[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.