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Show ILTD.S M'tKL'il. All OiJ "Ile.aM" t on esit nuli'iit iu the Ti'iii(-5. A Yiiu wlio Keeps Lis Em Opeu Silits and Sceiu'-i iu South Amei'ita. Tweiily Years Ile-biud Ile-biud Hie Times. TRAVELIXC ON THE RIVER (VI ACQ A LEN A . - TROPICAL VEGETATION AMD ANIMALS- (Com-iponuYnceof the II ekai.d.) Maodaleua River, U. S. Columbia, M:iy 11, 1S75. CCSTOS MOKL'M STICKS TO THE HERALD. Ouce again I rasp my trusty Fuber and herewith open & new scries of traveling sketches for the delectation of my far-ofl Utah friends. From all quarters of the globe have I proven my allegiance to the Herald; whether writing from the glittering capitals of Europe or tho waterless deserts of southern Nevada; from the foul miasma mias-ma of the court room where tho great scandal is exposing its putrid carcass to a horrified world, or writing mining min-ing letters from all the camps of the Wasatch range, still have I had in view my adopted home of Deseret, and think you I would forget her now while scorching under tho blazing sun of the tropics? THE TRIP FROM NEW YORK. On the 15th of Inst month I left New York for Barranquilla, in this republic, on rny way to tho gold mines of Coyaima, a journey of from twenty-five to thirty days uuder fav-arable fav-arable circumstances. The voyage ,luwn the coast oll'cred nothing of iu-lurett, iu-lurett, it'l except tho rivalry shown between a circus troupe and half a dozen clergymen ami their wives, whom we had on hoard; on one hand, comic eongs and breakdowns, on the other.prayers and paalm tunes tended to make things lively. We arrived in Zavinilla in six days and a half from New York. At the custom house no baggago is examined, but is weighed, all oyer 200 pounds for oach passenger being subjected to a duty of 22 centB per pound. BARKAKQUILLA. From Savinilla we look the railway to Barranquilla, a distance of fifteen miles; there is a good natural grade all the way, yet it cost $1300,000 to build the road. Barranquilla i-3 very similar to other South American towns; narrow streets filled with eand, houses of one story, mostly with thatched roofs of straw and the inevitable inev-itable ilea, cockroach, and a dozen species of vermin, but all annoying and filthy. The hotel is a two-Btory building kept by a Frenchman, but villianously dirty and the prices ex-horbitant. ex-horbitant. Any of the worst meal Btations on the stage route from Salt Lake to Piocbe would be luxurious palaces as compared to it. Fortunately Fortunate-ly we got a room with an American family during our stay, where we feasted on all kinds of tropical fruits, served in multitudinous forniB. We were obliged to wait nine days in Barranquilla lor a boat, the river being bo low that the boats were delayed. de-layed. Finally wo took passage in the steamboat Victor, to Honda, on which boat I am now writing, having been already eleven dayB on the trip. THE MAGDALEN A RIVER. The river Magdalena is of surpassing surpass-ing beauty, but one of the most treacherous of streams, owing to tho sudden raising and falling of tho water and shifting of the channel; over thirty boats have been lost, partly part-ly by running on anagB, and partly by bursting ol the boilers in endeavoring to raise steam suilicient to stem the current of the rapids. The river, to Honda, from the coast is 600 miles in length, and this is about half the distance dis-tance to its source. For the first 400 miles the banks are low and covered with an unbroken tropical forest, cocoanut trees, plantain trees, breadfruit, bread-fruit, gcurd, mangceB, dye wood, he-sides he-sides a countless variety of trees unknown un-known to me. Tho forests are filled with birds of thejmost brilliant plumage; plu-mage; the parrot upecies and birds of paradise being tho only ones I recognized; recog-nized; monkeys wero plentiful, and I saw scores of a small variety playing in the trees. Alligators could bo counted by the hundreds, and tho passengers kept up a constant futihule on them. But the mosquitoes, how shall I describe them? They were terrible, and swarmed on the boat in countless numbers; nets wero of but little protection, and for tho first eight days we sullered greatly from them and the aaud Hies. TROPICAL NAVIGATION. Tho service on the boat was very bad, and convenience none; each passenger was obliged to' bring his own bedding, only being furnished with a cot, and there wore no privato retiring rooms for the ladies; but they and the gentlemen and servants had to use one in com mon, bosidea having only two washbowls wash-bowls for the use of all on board. Add to this, a boat filthily dirty mid filled with vermin, and you have a faint idea of tho inconveniences wo suffered. Tho food, however, was good and plentiful, and the coilee and chocolate delicious; and this covered a multitude of Bins.and I am crediui-ably crediui-ably informed that the other boats on the river are far superior. There are three navigation companies, who have lately formed an alliance, making mak-ing a moat dittgnicefiil monopoly; tho fare formerly was $-18.00, gold or silver, sil-ver, and it is now $00.00, with large advances in the rates of freight. Ab I have before said, the current is very strong; at one place it took ua six hours to go a mile and a quarter, and even then we could onlygctsullicient stoam by soaking tho wood in nctro-leum. nctro-leum. At a plaeo called Nafo we came up willi tho steamboat General Mosquc-a, which had left Barran-guiHa Barran-guiHa eleven dayn boforo us, Btuck last in tho river with twenty-nine pas-leengors pas-leengors on board, whom we took with us. This getting aground ia a very common occurrence, boats having been detained over two months waiting wait-ing for a rise in the water. A STAY AT HONDA. Honda, May loth. We arrived at Lonejo this morning, whero we took horses for this place; tho last 100 miles on tho rivor was grand in tho extreme; tho lofty peaks on the Andes towering on all sides and tho nipids thundering and tearing down with a mighty rush, causing the boat to shake and treniblo from stem to Htern. Honda is a little mountain city gome two hundred years old; tho older houses are mostly in ruina from oil recurring earthquakes; tho principal princi-pal hotel is built among tho ruing of an old convent, tho rooms being made y pieces of canvas stretched from wall to wall; the cost of living A $1.-1(J per day and tho lure very grind, in u lew days 1 leave lor the gold mines ol Coyaima, six day's ridu from here and will then eeud you monthlv let- f tore, which wiil take from two to threo mouths to reach Salt Lake city. Before closit-g, I would state that the government is in all respects similar m our own; there are nine states in Columbia form in;- a i are of li 10,000' square nulci; the naLinnul capital being be-ing Bogota, a city of some 70,000 in-habitautH, in-habitautH, the whole country containing contain-ing aloiit o.fVmul peopu1. The principal arlic es of export are tobacco and L-a.s. CkaH equal to the finest Havana br.inilrs Bell for $10 per thousand , and excellent brands tor fiiO per thousand. I have smoked belter cigar here at $1.00 per hundred than 1 could pet m New York for $18 per hundred. Germany and France enjoy a mono poly of this trade. Bark, hides, dye-wood, dye-wood, coilee, chocolate, gold and silver aro also largely exported. THE BEECH ER SCANDAL. Even hero the baleful influence of the great scandal suit is felt, the natives appear to be fully conversant with all its phases; at tho little village of Nare 1 met a young Indian girl. 1 thought it a good opportunity to air my Spanish a little, bo gracefully doffing my sombrero, I said, Bueno 3 dias; como esla y scuoritui Imagine my surprise when with tho most fascinating smile she seplicd iu broken I English, "Dear fazer I feel no zo," and to my consternation she showed me neatly tattooed on her person the symbolic words, "grace, mercy and peace" hotter than h I believe I have spoken about tho suffocating heat we experienced on the river, I can hardly iind words adequate to describe it, but of one thing I am certain, and that is, if his satauic majesty should remove his realm of Hades to the river Magdalen Magda-len Ihc people would all freeze to death. Yours tropically, Custos Morum. |