CHAPTER XVIII 



TURRUCARES AND THE RIO GRANDE DE TARCOLES 



Turrucares, a small village on the Pacific Railroad, was the 

 scene of three collecting trips, in August, December and 

 April. 



On August 13, Professor Tristan and P., taking the 9 A. M. 

 train from San Jose, reached Turrucares about 10.40 and 

 went up the slope immediately behind (north of) the sta- 

 tion to the house of the Custodio or caretaker of the "Diana 

 Club," Alfaro by name. Professor Tristan bore a letter 

 from Senor Assmann of San Jose, president of this club, di- 

 recting Custodio Alfaro to allow us to sleep in the club's 

 cabin. The Custodio was away when we arrived but re- 

 turned in the afternoon and gave us the keys. In the mean- 

 time his wife gave us breakfast and we left our things in his 

 house while we were collecting. 



The walls of the Custodio's house were formed of boards 

 certainly fifteen to sixteen inches wide; it had a red tile 

 roof and hard earth floors. It was one-storied of course and 

 contained four or five rooms. It had some windows but 

 no sashes, no chimney in the kitchen, but some latticework 

 between walls and roof facilitated the escape of some of the 

 smoke. As usual the roof projected over the front wall so 

 as to form a covered porch as one might almost call it. 

 Some of the chairs were entirely of wood, but there were two 

 called "tijeretas," having a piece of untanned hide stretched 

 from the top of the back to the front of the seat so that seat 

 and back were one continuous piece. The kitchen fire was 

 built on a table within some bricks which were laid, without 



