Below the equator, the story of a tour through the countries of South America

Front matter

Class _X^54-3 Book MS&-

Copyright Is?

COFVMOHT DEPOSHJ

Foreword

OUR voyage down the South Seas began at the Isthmus of Panama, and it is difficult to write without dwelling at least briefly on the wonders of the great Canal. Never has the immensity of government work impressed me so much as there. Never has the importance of that work so forced itself upon my mind. From a jungle has sprung a beautiful land teeming with rich cultivation, with busy people. In place of a pestilential hole of death there now smiles a land of health and prosperity. We thrilled with the pride of its accomplishment, and we gloried in belonging to a country that had made all this possible. In this little book on our South American travels there is no place to tell of these wonders nor of the many acts of courtesy and kindness that made our visit pleasant and instructive; I cannot refrain, however, from thanking General Clarence Edwards — Commanding General — and his charming wife, Consul and Mrs. Dreher, and Mr. and Mrs. Samuel M. Heald, for the splendid hospitality they extended to us. Because of their warm and hospitable reception of us we were able to partake to the full of

Foreword the many enjoyments the Isthmus has to offer. [Since this book was written General Edwards* name has become famous in Europe. He has been cited by General Pershing for bravery, and decorated for his valor and splendid service.]

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I The Spell of South America ... I

II Beginning the Journey 6

Chapter I The Spell Of South America

HAD anyone told me a month before I started to South America that I should really go I should have heard the statement with surprise. True, for years my husband and I had cherished the hope that some day we might visit this wonderful country where the snow-capped mountains dwarf the Alps, their smoking volcanoes loftier than any the rest of the world knows, and where lies a glorious sheet of water higher than the Rockies! But when the opportunity came we were almost unprepared to realize it.

It chances that the man to whom I am married is one who could never be counted as a drone among his fellow-creatures. During most of our life together his has been a career of public duty, having served Chicago as mayor five terms, as did also his father, Carter H. Harrison, whose namesake he is. These duties had always held him so closely that he was never willing to spend more than twenty-one consecutive days outside its limits. How, then, could we visit any portion of the globe which lay more than a hundred miles away? And yet — strange people and strange countries have always called to us. The rapid advancement of any country, its manner and means of achieving progress, were always studied closely by both of us. We love old ruins, temples, and had made as much of a study of antiquities as we could. During these years it had been with a feeling of envy that I had seen my friends come and go. But as a devoted wife I was never willing to leave the man whose highest duty, we both believed, lay in staying at home. Thus it happened that when the time came that we really felt we might indulge in this long-desired wish to journey to strange lands, we scarcely knew where to begin. A terrible tragedy in Europe had horrified and saddened the whole world, and little we dreamed then that later we would, for humanity's sale, be obliged to take part in it.

The war, of course, made Europe out of the question, so South America seemed to beckon us. The spell, the lure of this far-away land, was upon us both. We determined to start at once. So it came to pass that in about a month all preparations were complete. Trunks were packed and we were off to the land of the Southern Cross, the land of great countries, wonderful cities, mines of wealth untold. We were really to see the towering Andes and gaze in wonder at the shimmering blue

The Spell of South America 3

lakes and the streams which rush down the mountain sides, looking like fluttering white ribbons against the red sandstone slopes. It was hard to believe, but at last we were off to this seductive country. We left Chicago on the second day of December, bearing in mind that in the land below the equator the seasons are reversed and that it would be summer there when we arrived.

When reading the history of South America one must always remember the policy of the Spanish invaders. As a conquering race their aim was to crush out the vanquished foe and never to absorb any useful feature the latter might possess. History records that wherever the Spanish arms have been victorious this has ever been the case, and it has often been a matter of speculation among great writers as to what the result would have been had a higher standard of morals been theirs. Spain's accepted belief was that whatever she did was the best for the people. She viewed with distress any good emanating from another nation. "A difference from me is a measure of your absurdity." This was her standard. This self-satisfied dogma she carried out in all her conquests. During her supremacy over the Moors she endeavored to blot out every characteristic they possessed, with no thought of any future benefit to Spain. The same treatment followed the conquering of the Jewish population. Thus, when the Spaniards arrived in

South America the kind reception accorded them by the natives counted for nothing. They enslaved the people, treating them cruelly, and in their search for gold forgot every law of humanity. Horrible stories are told of their cruelty, one of which I will mention as an example. It is related by Padre Casas that when a famine threatened among those whom they had made slaves, the Spaniards killed daily a certain number of the unfortunate victims, that they might serve as food for their beasts of burden. Surely history furnishes no greater instance of hideous barbarity.

The Spanish historians, of course, claim that these actions were only in accordance with the spirit of the age. But the civilized world differs from them, and common opinion is that in spite of many acts which revealed qualities of bravery, the early days of Spanish rule in South America were nothing of which to be proud. It cannot be denied, however, that the Spaniards possessed personal courage. As soldiers they were invincible. They won their way in the face of incredible hardships. To gain their ends they crossed bare stretches of arid desert, and, although tortured with thirst and gnawed with the pangs of hunger, they never complained. Sword in one hand, the cross in the other, missionaries and soldiers alike did a stupendous work. It must not be forgotten that the policy of the Catholic Church in South

The Spell of South America 5

America brought about in many ways the orderly conduct of the natives. The unparalleled efforts of this church in the early days established there the religion which now has so firm a grip in South America.

In the early days of the history of this country the Pacific slope of the Andes was very different from the Atlantic side. The Spaniards found at Cuzco, and the many cities ruled by the Incas and their tribes, great communities high in civilization. The people lived under settled conditions, had towns and roads, and cultivated agricultural fields. It is deplorable that the conquerors did not encourage them to preserve their institutions while adopting the more modern civilization. One of the greatest mistakes Spain ever made was the crushing out of the individuality of these tribes, killing all ambition within them by enslaving them.

Though the Spaniards recognized at once the great possibilities of South America in her wealth of material and precious stones, they seem to have forgotten conscience and all humanity. They were willing to face terrible hardships in this world and the loss of heaven in the next with their desire to attain this wealth. However, the belief of those early explorers and conquerors has been verified. We know that we have today in this country a land whose possibilities in wealth have not been exaggerated.

Chapter II

FROM the Isthmus of Panama we sailed via Cia: Peruana de Vapores, on a Peruvian steamer, the Urubamba, commanded by Captain Steers. All Peruvian steamers, by the way, bear the names of the rivers comprising the source of the Amazon. A stiff breeze was with us. The air was cool, the boat clean, and the food good. Early the next morning, however, I awoke under the impression that I was on a farm. Somewhere in close proximity I heard cattle lowing, chickens crowing, ducks quacking, and lambs bleating — soothing sounds which gave promise of the nice long rest we had planned ! The barnyard we carried, however, held one pathetic note. Each day we wandered in the vicinity of it and could not help becoming interested in the inhabitants. All of a sudden, however, we began to miss familiar faces. Day after day the tragedy continued, and we were impressed deeply with the truth of the old couplet :

We may live without poetry, music, or books, But civilized man cannot live without cooks. 6

This charming menagerie was located just beneath our cabin. There was no possibility of escape from the delightful music, so we resigned ourselves to it. Day and night we enjoyed it. The boat carried its meat in this manner, killing what was needed for each day. In that climate it is not possible to keep meat longer.

On board we were a motley but interesting crowd. Many nations were represented. In addition to English, one heard French, German, Italian, and Spanish spoken. Our most prominent passenger was the greatest bullfighter in the world, from Mexico. He was accompanied by his " Carmen," and they attracted much more attention than did the owner of the richest mine in South America. " Carmen " was a delightful little piece of femininity. She occupied a first-class cabin, while he went steerage. She owned a brilliantly colored macaw, and the two sat on deck daily talking to the screeching bird. The man was a most incongruous sight. Picture, if you can, a man of athletic figure and thick neck, wearing the daintiest of pink-satin slippers, high French heels, and the finest of silk socks !

As we journeyed along we listened to many marvelous tales of the country we were about to visit and of the hardships we would have to endure in the interior. By the time we arrived at our point of departure for the interior we felt not unlike the intrepid Spaniards themselves who first entered it. But, imbued with their spirit of enterprise, we were equally undaunted in our desire for adventure. The first of our many surprises came to us in crossing the equator. We had supposed that we would be stifled with the heat. Instead, we were wrapped in steamer rugs, wore fur coats, and were still cold. Hopes of a delightful soft air and sunshine vanished. We were told that the cold weather we were encountering would continue for thousands of miles down the coast. The Atlantic side is warm, even hot. But the western side of the continent is cooled by the great Antarctic current — the Humboldt current, as they call it, in honor of the illustrious traveler who first observed and explained it. It carries up from southern Chile to a distance north of the equator a vast body of cold water which chills both ocean and air, frequently enveloping everything in clouds of fog. In fact, these fogs are so heavy and frequent as to cause anxiety to the navigator, for the impenetrable mist makes traveling dangerous between the Isthmus and the Gulf of Guayaquil. Along the coast of Colombia and Ecuador magnificent forests are grown. The heavy rains come in summer — the wet season. But at the boundary line between Ecuador and Peru the conditions change and there is a rainless tract which extends down the coast as far as Coquimbo and Chile. Here the

Antarctic current causes heavy and frequent mists because the land is warmer than the ocean. But these mists provide the only moisture the country has, as no rain ever falls there. For nearly two thousand miles the coast is dry and sterile. It is a dismal, barren desert for all this distance, except for an occasional river made by the snows of the Andes. Only where these rivers empty into the ocean does one find a strip of green.

We passed many charming islands. The Galapagos were too far away for us to see, but we knew that the United States was trying to buy them from Ecuador. The latter country neither needs nor wants them, but, like the proverbial dog in the manger, she refuses to let go. One very pretty island is called La Plata, and it is here that Sir Francis Drake is said to have hidden two hundred thousand pounds of gold, the money he captured from the Spaniards. A charming little hamlet on one of the islands is called Saint Esmeraldas. A large church picturesquely situated on an eminence made us long to stop and go through it. Flooded with sunshine, it looked attractive, set in the heart of those barren hills. Oh, what a lonely country in which to live !

Steaming up the beautiful Gulf of Guayaquil, we entered the mouth of the Guayas River. In the distance were dim gray mountains. We were fast approaching our first port, Guayaquil, Ecuador — the prettiest spot on the western coast, but, alas, the most unhealthy ! Guayaquil is never free from the yellow fever and the bubonic plague. It is the pest-hole of the Pacific. As we sailed up the river, however, glimpsing the city for the first time, it was hard to believe that its reputation was deserved. Like the whited sepulcher, its horrors are concealed, and that which we could see called forth only admiration. Ecuador is not by any means the most progressive of South American countries. The deadly yellow fever has been practically exterminated from every portion of South America except the Amazon River. It seems a shame, therefore, that lovely Guayaquil should have so bad a reputation. Havana, Colon, Rio de Janeiro, and Santos, even beautiful New Orleans in our own country, have all been purified and rendered safe from this deadly disease which once ravaged these cities. Therefore it is not only deplorable, but criminal, that such a menace should be permitted to continue in Guayaquil. But until her sanitation is looked after the development of Ecuador will be slow indeed, if not actually arrested.

It must be remembered that Ecuador was a part of the disputed territory which led to the sanguinary struggle between Atahualpa and his brother Huascar— a struggle which gave to Pizarro his opportunity of conquering Peru. The Ecuadorians were the last to feel the revolutionary impulses which were born when the power of Spain was broken, and it was not until Bolivar, the Liberator, and San Martin, the Argentine general, had kindled the torch of liberty that Ecuador made any attempt to break away from the old allegiance. Its history since then has been turbulent, but only a few of the men who have been tossed up by the seething and successive revolutions have been men of marked caliber. Most of them have been selfseekers, degraded in character and of small intellect. The result has been that Ecuador is the worst governed and the most backward of all the South American countries.

As an illustration: in January, 19 12, a piece of news leaked out which revealed a savagery almost incredible. The generals Alfana and Montero, who were at the head of the latest liberal revolt, were defeated by the government forces, and those in power set about to punish them. Montero was president of the dissolved revolutionary junta. He was taken from prison, dragged into the public square, where a great fire, already lighted, awaited him. Into this the unfortunate man was flung, despite his resistance and cries of horror, and, after being half burned, he was dragged out, put into a vat of water, and then flung back into the fire. This was kept up, and his torture lasted an hour before death released him. This took place at Guayaquil. At Quito, the capital, two hundred miles away, they were doing worse things. Their favorite torture was cutting out the victims' tongues.

All this seems incredible, yet it is a matter of history, and very recent history at that. No wonder that the South Americans feel that a watchful eye should be kept on Ecuador, whose greatest asset now is the Canal, and whose hopes of civilization also seem to lie in the fact that she is so near Panama.

Ecuador has a treasure in its cacao groves. If she possessed nothing else they would make her rich. The cacao trees grow wild in the forests, many of them reaching forty feet in height. The bean furnishes the delicious chocolate and cocoa we drink, and its leaves furnish cocaine.

Although we saw it later, we were disappointed not to get a view at this time of wonderful and far-famed Chimborazo, the mountain of snow. However, we had many glorious views of it later. It is one of the beauty peaks of South America and rises twenty-one thousand four hundred feet. For a long time this mountain held the honor of being called the highest mountain in this southern land, but the mighty Aconcagua in Chile, which Harvard University at Arequipa records as twenty-four thousand and sixty feet in height, has finally been awarded the palm. Majestic Chimborazo is best seen from the sea, and from the harbor its magnificent proportion can be studied; I think the evening, with its mellowing light, shows it to finest advantage. Those few minutes before night envelopes it show its snow-crowned top and thrill one with the awe that its great height is sure to inspire. Neither could we see at this time Cotopaxi, five times as high as Mount Vesuvius, and the loftiest of active volcanoes. The mist and lowlying clouds prevented. One of the mountains, Cayambe, lies exactly on the equator, and for this reason is distinguished from any other snow-capped peak in the world. It is the highest mountain of the eastern Cordillera. Near Cotopaxi a beautiful truncated cone smokes continuously. About the snow-clad peak a gray and white cloud forms in the shape of an enormous branching tree, and near the snow line of the volcano is a huge mass of rock called Inca's Head. It is said to be the original summit of the mountain torn off and hurled below on the day of the execution of the Inca, Atahualpa.

Clear and beautiful was the morning on which we cast anchor a quarter of a mile out from the town. Here we found a strange form of quarantine existing. We were not permitted to disembark if we desired to return to the ship. But we took both passengers and cargo aboard ! It was here that we purchased the finely woven Panama hats at just half the price at which they were first offered to us, obtaining for twenty and twenty-five dollars hats which would sell in the States for sixty and sixty-five.

The finest Panama hats in the world are woven in southern Ecuador. It is the greatest distributing center of the Panama hat industry in the world. Here they do not call them Panama, however, but Jipijapas, in honor of Jipijapa, the village where they are woven. They are made of the fiber of a palm which grows in Ecuador and Peru. The fiber must always be kept damp, and the best time to make them is in the cool of the evening. This has given rise to the story that Panama hats are woven under water and in the moonlight. The weavers in Ecuador are considered the most skilful in all the southern countries. Their delicacy of touch is equal to that of the finest lace makers in the world. They told us here of a hat once woven for the King of England, so exquisitely fine that it folded into a watchcase. All that we saw were soft and durable and rolled together without the slightest injury.

It was here that we said good-bye to a charming old French priest, Pere LeGris, who was on his way to Quito, He had some difficulty in landing. On account of the trouble this country had with the Jesuits many years ago, Ecuador has since barred all foreign priests from entering her ports.

However, his letters got him through. The Jesuits were so powerful in the early days of Spanish America that they were regarded as having supernatural wisdom. They were said to have actual knowledge of events before they occurred, or at least at the moment of happening. As proof of this a story is told to the effect that when the Peruvian government, fearing their influence and their power, decided in secret session in Lima to exile them for political reasons, the swiftest of messengers was sent at once to Cuzco, four hundred miles away, to apprise them of the fact. When the messenger reached Cuzco he found all the priests ready with their baggage packed, standing before the gates of their monasteries. Their marvelous system had not failed them. They had learned of the decision of the secret session in Lima as soon as it had been made. Their own system of obtaining information had brought them the news before the fleetest of known messengers had been able to do so.

Guayaquil was for Pere LeGris the beginning of a trip of a year's duration — a journey of recreation in the hope of regaining his failing health. He was going to Quito. We were sorry to lose him. In his dignified way he possessed a keen sense of humor and kept us much interested and amused by tales of his experiences. One story he told was simply delicious. A young woman, observing that he traveled without a trunk, carrying only a hand bag, approached him. She had excess baggage to the amount of a thousand pounds. She pleaded with him to relieve her of one trunk so that she might get through the customs house without having to pay. Pere LeGris' humorous description of his consternation at the thought of claiming as his own a trunk filled with a woman's dainty lingerie while fellow-priests looked on and waited for him during its inspection, was certainly funny. Needless to say, he gently but firmly refused the request and the lady was obliged to pay the awful excess exacted on baggage to a South American port.

The American consul, Dr. Godding, a personal friend, delighted us with a visit here, bringing with him large baskets of delicious and, to us, strange fruit. For two days we lay in port enjoying these delightful specimens and basking in the glow of the southern sunshine. We now realized fully that we were in South America. Gorgeous big macaws with brilliant yellow and blue plumage were brought aboard. The colors of the smaller screeching parrots were simply exquisite. Many vendors came also with tiger skins and small marmosets.

We found no mosquitoes here and although we knew that the extreme slenderness and delicacy of this deadly insect prevented its flying over three hundred yards we still felt safer to sleep under netting the two nights we were in port. The peculiarity of this mosquito, the stegomya, is that only the female bites and gives the yellow fever germ. The Ecuadorians are immensely wealthy. Many of them are charming people and well educated. But at present all hate Americans. Their potent reason for disliking us is the railroad built to Quito. The Americans cheated the Ecuadorians shamefully in the contract and feeling still runs high about it. The present consul, Dr. Godding, with his charming Uruguayan wife, have lived in this unhealthy spot for many years. With all hygienic laws respected and the house screened they fear nothing. They keep in their home a wonderful little bird called cacigua. It knows its pet name of Chico-Chico. It flies about loose in the house and kills every fly and mosquito it sees.

Chapter III The Guano Islands

WE HAD been warned that in going to South America we were taking our lives in our own hands. Everyone knows that in spite of her wonderful attractions there is much to be desired in her laws relating to hygiene. Many of the diseases which we would encounter, such as yellow fever and bubonic plague, we should have to risk, as there is no known preventive. We should take all possible precautions toward evading mosquitoes and fleas, but there is no inoculation which could save us from them. Smallpox and typhoid could be prevented, or at least the system may be rendered immune by inoculation to all save a very light attack. Therefore, preparatory to this joyous expedition, we spent some time at home with a feeling of decided malaise, due to three inoculations of the typhoid serum, and I was certainly laid low by the smallpox inoculation, vaccination. Such an arm as I carried for six weeks after will not soon be forgotten, and the scar I shall carry to my grave. Disagreeable as all these precautions may be, however, they are absolutely

The Guano Islands 19

necessary and minimize the danger of travel considerably. It is only the foolish person who disregards them and fatality often follows in the wake of those who do.

After leaving the Isthmus we made it an absolute rule not to touch uncooked vegetables, or eat a piece of fruit which could not be peeled. Of course, we missed eating their delicious vegetables such as lettuce, radishes and celery, and fruit like strawberries. But in spite of our precautions in regard to inoculation for typhoid we were afraid of these death-dealing, though delectable foods. As in China, their greatest fertilizer here is human excrement, and the germs bred are not only those of typhoid but those of cholera and enteric troubles of all kinds. This knowledge gave us courage to refuse ail such food. Indeed, the character of this fertilizer disenchants one from wishing to sample any of their green vegetables.

No traveler touches the drinking water here. The natives seem to be immune. We Regard the bottle of water at fifty cents a pint as a necessary extravagance, and the fact that we were paying so exorbitant a price for it had the usual effect. It made us thirstier than ever! Between us we frequently drank six or seven dollars' worth of water a day. This seems terrific, but all the way down the coast of South America until we reached Valparaiso the only water we could get on the boats was Waukesha, White Rock, or Poland at a dollar a quart It is easy to figure, therefore, how two thirsty people can consume this amount. Of course, those who feel that they cannot afford this much money for drinking water carry a small alcohol stove and boil it. But this is a nuisance. It means a lot of extra baggage and every ounce of baggage counts. After we got into the country, however, we found distilled water at a reasonable price in the large cities and there we drank to our hearts' content.

A fine and famous water throughout Peru is the Jesu water from a spring of that name near Arequipa. It is a delicious beverage, slightly charged with gas, and except for the awful price we had to pay for it we enjoyed it thoroughly. This water is a great favorite in Peru, but I must confess that the sight of the name on the first bottle we drank gave us both a distinct shock.

Petty thieving is one of the annoyances on shipboard along this southern coast. Personally we lost nothing, but several of our neighbors complained. As we steamed out of the Guayas River a man who had been in confinement for two days for stealing broke his arrest and jumped overboard. He had fully a mile to swim to shore and the current was terribly swift. But the steamer could not waste time by stopping. So if he ever reached shore I presume he considered

The Guano Islands 21

himself immune and started in on his little game again.

No vessel is permitted to pass out of this river at night, as the channel is dangerous. But we sailed out early in the morning to find ourselves in the ocean again. From Guayaquil we moved toward Callao, spending the next eight days in making that port. These days were far from uninteresting. We passed many islands, one of the most curious of which is called Dead Man's Island, the shape of which is that of a man lying flat on his back, his face upturned to the heavens. Very distinct is the illusion. The features were plainly visible, colossal, and the sight is most uncanny.

Off the southern coast of Ecuador on the island of Santa Clara is LaAmortahada, The Enshrouded Woman ; it is said to be a marvel in its exact representation of its name. Once seen, the colossal figure of the mysterious woman is never forgotten.

The constant passing of pretty islands, the loading and unloading at the various ports, the strange cargoes, the curious birds and fish was a truly pleasurable experience. One can have no conception of the number and variety of the South American birds until he has seen them. In addition to the huge pelicans, millions of " guano " birds inhabit the islands bearing their name, and blacken the skies when they fly. The snow-white Guano Islands hold thousands of these birds and often in the evening about dusk we would steam into a solid mass of the feathered creatures resting on the water. The boat would be obliged to plow its way right through them. Thus disturbed they would rise quickly and, flapping their wings in the water as they rose, they made a sound like heavy rain.