CHAPTER XVI 



THE BANANA RIVER COUNTRY 



About six miles south of Limon, the Banana River empties 

 into the Caribbean Sea. The United Fruit Company has a 

 number of banana farms in its watershed and a railroad runs 

 to the river, ascends its left bank, crosses and goes on five 

 miles beyond to the Rio Bananito, which also discharges 

 into the Caribbean. 



On the morning of November 4, 1909, P. left Limon by 

 the Banana River train, which ran south along the beach 

 above high tide, among cocoanut palms and here and there 

 patches of swamp palms. At Westfalia Commissary Sta- 

 tion, about six miles from Limon, we left the beach and soon 

 after passed a plantation of cacao, with trees only ten to 

 fifteen feet high; they were planted in rows and bore fruit 

 on their trunks which was now green tinted with pink or 

 rose. For the rest of the way we were among bananas. At 

 Bearesem East Farm the track was very close to the Banana 

 River. Sometimes going ahead, sometimes backing, we 

 came to, stopped at and went on from Beverly Farm, and 

 Beverly Commissary, which were on the level, and Beare- 

 sem West Farm to Philadelphia South Farm. The farm- 

 houses on these last two farms were each set on a hill some 

 hundred feet above the tracks. At Philadelphia South I 

 alighted, having a letter from Mr. Hitchcock to Mr. C. J. 

 Veitch, Superintendent of the Banana River Division. Mr. 

 Schaus had suggested Bearesem West Farm as being prob- 

 ably the best for my purposes and Mr. Hitchcock had named 

 this place in the letter of introduction. Mr. Veitch received 



