NO. 5 MAMMAI^ OF PANAMA GOLDMAN II 



arrived after nightfall and the piragua was half dragged over shoals 

 by the men who were obliged to jump into the water in places and 

 hold the bow and stern in their hands. The river was very low, 

 owing to the long drought, and the current sets heavily at this 

 season through narrow places which become difficult to navigate in 

 the dark. Boca de Cupe, the last village of importance on the Tuyra, 

 connects with the tramroad to the mines at Cana, in the mountains, 

 30 miles southward. 'i"he first stage of the journey over the tram- 

 road was by a short train drawn by a gasoline motor; this section of 

 the line ending at Mount Kitchener, in the lower foothills of the 

 mountains. Beyond this point the track, winding in tortuous curves 

 up the steep mountain side, was suitable for lighter traffic only, and 

 the 12 miles to Paca were slowly and laboriously traversed by push 

 car, a platform placed on trucks and pushed by men from behind. 

 In descending, the cars, allowed to run by gravity, were rather 

 insecurely controlled by coils of rope wound on the axles. At Paca 

 we were met by a mule-drawn car running to the mines, six miles 

 farther. 



The Darien gold mines arc located at 2,000 feet altitude near the 

 southeastern base of Mount Pirre, the name applied to the crest of a 

 short range projecting northward from the continental axis formed 

 by the Serrania del Darien. A small plateau, or slightly sloping 

 valley, at about 1,800 feet, extends frr/m near the town across to 

 Mount Setetule, a prominent peak about 4,000 feet high near the 

 center of the amphitheatre formed by the crescentic curve of the 

 mountains bounding the upper Tuyra watershed. Numerous con- 

 verging streams, principally the Rio Cana, Rio Seteganti, Rio 

 Escucha Ruido and Rio Limon unite in the rruirshy valley to form 

 the Rio Grande, a local name applied to the upper trunk of the Rio 

 Tuyra. The history of the mines is romantic, dating as it does from 

 the early part of the i6th century when the Spaniards were probably 

 guided to the locality by the Indians. In the 17th century they were 

 reputed to be among the richest gold mines in America, at one time 

 attracting a population of 20,000. They are said to have been 

 reached during this period by a paved road over the mountains from 

 Real de Santa Maria ; unbroken forest now covers the route and no 

 one seems to know the exact course followed. Raids by buccaneers 

 and Indian troubles led to their final abandonment by the Spaniards 

 in the i8th century. About 30 years ago they were reopened by an 

 English company, and at irregular intervals have since produced 

 much gold. Various bodies of rich ore are said to have been 



