The Republican journal., 1897-09-23
surrounded by orchards and gardens, are

development.
Only three miles from Atenas, down in
the bottom of a dark ravine, is La Garita
del Rio Grande-a place famous in the
history of the past as the location of the
Custom House. In that remote spot, be-
all foreign goods that entered the country
via the Pacific were levied, and from there
alone could such merchandise find its way
into the Inhabited portions of the country.
Between Punta Arenas and the Garita
stretched a vast wilderness, penetrated by
single wagon road, rocky, dangerous and
enterprise of foreigners all this has been
changed within the last decade, and now
incomers are tleeced by the custom Of
ticials before they have fairly set foot on
Shore at the end of the iron pier at Punta
Arenas. 4 wilder place than the Garita
would be hard to find. Imagine stu
pendous ravine in the heart of a forest; a
roaring river at the bottom, and across
the chasm a stone bridge of one bold arch,
with gate and a covered causeway, link
ing the roads descending on either side
Across this bridge all wayfarers must
pass, and pay we'll for the privilege; and
any attempt to ford the river, above or
below, used to be looked upon as proof
conclusive of a disposition to defraud the
government and was punished with 10
years Imprisonment at hard labor. Be-
yond the bridge, shaded by a splendid
grove of cocoa palms, is a long, low wood
en- building, rooted with red tiles which
project SIX feet beyond the front walls to
a row of cedar posts; behind it, pigsty,
poultry yard and banana patch; and in
the latter, the courteous inspector, swing
ING in his hammock. This is all that re-
mains of the historic place where for
many years Costa Rica' S principal revenue
was collected. and which has probably
caused more profanity on the part Of
strangers than any other spot of equal
size on the face of the earth Having
crossed the Rio Grande, one of the largest
rivers of the country, whose head waters
are enriched with mines of copper, gold
and COAL ascending and descending by a
picturesque but very trying bit of almost
perpendicular road. the highway divides
at the top of the gorge, one branch turn
ing off northeast toward Alajuela, only
nine miles away the other traversing the
tricts of Uruca and San Antonio de Belem.
We followed the former, through a region
OF luXurlant vegetation, half forest, hall
pasture land, dotted with hamlets and
isolated vegetation. The roadsides are
bordered with splendid trees, mango,
bamboo, papaya, breadfruit, orange,
guava, calabash, tamarind, cocoanut and
royal palm. As before mentioned, the
chief cities of Costa Rica lie in these
central highlands. comparatively close to-
gether. They begin with Alajuela, -
miles from the Pacific coast, at an aiti-
tude OF $500 feet, and continue with
Heredia, san Jose and Carriage, in di-
rect line, almost due east. The classical
names that abound, Sparta, Athens,
Cartago, etc, sound strange in this part
of the world, where sanity nomenclature
is the rule. Alajuela, capital of the
province OF the same name. is a large
town, laid out in the usual checker board
fashion, with narrow, macaGamized
streets which cross each other at right
angles. and one-story houses, succeed
and whitewashed. In the middle of its
plaza is a handsome bronze fountain; on
one side of it a fine. but rather too new
looking cathedral; on another, the curatel,
or barracks, said to be the best of its kind
in Costa Rica; and on the third an impos-
ing municipal palace. Alajuela is young
town for Spanish America, having been
founded as late as 1924. 1t is beautifully
situated, in the midst of fertile plain
among the hills of the Barbe mountains,
and almost under the shadow of Poas,
the twin volcano, 5000 feet high. The
Alajuela Institute and National College,
both supported by the government, make
It perhaps the most important education
al center of the Republic. The popula-
ton of the city is 9,O0O that of the de-
partment of Alajuela, about -, 900. Here
begins the Central Division of the Trans
Continental Railway, which runs from
this point to Carriage; and midway be-
tween, only IS kilometres from Alajuela,
is San Jose, the capital. The railway is
narrow gauge, with cars and locomotives
of American make. On the way to the
capital we pass through Grecia, the chief
village of Grecia Canton and the centre of
rich agricultural and grazing district,
where are tlourishing plantations Of sugar
and Coffee and much attention is given to
tie breeding of fine cattle; also San
Ramon, one of the new railway towns,
which has already its public library, two
newspapers, and other ear marks of the
English road builders The last town on
the line before reaching the capital
Naranjo, Spanish for orange) deserves
special attention; not only for the beauty