WEST AND NORTH OF CART AGO 109 



frequent rains, the sticky nature of the soil and the degree 

 to which it was washed on account of the steepness of the 

 roads, that it was no wonder that the clothes of the inhabi- 

 tants were usually stained. The existence of the cement 

 sinks at the Brenes' produced an improvement over the 

 usual method of washing clothes, for here it was done in one 

 of the sinks while ordinarily it was done on stones on the 

 banks of some stream irrespective of the cleanliness (or 

 muddiness) of the water thereof. All washing of clothes 

 was of course in cold water only. 



Senor Tristan had a broom of the usual civilized type in 

 the telegraph office, but at the Brenes' a bundle of leafy 

 twigs did duty for sweeping, an operation which was usually 

 performed by the man of the house during my presence 

 there. 



After dinner we returned to the office until seven o'clock, 

 then went back to the Brenes' where Senor Tristan had a 

 phonograph and for two hours American, Spanish and other 

 songs were produced in the sleeping room for the gratification 

 of the family and a few neighbors. Seiiora Brenes joined 

 us later and indulged in her cigarette, sitting on the edge of 

 the bed in which the little girl was sleeping. The illumina- 

 tion was furnished by a single candle. The phonograph 

 provided Sefior Tristan's usual evening amusement and 

 must have added greatly to the pleasures of these people. 



The road which led to the top of the village went on to 

 the craters of Irazij. The highest house was 7150 feet above 

 sea-level. Looking down on the village gave a picturesque 

 view of the red roofs and white walls of the houses nestling 

 among the green vegetation, while beyond was the valley of 

 Cartago bounded on the south by range after range of moun- 

 tains. From this point, on some days, San Jose was also 

 visible. After climbing the Tierra Blanca hill, the road 

 keeps nearly to a level for a couple of miles, dividing then 



