El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-24

Aug. Z4.-SudnSe Things dI ran
ANA! We have plenty Of them
and some which make ones eyes bulge
out like saucers. This is the heart OF
the tropics, and the sun works like a
dynamo. have here seen boys snow
balling at MONDAY. They had real
snow and were plugging away at each
other under the cocoanut palms. Trop-
ical plants were growing luxuriantly
about them and orchids hung from the
porches OF a government building near
by. The snow came from the colo
storage plant, and 1t was made up OF
the ics shavings Of Uncle Sans fac
tory. The government is now making
several thousand tons of ice every
month, and It can turn out 400 gallons
OF ice cream a day. It sends out an
icy cold storage train every morning,
and ice cream is sold at such rates
that every canal family can have II
Sunday, and, II it will, several times
during the week
Streams which Flow OIL.
Another strange thing is the streams
which flow oil. We have hundreds OF
them on the zone. They are coateu
with scum. and the scum IS petroleum
You look about in vain for derricks
and flowing gas wells. There is noun eL-
ing of the kind The oil comes from
the sanitary department, and II Is sup
piled by an army which coats every
stream. This is to kill the mosquitoes
and the means of furnishing 1t are va
rious In some places it leaks out OF
reservoirs from pipes which drip, drip
drip oil all day and al night IN
others the oil is fIom machines Wnlcn
spray it over the vegetation ana into
the streams. and in still other places
from great tin cans made for the pur-
nose. which are hung over the ponds,
dripping only so much at time All
this is to fight the mosquito, the little
beast being hunted as though he were
- L. -E q p
a lion or a tiger on the banks OF an
East Indian river.
The Fruits of the Isthmns-
What would you think of 1rult
which contains so much pepsin that Il
will digest buckwheat cakes, Welsh
rarebit and greasy pork chopSz we
have If down here. It Iooks like a
rnuskme1on and it grows at the top o.
a tree not unlike a small palm ms
fruit is the papaya and you may nave
it any morning at almost any hotel.
It is eaten with sugar or salt l IiIlo
And then we have alligator pears as
big IS your fist and as green as new
peas They have a hard outer shell'
which. when cut through, shows
flesh of pale green or white as SotL
as butter and of an oleaginous taste
Dress this fruit with salt, pepper ano
vinegar. and it makes a delicious salae
which melts in your mouth You may
buv alligator pears in New York at %
not SO good as those of the isthmus,
which you can have almost for the
asking
And then our grapefruit Those We
eat here come from Jamaica, and are
far better than any raised IN the
states They are sweeter and 1ulcler
and their quininelike flavor Just SUITS
the stomach. We have denclous
bananas from Bocas del Toro and ripe
piueapples from the Island of Iaboga
which YOU can eat with a spoon we
have mangoes fit for a queen and have
fresh vegetables all the year round
Moreover, Uncle sam is weekly ship
ming down apples, pears and all the
products of the temperate zone, and We
have also tropical vegetables such as
Yucca chayotes and vans Indeed, the
average mans table at Panama has
greater variety than it could have at
A Land of Game.
One always thinks of cold countries
as the only ones fit for hunting.
Strange TO say. Panama is land OF
game and wild fowl The country IS
as rough as the Allegheny mountains,
and it is full of deer. wild hogs and
one may now and then meet taplr-
The tapir is q. kind of cross, as Tar as
looks are concerned, of a hog, a horse
and an elephant 1t has a nose which
is almost a trunk It has hoofs like
horse, save they end in sharp toes
Its tail is like that of pig and
il is often the size of a Stocky pony.
N Measuring about a yard and half
from the ground to its shoulder. One
of Uncle Sans Zone judges who spends
his vacations hunting tells me he shot
a number of these beasts and that the
meat is delicious. He has shot scores
of deer, and as for wild ducks, I see
great 1ocks of them every time I pass
the now fast rising Lake of GaJun-
Back from the Canal Zone, where the
population is scanty, there is plenty OF
game and venison is frequently served
at the hotels of Colon and Panama
One or the strange kinds of wild
beasts seen in the markets is the
iguana What would you think OF
eating a lizard We'll, that is what the
iguana is. 1t is a lizard as big as a
cat with g coat of hard scales cover
ing its pack. Its flesh tastes like
spring chicken 1t is delicious and
compares IL some respects with the
diamond back terrapin from the wa
tiers OF Chesa Peake bay
The Vegetation of Panama.
You have heard that Panama, is
Jungle and your idea Of the isthmus is
perhaps a mighty palm garden. There
are plenty Of Ialnls, but there are also
other treLS Of a hundred varieties
There are great forests of hardwoods, /
with palms here and there scattered
through them. There are scores Of
plants tie rames of which are not
known to the ordinary traveller and |
many OF which are new to the bota- |
nists
There are also plants ana woods
which the indians use for medicinal /
purposes, some of which are practical |