Page:Appleton's Guide to Mexico.djvu/367

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GUATEMALA.
339

Route II.

2. From San José to New Guatemala, 67 miles. Fares to Escuintla, first class, $4; second class, $2. Two trains daily. The maximum rates of freight can not exceed 75 cents a ton.

The Gruatemala Central Railroad Company[1] has recently constructed a narrow-gauge (three feet) line to Escuintla, 28•5 miles from San José.

The stations are San José, Naranjo, Masagua, and Escuintla.

There are eight barrancas, or ravines, which are crossed by bridges. The maximum grade is 4½ per cent.

The railway will be extended to the city of New Guatemala by the Central American Pacific Railway and Transportation Company, which has recently purchased a controlling interest in the above-mentioned company. The road will be completed during 1884. At present a daily stage-coach connects Escuintla with the capital.

GUATEMALA.

Population, 60,000 in 1883; elevation, 4,932 feet.
Hotels.—Del Globo, Gran Hotel, Aleman, Del Teatro.
Baths.—Granja del Ciprés, El Administrador, Matamoros, and El Zapote.
Banks.—International and Colomhiano.
Carriages, two horses, $2 an hour; one horse, $1 an hour.
Diligences.—To Escuintla, 36 miles; to Chiquimula, 50 miles; to Chimaltenango, 31 miles; and to Old Guatemala, 21 miles.
Newspapers.—Six are published in the Spanish language.

The City of Guatemala is the capital of the Republic. It is situated in north latitude 14° 37' 32", and longitude 90° 30' 47" west of Greenwich. It was founded in 1776, on the northern end of a broad plain. The streets are straight and cross each other at right angles, but they are badly paved. Owing to the frequency of earthquakes, the

  1. This railway was begun in June, 1880.