of an Orchid Hunte 



2 I 



drinking-shops, and gambling-hells, which seem to 

 leave no room for any settled comfort or the formation 



of a regular community 



The houses had nearly all been built of wood, in 

 the most match-box style it is possible to imagine, 

 before the last fire. The ground-floor was a kind of 





IRON SAFE LEFT AFTER THE FIRE IN COLON. 



open shed which supported several flats, and each of 

 these flats was divided into honeycomb-like sections, 

 each section occupied by a family or part of one. The 

 number of people and the numerous nationalities at 

 one time crowded into these small rooms is almost in- 

 credible. Such a strange and cosmopolitan company as 

 is to be seen in the streets of Colon is rarely to be met 

 with. A large percentage of the labourers are negroes ; 



