The Holbrook news., 1911-05-05

| dividual banana might be worth
 anything at all in the land of it's origin, where, nevertheless, 1t is
 vegetable, fruit and staff of life together for its raisers, that notion fees forever and always once you drop anchor of the great docks of the banana shippers on the American
 sthmus.
 You may have found the place in- spiring if you came in at. times when banana loading was not on; but, ar rive here with the steamer that comes for the bananas, and you will never quite forget what transpires.
 Typical of such point is Almirante, up the river from Bocas del Toro, province capital of the baby republic. The wharf here belongs to the fruit company. So does the four miles of railway running inland and so do the plantations out there. The vista is a pretty one as one makes landing at the edge of tropical forest, with lit tie thatch homes such as are met with near Colon.
 Already car upon car of bananas are arriving. One sees the green fruit inside, leaves tightly packed be tween. There are eight cars in this first train, these of the stock car" sort, and gray painted save for the sign announcing this as the Chiriqui railway. or again, 1t may be the Chan guinola. Another great train with more fruit is entering in the distance.
 On the dock officers of Almirante in white duck are assuming charge. A negress, too, is selling yams. Some hardy tourists are crossing a bridge over an inlet of sea to where there is another great warehouse. Stacks of supplies lie all about, for the fruit company has here a commissary, from which 1t supplies its dependents over miles of banana land. Outside there stand huge tanks for. catching the drinking water. Above slopes the roof of corrugated iron
 The loneliness of this little station. at the heart of the swamps, is almost appalling. Behind leads the track to the plantation, far oil across that swamp. Over it lies a series of one room huts, tenanted by the negro workers of the station. These are of sloped roof all, and built upon piles. Behind them is the forest. A few hundred yards up the track there is another settlement of the red-roofed gray buildings, each of one room. There some of the newcomers already try to buy monkeys.
 Already the great crowd of banana | workers picked up by the steamer at Bocas are at their labors. Cars are | run in position so their doors are d. rectly opposite a like entry into the | ship. The doors are opened wide and l Inside the cars innumerable green | punches are piled close on the sides. | The edges of the car then are tucked | with green leaves.
 There Is just room for a darky to l get foothold. He reaches out a bunch | of the fruit, takes 1t between his two | hands and then losses 1t to two con- rades standing just next the door. They reach 1t to another two near by; | these hand 1t to two men on a table platform on the dock. From the steam CT two steps hang down, each sup ported by rope, and on each there are a pair of men They throw punches one to the next and on to like pairs into the bowels of the ship
 Such a gang is at work now at four places against the sides of the vessel. One comments on the quantities of green bananas fallen of, trodden upon, wasted. You sit on the pier, thumbing a native lily and watching these men. One car of 425 punches is just opened. Steps up the one man to take place inside, then the two pairs for the doors; then the three pairs for the three tiers to the ship. At once a human elevator is formed and the bananas pass in like a chain.
 Now and then a spirit of mischief seizes and one man will go fast a pur- pose to crowd the work at the top and SO block them.
 Then comes a cry of ''FatchI"
 Wait" we would put it; all are blocked for moment and they laugh at the joke.
 Things are full swing now, and as the work takes on speed, more, ever more, bananas fall, but to be wasted. It makes one recall how, in the days of the generation just passed, a sin gle banana was luxury.
 On the plantations as soon as one boat is gone they begin cutting for the next boat, the cutting being by punches.
 Other odd fruits could be exported