“There is no better man than Henry Morano,” was Amos Strong’s reply. “I liked him from the first. He is a splendid scholar and an equally good hunter in the bargain. You can rest assured of a good time when you are in his company. We are very fortunate in meeting him.”
CHAPTER XII
MARKEL AGAIN TO THE FRONT
“We will now go over to the City Hall,” said Professor Strong, when they found themselves in the Plaza once more. “It is a spot full of interest, especially for all people of South America, for it was to them the Cradle of Liberty, the same as our Independence Hall at Philadelphia.”
The building was but a step away, an ancient looking affair, with thick adobe walls and small slits of windows. The rooms are, many of them, small and uncomfortable, and the decorations tawdry to a degree.
“Independence was proclaimed here on July 5th, 1811,” said Professor Strong, as they entered a council chamber located at one corner. “Here the very best representatives of the country assembled to throw off the yoke of Spain. Yonder is a faded picture depicting the event, and the important looking document on the wall opposite is the declaration itself. The paper was drawn up by Francisco Miranda, an able leader, especially civilly, although he was not so successful in the battle field as Simon Bolivar. Miranda was a great friend to La Fayette, and when La Fayette sailed to America Miranda went with him and served all through the Revolutionary War under Washington. This planted in his breast the same seed of liberty that was planted in the breast of Bolivar.”
“That shows how far-reaching was the influence of our Revolution,” remarked Sam. “We threw that tea overboard to some purpose, didn’t we?”
“What is this thing?” asked Hockley, pointing to a faded banner hanging close at hand.
“That is a relic of Pizarro at the time he went to conquer Peru. He carried that banner all through his trail of fire and blood, doing it in the name of the church, but with a cruelty only equaled by the worst of savages. This is not the whole of the banner. It was cut in half and the other portion is in the National Museum at Bogota.”
An hour was spent at the City Hall viewing other objects of interest, including the great city marriage register and the various portraits on the walls. Then they walked past the Municipal Theater and on to the new market place, a neat building with cement floor, where the stalls were divided by lattice-work.
“There is another market place,” said Professor Strong, “and at present business is divided between the two. At the other place there are no stalls, but the traders simply lay their stuff in a heap on the ground and sit beside it.”