52 Travels and Adventures 



along to mix itself with the blue of the ocean, while 

 ahead of us the flat roofs and tall, red, pagoda-like 

 towers of the town of Barranquilla, standing out in 

 relief against a background of a thousand leagues 

 of trackless forest, furnish a sight at once fantastic 

 and picturesque. On looking around amongst my 

 fellow-passengers, I found as cosmopolitan a company 

 as could be imagined— several Germans, a Russian, 

 a Frenchman, and a family of Peruvians. The 

 usual band of Italian pedlars it is customary to meet 

 with in every part of the world was here in full 

 force, but the majority, in point of numbers, were 

 what may be styled well-to-do Colombians. These 

 vary in appearance from the coarse, thick- set type 

 of the Indian to the slim, elegant gentleman of 

 Spanish descent, with pointed mustachios and high- 

 heeled boots. Each one was busily occupied in 

 arranorinof his or her effects to the best advantage 

 considering the small space allotted for each person. 

 Soon, however, the soft, musical treble of the French 

 and Italian languages, mingling with the deeper bass 

 and tenor of the German and Spanish, gave one to 

 understand that each was bent upon making the best 

 of the situation, irrespective of difference in creed 

 or lancruacre, name or station. Although we were 

 placed on a platform immediately above the boiler and 

 in close proximity to numerous antiquated, misplaced 



