THE ATLANTIC COAST AND ITS CONNECTIONS. 61 
towards the workmen on the railroad, and wished to 
know the truth. I of course understood the circum¬ 
stances under which men were induced to go there 
to work, and knew that agents in New Orleans and 
elsewhere might and did make unauthorized promises 
to the shiftless adventurers who sought to better their 
Puerto Barrios. 
fortunes in a new land. Men from the North cannot 
do hard manual work in this climate unless they are 
very careful in regard to diet, clothing, and general sani¬ 
tary conditions. If they get wet, and sleep in their wet 
clothes, they will have a malarial fever in a newly cleared 
country. If they eat improper food, or proper food at 
improper times, their bowels will certainly protest. Now, 
I was convinced that the contractors did not take these 
precautions with their men, that in consequence of this 
