San Salvador

“ The city of San Salvador has been twice rebuilt since Leon of Nicaragua was laid in ruins, but the débris in the latter city has never been disturbed.
San Salvador has always taken the lead in the political affairs of Central America. It was the first to throw off the yoke of Spain, and uttered the first cry of liberty, as Venezuela did among the nations of the southern continent. The patriots of San Salvador received the cordial co-operation of the liberal element in the cities of Grenada, Nicaragua, and San José of Costa Rica, but were suppressed by the Imperial power. ”

“ The town was founded in 1854, and intended to replace the capital, San Salvador, which was ruined by an earthquake in that year but soon afterwards rebuilt. Nueva San Salvador is an attractive town with a large and growing trade. ”

“ So we upped anchor with the morning tide, and set all sail for San Salvador.
Of course I had no idea where San Salvador really was. I haven't now, for that matter. But it seemed a right-sounding sort of name for a place that was to have a bay that was to hold a French frigate that was to be cut out; so, as I said, we sailed for San Salvador, and made the bay about eight bells that evening, and saw the top-masts of the frigate over the headland that sheltered her. And forthwith there was summoned a Council of War.
It is a very serious matter, a Council of War. ”

“ Here at San Salvador should be their stronghold, as now, and their inmost sanctuary. But they would live outside, on a hill, or going from place to place. When all was well ordered without, they would come back for a while, and she would lead Dylar to some height, to the summit of the North Peak, where there should be a mirador, and pointing to their colonies embossing the whole circle even to the horizon, she would say: “Behold the marriage-portion I brought you!” ”

“ San Salvador is the only city in the republic which has important manufactures; these include the production of soap, candles, ice, shawls and scarves of silk, cotton cloth, cigars, flour and spirits. ”

“ WHOEVER visits the little republic of San Salvador, and lands at La Libertad, its principal seaport, must expect to undergo a novel and alarming experience. There is no harbor in the country, although it has one hundred and fifty-seven miles of sea-coast. The shore of the Pacific is a line of bluffs, with a fringe of beach at the bottom, and upon the sand a mighty surf is always beating. Ships anchor several miles off the coast, to avoid being driven ashore by the winds that sometimes rise very suddenly, and no boat can survive the breakers. ”

“ The principal cities are San Salvador, San Miguel, Santa Ana, which has been the capital, Cojutepeque, which has also been the seat of government, Sonsonate, Zacatecoluca, San Vicente, Sensuntepeque, Chalatenango, Santa Rosa, Ahuachapán, and Santa Tecla or Nueva San Salvador. ”

“ To her astonishment, her guide at once took up the strain, and from him Elena and her guide, and then Dylar. They sang:—
“San Salvador, San Salvador,
We live in thee!
62’Tis love that holds the threads of fate;
Death’s but the opening of a gate,
The parting of a mist that dims the sky.
We live in thee! We live in thee!
San Salvador,
We live in thee!” Tacita held her breath to listen. Was she indeed riding through mountain paths and morning air, or lying in a dream in some strange land? Dylar’s was the voice that had sung beneath their window when her grandfather was dying! ”

“ Although San Salvador is the smallest in area of the group of republics, and only a little larger than Connecticut, it is the most prosperous, the most enterprising, and the most densely populated, having even a greater number of inhabitants than the land of wooden nutmegs. The population{176} averages about eighty to the square mile—almost twenty times that of its neighbors. The natives are inclined to civilized pursuits, being engaged not only in agriculture, but quite extensively in manufacture. ”

“ Besides, the natives are fond of social intercourse, giving and receiving news, and these men who passed constantly to and fro between the centre of native life at San Salvador and the outside world as represented by the trading stations on the river, were always full of interesting news, and to turn them aside from a village by outrageous conduct was equal to cutting themselves off from the world, stopping as it were the daily papers and the weekly budgets. This was unthinkable, for natives are sociable folk and like to keep in touch with their fellows. ”

“ It must be acknowledged, however, that the people of Salvador are entitled to the first rank in Central America for their industry, general intelligence, and love of order. Individual rights are respected among them, and well-behaved foreigners are at all times made welcome. The Salvadorans seem to understand what are the duties of republicans. [XXVIII-69]
The population of Salvador consists of Indians, ladinos, and zambos. The ladinos comprise the whites, of which class the proportion is small, and the several mixtures of white and Indian. ”

“ Salvador, like Guatemala, is mainly a coffee country. It is not, however, a country of large estates, but of small holdings. Patches of farm-land cover every available space. This is the most thickly populated republic not only in Central America but in the entire hemisphere. Into its 7,225 square miles were packed some 1,500,000 people. As everywhere, over-crowding, by intensifying the struggle for existence, had developed among the Salvadoreans an energy and industry greater than that of their neighbors. ”

“ The anchors being dropped, the boats manned, he, richly attired in scarlet and holding the royal standard, accompanied by the Pinzons in their own boats, approached the shore.
On landing he threw himself on his knees, and kissing the earth, returned thanks to God, the rest following his example. He then, drawing his sword, took possession of the island, which he named San Salvador, in the names of the sovereigns of Castile. The crews now thronged round the Admiral, some embracing him, others kissing his hands, expressing their joy; the most mutinous becoming the most enthusiastic and devoted. ”

“ Tacita said dryly.
“Should I not!”
Iona began walking to and fro. “I have had visions of what might be done,” she said, her manner warming as she proceeded. “The time is past when San Salvador can be long hidden, when it should hold itself only a refuge for a few, and a nursery for a few. I think that the time is come when it should prepare, prudently, yet with energy, to practice a Christian aggressiveness. We have our little circles in every part of the world. They are silent and true, and they are not poor. We have no weak hearts. The children of San Salvador are baptized with fire. ”

“ Tacita’s promise, therefore, remained a secret between herself and Dylar.
242And so the summer passed with no apparent change in their relations.
Autumn was always a stirring time in San Salvador. The whole town was given up to the labors and pleasures of harvesting. Every one had some task. Even the children were made useful. The vintage, as in all grape-growing countries in times of peace, was a season of gayety, and all its picturesque work, except the grape-gathering, was done in that part of the outside road, or cornice, between the Arcade and the kitchens. ”

“ He was the chief of San Salvador when that province so strenuously resisted the tyranny of Iturbide, and prevented, by force of arms, the violent union which the then emperor desired to effect between the two kingdoms of Mexico and Guatemala. He is of a mild, calculating nature, of a clear, penetrating genius, and is esteemed and respected even by those who differ from him in politics. ”

“ The little glimpse I was allowed was charming. I never saw such verdure. The foliage, the fruit, were in billows, in drifts, in heaps. And how I longed to go to one of those great white houses, and sit on the roof under the palm-shadows. I said to the prince, ‘Why have we no palms in San Salvador?’ and he is going to have some. I thought of the Basilica as a proper site; but he doubted a little. It is not decided. He said, we worship Christ as King, and shrink from holding the impious insult of his martyrdom forever before his eyes. ”

“ Moreover, the cave was prepared to detain the strangers a few minutes, at least.
And then an awful question presented itself to her mind. Should she turn the gate if the strangers were on the bridge? What were the lives of three intruders to the existence of San Salvador! An insinuating whisper made itself heard in her heart: “Run and turn the gate. You need not look at the signal!”
It was the voice of the world, the voice of the serpent.
“A l’aide, mon Dieu!” she panted. “I will do no evil. If we fall, we fall!” ”

“ The economic life of Salvador is too greatly dependent upon European markets and financial centres; upon the export of coffee thereto; upon the elevation or depression of such markets—a [80] condition, of course, common to many Spanish American States, but which a better-ordered regimen will seek to rectify.
We might wander long through the beautiful scenery of Salvador, enjoying the grand and imposing aspect of its volcanoes, the beauty of its valleys and streams, for this part of Central America is famed, or rather should be famed, for the beauty of the landscape. ”

“ Francisco Malespin was killed at San Fernando, near Honduras, the inhabitants cutting off his head, and carrying it as a trophy to San Salvador. [XIV-32] Bishop Viteri in 1847 went to reside in Nicaragua, becoming a citizen of the state, to which diocese he was subsequently translated by the pope. Nothing worthy of mention occurred within the state in 1847. The Salvador government now represented the liberal party in Central America, and devoted its attention to education, arts, and industries. ”

“ Now, far, far, I saw land, saw San Salvador, Cuba that might be the main, Hayti, Jamaica, San Juan, Guadaloupe, Trinidad, Paria that again seemed main. Vast islands and a world of small islands, vast mainlands. Then no sail was seen on far Ocean-Sea; now out there might be ships going from Cadiz, coming, returning from San Domingo. Eight years, and so the world was changed!
I thought, “In fifty years—in a hundred years—in two hundred? What is coming up the long road?” ”

“ The San Salvador people were furious against strangers, and the Honduras troops were invading them on one side, and Carrera's hordes on the other. To remain where we were was certain exposure to attacks from both parties. ”

“ They must remember it was their duty to go about and teach the people in other towns. There were many towns begging for teachers. But very many people did not like to leave San Salvador. They wanted to sit down in their houses and be comfortable there. To-day they saw how their teachers who were in the pulpit had finished building this beautiful house, how they had a nice station here; but they were going to leave all these good things for the sake of preaching the gospel to the people in Zombo. ”

“ San Salvador was reached on Wednesday, September 9th, and Mr. and Mrs. Lewis forthwith settled down to their customary round of duties. In October they made a journey of visitation to the outposts, and one incident points the moral [166] that we appreciate our privileges when we are on the point of losing them. The people of Mawunze, among whom Vita and his wife had been working, had proved apathetic to such a degree that it was determined to withdraw Vita, for other towns were clamouring for a teacher. ”

“ He was dissatisfied, too, with the route I proposed taking; and though I told him it was merely to visit the ruins of Copan, he was evidently apprehensive that I intended going to San Salvador to present my credentials to the Federal government. He viséd the passport, however, as I required; though, after we left, he called Augustin back, and questioned him very closely as to our purposes. I was indignant, but smothered my feelings in consideration of the distracted state of the country, and the game of life and death that was then playing throughout the land. ”

“ I expect you will have read in the Herald about the opening of the new chapel at San Salvador, which Mr. Lewis had just finished before we left, and also about our arrival here. We were very sorry to leave all our dear friends, and on the day we parted we felt very sad indeed. But we are glad to be allowed to tell of God’s love to those who have none others to tell them of it, and we often have nice letters from our old girls and boys in San Salvador, and sometimes some of the men come as carriers with our mails, so we do not forget one another.... ”

“ Puerto Barrios, the terminus of this railroad, will be the great distributing centre not alone for Guatemala, but also for San Salvador, which is the smallest but most densely populated of the Central American republics. ”

“ The lower town, San Salvador, or Bahia, is dirty and badly laid out, but in it are to be found the exchange, arsenal, and imperial dockyard. About three miles north-east are yards for the construction of merchant shipping. The houses are mostly of stone, and often lofty. ”

“ You must remember it is very different from that at San Salvador. At present we are living in grass-houses, with just the sand for a floor. We have no chapel, only an open porch, where we meet on Sundays, and every afternoon I have school, a very small one, in our room, which has to serve all purposes except sleeping. We have only been here six months, and the people, although they begin to know us a little, still cannot understand what we have come for. They say, ‘These white men do not buy rubber or cows ”

“ Chich., MS., cap. 83.
[169] “Á distancia de un quarto de legua caminando á esta dicha ciudad se encuentra una barranca honda, que tiene para pasar un Puente de cal y canto de bóveda, y es tradicion en el pueblo de San Salvador, que se hizo en aquellos dias, que estubo allí Cortés para que pasase.” (Viaje, ap. Lorenzana, p. xi.) If the antiquity of this arched stone bridge could be established, it would settle a point much mooted in respect to Indian architecture. But the construction of so solid a work in so short a time is a fact requiring a better voucher than the villagers of San Salvador. ”