28 
CALIFORNIA ILLUSTRATED. 
him to a vessel that was about to sail for New Orleans, and in 
attempting to climb on board he missed his footing, fell into the 
water and was drowned. His hat came to the surface, but his 
body was never recovered. 
There was, at this time, no means of conveyance from Pana¬ 
ma to San Francisco, and people preferred remaining, and con¬ 
suming their provisions in Gorgona, to paying exorbitant prices 
to have it transported to Panama. After remaining some days 
I purchased a horse, and started for Panama, twenty-five miles 
distant. 
It is a pleasant ride across, being a succession of mountains 
and valleys, each valley containing a spring-brook of the purest 
water. Two miles out of Gorgona you enter a mule path run¬ 
ning through a dense forest, the branches interchanging over¬ 
head, forming an arbor sufficiently dense to exclude the sun. 
You sometimes pass through gullies in the side of the mountain, 
sufficiently wide at the bottom to admit the mule and his rider, 
and looking up, you find yourself in a chasm with perpendicu¬ 
lar sides, twenty feet in depth, into which the sun has never 
shone. Here, as in all . Spanish countries, are numerous crosses 
marking the resting-place of the assassin’s victim. When with¬ 
in three miles, the country opens, disclosing to the view the 
towers of the cathedral, indicating the location of Panama. Tie 
balance of the road is paved with cobble stones, the work of 
convicts, who are brought out in chain-gangs. One mile oit, 
you cross the national bridge, a stone structure of one arch ; 
here is also an extensive missionary establishment, now in ru;'ns. 
When within half a mile of the wall of the city, you pass a 
stone tower, surmounted by a cross. You are now in the sub¬ 
urbs of the city. The street is paved, and on either side are 
ruins, some of considerable extent, having been costly resi¬ 
dences, with highly cultivated gardens attached. You pass a pla¬ 
za, on one side of which is an extensive church. You nov enter 
between two walls, which gradually increase in height, as you 
approach the gate, until, crossing a deep moat which surrounds 
the city, they are joined to the main wall. 
On entering the gate the first thing that presents itself is a 
chapel, where you are expected to return thanks for your safe 
arrival. I rode through, put my horse in the court-yard of the 
