El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-10-14

able to dispense with our sleeping
bags by staying at a little inn at san
Pedro, about two hours ride from TINS
point, and starting from there at
o'clock in the morning, shau not soon
forget that night at san Pedro. NY
flesh is soft from the spring mat
tresses which Uncle Sam furnishes at
Panama, and the san Pedro bed was
board. There was no light but a
candle and so we lay down at about
o'clock. 1 counted the hours rung by
the church bell until midnight. and
then dropped off by taking the covers
and laying them under me to soften
the boards.
The stars of Costa RIGA.
Tt was just o'clock in the morning
when the guide called US, and half an
hour later we had had a cup Of hot
coffee and were on our way UP the
mountain. We rode at first through
the starlight We could see the Great
Bear turned upside down as 1t seems
to be here. at this hour, and also the
Southern Cross at the other end Of the
heavens. The stars were wonderfully
clear. The milky way shone brighter
than at home, and the whole vault OF
the sky with its myriad points of dia-
mOnd light fitted close down over the
mountains. Indeed, the night was so
beautiful that it reminded me OF that
line where in Marlow's DR.. Faustus he
speaks Of the charms Of his lady
'Oh thou art fairer than the evening
air,
clad in the beauty Of a thousand
stars"
But had NARROW been on Poss he would
have made that thousand millions. Ihe
whole sky was peppered with stars
and each one seemed a planet
Shortly after we left the hotel we
had a magnificent view Of this valley
of the upper Andes, in which Alaju-
Ella, san Jose and other towns lie
san Jose was lighted by electricity,
and it seemed a great golden lake on
the star-it eXpanse below us.
For the first few miles the road was
fairly good We passed through sugar
and coffee plantations, and by rude
factories where with lamps or candles
the men We're already grinding the
cane They start at 1 o'clock in the
morning and at about have enough
juice to boil down for the day
Climbing Up the Volcano.
So FAR all was peaceful enough and
as we rode rapidly along on our Costa
Rican ponies L thought Of the remark
of the British consul at san Jose that
the ride was 2 hard one and / rather
sneered at his Judgment, saying to
FlOeCkher why, my boy this is
cinch. 1t is like riding a rocking
horse over the Washington asphalt"
was soon to find my mistake We
shortly left the road and took a trail
over the mountains. Senior de Soto,
who I venture IS a descendant of the
man VINO discovered the mississippi,
and the guide, a peon named Roja,
agreed that we had better take a short
cut over the hills, as it was too dark
to so through the woods. We did this
and came at once into q series of "a
vines and gOrges 50 dep that We could
not see our horses heads in front
Of US
In the meantime the clouds had OBJ
scUred the stars, a mist rose and the
cliffs seemed to extend up on al sides.
We fOrded several streams, and I was
warned to put only my toes in the
stirrups lest = case Of a fail I should
be dragged. We climbed up hill and
down and finally came into a canyon,
which seemed exceedingly perilous
Out Of this We climbed up into the
open. where a stiff wind was blowing.
The region was wild and hiuOcl1y- 1t
was scanned with earthquake cracks
and gullies down which the horses
would almost so on their noses, and
up which they would climb like the
comics Of the Alps
Lost on Mt. POas.
All this time it was growing darker
and darker. The land was full of
stumpS and down timber, and the
guide, who was scrambling along upon
his bare feet, fell again and again. L
could keep track of him only by his
white straw hat, which he carried in
his hand. This made a faint light for
q time but at last even the hat was
invisible Then. to crown it all. the
man stopped and said he had lost his
way. He advised US that we had bet
ter wait there until daylight, as some
of the earthquake cracks were eX-
ceedingly dangerous. He said, how
ever, that the path could not be far
off and I insisted on our trying to
find it. I got off my horse and tried
to make my way over the gUlIies and
the fallen trees and stss-1Ps. but I was
more often on my face than my feet.
] soon became winded and then con-
clUded that 1 would rather die on the
back of a horse than on foot. So L
got on again and thrashed my steed
into action. Then the saddle girth
broke and I slid down to the ground.
E,ToorT-Io- 11-+ fret hi