they scramble nimbly up the banks under the overhanging shrubs, and are lost in the forest. Like the chameleon, they change color, and from green of various hues become greenish gray when taken from the trees. ”

“ It was strange to see how little any one seemed to be affected by the certainly approaching death of their fellows. Every one knew what was coming; but no dread anticipation marred the festive scene.
The music ceased in the Plaza, the chief idol was placed on the altar-top, and the priests and nobles seized the victims by the hair and passed them, struggling, one by one up the steep steps of the altar to the chief priest, who stood high on the sacrificatorio in the sight of all the people. ”

“ A notable fact in regard to punishments in Guatemala is their publicity. In New England every effort is made to conceal criminals from public gaze; the punishment which is intended to deter others from a similar act is, foolishly enough, merely a matter of hearsay to the bulk of the population. A silly sentimentality hides the convicts in prisons better and more commodious than the homes of a majority of the people, feeds them with sufficient and wholesome food, and in general wastes more pity on them than it vouchsafes to the honest poor,—and all this at the expense of innocent citizens! ”

“ Volcanoes, earthquakes, and revolutions have popularly been associated with the whole region, and public taste has been turned away from such unpleasant outbreaks of subterranean fires or human passions. The time will come when these regions, far more fertile and accessible than those African wilds that for a score of years have interested, strangely enough, both explorer and capitalist, will claim the attention due their natural merits; and the fertile plains will be the garden and orchard of the United States,—not necessarily by political annexation, but by commercial intercourse. ”

“ All vegetation here is not merely luxuriant, it is composite. There are no solitary trees, no hermits, in the vegetable world. Every trunk is but a trellis for vines, some of them, like the matapalo, strangling the fostering tree, or a nest for plants that do not seem able to get up in the forest on their own stems. If I find a branch in blossom, I must make sure that it is of the tree itself, and not part of some mistletoe-like hanger-on. I have seen single trees bearing on their trunk and branches enough orchids and other choice plants to stock a hothouse. ”

“ After dark we could buy no maiz for our bestias, though a señora sold us a bottle of excellent honey. We had seen from the hill above, in the fading light, a magnificent valley of great extent, broken by ridges and ravines, and we had hoped to find some decent shelter. But when the moon rose over a volcano, we decided to camp; and picketing our steeds on a fine pasture, we slept on our blankets, undisturbed except by the wind, which was strong at times. Our barometer told us we were 3,152 feet above the sea. I noticed that in the highlands it was apt to be windy at night. ”

“ The church, as usual, attracted our attention; and here for the first time we saw the Indios burning incense, which seemed to be gum copal, or precisely the same material their ancestors used in idol worship. Marigolds were strewed all over the floor, and the odor was oppressive, even without the incense and innumerable candles. The altar was covered with plates of beaten silver of no very good workmanship. An image of a man on horseback, with a beggar by his side, excited our curiosity, which was not destined to be satisfied, although our mozo declared it was Santiago (Saint James) . ”

“ The thirst for wealth that brought the foreigners to these shores pursued them still, and the brave resistance to wrongs unlimited, that the Spaniards themselves chronicle, does not seem to have awakened that respect in the bosoms of the Conquistadores that it now rouses in the heart of every generous student of the past. The Indios were lawful prey, it was “spoiling the Egyptians;” and although Las Casas and some of the missionaries tried faithfully to protect their flock, and although the King of Spain made decrees, the powers of evil seemed to have their own way in this distant colony. ”

“ On the shore the only prominent building is the custom-house, built before Livingston was declared a free port; and in front of this is a low, dilapidated wharf, at which our tender landed us, the water being not more than fifteen inches deep. The tides here are less than a foot, so that shoal-water keeps boats of any size at a distance, making landing difficult. It was comforting to know that a charter for a wharf had been obtained, and that our successors may land with greater ease. ”

“ No less than twenty public fountains and washing-places adorn and keep the city clean.
All business is not conducted in the shops, which are small, and seldom make much display; but there are two markets, one of which, the Nacional, is very extensive, and seems to contain within its bounds merchandise of every sort,—in one place pottery, in another fruit; saddlery and cloths, confectionery and hardware, bread and guns, are close at hand. The prices are high, even of the necessaries of life; and the cheapest things were pottery and nets, both of Indian manufacture. ”

“ Rivers are, next to mountains, the most important factors in the physical aspect of the land; and in Central America they are abundant, though, from the broken nature of the country, not of great size. From the position of the backbone of the land, most of the watershed is towards the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea; even the great lakes of Nicaragua, which are really on the Pacific side, empty through the Rio San Juan into the Atlantic, the river taking advantage of a break in the cordillera. The lower or navigable portion of the Central American rivers is the only part known ”

“ The building process was certainly a novel one. On receiving our orders, the Caribs held a brief consultation, chattering in their very unattractive language; while we knew no more of their talk than we knew of the intelligent ants, who are equally black, and hold their consultations unbeknown to us. The result was, however, that they separated and disappeared in the forest. Soon we heard the blows of the machetes; and then they came straggling back, two with the aucones or main posts of the house, others with side-posts, rafters, coils of vejucos, and bundles of manàca-leaves. ”

“ The natural advantages of a port and the conveniences of trade between that and other countries are of small moment if there is nothing beyond the port; and one must look well into the interior of the country to see its poverty or richness. Before crossing the republic, the fruit-lands of Livingston are worthy of exploration. The little plantations at Cocali, on the coast northward, and those along the banks of the Rio Dulce, are easily seen, and in their present condition offer nothing new or especially interesting. Bananas and plantains are almost the only product of commercial importance ”

“ It would then be profitable to raise more of the delicious oranges of Teleman,—oranges such as Florida can never raise; the mahogany of the Cienega and Chocon could be marketed; and all Alta Verapaz be a plantation of coffee and fruits. More than this, the road would pay from the first through train. Before us on the west coast was the sugar and cacao region,—that land that produces the royal chocolate which outside barbarians never get, but which might be raised very extensively from Soconusco eastward if a railroad should be built over the level lands from Escuintla to Retalhuleu and Ocós. ”

“ We are poor and have nothing, and we are tramping over the mountains great and small. Here in the East we see a great mountain, and its sweet odor is very pleasant. And it is so lofty that it overtops all the other mountains. So we have not been able, it is so high, to catch a single bird. So if it be true that you overturn mountains,’ said Hunahpu and Xbalanque, ‘then you will aid us.’
“‘It certainly is true,’ said Cabracan. ”

“ The barren woman in the northern climes, instead of being bowed down with her sad lot, obtains an easy consolation in a pug or lap-dog; but her Indian sister takes a truer view of the purpose of her life, and in her prayerful longing devotes in effigy the coveted offspring,—much as Hannah, the wife of Elkanah, devoted the unbegotten Samuel to the Lord. Like the Hebrew barren wife, the Indian goes up on a pilgrimage to the most sacred shrine, makes her offering, and breathes her prayer. ”

“ Jealousy of other nations, especially of England, who was now beginning to try her hand in ruling the sea, although in a rather irregular way, led to the establishment of all the important cities in the mountain region of the interior, where they might well escape the notice of other nations. The natural walls that Nature had provided were made very useful to their utmost extent; the ports were but conveniences to help the invaders to supplies from the mother-country and afford a necessary means for the exportation of their ill-gotten gains, and general commerce was discouraged in every way. ”

“ Without revenue, government cannot provide for free education; without education, a people will not establish a wise form of government; without a wise government, the resources of the country cannot be developed to yield a proper income. ”

“ If the laws of the United States stretched to the Isthmus of Darien, doubtless capital would eagerly enter this rich field; but at present it is as safe under the laws of Guatemala as under those of any Central American country.
As England and Germany always protect the interests of their subjects wherever invested, and as the United States Government has neither the will nor the power to guard the interests of her people in foreign lands, it is not strange that Englishmen and Germans embark in profitable enterprises in the Central-American Republics while Americans hesitate. ”

“ It is certainly foreign to all Northern ideas to have a court of justice guarded by military sentinels. Would that this Eden might be reclaimed, the swords beaten into ploughshares, and the generals and other officers turn their wasted energies to agriculture and commerce! ”