The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1911-11-25
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[(tJ century ago ny tue Ill It(J<o
jt1V the first of the Pana- !! 81
man Obaldias. who
created princely 4 H
estate from q royal grant OF land
Mangote. situated about miles from
the town. Is now In the hands of his
great-grandsons. whose father was
! |
lately president of the republic. Be =
FIRE the revolutionary days many sSsSz ~
Chiricano landowners maintained
lordly estate In peace and prosperity. ~
David is an attractive place. clean
and orderly a Dutch burg and pic lN
turesque as a Tyrolean hamlet Along IA
the broad. drab lengths Of the streets
are lined modest dwellings with
whitewashed walls. redted roofs and
blue and green doors and window
shutters The most pretentious resi-. tx ~
deRces are NO more than two storied -
name structures. with 10 rooms at
most and patio In the re.r OF the
5000 Inhabitants perhaps 50 are well
10 DO. In the conventional sense of H@szSSzy!9A :
the phrase. The remainder are super.
satively poor. measured by the stand
ard OF dollars and cents. but passing
rch in fact by reason OF having
everything that they need and probably all they
deslre Everyone seems TO secure an easy live
Mhood. but precisely how is dficult to determine
A hard worker is not to be SEEN but neither is
oeggar nor vagrant. and the municipality does
not boast any such institution as an almsbouse
mystery when one considers that land as prolific
as any IN the world Is to be had for the taking,
and a mans outfit of clothing consists of three
peces-straw hat shirt. and cotton trousers
while woman gets along very well with one gar.
ment. and children not encountered to that
extent
Although the dry was well-nigh spent
everything looked fresh and green the morning
mat gaoped ont upon the Ilsno on my way to
Dvaia MY moso long. lean fellow with
noto ,t4l~
never varied. but which later experience taught
me could always be depended on to bring hin,
% with me at the end of ride Man never
possessed less appropriate name than his
Panfaleon-"panther lion"-was possibly be-
slowed uron him in spirit OF irony He was
profoundly sefpossessed and had the commend
able characteristic of combining his attention to
his own business and just much of bis en-
ployer's as properly concerned him
BEFORE US stretched Of the llanos which
Ne. like grassy islands in forest sea at Intervals
all along the Pacific slope OF the Cordera For
miles onward and 2 either side of us the
ground extended In sweep level billiard
table and green With IT'S thick covering OF
sentebrillo the tract looked srrkingly like bir
Of The bluegrass country of Kentucky Here and
there wild fig or ceibo threw its heavyleafed
branches wide. affordine grateful shelter for man
and beast On every side the close ranks Of the
forest trees hemmed the panp in. and away be
yond In front rose the iabbed teeth Of the
sierra. with the smoking cone of Ell volcan pro-
tecting beyond the ruck
welworn crack indicates the shortest route
10 the point where the road enters the forest
We keep II In sight for the sake Of preserving
our bearing otherwise might ride unrestran-
edly on the darkest night over this fat expsnse.
unbroken by gullies and devoid OF burrows In
fact ] have crossed II at hand gallop In a
downrour Of rain. when nv horses ears were not
distinguishab'e and the blurred lights of David
made a lurid beacon M fch in fho
These lanos are the commons" of the people
1.-The poor mans grazing ground We pass small
herds of from 10 to 20 head nibbling the heritage,
which Is amrle for susenance but not suficieutly
rich and plentiful to condition them for market
Scattered over the range are few mares with
foals at their heels In this country they ride
ard work onlv the male horses leaving the ,e-
males constantly al grass This is obviously a
bad system for II retards hereditary transmission
and results in tho deveorment Of serviceable
qualities on one side only The animals are un
dersized and the breed poor the best strain being
derived from Peruvian stations Despite his IN
promising appearance. however the Panamanian
PONY is apt to surprise you with wonderful dis
play OF stamina have been carried fftyodd
miles by in twelve hours and found him IN
for good days journey the newt morning They
are easv going beasts with singleton gait and
n will be content 10 ride them In the manner
to which they accustomed. quite as service
able the average mount 10 be picked up in
Central South America n is distinctly advis
able however to get rid Of the greasy hair bride
Of the country. even though no better substitute
than Piece OF clean rore is available Failure
to take this precaution once cost a hand
Of which I was not cured for weeks
Now and again traveller legs by with NUT
tered "Ruenos dias"-a salnfafion that is never
omitted by man. woman child The rider
wears conical straw hat a cotton shirt. har
ping free in the wind. and pair Of blue jeans