C O P ! R IG HT B ! M AR IE R O B IN S O N W R IG HTo l 89 3 . P R IN T O F ’ L A R TIS TE P UB L IS H IN G 0 0 . 7 W A R R E S T. ! . N . N DE%IGATION I a m g reatl y honore d in t he p rivi l ege of d edic ati ng thi s record of m y vis it to Sa lvador t o Pres ide nt Car los Ezeta and ~ ‘ Gene ra An n Ezeta P a r N obzje Fr a tr u m l to io . Il l ustr ious a l ike, et e rse h y div ,bot superbly en dowed . Now th ere are dive rs iti es of gifts b ut t he sam e spi r it,an d b etween these two there exi sts a beautiful harmony— t he highest h r n d d w r i m a c hed b type of f ratern ity . T e i spl e i pro ess in wa s t y thei r conc eptions an d ac hi eve m ents in peac e,and thei r courage an d wi sdom have m ade the ir R e publ i c t he c ynosure of civil ized nation s . 4 . V ( ) C T . D DO D D S O (0 D R . DO C O L S GUL O R N A I A R ) N NI A AN . ' ‘ 5 . ES I EV A N ( ) C TR . 1 GE E L C L Z e e DR DON AS O ( ) N RA AR OS E ETA,P r s id n t of Sa l va dor. ’ ‘ (8) D R . M G JAIM EN E - DO DO O Z . 2) GE E L TO O EZEI A V ic e P re s id en t f Sa l a dor N IN ( N RA AN NI , o v . ! V W T o I E HE r SAN D,(NM SM VADUK SALVAD O R Like a glorious tropic flower thrown upon the pulsing tide of the peaceful ocean,Salvador rests upon the Pacific . It is located . in Central A merica,bordered by Honduras,Guatemala and N icaragua,and its sea front ' measures one hundred and thirty - nine miles It is bounded on the north by Honduras and Guatemala ; on the east by Honduras and the Gulf of Fonesca, which separates it from N icaragua ; on the south by the . Pacific Ocean,and on the west by Guatemala . It is a land of great present prosperity and illimitable resources and possibilities . The approaches to this j ew el of a R epublic are wonderfully novel and enchanting . The gradual floating down into the tropics is a sensation restful - and full of an unreal and dream like charm . It is almost too marvelous,too beautiful to be true ! Our first sight of these magical shores was like that ! of a noted traveler : The sky was ruddy,the air fresh and invigorating, ! u a s W e . o but soft as the g te of Paradise . were in the tropics would have known it with your eyes shut ; the whole wonderful atmosphere con S A L V A D O R . S - fla k e s fessed it . But with your eyes open,those white birds sailing like now through the immaculate blue heavens,with tail - feathers like our pennant,the floating gardens of the sea through which we had been ruthlessly ploughing for a couple of days back ; the gorgeous sunrises and sunsets— all were ,proofs ! positive of our latitude . This gives one a sense of spiritual enlargement and freedom,but the I body is soon to be imprisoned in the m os t wonderful of all landing a ppli r off the a n c e s . The ships ancho several miles the coast,at port of La Libertad,or A c aju l t a ,and passengers and freight are transported to t he long - e e out j utting piers by launches. H r you are by no means landed,as you have yet to b e caged and swung to the platform . As you sit in your lighter you f b see descending rom a ove a huge iron cag e or elevator . This holds six A s people . It plumps down into your boat and you are asked to step in . soon as it receives its proper number the boatman shuts the door and signals the engineer on the landing above— oh,so far a bove I— and you are swung A out over the tossing waves like a scrap of paper in a gale . lmost before you have time to realize t h e distance,you are raised with a swing an d a swoop ; it lands you on the blessed,Solid platform . The sensation is ex t re m e l , d y novel but the transit is brief and no acci ents ever happen to ! the cage . The history of Salvador is an inspiring one,filled with the records of deeds of dauntless men an d t ra g ic e ra s ,all tending to the gradual civil izat ion and enlightenment in affairs of both church and State that make the ' - little - republic of to day so alluring to the traveler,so - full of promise to the ' w ni fi settler and investor }, B g é j} a land of delightful tradition and physical beauty,but it abounds in splendid reso u rces,many of which are still in a virgin or undeveloped state . The earliest inhabitants known to the his torian were the A ztecas and N a h a u tl s ,the same races that founded Nicaragua A and the other republics of Central merica and the Mexican Empire . Over three centuries of association with the whites,and the influence of long S d é in a t i n panish p o ,has,of course,vastly changed,if not obliterated,the ' c h a ra c t e rrStic s of the aboriginal population,yet there are certain sections where the primitive traits,customs and tongue have been retained to a surprising S A L V A D O R . ! m e degree . This shows itself especially in the names of places,which in so instances are almost the same in spelling and pronunciation that - they were nearly four centuries ago . The clinging to old speech and old ways is more ’ marked in that portion of the republic known as 6 as m de l B a l s zm o,or Balsam e . r Coast. Here many of the old rites and usag s prevail It is the st onghold of the balsam product,which is very valuable,but extremely rare . This territory is a strip of land lying along the coast,between the ports of A c aju l t a m ra n and La Libertad . It is situated to the seaward fro the volcanic g e ,and consists of an extensive forest of balsam trees . These aboriginals have a ' monopoly of this industry,are supported entirely by it ; an d live in nu mo ni lested seclusion. They are extremely clan sh,and while they visit the outer world for purposes of barter and trade wh en necessary,they do not invite or h l c - even countenance V isitors to their forest fastnesses . T ey ive on the c opera ' tive or community plan — all their earnings are given in charge of old men, ’ called dfia u ies ,who are not only treasurers,but priests,and keep sacred both - the altar an d the strong box of t h e n ation . These wise counsellors are all powerful in their adm inistration of the public moneys,and they decide the needs of each family and distribute the funds accordingly . There is a belief throughout the republic that this tribe is pos sessed of a vast treasure of money, as their revenues are large and their ! needs exceedingly simple ; and the tra dition exists to the effect that their surplus income is buried once a year with sacred and secret ceremonials . Those who have caught glimpses of them in their forest seclusion report that both sexes go entirely nude,save for a breech clout,but when they , appear in the towns they are clothed in the cotton n T i n costumes usual to the peo es . hey are dark in color,large stature,silent, unsocial,dignified,said to be temperate in their habits - hard working,honor able in their dealings with others a n d peaceful among themselves . They are B l im called a s os . They plant j ust enough grains and other vegetable crops for - their own use . They number onl y about twenty t w o hundred,and are sup posed to sell between twenty and thirty thousand dollars worth of balsam each vear . festivals and religious ceremonies are said to be extremely barbar e balsam trees are treated after the manner of our pines in the d turpen of course,without the aid of mo ern appliances . S A L V A D O R The hardened product is wrapped in leaves and sent to market . It goes by the name of Peruvian balsam,as the first known to comme rce came from Peru,but the supply now is derived exclusively from the B a l sim os of Salvador .