Department of Chalatenango.
City.—Chalatenango (1).
Towns.—Tejutla, San Ignacio, San Francisco, Morazán, San Rafael, and Citalá (6).
Fully two-thirds of this portion of the country consist of mountain ranges, with long timber-covered spurs, very beautiful to the eye, running from their bases in every direction. The Department is bounded on the north by the Republic of Honduras; on the east by the same Republic and the Department of Cabañas; on the south by the Departments of Cabañas, Cuscatlán, San Salvador, and La Libertad; and on the west by Santa Ana. The rich agricultural valley of the Lempa runs partly through this section, and many of the tributaries of that river water its ground. Immense tracts of agricultural territory are seen, upon which are grown successive crops of indigo, corn, rice, wheat, and beans. The several lofty chimneys which are observed to be dotting the country for miles around point to the active manufacturing that goes on. These establishments comprise distilleries, potteries, candle, cheese, and turpentine factories; while a large commerce is also done by treating a kind of wax obtained from boiling the fruit of a certain shrub which grows wild in this country and in great abundance. Here, as in most of the parts of Salvador, general prosperity prevails; one encounters hardly any very poor persons, either in the streets or begging upon the roadsides.
The chief city of this Department bears the same name, and it lies to the south-east of the lofty mountains of La Peña and on the rivers Tamulasca and Colco. The elevation above sea-level is about 1,660 feet, while the distance from the Capital is a little over forty-five miles north-east. I should say that Chalatenango is about the oldest native town in Salvador, and only in 1791 did foreigners and white natives commence to frequent it to any extent—these, it would seem, being sent there by the then Spanish Governor as a sort of punishment or exile. It would certainly be no punishment to abide there nowadays for a short while, since the surrounding country is remarkably beautiful, the people are very friendly and hospitable, and living there is absurdly cheap, judged from European standards. The population scarcely exceeds 6,000, and the whole of the Department probably boasts of no more than 54,000 or 55,000 inhabitants.
It is at Chalatenango that is held annually on June 24, St. John the Baptist's Day, the most important and most popular Fair of the year. Upon this occasion the true native life of Salvadoreans, the quaint and picturesque costumes, and many articles of barter which never see the light at any other time, may be met with. Anyone travelling in Salvador at this period may be recommended to visit Chalatenango, if only to witness this annual gathering, which is attended by people of every class from all parts of the Republic. A more orderly or a happier crowd it would be difficult to meet with, and, what is more to the point, they form a particularly clean-looking crowd. The fact is that St. John the Baptist's Day is the one day upon which every devout Catholic makes a point of having a bath—if at no other period of the year—and this may possibly have something to do with it. If it were of Mexico that I was writing instead of Salvador, I should say that this circumstance might possibly have everything to do with it.