Now let us make a short visit to the children of Central America.
Perhaps it would not be well for us to stay with them long unless they
live in the high valleys of the mountain country along the western
shore, for the lowlands are hotter and even more moist than those of
Mexico. Fever lies in waiting for strangers in the lowlands; swarms of
mosquitoes are ready to attack us on every hand, centipedes and
scorpions are hidden in the grass at our feet, so that we are quite
willing to hasten towards the hill country as quickly as possible. Even
here we feel in danger, for the high valleys we enter lie hidden under
the very shadow of a row of volcanoes that stretch from north to south
through the land. Many of these are quite wide-awake and show this in
various ways, some by the clouds of smoke that rise out of their
craters, or by the odor of sulphur that reaches our noses, or perhaps by
the shaking of the earth beneath our feet.
One of the highest of these peaks is called Agua which, from time to
time, sends out jets of boiling water.
The children of Central America are quite used to earthquakes, which
they feel many times during the year. At any moment, in the midst of
their play, at dinner time, or during a walk through the streets, the
ground may suddenly tremble under their feet, they become dizzy and
light-headed, and perhaps there is a rumbling sound in the air around
them. If they are away from home, they hurry back to seek safety beside
their mothers.
A minute afterwards the danger may pass by and the play or dinner or
walk goes on as before. Yet there are ruined cities in the country to
tell the story that there have been terrible earthquakes in past times
when homes were destroyed, and men, women and children lost their lives
before they had time to flee for safety.
The children of Central America are much like their brothers and sisters
of Mexico. There are the Indians who are little troubled by the heat and
mosquitoes, there are the white boys and girls whose people came from
Spain, and there are the little half-castes.
Some of these children live near dense forests where their fathers are
busy cutting down valuable mahogany and logwood trees, which are shipped
to other lands to be made into elegant furniture. It is so hot in many
of these forests that the men do their work at night with flaming
torches to give them light.
It is a strange sight. All around is heavy darkness except in the
cleared space among the trees where the torch-lights show patient oxen
plodding along with their heavy loads, and their half-naked drivers
snapping their whips and calling in loud voices to the animals and each
other. Through it all comes the sound of the whip and axe, and the
snapping of the big trunks as they fall to the ground.
Logwood, from which a valuable dye is obtained, is the name of another
valuable tree found in the forests of Central America, as also is the
lignum vitæ, or wood of life. From both logwood and lignum vitæ are
extracted medicines which physicians often use.
In Central America people need to be careful when they are wandering
through the thick grass or along the edge of a forest, for poisonous
snakes lurk about and the bites of some of them may cause much pain and
suffering.
Sometimes the boys bring home winged squirrels which they have caught
while flying from tree to tree, but these little creatures do not enjoy
being made captive. They love their wild life in the woods, where they
are free to scamper over the ground; or spreading their legs, to fly
about among the branches of the trees as they will.
Along the southern coast of Central America the children find beautiful
mother-of-pearl shells on the water's edge. As the sunlight falls upon
these shells the loveliest colors are seen on the clear
surface,--delicate pinks and blues and violets. After the children are
tired of playing with the shells they can easily sell them, for
travelers are ever ready to buy them as remembrances of their stay in
the country.
In the forests of Central America there are many rubber trees, where
Indian boys help their fathers gather the sap which will afterwards be
made into storm coats and shoes to protect the children of the United
States from rain and snow.
In the lowlands and on the slopes there are many banana orchards, which
furnish all the fruit the little folks and their parents wish for, as
well as many a shipload for the people of other lands.
Some of the white children of the country live on coffee plantations
where Negro and Indian workmen care for the trees and pick the berries
for market.
There are also places in Central America where the indigo plant is
raised on account of the blue dye that is obtained from it. This, too,
is sent away from the country in ships, as well as coffee and mahogany,
bananas and rubber.
Central America is divided into several republics, each one of which is
quite independent of the others. As you travel through them southwards,
the country becomes more and more narrow till you come at last to the
Isthmus of Panama, which joins North and South America.
The people of the United States are now very busy building a canal
through this isthmus to join together the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
As you look at the map it seems an easy enough matter.
You think, "Why, that canal ought to be finished in a short time and
should not cost much, either, for the distance across the canal is not
more than twenty-six miles at the narrowest part."
But you must remember in the first place that the canal can not be dug
in a straight line; also, that it must pass through the heart of high
mountains and that solid masses of rock must be broken up, bit by bit.
Then again, the climate of the lowlands is very unhealthy during the wet
season of the year and the workmen suffer from fever and other kinds of
sickness. Besides, it has been hard to get men who understand the work
to go there. For these reasons and still others the building of this
canal is a tremendous undertaking and will cost billions of dollars
before it is finished.
The people of France began it many years ago, but gave it up after
two-fifths of it had been dug. The people of the United States undertook
to finish it, and at present everything is going on well. They paid
France for what she had already done on the canal and bought the land
through which it is to pass. Moreover, they have built comfortable homes
for the workmen and have done many things to prevent the fevers that
attack persons so easily on account of the damp, hot climate.
So it has come about that on the Isthmus of Panama there are now many
American children whose fathers are busy on the canal and have brought
their families to live with them there. Schools have been built where
these children study the same lessons as their playmates at home. Mother
Nature gives them other lessons too, for they see many curious sights in
the country around them, different trees and plants, different flowers
and birds from those of their homeland. If they enter the forests they
can see the parrots and monkeys among the tree-tops, and possibly wild
hogs among the underbrush. They can pick flowers which are beautiful,
but without fragrance. They can tap milk trees and get a thick, creamy
liquid which will satisfy their hunger. They must be watchful, however,
in this strange country, for immense ants are ever ready to sting their
tender toes, and poisonous snakes lie hidden in the thick grass.
Not far from the homes of the little Americans there are villages where
Chinese children are living with their parents, since many Chinamen are
at work on the canal. There are Negroes, too, as well as the white men
and the native Indians.
By and by, when the great undertaking is finished and big ships from all
parts of the world are constantly passing through the canal, it will be
a very lively place and many will be the visitors to that part of North
America.