FOOTNOTES
[1] Petermann’s Mittheilungen, 1869.
[2] This business is declining, owing to the inferior cattle produced in Florida and shipped at a cheaper rate.
[3] Guatemala has been accepted (1886) by both Nicaragua and Costa Rica as referee in the boundary dispute.
[4] Another year we climbed the rock and found several interesting plants, but no human remains.
[5] These were vampire bats (Phyllostoma sp.); and several times afterwards we saw cattle that had been so severely bitten that the blood was still dripping from their shoulders the next morning. These little fellows are about the size of an English sparrow; and yet they do as much harm as their much larger relatives of South America. They have ventured into our sleeping-room at Livingston; but would generally awaken us by brushing our faces with their wings,—perhaps because our feet (the part they usually attack) were covered.
[6] “These serpentes are lyke unto crocodiles, saving in bigness; they call them guanas. Unto that day none of owre men durste aduenture to taste of them, by reason of theyre horrible deformitie and lothsomnes. Yet the Adelantado being entysed by the pleasantnes of the king’s sister, Anacaona, determined to taste the serpentes. But when he felte the flesh thereof to be so delycate to his tongue, he fel to amayne without al feare. The which thyng his companions perceiuing, were not behynde hym in greedyness; insomuch that they had now none other talke than of the sweetnesse of these serpentes, which they affirm to be of more pleasant taste than eyther our phesantes or partriches.”—Peter Martyr, decad. i. book v. (Eden’s English translation).
[7] The Naturalist in Nicaragua, by Thomas Belt, p. 222.
[8] Should the new product, saccharine, meet with favor, the planting of cane will follow the fate of indigo; and coal-tar will supply the sweet things of life as well as the flavors and colors. Coal is “sweetness and light”!
[9] Its armament was approved by the Royal Seal, Nov. 7, 1658, and an order of Feb. 26, 1687, provided for its complete repair. The plan is from a sketch by F. E. Blaisdell.
[10] I may add that soon after our arrival in Coban the Jefe politico deposed this unworthy comandante, punishing him with various indignities.
[11] Owing to the heavy duty, iron stoves are seldom seen in Guatemala; but a structure of stone, where that material is at hand, elsewhere of sticks covered with clay, is reared to the height of about two feet. Its size depends, of course, on the wants of the household; but large or small, the form is always the same. Three suitable stones, forming what would correspond to a pot-hole in an ordinary stove, are embedded in the clay-top of this house-altar, and the long slim sticks that furnish fuel serve also as poker, shovel, and tongs. There is no chimney, but the smoke and steam escape by the many cracks in the walls or by the windows. On one stone tripod a comal for tortillas, on another an earthen pitcher of coffee, and on another a stew-pan (cazuela) of frijoles, is the usual kitchen arrangement. Answering its purpose as well as a costly stove, it may be built for a few reals; and if an oven is needed for bread, a stone and earthen dome built over such a table-like hearth makes a capital one, not unlike those so common among the Canadians and in other half-civilized countries.
[12] In 1882, $1,266,042.43, or about one fifth of the total revenue.
[13] The uses of pottery in Central America are almost universal; it supplies not only water-cisterns, flour-barrels, ovens, stoves, wash-tubs, baths, coffee-pots, stew-pans, but dishes, lamps, floors, roofs, and aqueducts. Some made of white clay is exceedingly light, and the patterns are often very tasteful. The tinajas (water-jars) and cántaras are also light, but very strong, while the cazuelas, or flat pans, and the coffee-pots are quite fire proof. I have seen a house-wall built of pots not unlike a Yankee bean-pot in shape, the mouths opening into the house being “pigeon-holes” for the human inhabitants; while those opening out of doors were the nesting-places of pigeons and hens. The roof-tiles are not in great variety, usually semicylindrical or conical, and seldom ornamented; floor-tiles are large, square, and not very thick. The porous water-jars suspended in a current of air keep their contents refreshingly cool.
[14] Calabashes are of great importance and of universal use as household utensils. Some varieties are long and slim, and these, split lengthwise, make ladles; the very spherical ones make boxes, flat ones form bowls and platters, while those of the shape illustrated become chocolate-cups. The black color is permanent, although scarcely penetrating the hard surface; it is made by a bean that I have not been able to identify. Calabash-cups, although very light, are strong and durable. I have one, given me by Don Ramón Viada of Trujillo, which is as delicate as porcelain.
[15] It is well to explain that the framework used for carrying small articles on the back is called kataure by the Caribs, and carcaste by the Indios of the interior. Ramón carried in his not only all my photographic apparatus,—the camera and box of plates being carefully wrapped in water-proof material,—but also our cooking utensils and his own luggage. After he left us we found so much trouble in hiring suitable carcastes that we purchased one for a few reals and fitted it up with pita cords, which served our purpose very conveniently. When a desirable view presented, a whistle brought the mozo to our side, and from ten to fifteen minutes only were required to unpack, set up, expose one or two plates, repack, and remount our animals. It may be interesting to state that in all this long journey, where plates were carried in this way, not one was broken, nor was a piece of the apparatus damaged.
[16] There were many similar organs in the old churches,—some, indeed, removed to the lumber-rooms; but they were so securely fastened together that I could not get at the internal mechanism without too much disturbance, and I concluded that the instruments were imported entire. No modern organs of any size were seen outside of the metropolitan cathedrals; and yet even a large organ is very easy to transport. One little instrument that I tried was not in tune, but the pipe-tones were good. In the old church at Trujillo Frank found a modern French cabinet-organ of remarkably sweet tones.
[17] In stumbling over this crooked name, it occurs to me that it would be fair to my readers, who are perhaps less familiar with Indian names, to state briefly how they are pronounced. G is always guttural; ch is like tche; h is strongly aspirate; j is pronounced like h; x is sh; u is the French ou; v is equivalent to w; and the vowels have the Italian values. Of the Indian names the signification is not always known, but there are certain terminations common enough and well understood; as tepec, a mountain or high thing, in Alotepec, Quezaltepec, Coatepeque, Olintepeque, Jilotepeque. Those who are curious in these matters will find another note in the Appendix.
[18] It is the duty of every person to whose house strangers come to pass the night to report to headquarters the name, where from and whither bound, so that we could be tracked all over the republic from the central telegraph office in Guatemala City,—often very useful.
[19] There is no little confusion in the nomenclature of the sapotes, or sapodillas. What is usually called sapote in Guatemala does not belong to the genus Sapota, but to an allied genus Lucuma, and is known in the West Indies as the mammee-apple. The true sapote has several seeds; the mammee only one. An allied genus contains the star-apple (Chrysophyllum cainito). The sapoton, or big sapote, does not even belong to the Sapota family, but is a Pachira.
[20] Sweet peas and geraniums in abundance, carnations, marigolds, campanula, yarrow, pinks, sweet-williams, chrysanthemums, iris, scabious, abutilon, poppy, princess’-feathers, fuchsia, linaria, Lilium candidum, peach, evening-primrose, gilliflowers, amaryllis, gladioli, alyssum, larkspur, brugmansia, mignonette, sunflower, adenanthera, willow, balsams, dahlia, spider-lily, canna, hollyhock, eucalyptus, ragged-lady, roses (4), yellow sweet-clover, asparagus, Hydrangea hortensis, blue African lily, lupine, Boston-pink, wool-pink, cypress, sedum, agave, chelidonium, euphorbia (long-leaved), and broom.
[21] It was here that the Vice-President, Flores, was torn to pieces by women in the last days of the Confederacy, when the Church was in power.
[22] The cases of these rockets were of bambu, and usually three were attached to one stick. As they were fired in daylight, and valued for their effect upon the ear rather than the eye, the proportion of explosive powder was increased,—each discharge giving three sharp cracks.
[23] These little apples—about the size of crab-apples—are tasteless uncooked, but make an excellent dulce; the señoras know how to use them for a sweet pickle.
[24] Palin is the market-garden and orchard of the metropolis, and the fruit is good, but not cultivated with any care; nor is there here or elsewhere in Guatemala any attempt to procure new and choice varieties of either fruits or vegetables.
[25] It was in this garden that the attempt was made to kill President Barrios, on the evening of Sunday, April 13, 1884. He was walking with General Barrundia, the Minister of War, when a bomb exploded, severely wounding both; but to allay public excitement the President bravely walked twice around the garden, and then home. The would-be assassin was captured, and proved to be a former conspirator whom Barrios had generously pardoned. The bomb was loaded with poisoned bullets.
[26] One of these stirrups (seen in the figure), given to me by Don Enrique Toriello, then Jefe at Livingston, now Chargé d’Affaires and Consul-General of Guatemala at New York, weighs five and a half pounds, and is seventeen inches long.
[27] See [note on Zompopos] in the Appendix.
[28] These acacias not only yield gum-arabic, but the pods contain so much tannin that they are used to make ink.
[29] Another time when Frank was crossing he had to swim for his life, and nearly lost his animals.
[30] Although on the stone, and in the photograph as well, this head has the appearance noted in the text, a more careful examination of the photographic image magnified shows that the upper portion of the seemingly human face is in truth that of a tigre, while the flowing beard is the remaining part of a mutilated human face.
[31] Le mithe de Votan. H. de Charencey, Alençon, 1871.
[32] Pronounced Shibalbay.
[33] Discovered by Spaniards in 1750, but no illustrations were published until 1834.
[34] Meaning dumb, because they could not pronounce certain letters of the Cakchiquel alphabet.
[35] Topiltzin Acxitl, the Tultec king of Copantl.
[36] This recalls the Kahili, or feather standard, the symbol of authority in the Hawaiian Islands.
[37] The signification of these names, as given by a distinguished scholar, is as follows: Hunahpu, the one master of supernatural power; Vuch, opossum; Gucumatz, decorated with feathers; Xmucane, female vigor; Xpiyacoc, membrum virile (xiphil, and ococ, to enter); Huracan, one very great (hun, one, and racan, great); Cabracan, second great one; Chirakan, ostium vaginæ; Tepeu, high.
[38] It is probable that at this time they circumcised their sons, although we have no direct statement to that effect. The Mayas practised this sanatory measure, which seems to have had no religious significance. Stone knives were used, and only once.
[39] I have often had the pleasure of conversing with cannibals, and they always assured me that the hands were the choicest morsel. It will be noted that, the Central American Indios always boiled their cannibal food, while the Pacific Islanders as generally roasted it. In one of the manuscripts preserved in the Vatican Library is a clear picture of this process, and the kettle seems large enough to receive the body whole.
[40] It is the way of Christian communities to speak with holy horror of the human sacrifices these heathen were accustomed to offer at each new year to their gods; the bloodthirsty Christian Spaniards spoke much in the same way of these sacrifices three centuries ago. While the Indios did what they honestly believed was right, and did it in a most merciful manner, without torture, the cruel invaders, in the name of the gentle Jesus of Nazareth and of the Mother of God, burned these poor Indios alive by hundreds (Las Casas says by thousands), or gave them to be torn in pieces by the dogs. 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?
[41] The Spaniards found, according to Herrera (Decade III. lib. iv.), paintings done at Utatlan eight hundred years before the Conquest, in which were represented the three kinds of royal insignia,—indicating an antiquity greater than that of the Aztecs.
[42] Monarquia Indiana, lib. ii. ch. xii.
[43] Among the curious illustrations in the Kingsborough Collection are coats of armor belonging to the nobles, consisting of a shirt of simple body-form, embroidered or painted with various devices. With these are helmets, sometimes of conical shape, but frequently in form of animal heads.
[44] Carrera was a servant in the family of the Marquis de Aycinena; afterwards a drummer-boy in the regiment under his master’s command. A pamphlet was published to prove that this young half-breed was a natural son of Aycinena. From the countenance as represented on the coins there is indication of Negro and Indian, rather than Spanish, blood in his parentage.
[45] “Art. 24. El ejercicio de todas las religiones, sin preeminencia alguna, queda garantizado en el interior de los templos; pero ese libre ejercicio no podrá extenderse hasta ejecutar actos subversivos ó practicas incompatibles con la paz y el órden público, ni da derecho para oponerse al cumplimiento de las obligaciones civiles y políticas.”
[46] “Lectura, nociones practicas de la lengua patria, conocimientos de objectos, escritura y dibujo lineal, geografía e historia, moral y urbanidad.”
[47] A new series of stamps was issued in 1886; and it is reported that they were furnished to the Government free of cost by a private individual, who asked as his only compensation the entire lot of stamps of the old issue then on hand. Evidently the rage for old postage-stamps has a money basis, and this contractor expects to get a corner on old Guatemaltecan stamps; and no doubt he will make profit on his venture.
[48] These are not the edible figs, but many varieties of the fig family that form an important food for monkeys and birds. In the latter part of this book I have given a list of the more important trees of this forest region.
[49] Professor Sereno Watson, of the Harvard College Herbarium, collected, during two winter months in the Department of Izabal, five hundred species of plants, many of them new to science (Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. xxi. pp. 456 et seq.). Notes of some of these will be found in the [Appendix]. He collected no less than twenty-five species of palms.
[50] In the [Appendix] will be found a list of the woods under their local names; but as these vary in the different provinces, it will be of little use in determining the trees from which they are obtained. Rosewood is said to be furnished by at least three trees not connected botanically, and the application of the name “cedar” is as puzzling.
[51] Mr. Coffin, the hospitable magistrate at Punta Gorda, gave me some of the best oil; and in the limited experiments I have tried with it, its properties much resemble those of coconut-oil.
[52] Lahaina, Salangore, Elephant, Ribbon.
[53] Even at nine cents per pound it pays as well as the best Jamaica at fourteen cents.
[54] Cacao: How to grow and how to cure it. London: Prepared by the Jamaica Government.
[55] Compendio de la Historia de la Ciudad de Guatemala, t. 2, p. 95, ed. 1818.
[56] The Colony of British Honduras. D. Morris, London, 1883, p. 76.
[57] British Honduras, p. 100.
[58] The Naturalist in Nicaragua, p. 56.
[59] Compendio, t. ii. p. 94, Concerning the Tepulcuat.
[60] See [Appendix] for account of the habits of the zompopos.
[61] Dollfus et Montserrat, Voyage géologique dans les républiques de Guatemala et Salvador. Paris, 1868.
[62] Not for the pseudo-geologists who see glacial action on every bed of recent lava or in every railroad embankment.
[63] Vandegehuchte.
[64] Rockstroh.
[65] Brasseur de Bourbourg, ii. 44.
[66] La Sociedad Económica, No. 6, March 14, 1880.
[67] Thomas Belt, The Naturalist in Nicaragua, p. 71.
Transcriber’s Note: image is clickable for larger version
A MAP OF GUATEMALA.