﻿COSTA 
  RICA, 
  LAND 
  OF 
  THE 
  BANANA 
  

  

  213 
  

  

  Various 
  charts 
  are 
  in 
  existence 
  pur- 
  

   porting 
  to 
  give 
  the 
  exact 
  location 
  of 
  the 
  

   hoard, 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  constant 
  object 
  

   of 
  search, 
  so 
  that 
  in 
  recent 
  years 
  a 
  dozen 
  

   or 
  more 
  expeditions 
  have 
  started 
  or 
  tried 
  

   to 
  start 
  to 
  bring 
  it 
  home. 
  Those 
  which 
  

   finally 
  arrived 
  at 
  the 
  island 
  have 
  all 
  

   failed, 
  although 
  many 
  of 
  them 
  came 
  away 
  

   with 
  their 
  share 
  of 
  eternal 
  hope 
  undimin- 
  

   ished, 
  and 
  I 
  suppose 
  the 
  desolate 
  place 
  

   is 
  still 
  in 
  possession 
  of 
  its 
  long-time 
  in- 
  

   habitant, 
  a 
  Dutchman 
  who 
  digs 
  around 
  

   in 
  haphazard 
  fashion 
  and 
  raises 
  pigs, 
  

   which 
  he 
  can 
  always 
  sell 
  at 
  a 
  good 
  profit 
  

   to 
  the 
  next 
  exploring 
  expedition. 
  His 
  

   mind 
  has 
  been 
  unbalanced 
  by 
  the 
  soli- 
  

   tude 
  ; 
  if 
  he 
  should 
  find 
  treasure, 
  it 
  will 
  

   have 
  been 
  dearly 
  bought. 
  

  

  Nearly 
  every 
  Costa 
  Rican 
  believes 
  in 
  

   the 
  hoard 
  ; 
  in 
  fact, 
  when 
  I 
  first 
  went 
  to 
  

   San 
  Jose 
  I 
  found 
  the 
  American 
  consul 
  

   just 
  starting 
  out 
  on 
  the 
  quest. 
  President 
  

   Iglesias 
  was 
  a 
  firm 
  adherent 
  of 
  the 
  story 
  

   and 
  put 
  the 
  island 
  under 
  strict 
  govern- 
  

   ment 
  control, 
  granting 
  special 
  conces- 
  

   sions 
  — 
  for 
  a 
  price— 
  to 
  those 
  who 
  wished 
  

   to 
  dig. 
  Nearly 
  20 
  years 
  ago, 
  when 
  the 
  

   national 
  treasury 
  was 
  low, 
  he 
  organized 
  

   an 
  official 
  government 
  expedition 
  which 
  

   he 
  expected 
  would 
  put 
  the 
  country 
  be- 
  

   yond 
  the 
  need 
  of 
  taxation 
  for 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  

   its 
  history. 
  

  

  The 
  navy 
  of 
  the 
  nation 
  was 
  very 
  use- 
  

   ful 
  on 
  this 
  occasion 
  to 
  transport 
  the 
  

   party, 
  which 
  returned 
  empty-handed 
  in 
  

   spite 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  it 
  had 
  been 
  accom- 
  

   panied 
  by 
  an 
  American 
  with 
  a 
  divining 
  

   rod. 
  This 
  was 
  an 
  old 
  umbrella 
  rib, 
  with 
  

   a 
  bottle 
  of 
  "big 
  medicine" 
  attached 
  to 
  one 
  

   end, 
  and 
  had 
  never 
  before 
  been 
  known 
  

   to 
  fail, 
  as 
  the 
  inventor 
  himself 
  admitted 
  ; 
  

   so 
  if 
  its 
  testimony 
  was 
  true 
  on* 
  this 
  occa- 
  

   sion, 
  then 
  the 
  report 
  is 
  well 
  founded 
  that 
  

   the 
  pirates 
  returned 
  and 
  carried 
  off 
  their 
  

   treasure 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  after 
  they 
  

   buried 
  it. 
  

  

  REVOLUTION 
  MADE 
  SAN 
  JOSE 
  CAPITAL 
  

  

  Next 
  to 
  San 
  Jose, 
  Cartago 
  is 
  the 
  most 
  

   interesting 
  city, 
  having 
  been 
  the 
  seat 
  of 
  

   government 
  under 
  Spanish 
  rule. 
  When 
  

   the 
  republicans 
  established 
  independence, 
  

   in 
  1 
  82 
  1, 
  a 
  faction 
  in 
  Cartago 
  attempted 
  

   to 
  hold 
  the 
  province 
  for 
  Spain 
  ; 
  where- 
  

   upon 
  the 
  victorious 
  party 
  settled 
  the 
  ques- 
  

   tion 
  by 
  removing 
  the 
  capital 
  to 
  San 
  Jose, 
  

   then 
  an 
  insignificant 
  mountain 
  town. 
  

  

  Cartago 
  remained 
  for 
  years 
  the 
  place 
  

   of 
  residence 
  of 
  the 
  aristocrats, 
  and 
  was 
  

   also 
  famous 
  for 
  its 
  pilgrim 
  church, 
  "Our 
  

   Lady 
  of 
  the 
  Angels," 
  built 
  over 
  a 
  spring 
  

   which 
  was 
  sought 
  from 
  all 
  parts 
  of 
  the 
  

   country 
  for 
  its 
  reputed 
  miraculous 
  cures. 
  

   More 
  recently 
  it 
  sprang 
  into 
  prominence 
  

   as 
  the 
  location 
  of 
  the 
  peace 
  palace 
  which 
  

   Andrew 
  Carnegie 
  built 
  to 
  solidify 
  the 
  

   friendship 
  of 
  the 
  Central 
  American 
  re- 
  

   publics 
  and 
  which, 
  it 
  will 
  be 
  recalled, 
  was 
  

   destroyed 
  by 
  an 
  earthquake. 
  

  

  CARTAGO, 
  DESTROYED 
  BY 
  EARTHQUAKE, 
  

   SUBSTANTIALLY 
  REBUILT 
  

  

  Cartago 
  has 
  always 
  been 
  subject 
  to 
  

   earthquakes 
  because 
  of 
  its 
  position 
  at 
  the 
  

   "foot 
  of 
  an 
  active 
  volcano. 
  It 
  was 
  com- 
  

   pletely 
  destroyed 
  in 
  1841, 
  following 
  

   which 
  it 
  was 
  rebuilt 
  in 
  a 
  substantial 
  way. 
  

  

  Alajuela 
  and 
  Heredia 
  are 
  the 
  two 
  larg- 
  

   est 
  towns 
  on 
  what 
  was 
  until 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  

   ago 
  the 
  national 
  cart 
  road 
  from 
  San 
  Jose 
  

   to 
  the 
  Pacific 
  coast, 
  over 
  which 
  all 
  the 
  

   traffic 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  passed 
  for 
  a 
  cen- 
  

   tury 
  or 
  more, 
  although 
  the 
  railroad 
  has 
  

   now 
  superseded 
  it. 
  

  

  Heredia, 
  with 
  its 
  historic 
  churches, 
  is 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  oldest 
  and 
  most 
  picturesque 
  

   places 
  in 
  the 
  republic, 
  while 
  Alajuela 
  is 
  

   equally 
  interesting. 
  Associated 
  with 
  the 
  

   latter's 
  old 
  fort 
  are 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  stir- 
  

   ring 
  events 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  nation. 
  

  

  The 
  only 
  other 
  towns 
  of 
  importance 
  

   are 
  Liberia, 
  the 
  isolated 
  capital 
  of 
  the 
  

   province 
  of 
  Guanacaste, 
  and 
  the 
  two 
  

   ports 
  of 
  entry, 
  which 
  I 
  have 
  already 
  men- 
  

   tioned. 
  Puntarenas 
  is 
  decaying, 
  as 
  its 
  

   Atlantic 
  rival 
  gains 
  the 
  trade. 
  The 
  latter 
  

   contains 
  a 
  large 
  English-speaking 
  popu- 
  

   lation, 
  both 
  white 
  and 
  black, 
  due 
  to 
  its 
  

   banana 
  industry 
  (see 
  pages 
  202 
  and 
  204). 
  

  

  For 
  beauty 
  in 
  Costa 
  Rica 
  one 
  must, 
  as 
  

   a 
  general 
  rule, 
  stay 
  outside 
  the 
  cities. 
  

   The 
  country 
  is 
  as 
  fine 
  as 
  any 
  in 
  the 
  West- 
  

   ern 
  Hemisphere. 
  I 
  have 
  met 
  numerous 
  

   globe-trotters 
  who 
  tell 
  me 
  they 
  put 
  views 
  

   from 
  the 
  Aguacate 
  Mountains 
  (where, 
  

   on 
  a 
  clear 
  day, 
  both 
  oceans 
  can 
  be 
  seen) 
  

   with 
  the 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  finest 
  bits 
  of 
  scen- 
  

   ery 
  in 
  the 
  world. 
  

  

  The 
  savannas, 
  or 
  meadows, 
  on 
  the 
  Pa- 
  

   cific 
  slope 
  are 
  a 
  perpetual 
  joy. 
  looking 
  

   more 
  like 
  parks 
  than 
  like 
  wild 
  land, 
  witli 
  

   their 
  long 
  grass 
  and 
  graceful 
  palms. 
  At 
  

   every 
  turn 
  of 
  the 
  road 
  one 
  comes 
  across 
  

   a 
  thatched 
  hut 
  with 
  its 
  peasant 
  occupants. 
  

  

  