Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
I found these people to be most inquisitive. If I happened to ask any of them how far it
was to the next village, a thing they never seemed to know, they would immediately bombard
me with dozens of questions, such as: 'Where are you from?' 'Where are you going?' 'What
is your business?' 'How much did those horses cost?' 'How much this?' 'How much that?'
'Have you any
familia
?' (family), which means, 'Have you a wife or wives and children?'
Having been asked these questions so often before, my answers much depended on the hu-
mour I was in at the time they were put to me.
Medellin is the capital of the State of Antioquia, and has between seventy and eighty thou-
sand inhabitants. The Antioquians are very industrious, thrifty and enterprising. The very as-
pectoftheirneatlywhitewashedhouses,withprettyflowersonthewindow-sillsandneatlittle
gardens, so very different from those in other parts of Colombia I had been through, show
what the inhabitants are like. Medellin is going ahead by leaps and bounds and the progress-
ive spirit of its people will soon make it the first town of the country. Medellin goes ahead;
Bogota stands still. Arailroad connects the former with Puerto Berrio onthe Magdalena river,
by which we were obliged to go. I was bitterly disappointed, but to make the expedition to
Panama by land is impossible, as I have stated before.
When we arrived at the little port new troubles began. True, there is a good hotel in the place,
but I had no end of trouble to accommodate the animals. Several boats called at the port, but
most of them were on their way up river, and those that were going down to the coast had no
room.
Flat barges are lashed to the sides of the river boats, and in them most of the cargo and
livestock is carried. Cattle are packed so tightly that it is impossible to feed and water them.
I have seen a great deal of animal suffering in different countries, but I would never have be-
lieved such deliberate cruelty possible; cruelty brought about by sheer laziness and complete
lack of humane instincts.
A boat arrived with two barges full of cattle. The poor animals were packed like sardines
andbellowinginanguish.Thesteamescapeoftheenginefacedoneofthesebarges,andwhen
the pressure on the boilers was too high and the valves were opened the steam hissed straight
at the animals that were unfortunate enough to be rammed in near the pipe. Several lay dead
whilst the others were gasping and vainly trying to stampede. Some had fallen and were be-
ing trampled on by the others, whilst groups of lousy, dark-faced men of the crew, and dusky
dock-workers were looking at this hellish scene with expressionless eyes. A sheet of tin or a
board hung over the pipe would have prevented all this suffering. But then this would have
meant work.
