﻿144 
  

  

  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  The 
  palm-thatched 
  roof 
  covered 
  a 
  

   closed-in 
  room 
  and 
  an 
  open 
  one. 
  A 
  fire- 
  

   place, 
  a 
  wooden 
  pestle 
  and 
  mortar 
  in 
  

   which 
  to 
  hull 
  the 
  rice, 
  a 
  table 
  of 
  peeled 
  

   poles, 
  a 
  little 
  storehouse 
  near 
  by, 
  and 
  that 
  

   was 
  all. 
  

  

  I 
  turned 
  away 
  from 
  this 
  primitive 
  

   farm-yard 
  with 
  doubt 
  that 
  from 
  such 
  

   homes 
  as 
  this 
  will 
  ever 
  come 
  the 
  human 
  

   stuff 
  which 
  will 
  master 
  the 
  tropics. 
  

  

  An 
  approaching 
  thunderstorm, 
  with 
  its 
  

   banks 
  of 
  threatening 
  clouds 
  and 
  claps 
  of 
  

   thunder, 
  so 
  characteristic 
  of 
  the 
  summer 
  

   season, 
  hurried 
  us 
  back 
  to 
  the 
  cayuco, 
  

   and 
  noiselessly 
  we 
  slipped 
  downstream. 
  

  

  Graham 
  had 
  winged 
  a 
  Jacana, 
  which 
  

   dropped 
  into 
  the 
  tall 
  grass 
  on 
  the 
  bank, 
  

   and 
  had 
  just 
  landed 
  to 
  get 
  it 
  when 
  some- 
  

   thing 
  so 
  blue 
  that 
  it 
  startled 
  me 
  flashed 
  

   in 
  an 
  irregular 
  course 
  over 
  my 
  head 
  and 
  

   alighted 
  somewhere 
  behind 
  a 
  clump 
  of 
  

   trees 
  on 
  the 
  edge 
  of 
  the 
  swamp. 
  I 
  had 
  

   never 
  before 
  seen 
  a 
  live 
  morpho 
  butterfly. 
  

  

  I 
  had 
  not 
  realized 
  that 
  seeing 
  one 
  

   would 
  be 
  comparable 
  to 
  one's 
  first 
  sight 
  

   of 
  a 
  ruby-throated 
  humming-bird 
  ; 
  but 
  it 
  

   is, 
  and 
  the 
  excitement 
  of 
  that 
  wholly 
  un- 
  

   equal 
  chase, 
  handicapped 
  as 
  we 
  were 
  by 
  

   the 
  swamp, 
  and 
  our 
  bitter 
  disappointment 
  

   at 
  seeing 
  the 
  gorgeous 
  thing, 
  like 
  a 
  flash 
  

   of 
  blue 
  sunlight, 
  disappear 
  into 
  the 
  forest, 
  

   constituted 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  vivid 
  experi- 
  

   ences 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  trip. 
  

  

  THE 
  BEAUTIES 
  OE 
  TABOGA 
  ISLAND 
  

  

  Taboga 
  was 
  a 
  great 
  surprise. 
  I 
  was 
  

   told 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  worth 
  seeing 
  ; 
  that 
  it 
  had 
  

   a 
  drier 
  climate 
  than 
  Panama, 
  and 
  that 
  

   delicious 
  pineapples 
  grew 
  there 
  ; 
  and 
  Gra- 
  

   ham 
  had 
  been 
  shown 
  specimens 
  of 
  the 
  

   gigantic 
  bird-catching 
  spiders 
  which 
  Dr. 
  

   Zetek 
  had 
  said 
  would 
  jump 
  at 
  any 
  one 
  

   who 
  disturbed 
  them 
  in 
  their 
  lairs 
  beneath 
  

   the 
  rocks. 
  But 
  nobody 
  prepared 
  us 
  for 
  

   the 
  peculiar 
  beauty 
  of 
  this 
  charming 
  little 
  

   island 
  in 
  the 
  Pacific. 
  The 
  charm 
  of 
  it 
  

   lies 
  in 
  its 
  blending 
  of 
  Mediterranean 
  

   architecture 
  and 
  tropical 
  vegetation. 
  

  

  Here, 
  clustered 
  in 
  a 
  little 
  valley 
  sur- 
  

   rounding 
  an 
  incomparable 
  little 
  beach, 
  

   like 
  the 
  beaches 
  of 
  the 
  Adriatic, 
  was 
  a 
  

   centur) 
  old 
  tile-roofed 
  town 
  with 
  every 
  

   line 
  in 
  it 
  harmonious. 
  I 
  felt 
  as 
  if 
  we 
  had 
  

   stumbled 
  into 
  a 
  bit 
  of 
  old 
  Spain. 
  

  

  The 
  moon 
  was 
  just 
  rising 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  

  

  lien 
  we 
  landed, 
  and 
  our 
  first 
  glimpse 
  

  

  was 
  of 
  the 
  little 
  plaza 
  in 
  the 
  town. 
  There 
  

  

  were 
  the 
  youths 
  and 
  maidens, 
  the 
  even- 
  

   ing 
  social 
  promenade, 
  the 
  sea, 
  the 
  soft 
  

   Spanish 
  voices, 
  and 
  the 
  heavy 
  perfume 
  

   of 
  the 
  tuberoses 
  in 
  the 
  borders. 
  I 
  thought 
  

   of 
  Funchal 
  and 
  Amalfi 
  and 
  of 
  little 
  vil- 
  

   lages 
  on 
  the 
  Adriatic, 
  but 
  everywhere 
  the 
  

   palms 
  and 
  giant 
  mangos 
  and 
  sapodillos 
  

   broke 
  the 
  illusion 
  and 
  added 
  an 
  inde- 
  

   scribable 
  beauty 
  to 
  the 
  scene. 
  

  

  But 
  I 
  cannot 
  possibly 
  condense 
  into 
  a 
  

   few 
  pages 
  the 
  impressions 
  of 
  a 
  month 
  in 
  

   Panama. 
  To 
  my 
  mind 
  the 
  Canal 
  Zone 
  

   is 
  an 
  oasis, 
  spiritual 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  physical, 
  

   in 
  the 
  very 
  heart 
  of 
  the 
  humid 
  tropics. 
  

   It 
  is 
  an 
  oasis 
  which 
  has 
  been 
  built 
  on 
  a 
  

   sufficiently 
  large 
  scale 
  to 
  show 
  what 
  can 
  

   be 
  done 
  toward 
  making 
  a 
  tract 
  of 
  land 
  

   four 
  times 
  as 
  large 
  as 
  the 
  District 
  of 
  Co- 
  

   lumbia 
  as 
  safe 
  a 
  place 
  to 
  live 
  in 
  as 
  the 
  

   District 
  itself, 
  although 
  surrounded 
  on 
  all 
  

   sides 
  by 
  tropical 
  jungle 
  in 
  which 
  lurk 
  all 
  

   kinds 
  of 
  diseases 
  which 
  have 
  for 
  centu- 
  

   ries 
  devoured 
  the 
  white 
  man 
  whenever 
  he 
  

   has 
  ventured 
  into 
  its 
  shadows. 
  

  

  our 
  country's 
  attempt 
  to 
  conquer 
  

   the 
  tropics 
  

  

  So 
  far 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  seen, 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  first 
  

   time 
  in 
  history 
  that 
  a 
  northern 
  race 
  has 
  

   comprehended, 
  and 
  shown 
  that 
  it 
  compre- 
  

   hended, 
  the 
  gigantic 
  scale 
  upon 
  which 
  it 
  

   will 
  be 
  necessary 
  to 
  operate 
  if 
  the 
  white 
  

   races 
  ever 
  conquer 
  the 
  tropics. 
  

  

  Much 
  has 
  been 
  said 
  about 
  the 
  inability 
  

   of 
  the 
  white 
  race 
  to 
  live 
  there. 
  Perhaps 
  

   it 
  cannot 
  live 
  there 
  as 
  the 
  brown 
  and 
  

   black 
  races 
  do 
  ; 
  but, 
  for 
  all 
  that, 
  it 
  can 
  

   and 
  will 
  accomplish 
  great 
  changes 
  ; 
  and 
  

   the 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  Panama 
  Canal 
  

   Zone, 
  with 
  its 
  sanitation, 
  transportation 
  

   facilities, 
  its 
  admirable 
  hotels, 
  and 
  its 
  

   stirring 
  intellectual 
  life, 
  stands 
  as 
  a 
  bril- 
  

   liant 
  example 
  of 
  what 
  the 
  future 
  may 
  

   bring 
  in 
  the 
  development 
  of 
  the 
  gigantic 
  

   resources 
  of 
  the 
  tropics. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  from 
  this 
  standpoint 
  that 
  I 
  think 
  

   one 
  should 
  view 
  the 
  accomplishments 
  of 
  

   our 
  country 
  and 
  urge 
  it 
  to 
  go 
  on 
  with 
  the 
  

   research 
  work 
  which 
  it 
  has 
  begun, 
  and 
  

   make 
  here, 
  in 
  this 
  frontier 
  post, 
  the 
  dis- 
  

   coveries 
  without 
  which 
  the 
  scientific 
  con- 
  

   quest 
  of 
  the 
  tropics 
  will 
  be 
  impossible. 
  

  

  We 
  have 
  greatly 
  underestimated 
  the 
  

   problem 
  of 
  the 
  tropics. 
  It 
  is 
  one 
  which 
  

   should 
  invite 
  the 
  greatest 
  research 
  talent 
  

   which 
  we 
  have 
  and 
  be 
  supported 
  by 
  our 
  

   millions. 
  The 
  agriculturist 
  who 
  tackles 
  

  

  