COSTA RICA— VULCAN'S SMITHY 



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foot of the Poas Volcano. In 

 San Jose the material losses 

 have been considerable. Among 

 the public property, the four 

 buildings of the boys' high 

 school are practically out of 

 use ; two other school build- 

 ings have lost their upper 

 stories ; the old presidential 

 mansion, of late Comandancia 

 de Armas, is a wreck ; the new 

 penitentiary building is heavily 

 damaged, and the Supreme 

 Court of Justice had to be 

 evacuated. Of the private resi- 

 dences, it is said that 80 per 

 cent could not possibly stand a 

 repetition of the trial of April 

 13 last. 



At the latest news, about 

 May 23, seismic movements 

 were still felt, although with a 

 reduced intensity, and 6 to 10 

 shocks were reported daily. 

 All seem to indicate, however, 

 that the worst is over. 



During the night of May 

 13-14 several persons afihrmed 

 having seen from San Jose 

 glaring flames issuing from the 

 volcanoes, disagreeing only as 

 to the identity of the crater, 

 which some called Irazu and 

 others Poas. These two are 

 located, as may be seen from 

 the map, in quite opposite di- 

 rections. The contradiction is 

 now explained by the fact, at- 

 tested by many people, that at 

 the moment of the strongest 

 shock a brilliant meteor crossed 

 the zenith exactly from east to 

 west, and further notices from 

 the Pacific coast indicate that 

 that body fell in the middle of 

 the Gulf of Nicoya. 



As a matter of fact, none of 

 the Costa Rican volcanoes have 

 shown of late any sign of un- 

 usual activity, and the current 

 notices about lava eruptions 

 and the formation of new cra- 

 ters should be accepted with 

 caution. 



