Show GREAT SALT MINES 7 t Millions of Tons Taken Out and HiUions Still Left A RIVAL TO GREAT SALT LAKE I I A Primitive Grain Thresher Eaislnc Orchids The Use of the Pouclin Southern Customs and Usages BOGOTA Colombia Febuary 15 1890 Special correspondence of THE HERAT In order to give you some idea of rural life iu Colombia permit me to tell you of a risit we have lately been making to the most famous salt mines in the worl which are located just beyond the village of Sipaquria on the other edge of the great slain of Bogota Imagine a jolly party on horseback fol owed by two mazes men servants and a lonkey laden with hampers of luncheon sintering gaily out of Bogo on a bright i nidwintcr morning both beasts and riders nvigorated by the warm pure air of these Topical heights appearing to realize that limply to be on top of this good green J + iarth ought to be joy enough for any living rrcature The road winding most of tho way along the base of the foot hills passes stretches Jf swamp that are completely blackened by myriads of wild duck and other waterfowl water-fowl showing here and there a tall white crane a blue heron or pinkbreasted flamingo flam-ingo standing meditatively on one leg all luite undisturbed by our approach Either the Colombians are not mighty hunters and so have never taught their beasts and birds the fear of man or else the southern sun has imbued the latter with the same institutional laziness and indifference to danger that characterizes the people certain cer-tain it is that one need not waste a shot on most of the so called wild game here but may walk up and knock it over with a club Then come rjuinlas devoted chiefly to the cultivation of orchids for the European I trade gardens where the fruits and vegetables t1 vege-tables are raised that supply the markets cf Bogota and small farms green with wheat corn alfalfa and clover Nothing ells more truly of the even temperature acre than the various stages of the corn ttclds proving that seed time and harvest ire entirely in the hands of the husband nan One field is just being plowed and planted another by its side has a flue crop of fullgrown corn on stalks higher than a man on horseback while a third shows the green blades hardly a foot above the ground It is the same way with the wheat Here are newlysprouted fields Jke emerald velvet close by are others in full head some are being cut by women with short sickles and in many places the arhnitive THKESIUXG FLOORs s in operation The latter is odd enough A to deserve a paragraph especially as it is in established institution all over South America A level place is selected a cir ular wall of adobe built around it and the earth covered with stones The wheat is then thrown in and a span of horses driven around and around the inclosure until their tramping has shelled out the kernels Sometimes a flock of sheep is i turned in and driven rapidly to and fro until un-til the same purpose is accomplished Then the women come in and separate the wheat from the chaff by hand Gifting tho former into little piles and afterwards I putting it into bags Presently we pass through the suburban village of Chapinero which has a few poorhouses poor-houses of dried mud surrounding a big nnd handsome church capable of holding a great many more people thau the neighborhood neigh-borhood contains Formerly great indulgences indul-gences were granted and honors bestowed upon whoever would bdild or endow a church which probably accounts for their extraordinary number many of them unused un-used and falling to decay We were booked to stop for breakfast at the posada inn of a wayside ranch called Santander out found the place so crowded that we were fain to go back a little way to a huge arftol cJc Peru Peruvian pepper tree i and take our luncheon al fresco under un-der its drooping branches Such a confused con-fused conglomeration of dogs and donkeys pigs andbabies all rolling in the dirt together to-gether besides a company of muleteers with their loaded animals and farmers on horseback each man with enormous spurs In his heels a wide sombrero on his head mdn rUNCBc 1 entirely covering the rest of his figure Che poncho is another South American In 4 titution that must by no means be neg I ected It is nothing but a very large iquaro blanket of varying degrees of oarseness or elegance with a short slit ixactly in the middle of it only just large enough to admit the wearers head Hav ng thrust his head through this hole jrhich closes tolerably close around the lock a man on horseback is completely Covered and well protected from dust rain > r cold The commoner sorts are ot coarse jheeps wool woven by the Indians in their nand looms others are very fine heavy ind expensive made of the long silky wool of the llama or alpaca I have seen a few from Chili that are really works of art the outside of darkblue cloth very thick and woolly like the heaviest and finest chinchilla lined throughout with the same Av texture in brilliant scarlet Nothing could be better adapted for ocean or railway traveling in any country and nobody need be ashamed of the odd fashion of a carinerit which so plainly shows its value The cheaper varieties arc generally gaily striped after the manner of Mexican zar apes of a dingy yellowish brown the natural color of llama wool The few huts surrounding Santander are roofed with grass and reeds with holes cut In the thatch through which the smoke may escape if it will It seldom avails itself of the privilege however but fills the room and pours out of the door from the fire of sticks built on the floor or on a sort of cairn or altar of adobe erected in the middle THESE roost DOMES ire like thousands of others all over South America wherein the lowest classes who really comprise the bulk of the population tumcncally are born live and die always In abject poverty often in hunger but inVariably k in-Variably in a state of absolute contentment There are no windows in the walls and frequently the entrance has no other door than a bit of brush set up on occasion a Stolen board or an old blanket slung teresa Mother Earth furnishes the only Bdoring chairs are unknown and a bench Dr two with a stationary table of solid adobe or a few rough planks nailed together to-gether are considered ample furnishings A pile of staw covered with a blanket forms a luxurious bed but oftener there lire no beds at all the people lying down on the ground wherever they like while the pigs fowls goats donkeys or whatever klthe1 ek live stock the family are so fortunate as to possess besides fleas lice etc etc go in end out at will as much at home inside asSay as-Say of tho other occupants Just behind Santander the steep andy and-y rugged mountain of Terms juts down to 1 the roadside covered with low shrubs and scant crass where lean cattle are feeding feed-ing That accounts for the existence of the hamlet which othcrwisejwonld have no Excuse for occupying the barren spot Wherever grass grows amonir the hills cattle can be raised for the city mantel and of course there must be people take I care of the cattle After a hasty luncheon from the hampers ham-pers eked out with coffee made gypsy fashion and half an hours rest with our cocks against the big pepper tree whose I drooping branches were covered with fine delicate leaves resembling those of the sensitive plant and long clusters of rose pink berries we were again in the saddle The way grew wilder as the distance from r the capital increased Tall ferns fringed the wayside no end of wild flowers among huge stones gray and mossy pitched abtut t in wildest confusion as though the mountain moun-tain brownies had been playing at foot ball Llltlo brown birds twittered around r I = t fw tI ° 9 + li r + E b us in shape and size like English sparrows spar-rows larks were heard in the meadows and an occasional phoebe uttered his cheery call And most welome sight of all becauseso familiar at home we saw dandelions dande-lions yellow as gold though with quite a different scent from those in theJNorth of which we gathered hands full in memory mem-ory of faraway days and places At last rUEXTE COMMUX was reached a remarkable bridge raised considerably above the surrounding country coun-try where at a widening of the road is another posada in which all travelers tarry for a strata while their horses are being fed and rested This is by far the most interesting bridge I have yet seen inj Colombia Co-lombia It crosses a bit of low ground which in the rainy season is a roaring river and at other times merely a swamp by a span of three piers At intervals along the middle span are round turrets and on the four principal pillars is a Span sh inscription which translated reads This bridge was built in the regin of Carlos IV the king of spain in 1792 by the English prisoners wno were taken at tho abortive attempt of Admiral Vernon to capture Carthagena After crossing this bridge an hours I steady ride brought us within sight of the I distant trees and church towers of Zipa quira Just beyond the blue hills we were skirting lie the extensive Uanos plains of the unconquered Cassanare Indian and to the left raises the never ending Andean chain i mountains towering bfhf one behind another ilf the snowcovered tops > of the Highest are lost in the clouds Gradually the scenery changed from pasture pas-ture lands to cultivated fields where potatoes pota-toes corn and wheat are crowing dotted all about with miserable mud hovels wherein black pigs and blacker humans dwell amicably together We had been invited to remain during our stay in a pleasant little quintain tho farther suburbs of Zipaquira with the family of one of the saltmine oners and before darkness fell we were warmly welcomed and safely houed in this hospital home THE FAMOUS SALT MIXES are located in the hills directly back of the town Nobody knows how old the mines may bo nor how many millions of tons have been taken out of them In the year 1525 the Spaniards found them old and well established having long been worked by the aboriginal tribes ever since they have been worked for the benefit of the changing chang-ing governments to this day furnishing the Colombian government with about one eight of its total revenue Walking up a steep hill to the most extensive ex-tensive workings we witnessed both the English and the American systems of condensing con-densing salt the former in one big iron tank and the latter in numerous small ones In another large building the crude salt is condensed into solid blocks and all the moisture squeezed out of it by rude machinery with a lever at one end forced down by men with ropes Tubshaped blocks are thus made perfectly solid and these we were told are sold at five reals each or about fifty cents American money Sometimes a thousand arrobas of salt are sold in a single forenoon an arroba being exactly twentyfive pounds In another shed a row of earthenware kettles is fixed over furnaces and the salt is thus evaporated into cakes the kettles hating to be broken to get the cakes out of them In another establishment the kettles are made of clay tho same as that used f oa dobe bricks Afterwards V we followed a steep path up to the opening of the principal mine On the way thereto we met carts drawn by oxen loaded with salt and women bearing on their backs heavy loads of the same While waiting for candles we had time to look about us and enjoy tho unrivalled view In front stretched the great Bogota Dlain the ancient elysium of the Chibchas < to the left shut in by high mountains lay the important town Xcmacon about six hours ride from Zipaquira and Sepo was dimly discernible few miles to the right a village made famous by one feeble and crippled girl who does the most wonderful wonder-ful wood carving representing the people birds beasts and characteristic scenes of Colombia Inside the mine we followed a cart road to higher and higher levels instead of desending as in other mines The darkness dark-ness rendered more apparent by our flaring flar-ing tallow dips was so intense that it could be felt and the utter silence was something appalling The walls were supported sup-ported by solid columns of salt salt Both ing but salt Somebody spoke of Lots wife and another quoted the Scriptural passage If the salt hath lost its savor wherewith shall it be salted The superintendent super-intendent informed us that this stupendous stupend-ous MOUXTAEf OF SALT must have been formed by the ocean which in prehistoric ages washed over the place where we were standing but whether geologists will agree with him I can not say In some places tho saltwas white as snow and sparkling diamonds but as a rule it was a dirty slatecolor Away up in the heart of the mountain where the air was close to oppression and the blackness and silence more terrible than before is little chapel hollowed out of solid salt in which is an image of tho Virgin surrounded by tall crosses Night and day from year to year candles arc always kept burning in front of this strange shrine and miners never fail to say their prayers hero on entering the mine fully believing that this alone saves them from falling into the clutches of the evil spirits of the mountain It was an indescribable relief to find ourselves our-selves once more in the warm sweet sunshine sun-shine with the breath of heaven about us Webrought away some crystals from the river and some coagulated drops of salt from the works that had fallen out of tile kettles and formed themselves into the most curious shapes like frozen snow to put I beside some equally strange formations which I obtained last year from the Great Salt Lake in Utah Zipaquira is a charming little village celebrated for its lovely gardens and flowery flow-ery patios especially for its orchids and pansies The lastnamed favorites are poetically po-etically called pcntamicntos thoughts reminding re-minding one Of Ophelias words Heres pansies for thoughts There is a handsome hand-some church and many pretty residences The marketplace occupies the plaza that was the scene of a bloody battle ten years I ago in which General Morales was killed The walls of the adjacent houses are riddled rid-dled with shot and there are many other traces of wars wild alarm JmiiTcci the quinta at which we were entertained is shut in among the hills and reached by lanes overhung with green cones of the es meralda bushes covered with yellow berries ber-ries pineshaped and poisonous which the natives call Pena do Diablo the devils pineapple and pretty pink flowers of the Urn dc Monte No words can convey an adequate idea of the look of smiling contentment con-tentment that pervades this rural home nor describe the pure exhilarating air and the rich green of the herbage The place is noted forks fine fat cattle and its great variety of fruits and flowers Just below the house a stream bordered by eucalyptus trees tumbles over its stony bed in a hundred hun-dred little waterfalls over one part ef eta beautiful marblo basin has been built wherein the family may enjoy outofdoor bathing The pretty patio is surrounded by a corridor cor-ridor over which the strawthatched roof of the house projects all shaded by passion vines and the blue flowers of the lobelia here called azul That you may understand under-stand something of domestic life among wellto do country people of Colombia let me recount one days experiences in this hospitable home where we wero given no reason to believe that the inmates had departed de-parted much from their ordinary routine Having slept soundly under the straw roof lulled by the sound of the rushing river in a neat room where the little iron eadsteads were curtained with white muslin tied with pink ribbons we were awakened at an early hour by the song of blackbirds and the twittering of a colony of cataraclicros which make their nests under the overhanging over-hanging thatch Evidently somebody had been listening for the first sound of our voices for the instant wo were awake the hostes came in bringing THE USUAL DESAGUXO in the shape oC tea bread and arcpacako and to inform us that being in the country breakfast would be served at thetjxtremely early hour of 930 instead of at noon as in the city When finally summoned to that meal the good senora went in aheadcarrjing a largo r i c < olla or earthenware jug of soup just off the fire It was made of hot water and beaten eggs with plenty of butter flavored with fennel and parsley hardboiled eggs put in whole Next cold boiled mutton was served with a bit of cold turkey and two sweet potatoes served on each plate Then came slices of aguacatctha oily fruit used for salads which is sometimes vegetable vege-table butter Then cheese arepa cake and theweakest of tea We may remark en passant that the Colombians seem to have no idea how to make tea and drink it mostly as a medicine The cheese is not at all like that found the United Statesbut is white as paper and quite as tough and tasteless Arepacake is made of crushed corn and water without salt or soda baked on a griddle or in the ashes and not unlike a Mexican tortilla After breakfast the time was beguiled by gathering flowers along the banks of the river visiting the pigs and poultry and viewing tho few sights of the town At half past three oclock dinner was announced an-nounced This is THE CEREMONIOUS MEAT of the day and wo marched out of the parlor par-lor into the dining room adjoining each lady on the arm of a gentleman the precedence prece-dence being given to the pair of highest social so-cial rank or greatest ago At each plate was a tiny bouquet tied with blue and a pin in the ribbon with which to fasten it on In the centre of the table appeared a fine roast turkey flanked by several bottles of wine brandy beer and c7 chc the latter a native beverage made from fermented corn and supposed to be very strengthening The first course was soup colored yellow by some mysterious process and extremely greasy Then the lady of the house carved the turkey a slice of which was put on each plate together with two potatoes a lump of cornmeal pudding a bit of roast mutton and some aguacato salad When this had been cleared away we were served with another kind of soup called masamora which seemed to contain a little of everything every-thing Then came a dulce or sweetmeat of cornmeal well surared on the top of which appeared in white letters the name of the house Juratena Afterwards cheese was served with arepacako then chiche in large mugs a villainous drink that does not intoxicate but stupefies then huge dishes of oranges bananas and gran idillas followed by glasses of water and lastly coffee with cigarettes for all who desired them About eight pm a third meal was served consisting of tea coffee chocolate or bread and milk as each preferred There was also cheese arcpacake a kind of dulce made of guavas and some wafer cakes with honey between them Tnt SALA OK PAHLOB is along high apartment showing the clean straw thatch overhead Its brick floor is partly covered with straw mats and its wide windows with their shutters of solid wood like the doors of a barn are draped with lace curtain There are some wonderfully won-derfully carved ebony tables with mirrors in the bottom brought from France claw footed chairs and sofas upholstered with crimson brocade chromoson the plastered walls bad enough to set ones teeth on edge a beautiful crystal chandelier never used suspended from an unpainted beam by two common iron pothooks linked together to-gether a magnificent German piano and half a dozen tiploys guitars and other musical instruments In the midst of this queer conglomeration we had music and dancing until the wee sum hours in course of which our hind host and hostessshe short black ed and goodnatured he tall thin and very darkpeformed tho bambuca a native dance for our edification edificationPASSIE PASSIE B WARD |