MRS. WILTON. "The city of Guatemala was founded in 1776. It is situated on table-land, 5000 feet above the sea and enjoys a delicious climate,—literally, a perpetual spring. Beautiful churches and buildings adorn this city; but the houses are built only one story high, in order more effectually to resist the action of earthquakes; for you must know this city has close to it two burning mountains—Fuego and Agua, which prove the volcanic nature of the earth. Among all the phenomena of nature few appear to be attended with such horrible consequences as earthquakes. Thousands, who in one moment are full of busy life, are, the next, swallowed up as if they had never existed, or crushed to death by fragments of falling buildings. In six minutes, by the great earthquake of Lisbon, in 1755, sixty thousand souls were launched into eternity; and though none in this city have equalled in destructiveness the great one at Lisbon, yet Guatemala has been several times nearly destroyed by earthquakes, combined with the eruptions of the neighboring volcanoes."
MR. BARRAUD. "The inhabitants are mostly of Spanish origin; consequently, mostly Roman Catholics; and a recent traveller says that from the moment of his arrival, he was struck with the devout appearance of the city of Guatemala. At matins and vespers, the churches were all open, and the people, particularly the women, went regularly to prayers. Every house had its figure of the Virgin, the Saviour, or some tutelary saint, and on the door were billets of paper with prayers. You will be surprised to hear that nearly all the ladies in Central America smoke. The married ladies smoke puros, or all tobacco; the unmarried ladies smoke cigars, or tobacco wrapped in paper or straw."
DORA. "What an odd indulgence for a lady! In England, ladies never smoke; although I must say I have often seen poor women with pipes in their mouths, and thought what a dirty habit it was."
MRS. WILTON. "It is the custom of the country, and were you a Spanish lady, Dora, I have no doubt you would enjoy a cigar as much as any of the señoritas. We shall next see the shore of Mexico. What gulfs must we pass to accomplish this?"
EMMA. "Only the Gulf of Tehuantepec which is worth noticing."
MRS. WILTON. "Mexico has been travelled over already; so we will pass on to the Gulf of California."
GEORGE. "But is there not a place called New Mexico?"
DORA. "Yes, but not near the coast: however, I will tell you all I know about it. It is mostly inhabited by Christian Indians, of whom there are no fewer than thirty villages. They are of various tribes, but all trained to industrial habits, and are in every respect a worthy set of people. Their clothing is the skin of wild goats; their women wear mantles of cotton or wool. Their mode of travelling is on horseback, and the only access to their huts, which are square, with open galleries on the top, is by a ladder, which is removed during the night."
CHARLES. "Robinson Crusoe fashion, I presume?"
DORA. "Exactly. 'Now we are in front of the entrance to San Francisco Bay. The mountains on the northern side are 3000 feet in height, and come boldly down to the sea As the view opens through the splendid strait, three or four miles in width, the island rock of Alcatraz appears, gleaming white in the distance. At last we are through the Golden Gate—fit name for such a magnificent portal to the commerce of the Pacific. The Bay is crowded with the shipping of the world, and the flags of all nations are fluttering in the breeze.'[[15]] Before us lies the grand emporium of the Gold Region—a city which has well nigh realized the extravagance of the Arabian Nights Entertainments. As if by the touch of a magic wand, what was five years ago a little Indian village is now a large and flourishing city, which is increasing at a prodigious rate. From every nation and people and clime, emigrants have been pressing to it in pursuit of the precious metal. The golden sands of California, with their brilliant glitter, have attracted thousands upon thousands from every land—and there is now arising on the far distant shores of the Pacific a great Empire destined to exert a mighty influence in the affairs of the world. The glowing prospect which the success of the first adventurers had created, soon drew to her shores the energy and enterprise of the nations of both Europe and America. 'Around the curving shore of the Bay and upon the sides of three hills, which rise steeply from the water, the middle one receding so as to form a bold amphitheatre, the town is planted and seems scarcely yet to have taken root, for tents, canvass, plank, mud and adobe houses are mingled together with the least apparent attempt at order and durability.' However, the appearance of the city is fast improving—for churches and schools and public buildings are springing up on every side, and substantial edifices are fast taking the place of the more temporary erections. The sudden rush or so many people to one point, and many of them poorly provided, combined with the abundance of the gold, caused provision, rents, and labor to rise to enormous prices. A tent for instance, called Eldorado, fifteen by twenty feet, occupied mostly by gamblers brought the enormous yearly rent of $40,000. 'Miners' Bank,' used by Wright & Co., brokers, about half the size of a fire-engine house, was held at a rent of $75,000. A gentleman who wished to find a law office, was shown a cellar in the earth, about twelve feet square and six feet deep, which he could have at $250 per month. One of the common soldiers at the battle of San Pasquale was reputed to be among the millionaires of the place, and had an income of fifty thousand dollars monthly.