PANAMA. 195 



upon shipboard. The follow uig morning we were placed 

 ashore, and, stepping upon the open, cane-seated cars 

 awaiting us, we were borne swiftly toward the Pacific. 

 What wonders does Nature here present ! We felt as 

 though transferred to another world. The vegetation, so 

 different from our northern, so varied, wild, and luxuriant, 

 impressed us at each turn with new revelations of its 

 beauty and prodigality. Springing from the reeking soil 

 stood the palm-like tree-fern, wdiich all our associations had 

 placed far back in those strange, endogenous forests of 

 the carboniferous age ; vines festooned them heavily, 

 while brilliant orchidaceous plants enriched the drapery ; 

 palms crowned each little rise, lifting their heads above 

 the sea of verdure, formed by trees presenting an aspect 

 similar to that of our nortliern woodlands, only denser 

 and freer in growth, richer and darker in color. But we 

 must not anticipate ; for we shall find all repeated in the 

 vegetation of the equatorial regions, even far surpassed 

 by the tropical forest of the Guayas and Amazons. 



After a ride of three hours over a sinuous road, we 

 fin^i ourselves in the picturesque old town of Panama. 

 Besides its old walls, overrun with vines, and its anti- 

 quated buildings, it claims the prestige of a romantic his- 

 tory, associating itself wdth the wild adventures of the 

 bold conquistadores. Panama is pleasantly located. As 

 seen upon an approach from the railroad, it presents quite 

 an attractive appearance, nestled close to the shore, with 

 the bay as a watery perspective ; viewed from the harbor, 

 it has a fine background of sloping hills. 



Late in the evening of the 11th, the steamer " Panama," 

 of the British South Pacific Mail Steamship Company, 

 moved slowly from her moorings off the little islet of Ta- 

 boga, embraced by the bay of Panama, and commenced 

 to gently bow to the low, deep swell of the Pacific. It 

 was a beautiful, tropical night ; the moonlit bay, one which 



