New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-10-20

II never gives more than II per cent
This mode of purchase reminds me of very
sbrewd trick prsctised by 9 native q few years
ago upon one of his fellow countrymen. shall name
the vender A and the purchaser b. A had an e.
tate which be wished 10 SELL and B offered to pur-
chase IT, The contract was drawn up in the usual
form; but insidously proposed that an article
should be inserted, granting to him the right OF
discCunting the yearly instruments, when dis
count Of two per cent. per month should be
allowed him. II was evidently the belief Of the
owner that this discount would never bear upon
any period longer than one or two months; and
bis establishment and dismay can be imagined when
b proposed tie next day to make payment for the
whole, claiming the deduction Of two per cent.
per month. In this manner u got the estate at a
very low price.
! have mentioned that the scarcity Of hands
weighs heavily upon agricultural enterprise in
Costa Rics. This is a fact which is becoming
more apparent every day, and the prOprletors OF
tie old plantations are those who suffer most from
it, the pickers preferring the young plantations,
where the work is more easily and quickly ac-
comphshed. 1t has been the fate of some OF these
prOprietors, and of the Minister Of Finance among
others. 10 see their crop of this year (ls52) re-
main on the trees Many causes have censpired
to bring about this scarcity of laborers, ana tne
principal one il the removal Of large number OF
peassnt families from the Province oil San jose 10
the outskirts Of the settlements, especially 70
place called Palmsres." which 10 about forty
miles northwest of the capital, at an equal dis
lance between the sources Of the two rivers Bar
rspca and San Carlos, the former of which flows
into fhe Gulf of Nic0ya and the latter into the
e,n Juan River This removal is occasloned, on
tbe ore hand, by the dislike the Costa Rican feels
10 serve in the militia, and his aversion to all re-
straint. such as police regulations, whereby the
Government has attempted to compel him to live
in more civilized manner than it has hitherto
been bis customs and on the other hand, from the
raj id rise in the value OF land in the PROVINCE OF
San jose which induces him TO sell out and retire
TO distant places where land is cheap and his say.
age mode Of life not interiere6 with.
I was curious TO visit this new settlement,
which did just as the rainy season began. had
been led to believe that should find there quite
thriving town of 1000 or 900 inhabitants, the
settlement being some six years old. started
early one morning in the month OF May from the
capital, in the hope of reaching resting place
before the afternoon rain came on; but my mule
seemed TO think Il at the prospect OF cool shower
was not unpleasant, for she resisted all the en-
teaties whip and spur were capable OF admins.
teribg andcarried me over the road at the slowest
pace a lazy mule could fancy. The result was
that at the entrance to the plains OF the Carmen,
a deluge Of e.cOld water (at least so it seemed
TO my heated body overlook me. The wind,
face so fercely as TO blind me- and the road, which
lay on q rich grassy level, soon became swamp
into which my beast would sink at times nearly 10
her knees. Every now and then cast glance
around me; but so far as my eye could reach
there was nothing but swampy plain, with here
and there q clump of trees or numerous large,
black prOtruding rocks--nOt house, not living
being, with the exception of few scattered
horses and cattle grazing on the rich wet grass.
/ arrived at last at the end of my first days jour
ney, at place called the Garita. which is the
Custom House station, perched at the head Of
the road which winds down the steep banks of
The Rio Crande On the next day I crossed the Rio
Grande, and passing the small village of Atenas
followed q northern direction, traversed many.
small beautiful valleys, climbed several spurs Of
the Aguacate chain, and at last perceived in the
distance the church. steeple of the town Of San
Ramon When reached the settlement / was
greatly disappointed. The whole i, mere Assem-. !
bage Of mud huts with barren Enclosures. The |
streets formed by those Enclosures, are still en-
numbered by the charred stumps of trees; in fact
the clearing appears to be but OF yesterday, aud
the primeval forest still closely hens in the set |
Element. From here made an excursion into the |
forest with men on foot to cut path through it. |
The direction followed was westerly, and had |
two rivers to ford. On the margin of one found |
a family eisurely occupied in clearing fe " acres |
of soil not rich, and in my conception far too
billy. On my return 10 San Ramon (Iorthis IL tue
name of the town, that of "Palmsres" being the
name of the district) was very much pressed to
visit the road which they are surveying between
the rivers San Carlos and the Barranca; but this
was too serious an undertaking at this season Of
the year, so declined doing until another OPP
portunty and returned to San Jose. found the
climate Of Palmares extremely agreeable; it is not
too warm and still sufficiently so to take away all
the unpleasaDtness which results Gin the cold up
per Valleys from the extreme dsmpness of the I
air. was even assured that the rains are less 1
frequent and less heavy at San Ramon than thOy |
are at San Jose.