﻿COSTA 
  RICA, 
  LAND 
  OF 
  THE 
  BANANA 
  

  

  211 
  

  

  Photograph 
  by 
  H. 
  X. 
  Rudd 
  

  

  TALAMANCA 
  INDIAN 
  GIRLS 
  GRINDING 
  GRAIN 
  

  

  Though 
  these 
  people 
  live 
  within 
  a 
  few 
  miles 
  of 
  a 
  Costa 
  Rican 
  railroad, 
  they 
  are 
  almost 
  

   totally 
  unaffected 
  by 
  modern 
  civilization. 
  The 
  dialect 
  which 
  they 
  speak 
  is 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  

   Guetar, 
  the 
  dominant 
  tongue 
  among 
  the 
  Caribs. 
  

  

  culties. 
  The 
  capital 
  has 
  electric 
  lights, 
  a 
  

   good 
  electric 
  street 
  railway, 
  modern 
  sew- 
  

   erage, 
  and 
  telephones. 
  

  

  Although 
  the 
  country 
  owes 
  everything 
  

   to 
  foreign 
  capital, 
  I 
  believe 
  no 
  large 
  con- 
  

   cessions 
  have 
  been 
  given 
  which 
  deprived 
  

   the 
  natives 
  of 
  opportunity, 
  as 
  many 
  Mex- 
  

   icans 
  claim 
  has 
  been 
  the 
  case 
  in 
  their 
  own 
  

   country; 
  for 
  the 
  great 
  holdings 
  of 
  the 
  

   American 
  fruit 
  company 
  are 
  in 
  a 
  region 
  

   that 
  was 
  formerly 
  swamp 
  and 
  jungle. 
  

  

  Besides 
  its 
  connections 
  with 
  Xew 
  Or- 
  

   leans 
  and 
  New 
  York, 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast 
  

   has 
  direct 
  sailings 
  to 
  Europe 
  and 
  Great 
  

   Britain, 
  while 
  the 
  Pacific 
  coast 
  is 
  touched 
  

   by 
  steamers 
  from 
  San 
  Francisco 
  to 
  

   Panama. 
  

  

  Sanitary 
  conditions 
  in 
  the 
  country 
  have 
  

   been 
  rapidly 
  improved. 
  Yellow 
  fever, 
  

   which 
  formerly 
  exacted 
  a 
  terrible 
  toll 
  in 
  

   the 
  banana 
  country 
  of 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  lit- 
  

   toral, 
  has 
  practically 
  disappeared. 
  San 
  

   Jose 
  and 
  most 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  principal 
  cities 
  

  

  are 
  at 
  such 
  an 
  altitude 
  that 
  the 
  climate 
  is 
  

   temperate, 
  with 
  a 
  mean 
  of 
  60 
  to 
  70 
  de- 
  

   grees, 
  and 
  they 
  are 
  healthy. 
  

  

  THE 
  STORY 
  OE 
  COCOS, 
  A 
  REAL 
  TREASURE 
  

  

  ISLAND 
  

  

  Costa 
  Rica 
  has 
  one 
  resource 
  which 
  is 
  

   worth 
  a 
  digression 
  — 
  Cocos, 
  a 
  palm- 
  

   fringed 
  islet 
  400 
  miles 
  from 
  the 
  main- 
  

   land, 
  off 
  the 
  Pacific 
  coast 
  of 
  Panama. 
  It 
  

   is 
  the 
  supposed 
  hiding 
  place 
  of 
  the 
  im- 
  

   mense 
  treasure 
  carried 
  from 
  Peru 
  a 
  cou- 
  

   ple 
  of 
  centuries 
  ago 
  on 
  the 
  schooner 
  

   Mary 
  Dyer, 
  which 
  was 
  wrecked 
  on 
  the 
  

   island. 
  

  

  The 
  story 
  is 
  familiar 
  to 
  every 
  news- 
  

   paper 
  reader 
  — 
  how 
  a 
  revolution 
  threat- 
  

   ened, 
  and 
  all 
  the 
  treasure 
  in 
  Lima 
  was 
  

   placed 
  on 
  this 
  schooner 
  in 
  the 
  harbor. 
  In 
  

   the 
  night 
  the 
  crew 
  mutinied, 
  anticipated 
  

   the 
  looters 
  of 
  the 
  city, 
  and 
  sailed 
  out 
  of 
  

   port 
  with 
  practically 
  all 
  the 
  wealth 
  of 
  the 
  

   town 
  on 
  board. 
  

  

  