﻿176 
  

  

  THE 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  Photograph 
  by 
  Herbert 
  Turner 
  

  

  A 
  LONG 
  TRAIL 
  A-WINDING 
  THROUGH 
  THE 
  ISLAND 
  OF 
  BARBADOS 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  470 
  miles 
  of 
  excellent 
  roadway 
  traversing 
  this 
  island. 
  George 
  Washington 
  visited 
  

   Barbados 
  in 
  November, 
  175 
  1, 
  upon 
  his 
  only 
  voyage 
  into 
  a 
  "foreign" 
  country. 
  

  

  first 
  at 
  Panama, 
  then 
  hauled 
  by 
  mules 
  

   across 
  the 
  Isthmus 
  and 
  deposited 
  at 
  Porto 
  

   Bello, 
  near 
  the 
  mouth 
  of 
  the 
  Cascajal 
  

   River, 
  until 
  it 
  could 
  be 
  shipped 
  to 
  Carta- 
  

   gena 
  ; 
  thence 
  it 
  was 
  taken 
  out, 
  through 
  

   the 
  Caribbean 
  Sea, 
  across 
  to 
  the 
  Azores 
  

   and 
  home. 
  

  

  When 
  the 
  Spanish 
  fleet, 
  usually 
  con- 
  

   sisting 
  of 
  from 
  five 
  to 
  eight 
  war-vessels, 
  

   several 
  smaller 
  boats, 
  and 
  numbers 
  of 
  

   merchantmen, 
  put 
  in 
  its 
  appearance 
  at 
  

   Cartagena, 
  about 
  two 
  months 
  after 
  leav- 
  

   ing 
  Cadiz, 
  word 
  was 
  immediately 
  for- 
  

   warded 
  to 
  Porto 
  Bello, 
  then 
  over 
  the 
  

   Isthmus, 
  and 
  down 
  the 
  Pacific 
  coast 
  to 
  

   the 
  viceroy 
  at 
  Lima. 
  

  

  The 
  governor 
  of 
  Panama 
  also 
  passed 
  

   the 
  word 
  along 
  to 
  the 
  inhabitants 
  of 
  

   Granada, 
  which 
  lay 
  farther 
  north, 
  in 
  the 
  

   Central 
  American 
  region, 
  and 
  to 
  the 
  mer- 
  

   chants 
  along 
  the 
  Guatemalan 
  and 
  Nica- 
  

   raguan 
  coasts 
  who 
  might 
  be 
  interested. 
  

  

  Soon 
  there 
  was 
  gathered 
  in 
  Old 
  Panama 
  

   the 
  riches 
  of 
  the 
  Incas 
  — 
  silver 
  bullion, 
  

   silver 
  plate, 
  and 
  precious 
  stones 
  — 
  gold 
  

  

  from 
  the 
  mines 
  at 
  Cana, 
  the 
  richest 
  in 
  

   America 
  at 
  that 
  time, 
  and 
  pearls 
  from 
  

   the 
  Pearl 
  Islands 
  in 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  Panama, 
  

   just 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  Gulf 
  of 
  San 
  

   Miguel. 
  Into 
  this 
  body 
  of 
  water 
  Vasco 
  

   Nunez 
  de 
  Balboa 
  waded 
  shortly 
  after 
  he 
  

   had 
  seen 
  the 
  mighty 
  Pacific 
  from 
  the 
  top 
  

   of 
  Mount 
  Pirre, 
  and, 
  in 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  his 
  

   sovereign, 
  Ferdinand 
  of 
  Spain, 
  claimed 
  

   the 
  South 
  Sea 
  and 
  all 
  the 
  land's 
  bordering 
  

   it, 
  from 
  Pole 
  to 
  Pole, 
  until 
  the 
  Day 
  of 
  

   Judgment. 
  

  

  Despite 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  Porto 
  Bello 
  has 
  

   one 
  of 
  the 
  best 
  harbors 
  on 
  the 
  Caribbean 
  

   west 
  of 
  Cartagena, 
  it 
  plays 
  an 
  incon- 
  

   spicuous 
  role 
  today, 
  due 
  in 
  some 
  measure 
  

   to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  exceedingly 
  unhealth- 
  

   ful. 
  This 
  condition, 
  however, 
  though 
  

   hundreds 
  of 
  men 
  succumbed 
  yearly, 
  did 
  

   not 
  serve 
  to 
  diminish 
  its 
  importance 
  in 
  

   early 
  days. 
  

  

  The 
  ancient 
  city, 
  the 
  real 
  entrepot 
  to 
  the 
  

   Isthmus, 
  was 
  situated 
  at 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  the 
  

   horseshoe-shaped 
  Porto 
  Bello 
  Bay. 
  In 
  its 
  

   prime 
  it 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  boasted 
  T30 
  houses, 
  

  

  