IN COSTA RICA 



187 



Limon. For them the United Fruit Co. provides hospitals, keeping out 

 two per cent, of their wages for medical attendance; and yet, in spite 

 of black fever, yellow fever, mosquitoes, and snakes, there is not a great 

 amount of sickness among these laborers. And if one can judge by the 

 appearance of the people, their home life in their little tin-roofed shacks, 

 crowded with pickaninnies, mangy dogs, monkeys, and parrots, shows 

 a greater measure of content than is to be found in the majority of settle- 

 ments more favorably located, and populated by those who have a 

 thousandfold more to make existence tolerable. 



As the train emerged from the palmetto swamps, it ran through 

 some magnificent banana plantations, the trees growing rankly from rich 



LOADING BANANAS ON A TRAIN. 



alluvial soil and the bunches of fruit being often five or six feet long, 

 and weighing over one hundred pounds each. The railroad, by the way, 

 over which we were traveling, was built through the enterprise of that 

 well known American, Mr. Minor C. Keith, who was also the creator of 

 the great United Fruit Co. 



After a time the road began to ascend and the scenery became more 

 and more beautiful. Nearly the whole of the distance up to the city of 

 San Jose, the way lay along the side of a range of mountains, and ran 

 parallel with a rapidly rushing river, whose white water could be seen 

 oftentimes for miles. As we got up into the higher country, the home 

 life of the Costa Rican began to be apparent. 



