The National tribune., 1906-08-30

hunting deer. wildcat. jaguar. etc. on
! Sunday, and rarely fail to bring in
game. The last Sunday I was there the
| men brought in two fine deer which
they had killed. They have no fear of
snakes. though there are some larga
ones of the constructor class In the
woods. l saw the largest one brought
in some time ago, and it was so long
that when it was held up on a pole on
two mems shoulders the head and tail
rested on the ground. Nobody, how
ever, seems to have any fear of them.
and men go through the woods with
perfect carelessness. There are no
roads down there. only footpaths worn
through the forests, over which the lit
tie donkeys also travel and carry
goods"
What about provisions?" he was
asked.
I'VE have about the same as you
have in the United States. except that
there are no milk OF butter. We have to
use canned butter and condensed milk.
There are plenty of cattle in the coun-
try. which make very good but rather
stringy beef. The native way of killing
the cattle is rather muSsy, but the beef
is fairly good. We buy from the Conn
missary. and also from the Cinnamon
things that We cannot get at the Com
missary's. Sometimes the Commissary
IT.,
sometimes II Is the other way. Wood
and water are furnished US, and the
water is entirely heaNhful That for
drinking IS brought TO the door, while
there Is r.auty of running water for
the kitchens and bathrooms. We have
still lot of work to do in putting up
houses for the laborers, skilled work.
men and the administration force.
There must be great deal Of prepara-
tory work done before the actual work
of digging can go on as rapidly as IL
should"
You speak of fir being brought from
Washington for building. Are there no
building woods on the Isthmus?"
There does not seem to be any. as
Tar as ! have seen. The most of the
timber on the Isthmus seems scrubby,
with the trees growing not much higher
than their first branches. There seems
to be plenty of this scrubby kind of
rosewood. mahogany, rubber trees and
lfgnum vitae, but none of Ii that 1 have
seen seems at all suitable for timber.
The ties in the railroad are mahogany.
rosewood and Iignum vitae, and we fire.
quently use an old tie to make fancy
canes of.
While Z and a great many others
have found conditions entirely satisfac-
tory. there are also others, who are Of
a rowing disposition. who came to the
A'ohAiioS OAPCShhS q sOll snap or else
merely for the sake of travelling. and
who left In short time. Some of them
may have had real causes for dissatis-
faction in their treatment by the subor-
dinates, but the most of them are nat
urally wanderers. and will not stay long
in any place."
1--WE hear much about the rainy sea-
son. How does it affect employment.
wages and workingmen?" he was asked.
Not at all as had expected. The
rainy season is marked by sudden show
ers. usually lasting only short time.
We work by the hour, carpenters being
divi 81 into 65 and 76 cents men: that
is. what they get per hour. and the rule
Is that where the shower does not last
more than an hour no deduction is
made. II 1t lasts Ion, er than an hour.
the time IS deducted from the mems
pay. In the eight months that l have
been. down there have lost but four
hours on account of the rainy season.
IL Is true, however, that much of my
work was indoors. which was not az.
fected by the rain"