154 
While waiting for the next boat I made a short visit to the 
ruins of Old Panama, five or six miles along the coast and east- 
ward from the present town. Most of the city was built of wood 
and was wholly burned by Morgan when he sacked the place in 
1671, but the old stone tower, a bridge or two, and various 
foundations still remain, surrounded by a tangle of bushes, trees 
and banana plants. I carried a plant press along, but brought 
Fic. 26. Part of sea-wall in Old Panama. 
back only a species of lichen, Ramalina, that quite covered some 
of the low bushes. Many of the trees and shrubs were leafless 
and not suitable for specimens. 
On April 1 I took the steamer “Cana” for El Real. We left 
Panama about 6:30 P. M. and reached the Gulf of San Miguel 
at nine o'clock the next morning, passing many small volcanic 
islands and reefs, which, in connection with the tidal currents, 
make navigation rather dangerous at times. The lower gulf 
seemed six or eight miles wide in places and the tide runs up 
