The age-herald., 1898-01-30
WHERE LIFE.-IS EASY On a Coffee Plantation in the United States of Columbia.
 @
 LAND.AND LABOR ARE CHEAP Americans Are Held in High Regard at Santa Maria--Lving Evidences of Ancient
 and Forgotten Civilization.

szs. 4s
 From the Chicago Inter Ocean.
 E rtff any-InaHs with $10,000 wants to make a modest forfsnle and enjoy an easy life while he is doing it, said MT. Henry M. Senteri "alI he has to do is to go to the United States of Colombia, purchase a 'ha- cienda, and raise coffee. It is the biggest chance I know of. The climate is perfect, your altitude you may choose at will, you are right at Q. seaport, son that the trans portatlon of your crop to the ship costs practically nothing, and the demand for coffee is never ovcrsupp1ied. Besides SC points. land and labor are cheap and the property of foreigners is sacredly re- spected. s,ses.,sss-.-
 When l. say that land is cheap, I mean it literally. Government land bonds, each calling for one hectare of the public do- main, two and as half acres. are now selling for 27 cents, silver or about Il cents in our moneys This is less than AZ cents an acre. Claims may be located by the hold CTS of these bonds on any. unoccupied gov ernment lands. and have taken up 1,50o acres about seven miles from the seaport
 of Santa Marta. -- My plantation, Las Nubes which means The Clouds is in the Sierra Nevadas, 45g0 feet above the level of the sea..-The altitude is an ideal for growing coffee, and, while need no irrigation, there are three mountain streams which could easily be turned into my property sosas to. .irrigate it perfectly at slight expeasesrs The manner of taking up land is-the asirnplist thing in the world. You purchase your land bonds, select your property and have itssurveyed. Then you go before the slcalde and declare your in- tentions to- improve the land. He gives you his blessing and you give him what ever you feeI-his hessing is worth. You then begin-to clear the heavy forest, which covers all the mountainous parts of the coast, and "a year later Syour friend, the alcade, pays-swou sayzH zHisit~to see that you are in possession. and making improve ments. If everything is Satisfactory, in- cluding little Teeogniton,' he issues you a title eedrand. you. become monarch of all you survey.a>ss+
 eRecognition" Is Cheap.
 Right heresft may be remarked that while recognition is expected in Colombia by public ofiieials.it is not a very serious matter. They are a remarkably reasona- ble lot of people, and that is the only way you are 'taxed.swith the exception of poll tax, amounting to $4 silver, or $1.60 in our nyoney.e II am satisfied that you could even dodge that by recognizing the col lector to thesextent of 15 or 20 cents. He'd report you as dead or away on vacation.
 Labor is cheap. Such men as are re- quired to clear the land and plant the cof-
 
 money, whichsis worth 56 cepts in our cur rency. Of-course, you needn't do any great amount of labor yourself, beyond learning the 14.oo0 different methods adopt ed by the native. faborers to soldier on you These-natIves are either Indians or a mixed breed descended from the ne- gro slaves and the aboriginal Indians. They are constitutionaliy tired and need a good deal of driving'to keep them at work. So long as they have ans adobe hut to sleep in barely sufficient clothing to cover them, a fsh-=and- a. few plantains to eat they are ready to defy fate. Slavery was abolished about Seventy-five years ago, and since that time the freed negroes and their descendants have considered themselves as good as any white man. Strangely enough, the proud descendants of the Spaniards seem to have conceded this position, and there Is absolutely mo color line drawn. Negroes and mulattoes, If they secure | wealth, are on an absolute social equality with the children and grandchildren of those who were once their masters.
 Quaint Old Santa Maria.
 "The population of Colombia, as stated in the encyclopedias is the widest kind of a guess, tor no white man has ever pene- 1 trated the interior and the natives are l too ignorant to give any reliable estimate. | Santa Marta is town Of about 5,000. It | was founded in 1525 and is mainly known to fame from the fact that Kingsley, in Westward Ho! used the locality for some | O with its crooked streets and ancient Span i ish buildings, most of which consist of one | story surrounding courtyard. Close to | the town are the ruins of several forts | which were demolished by Sir Francis | Drake during one of his visits to the | Spanish in America. The climate varies l but little the year round, and the nights | are always cool and pleasant. It is a | healthy place, in spite of the fact that it | is perfectly flat and that there is absolute nff drni hn fat-t supply is ideal, drawn from the river Man. | sanari, six miles back in the Sierras. | There are but two seasons; the rainy sea | son ends about the middle of December | and the dry period about April |. During | the rainy season the moorings are always | bright and clear, but it rains every after | noon The natives are either descendants | of the old Spaniards or a mixture of Span- ish, Indian and negro. The foreign ee- l ment is about equally divided among Amer | jeans, English and Germans. Spanish is exclusively spoken, and in the entire town there are only three natives who can speak English.
 'Education is at very low ebb. The children of the better classes are sent abroad for their schooling and those who remain at home glory in their ignorance. The wealthier class, those who have &C., cumulated money by exporting coffee, hides and bananas, mainly to the United States, live with much pomp and circum- stance In the ancient Spanish houses Speaking of bananas reminds me that they ship about 16,000 punches every week to New York, voyage of seven days. Their commerce is almost entirely with this country, and Americans are regarded with greater favor than is bestowed on either the French or German residents.
 Relies of Ancient Days.
 "To my mind the most interesting thing in the country is the evidence of an an- cient and forgotten civilization which forces itself upon one on every hand. In prehistoric times a mighty and highly civ- ilized people inhabited Colombia. On my land there are beautifully constructed stone roads and the remains of two vil- lages of about 600 houses each, where we find stone beads, pottery and ancient tools from time to time The water vessels and urns are of handsome form, but de- void of ornamentation, and frequently con- tain human bones. As student of anat- omy I am able to say, after examining these remains, that the average height of this race of men must have been at least six feet six inches, and many were doubt