2 JUNGLE ISLAND 



of European food and cloth, wine and weapons 

 brought to Panama by the Spanish fleet. Roads 

 must be made and guarded so that both gold and 

 supplies would travel safely. The shortest way 

 from Spanish ports to the west coast of South 

 America lay, as you see on the map (page 4), over 

 the Atlantic Ocean, across the narrow Isthmus of 

 Panama, and south again by ship. 



One road was a land- and water-way. Ships 

 sailed up the Chagres River as far as they could 

 go from the Atlantic side, and then loaded their 

 cargo on pack trains to be driven by trail to the 

 city of Panama on the Pacific Ocean. The 

 Chagres River has been a most important river 

 of travel for the last four hundred years, but prob- 

 ably it looked much the same to the Spaniards as 

 the photograph (Fig. i) shows it today. The thick 

 rain forest on its banks has been little disturbed. 



Another road went all the way overland from 

 one ocean coast to the other. The Spanish-built 

 trails were called the "king's highways." They 

 were about four feet wide and paved with stones 

 picked up by the way, and they rambled in and 

 out among the hills and streams wherever the 

 going seemed easiest. Today parts of them still 

 may be seen, but great trees have grown up 

 through the rough pavement since the time when 

 they were in constant use. 



It was hard work to keep them clear even when 

 they were being used all the time. The Isthmus 



