462 The National Geographic Magazine 



and 200 warehouses, and was, after three 

 weeks of rapine and murder, burned 

 February 24, 1671, by Morgan's bucca- 

 neers, who carried off 175 laden mules 

 and more than 600 prisoners." * Colon 

 is of much more recent date, having 

 been founded in 1855. 



The population, which, as already in- 

 dicated, amounts in number to about 

 three hundred thousand, is composed of 

 various elements — Spanish, Indian, Ne- 

 gro, and a limited number of persons 

 from the European countries and the 

 United States, especially those engaged 

 in commerce and transportation and the 

 operation of the Panama Railway. Since 

 the abolition of slavery in Jamaica a con- 

 siderable number of blacks and mulat- 

 toes have settled on the Isthmus as small 

 dealers and farmers, and in some villages 

 on the Atlantic side they are said to be 

 in the majority, and as a result the En- 

 glish language is much in use, especially 

 on the Atlantic side. Some of the native 

 population have retained their customs, 

 speech, and physical type, especially 

 those in the western part of the prov- 

 ince, and claim to be descendants of the 

 natives found in that section by the 

 Spaniards when they discovered and 

 conquered the country. 



Of the commerce of Panama, the 

 United States supplies a larger share 

 than any other country. The importa- 

 tions at the port of Colon during the 

 fiscal year ended June 30, 1903, as shown 

 by the report of the United States consul, 

 amounted to $952, 684, of which $6 14, 179 

 was from the United States, $119,086 

 from France, $118,322 from England, 

 $76,386 from Germany. The exports 

 to the United States from Colon in 1903 

 amounted to $173,370, of which $75,432 

 was bananas, $54,96ococoanuts, $12,472 

 turtle shells, $9,400 ivory nuts, $6,460 

 hides, and $5,924 coffee. 



From the port of Panama the exports 

 to the United States in the fiscal year 

 1903 amounted to $193,342, of which 



* Travels of Pedro de Cieza de Leon, Hakluyt 

 Society, 1864. 



$56,767 was hides, $49,974 India rubber, 

 $27,805 cocobolo nuts, $16,598 ivory 

 nuts, $13,372 deerskins, and $6,908 cof- 

 fee. The consul at Panama states that 

 the imported articles come mostly from 

 England, German}-, France, Italy, and 

 the United States, but gives no statistics 

 of the imports. 



Panama is connected with San Fran- 

 cisco by a weekly steamer schedule oper- 

 ated by the Pacific Mail Steamship Com- 

 pany, and with Valparaiso by a weekly 

 steamer schedule operated by the Pacific 

 Steam Navigation Company and South 

 American Steamship Company. Two 

 passenger and two freight trains leave 

 Panama daily for Colon, and Colon daily 

 for Panama. The time for passenger 

 trains over the 47 miles of railway is 

 three hours. 



From Panama there is one cable line 

 north to American ports and one to the 

 south. The actual time consumed in 

 communicating with the United States 

 and receiving an answer is stated bj- the 

 consul to be usually about four hours. 

 There are also lines from Colon to the 

 United States and Europe. 



The money of the country is silver, 

 the rate of exchange having averaged 

 during the past 5 r ear about 150 per cent. 



The climate of the isthmus of Panama 

 has proven most deadly in the past. 

 Even the tough negroes imported from 

 Jamaica have quickly succumbed to the 

 marsh fevers and tropical diseases of 

 the country. The excessive death rate 

 has been principally due, however, to 

 an utter disregard of sanitary laws. A 

 sensible and efficient administration will 

 be able to improve conditions and to 

 make the lives of all on the Isthmus 

 safer. 



Along the route of the canal the coun- 

 try is accuratel3 r surveyed, but there are 

 large sections beyond which are unex- 

 plored. 



COLOMBIA 



Colombia has more than ten times the 

 population of Panama. The last census 



