davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22
"A RICA-By Frar,k G. Carpenter

IT am writing The tongue of the cart Is almost as large around as tele-
 graph pole. It is bound to the axle at
 one end. and at the other is the OK
 yoke, which must weigh 20 pounds.
 This yoke Is a bar of wood which rests on the necks of the oxen just back of
 the horns. Ii is fastened by wide straps
 to the horns, and the beasts push and pull by the horns. The yoke Is so bound that the oxen cannot move their heads from side to side, and they are held like wise.
 These carts are said to be the only vehicles that can make their way over the country. During the rainy reason the mud comes up to the axle. and spoke wheels will not cut through fl as well as these solid disks.
 Just now the season Is drg-, and the carts make a hideous noise they go through the streets They awake me at 5 o'clock every morning, and at midday have to shut both windows and doors to hear myself talk. Such a cart will carry ton when the material is heavy. The driver walks in front with a goad ending in d point of steel foot long. With this he directs the oxen, giving the great beasts a jab when they do not obey.
 The Land 'of the Hookworm
 There is one thing that strikes me as l travel that is the weak, anemic and unnour- ished condition of the people. They are a sawed-off race In this l speak of the peasant classes, and more espe- cially of those of the plateau The men I venture will not average five feet four inches in height. l am about i've feet eight; and nearly every man meet Is head shorter than l. The boys or II and 12 are not bigger than Swear ald in 10 cta they look as though a good squeeze would crush them to bits. The peasants are said to be lazy, but l doubt whether their lack of energy does not come from dis ease. l am told that the people are largely afflicted with worms, and that they have many intestinal diseases
 Indeed the hookworm is common, and the government is doing all it can to eradicate 1t. It has taken advantage of the discoveries which we made in Porto Rico and in our southern states, and any one can have medicine for the ask ing. Uncle Sam has cured hundreds of thousands of our citizens of Porto Rico of this plague and 1t has made good workmen of them. There is no coub. the same can be done here. One trouble
 is the bad sanitary conditions. There is no such thing as a sewer anywhere, out side few cities. and as most of the peo- pie go barefooted the parasites get in through the feet, and in time practically the whole nation, except the few rich and we'll to do, have been thus infected.
 The ravages of the hookworm are not confined to the plateau. It exists in the lowlands as well, and is prevalent also among the Jamaica negroes who work the banana plantations. It is so common among the white natives that it will be some time before it can be eradicated, but if so, the native may return to the strength of his ancestors, and be like.the husky, hardy Basques of north Spain. Such a people could make Costa Riea bloom like the rose.
 FRANK c. CARPENTER.
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22

Down on the coast the bulk of the popn- lation Is composed of blacks from Ja- maica, but here on the highlands the peo- pie are tue descendants of some of the best of the Spaniards. They came from the Gallieian and the Basque provinces from the northern part of the Spanish peninsula and the frontiers Of France They are superior to the natives of other Central American republics snd are noted as lovers of freedom and peace.
 The OK Carts of San Jose
 But let us go out of the market and take a look at the traffic It is com posed of foot passengers, milkmen upon horseback and scores of OK carts. The OK carts are the drays of the city, and the farm wagons throughout the coun- try. They are about the only means of transportation. and with the exception of that of the railroad all the freight is carried by them. The carts are of the rudest description. They have beds which, heaped up, might hold 10 or 12 bushels. and these rest on clumsy axle which has two wheels about as large as the wheel of a bicycle. The wheels are made of one solid block or wood, and are bound on iron tires as thick as the lead pencil with which
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22

II YU in the northeastern corner or New York state there is a little stream called the Chazy. It -empties into Lake Champlain. On l6O- acre farm not far from the river an or Dhan boz worked. His father and mother had died when he was years old. Ills uncle, who farmed the 16o-acre plot, took him to raise One Christmas eve the farmer gave a festival to celebrate good years work He had all his farm hands in and all his family about him There was feasting and merrymaklnS and much good cheer Then there was some speech-making. The uncle opened 1t with a little talk to his employees. lie thanked this one and that one Tor ms faithful services, and every one. from foreman down to the humblest laporer, had a word of praise from him except the orphan boy.
 Half humorously, half seriously. the uncle drew attention to the boys fauIts' He thought the lad shirked his worK' lacked ambition, was too much gwen to meditation, too inclined to loate The uncle meant to be kind and merely polnt ont his errors to the boy, but his re- marks cut the youngster to the heart. The boy did not believe that what his uncle said was warranted. He knew he had not loafed He knew he had tried to work faithfully; he knew he had more than earned the little that came to hlm. He was only IA years old at the tune or that Christmas celebration, and after the speech of his uncle there was no more Christmas rejoicing for him.
 When the party broke up he went out side and thought for a long time of what his uncle had said and what the others had said about him. No one on the farm understood the boy: no one had an ap- preciation of his sensitive nature. He loved that farm and he loved the soil After a while he went to his room and got together his few belongings. All he had in the world other than his clothes was sli This money he had earned in- dependently. 1t came to him from two years crops of potatoes which he had raised on a little garden patch which he called his own.
 On Christmas day the orphan boy was missing With his sl4 in his pocket he had started out to make his own way In the world Somehow he reached Chi caRo. It's a hard journey in midwinter for a lad with only small bit of money. But the boy was strong and resolute. When he got to Chicago he hunted the '~cisy over for work. The only thing that he could get to do was in the stock wards He knew cattle, and, despite his uncle's opinion, he was not lazy. He did not get much pay to begin with, but lie worked like Trojan. Out of his snant wages he saved little. When his wages were increased he saved more. If was d bard life, but he did not mind lt He did so well that after few years. despite his youth. he was made a foreman Then he became dissatisfied He did not see much future in the stock xards The restlessness of youth was stirring him One day he resigned and went out in search of some employment that was more congenial and that offered greater opportunities.
 He had some mechanical skill, and this Id him to visit some of the machinery
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22
.........................................


 T don't like to bother you" said the corporation president.
 You won't said MT. Miner. Take one of the cottages"
 "we'll be up tomorrow" said the cor poration head.
 They arrived the next day with few servants and were escorted b thei. cot tage The wife of the corporation pres ident wondered what they were going to do about foodstuff. She went to tile kitchen and the pantry. There she discov- cred that every need had been antici- pated. Not only was the pantry more than we'll stocked with provisions for an ehaundantly supplied table, out the re- frigerator was laden with food of every description. Not a thing was forgotten. Ham, bacon, and even fresh meats were provided. Flour, sugar, grams. spices. jams, preserves fresh fruits. cereals, crackers, bread, butter, milk, cheese ard score of other things necessary to the opening up of housekeeping-all had been taken into consideration and had been provided for the comfort and welfare of the guests.
 The estate is not a paradise in the sum mer alone, but in all the seasons. In win ttt II Is d GlOly. AS IlucH care ndS Dttn given to the trees as to the cattle. In one grove there are 10000 sugar naples MT. Miner makes provision for the winter feeding of the birds and the winter feed ing of the squirrels and the other deni- zens of tho woods, for he will have none of Gods creatures suffer the bangs of hunger on his farm.
 It is big undertaking to run an estate the size of this one. The accounts are kent inst carafllllv fbosa in his business office in Chicago. But in Chicago it is labor for money. and at Chazy it is labor for love. Mir Miner gives almost as much attention to ques- tions relating to the farm as he does to the most important of his business mat ters. From a distance his farm build ings make a bigger showing than the average village. His dairy barn covers more than an acre. One of the chicken brooder houses covers nearly two acres. His power houses are as big as some of those used on trolley lines. His fish hatchery is the largest in northern New York, if not in the whole state. His grist mill Is huge affair
 The Wonder Man of Chazy is 54 years old He has no children. You will search Who's Who" and not find his name. You will search the di- rectory of directories and other corpor- alton manuals and not find his name.
 He confines his energies to his great business in Cicago and to his great | business at his farm. Whatever he may have dreamt when he turned his back on the Champlain country 40 years ago and faced the land of promise in the west could not be more fantastic than what has come true. Maybe he dreamt of day when he would come l back to that place he loved, for there ! is a suggestion in this in the name he l his given to his place of peace and ! plenty, and there could be no more exquisite name for it. for it Is Hearts ] Desire.
 Copyright. 1912 by Richard Spilane.)
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22
, MOUNTAIN CAPITAL OF COSTA RI

tcopyright 1912, by Frank c. Carpenter) fWANT to show you one of the most
 interesting little towns in the world. A I mean San Jose. this capital of Costa Rica situated down here in the mountains at the tail end of our conti- nent It is high up in the Central Amer ican Andes within thousand feet, per haps, of the altitude of Denver, sur rounded by mighty mountains which are green to their tops, but whose heads are lost in the clouds. The sky is bright blue and the air is so clear that you can see many miles. The semi-tropical sun paints the clouds on the hills, II brings out the red roofs of the city lying in the hollow below, and shows the gay build- ings which are of bright yellow, sky blue, grass green and dark red. The little capital is just about a mile and a half in diameter. It runs up hill and down, covering the arena of an ampi- thetre, the walls of which are the noun tains.
 San Jose has about 5000 people. It is city of one and two story buildings, with many Catholic churches, a good sized cathedral, great theatre and some other public structures rising above them There half dozen parks scattered throughout the city. The narrow streets cross one another at right angles, the main one being the Avenida Central which begins at the national park near thu Northern railway station and ends in the grassy polo grounds known as the savanhas, at the opposite end of the town.
 San Jose Houses
 The buildings of San Jose are made of adobe with this stuceo finish painted as have described. The roof extends far out over the walls, and along each is gutter with drain pipes leading down and connecting with the open concrete cutters which line the sides of the oa1way. Along the sides of the street are narrow stone flag sidewalks and the pavement between is of a combination of earth ana l rough stones which when she heavy uX- carts move over it give forth sound Ike that of a traction engine m col duroy road.
 The houses are all Spanish style They have wide doors and windows facing the l street and many of the windows are barred I suppose to keep in the girls. Behind the more pretentious structures are patios or little courts filled with palms and other tropical plants, and in some cases with fountain or so. The rooms run about these pati0s and face upon them and the ordinary fire house is just one room deep all the way around. l The poorer dwellings sometimes nave garden at the back, but more often they | consist of merely one or two rooms fac ing the street, and with no back outlet whatever.
 Business at the Capital
 The stores are scattered all over the l town, with the best not far from the | postoffice in the heart of the city. There l are many large establishments amors l them. San Jose is the business center of all Costa Rica and the most of the wholesale and retail business IS done right at the capital. Not few of the firms turn over half million dollars | year and know of one little drug store which does a business of oyer S2)Voo0 per annum
 There are some stores with plate glass windows which would be of credit to any city in the United States of four times
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22
.r r1Ar of tke Ckazz


 lea roam his hills and dells. Black bass and trout abound in his lakes and brooks. He has five lakes on his estate. The lart- est Lake Alice, is named in horror Of hlS wife. Everything that money and good taste could suggest to heautify the streams has been done. The boat housss are exquisite and the boats arc charming
 Along the beautiful roads that he has built he has placed at various spots bronze tablets on powders. These tab
 lets bear inscriptions from the poets he
 loves. One from Whittier must have struck a responsive chord in the heart of the orphan boy:
 Yet, haply, in some lull of life.
 Some Truce of God which breaks it's
 strife,
 The woridlings eye shall gather dew,
 Dreaming in thoughtful city ways
 Of winter joys his boyhood knew
 He has a catholic love of the poets, for some of the tablets have quatrains from Wordsworth. some from Helen Hunt Jackson, some from James Whit comb Riley some from Kingsley, some from Susan Coolidge, some from Moore. some from Bryant and some from the lesser poets whose names are rarely heard and whose works are forgotten.
 
 farm does not pay. He never expected 1t to pay and probably never wants it to pay. He has it for his own enjoyment and the enjoyment of his friends and for the enjoyment of those who labor for him.
 When any of the office girls out in the Rookery in Chicago get run down l in health they are invited to Chazy. where they are the guests of Mir and Mrs. Miner. They can live in private cottages or live in MT. Miners home. | If they want to play at farming, they may do so. If they want to go into the woods and play with the deer. they are | free to indulge their fancy. If they want to be rustic and ride in OK teams, the teams are there at their bidding. | There are carriages, too, and there are | autos if they want to roam the country 1 over. off in the distance are the Adir- | ondacks; off in the opposite direction are the Green mountains of Vermont. Not far away are the historic waters of Lake Champlain.
 l But the girls and the boys and the men
 who work in Chicago for the Chazy far nler are not the only ones who aie Hidden tLere Railroad presidents, bankers. ner- chants and men of prominence in various
 walks of life are invited. One man who
 vent to the Chazy farm got :he surprise 1 of his life He is the head of a great cor poration employing many thousands Of men. He met Mir Miner on the train and was complaining that he needed rest but did not know where to go. 1 Come up to my place., said the 1ariner. Impossible. Why, man, when my wlle and I go anywhere we have to take sew eral servants said the big man.
 Bring them along said MT Miner
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22

 concerns. He got a job in the Pullman car shops, and found this work far more to his liking than that of the stock yards.
 It is Q wonderful plant the Pullman people have near Chicago, and he made a deep impression upon the sensitive young man. He was not content to simply do his days work. He studied machinery, rot superficially, but with all the intensity of his nature. Before long he began to have notions that he could make various Improvements in some Of the tools used in the shops. Then his ideas broadened until they embraced larger things. The air brake was young in those days. He saw an opportunity of making it more effective. He devised an air brake of his own and had 1t pat ented. He tried to sell his invention to the Pullman people, but they refused it. They saw little merit in the device. He offered 1t to various railroads, but met with disappointment.
 The youngster was not dlsheartened. He had saved enough money to cover his expenses for a year or two, so he gave up his position with the Pullman people and went out to try to market his air brake. He must have been pretty good salesman for he induced the Illinois Central to take it up. It proved a success, and then other rail- roads saw it's virtues. In a few years it was bringing a handsome income to him. With a fair bit of capital at his command, he went into the general rail- way supply business in Chicago. He devised many things for the greater strength and safety of railroad cars, and slowly but surely built up a large business.
 Fifteen years after he had left the Cha2y he returned. It was not the poor orphan boy, heartsick and sorrow full, who reappeared in that far corner of New York, but man of 29, rich, prosperous, already figure in the busy world of affairs. His uncle had died while the boy was away in Chi cago laying the basis of a fortune. The lad bore no Ill feeling against his uncle for what he had said. but remem- bered mostly the uncle's many kind nesses.
 The orphan boy was William H. Milner Ills mission to the Chazy was to buy the 16o acre farm his uncle had ] possessed The boy never had lost his love for the soil and never had ceased to carry the picture of that beautiful Chazy country in his mind When he became owner of those l60 acres he determined to make a paradise of that country. And he has succeeded
 Out in the Roolsery building in Chi cago he has the headquarters of his big railway supply business. There he works for eight or nine months in the i year. The rest of the time he employees on his pet project at the Chazy Lit tie by little he has added to the l6O acres When he began the whole country around was split up into small I holdings. Here and there farmer had eight or ten acres Others had | 25. 30 or 50 acres few had 100 For 25 years he. has been buying one farm after another and transforming it to fit in with the plan he had in mind. Today his l60 acres have broad
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22
''I'l>s;e:


 ened into principality of 11,oOO acres.
 He has bought lakes and he has bought streams, and has spread out north, east, south and west, but In spreading he has visited hardships on no one Where persons were attached to their homes and were reluctant to sell because they were old and 1t wrenches the heart to move in old age, he has purchase their land and given to them the privilege of remaining upon 1t for the rest of their lives rent free. If they are too old to till their land them selves he tills it for them. Near his ebautiful home, almost within stones throw of 1t, is the corner of five acre farm upon which a blind woman lives. The title rests today in MT. Miners name, but his men pay more attention to those five acres, perhaps, than to any other five acres on the vast estate for they take pleasure in seeing how large a profit they can return each year for the afflicted womans account.
 What William H. Miner has done in the Chazy land almost passes belief. On his estate he employees 400 men. Three beautiful streams flow through the farm There are hundreds Of charming cottages and artistic farm structures. He has built miles or mac adamized road through the property and made the 11.000 acres not only paradise for man but paradise for animals There are herds of bunalo and herds of elk. Deer wander over the land. gentle and free. He has homes for the birds, wild and tame. There are focks of golden pheasants and multitudes of pa%ridges.
 In building the homes for birds he has studied their needs just as architects in building town or country houses study | the needs of humans. To get water i power for generating electricity he built dam 570N feet long-the largest private dam in the world. Every mechanical ap-
 pliance that can be employed on the | farm to advantage he uses. He lights his
 roads and he lights all the buildings on
 his grea- estate by electricity Not only that. but he furnishes light and power to
 the people of the little village of Chazy 1 free.
 He has torn out the wooden bridges i that span the streams and has replaced them with beautiful concrete ones. He 1 has endeavored to put farming on high
 CT plane. He has divided his farm busi- ness into various departments and each
 department is in charge of a specialist. l He has searched the world over for 1 the best of cattle the best of horses, the best of sheep. the best of hogs, the
 best of turkeys, the best of chickens. the best of birds the best of fish. the best
 of grains He raises many thousands of | bushels of corn, of wheat, of oats, of
 rye, of barley. of buckwheat and thou | sands Of tons of alfalfa. All his grain Is ground in his own grist mill and fed
 to the farm animals. He has perhaps the | finest herd of Holstein cattle in the world He has the champion Percheron stall
 lion, too. His Cheshire White and his
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22

I am told it is even so heee with the young ladies who belong to the rich up- per crust. But I can tell you good looking maiden looks far better with no hat at all and besides-it costs less.
 Now examine the dress of the men. Those of the better classes wear the same costumes that we do at home. The climate here is perpetual spring, and the white ducks and linens of Panama are too cool for comfort It is only the peasants and farmers who dress largely in cottons They have on short jackets like roundabouts which reach a little be- low the waist, and their trousers fit al- most tight around their thin shanlIs. Nearly every man has pair of saddle bags on his shoulders or back. These are made of leather beautifully embrold- cred, each bag holding about half peck.
 But few of the men are fat and many look not overfed. One striking feature to me is the lack of the razor The masses do not shave, and the most of the faces are covered with thin, curly, struggling beard which looks as though it's owner had never known the scrape Of the razor Outside this the men are rather good looking They are white, with but little admixture of negro or Indian blood,
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22

Yorkshire hogs have wide reputation- The barns in which his farm ahiiiais live ara as near being immaculate as such structures can be. The animals have every care and attention, for they are his pets.
 He is just as careful of the human part of his estate as of the animals: TO ,nose of his employees who are married ne TUT, nishes cottages rent free. Ills uniharrieu male employees live in clubs oI ''' , nasi one of these clubs has q library, real
The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-22

ing room, billiard table and music room He is a great believer in the vir- tue of water There are lots of bathtubs in every dwelling house on his estate. And every house has plumbing that is high grade and sanitary. Every house, from his own home down to that of the farm hand, has hot water, cold water and spring water taps. There is one thing for which he has an abhorrence. That is a gun. He will allow no shooting on his estate. The finest Dorset sheep .n Amer