Watertown leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1909-1911, 1911-11-03

Bare feet stuck in the wooden stirrups. He
and his steed are festooned with bags baskets
and packages the tout ensemble suggesting
ltnerant Christmas tree Stuck under the saddle
flap, or elsewhere beyond ready reach s rife
or shotgun, of ancient make. probably unservice
able and almost certainly unloaded. Everyone
goes armed upon the road
Occasional reminders of less peaceful times
are seen in small wooden cross set in the
ground and surrounded by a rude rail fence indi-
eating the spot where some unfortunate met
violent death in the commission of crime Pan
falcon rode alongside as approached one OF
these unconsecrated burying places that contained
two crosses With enotioness precision he told
the grizzly tale of two compadres who had fallen
out and here had fought to the death with their
knives.
Compadres are bosom companions. bound by a
bond closer than that of brotherhood Only a
woman break that tie, ard when compadre
turns against compadre hell knows greater
bitterness. These two hacked each other until
they fell. gasping and bleeding. and foamng at
the mouth. still jabbng with waning strength.
They were found dead. locked in each others
arms. Perhaps at the very last the spirit of com
padreship returned to soothe their passing
| put this reflection to Pantaleon but he de-
clared it more likely that they died cursing each
other aud thinking of the girl. My own conciu-
sion pleased me better. but felt bound to defer
to my moso's superior knowledge OF the charac-
terlsticS of his cOuntrymen.
Presently the road entered the monte and we
rode between wooden walls reinforced by heavy
underground. At long intervals we passed small
clearings where the settler had cut over the
ground burned the debris where it fell and scat
tered his seed with a careless. confident hand
The machete is the universal agricultural nipple
ment A plow has never been seen in the coun-
try. Cultivation is neglected unnecessary
trouble Withal, harvests bounteous and re-
with the infabe regularity of the solar sys.
TEN. saw fields of sugar cane that had yielded
rich crops for fifteen unbroken seasons. and
piece of land which has stood in corn contin-
uously for half a century.
All over the Pacific slope of Chiriqui is a top
soil, from to 90 feet thick formed by the vol
ages from the mountain sides 1t is rich as any
In the world. but not onehundredt housandth part
OF 1t has been turned to the account of man.
Outside of David, the population Is less than four
to the square mile Apart from score of cattle
raisers and coffee growers. produces more
than enough to meet his needs whilst markets at
their very doors are crying aloud for the poten-
tial products of the province Panama is paying
high prices for Jamaican fruit and Cuban sugar
and American tobacco whilst these and many 9th
er imported commodities be grown within
her borders.
The pathetic mystery of It is that tens of thou
sands are Shaving in city sweatshops and facto-
ries. or painfully wringing living from a reluc-
tant soil when land unlimited lies waiting to
richly reward any man who will cast handful of
seed upon it.
Ten 1ries out from David came to Alanje