The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-11-16
PICTURESQUE PORT LIMON,
COSTA RICA'S CHIEF SEAPORT
Principal Industry IS Expectation Of Bananas Which
are Grown on Large Plantatons-ln-
tereSting Voyage in Gulf.

classes of Iaborers. There were the Costa
Ricans, who spoke French and Spanish,
the Jamaica negroes, who spoke both
broken English and Spanish, and the
American bosses, who cursed In all these
languages, 1t seemed. at the same time.
1t wa Sunday and a busy Sunday But
Sunday work is not an innovation In
Limon. 1t is true that the natives are re-
lieious to a certain extent. but that ex-
tent does not go far enough to prevent
them from doing business on Sunday. In
port Sunday 10 their gala day.
A large part of the soil of Costa RIGA
Is under cultivation. The soil is extremely
pordu ctive, four crops a year being easily
made 1t has beea said that were one
to plant an old umbrella In the soil OF
Costa Rica, a new one would grow In its
stead
In the interior are miles Of banana plan
tations. A few banana trees can be seen
on the coast, but the large plantations
are in the rural districts Acres Of CO.
coanuts are under cultivation. The major
portion Of these plantations are owned oy
American fruit companies.
Everybody and everything about the
wharves of Limon are under quarantine
regulations during the summer season
and all the laborers who are compelled TO
go aboard ships wear blue overall suits
with a red cross in the back which sisni-
fies that they have been disinfected.
While we wandered off to see some
thing of the town and adjacant country
these laborers got ready to load the ves-
sci. The two endless chain machines
which are in no other tropical port were
COTTON into place by the ship-side. A
gang of Jamaica negroes are In the front
hold and a gang in the rear hold. The
cars have been opened, the steam pipes
of the loading machine have been con-
nected with the ships boiler, thus start
ing the revolutionary motion OF the ma
chine. The leborers on the pier place
the punches of fruit one by one on the
machines belt which conveys them to
the laborers aboard ship where they are
carefully stored In the holds.
With two of these machines at work
over 5000 punches Of bananas can be
| loaded in twenty-four hours. and by 3
o'clock in the afternoon the vessel is
| loaded with 1880 punches, some of them
| being over four feet In length. and the
| machines stop work.
Then the anchor of the Kitty was
| weighed and she sailed for Mobile.
| 1t was a beautiful twilight AS we
glided out of the hart5or. cast my
eyes, with the night glasses. toward
Limon. The harbor was clear. The
| Catholic Church bell was ringing for
vespers, the railway cars were In their
| Sheds a blow from the wharf whistle an
nounced the quitting hour" we passed
| out Of sight of Costa Rica save the
lighthouse on the island and the long and
high range OF mountains.
| We had not COTTON far out to sea be-
fore we saw the Southern Cross. 1t is
In these coasts alone and in these waters
alone that one can see the beautiful cross
| 1t is a cross Of stars resembling some
what the Seven stars" though they are
more radiant The Southern Cross can
not he seen north of Cuba.
Mobile was reached the following Sun.
day night at by the clock.
This life on fruit steamer Is novel and
consequently interesting to one acquaint.
ed only with city or country life in tho
inland States Here Is found peace. fruit
and rest unless ones digestion 10 i'm
paired by the swells Of old ocean.