Wichita eagle., 1890-02-08

monyana," he repeated petulantly when
urged, and simply had to await his pleasure.
Manyana (by the Spaniard spelled mahana)
is the curse of Costa Rica. All the shiftless-
ness, the want of progress, the debasement
Of the people. is due to this perpetual putting
off. Duties are never attended to, work is
| never done, enterprises are never carried out,
because of manyana. 1t is a word you hear
all over the republic, ali through Central
America, in fact. 1t gives, in one word,
the history of the country. "Manyana"
they all say, and, as manyana never comes,
nothing is accomplished and the land dozes
while the outside world keeps step to the
march of Improvement
Punta Arenas, however, is not barren of
excitement, Notwithstanding that laziness is
national weakness. 1t has many interest
ing half clad girls, while its barefooted SOL
diery and police are more or less attractive
to the visitor. Nearly every family rejoices
in the possession of game cock, and in front
of nearly every house a bird of proves is
fastened by string to crow his challenges to
his noisy neighbors. Every Sunday these
game cocks, fed to a point of viciousness
are decorated with murderous gaffs, put in
pit and made to fight to the death. This is
the innocent recreation of rich and poor
alike, and il order that there may be perfect
fairness the municipality acts as referee, its
guardians deciding the nicer points Of the
contests. The cock fights, Ehich begin al
most with the rise Of the sun and end with
the going down Of the same, make Sunday
day of uncommon interest and suggest the pre-
vailing code of moral ethics. The good people
of Punta Arenas gauge their respectability
and position in polite society not by antiquity
OF lineage but by the proves of their birds.
They do not sit up nights studying their
family tree, but glorying in the dead and
gone cocks which have bested their opponents.
The household which is the possessor of the
gamest rooster leads the -Four Hundred Of
Punta Arenas and is looked upon with envy
by the owners Of second and third class birds.
The game cock is the prevailing sign of civil
zation in Costa Rica; the acme of respecta-
bility, the pride of the PADRE the joy of the
alcalde. 1t is the one object, celestial or ter
restrial, which can awake the native from
his lethargy and cause him to forget his dron-
ing manyana. The noble bird should form the
coat of arms of the proposed confederation
But will this be confederation? doubt it,
Careful investigation and many converse
tions with the leading men of all the repub-
lies lead your correspondent to believe that
the United States of Central America is far
from fulillnent. State pride, stupid and
dogged, is a craze in Costa Rica, Nicaragua
and Honduras. They would not lose their in
dependence for the fairest promises of gain,
the rosiest hope of Improvement They all
agree-whether right or wrong l need not
say-that the whole scheme is merely a
project of Guatemala to gobbe up her weaker
sisters, and they look with jealous eye upon
the United States for its supposed favor of
the proposition, nor do Costa Ricans take
great stock in the Pan-American congress.
No good can come of it," said a member |
of the Soto cabinet to me. 'The whole thing |
looks grotasque. The members are being |
carted about your country seeing the sights |
1t is like big girl showing her toys to sev-
eral little girls and trying to make them |
envious. That is not what we sent our men |
out for. Let them so to work and show US,
if they can, how we can make money by |
trading with the United States. If they will |
give US coin current throughout the three
well and good; but they can con-
ceive no plan, suggest no idea, which shall
cause the proposed federation of the repub-