THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 13 



are, for the most part of the w~ay, low ; and, as we 

 moved slowly along between them on the steamer, 

 the dark green foliage of the trees, and the many 

 wild flowers and fruits every where appearing, pre- 

 sented the vegetation of this land of unchanging ver- 

 dure, in its most pleasing aspect. 



As we approached the railroad station at Gatun, 

 with its storehouse, hospital, and habitations for two 

 or three hundred men, the effect was strikingly sin- 

 gular in this country of almost unbroken forests and 

 sparcely scattered native huts. 



As the Gorgona was not going on further, a small 

 boat was engaged, with two natives for oarsmen, and 

 in company with the commissary and superintendent, 

 we started out on our way. We had made but eight 

 miles ere the evening grew dark upon us, and we 

 hauled up to the shore at Dos Herminos, where a 

 rude sign, indicating entertainment for the traveller, 

 hung suspended from a pole in the bank. The in- 

 closure, which signifies a hotel here, was partly of 

 rough boards, and partly of canvas, with a canvas 

 covering, and in form an L. One extremity was 

 fitted up for a sleeping apartment, with canvas 

 stretched across rough poles, one above the other, 

 three deep ; the other, the dining room, with a long 

 table through the centre capable of seating a hundred 

 persons, and short side-tables. At one of these we 

 drank our tea and ate a biscuit with a good relish, 

 notwithstanding the table reminded us of the scuttle- 

 deck of a vessel, and our seat was a narrow strip of 

 rough board, supported by stakes driven into the 



