148 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



horsemen, who flattened themselves Ignominlously against 

 an angle of the fence opposite to me to allow the cattle to 

 pass. 



About two and a half miles south of Cartago and three 

 hundred feet lower, lay the straggling little village of Agua 

 Caliente, on the north side of the Agua Caliente River. The 

 church had but a single tower and the two bells, large and 

 small, hung not in this tower but over a wooden platform 

 built between two trees by the side of the church. Much 

 coflFee was grown in the neighborhood of Agua Caliente and 

 there were also numbers of clay-pits and ovens for burning 

 the tiles. 



Across the river, quite close to its south or right bank, 

 were the hot springs that gave the place its name, A large 

 wooden bath house had been built over them, equipped with 

 seven or eight enamel-lined tubs piped for hot and cold 

 water, and at one time the whole place had evidently been 

 well fitted up. When we knew it, however, the establish- 

 ment had been much neglected, cold water pipes were out 

 of commission, the tubs chipped, the window glass broken 

 and furniture of the scantiest. Nevertheless there was a 

 caretaker of a sort and many people, both Costa Ricans and 

 foreigners, resorted to Agua Caliente for the hot baths, the 

 water having the reputation of possessing great remedial 

 powers. As we saw it, the water was very brown and was 

 usually extremely hot, and in the absence of cold water to mix 

 with it the bather had either to parboil himself or wait until 

 the bath cooled down to a bearable temperature, which con- 

 sumed much time. Consequently we did not bathe here 

 often. 



The water of this spring, or Hervidero de Agua Caliente, 

 was analyzed by Luciano Piatt and a report presented to 

 the President of Costa Rica in 1865, It has recently been 

 reprinted by Don Cleto Gonzalez Viquez in his Temblores, 



