At the landing-place they were beset by beggars, pedlers, guides, and donkey-owners, all desirous of receiving tokens of remembrance in the shape of money, selling articles of use or uselessness, or otherwise rendering real or imaginary services. All were shaken off in a little while, with the exception of the most prepossessing of the guides, who was engaged to take them to the hotel and show them around the city.
A rickety carriage was obtained, but, as it showed signs of weakness, it was exchanged at the hotel for one of a more substantial character. The streets and the buildings that lined them greatly resembled those of Panama, and indicated that the builders of both were of the same nationality. The cathedral was visited, but there was nothing remarkable in its appearance, and a very brief examination sufficed.
Frank said the most interesting part of the city was the river which ran through it; it is called the Guayaquil, and also the Guayas; its name has been given to the city, which is really "Santiago di Guayaquil." All the provisions for the city are brought in canoes and on balsas or rafts, and every morning the river is almost covered with these crafts. They were laden with all sorts of things produced in the country—bananas, plantains, pineapples, cocoanuts, guavas, melons, oranges, zapotes, mangoes, and kindred fruits that grow in the tropics, and there was also a goodly array of tropical vegetables. Poultry-dealers were numerous, and the fowls with which their cages were filled kept up a vigorous cackling; there were fish of many varieties, some of them quite new to our young friends, who regarded them with much interest. In their eagerness to get about the boatmen frequently ran their craft against those of their neighbors, but there was the utmost good-nature, with one or two exceptions. Probably the people find it does not pay to quarrel where the climate is so warm, and the effort of getting into a passion is too much for every-day life.
CATHEDRAL OF GUAYAQUIL.
The city has a population of twenty-five or thirty thousand, and is a little more than two degrees south of the equator, consequently it is very hot, and quite unhealthy, in spite of the sanitary precautions that have been taken by its authorities. The Bay, or Gulf, of Guayaquil has a tide of about twenty feet, so that any accumulation of impurities is prevented by the great flow of water in and out of the channel every day. It has one of the best harbors on the west coast of South America, and would have a considerable commerce were it not that the prosperity of the country is restricted by earthquakes.
STREET SCENE AND RUINS.