The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-06-28

meet the Nlcaraguan commissioner ...
avert war by signing il treaty of r....
on board the United States >-ear..
Alert. While mt war ourselves vp ...
in the interest Of oar smaller height.
placed one Of our war vessels an ....
service in order to preserve peace an..
them. and yet-in spite of such irIeH
acts on our part-theSe people fce.
gratitude and. while accepting our ....
orS. do not falter in their openly cNpr..
ca sympathy for our ncmieS In takr-
the \~icaraguan commissioners To -
from PuntarcnaS the Alert used af
fifty tons Of coal. but when on Ills -.
turn to Nicaragua il became nccss-
Ia purchase more Ia rcplac" THAT t...
consumed. the N~icaraguan author.
ut first refused Ia allow ii t. hr t...
on board. alleging rs an excuse thar '..
might be regarded rs Il breach uL r..
trality.
The sun Shonc relentlcSSly down u...
rs IL We trottcd on towards Ateua~ %.
Il breath of air was moving, and pyea ..
vegetation seemed overcome M..
languor and drowSineSS. High up m +..
sky Il few huzzardS tloatcd In ,lr ...
but the only living things visible a....
the road We're a few iguauas tcr.-...
lizards i foot or more iii length w...
the natives regard rs Il dclicacy uH..
properly cookcdi and an occasional ru-
rot, brilliant with red, blue, yellow .mI
green piumage. The heat rapidly ..
came so severe and the red dust. stirred
up by the mules. 50 dense thar un~
tongues were parched and swollen whom
at length we reached .Atcna-. After
resting three hours we resumed our f..r.
ney and struggled on. snffcrju@ tlr ceu.
bined horrors of dust, heat. thirst and
soreness. passing frequently the rewHiu.
of dead cattlc-in some cases bare -GuH.
etons. in others the Clearly picked bono.
were still covered with the hide. while
in many instances fiockS of v@uiturp.
were still engaged in their horrid fpaef.
At Alaiucla we completed Our long
ride. and seating ourselves in a fairly
comfortable railway car soon reached
San Jose. the capital of the republic.
Son Jose is n pleasant little city -iu
ltcd ut the foot of an extinct Volcano
nearly four thousand feet above era
level. Its straight streets are cobhlrI
and are bordcrcd by low. white houses
As in most other towns Of ]tropiclI
America. the streets are not shaded. tho
result being that during the heat Of the
day the glare is almost unbcarnhIe. San
Jose is connected by rail with Port Ii
mon. on the Caribbean Sea. from which
49, $3.50 80 ~ 49, "''N ~ Wv
United States.
Having spent fifteen hours in the capi
tai city, | took the train back ito Ala
jueIa alone and there "boardcd" my
mule with the intention of spending tue
night at AtenaS. As | rode along i'm su'i
tude-my guide had mysteriously dessert
ed me- noticed Il peculiarly of On,
country which | afterwards observed ~
be general in Central America. every
man and boy carries Il machctc hanging
at his waist. This gave a sinister appear
ance to the men whom / met ON the
road. but the little boys looked simply
ridiculous with their huge knife orul
ments.
At AtenaS the mystery of my guIIrH
disappearance WAS explained DoUIu-'
had ia ken advantage o. my absence tu
reduce himself to Il state of hopeless iu.
toNlcatlOn by partaking too freely of "a
native drink made from the juice of the
pineapple. | was in despair. but one
Of the walters at the inn kindly offered,
in consideration of the payment 10 him
Of 50, to go back and rescue my saddle
bags and other belongings. His offer
was quickly accepted and he At once dis
appeared in the darkness. armed with
two reyOlverS. Il machctc and a power OF
attorney bearing my signature. At
midnight he triumphantly reappearci
and reported that he had to fight
for my possessions. Poor Domingo, |
never saw thee again. but ! hope that
thou art still able to sip the juice or tho
seductive pineapple without leaking at
the throat.
At 4 a.. m. we-my mule and I-wcrc
again on the road: but | will not harrow
the feelings of the readers by trying ia
tho GIIffarinar G az that 4htI9lt-.
ride of thirty miles under a red-hot sun.
up and Town steep mountains. along Il
winding rocky road. Suffice it to say
that though during M visit TO Central
America | encountered several earth
quakes of considerable violence. | can
truthfully say that they were tame in
comparison with the jolting of that mule.
At sunset | reached Esparta and At
the inn was lifted from the back Of my
faithful steed by the united efforts Of
the innkceper and the village school
master. After a good nights rest.
0 the train and was soon being vhirl-
ed along at the startling rate Of six
miles an hour. These trains carry two
classes Of passengers-those Of the first
class ride in an odd little. u.rty. ding
car with seats upholstered in mating.
Whlle q secOnd-class ticket entities IT.
posSesSor to It seat on a pile of coffee
bags on a fat-car.
About II O'Clock the engine gave =
curious shrek TO notify the passengers
that we were no longer ~moving-in fact
that we had reached our destination
IuntarGnas. Very slowly and deliberate
~ | descended from the car and limpcd
to the wharf whence three stout negroes
IN Il rowhoat soon brought me TO the Pa
clfic mail steamer Barraconta. bound
north To tcan,,Ioc from, u-b,1.. I4DI. -
noon | watched the palms Of Puntarenas
disappearing below the horizon. leaving
me on the whole only very pleasant
recollecrionS Of my journey on muloback
among the coffee plantations Of COST
Rica. GEORGE II. MURPHY.
SHOT THE ENGINEER.