CHRISTMAS-TIME IN FOUR CONTINENTS 199 



the utmost celerity for the open country, dragging the rope with 

 him and scattering the crowd in all directions. 



Some holiday-makers in their terror sought the shelter of the 

 deep mud, others the raised trottoirs in front of the houses 

 all had narrow escapes from the horns of the infuriated bull. 

 The scene afforded the greatest delight to the originators of this 

 novel Christmas entertainment, as also to those who were then 

 safe and able to laugh at the comical spectacle presented by the 

 flying people. 



As evening fell the streets became deserted, and probably 

 unsafe ; but bars and gambling houses blazed in light, and were 

 crowded with thirsty souls, all anxious to spend their dollars 

 with the least possible delay. Noisy and noisier became the 

 saloons; songs became yells accentuated now and then by a 

 pistol-shot, as we sat on the deck of the steamer after our Christ- 

 mas dinner on board, and continued probably long after we had 

 retired for the last time to our comfortable berths on the Moselle. 



Evidence in plenty of the last night's orgie met us next 

 morning as we walked to the depot of the Panama Railway to 

 make inquiries about the trains to the Pacific side. We found 

 the station building and saw the cars on the rails which ended 

 shedless and unguarded in the middle of the street. But not 

 a living soul could we discover anywhere to give us the necessary 

 information. We searched the depot everywhere, up and down 

 stairs, but all in vain, until at last, projecting beyond some corn 

 sacks piled up in a corner of the upper floor, we espied a black 

 foot. Delighted at our discovery, my companion and I after a 

 short consultation got hold of the foot regardless of a probable 

 revolver behind the sacks, and pulled so successfully that at last 

 the black foot was followed by a black man. He had only just 

 recovered sufficiently from his Christmas night's entertainment 

 to use some very vigorous language, but his eyes still refused 

 to open and face the daylight. Certain doubts as to the 

 advisability of crossing the isthmus on that day passed across 

 our minds ; if all the railway employees were in the same 

 condition as our exhumed station official it augured badly for 

 our trip across the swamps. 



As the ship, however, was to leave the same day, and hotel 

 life in Colon did not offer sufficient charms for a prolonged stay, 

 we made up our minds to risk the journey. After a certain 



