A traveler in northern Colombia ...

[Wright, Hamilton Mercer], 1875- [from old catalog]

Washington, Govt. print. off., 1918.

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 Tohe PAN AMERICAN UNION
JOHN BARRETT : : Director General
FRANCISCO J. YANES : Assistant Director

A TRAVELER IN
NORTHERN COLOMBIA

Reprinted from the February, 1918, issue

of the Bulletin of the Pan American Union

tJictn/-,

WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1918
 M
JP IN
111 Nllkl H
A/4iJ§AAA.A

iKW COLOMBIA
of feet above the shimmering expanse of Carta-
gena Harbor, which in picturesque topography rivals the
Bay of Naples, rises the precipitous cliff known as La
HUNDREDS Popa. Upon its summit stands the ancient monastery
a huge white structure which is a landmark for ships 50 miles or
more at sea. From this historic mission edifice, perched upon the
lofty eminence like some great feudal castle, tradition has it that
devout nuns, terrified at the approach of pirates upon their sanc-
tuary, flung themselves to death, falling almost into the blue waters
far below. Whether the tale, suggesting a like tradition in more
ancient history, is true or not, it is certain that the frowning peak
rising from the very outskirts of the city of Cartagena is the mag-
nificent outstanding feature of a surpassing landscape. From its
apex one commands a sweeping vista of the inner and outer harbors
of Cartagena, of the walls and battlements of the heavily fortified
city, of the vivid green inland country, and even of the delta of the
mighty Magdalena River.
Beneath La Popa, and before us, gleaming under the brilliant
tropical sun, rose the spires, church towers, and domes of the historic
walled city. Like some fabulous city of the far Orient, it seemed
a dream city, a metropolis in ancient Persia at its zenith. Riotous,
gorgeous blendings of color, tints of ocher, blue, vermilion, and
brown, glinted as the hues of the rainbow in the golden midday light.
The stalwart, moss-covered city walls, upon whose summits an
eight-horse team can be driven, rose from the inner harbor, giving
place, at intervals, to steps down to the water's edge, somewhat
suggesting Venice.
Cartagena is not alone one of the most picturesque cities of the
Western Hemisphere; it is perhaps the finest specimen of a fortified
city of the seventeenth century to be found in the New World. It
is one of the principal seaports of the great Republic of Colombia
which, with an area of approximately one-half million square miles,
is more than twice the area of the German Empire, and nearly twice
the size of Texas, the largest of the States of the United States.
It is an important commercial city and distributing point, being close
to the mouth of the Magdalena River, which drains north through
the Republic for more than 1,000 miles. And, more than all, it is
a typical Colombian city, proud of its achievements in education,

By Hamilton M. Wright,

-20-/W&
51989—18

a. Of le
JUL 24 Ittf
 < r

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6 A TRAVELER IN NORTHERN COLOMBIA.

proud of its people, and proud of its eventful history, which has been
characterized by thrilling and victorious struggles for independence.
As cities go in the Western Hemisphere, Cartagena is ancient.
It was founded by Don Pedro de Heredia, in 1533, 243 years before
the United States of America signed its Declaration of Independence.
Philip II, history records, commanded that the city be made im-
pregnable to assault and vast sums were expended upon its fortifi-
cations. Soon it became a repository of the treasure collected
throughout the Andes and Central America to await shipment to
Spain in proud galleons convoyed thither by heavily armed frigates.
It was a lure to freebooters. In 1585 Cartagena was sacked by
Sir Francis Drake who, under threat of firing the city, extorted a
heavy ransom. It resisted an assault by combined British land
and sea forces in 1741. It was captured, however, by the Spanish,
during the War of Independence in 1815. But it was retaken by
the patriots in 1821.
To-day Cartagena city of the present. Trading
is,

emphatically, a
schooners, steam launches, and long, narrow craft with picturesque
lateen sails, crowd the magnificent yacht harbor outside the city
walls. Just beyond the fine escarpment rising from the water the
beautiful plaza or prado, park and boulevard combined, orna-
a

mented by many commanding sculptures, at all times crowded by

is

vehicles and motor cars. The market place next to the prado and
separated from the city by the yacht harbor hive of industry.
is
a

Through the mighty arched gates of the walled city, and across the
prado, rmi crowded automobile busses to the newer suburbs near
the base of La Popa. A contrast between ancient and modern

is
given by the steel freight cars lying on tracks close to the massive
walls built more than three centuries ago.
The scenes inside the city walls abound in interest for the lover of
the beautiful and quaint. Cartagena has no rival in its architecture, to
my mind, among any of the old Spanish cities have known in Latin-
I

America or the Orient. It has splendid examples of the ecclesiastical

architecture of the Spanish renaissance, tinged with the picturesque
Mooresque blendings that bespeak the influence of the Crescent in
Spanish architecture. The close block grouping of the buildings
gives the city the appearance of singular massiveness and solidarity.
The imposing cathedral and monastery, the fine churches, the densely
shaded parks with their statues and tropical shrubbery, the streets
with their overhanging balustrades, and the shops displaying the
finest wares of North American, European, and local manufacture
are worth visit of many days. Nor must one forget the university,
a

for Cartagena has long been recognized as seat of learning. Indeed,

a

the city held to rank as an educational center second only to

is

Bogota, the capital. It not out of place to observe here that

is
8 A TRAVELER IN NORTHERN COLOMBIA.

Columbia has long been celebrated for her academies, universities,

and scientific schools, as well as for her literary achievements, the
writings of her novelists, poets, historians, naturalists, and travelers.
Cartagena itself rises almost from the water with the curling waves
of the Caribbean Sea upon one side and the inner harbor upon the
other, the harbor and ocean almost meeting at the railroad embank-
ment that extends from the pier. The depot of the modern railway
which runs to Calamar, about 60 miles distant upon the Magdalena
River, is just outside the three arched gateways that give entrance
to the city. In the old days bells were rung each night at 8.30 o'clock
to summon the inhabitants within the walls and the gates were
closed at 9. Although the gates are never closed now, Cartagena
still keeps up the quaint custom, a modern factory whistle replacing
the bells of old. Through the gates are said to have passed billions
of wealth representing the treasure mined for centuries up and down
the Andes. Colombia alone has produced more than $700,000,000
in gold since the coming of the Spanish, the production now ranging
between five and six million dollars annually.
The Magdalena Eiver is the great artery of Colombian commerce.
It is a majestic stream suggesting the Mississippi. Fine steel river
boats, electrically lighted, run up and down the river between Bar-
ranquilla and La Dorado, 600 miles up, connecting with Cartagena
at Calamar. At La Dorado passengers take the train around the
rapids to Beltran, thence by train to Girardot, an important coffee
district, whence the train is finally boarded for the capital, Bogota,
8,300 feet above sea level. The trip on the Magdalena Eiver is one
of the famed journeys of the world. There are two large competing
fleets of river steamers and a number of smaller craft running out
of Barranquilla, which is at the delta of the Magdalena River and
about 10 or 12 miles from the Caribbean Sea.
The delta abounds in' strange sights. The giant river, which has
a shallow bar across its mouth, prohibiting the entrance of large
steamers, separates into innumerable channels seeking exit to the
sea. I once took the picturesque 75-mile delta trip between Cienega
on the Santa Marta Railway and Barranquilla, traveling through
the inlets that seem like narrow canals and are bordered on either
side by dense forests or by occasional clearings where woodcutters
are engaged chopping cordwood for the distant city factories. The
delta channels serve as feeders for Barranquilla traffic. Through
them are transported the products of the land. Modern steel
dredgers keep the principal channels cleared for travel. Much of
the country that is not periodically inundated or densely forested is
rich in agriculture.
Fish are abundant both along the seacost and in the inland streams
and estuaries. At Santa Marta the fishermen catch very fine sea
51989—18 2
10 A TRAVELER IK NORTHERN COLOMBIA.

mullet, bass, and other large edible fish. Fishing is a very consider-
able industry. In the inland lakes and estuaries, in addition to the
fishermen with their nets, baited drop lines, and fish traps, great
flocks of loons and pelicans are to be seen busied with similar intent.
This is not surprising, for in flora, fauna, and mineral wealth Colombia
is a land of plenty. It is destined to become one of the most pro-
ductive countries of the Western Hemisphere. Glance at a map of
Colombia and you will see why this is so. The giant Andes, which
inclose on three sides a great broken table-land in the southern and
south-central part of the Republic around Bogota, separate into
three distinct mountain chains as they come north — the western,
central, and eastern Cordilleras. The western Cordilleras, following
the Pacific coast, continue on into Central America. The eastern
Cordilleras, terminating in the lofty, snow-clad Santa Marta Moun-
tains, run north almost to the Caribbean Sea, sending great flanks
and ridges out into the waters. Between the central and eastern
Cordilleras lies the great valley of the Magdalena River, one of the
richest valleys in South America. Between the central and western
Cordilleras lies the valley of the navigable Cauca River, flowing into
the Magdalena about 200 miles above its mouth, and descending from
an elevated plain 5,000 feet above sea level about the busy, modern
city of Medellin.
Colombia thus possesses every climatic range from the subtropical,
through the successive stages of the Temperate Zone to that of the
lofty region of glaciers and eternal snow. For the artist, the lover
of color, of majestic mountain masses, appalling gorges, roaring
torrents, primeval forests of luxuriant tropical growths, flowering
vines and delicate orchids, Colombia is a paradise. Moreover, the
climate of northern Colombia, which is warmer than that of the
southern highlands, has a peculiar charm both upon the seacoast
which is cooled by the sea breezes and in the foothills which are
cooled by the proximity to the mountains and also by the monsoon.
The monsoon, as I have known it, is a wind that comes up about 3
o'clock each afternoon, subsiding, for a time, at sundown, and is
felt in greatest intensity between 9 and midnight. And Colombia
has plant life as varied as its climatic zones. There is perhaps no
country in the world which has a greater diversity of fauna and of
birds and insects.
The vast valleys in themselves constitute empires in area. The
huge Magdalena Valley produces the finest cotton, corn, and sugar
cane. The fertile uplands are no less productive of other crops, and
is,

wheat will some day become an important staple. There too,

tremendous future for Colombia in cattle raising. It exists not
a

only in the lowlands and foothills of the Cordilleras, but in the high
llanos or pasture lands. On the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Oriente
 l\?^ p * mk

THE CATHEDRAL IN CARTAGENA.

MONASTERY IN CARTAGENA.

Photographs by Hamilton M. Wright.

THE CATHEDRAL IN BARRANQUILIA.

12 A TBAVELEK IN NOETHEKN COLOMBIA.

following the tributaries of the Orinoco River eastward, there are

more than 250,000 square miles of fertile grassy pasture and plains
in eastern Colombia and western Venezuela capable of pasturing
more than 100,000,000 head of stock. This is affirmed to be one of
the largest areas of fertile, open, unoccupied land in the world.
While in Colombia I heard that a railroad would be built out from
Bogota to reach the southern part of this country. In the foothills
and lowlands of the Cordillera Oriente I have seen as fine cattle as
I have ever seen anywhere in the world. A cattleman from the west-
ern plains of the United States, whom I met in Colombia, told me
that, in his judgment, no country in the world has such almost
illimitable areas of vacant pasture adapted to the raising of vigorous
stock. A wealthy Colombian gentleman who has gone extensively
into stock raising said that it did not cost him over $1.75 per head,
American currency, to raise his grazing steers up to the butchering
point. The Government of Colombia encourages responsible live-
stock men. A bill has been introduced into both branches of the
Colombian Legislature favoring the establishment of meat packing
and refrigerating plants.
The climatic conditions that produce luxuriant grasses give glorious
foliage. In the lowlands everywhere were beautiful morning-glories
in bloom and other flowers of infinite variety and hue, cloaking the
country in a riot of lovely color — blue, yellow, white, red, and golden —
acacia trees, too, burst into bloom, presenting at a short distance
the effect of a single great mass of color. In the world there are not
more beautiful ornamental flowers, palms, trees, and shrubs than
are grown in Colombia. Grass flowers, too, are abundant. Small
star-shaped flowers they are of red and blue, everywhere adorning
the foothills. And I recall lovely groves of blossoming trees, much
like peach trees, near the coast, with a profusion of pink blooms of
fragrant scent. Japan itself in blossom time, with all its gorgeous
cherry orchards blooming, does not surpass Colombia in the blossom-
ing season in early winter and for many months thereafter. Indeed,
a number of plants bloom throughout the year. Moreover, the flowers
are fragrant, for Colombia is not a land where the blossoms have no
scent and the birds no song.
Of birds there are many, brilliantly colored, audacious, familiar,
busy songsters by the thousands. Particularly do I recall a saucy
brown and white Chupa Huevo, egg robber, that came under my
observation during some pleasant days at Rio Frio, near the foot
of the Santa Marta Mountains.
The little whistler was never disturbed by my presence, for the
song bird in Colombia does not know the small boy with the gun.
Another brilliant whistler is a yellow and black oriole which can
easily be taught to carry a tune and is very popular in captivity.
14 A TEAVELEE IN NOETHEEN COLOMBIA.

When I first heard one of these birds I thought it was some clever
boy whistling. Canaries, linnets, humming birds, long-tailed black-
birds, and pigeons are abundant. Of the latter the most plentiful
is the small brown plump partridge-shaped pigeon that is found in
great droves on the country highways and will flutter ahead of the
traveler only when he comes very near.
Rabbits, conies, partridges, and other game familiar to sportsmen
in more northern latitudes are to be found in the foothills. The
tapir is found in the thick woods and brush, through which it beats
deep trails. The animal has been shot by coffee ranchers at an
elevation of 5,000 feet above sea level and is said to range up as high
as 8,000 or 9,000 feet above sea level, crossing the loftiest of the
lesser ridges.
I met an American gentleman who, while hunting some 20 years
ago in the Santa Marta Mountains, came upon wild coffee, with the
result that he established a thriving coffee plantation upon which
he now lives. Originally he had gone down to install electric light-
ing plants at Santa Marta and Barranquilla. Most of the coffee,
Colombia's greatest agricultural crop, is raised in the far interior and
reaches the coast via the Magdalena River.
But let us return to civilization, to Barranquilla, the most impor-
tant seaport of Colombia. The city has a population of between
55,000 and 60,000 persons and is reached by the 17-mile railroad line
from the deep-sea wharf at Puerto Colombia upon the Atlantic. It
is the chief point of transshipment for freight, coffee, gold, hides,
Panama hats, platinum, rubber, tobacco, and all the varied products
that come down the Magdalena River and are sent by rail for export
via Puerto Colombia. In a single year Colombia has exported as
much as $16,600,000 worth of coffee to the United States. Total gold
exports run normally over $6,000,000 (American currency) ; plati-
num over $600,000; Panama 'hats close to $1,000,000; hides over
$2,900,000, and this represents but a part of the cattle slaughtered,
as Colombia consumes much leather in the manufacture of harness,
saddles, shoes and for other purposes.
Barranquilla itself is located three-fourths of a mile from the
Magdalena River, but steamers and steel and wood freight carriers
come directly to town through several deep channels leading from
the river. The main channel skirts one side of the city past mill
and factory, by the picturesque evercrowded market place, past
still more manufactories, returning to the river by another course.
Barranquilla is one of the fastest-growing cities on the Caribbean Sea.
It is a solid, substantial, even beautifully built community, of which
the finest architectural feature is the broad central plaza and very
ornate modern cathedral. From the summit of one of the two towers
of this fine edifice one may obtain a good view of that portion of the
 Photographs by He

ON BARRANQTJILLA'S STREETS.
Upper: An ordinary street scene. Center: One of the public automobiles introduced in recent years.
Lower: A very attractive garage.
16 A TRAVELER IN NORTHERN COLOMBIA.

city that lies toward the Magdalena River. Parts of Barranquilla

are built on higher land and beautiful, shaded grounds. There are
a number of interesting manufactories in the city, including a large
cotton-spinning mill and a match factory, in both of which Colombian
girl operatives are employed. There is an ice factory, a modern
electric power plant; there are chocolate factories, a flour mill,
underwear and stocking manufactories, sawmills on the canals —
for Colombia produces magnificent commercial timbers — and other
enterprises. I went through almost all of them. The proprietors
were very obliging and agreeable. They spoke with satisfaction of
what had been accomplished and freely of their plans for the future.
Up to the time of the entrance of the United States into the war,
all the flour milled was from wheat imported from the United States.
It did not pay to undertake the heavy transportation to bring the
wheat from the highlands of the far interior. However, there are
smaller flour mills at Medellin, Bogota, and in many other districts
through the highlands. The grade of wheat is constantly being
improved and, no doubt, Colombia will produce more and more of
her own flour. The fine cotton-spinning factory at Barranquilla
obtains its product from the cotton fields along the Magdalena River.
The cotton yield is heavy and of fine quality. While the Barran-
quilla mill does not weave any cloth, there are a number of textile
mills in the Republic.
Colombia is progressing in many directions. The present mining
industry, superseding the former, is not a score of years old, for
mining had languished before modern methods were introduced.
Yet modern hydraulic elevators are now at work upon the great
placer deposits in Antioquia province. Quartz mines are being
opened up. In the opinion of many engineers Colombia is one of
the coming gold countries of the world. There is also much coal,
iron, and copper. The greatest development for Colombia would
be found in a railroad line up the Magdalena Valley to Bogota.
It would, in the opinion of representative Colombians with whom the
writer talked, be a most profitable undertaking, for it would open
up some of the richest agricultural country in the world, and the
people are frequent travelers. Too, it would feed from a thousand
points, the water traffic on the Magdalena.
There are, in Barranquilla, several clubs, for social life is highly
developed. Banquets, balls, parties, and picnics at the seashore or
other outings are of frequent occurrence in the pre-Lenten season.
Some of the homes are admirably equipped for dancing. The home
of one of my Colombian hosts was finished in green and white Italian
marble, with spacious marble courts and large rooms opening out
on balustrades on the upper floors. The people are very musically
inclined. One of the leading import houses is that of a large piano
 STREET SCENE, BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA.

Photograph by Hamilton M. Wright.

ONE OF BARRANQUILLA'S MODERN STREETS.

together with the motor car which is gradually taking tho
* of the modern edifice,
Here we have a glimpse
&
place of the horse-drawn pleasure vehicle.
18 A TEAVELEB IN ISTOETHEElSr COLOMBIA.

dealer, and the finest of pianos are imported. Among the f6tes that
display the Colombian love of sociability is the annual pre-Lenten
masquerade. The fete was in progress during my visit in Barran-
quilla. Hundreds of boys and girls and young men and young women
danced en bal masque. The fete resembles, in many ways, the cele-
brated Mardigras carnival of New Orleans. Grotesque masks are
worn and brilliant colors. Motion pictures also are a popular form
of amusement in* Colombia, and Barranquilla has several fine theaters
devoted to their exhibition, The best American, French, and
Spanish films are shown.
While in Colombia I had the coveted opportunity to visit the
former country home of Gen. Simon Bolivar, the great South
American patriot. It is no exaggeration to say that no measure of
devotion could exceed that in which the memory of this truly great
statesman and warrior, the first President of the Republic of Colom-
bia, is revered. Nor is it hyperbole to state that there are no people
in the world who are more proud of the principles of democracy, who
are more patriotic, or who have a greater love for their country than
the people of Colombia. Consequently the old country home of
Bolivar, the liberator of South America, is much visited. The well-
kept estate is near a lovely stream about 6 miles from Santa Marta and
is reached by a good highway. A great court, shaded by magnifi-
cent trees, contains a statue of the patriot, and the spacious exhibition
apartments where mementos of his career are displayed. An inner
tiled garden connects the exhibition apartments with the home
beyond. The swords and uniforms of the patriot, executive decrees
and manifestoes issued by him, recall the revolt against the Spanish
in Venezuela and his defeat of Gen. Monte verde at Caracas in 1813,
and the successful campaign resulting in the Republic of Venezuela
in 1819. There are also mementos of Gen. Bolivar's campaigns to
help the Peruvians in their struggles for liberty several years later
as well as of his career in Colombia, and of his early student days
in Europe.
No more charming spot than this, at the side of a purling stream,
set off by mighty shade trees, abounding with song birds, and within
the shadows of the mighty snow-capped Sierras, could have been
selected by Gen. Bolivar for retirement and quiet after his eventful
career.
Santa Marta, population 12,000, is the third most important city
of northern Colombia, the first and second cities being Barranquilla
and Cartagena, respectively. Bogota is the largest city with 120,000
population; Medellin next with between 70,000 and 75,000; Carta-
gena, the fourth city in size, has 35,000 inhabitants. All told Co-
lombia has a population of 6,000,000. Santa Marta bears the dis-
tinction of being the oldest Spanish city on the mainland of the
Western Hemisphere to occupy the site upon which it was founded,
 !■

1
-

,.
""

— .- ^*,
^f

■M-mi&v&saft..-. .
Photograph by Hamilton M. Wright.

A BUSINESS HOUSE IN BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA.

The attractive window display is composed of umbrellas imported from the United States, an article
in universal demand in sunshine as well as during the tropical rains.

Photograph by Hamilton M. Wright.

INTERIOR VIEW OF A LARGE TEXTILE PLANT IN BARRANQUILLA.

 LltSKHKY Ul- LUNOKtOi

20 A TRAVELER IN NORTHERN COLOMBIA. 8 016 118 E

in 1515. The location of Santa Marta upon a beautiful crescent-

shaped harbor where large ridges plunge precipitously into the sea
on either side of the crescent is most picturesque. The city is built
upon a broad sandy flat, and steamers may almost tie up at the
shore. The Santa Marta Railway terminates here with tracks to
ship side. The line runs back toward the Magdalena River for 65
miles and with branches has a total trackage of 85 miles. From Santa
Marta one may make rail and steamer connection with the Magda-
lena. Back of Santa Marta 15 miles rise the foothill peaks 9,500
feet above the level of the sea. Still farther in the background may
be discerned the white summits of the snowy mountains, ascending
perhaps to an altitude of between 14,000 to 16,000 feet, possibly
more. So rugged is the country that it would take three months,
I was informed, to make the round trip to the summit of the loftiest
peak, some 80 miles distant in an air line. Access is gained by
proceeding from the direction of Venezuela. But one man, a French
explorer, is actually known to have reached the top. The feat was
accomplished about 15 years ago.
Santa Marta is a great fruit center. Bananas do wonderfully and
cacao thrives. It has a record of having exported 7,000,000 bunches
of bananas to the United States and England in a single year.
Banana plants planted by French growers more than 25 years ago
are still springing up from the first planting. An important Ameri-
can company is engaged in banana growing in the district and also
buys bananas from the planters, so that the industry has been
greatly extended. The company has here a very fine hospital, one
of fourteen or fifteen, Ithink, that it has around the Caribbean,
besides a great many dispensaries and medical stations. It is doing
a wonderful work in this respect and one about which very little is
generally known. The hospital, which is entirely in charge of Co-
lombian doctors, has the most modern equipment, operating room,
sterilizing apparatus, etc.
I I
But fear have not given sufficient attention to the most impor-
tant feature of Colombia, the people themselves, the inhabitants of
the favored land whose unvarying hospitality and courtesy, wide
interest in affairs and appraisement of human nature render them the
most engaging of companions. The hospitality given to the stranger
is akin to the friendliness and helpfulness the people exercise toward
one another.
Colombia to-day is a land of the future. It has everything in
resources of nature and in human resources, in wise, far-seeing
leaders and a responsive patriotic public to establish one of the
greatest seats of civilization in the world. For charm of scene, clime,
and incident, no land holds out greater allurement to the traveler
and tourist.
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

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