﻿THE 
  JUNGLES 
  OF 
  PANAMA 
  

  

  By 
  David 
  Fairchild 
  

  

  Agricultural 
  Explorer 
  in 
  Charge 
  oe 
  Foreign 
  Seed 
  and 
  Plant 
  Introduction, 
  Department 
  of 
  Agriculture, 
  

  

  Author 
  oe 
  "Forming 
  New 
  Fashions 
  in 
  Foods," 
  'A 
  Hunter 
  oe 
  Plants," 
  "New 
  

  

  Plant 
  Immigrants," 
  etc., 
  in 
  the 
  National 
  Geographic 
  Magazine 
  

  

  THE 
  more 
  I 
  thought 
  about 
  it, 
  the 
  

   more 
  it 
  seemed 
  to 
  me 
  important 
  

   that 
  my 
  boy 
  should, 
  before 
  his 
  

   habits 
  of 
  thought 
  and 
  life 
  had 
  become 
  

   conventionalized, 
  feel 
  the 
  grip 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  most 
  tremendous 
  of 
  all 
  experiences, 
  

   that 
  of 
  being 
  all 
  alone 
  in 
  a 
  tropical 
  jungle. 
  

  

  I 
  remembered 
  how 
  my 
  own 
  experiences 
  

   in 
  the 
  forests 
  of 
  Java 
  had 
  formed 
  a 
  sort 
  

   of 
  background 
  to 
  all 
  the 
  later 
  experi- 
  

   ences 
  of 
  my 
  life 
  and 
  had 
  given 
  me 
  a 
  

   different 
  outlook 
  upon 
  the 
  world. 
  In 
  the 
  

   years 
  since 
  then 
  there 
  has 
  been 
  a 
  perpetual 
  

   longing 
  to 
  return, 
  a 
  longing 
  full 
  of 
  bright 
  

   sunshine, 
  shady 
  forest 
  scenes, 
  singing 
  

   birds, 
  strange 
  insect 
  lives, 
  and 
  the 
  mys- 
  

   tery 
  of 
  the 
  moonlight 
  through 
  the 
  palms. 
  

  

  Panama 
  somehow 
  had 
  not 
  occurred 
  to 
  

   me, 
  even 
  though 
  in 
  1898 
  I 
  had 
  crossed 
  

   the 
  Isthmus. 
  It 
  had 
  become, 
  to 
  my 
  mind, 
  

   a 
  canal, 
  a 
  place 
  of 
  hospital 
  buildings, 
  locks, 
  

   sanitary 
  inspectors, 
  and 
  fortifications. 
  The 
  

   tourists 
  who 
  came 
  back 
  from 
  there 
  told 
  

   nothing 
  of 
  the 
  jungle 
  ; 
  they 
  either 
  had 
  not 
  

   seen 
  any 
  or 
  were 
  not 
  impressed 
  by 
  it. 
  

   The 
  tourist 
  to 
  Miami 
  talked 
  more 
  about 
  

   the 
  tropical 
  hammock 
  than 
  the 
  tourist 
  to 
  

   Panama 
  about 
  the 
  jungle. 
  

  

  But 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  malaria 
  

   in 
  the 
  Canal 
  Zone 
  and 
  that 
  we 
  could 
  live 
  

   there 
  as 
  safely 
  as 
  at 
  home 
  finally 
  riveted 
  

   our 
  attention 
  upon 
  Panama 
  and 
  we 
  began 
  

   to 
  analyze 
  its 
  possibilities. 
  

  

  ARRIVAL, 
  AT 
  THE 
  JUNGLE 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  summer, 
  midsummer, 
  and 
  one 
  

   friend 
  wrote 
  : 
  "Why 
  do 
  you 
  think 
  of 
  go- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  Panama 
  in 
  the 
  hurricane 
  season 
  

   and 
  the 
  rainy 
  season 
  ; 
  it's 
  the 
  worst 
  time 
  

   to 
  go." 
  Another 
  questioned 
  whether 
  

   there 
  were 
  any 
  butterflies 
  or 
  any 
  flowers 
  

   to 
  be 
  seen 
  in 
  the 
  rainy 
  season. 
  But 
  we 
  

   talked 
  to 
  the 
  men 
  who 
  knew 
  about 
  these 
  

   things 
  and 
  made 
  up 
  our 
  minds 
  that 
  

   Panama 
  was 
  the 
  place 
  to 
  visit, 
  and 
  after 
  

   we 
  left 
  Norfolk 
  every 
  interview 
  on 
  board 
  

   and 
  every 
  knot 
  the 
  steamer 
  made 
  nearer 
  

   to 
  the 
  Canal 
  convinced 
  us 
  that 
  we 
  had 
  

   made 
  no 
  mistake. 
  

  

  To 
  drop 
  your 
  office 
  papers 
  on 
  Wednes- 
  

   day, 
  land 
  at 
  a 
  tropical 
  waterfront 
  a 
  week 
  

   from 
  the 
  following 
  day, 
  and 
  be 
  chasing 
  

   butterflies 
  in 
  a 
  gorgeous 
  tropical 
  jungle 
  

   on 
  Friday 
  was 
  the 
  experience 
  which 
  sur- 
  

   passed 
  anything 
  we 
  had 
  imagined 
  possi- 
  

   ble. 
  We 
  had 
  had 
  barely 
  time 
  to 
  change 
  

   our 
  clothes, 
  as 
  it 
  were, 
  before 
  we 
  were 
  

   actually 
  in 
  that 
  far-away, 
  mysterious 
  place 
  

   which 
  most 
  people 
  think 
  of 
  as 
  so 
  remote 
  

   that 
  they 
  can 
  never 
  hope 
  to 
  go 
  there. 
  

   It 
  was 
  a 
  foretaste 
  of 
  those 
  swift 
  changes 
  

   of 
  environment 
  which 
  will 
  soon 
  be 
  the 
  

   common 
  experience 
  of 
  the 
  race 
  when 
  the 
  

   highway 
  overhead 
  is 
  really 
  opened. 
  

  

  The 
  cool 
  morning 
  ride 
  to 
  Gamboa, 
  past 
  

   yam 
  patches 
  and 
  cassava 
  fields, 
  with 
  their 
  

   background 
  of 
  palms 
  and 
  tangled 
  forests, 
  

   every 
  plant 
  dripping 
  and 
  green, 
  was 
  the 
  

   first 
  thrill. 
  Then 
  came 
  an 
  eight-mile 
  

   launch 
  ride 
  up 
  the 
  Chagres 
  to 
  Juan 
  Mina, 
  

   with 
  superb 
  green 
  hillsides 
  covered 
  with 
  

   that 
  incomparable 
  mixture 
  of 
  forest 
  trees 
  

   loaded 
  with 
  hanging 
  vines 
  which 
  is 
  asso- 
  

   ciated 
  only 
  with 
  a 
  heavy 
  rainfall 
  near 
  

   the 
  Equator. 
  

  

  AS 
  IN 
  A 
  WORLD 
  BEFORE 
  THE 
  ADVENT 
  

  

  OF 
  MAN 
  

  

  "Me 
  for 
  the 
  tropics 
  !" 
  was 
  the 
  boy's 
  

   exclamation, 
  and 
  so 
  swiftly 
  did 
  he 
  dis- 
  

   appear 
  up 
  the 
  jungle 
  trail 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  

   until 
  two 
  hours 
  later, 
  when 
  he 
  failed 
  to 
  

   show 
  up, 
  that 
  I 
  realized 
  that 
  I 
  was 
  not 
  

   quite 
  sure 
  he 
  might 
  not 
  stray 
  too 
  far 
  from 
  

   the 
  trail 
  itself 
  and 
  be 
  lost 
  in 
  a 
  forest 
  which 
  

   stretches 
  away 
  for 
  hundreds 
  of 
  miles 
  to- 
  

   ward 
  Costa 
  Rica. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  a 
  gripping 
  experience 
  and 
  a 
  bit 
  

   frightening 
  suddenly 
  to 
  find, 
  not 
  houses 
  

   and 
  lamp-posts 
  and 
  the 
  noisy 
  people 
  who 
  

   have 
  composed 
  the 
  customary 
  environ- 
  

   ment 
  and 
  whom 
  one 
  understands, 
  but 
  in 
  

   every 
  direction 
  and 
  everywhere 
  strange, 
  

   silent 
  tree 
  trunks, 
  no 
  two 
  alike. 
  

  

  I 
  felt 
  as 
  though 
  I 
  were 
  in 
  the 
  world 
  as 
  

   it 
  was 
  before 
  man 
  existed. 
  I 
  was 
  where 
  

   life 
  teems 
  and 
  new 
  forms 
  develop, 
  in 
  the 
  

   midst 
  of 
  that 
  living 
  stuff 
  up 
  out 
  of 
  which 
  

  

  131 
  

  

  