482 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



the covered patio near our door, having a galvanized roof, 

 was still dry, and we carried our trunks there, covered them 

 and by hard work we kept specimens and clothing dry. In 

 spite of bathtub, pails and pitchers the greater part of the 

 floor of our room was soon like a lake until the water found 

 its way through to the ground below. The rains caused 

 much discomfort and suffering in the town for there were 

 few roofs not leaking badly and many of the improvised 

 tents afforded no protection against even a moderate shower. 

 Workmen to set tiles were at a premium the following days 

 and we considered ourselves very lucky to have our own 

 particular leak repaired on the third day of the rains. 



The constant succession of shakings seemed to have no 

 bad effect on our menagerie and another Mecistogaster 

 transformed successfully on the morning of April 18. 



The accounts of great and serious changes in the crater 

 of Irazu, with tales of eruptions, slides, yawning crevices 

 and the like, together with the constant earthquakes, kept 

 the town in a fever of apprehension. However on April 20 

 Professor Tristan accompanied by Sr. A. Rudin, made 

 an official investigation of the craters. They found that the 

 volcano was absolutely normal and quiescent, with no 

 trace of any increased activity. Similar reports of new 

 volcanoes opening on the hillside of Paraiso, with numerous 

 hot springs, were equally unfounded. 



From April 24 to May i we were both at Juan Vifias, A. 

 returning alone to Cartago on May i. When I looked about 

 the town then I was impressed with the number of houses 

 marked with yellow chalk or paint. All houses so marked 

 had been condemned as unsafe by the board of government 

 engineers who had examined every room in every house in 

 Cartago. Our hotel had been pronounced quite safe. The 

 poorer houses were constructed of adobe, or sun-dried, 

 bricks alone, plastered inside and out. The better houses, 



