The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-09-30

SUSPICIOUS LOOKING CRAFT,
with raking masts" Used to steal out
from sheltered coves to plumber richly
laden galloons.
So beautifully luminous are these
southern waters that, looking down
into their clear depths at noon day, one
may imagine the Spanish Main" to be
hoored with diamonds, and that the
yellow sea Fl JWer5 -loosened and float
ing upwards made of purest
gold. Sometimes we drifted SO close to
shore that the mountains were dis
tinctly visible, cleaning all day in
blue haze which turned 10 amethyst at
sunset; gray rocks were in view, yelled
with sparkling vapors, above the spray
of which thousands of sea birds
sported; and with the captains glass
we could discern white sands beyond
the line of purple breakers, and here
and there the smoke of some fisher
mans hut.
Now and then one of those tiny navi-
gators, the nautilus, gtided by with all
sails set; or disturbed school of CARS
leaped like serpents around us; or &
dolphin-king OF the sea-played about
the stern, till harpooDed and brought
on deck by some crael sailor, when, as
| if conscious of his fallen state, he would
instantly become like any other dead
| fish, his beautiful cOlorS faded and
lustreless.
| Then there wera the stars, when the
sun was gone-some of them unfamil-
lar to northern eyes; and
THE SOUTHERN CROSS,
nightly leaning lower upon the
HORIZONTAL so plainly mirrored upon
an unknown ocean that my compan-
ions song,
When with their trembling footsteps
The faint stars tread the sea
was not without application.
Until comparatively recent period,
the few travellers who visited Costa
Rica thought it necessary to cross the
Isthmus of Panama, Or TO sail south
ward from San Francisco, and land at
| Puenta Arenas--a small harbor in the
Gulf of Nicoya, or the Pacific size.
The fact that Matina, on the Caribbean
| Sea, is now considered as favorable
port of entrance is chiefly due to that
notorious Filibuster, William Walker,
who put Costa RIGA to so much trolple
not many years, but who, like manv
other evil doors, was unwittingly made
al instrument for good. The town of
Matind lies at the mouth of q consider
atle stream of the same name, formed
by the junction of the Chlrripo and
Barbilla Rivers, which, flowing east
wardly, enters the Caribbean SEA- near
latitude ten degrees north.
AS usual, there is bar at the mouth
of the river, and vessels are liable to
be delayed several days before an en-
trance can be effected, or-especially
during the season of "Northers"-be-
fore small boats can be sent from shore
to convey passengers across the break
ers.
Matira struggles, in sleepy fashion,
over a low sand hiii no pier no wharf no
Fslips now was old, everything betoken-
ing southern sloth and lack of enter
prise. There are few white-Washed
houses with red-tiled roofs; but the
majority are synabled huts, matched
with dried grass or plantain leaves.
The neutrality-suspicious. church has
chime of rusty bells in its twin towers:
and several flag STATS float the guady
colors of the Costa Rican banderG.
EVERYTHING BLAZEs AND BLIsTERs
beneath the tropic sun, except where,
at rare interval, the glaring picture is
shaded by groups of indigo trees, |
feathery palms, or the poisonous
All Central American ports are nm
healthy, but this of Matina is deadly. |
for vomits, yellow fever, and the danger
Gus calenturas, peculiar to this coast,
are continual visitors. Though our
arrival was timed at the heaIthiest sea.
son OF the year, we seemed to encoun-
ter death.bed at every STEP The
open door of the first house showed us
3 corpse stretched upon its bier, sur
rounded by burning candles. A little
arther up the street we saw funeral
procession vending mournfulIy to-
ward the Campo Santo; and another
vas met returning from the same sad
GRAND
"Oh, no; this is not a sickly season."
said the keeper Of the cane stalk hotel
N answer to my inquiry. The fever
IS always here, you know; but there
have been only four funerals so far.
this week" Considering tina. this was
but the second day of the week. and
The village contains less than a thou
sand inhabitants, we conc,uded to
make our stay as brief as possible.
THE EXPORTS OF COSTA RIGA,
chiefly coffee, India-rubbe-, Brazil
wood, mahogany, cedar, hides, indigo
and cocoa are mostly shipped from
Pufnta Arenes, on the Pacific; while
many of the imports mann
.actured articles-are received at
Matina. l. is estimated that nearly
g, 900 600 worth of goods are annually
into this little Republic ,
while the exports average about half ,
million more. Last year more than ]
100 900 600 pounds of coffee were sent !
,ut of Costa Rica-a remarkable good '
howlng, remembering that the berry
vas first introduced here in 1880. Pre- s
Tious to that time. the people were veIv {
'oor, and it is only Of late years since
Office culture has been so extensively ,
arried on that they have attained to
like prosperity. '
Next to Salvador, Costa RIGA is the