Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 March 1911 — THE CAPITAL OF ECUADOR [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

THE CAPITAL OF ECUADOR

HOW would you like to live in some fairy land that always enjoyed the glorious climate of Indian summer, that season of ethereal mildness which places the genuine spring in the second place? Such is the cliknate of Quito, the capital of Ecuador, which lies but a few mileß south of the equator. It is situated among the most magnificent peaks of the lower Andes at an altitude of more than 9,000 feet, and the effects of its proximity to the equator are so modified by this that the climate is probably the most spring-like in the world. In Quito they have perpetual Indian summer, glorious sunshine, soft tempered breezes, and only occasionally the violent rainstorms which so thickly intersperse the year in the northern hemisphere. These delightful conditions have charmed Mrs. William C. Fox, wife of the United States minister to Ecuador, who says of the picturesque southern capital: “We have lived in Quito during the transition period, and have seen it passing from one of the most picturesque old Spanish cities into a modern municipality. My first journey to the capital of Ecuador was made on a burro. It required several days, and though it has magnificent scenery and life in the interior is most interesting, yet I leave it to any woman of my acquaintance if the experience would be relished more than once. Now the railroad has penetrated the mountains and comes direct from the seaport of Guayaquil to Quito. With the railroad, of course, have come all the progress and charge incident to it all over the world. But Quito still retains its ancient charm, though it is taking on some of the less attractive features of modern civilization. The streets have long been lighted by electricity, but it has been until now a city o* two-storied houses. There are plans afoot to begin a new residential addition in the west side, and no doubt the high offices and nine-story apartment house will follow in time.

“The charm of Quito is the poetic atmosphere which envelops the plainest phases of life. Everyone takes the world at his leisure, and there is time to enjoy everything. The homes are after the old Spanish type, which is so emphasized in the Lattn-American cities. The houses are all of adobe built in a square and facing a court, and invariably of two stories only. But the average Quito residence is

somewhat different in that seldom can a lessee obtain the use of the ground floor, even for stables or for storage and the servants. Under the American legation are several shops, and every foreigner and the state officials also reside in the same style. The entrances to all the homes are under a great archway removed from the immediate proximity of the shops, and as nearly all the residence is on the second floor, the guest gains access

through a beautiful stairway lined with palms and gay with flowers. There are humming birds about, and the patio, as the court is called, is alive with butterflies, with the warbling of birds and the soft drone of insect life, as though it were in the center of a tropical forrest. The other corridors of the second floor are a succession of beautiful rooms open to the sunny day on one side and hemmed in with palms and rich flowering trees on the other three. We live in these open places, for Quito has none of the strength-devouring qualities of other tropical cities. Pianos and all sorts of musical instruments are about, we have to partake of all except the most ceremonious meals in tjiis , environment of birds and flowers. “Like all of their race, the women of Ecuador are hospitable and enjoy intercourse with each other and with properly presented strangers. The residents are devoted to dancing, and this

delightful exercise is not confined to the younger coterie as in American cities. In the United States only the waltz and two-step prevail at balls, and this is rather strenuous for those who have passed the heyday of youth. The Latins delight in the stately quadrille and various graceful adaptations of the lancers and minuet. The young girls and youths are splendid dancers, and frequently entertain a company by a solo with castanets and with tambourine. There are dances which are common to the country, and when a distinguished Peruvian is a guest, it is considered quite a delicate courtesy to have his special dance performed. The Ecuadoran dance is very pretty after the fandango style and danced without castanets.’’

Considerable talent in painting, the fine arts and literature is ascribed the Quitenos and the women enjoy a high reputation for beauty. The city was from remote antiquity the capital of the Quitus, a semi-civilized race kindred to the Quichuas or Incas of Peru, and the valley of Quito, next to the valleys of Mexico and Cuzco, was the seat of the earliest American civilization. The mass of the inhabitants are still of the same race, though they have adopted Christianity and the Spanish language. The modern city of Quito was founded by Sebastian Benaicazar in 1534.

MRS W.C FOX

PART OF QUITO AS SÈN FROM A NEAR-BY HILL

"Liberty House,” Quito.

William C. Fox.

THE FRANCISCAN CONVENT IN QUITO