December i, 1904.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



75 



The next morning we were still in sight of Toboga, and spent 

 much of the day in rifle and revolver practice, the gulls on bits 

 of driftwood making capital targets. There was also the chance 

 to size up El Capitan, a nervous, wiry native Panamanian, 

 and to discover the very primitive ideas of cleanliness that our 

 cook was possessed of. For example, his plan for cleansing 

 the tin coflee cups was to pour one half full of water, rinse it 

 around, pour the same water into another, and so on until all 

 were thus washed. He also had a barrel of " biltong " or 

 pickled beef for the crew, that was washed each day and hung 

 on a line to dry. It certainly was strong meat, and the smell of 

 it aft came near making us all vegetarians. Slowly the boat 

 drew on, the passengers killing time as best they could, till 

 finally Punta Malo came in sight. It was at this time that our 

 first use for the medicine chest occurred. The Commodore 

 rolled his sleeves high to the tropical sun and in a few hours 

 had a pair of the reddest, sorest arms that were ever seen. 

 They gave out heat like base burners, and ached if one pointed 

 at them, so they were anointed with cooling salves, hung in 

 slings, and nearly cured by the time he got ashore. 



water snake, Culebra marina, about three feet long, that was 

 often in evidence, sometimes as many as thirty being seen in a 

 day. We fished constantly, but got no bites, but the crew 

 speared some fish of a kind new to me. One, long and slim, 

 resembling a mackerel, was of a beautiful bronze tint, with a 

 spike on its nose, and a back fin running from the gills to the 

 tail. Another short, chunky, of a dingy blue color spotted with 

 white polka dots. The natives called the former the " durado," 

 but had no name for the latter. 



Our drifting by the point did not last long, as the weather 

 suddenly changed and the wind became so squally that the cap- 

 tain put out to sea lest he pile his vessel upon the inhospitable 

 shore. That night I tried to sleep in the cabin but It was too 

 disagreeable, so I put on a light rubber coat and rubber boots 

 and slept soundly on deck with the rain beating in my face. 

 It was so scorching hot in the daytime that when drifting a tar- 

 paulin was rigged as a shield under which were swung the ham- 

 mocks, making quarters that were fairly comfortable. Some one 

 called it the " Touraine," because when it was half done it be- 

 gan /o rain. 



JUNQO.'.COOK ON THE ALMIRANTE." 



And so we sailed and drifted, chiefly the latter, sleeping on 

 deck until driven into the little cabin by an unusually heavy 

 shower, usually to be driven out again by the heat, the bilge 

 smell, and the ants, of which latter we had our own private 

 colony. After a time we left Panama bay and felt the long 

 swell of the Pacific. Then was sighted Punta Moro Puercos 

 (Cape The-Death-of-the-Pig), and after that came a coast — 

 rugged, mountainous, with no harbors, and the mountains 

 shadowed by dense clouds, with all the evidences of continuous 

 and heavy tropical rainstorms. 



After more drifting came Punta Marieto, which we rounded, 

 and, turning due north, made for the Gulf of Montijo, where the 

 schooner was to lie while the exploring party was ashore. Even 

 after rounding the cape the wind still continued light, and 

 progress came chiefly from the impulse of the Pacific swell. 



In these waters were many sharks, two of which carry a half 

 dozen bullets apiece which I pumped into them from a Rem- 

 ington repeater early one morning. Then too, there was a 



"THE TOURAINE"— CANVAS SHELTER ON THE "ALMIRANTE." 



Soon the schooner was oflE the Ouebro, a part of the territory 

 said to contain a large settlement of outlaws. These fugitives 

 from justice had heard of the approach of the Americanos and 

 were rumored to be prepared to resist any examination of that 

 part of the land. If they believed the stories told them by the 

 Indians, that they wereto be enslaved and have numbers brand- 

 ed upon their foreheads, one can scarcely blame them. 



The objective point, however, was farther down the coast, so 

 we only saw the mouth of the Ouebro river, with frowning 

 mountains for a background. Very glad we were that the 

 Quebro was not then in our itinerary, for that part of the country 

 was black with thunderclouds and drenched with showers that 

 bore a close resemblance to cloudbursts. 



Coasting along still further we descried the mouth of the 

 Marieto river, where the first landing was to be made. Here 

 a fresh difficulty arose. El Capitan feared the shore and 

 would not go nearer than five miles without a pilot. After a 

 lurid conference, in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, it was 



