516 



THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



MAP O^ THAT PART O]? COSTA RICA WHICH WAS OVI5RWH15I.MED BY TH^ E^ARTHQUAKE^ 



OF MAY 4, I9IO, BY H. PITTIEJR 



As usual on such occasions, many in- 

 stances of miraculous rescues are cited, 

 and a large number of persons at first 

 thought to have perished turned up safe 

 and sound. Nevertheless, the ruins of 

 the old city had already given back over 

 600 bodies at the date of our latest infor- 

 mation, and many more will remain to 

 rest awhile under the debris, lucky if 

 death came instantly and not, as it "has 

 been found in several cases, after hours 

 of excruciating agony. 



In Paraiso, over 120 dead have been 

 removed from the ruins, and. if the 

 casualty lists of Aguacaliente, El Tejar, 

 Tierra Blanca, Cot, San Rafael, and 

 other villages and hamlets or isolated 

 houses are added to the former, the total 

 number of the victims will certainly 

 reach far above 1,000. Besides, it is 

 feared that many of the 500 or 600 pa- 

 tients filling the hospitals in consequence 

 of the earthquakes may not recover. 



The material losses, reaching a sum 

 well up into the millions, may not seem 

 very great to an American, but they are 

 simply crushing to a Httle country like 

 Costa Rica, especially at the present 

 time, coming upon her as it has in the 

 most serious and trying financial crisis 

 she has ever experienced in her history. 



the; P^OPLK of COSTA RICA ARE VERY 



DIFFERENT FROM OTHER CENTRAE 



AMERICANS 



The sympathy of the American people 

 and of all civilized nations will certainly 

 go out to the unfortunate little Republic, 

 which is attractive not only on account 

 of its natural beauties, the richness of its 

 flora and fauna, the striking contrast be- 

 tween its warm and fruitful coastal 

 plains, which yield yearly millions of 

 bunches of bananas, and its picturesque 

 mountains, producing cofifee of the very 

 finest quality, as well as nearly every 



