198 HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 



as to bear any resemblance to a street. The climate 

 is unhealthy, and travellers from the United States 

 make as short a stay there as possible. Doubtless, 

 with the increase of travel, the character of the town 

 and its accommodations will improve ; but the heat 

 and humidity of the atmosphere, particularly just 

 after the rainy season, cause a great deal of injury to 

 the health of people from the United States, and will 

 prevent any considerable settlement of Anglo-Saxons 

 in the town. 



Panama, the terminus of the varied and difficult 

 route across the Isthmus, is situated on the shore of 

 an extensive and beautiful bay. It contains about 

 eight thousand inhabitants, most of whom are negroes. 

 Being one of the old Spanish towns, upon the decline 

 of the Spanish power, the place fell into decay. The 

 houses are generally of stone or brick, two and three 

 stories in height, whitewashed or covered with a coat 

 of plaster, and are invariably surrounded by a bal- 

 cony protected from sun and rain by the roofs of the 

 houses extending over them. The town is regularly 

 arranged, the strait and narrow streets intersecting 

 each other at right angles. The substantial character 

 of the buildings as well as the evidences of neglect 

 and decay, strike the traveller at the same time. A 

 wall was built by the Spaniards, around the portion 

 of the town nearest the bay, but at least one half of 

 the population reside beyond its limits, and it is in a 

 dilapidated state. A venerable, decayed, but still 

 imposing cathedral ; a grand plaza, or open common 

 — a general characteristic of Spanish built towns ; 

 several churches, partly in ruins ; the ruins of the 

 College of Jesuits, which cover a large extent, and of 

 two monasteries, of which the walls and bells alone 



