Show gm 7 7 ful 0 y A courtyard in bogota Prep prepared areil by the national society washington D C capital and metropolis B BOGOTA of colombia has nu an individuality in its atmosphere that flint the lie visitor at onu cacti notices tile general character of the build ings tile the presence of an open square or plaza in the center of the city without which no latin american settlement Is cem complete these and other features are arc strongly reminiscent ot of regions north of the isthmus but there Is a feeling of isolation about the place which is new to the traveler perhaps it lies partly in tile the memory of the 12 days journey up the magdalena Magdal cna river front from the caribbean 1 fiust I ast discounting ns as best ono one can title this factor lie he still feels as lie gazes past substantial bouses of brick and pluster plaster to the distant crests of the dumn anz mount mountains as lie he breathes deeply of the cold rare atmosphere of these andean heights and as tie tic wan ders through side streets strangely silent save for the pattering puttering of bare anre feet upon the naked cobblestones he still feels and with a con conviction that increases rather than diminishes as the days pass by that lie he hns has left behind far down beyond the magdalena those things with which lie he Is familiar and has launched upon a journey through a new world the almost total absence of indians so characteristic of mexico and guatemala stands out prominently tho the people appear to be of two classes well vell dressed men and women of pure spanish stock and the somewhat ragged peon element tho laboring class whose faces give evidence that the indian race though vanished in its purity still lingers in the blood of these Sturdy folk of the plateau As aa the visitor comes into more in dimate contact with the life of bogota of its many distinguishing features none Is more attractive than thad the elegance of its spanish it if his alg own vernacular hns has been picked up in travels through central and south america he be feels it so glaringly out of place that he scarcely dares to speak their spanish to Is pure it Is said that the spanish of pres ent day bogota Is unusually pure bl batise it has been tree free from tile the contaminating tamina ting influence tongues alie language of the aboriginal inhabitants of the plateau scarcely survived the conquest it Is true therefore that there has been less opportunity ti to 0 incorporate native terms or to acquire a native accent than has been the case in mexico with its huge element of speaking aborigines or in pern where the ian language auge of the incas is still spoken hy by several hundred thousand people freedom from contamination may account tor for the purity of bogota spanish spania but it cannot account for its elegance only a people of real intelligence telli gence and of leisure to cultivate the finer things of life could have made universal as it Is today in bogota the use of language which for grammatical purity end rhetorical finish sit Is I 1 unexcelled in america added to this polish Is a quixotic love of flowery speech which Is to the outsider one of the most delightful traits of the bolotano Bog otano there are probably few places in the world where more mere attention Is given to dress titan in tills this remita andean city kven even the humblest citizen possesses a cutaway coatland coat and silk hot hat with ninny many these are reserved to rn be worn only upon great occasions but those who can afford it don this garb re regularly in the afternoon changing with almost equal regularity to evening dress nt at sundown the use of the walking stick Is universal queer roots in the Ni market arket A visit to bobotas Bo gotas market place conduces one that lie he lias has left behind he henns cora com and squash complex of Cen central trill america and has entered into a new region the andean zone in which the potato replaces indian corn to a large extent while other root crops cubles lil fil blas blits ns its and play important roles with tho the exception of tile tho po tato these products are arc not often seen on the tables of 0 tile the well to do they are staples among tile lower classes but are relegated aled to the background by those who can afford to do so the he arra cachu Is the most likely to please the palate of a northerner it suggests the parsnip in character but Is of better flavor and texture titan than vint that somewhat unappreciated vegetable in the homes of the humbler folk and sometimes also on the best tables in bogota for this vegetable enjoys wide popularity small chunks of root ore are often found in the savory san sanckcho cocho n sort of south american irish stew tile billark iq I 1 a slender pinkish white which yields when stewed with sKir 0 product ainaly gly like ithe apple sauce the bublo n while tuber nhouy the size and or of n binell sweet potato and the chulua are ofa consistency and insipid flavor not likely to please tile the notice the market sti strikes ikes one as one of the most complete in all tropical america it occupies an entire city square of large size and Is divided into a number of sections each devoted to some particular product or group of products here Is a long row of stalls all handling nothing but root crops and grains there another row where fruits only tire are sold and close beside it the vegetable section elsewhere are baskets and native ar tides of bamboo as well as ropes fibey sandals pack saddles and the like and finally along the northern edge of the inclosure a i row ow of tiny shops boasting more mere dignity than the others wherein the countryman can purchase a new ruana before returning home y the ruana Is their poncho the ruana Is the colombian equlla lent of the poncho pon clio so widely used elsewhere to in latin america it Is somewhat less ample than the latter measuring usually four to alve anve feet ta in diameter it Is square and made of two strips of native woolen doth cloth sewed together so ns as to leave a slit silt in the center through which the head of the wearer can be thrust it Is not an elaborate nor yet an elegant garment but there are few things bilings more expressive of unaffected grace than the manner in which a country gentleman of the colombian andes dons tits his ruann ruana when mounting for its his morning ride about the hacienda with one hand lie be gathers up tile the folds and opens the slit silt in tile the center then with a majestic toss he throws it over his head bend allowing the alie folds to fall upon his big back and shoulder dera it if the weather Is fair he turns up the two corners comers in front and drops them one over end ench shoulder houlder in many inland cities of laft america the departure of the dally semiweekly semi weekly or perhaps weekly train for the coast Is nn an event of social importance in few of them however does it assume the Int aspect which attaches to the departure of the train tor for girardot bogota to la n inigo city by latin american standards standard sand and the people do d not have overly much to amuse thein further I 1 more travel from tills this remote andean capi capital till to the caribbean coast Is not really heavy I 1 for I 1 1 I of nil these reasons the Bogota noi rare rarely I 1 y fall to take full advant advantage of the departure of a friend for europe or the lie united states they wm como down to the train an bour before it lot is scheduled to leave seven tat the morning there are lowers flowers aitel sp to he prest nia ani inda ik coort bys are fid and regald many binny arc the fasli onil 1 sa |