CHAPTER II. 



THE CITY OF PANAMA. 



EXTENT. POPULATION. FORTIFICATIONS. HOUSES. CHURCHES; THEIR RUINOUS CONDITION; EVENING SERVICE, ENDING 

 WITH A DISPLAY OF FIREWORKS. SUNDAY OCCUPATIONS. BELLS. OTHER PUBLIC BUILDINGS, VIEW FROM THE SEA 

 BASTION. BATHS. THE PEOPLE. CONDUCT OF AMERICANS THERE ANIMALS. BIRDS. FISH. CLIMATE. GEOGRAPH- 

 ICAL POSITION. DESTRUCTION OF OLD PANAMA BY MORGAN. 



A peninsula jutting from the base of Mount Anson towards the east, rather less than half a 

 mile long by one fifth of a mile wide, was selected as the site of the new, when the old city of 

 Panama was destroyed by Morgan and his buccaneer companions about the close of January, 

 1670. The ground enclosed by the fortifications subsequently built is only a third of a mile in 

 length by the breadth of the peninsula; and here there is a population not varying greatly in 

 number from 3,500 souls. A part of the suburbs is built up quite as compactly as the city 

 proper, and a like population is said to reside without the walls. A deep and wide moat 

 separates the city from its suburbs. On the other sides the walls are washed by the sea at every 

 tide ; but as the ledges of volcanic rock on which they are built have a very slight inclination, 

 and the vertical rise of spring tides is twenty-two feet, there is visible at low water, beyond the 

 fortifications, a mass of blackened rocks more than a quarter of a mile wide. At the gateway 

 on the landward side there are guard-houses, flanking towers, loopholes, and many other 

 resources for defence, with whose names or immediate purposes I have no sort of acquaintance. 

 From thence the walls have an average height of thirty feet above high-water mark, and broad 

 parapets perhaps ten feet higher than the level of the streets. They were most substantially 

 built; but the action of the atmosphere since 1720 (the date I found), and the beating of the 

 waves disregarded by the indolent race which has succeeded the original proprietors, have given 

 to every portion the most dilapidated and tumble-down look. Indeed the sea-walls have been 

 breached in many places ; and the tooth of old Neptune nibbles out bits of masonry, whilst 

 worms and moisture have wholly destroyed two of the four gates. At present there are only 

 three or four heavy brass guns mounted, and it is somewhat doubtful whether they will not 

 take leave of their carriages at the first discharge. 



Within the walls the streets cross each other at right angles, in the directions of the four 

 cardinal points. They are generally thirty feet wide, paved with round pebbles, and have 

 narrow elevated footways at the side. As the platform adjoining the parapet walls and the 

 beaches are made receptacles for offal, the thoroughfares are quite clean; and one might enjoy 

 walking, but for the danger of much exposure to the sun in this hot and steamy atmosphere. 

 The houses, two and three stories high, are of sandstone, whitewashed, and extensive enough 

 to accommodate several families; all of whom have a common entrance and stairway. There 

 are balconies to each story along the entire length of the front and rear, the lower one 

 extending over the footway of the street. Every room has access to the balcony by a double 

 door, the upper panels of which are hinged and serve as windows. None others are known in 

 Panama, and the number of those that have enjoyed the distinction of glazing certainly does not 

 exceed a dozen. Floors are made of planks or tiles. If of the former, the boards are wide and 

 rudely fitted; and in neither case is the ceiling of the under-room plastered, so that dirt readily 

 sifts through. A greater annoyance, however, is from the continuous deposition of a small 

 insect existing in the bamboos that support the tiled roofs. Partitions between rooms are also 

 of rough boards, whitewashed, not unfrequently with crevices so wide as to permit knowledge 



