The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-09-19


tirely on fish and tropical fruits The :,
banana, cocoanut, mangoes and yam
enter into the daily bill of fare.
Simple life is seen here to perfection
and the hospitable people of Alma
santi know nothing about the high
cost of living.
Do Business On Sidewalk.
after spending few hours in
this interesting little village and con-
versing with the people who practi-
cally live and do business on the
sidewalk, and who are very free to
converse, we boarded the special
train <and went through the country
to the banana fields. The United
Fruit company owns 10000 acres of
land in sections most of which are
growing bananas
THE railroad through and to these
banana fields winds along narrow
road cut out of the jungles and the
scenery is beautiful almost beyond de-
scription. In the back ground the
mountains rear their high heads
heavenward. On each side of the
narrow paths are forests of redwood,
some mahogany, Towering trees and
shrubs, banana trees and palm trees.
Many Beautiful Birds.
81 am told that these jungles have
in them many beautiful tropical
birds, poisonous snakes, deer in
large numbers, and monkeys. We
did not see any of these for they
keep somewhat out of the way of
the main line of travel. To some
who venture into the jungles, hunt
ing monkeys and shooting them is
pleasant pastime. The writer
| could not do it. They are too nearly
human. ! am told that when one is
wounded it will look at it's assailant
and cry like a child. 1t will put its
| paw or hand over the bleeding wound
as if to staunch the blood, will oc
casionally remove the bloody hand
and look at it with an expression
of sorrow
! I'VE crossed two or three rapidly
| flowing rivers, one as large as the
Mississippi is at st. Paul. So heavy
! is the rainfall in Panama that the
rivers must be large and run swiftly
in order to carry off the water.
The Handsome Yards.
''At every railway station in these
jungles and in the midst of the
banana farms, are few houses and
| some of the most beautiful yards
we have ever seen. The yards are
enclosed with hedges of foliage
plants with a variety of beautiful
colors. The hibisca is much in evil
| dence. This is about the size of an
ordinary lemon tree covered with
large red flowers, single and double
Il think many people in the north
| do not know how the banana grows.
The bunch of bananas we see in
the market grow on the banana
! trees, which resemble somewhat
corn stalk, except that the leaves
are much broader and longer. The
! larger trees have e diameter of
] three or four inches and attain a
i height of ten to twelve feet. Each
/ stalk bears one bunch only of ba-
4 nanas and bears only once, then
IOJS. "A new SIStih IdhoS It's place.
and in seven months is full grown
and bears another bunch, which in
i turn rots. So the process goes on
4 perpetually. Where the fruit is cul-
tivated as it is within these planta-
lions, the laborers cut down the
stalks when they gather the lunches
Il of bananas. They need practically
j no cultivating. The laborer keeps
:, out the growth of weeds and pulls
:, out the suckers just as our farmers
pull them out from the stalk of
corn. There is no hoeing. nor plow-
). ing required.
i The Banana Industry.
i 1.-The banana industry is practically
! new one, but is growing rapidly,
and the consumption OF the fruit is
increasing, especially in the United
States where eighty-five per cent of
i the commercial and exported ba-
nanas are consumed. We are carry
ing on our boat $4,000 punches. The
Il United Fruit company exports on an
> average 10000 punches a week. We
, watched with much interest the
, darkies loading the bananas. The
! bunch of bananas are rolled on
cushions after being taken from the
, car until they reach the place on
the boat where they are packed.
The darkies work in pairs, one at
!! each end of the bunch of bananas
f! One Defective Banana.
"If there is a single defective ba-
mana on the bunch the entire bunch
is rejected. In this way fully a
carload of punches were rejected and
7 thrown on the deck, and as we
sailed, were thrown into the sea.
This at first seemed to us a great
! waste, but we soon found that the
natives come cut in little boats and
gathered the punches as they fioated
upon the water.
"The company is now preparing
:! to dry and grind all the good ba-
! nanas in the rejected lunches, and
thus will use them as byproduet.
= Much could be said of our interesting
visit to the banana fields, but the
letter is entirely too long, hence l
will close.
2 "The Mankato contingent, George