The Republican journal., 1897-09-23
" Rail and rlule in Costa RIGA.
rom the "H0ly Spirit of Hope" Town 10 San
Jose. Hamlets and villages en- Route.

before stated. the distance from Punta
.renas, the Pacific port, to Costa Rica' S
~ raj is 81 miles. You may 90 by rail
sparta, II miles; thence in the saddle
Alajula Sc miles, where you strike the
atrial division Of the partially complet
s5 rams continental railway, which takes
elJ 10 San Jose, about - miles, and on
Carriage, the present terminus This
entral Railway, as it is called, to dis
-nguish the division from the Pacific rail-
say on the west and the Atlantic railway
the east, though only ~ miles long,
by far the most important road in Cos
Rica. 1t connects the principal towns
ua cities of the Republic, all of which
LIE situated comparatively near together
The highlands OF the interior. and also
nishes an outlet for rich agricultural
trict and the gold mines of Aguacate.
was dark when we entered Espalza.
Holy Spirit OF Hope town-and
lh at the other end of the day when we
ID it: SO may be that is the reason why
appeared to us as the most uncanny
ace we had seen in Central America.
.tter being ''settled' for the night in the
%. and negotiations concluded for mules
iii which to continue our journey on
morrow, we sailed forth to do the
.Nn-and a very few minutes sutficed for
purpose. Its low, white casas and
white church, the latter topped by
obet shaped belfry, looked like the very
hosts Of houses in the sickly smiling of
lie moon-the more corpse like because
untenanted, the people, to man,
man and child, being out in the streets
strollng in the plaza Men, old and
r1ung, lounging in the moonlight and
cumming on mandolins or guitars star
at US, open mouthed, as upon strange
features from the neither world; while
women removed their cigarettes long
nough to calculate their surprise and
>spicions as to the business of las Ameri-
mas.
Next morning, an hour b ue day
eak, We clattered ont of town, having
rtaken of bread and chocolate in the inn
ma been duly commended to God and
IS angels by the host and hostess; and
lly as it was, unkempt men and women
shed to their doOrwayS and chorus of
1gs and gamin felcitated our departure
ne highway from Esparza, wide and well
we'd, leads up into the hills, from
V4ence looking backward, Nicoya gulf is
full view with white winged ships, like
Instant procession OF coffee carts going
Wn TO the port, and occasionally party
fayallerOs and their servants on horse
TX. The horses of Costa Rica are m
.lsize and sclubby looking, but said to
remarkably tough and sure footed. No
IAN DO justice TO the extraordinary
-Hts OF THEN riders. We thought we
ti seen gorgeous equestrian parapheI-
ti5 before. in Mexico, Chile and else
where. but never had we beheld anything
ich could put a patch on the ca
Lsoning Of Costa Rican steeds, How
rA only rich and proud hidalgoes
on horses i'll this country; common
tuple," including travellers and ser
mis-, must put W with The less aristo.
bic mule. 1t makes ones heart ache
see the oxen toiIing along, each yoke
ling by means Of q heavy crossbar
ed to the horns and forehead, in such
way that neither Of the beasts can turn
head without the other and then
~ slightly. This cruel custom is prac-
ed all over Spanish America. where the
aople seem to have no feeling whatever
f.. their animals. Think of the pain it
tst infict-that heavy bar bound tightly
On the head, bowling the poor creatures
Use almost to the ground, while pulling
uttermost pound of which his strength
capable, up hill and down, all day long
the excessive heat. No wonder they
sem 70 stagger along, blind and dizzy, al
4pst insensible to the savage prods of the
river pole tipped with an iron spear.
Just l. miles from Esparza, as the crow
es. is the village of San Mateo-but con-
erably more than that distance if all
4e steep ups and downs between were
united. The road dips deep into a sue
ssion of small green valleys, set like
rockets in the hills, and out of them
ain, and leaps many streams on fine
tone bridges approached by long cause
avs. The country is thinly settled and
-.arsely cultlvated in fact, hardly one
wentieth part of this fertile section ap-
pears to be put to any use at all. The
oamboo houses, matched with palmetto,
tie plainly the abodes of contented power
-9 About every third cottage has at the
md of its little veranda an oven of mud
md stone, fashioned exactly like the bee
ives of picture books; and these, like
lie ovens Of savage Africa, are each fur
lshed with a mortar and pestle for
pounding the corn. Often that staple
vas piled up high, showing no lack of
[lture tortillas, the favorite food article
II tie cOuntry-but not garden or vege-
able patch was in sight. We breakfasted
d. san MataO q thouSan5 foot oboua +ba