The Republican journal., 1898-01-06


full rubber tree, which scarcely casts a
shadow and whose frosty colored notified
trunk looks like the neck of a giraffe.
All Central American ports are I'M
healthy, and this of Matina is deadly, for
vomitivo and the dangerous calenturas
peculiar to the coast are continual visit
ors. Though our visit was timed at the
least insalubrious season of the year, we
seemed to encounter a death s-head at
every step. The open door of the first
house disclosed a corpse, stretched upon
its bier with burning candles at the feet
AND head. A little farther up the street
we saw funeral procession, vending its
mournful way to the Campo Santo; and
soon another was met, returning from the
same errand. ''Oh to, this is not 81 OK
ly season. said the keeper of the cane
stalk inn, i'll answer to my enquiry. "The
fever is always here, you know, but there
have been only four funerals so far this
week" Considering that it was only the
second day of the week, and the hamlet
contains less than thousand inhabitants,
we concluded to make our stay as brief as
possible. But nowhere else can the ex :
tent Of The banana industry be appreciat-
ed as at Matina. Hundreds of cars and
thousands of canoe loads come down to the
port every day bringing countless lunches
of bananas, and fleets of schooners every
day carry them away. One wonders
what becomes of them ALL and that there
can be any profit in such an enormous
crop. The banana harvest never ends,
but from January to December there is
continuous cutting and mark citing. One
sees at the same time buds and flowers.
young fruit and fully developed bananas.
Among the several colonies in this region
devoted to banana raising is the ''Matina
Banana Company" English) located sew
eral miles up the river, whose extensive
plantation is said to be paying large div-
dends. Then there is the "Reynold's
American Colony" established upon six
ty-six thousand acres of fertile land Dor
dering the Atlantic. Its founder, Mr. w.
H. Reynolds of Hornellsville, n. Y, Sc
cured several valuable concessions from
scheme-such as a free gift of the land,
exemption of duties for three years on all
goods and articles imported into the coun-
try for the use of his colonists, and other
privileges and advantages of minor i'm
portance. In return, Mr.. Reynolds bound
himself to take to the aforesaid colony
not less than 100 American families, ex-
perienced in agricultural labor, of good
and moral standing, and to settle them
within the limits of the specified tract, on
places which he thought best adapted to
the special branch of agriculture which
each should select; to provide each fam
lily with house, seeds, implements and
other nece ssary articles.
Some years earlier the Costa Rican gov
eminent entered into contract with Sig.
pose of bringing into the Matina valley
emigrants of all nationalities, who should
engage especially in the cultivation of
cocoa-the soil seeming to be peculiarly
adapted to that industry. 1900 acres of
land were given to Signor Riatti, and
other facilities granted him. The colo
nists came, to the number of several hun
dred, and cocoa flourished for time; but
L am told that most of his people are now
devoting themselves to banana raising, as
the quicker and more profitable crop.
The Buenavista colony, established
under contract with the Atlantic Rail
way, and the River Plate Loan and Trust
Company of London, secured eight
hundred thousand acres of land a few
years ago for colonization purposes. AS
usual with our English cousins, they
wanted everything in sight; but although
their concession of land was SO much
larger than that granted to any other
they seem to have done less
with it, so far as immediate and APP
parent results are concerned. The com
pany admits colonists of all nationalities,
except negroes and Chinese, and each
promising family is given literally of fer
tile lands, as near as possible to the rail
road line, or the centeIs of population of
the Republic. Most of the settlers, wise
ly for health, selected localities at an
altitude from 5000 to 5000 feet above sea-
level; but of them are in the Matina
valley, busy, prosperous and apparently
happy in the cultivation of bananas.
Then there is the German colony of
August Gussler, on the Costa Rican Island
of Coco, in the Caribbean Sea not far
from the mouth of the Matina river. He
began with so German families on his