NEW YORK TO PANAMA. 403 



August 27. About '. p. M. we dropped anchor olF the bar at the mouth of the river Chagres, 

 indicated to un by lights displayed on board the British mail-steamer then lying there. Soon after- 

 wards the captain of the Orus, a small steamer brought out for navigating of the river, came off 

 to us; and, as is usual when people an- about landing in a strange country, much anxiety was 

 evinee.l by the |>;i--engers to learn all that was possible resj>< -tin^ the route they were to travel, 

 its ( -onvenienees, privations, dangers, and costs. Nor did they forget to inquire whether the 

 ; intelligence from the golden region of their aspirations was favorable, or themselves 

 likely to be detained at Panama, because of the number of persons already there awaiting pas- 

 >;i'_:e. Had the skipper charged for each question propounded him, Ifis fortune would soon 

 have been greater than that of most of those In; will probably greet on their return. lint 

 there were business matters to be attended to, and our captain suddenly abducted their prize, 

 leaving the multitude to digest the few grains of knowledge precociously obtained. 



Hoping that something might have occurred to detain the Valparaiso steamer, and in accord- 

 ance with previous arrangements, Mr. R. and myself went on shore, for the purpose of pro- 

 ceeding up the river immediately. Landing, as we did, in the night, it was scarcely possible 

 to distinguish more than an outline of the river landscape, or to perceive either the structure 

 of the houses or the costumes of the people of Chagres. The town lies on the southeastern 

 bank of the river, and consists of about 150 huts or cabins, made of canes, thatched with leaves 

 of the palm-tree. The canes stand from 15 to 20 feet in height, and are wattled together with 

 cords of cocoa-nut bark, forming houses 30 or 40 feet long. They have steep pyramidal roofs, 

 that project five or six feet beyond the walls, and protect the doors and windows from driving 

 rains. Very few are plastered, even on the outside, the free air of Heaven penetrating where 

 it lists ; and I greatly doubt whether there is a pane of glass in all the town. Partitions are 

 made with canes or bamboos, wattled, in the same manner as the outer walls, and the doors are 

 of cotton cloth, or perhaps some heavier vegetable material. Of course, there can be no great 

 privacy in a town so constructed. But this lattice-work structure is quite necessary; for a high 

 bluff cuts off most of the northeast trade winds that reach so near to the equator. 



The streets of the old town were paved, and when Carthagena and Porto Bello flourished, 

 Chagres was probably a place of comparative comfort ; but its thorougfares are now little better 

 than quagmires, which only the hogs seem to enjoy. The canoemen told me that a few of the 

 houses are built with plank floors ; though most of them, and all that we saw, had only the 

 bare earth raised a few inches above the level of the street outside. Quadrupeds as well as 

 bipeds of the family occupied them. One who had never visited a hot climate would have found 

 much to wonder at in the toilet and manners of the people. A white shirt and cotton panta- 

 loons, or a chemise, at most, composed their costume. Some sat near a little table, with a tal- 

 low candle and greasy pack of cards, playing at monte. Others lolled in grass hammocks, 

 perhaps half their persons exposed. Few seemed to have sufficient energy for locomotion. All 

 chattered in a musical tongue, men, women, and children smoking cigars. The Spaniards are 

 musical, and their full-blooded descendants of the new world inherit the taste ; but the national 

 instrument here was that squeaking thing called "harmonicon " or "seolino," an ear-mark, 

 I fear, of their recent associations. The tramp of boots as we passed along startled them from 

 apathetic drowsiness, and even momentarily from their passion as gamblers ; and whilst some 

 simply muttered "Americanos," others, more full of fun, displayed their acquisition of English 

 since January, by a full stave from 



" O Susannah, don't you cry for me; 

 I'm bound for California, 

 The gold mines for to see." 



Though necessarily brief, our stay in a town with a reputation so fearful was quite as long 

 as either of us cared for. In half an hour we had concluded a bargain with the owner of a 

 canoe, aiid were on board the Orus, on the opposite side of the river. Our stipulations were, 

 that he should come to the Orus for us by midnight, the canoe to have four young men for 



