﻿'210 
  

  

  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  Photograph 
  by 
  H. 
  N. 
  Rudd 
  

  

  A 
  PICNIC 
  PARTY 
  IN 
  COSTA 
  RICA 
  

  

  The 
  Costa 
  Ricans 
  are 
  among 
  the 
  most 
  progressive 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  peoples 
  living 
  between 
  the 
  

   Rio 
  Grande 
  River 
  and 
  the 
  Panama 
  Canal. 
  English 
  capital 
  predominates 
  in 
  that 
  country. 
  The 
  

   Costa 
  Rican 
  children 
  are 
  as 
  sunny 
  as 
  the 
  skies 
  under 
  which 
  they 
  live, 
  and 
  picnicking 
  time 
  is 
  

   next 
  to 
  Christmas 
  in 
  their 
  affections. 
  

  

  worth 
  handling, 
  no 
  one 
  has 
  come 
  forward 
  

   with 
  sufficient 
  capital 
  to 
  erect 
  the 
  ex- 
  

   pensive 
  plant 
  necessary. 
  

  

  COSTA 
  RICA 
  MAY 
  BIv 
  GR^AT 
  GOLD-PRODUC- 
  

   ING 
  state; 
  

  

  Since 
  the 
  abandonment 
  of 
  work 
  in 
  the 
  

   Aguacate 
  range, 
  half 
  a 
  century 
  ago, 
  prac- 
  

   tically 
  all 
  the 
  mining 
  interests 
  have 
  been 
  

   concentrated 
  on 
  the 
  Pacific 
  slope, 
  where 
  

   are 
  immense 
  ore 
  deposits 
  carrying 
  gold 
  in 
  

   low 
  values. 
  

  

  With 
  further 
  development 
  of 
  railways 
  

   and 
  possibility 
  of 
  obtaining 
  power 
  from 
  

   streams 
  of 
  the 
  coast 
  mountains, 
  mining 
  

   is 
  certain 
  to 
  have 
  a 
  renascence 
  through- 
  

   out 
  (lie 
  republic, 
  which 
  will 
  take 
  its 
  place 
  

   as 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  great 
  gold-producing 
  states 
  

   of 
  Latin-America, 
  in 
  the 
  opinion 
  of 
  many. 
  

  

  The 
  principal 
  manufacture 
  is 
  that 
  of 
  

   alcoholic 
  liquors, 
  a 
  government 
  monopoly. 
  

   With 
  agriculture 
  and 
  mining, 
  the 
  list 
  of 
  

   industries 
  is 
  exhausted. 
  

  

  Public 
  safety 
  is 
  as 
  good 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  United 
  

   States 
  — 
  I 
  fear 
  I 
  must 
  say 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  better 
  

   than 
  in 
  some 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  — 
  

   and 
  security 
  almost 
  absolute. 
  It 
  is 
  a 
  com- 
  

   mon 
  saying 
  that 
  when 
  a 
  theft 
  is 
  reported 
  

   it 
  is 
  almost 
  never 
  traced 
  to 
  a 
  Costa 
  Rican, 
  

   but 
  to 
  an 
  immigrant, 
  of 
  whom 
  there 
  are 
  a 
  

   good 
  many 
  from 
  the 
  West 
  India 
  islands, 
  

   principally 
  Jamaica 
  negroes, 
  who 
  have 
  

   been 
  imported 
  to 
  work 
  on 
  the 
  banana 
  

   plantations 
  because 
  of 
  their 
  ability 
  to 
  

   stand 
  the 
  feverish 
  lowland 
  climate, 
  which 
  

   Europeans 
  and 
  Costa 
  Ricans 
  can 
  ill 
  tol- 
  

   erate. 
  

  

  RAILWAY 
  LINK 
  COMPLETED 
  FROM 
  SEA 
  

   TO 
  SEA 
  

  

  Development 
  of 
  the 
  resources 
  of 
  the 
  

   nation 
  and 
  of 
  public 
  utilities 
  has 
  been 
  

   steady 
  and 
  reasonably 
  rapid 
  during 
  the 
  

   past 
  20 
  years. 
  A 
  railway 
  line 
  has 
  been 
  

   pushed 
  from 
  sea 
  to 
  sea, 
  by 
  way 
  of 
  San 
  

   Jose, 
  in 
  spite 
  of 
  great 
  engineering 
  diffi- 
  

  

  