The midland journal., November 03, 1911, Image 6

About The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947

Image provided by: University of Maryland, College Park, MD

                
Up GcMfilrv/ I
UrtH■li mm ml J£y Lindsay
4
fMADE the 300 mile* |
journey up to David, ' y
the capital of the /
Province of Chlrlqul, /
In a coasting steamer /
of the house-boat /
type, with open lower I
desk and galvanized 1
and only 6 feet draft
David was founded !| A.
somewhat more than \
a century ago by the 1 rf
the first of the Pans- if
———^ man Obaldias, who j *
created a princely J: 1-
estate from a royal grant of land.
Mangote, situated about 8 miles from 1
the town, is now in the hands of his \
great-grandsons, whose father was \ -
lately president of the republic. Be
fore the revolutionary days many \lg
Chiricano landowners maintained a YH
lordly estate in peace and prosperity.
David Is an attractive place, clean \|||
and orderly as a Dutch burg and pic- j|||
turesque as a Tyrolean hamlet Along
the broad, drab lengths of the streets uggsPS
are lined modest dwellings with *
whitewashed walls, red-tiled roofs, and
blue and green doors and window
shutters. The most pretentious rest- |g§. >gl
dences are no more than two-storied
frame structures, with 10 rooms at Ig
most and a patio in the rear. Of the i|
5.000 inhabitants perhaps 50 are “well H
to do," In the conventional sense of Bwj
the phrase. The remainder are super- |||||||*||||
latively poor, measured by the stand
ard of dollars and cents, but passing i
rich in fact by reason of having
everything, that they need and probably all they
desire. Everyone seems to secure an easy live
lihood, but precisely how is difficult to determine.
A hard worker is not to be seen, but neither Is
a beggar nor a vagrant, and the municipality does
not boast any such institution as an almshouse, i
However, the matter Is divested of much of its
mystery when one considers that land as prolific
-as any lit the world Is to be had for the taking,
and a man’s outfit of clothing consists of threa
pieces—straw hat, shirt, and cotton trousers—
■while a woman gets along very well with one gar
ment, and children are not encumbered to that
extent.
Although the dry season was well-nigh spent,
everything looked fresh and green the morning
that I galloped out upon the llano on my way to
Dtvala., My moso, a long, lean fellow with a
melancholy visage, followed at a pace which he
never varied, but which later experience taught
m could always .be depended on to bring him
up with me at the end of a ride. Man never
possessed s less appropriate name than his.
Pantaleon—'"panther lion"—was possibly be
stowed upon him In a spirit of irony. He was
profoundly, self-possessed and had the commend
able characteristic of confining his attention to
his own business and just so much of his em
ployer’s as properly concerned him.
Before us stretched one of the llanos, which
He, like grassy Islands in a forest sea, at Intervals
all alqng the Pacific slope of the Cordillera. For
4 miles onward and 2 on either side of ns the
ground extended in a sweep as level as a billiard
table and as green. Wltb its thick covering of
jenjebrillo, the tract looked strikingly like a bit '
of the blue-grass country of Kentucky. Here and
there a wild fig or a celbo threw Its heavy-leafed
branches wide, affording grateful shelter for man
and beast. On every side the close ranks of the
forest trees hemmed the llano in, and away be
yond in our front rose the jabbed teeth of the
sierra, with the smoking cone of El Volcan pro
jecting beyond the ruck.
A well-worn crack Indicates the shortest route
to the point where the road enters the forest.
We keep It in sight tor the sake of preserving
our bearing, otherwise one might ride unrestrain
edly on the darkest night Over this flat expanse,
' unbroken by gullies and devoid of burrows. In
fact. I have crossed It at a hand gallop In a
downpour of rain, when my horse's ears were not
distinguishable and the blurred lights of David
made a lurid beacon patch In the distance.
* These llanos are the “commons" of the people
—the poor man’s grazing ground. We pass small
herds of from 10 to 20 head, nibbling the herbage,
which Is ample for sustenance but not sufficiently
rich and plentiful to condition them for market.
Scattered over the range are a few mares, with
foals at their heels. In this country they ride
and work only the male horses, leaving the fe
males constantly at grass. This Is obviously a
had system, for It retards hereditary transmission
and results In the development .of serviceable
qualities on one side only. The animals are un
dersized and the breed poor, the beet Strain being
derived from Peruvian stallions. Despite his un
promising appearance, however, the Panamanian
pony is apt to surprise you with a wonderful dis
play of stamina. I have been carried fifty-odd
miles by one In twelve hours and found him fit
for a good day’s journey the next morning. They
•re easy-going beasts, with a single-foot gait, and
If one wIH be content to ride them In the manner
to which they are accustomed, quite as service
able as the average mount to be picked up in
Central or South America. It Is distinctly advis
able, however, to get rid of the greasy hair bridle
of the country, even though no better substitute
than a piece of clean rope Is available. Failure
to take tbia precaution once cost me a sore hand
of which 1 was not cured for weeks.
Now and again a traveler jogs by, with a mut
tered “Buenoa dies”—a salutation that is never
omitted by mas. woman or child. The rider
wears a conical straw hat, a cotton shirt, flap
ping tree In the wind, and a pair of blue jeans.
Bare feet are stuck In the wooden stirrupa. He
and bis steed are festooned with bags, baskets
and packages, the tout ensemble suggesting an
Itinerant Christmas tree. Stuck under the saddle
flap, or elsewhere beyond ready reach. Is a rifle
or shotgun, of ancient make, probably unservice
able, and almost certainly unloaded. Everyone
goes armed upon the road.
Occasional reminders of less peaceful times
are seen in a small wooden cross set In the
ground and surrounded by a rude rail fence. Indi
cating the spot where some unfortunate met a
violent death In the commission of a crime. Pan
taleon rode alongside as I approached one of
these unconsecrated burying places that contained
two crosses With emotionless precision he told
the grizzly tale of two compadres who had fallen
out and here had fought to the death with their
knives.
Compadres are bosom companions, bound by a
bond closer than that of brotherhood. Only a
woman can break that tie, and when compadre
turns against compadre bell knows no greater
bitterness. These two hacked each other until
they fejl, gasping and bleeding, and foaming at
the mouth, still jabbing with waning strength.
They were found dead, locked in each other’s
arms. Perhaps at the very last the spirit of com
padreshlp returned to soothe their passing.
I put this reflection to Pantaleon, but he de
clared H more likely that they died cursing each
other and thinking of the girl. My own conclu
sion pleased me better, but I felt bound to defer
to my moso's superior knowledge of the charac
teristics of his countrymen.
Presently the road entered the monte, and we
rode between wooden walls reinforced by heavy
undergrowth. At long intervals we passed small
clearings where the settler bad cut over the
ground, burned the debris where It fell, and scat
tered his seed with a careless, confident hand.
The machete is the universal agricultural imple
ment. A plow has never been seen In the coun
try. Cultivation is neglected as an unnecessary
trouble. Withal, harvests are bounteous and re
cur with the infallible regularity of the solar sys
tem. I saw fields of sugar cane that had yielded
rich crops for fifteen unbroken seasons, and a
piece of land which has stood in corn contin
uously for half a century.
All over the Pacific slope of Chlrlqul Is a top
soil, from 6 to 20 feet thick, formed by the vol
ages from the mountain sides. It Is rich as any
In the world, but not one-hundred-tbousandth part
of It has been turned to the account of man.
-'Outside of David, the population ts less than four
to the square mile. Apart from a score of cattle
raisers and cofTee growers, no man produces more
than enough to meet hla needs, whilst markets at
their very doors are crying aloud for the poten
tial products of the province. Panama la paying
high prices for Jamaican fruit and Cuban sugar
and American tobacco, whilst these and many oth
er Imported commodities can be grown within
her borders.
The pathetic mystery of It la that tena of thou
sands are slaving In city sweatshops and facto
ries, or painfully wringing a living from a reluc
tant soil, when land unlimited lies waiting to
richly reward any man who win cast a handful of
seed upon It*
Ten miles out from David we came to Alanje,
\ ft pueblo of only a few hundred th
habitants, but a place of consldera
flgM tlon In this sparsely settled country.
jjaflMßM There are no hotels In the Interior,
Hal nor Is there need for them where ev-
B\ ery door is open to the wayfarer. The
j|l first glance around the plaza of
Alanje will decide the discriminating
stranger to head for the comfortable
looking frame house on the south
\\ ® lde - wlth ,ts inviting veranda. Should
1 he not immediately take that dlrec
]■ tlon, the little cura. In his long black
J J robe, is likely to come to the door and
shout a welcome.
The mid-day breakfast at the cural
_ was an excellent meal, reinforced by
i* good wine and superb coffee. The
B. pleasures of the occasion were height
re-iSI ened by the entertaining remarks of
Hjfl my lively host He was very young
|p and very optimistic, quite content
with his lot and properly impressed
i||| with the Importance of his work. It
HHH appeared to me that his life must be
a lonely and monotonous one. but he
did not share my view of it He was
the only man of any education in the village, but
two highways and several byways converge at
Alanjp, and every few days he might look for a
passim visit from some intelligent traveler. His
duties occupied three or four hours of the day
and the rest of the time he filled in with study,
for his ambition pointed to advancement in his
calling, whilst his environment had awakened an
inherent taste for natural history.
We left the table to walk over to the church,
with its curious detached tower. I asked for the
records. With righteous indignation blazing in his
eyes, the little cura laid before me a pile of leath
er-covered manuscripts, molded, worm-eaten, and
torn. Not a page was intact, hardly two consecu
tive lines legible.
“Such neglect is crime,” said my host, fer
vently. “t need hardly say that the damage was
beyond arrest when these came into my hands.”
I fully appreciated his feelings. Indeed, I dare
say that my own regret was the keener. Alanje
is older than David. In fact, its history merges
with the times of the Conquistadores and there Is
no knowing what wondrous tales may be hidden
in those sadly mutilated documents. ,
“Our church has a legend,” remarked the cura,
leading me to a large alcove on the left of the
chancel. Drawing aside a curtain, he revealed a
life sized painting of the Christ in his final agony.
It was evidently the work of an artist, but did
not betray extraordinary ability.
“I don’t know when this came here, but it was
certainly before the present generation." the
cura explained, with a slight show of embarrass
ment. “The story goes that one evening ft
stranger came to the village and. declining shel
ter elsewhere, begged to be locked alone in the
church over night. His request was granted.
When the curious villagers came early in the
morning to look for him he had gone, and the pic
ture, with the paint fresh and wet, hung where
you see it."
I looked at the little cura questloningly.
“Oh, I don’t know," he said, with a shame
faced smile and a shrug of the shuolders. “At
any rate, my people believe the story firmly, and
it does them no harm.”
On the road between Alanje and Divala we
crossed several streams. A better watered coun
try than this could not well be imagined.
Divala is a little settlement of 50 to 60 huts
and, perhaps, 300 inhabitants, who are entirely
dependent upon the ranch and Insure it a con
stant supply of labor. The people cultivate little
patches, from which they derive almost all the
foodstuffs they need. A few weeks’ work in the
year at 60 cents a day will produce enough money
for clothing and a moderate indulgence in the
luxuries that are to be had at the village trading
store.
Divala is 15 miles from anywhere, but the most
unlikely place to look for an American family In
a bungalow that has the appearance of having
been transplanted from a New Jersey suburb.
Mrs. Wilson has lived In this out-of-the-way cos
ner of the earth for five years, and has had the
companionship of her Infant during the past
eighteen months. There is not a woman of her
own race within 40 miles. This Is isolation, in
deed, and I suspected that she must -find it irk
some, though she would not admit as much.
Twelve years ago Leslie Wilson came out from
California and settled In the neighborhood of Di
vala with half a dozen Americans and Britishers.
Thus the settlement of Divala was formed and a
large proportion of the ranch turned into Potrero
without a penny of outlay. The disturbed condi
tion of the country reduced the prices of all prop
erty, and Wilson was able to buy the nucleus of
his stock at very low figures.
The owner of Divala has worked hard and In
telligently for ten years on the Improvement af
his property. Today be has 5,000 acres of as fine
land as any in Chiriqut, well stocked and fur
nished with all the necessary buildings. The
ranch is easily worth $60,000. Not a bad result
of an enterprise started twelve years ago with
S2OO capital.
DEVIGEIFORFIREMEN
Helmet Enables Wearers to Res
cue at Fires.
Has a Reservoir of Air, and. Test
Shows It to Be Effective—Has
Been Adopted in Chi
cago.
Chicago.—Chief go fire officials have
adopted a life-saving device to pre
vent suffocation. The apparatus re
sembles a life-saver's helmet and
dress.
Lieut. Philip Ryan donned the ap
paratus in a test.
“It works fine,” he declared, emerg
ing from a subcellar filled with smoke.
“I could breathe without any trouble.
I figure that this new device will
prove a great life saver.”
Held close to the head by means of
springs, the apparatus prevents the
entrance of gas or other fumes. The
fireman breathes through tubes con
nected with the body of the apparatus.
“The apparatus is Just donned for
the purpose of life saving,” declared
Thomas O’Connor, acting chief of the
Chicago fire department. .
“It is only possible to work in this
uniform for about five minutes. T’hat,
however, would give us time to enter
a building to rescue persons and
emerge. Although we have made
tests of the new apparatus, we have
not as yet had occasion to bring it into
actual use.”
A New York device, which Chicago
firemen believe to be impractical, is
supposed to supply air to firemen
working in cellars and lofts and is
said to have withstood various tests.
Alongside the nozzle carried by the
New Device for Firemen.
firemen using the Halloran contrivance
is a brass tube to which is connected
a line of one-inch hose extending to
the open air in the street. \
This hose furnishes air for a suction
which is caused by the powerful force
of water sent through the nozzle.
The water rushes by an apparatus
having direct connection with the air
feeding pipe, and forms a syphon,
which in turn is supplied to firemen.
There are three supply pipes on the
first model and these are held by the
firemen in their mouths, with a hard
rubber holder, which is perforated and
looks like the noseguards worn by
football players.
“While I will not say positively, not
knowing anything about the experi
ments of the New Yorkers, it appears
to me that a contrivance built accord
ing to the description would not be
practical,’’ said Assistant Chief O’Con
nor. “I have never yet heard of a
contrivance which would protect fire
men from smoke and fumes, especial
ly ammonia fumes, for any great
length of time.
“I consider our new device, which
we have Just adopted, is the nearest
to perfection. We have tested it and
have remained in smoke-lilled base
ments for five minutes at a time.”
■ l ■ ’ ■ /
MOUNTAINEER IS AN ADAM
Strange Man in the North Georgia
Mountains Has Gone Naked
for 61 Years.
Savannah, Ga. —Word comes via the
North Georgia mountains of a strange
man named John Casteliow, who has
grown to be 61 years of age, bale,
hearty and happy, without ever wear
ing a stitch of clothing and without
ever using a single, word but the
monosyllable “Gee!” Says a traveler
from Harris, describing the marvelous
person:
“He lives four miles east of Wind
sor, in Bertie county, North Carolina,
and his health is perfect. He has not
missed a meal in fifty years.
“When I visited him he was entire
ly nude. He is the strongest man I
ever saw. His body is normal and
well shaped, but his strength is prodi
gious. He can break a double plow
line as easily as if it were a cotton
cord. He is gentle and has never
been known to hurt a living soul In
tentionally. He cannot speak a word
except the one monosyllable ‘Gee,’
which be uses In various intonations
to express all his desires and emo
tions.”
IN A CRITICAL CONDITION.
Arm*, Llrrbs and Abdomen Swollen
to Abnormal Size.
James H. Pitts, 218 East avenue
Cedarfown, Oa., says: “My feet swell
ed so I could not wear my shoes. My
arms and abdomen were badly
and large, watery
/ 11 pouches hung be
.b neath my eyes. 1
H grew worse every
f day and It seemed I
would be better dead
k. than In my condition,
ite" I used three boxes of
Doan’s Kidney Pills
wvl and from a man that
was slowly dying, I was restored to
perfect health. I really feel that
Doan’s Kidney Pills saved my life."
“When Tour Back Is Lame, Re
member the Name —DOAN’S.” 60c. a
box at all stores. Foster-Mllburn Co.,
Buffalo. N. Y. ,
More English Humor.
Tbe first night Walter Kelly, known
to vaudeville as the “Virginia Judge,”
walked up the Strand he complained
to his English companion that tbe far
moua street In London was dark at
nine o'clock. "Why,” said be, “at
this hour Broadway is as bright as
day. There Is one sign alone. “The*
Chariot Race,’ In which there are 60,-
000 electric lights.” “But I say, old
top,” said his English friend,
"wouldn’t that be rather conspicu
ous?”
The Facetious Farmer.
“I am an actor out of work. Can
you give me employment on your
farm?"
"I can. But a day on a farm Is
no 20-minute sketch.”
“I understand that."
“All right Yonder Is your room.
When you hear a horn toot about
4 a. m. that’s your cue.”
For COLDS and GRIP
Ricks' Capudutb is the best remedy—re
lleves the aching and feverishness—cures the
Cold and restores normal conditions It’s
liquid—effects immediately. 10c., 25c., and 50s.
At drug stores.
A Cross-Reference.
Mistress —Have you a reference?
Bridget—Folne; Ol held the pokei
over her till l got it. —Harper’s Bazar.
Dr. Pierce’s Pleasant Pellets first put
np 40 years ago. They regulate and invig
orate stomach, liver and bowels. Sugar
coated tiny granules.
He that doth a base thing in zeal
for hts friends burns the golden thread
that ties their hearts together.—Jer
my Taylor. )
M4O bushel crops
sHafCom on tho
Land
this at Mercedes, in
the lower Gulf Coast
last he planted 6 acres to corn. He
got 240 bushels, which sold for ft
a bushel. The whole cost of rais
ing came to $33, leaving a net profit'
of P 207. June Ist he planted a
SECOND crop and got 240 bushels.
This crop cost $39. leaving hinj a net profit
of $2Ol. From the a crops he cleared
6408 —not bad for 6 acres; and he can grow
a crop of fall potatoes on the same land
and market them before Christmas. This
is not unusual in the
Gulf Coast Country
of Texas and Louisiana
Three crops a year is making money just
3 times as fast as yon are, and the Gulf Coast
farmer saves more of what he makes than
the northern farmer, because he has none of
the northern farmer's heavy winter expenses.
Better Look Into This!
The pleasure of a trip to the Gulf Coast
Country, via the Frisco Lines, is well worth
the little cost of going. On the first and
3rd Tuesdays of each month, round trip
fares, via Frisco Lines, are GREATLY
REDUCED to any point in the Gulf Coast
Country of Texas and Louisiana. The
Frisco Lines operate splendid, electric
lighted, all steel trains, daily from Chicago,
St. Louis. Kansas City, Birmingham and
New Orleans. Every day these trains carry
through cars and on excursion days also
carry tourist sleepers through to the Golf
Coast Country.
3 Splendid Books Free!
They describe this wonderful country
from one end to the other; give examples
and personal statements by men who have
gone there and made good. Scores of fine
pictures. Write for your free copies today,
while yon think of it I will also send yoa
information about fare from yonr borne town
and give you complete schedule, etc., aßfaie.
A. HILTON
"-wjsysar msßa
St. Louis
l Coughs, Colds A
and Sore Throats Re-
lieved and Cured by
m Hale’s A
V Honey w/
V Of Horehound and *
It Soothes and Heals
Contains no opium nor anything In-
W Jurtoua. All drnggiata.
TAKE A DOSI OF
piso’s *
l*Tor COUCH* a COLDB