CHAPTER XVIII
Departments—Capital cities—Population—Districts—Salvador Department—City of San Salvador—Situation—Surroundings—Destruction in 1854 by earthquake—Description of catastrophe—Loss of life actually small—Evacuation of city—Recuperative faculty of the people.
The Republic of Salvador is divided into 14 Departments, which are again subdivided into 31 districts, 27 cities, 51 towns, 164 villages, and 215 hamlets. The following table shows the names of such Departments, with their respective capital cities, their population, exclusive of foreigners, and the number of districts which they contain:
| Departments; | Capital Cities | Population | Number of | |
| Districts. | ||||
| Capitals. | Departments. | |||
| San Salvador | San Salvador | 32,000 | 65,000 | 3 |
| La Libertad | New San Salvador | 11,000 | 49,000 | 2 |
| Sonsonate | Sonsonate | 11,500 | 41,500 | 2 |
| Ahuachapán | Ahuachapán | 12,000 | 37,000 | 2 |
| Santa Ana | Santa Ana | 33,750 | 80,500 | 3 |
| Chalatenango | Chalatenango | 6,000 | 54,000 | 2 |
| Cuscatlán | Cojutepeque | 8,000 | 62,000 | 2 |
| Cabañas | Sensuntepeque | 10,000 | 35,000 | 2 |
| San Vicente | San Vicente | 11,000 | 40,500 | 2 |
| La Paz | Zacatecoluca | 6,500 | 70,000 | 2 |
| Usulután | Usulután | 6,000 | 42,000 | 2 |
| San Miguel | San Miguel | 23,000 | 60,000 | 2 |
| Morozán | Gotera | 3,100 | 35,100 | 3 |
| La Unión | La Unión | 3,700 | 35,700 | 2 |
| [5] Total | 177,550 | 707,300 | — | |
Department of San Salvador.
Cities.—San Salvador, Tonacatepeque (2).
Towns.—Mejicanos, Apopa, Nejapa, Santo Tomas, Panchimalco (5).
This was one of the first of the original divisions into which the Republic was divided in the year 1821, at which period the separation from the neighbouring kingdom of Guatemala took place. San Salvador is bounded on the north by the Departments of Chalatenango and Cuscatlán, on the east by Cuscatlán and La Paz, on the south by La Libertad and La Paz, and on the west by La Libertad. A great variety of scenery is met with, and no portion of the country can be described as anything but beautiful and romantic. In the southern part is encountered the rugged and picturesque coastal range of mountains; the central portion is broken up into a number of small, fertile valleys of surprising scenic beauty and fertility; while the northern section is covered with hills, which, although always green, are destitute of large trees. The Department contains two volcanoes—San Salvador, or Quezaltepeque, as the Indians name it, and Ilopango, which is situated upon a lake bearing the same name. Surrounding the capital are an immense number of prosperous fincas, or agricultural estates, market-gardens, and great stretches of tobacco, coffee, sugar, rice, corn and bean plantations. The whole population are engaged in these industries, the amount of labour necessary being abundantly supplied, and to all appearances the people seem extremely prosperous and contented. I failed, indeed, to observe any signs of either poverty or disorderliness, while, on the contrary, nearly everyone encountered appeared merry, well fed, and decently dressed. There is little reason to suppose that these evidences were deceptive.
In spite of the fact that San Salvador has been visited by so many different volcanic eruptions, it has really suffered less from earthquakes or their effects than either Costa Rica or Guatemala, its immediate neighbours. There are still living in Salvador those who remember and speak of the great seismic catastrophe which befell the Capital City in the month of April, 1854, by which that place was almost completely ruined. Previous to this catastrophe, the city, in point of size and importance, had ranked third in Central America, Guatemala City, in the State of the same name, being first, and Leon, in Nicaragua, second. In regard to the first named, Guatemala City still remains the capital of its State; but Leon, although ranking as the largest city in the Republic of Nicaragua, has had to yield to Managua the pride of place as capital and seat of Government.