IN NICARAGUA 



179 



situated at the bluff, some miles from the city itself, and it was while 

 going over to the fruiter that was to take us to New Orleans, that we 

 saw a very curious instance of the peculiar concessions that are held by 

 various companies. It seems that a steamer which was not one of the 

 elect had come down there for a load of bananas. In other words, it 

 didn't belong to the company having the navigation concessions. It 

 was, therefore, not allowed to go up into the rivers or lagoons but, not 

 to be beaten, the steamer's captain sent up to certain planters who 

 promptly despatched a huge scow load of bananas to the bluff where the 

 steamer lay. The government caused the scow to be laid alongside of 

 its wharf, and proceeded to discuss the unlawfulness of the proceedings. 

 While this discussion was going on, something like a hundred soldiers 

 marched onto the gunwale of the scow, which careened it just enough 



LARVAE OF CASTILLOA BORER. 



to cause the water to flow over the low bulwarks and sink the boat, 

 bananas and all. 



I tried to get a photograph of the sinking scow, but was deterred 

 by a gentleman who said that I might get in trouble with the customs 

 officers, and get my stuff held up if I gave evidence of being too active 

 a partisan. This was no idle dream, for I had trouble enough with the 

 officials anyhow, although I was not taking anything out of the country 

 except what I had brought in, with the exception of a few samples of 

 rubber and some Castilloa twigs that I was taking home in order to 

 discover by what disease they were attacked. 



Speaking of diseases of the Castilloa tree, I noticed in a yard sur- 

 rounding one of the plantation houses, that numbers of trees were 



