cc.b'yvi A'yr.i 151 



To visit the successful nnningciinips in Costa Rica one luis to 

 ride over rougli roads, crossing bridgeless rivers, and traversing 

 tliick forests, where nialiogany, cedar, ruhl)er, an<l other trop- 

 ical trees cover the earth and screen the skies. The journey is 

 long and at times tiresome, but to see gold at the end of the 

 journey mingling wiMi the l)est of mother earth mon; than refiays 

 for the discomfort of travel. Here is a region of incomparable 

 mineral richness, but up to the present the mines have been 

 worked in a most primitive way, necessitating great lal^or and ex- 

 pense. With the importation of new labor-saving machines and 

 improved mining methods there is no doubt that we shall soon 

 see golden streams flowing from the dei)ths of Costa Rica. 



Throughout the Republic transportation is largel}' conducted 

 by caravans, with ox teams as the motive power. The carts are 

 heavy, {)rimitive vehicles made by the peasants, the wheels being 

 solid circular disks cut from the stems of large trees. The o.xen 

 are always objects of regard, as their drivers and owners have 

 an almost supernatural love for them, and often prize them more 

 than they do their own wives. 



The railroad from San Jose to the Pacific coast is partially 

 completed and passes through a fertile agricultural country and 

 several towns, among them Alajuela, with its extensive market. 

 At Alajuela we leave behind us tiie train and reach Esparta, 

 twelve miles away from Puntarenas, by mules. From Esparta, 

 one of the oldest towns in Costa Rica, we again take the train to 

 Puntarenas. This is the principal seaport on the Pacific and is 

 connected by steamer with San Francisco. 



It must be plain that Costa Rica offers industrious immigrants 

 exceptional advantages. Men who can begin life on a plantation 

 or in one of the many industries with a few hundred dollars can 

 in a few years accumulate a reasonable property, secure a perma- 

 nent home in a region surpassed nowhere in the world for health- 

 fulness, and lay the foundation for an estate which is certain to 

 increase rapidly in value. Costa Rica is indeed a land of i)romise 

 to all interested in securing for themselves a future prosperity ; 

 it is a land upon which greater nations will ere long be casting 

 their ambitious eyes. 



[The illustrations accompanying the foregoing ariicle are from photographs kimlly 

 placed at the disposal of the editor by Sertor Don Joaqnin B. Calvo. Costa Rican Min- 

 ister Resident at Washington.] 



