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THE ISTH
^ sic:eto
.<y^^
READ BEFORE THE
NEW BRUNS-WICK
PROVINCIAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION,
AT SAINT JOHN, N. B., MARCH 7th, 1867,
IN AID OP ITS FUNDS.
3Y
MKirT.-COL. THE HON. J.H.GRAY, M. P. P., Q. C, D. C. L.,
SI'EAKBR OF THC HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY OP NEW BRUNSWICK.
'Printed for Trivate Circulation, by Request,
SAINT JOHN, N. B. :
WILLIAM M. WRIGHT.
1861
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[ERB\TA.—Pag« 14,— 22d line— omit tlie word 'and" after " Chagies."
In SIbI line of the name page instead of " removed " read " relieved."]
THE ISTHMUS.
A NARROW neck of land some fifty miles wide, connects the two
Continents of North and South America. Spreading broa(j|pff to
the northward and eastward is the Oarribean Sea, with Cuba,
Jamaica, Hayti, and the Leeward and Windward Islands ; to the
northward, Hondiira.*?, Yucatan, and the Gulf of Mexico; to the
south, New Grenada and Columbia ; to the west, the Pacific,
Across this little neck of hnid now lies the great highway of the
civilized nations of the earth. In its two harbours, one on th e
Atlantic, and the other on the Pacific, float the flags of England,
France, and America, in friendly rivalry. To it the entorprizing
merchant of Europe looks when speculating on the trade
of the West ; to it the returning eOiigrant from Australia,
New Zjaland, and distant Otiiivi, turns his eyes when considering
the route by^which he shall uizain find his way back to the lond of
his birth. The merchant of New York or Boston looks upon it
l^ut as an ordinary journey of business or amusement, as he
counts the six thousand rniles that by this passage carry him to
San Francisco. From Lima and \^alparaiso and the cities of
the South, from British Columbia, Vancouver's Lsland, California
and the cities of the North Pacific, the name of the Isthmus
<5omes sounding like a household word. It seems to require no
other name — it asks no dis,tinctivo appellation.
From the time of its discovery (in A. I). 151.3) over three and a
half centuries ago, until within the last sixteen or seventeen years,
it rested in the obscurity of history,- occasionally lighted up for a
time by brilliant trade, or by the fitful glare of some wild adveo-
turers scheme, who, like Scotch William Patterson, in 1G98, saw
advantages which the world was not then sufl&oiently advanced to
appreciate, but who had not the means to accomplish what his
own far-seeing judgment pointed out,— and again relapsing into an
oblivion, the deeper from the temporary light, — known of late
years very little to any but the geographer or the scholar, and
practically of no benefit to the inhabitants of Europe or America.
Whence then this wonclrous change ? Who made this highway
for the world? England looked at it, and hesitated ; France look-
ed at it, and was appalled ; American Enterprize seized it, and
triumphed. -^
The territory through which the road passes belongs to neither
England, France, or the United States. It falls within the Pro-
vince of Panama, at present one of the Constituent States of New
Grenada in Central and South America. The political action of
this ^Tt of the world is like its physical action, subject to sudden
and violent disturbances. It breeds revolutions, as its air breeds
storms. It would be of little interest to follow its modern history
otherwise than as connected with the immediate subject in hand ;
and fortunately for mankind, that subject is in a great degree re-
moved from the .shifting polities of the country.
The settlement of the north-western boundary,— the acquisition
of Oregon and California by the United States, and the subsequeot
discovery of gold on the ?lopes and rivers of the Sierras Neva-
das descending to the Pacific, told the Atnericans that time waa
too valuable to be wasted in going round Cape Horn. Congress,
in 1848, authorizod contracts to be entered into for the establish-
ment of two mail lines of steun^^hips,— one from New York to
Ctiagres — one from Panama to California ; but the inducements
were at first not considered sufficient to attract capitalists. Two
men at last came forward, whose names will not soon be forgotten.
William H. A^pinwall took the line on the Pacific side,— George
Law, on the Atlantic. The latter contract was thought good
enough, because it connected with the cities of Savannah and New
Orleans, and "terminated at the portals of the Pacific." But
where was to be the profit of the other? What great emporium
of trade then called from the shores of Oregon or California for
the traffic of the East? What trade? What travel would com-
pensate for the immense outlay involved in establishing an ocean
line of st'Muiships from Panama to the North,— to places then
barely bruited in the mouth of Fame ? People wondered thnt so
sound a man as William H. Aspinwall should embark in so nope-
less an enterprize, But it soon became apparent that to his far-
seeing mind this was only a part of the plan. The bold design of
a Railway across the Isthmus was not only conceived, but acted
upon.
In connectioa with Mr. Henry Chauncey and Mr. John L.
^ign of
i acted
hn L.
StQyens, a contract was immediately made with the Government
of New Grenada for the construction of that work. A s^kilful and
oxperien^od engineer was fortiiwith e, '.ployed, an exploration was
made, and the feaHihiiity of the work, so far as engineering con-
struction was concerned, established.
13ut before going into the details of this work, its difficulties, its
triumphs, and its probable ultimate ccfrtsequences, it v/ould be as
well perhaps to take a rapid glance at the general route by which
it is reached. The traveller 'embarking at New York in one of
the noble ships of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, finds
himself surrounded by all the comforts and apf)lianccs of modern
civilization,— the highest perfection to which the con truction of
marine vessels has yet attained, — tbe most perfect and noiseless
discipline, — the most studied armngements combining elegance and
security,— a polite and varied society:— all tend to rob the sea gf
its nausea and its terrors.
The B.iy of New York is celebrated for its beauty; and after
crossing the bar, one looks upon the broad Atlantic with a keen
appreciation of Byron's well-known lines: —
•'Oil! who can tell, save lie whose heart liath tried
And (lanced in trinmph o'er the waters wide,
Tiie exiiltin,!^ sense, — the pnlse'H maddening play
That thrills the wanderer of that trackless way."
Off Cape Hattoras, which is ordinarily passed about the third
or fourth day out, a storm is naturally lookod for ; and the travel-
ler is seldom disappointed. The wind comes whistling through the
shrouds, and toppling over the waves, as if bidding defiance to
the Gulf Stream. But little recks that noble ship, the Henry
Chauncey, of the conflict of the elements. She rides the storm as if
in mockery of its power, claiming for man as the heritage of his
creation, dominion over the .sea as over the hind. *
On the fifth day, towards the afternoon, the low shores of Wat-
ling's Island loom in sight This was in reality the first land
discovered by Columbus, and is the true St. Salvador. The present
St. Salvador lies farther to the northward and westward, and has
* This ohservation should bo toned down a little. Almost on the day
month iVoiu tlie time referred to, and within a radius of fifty miles from the
same hpot. the Eoeain/f Sttr tmtvXeviyd'm n jj^ile with 300 passengers; the
Daniel Webster wm abandoned, the Santiof/n de Cuba had ner decks swept
by a heavy sea, losing several passengers, and the Canadian steamer Victoria
went down.
I
genorally been considered as the land first discovered ; but more
exact enquiries, and a closer nautical examination of the distaflces
and route followed by the j^reat navigator, have deprived it
of that distinction. Passing ly Ruiu Cay and through
the Crooked Passage, on the next morning, the bold high
lands of the south-eastern end of Cuba shew themselves,
and coasting eighty or ninety miles along its rugged, and at this
point, unsettled coast, you round Point Maysi, and faintly looming
up some thirty miles off, the north-western hills of old Uispaniola
or San Domingo — the modern Hayti — break upon the sight. On
through the windward passage, in the pale moonlight rise the
perpendicular cliffs of Navassa Island ; and as the faint outlines ^f
the Southern Cross melt away in the morning light, Morant Bay
and the shores of Jamaica shew faintly on the starboard quarter.
What a night ! What a scone of matchless beauty ! Unconsciously
tlie mind wanders back to the great man who unveiled this conti-
nent to the world, and planted the Cross on tlie unknown Islands
of the West. What were his emotions when these scenes lirst
burst upon his view? Clouds and darkness gathered rounl the
evening of the old man's days. Yet how bright is now the memory of
his heroic name ! On further, through the Carribean Sea, some five
hundred miles, and by eight or nine o'clock on the night of tho
day week you left New York, the Spanish Main dimly appears in
tho distance. Puerto Bello is p:»ssed ; and by midnight Aspinwall
is before you. Puerto Bello is passed ; but though unimportant
now, we.ought not to pass it without a reference to its former
greatness. Though situated in a most unhealthy spot, it was at
one period, about two centuries ago, A. D. IG-Oi, "the theatre of
'*' the richest commerce ever transacted on the face of the earth.
" The gold, silver, and other productions of Peru and Chili were
" carried annually thither from Panama to be exchanged for the
" manufactures of Europe, while on the other hani, tho galleons
" arrived from Spain laden with everj'- article of necessity andlux-
*' ury. At this period Porto Bello was filled with people, ito har-
*' hour crowded with ships, and the neighbouring fields crowded
" with droves of mules laden with the precious metals. Bales of
** goods, chests of treasure, and bustling crowds, everywhere met
" the eye. The Fair of Portobello — which was the period
'* named for the barter and exchange of goods — was limited to
forty days on account of the insalubrity of the plate. After
^t
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t more
ftnnccs
vc<l it
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rise the
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int Bay
i!>ciou6ly
is conti-
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pinwall
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ili were
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crowded
Bales of
liere met
period
Imited to
After
•* this the galleons returned to Spain, by 'vay of Cuha, often with
•' twenty millions ^f dollars in money and goods. The two towns
*' of Porto Bello and Panama which were the main channels of com-
" raunication between Spain and jier most valuable colonies, were
" reduced almost to nothing after the galleons were abolished."
Such is the historian's description of what Puerto Bello was.
Puerto Eello was subsecfliently plundered by the buccaneers, and
ultimately taken by a British squadron, under Admiral VernoD,
in 1739, Not far from this, at Puerto Caballo, took place one of
the most gallant exploits of the British Navy,— the cutting out of
the Ilermione. Indeed, the whole of these latitudes, teem with
the prowess of the British arms.
As Mrs. Hemans says :
Loud rush the torrent floode
Tlie WcBtern wilds among ;
And free, in Green Columbia's woodB|
The hunger's bow is strung.
But let the floods rush on,
Let the arrow's llight be sped :
Why should they reck whose task is done ? —
There slumber England's dead !
The warlike of the Isles —
The men of ii|ld and wave —
Are not the rocks their funeral piles 7 —
The seas and shores their grave 7
Go, stranger ; track the deep :
Free, free, the white sail spread.
Wave may not foam, nor wild wind sweep,
Where rest not England's dead.
But we have reached Aspinwall. 'Tis midiyght. The signal
rockets whiz aloft ; and pealing on the midnight air, the thunder
of the heavy guns announces the big ship's approach. Light.8 are
seen flitting along the wharves, and in the Company's buildings.
And slowly sweeping round the harbour, this huge vessel of three
thousand tons, glides up to the wharf as gently as if an infant's
hand had touched it. One or two restless travellers— whose eyes
weary not, and ask no sleep— spring upon the land, and stand
upon the Southern Continent under the cocoa trees bending
beneath the weight of fruit, and gaze up at the clear blue sky,
pnd the silvery light of the moou, and draw in with long
i;
(
breath the fragrant air, and wonder whether it ho a reality or a
dream,— the land of the njyrtle and the palm, whore nature blos-
soms in one perpetual sprin.15.
To persons accustomed to th(^ bold and ru-rgcid scenery of the
coast line and land-locked harbours of Dritish North America,
the harbour of Aspinwall docs not present a.i imposing appearance.
The land around it is low, and the first Tmprcssion is that it must
be shallow. Such, however, is not the case. " It is about three
miles in length by two in breadth, with an averai?e <lepth of seven
fathoms, affording good anchorage in every part." — {Panuina
Iland Book),
It was formerly called Navy Boy, and was discovered by Colum-
bus on his third voyage, though he was not aware at that time
that it formed part ot the continent. It is well buoyed, and many
steamships are seen at anchor, and at the wharves. It is much
exposed to the tremendous storms of the Atlantic. The remains
of an English steamer, absolutely torn to pieces at one of the
wharves a few years since are shewn you. At this time, | August,
1866], a wharf of a singular kind is being built by Col. Totten,
the distinguished American engineer, who constructed, and now
manages the Railway. Huge blocks of stone of enormous size,
embedded in concrete and fastened and sunk in some peculiar man-
ner, it is hoped will be strong enough to resist the force of the sea.
Hitherto efforts have failed ; and ordinarily constructed piers of
granite have been tossed -^nd knocked about like playthings. The
teredo renders all wooden piles thoroughly useless unless coppered
both below and above its reach. -.
The town is on the small island of Manzanilia, about sixteen
miles from the mouth of the Chagres River. There is one
Cross street, and one broad main street, — the latter built up
only on one side. These streets are not very long, and not very
clean. Occasionally in some parts a deluge from a slop-pail may
be seen flying from the verandahs abo^ as you walk along in front
of the shops, and the little pools thereby made are not indica-
tive of the most refined civilization. But these are little trifles
which will disappear as the American overcomes the native ele-
ment in the population. The houses are principally of wood,
broad, and rather flat, with two stories, and apparently cool and
comfortable ; the shops well;filled, though no attempt is made at
decoration or display : and the people, civil, cheerful, and obliging.
Further on, in the main street heyond the linnincss part of the
town, and beyond the extreme seaward point, where an iron light-
house standw, and inmunliatoly on the sea-shore, are a number of
neat cottages, in the midst of groves and gardens filled with the
beautiful flowers of the tropics. These are the residences ol' the
officials of the Company and of the Railway, and oV the agents of
the different French and English companies carn'.ng on business
tbcre. Still further on, a fine large, stone, J rotestant church,
erected by the llaiUvav Company, built in gothic style— like the
Cathedral in Fredericton, though larger— closes the apparent lino of
buildings. Returning to the business i)art of the town, on the
opposite side of the broad main street are the wharves ; and to-
wards the upper end, stands a large, massive, stone structure,
three hundred feet long by eighty wide,— the frc'ii:ht station of
the Panama Railroad Company. This was in August last under-
going extensive repairs, having been nearly blown to pieces with the
surrounding wharves by the nitro-glycerine explosion, which took
place at Aspinwall in the month of April previous, on board the
steamship European, by which, apart from the dreadful destruc-
tion of property, some seventy or eighty human beings engaged
in the ordinary pursuit^ of commerce lost their lives ; and an
agency of unparalleled destructive power was promulgated to the
world of wh li before it had been ignorant. Through this build-
ing, and along the main street, directly in its centre, a triple rail-
way track is laid ; and along this track, (for nearly the length of
Prince William Street, from the Bank of New Brunswick to th^i
Market Square), are standing the passenger and freight cars, with
the locomotive puffing and blowing and ready for the start across
the Isthmus. To the right of the Pacific Mail Steamship Com-
pany's wharf, and immediately contiguous to a building used for
a chapel or meeting-house, are several enormous tanks, holding
many thousands of gallons of watt The island of Manzanilla
about two miles square is of a low coral formation, and has no
springs of water. That obtained by digging is so brackish that
rain-water is preferred ; and the tanks being filled during the wet
season, supply the Company's ships during the dry, when no rain
falls.
Aspinwall can at present lay no claims to architectural beauty,
or to the possession of any of those indications of wealth which
are so conspicuous in the larger cities of the United States ; but its
iTT
10
future no man can limit. The wooden buildings rau-st soon be
superseded by brick, iron, or stone ; and b^fter uiunicipal regula-
tions necessarily following from the infusiion of the Saxon element
in the population, will remove the features which now strike the
stranger as objectionable. There is here a small ant which is
most destructive to wooden buildings; it works with untiring
energy, and will destroy a large house in a few years. It makes
large nests a foot or eighteen inches in diameter, and builds them
in an incredibly short period in the corners and along the crevices
of the very rooms in use. Mr. Gitbons the agent of the Pacific
.Company mentioned that his housie was destroyed, undermined
by them ; and they can be seen working in myriads in their nests,
on the fences, and among the debris of wrecks lying in the rear of
nis house. The residence of the agent of the English Steamship
Company, is an imported house of corrugated iron, and conse-
quently unassailable by such insects.
Large numbers of vultures are seen in every direction about
the town, lazily perched on leafless old trees, and along the ridge
poles of the houses stretched out to their full lengths, with their
broad wings expanded, and so perfectly motionless, that it is diflS-
cult at first sight to believe them living animals. They are the
scavengers of the city, and consume the oflFal and filth that would
otherwisft putrify and endanger health. There is a fine of two
dollars for killing one, and consequently, as if conscious of security
they are undisturbed by the approach of man, or the business and
turmoil around them.
Before enjoying the comforts of the Railway, let us see what
diflSculties its constructors had to overcome. The contract made
by Messrs, Aspinwall, Chauncey, and Stephens, v'th the govern-
ment of New Granada, has already been mentioned. Among the
most important concessiowj by the terms of this contract, was one
guaranteeing that all public lands lying along the line of the Head
wereto be used gratuitously by the Company. Also a gift of two hun-
dred and fifty thousand acres of land to be selected by the grantees
from any public lands on the Isthmus ; two ports, one on the Atlantic
and the other on the Pacific, which were to be the termini of the
Koad,were to be made fne. porU^ and a privilege was granted of
establishing such toils for the transit across as the Com p'.ny might
think proper. The contract was to continue in force for forty-nine
years, subject to the right of New Granaua to take possession of the
i i-iii
u
i
A
•:.•*
I
1
Road at the expiration of twenty years after it? completion, on
payment of $5,000,000, and at the expiration of tbii ty years, of
$4,000,000, and at the expiration of forty years, on payment of
$2,000 000. Three per cent was to be paid to the Government
upon « U dividends declared. The entire work was to be completed
within eight years, and a sum of $120,000 was to be deposited at
its commencement as security for the fulfilment of the contract, but
to be refunded with interest on the completion cf the Road with-
in the given time.
A charter was now obtained from the State of New York for the
formation of a Company, under which one miilior: dollars of stock
was taken. The original grantees transferred their contract to this
Company. A second survey was made, a summit level of two bun- .
dred and sixty three feet was discovered; and a line from ocean to
ocean, not exceeding fifty miles in length. Panama was selected
as the Pacfic ifc-jninus, and Navy Bay, (now Aspinwall), as the'At-
lantic terminus. The following is the description given by a writer
of that 'lay of the nature &f the country and the work : —
"The character and geographical position of this country through
which the line of the Road had been carried, was such as might
well have made the hardiest projectors shrink from attempting
its construction. The first thirteen miles beginning at Nary
Bay, was through a deep morass covered with the densest jungle,
reeking with malaria, and abounding with almost every species
of wild beasts, noxious reptiles, and venomous insects known
in the tropics. Far on, — (tho' some of the land was so fair
and beautiful that th*^ natives called it Paraiso), — the greater
part of the line was through a rugged country, along steep
hillsides, over wild chasms, spanning turbulent rivers and furious
mountam torrents, until the summit ridge was surmounted,
when it descended abruptly to the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
"Situated between the parallels of 8° and 9° north of the
Equator, a sultry tropical heat prevailed throughout the year,
nearly half of which time the country was deluged with rains,
which, if they would not seriously damage the works, were cer-
tain to impede their progress, and add greatly to the arduous
character of the undertaking. The whole Isthmus, tho' covered
with the most luxuriant vegetative growth, possessed little or no
timber sufficiently durable to be of use iu the construction of a
permanent work. The native population composed of a moo-
ITP
22
^1
ii
' grel race of Spaniards, Indians and Negroes, were too indolent
' and unaccustomed to labor to be depended on to any great ex-
' tent. The resources of the country were entirely inadequate
' for the support of laborers Men, materials, and provisions were
' to be transported thousands of miles ; and yet, despite all these
' obstacles, the dim glimpses of which had, at a previous time,
' caused European capitalists to shrink back with fear, the noble
' projectors of this Road at once, and earnestly, pushed forward
' this stupendous enterprise."
Such was the country at that day. After much consideration
and various trials, it was ultimately determined to commence the
work at Navy Bay. Col. Totten proceeded to Manzanilla Island
and commenced clearing in May, 1850. The breaking jTOund is
thus described by the same writer ; —
" This Island cut off from the main land by a narrow frith con-
' tained an area of little more than one square mile. It was a
' virgin swamp covered with a dense growth of the tortuous water-
' loving mangrove, and interlaced with huge vines and thorny
' shrubs, defying entrance even to the wild beasts common to
' the country. In the black slimy r.iud of its surface alligators
' and other reptiles abounded, while the air was laden with pesti-
' lential vapours, and swarming with sand flies and musquitoes.
' These last proved so annoying to the laborers that unless their
' faces were protected with gauze veils, no work could be done
* even at midday. Residence on the Island was impossible.
' The party had their quarters in an old brig, which brought down
' materials for building, tools, provisions, etc. etc., and wasanchor-
•' ed in the Bay."
On this Island is now the town of AspinwalL
" No imposing ceremonies inaugurated the 'breaking ground'.
Two American citizens leaping, axe in hand, from a native canoe
upon a wild and desolate island, their retinue consisting of half
a dozen Indians who clear the path with rude knives, strike
their glittering axes into the nearest tree ; the rapid blows re-
verberated from shore to shore, and the stately cocoa crashes
upon the beach.
" Thus unostentatiously was announced the commencement of a
Railway which from the interests and difficulties involved might
well be looked upon as one of the grandest and boldest enter-
'* prises ever attempted."
^^
13
How simple and how practical 1 A year or two after that time, in
1852 or 1853, we had a great Railway opening in Saint John. We
broke ground "according to Hoyle" — a grand procession— great
speeches were made — and much eating. Past history was drawn
upon— Greece, Rome, Tyre, and Carthage were ransacked for great
works and great enterprises— the future was drawn upon — and pop-
ulations,and peoples, and cities, and ships, and trade, and travel, und
arts, and gold mines were to grow up so fast that Greece, and Rome,
and Tyre, and Carthage wouldn't be worth remembering. We were
to be the highway of nations — all Europe was to rush frantically to
the Land's End— jump over to Halifax— s^cip thro' Nova Scotia —
whirl thro' New Brunswick— pitch headlong into Hew York —and
wind up at New Orleans in the twinkling of an eye ! It was a great
opening tho' the work didn't go on ; but then it wiis a magnifi-
cent outburst of "bunkum."
Other great openings have taken place since that time, and great
dinners have been given, — but the Railroads have not been built.
One cannot see why a man should refuse a good dinner because
he feels satisfied that a Railroad cannot be built out of chops and
tomatoes. The dinner must be eaten, and it may as well be con-
sumed by a man who has something to give, and p;ives it,— fits
appetite, as by men who won't give what they have,— their
money.
There wi»s no dinner at Manzanilla, and no speeches, and so the
work went bravely on. The monied men of the United States never
waste time in calling on Hercules, but first put their own shoulders
to the wheel. The monied men in the Provinces call lustily on
Hercules wherever they fancy he may be found, whether in En-
gland or in the United States, but they put their own shoulders to
the wheel in the most delicate manner, so the work never goes on.
At Manzanilla the work ,«ent on , but the rainy season had now
set 'Q ; the island was still uninhabitable ; the whole party had to
live on board the brig, which was crowded to its utmost capacity.
Below decks the vessel was alive with musquitoes, sand flies, and
other insects. Driven almost to madness, the men preferred sleep-
ing on the deck in the drenching rain rather than endure the attack
below. Fever broke out, men died, but the indefatigable leaders
still pressed on ; other men supplied the places of those who fell ;
but working waist deep in water in those deadly swamps, in an
atmosphere saturated with malarious poison, told so painfully on
14
T
iilii
their numbers that matters came to a stand. The bravest might
here have faltered ; but the men who had that work in charge
were men of whom a nation might well be proud. Their energy —
their pluck, —nothing could overcome. Going oflF into the adjoin-
ing countries they brought up fresh man, and on went the work
again. On the Ist of October, 1851, a train of working-cars,
drawn by a locomotive, passed over th** road as far as Gatoon, about
eight miles from Manzanilla, and struck the Chagres at that
point. The worst eight miles of the road were passed ; but this was
the darkest hour of the enterprise. Three million of dollars had been
expended — thousands of the labourers had perished — tho sup-
porters of the road were disheartened — and the directors In New
York could only keep the work moving at an enormous expence on
their individual credit. At this period an accident occurred which
proved the turning point of their fortunes. The Transit Company
was at that time passing passengers up the Chagres in bungoeS,
and by mules across the mountains at great expense and delay.
Two large steamers arrived with passengers at the mouth of the
Chagres. The weather was so tempestuous that, after several lives
had been lost in attempting to land, they were forced to take re-
fuge in Navy Bay. It was proposed that, instead of waiting for
fine weather, to return to the mouth of the Chagres, and the pas-
sengers should be transported over the railroad to Gatoon,^ an<i
there take the river. Such an accident had never been contem-
plated — there were no accommodations for landing, — no passenger
cars ; but men going to California did not then stand on trifles.
Rough working- ears were rigged up, a thousand passengers wera
carried over in safety, and the reality of the road became an ad-
mitted fact. When the news by the return of the steamers got to
New York, the prospects of the Company changed, the stock went
up, and its upholders were thenceforward removed from further
doubt and anxiety.
In July, 1852, the road was completed to a place called Bar-
bacoas, a distance of twenty-three miles from Aspinwall. There
the Chagres River intersects the road. At this point it is about
three hundred feet in width, flowing through a deep and rocky
channel, and subject to sudden and resistless freshets often rising
forty feet in a single night. Though this spot is now spanned by
a magnificent iron bridge, it was not accomplished until after great
loss of time, and sacrifice of life. A year was lost, but the Com-
1
.'a
15
#1
pans redouble'l their efforts. Labourers were drawn from every
quarter of the globe. Irishmen from Ireland, Coolies from Hin-
dostiin — Englishmen, Frenchnjen, Germans, Chinamen, Aus-
trians, — over seven thousand able-bodied hardy men were gathered.
But though their national habits and peculiarities were studied in
every way; though comfortably housed and attended to— (for, by
this time, the construction of the road : to this point enabled the
Company to provide comforts which in the commencement of the
work were unattainable), — they perished miserably. Their previous
habits of life were not adapted to the work. Within a month,
the Chinese, one thousand in number, became affected with a
melancholy tendency to suicide, and ended theirexistence by scores.
Disease broke out amongst them, and in a few weeks scarcely two
hundred remained. The Irishmen and Frenchmen suffered dread-
fully, nnd had to be roshipped, — those of them that survived.
It has been stated — thouith no voucher has been produced for its
correctness— that the road could have been measured in a continu-
ous line by the corpses of those who had perished in its construc-
tion, which, in a road of forty-eight miles, by a very simple calcu-
lation, allowing the unusual average of six feet to each man,
would give nearly forty-three thousand as the number. The
persons. best able to stand the climate were the people of the
adjacent countries, the natives, and the men from North America.
Notwithstanding all these discouragements,the work went on ; and
by January, 1854, the summit ridge was reached, eleven miles
from Panama. At this time the road was advancing over the
plains from Panama, and up the valley of the Rio Grande, to meet
the advancing work from the Atlantic side ; and on the i7th Jan-
uary, 1855, at midnight, in darkness and in rain, the last raiFwas
laid ; and on (she following day, a Ipcomotive passed from Oceau to
Ocean !
The probable effects of this road upon the future traffic of
America, and in some measure of Europe, with Australia, China,
Japan, and the Sandwich Islands, may be judged from the follow-
ing table of distances :—
MILES
The distance from New York to Sydney, Australia,
via Cape Horn is 12,870
via Pp.narja 9,950
Difference in favor of Panama 2,720
:i
1
Ji
16
MILES.
Tbe distance from Xe^- York to Iloiiolulu, Sandwich Islands,
via Cape Horn is 13,560
via Panama 6,800
Difference in favor of Panama 6,760
Tfhe distance from New York to Hong Kong,
via Cape Horn is 17,490
via Panama. .. .'. 11,850
Difference in favor of Panama. 5,570
The distance from New York to Jeddo, Japan,
via Cape Horn 16,710
via Panama 10,220
Difference in favor of Panama 6,490
Tbe distance from England to Sydney, Australifv,
via Cape of Good Hope.. 12,828
via Panama 12,730
Diflference in favor of Panama 98
The breaking ground commenced in 1850 ; the construction ac-
count was closed in 1859,— shewing an entire cost of eight million
dollars. The road is forty-seven and three-quarter miles in length,
with a maximum grade of sixty feet to the mile. The summit
ridge, about ten miles from Panama, is two hundred and eighty-
seven feet above the Atlantic ocean. There are four tracks on the
Atlantic side, three on the PaciBc, with station buildings, freight
depots, offices, machine shops, and the necessary accommodations
at either terminus; a pier of four hundred and fifty feet m
length, on the Pacific side, and a steam tug for carrying off pas-
sengers and freight to the main steamers which lie about three
miles off in the bay, near a group of small islands lately purchased
by the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, and which, as they can
be easily connected with the main land, will ultimately form, the
terminus on that side. The road, so far as the casual observation
of a traveller would enable him to judge, is well and substantially
built. The iron bridge across the Chagres at Barbacoas may bo
taken as a type. It is composed of six spans of ovbr one hundred feet
each, built of boiler iron with a top and boctom chord, two feet in
breadth, and one inch in thickness, and joined by a web of boiler
iron of proportionate strength. The track is laid ow iron girders
three feet apart, and the whole structure supported by five piers
and two abutments of hewn stone, twenty-six feetiwide, and eight
feet in thickness, increasing in the proportion of an inch to the
foot down to their foundations, Which are construoted of piles and
.,!«
i
I
I
■"■i
'i
.;4
w
concrete. The cross ties or sleepers of the road are of HgnumvitttJ,
and the ballasting most substantial. Doubtle.«s, the"o arc all evi-
denoes of a most costly work. It will be better understood by
bearing in mind that the road from Saint John to Shediac oa the
Gralf of St. Lawrence, one hundred and ten miles, cost six millioo
dollars, — the forty-eight miles, from Aspinwall to Panama, eight
millions. But the result amply justified the expenditure, and
proved the correctness of the judgment of its originators. Up t©
the opening of the road in January, 1855, that is to say from the
running of the first passenger train in 1852, (not quite three years),
the amount received for the transportation of passengers and freight
Was $2,125,232.31. Up to January, 1859, when the construction
account was closed at eight millions, the gross earnings amounted
to $8,146,605.
The running expences together with the depreciation in iron, ties,
buildings, etc, amounted to $2,174,876.51, leaving a balari^e rf
$5,971,728.66, as the legitimate returns for the money invested ic
the Road, — an expenditure of eight millions in a period of seven
years, during the first of which but twelve miles were in operation — .
the second — twenty-three, the third, thirty-one, — and only for the
last four years of the above period was the Road in use through-
o* its entire length. Out of these receipts the directors paid the
regular interest on all mortgages and other bonds, ten per cent
dividend to the stockholders in 1852; seven per cent in 1853 and
1854; twelve porcentin ]"55, 1856, 1857, 1858, and 1859,— then
had a balance or hand of $529,047.50, besides a sinking fund of
$153,395.83, and no floating debt. 'J'hese statistics are taken from
a very valuable book published by Dr. Otis in 1862.
Since that time the business of the route has continued most
steady and productive, and it is now paying twenty-four per cent, be-
eide putting aside extraordinary reserves for periodical distribution.
The health of the Isthmus has much improved. The clearing
of the swamps, the drainage at Aspinwall, and along.the line, has
produced a marked effect ; and of one hundred and ninety-six
thousand passengers transported over the lload during a period of
five yean^ it is not known that a single case of sickness occurred
in consequence of the transit. Of course, intemperance, i'upru-
denee and neglect will produce the same results there as elso-
.where, but such results are attributable not to the climate but to
the individuals themselves who suffer..
1^
i| rr
ii
li <
Thq journey across is performed in three hours. The whistle has
sounded— the passengers have crowded into the cars — the locomo-
tive is moving. All is life, bustle, cheerfulness and animation. Off
she goes ! A scene of unequalled beauty is opening on the sight.
A mile or two carries one over the small frith which separates the
Island from the mainland, and brings you through the former
swamps to where a slightly rising ground on the left called Mount
Hope forms the last resting place of the early constructors of the
lioad, — where the long grass waves over many a gallant man, and
the drooping branches of the mangrove and the palm throw a
softness and a shade around his tomb. It is now the cemetery of
Aspinwall ; and hero are interred the remains of the lamented
Strain, whose fortitude and unselfish devotion as commander of the
United States Daricn Exploring P]xpedit3on have never been sur-
passed : the names of himself and his two junior officers Truxton
and Maury would do honor to any service in the world. After
the first ten or twelve mile^ the scenery becomes bold. Mountains
and valleys rapidly succeed each other, clothed with a vegetation so
luxurious that language is powerless to describe it. Groves of the
broad-leafed palm in the midst of lawns of perfect smoothness —
the magnificent trumpet flower twelve or fifteen feet in height ! —
the lily — trees and vines trellised with white, and purple, andscaHet
flowers— the lime— the orange — the citron— the cocoa — the cotton
tree — the mangoes-the neat little haciendos for the Railway em-
ployees, every sixor eight miles. The palm -thatched wigwams of the
natives— the varying green of almost every shade — the broad leaves
of the banana — the massive cactus — the sharp, sword-like leaf of the
cocoa — the great lofty cedro towering up a hundred feet, and clothed
from its broad-spreading summit to its base with a thousand ten-
drils swaying gently backward and forward, and scattering their
flowers like falling rain, — seem to stagger the mind. The beauty
of the scene— the softness of the air — the song of the birds— the
richness of the fruit — the novelty of every thing, — produce for the
time a sense of enjoyment— an abandon of the soul— as if all heaven
and earth were mingled in one elysium.
At a short distance from one of the stations, some seveoteen miles
from Aspinwall, is a noble tree of the eedro-kind which would of
itself attract atttention, but which is generally pointed out should
the traveller be fortunite enough to meet one who is acquainted
with the Eoad,and which, sometimes, on the return train, you may
itf
19
h»»ve an opportunity of examining, while the locomotive is taking
ill water. It is known as the Stephens tree,— so called from being
the camping spot of Mr. Stephens during the exploration and
oonsti notion of the Road. It is six yards in diameter, at
its base, and towers up one hundred feet without a single
branch, with a canopy above over fifty yards in diameter. It is
covered with the most luxuriant growth of vines, and altogether
is a magnificent specimen of the larger species of tropical vegeta-
tion. But beside it, and around it, in that district, and from the
same soil there grows a little flowq| more wonderful still, — a rare
variety Qf flower, but still f lund in abundance there : botanists call
it of the orchid family, i.. is known, however, as the " Espiritu
Santo." It has a slight little r<talk something of the size and height
of our orange lilies, and its leaf and pods, perhaps, somewhat simi-
lar; its blossom, shaped like a small tulip, isof alabaster whiteness,
and of the velvity texture o^ the camellia. Its perfume is sweet
and powerful not unlike the trumpet flower or magnolia, but its
singularity consists neither in the beauty of its shape, its color, or
Its fragrance. Its blossom opens, — and poised upon the petal sits
the descendingdove; no pictured resemblance— no jmaginaryfigure —
no impression — but actually moulded— standing cut— apart— dis-
tinct— bouily formed — its expanded wings curving in as when a bird
poises to its rest — its beautiful little head perfectly shaped,
bent gently forward — with eyes and bill slightly tinged with pink,
and almost resting on its snowy breast. The early Spanish Oatho-
lios called it '* Fior del Espiritu Santo" the flower of the Holy
Ghost ;and the superstitious Indian of that day, bowed down before
this matchless flower, and gazed upon it with reverence, and ascrib-
ed '" a peculiar sanctity to the ground upon which it blossoms, and
to the very air which it ladens with its delicious fragrance." It is
found in low and marshy grounds ; is an ann-wa/, blooming in July,
August, and September. It is difficult to bring it to perfection
when transplanted ; but a plant or two in flower is occasionally
brought up, in pots, by the steamers.
Another strikingfeature along the Road is one where Art triumphs
over Nature. The telegraph poles seem massive pillars of hewn
stone. The rapid decay of the wooden poles was so great that it
became riepessary to devise some other plan to carry the wires. Col.
Totten devised the present plan. " A small sti-aight stick of the
♦' necessary height was placed upright,and surrounded by a jointed
ir
20
iiil
-iPP
mi
:\
" wooden niould fifteen niiches in diameter at the base, tapering to
" about eight inches at thetop,and .sunk into the earth .sufficiently
*' for firm support. This was filled with concrete, and allowed to
" stand for .several days ; when the niould was removed, it was found
*' firm and strong, and apparently everyway adapted to the pur-
po.se." They present an excellent and suh.stantial appearance.
It is to be remembered that there is only through traffic on this
fine. There are no intersecting roads bringing travellers, orfreight,
but there are nevertheless many stopping places. These are general-
ly the villages of the natives, -i^otne twenty or thirty huts grouped
togotlier, thatched with dried palm leaf, and very open, and airy.
Hard boiled eggs ind fruits of the most delicious kind and in great
quantities are brought by the women for sale when the train stops —
green oranges, bananas, mangoes — everybody buys,and everybody
eats— and fruit is thrown about which the wealth of Saint John
could not place upon your table. This principally occurs at one of
the stations, either Gongona or Matachin, about three quarters of
the way over,— shortly before passing the summit where the trains
meet and pass each other. The natives are here seen standing
about in groups, or pas.sing from car to car with their baskets.
Little piccaninnies from two or three years of age to ten or twelve,
of both sexes, are sitting around, or lounging, or standing lazily
gazing, as naked as nature made them. The men and women are a
little more dressed ; the latter may be said to be rather fashionably
got up ; they look scrupulously clean, and have the most magni-
ficent abundance of black hair, generally beautifully oiled, and
dressed and coiled up in a mass behind and around the head, that
■would laugh to scorn the largest waterfall ever seen in New York.—
They wear no crinoline, and the dress is somewhat short, — a kind
of white cotton, rather scant, but loose, entirely open in front
down to the waist, and with the flounces all around the shoulders.
This is the only garment that covers them. The men — well, the
men do have a pair of trousers which they generally wear ; but
occasionally as the train is moving along, should j'ou happen to
look out of the window you may see them chopping away with
their machetes, or pausing to.look at the train as it passes, clothed
with not as much as Adam is described to have worn when he left
Paradise. Clothing is not required in that climate, and the simple
habits of the people do not admit of extensive wardrobes. Such
observations, of course, are only applicable to the native Indians or
K
21
erinjj to
ficiontly
owed to
a8 found
the pur-
rance.
i on this
freight,
gcnural-
grouped
nd airy,
in great
1 stops —
rerybody
int John
at one of
larters of
he trains
standing
baskets,
r twelve,
ing lazily
[)cn are a
(hionably
magni-
iled, and
ad, that
York.—
— a kind
in front
loulders.
well, the
Dar ; but
ippen to
ay with
clothed
he left
le simple
Such
adians or
I
I
n
the Negroes from Jamaica and the other Islands, who settled
there during the progress of the work, and must bo considered as
principally limited to the rural districts ; tho' sometimes in As-
pinwall, and in Panama itself, you see the same classes not over
burdened with drapery. The Aiiioricun and foreign residents
themselves, and the native gentlemen, and business men, however,
dress with cxtrerao neatness, and would soon frown down any stran-
ger who fancied, that inconsequence of the froedonj of the humbler
native population from restraint he might himself indulge in any
vagaries with the habits of civilised life.
The scenery around the Obispo is fine, and tho attention
is drawn from the native to nature, but here again civilisation
steps in. There is a pretty fair saloon at Gorgona or Matachin, —
kept in a little shanty, where claret, and becr^ and other
artificial drinks can bo proniptly had. A fellow may l)c gazing at
the lofty peaks of th'i mountains which towering just beyond throw
their long shadows upon the deep valleys, and may be fancying
visions of glorious splendor which are to burst upon his sight, as
in a short time he passes them and looks his first look upon tho
Pacific, when suddenly some old Caliibrnian who has crossed, per-
haps, twenty times, and from familarity with the swme become
indifferent to its beauty, shouts out, " Oh, stop your dreaming!
Come along, — let's have a cocktail," and off we all scud for
"cocktails." In amoment, before you think much about it, old
Paure San Juan, as they call him, the keeper has out " cock-
ails," -'brandy smashes," "gin slings," "half and half,"
" bitter beer," " mint juleps," " polywog pops." Glorious things
are "cocktails" on the spurs of the Andes with old Californians
hob-nobbing — shouting— laughing — yelling ; hark ! Sharp goes the
whistle — down go handfulls of bits— helter skelter, hurry skurry
— every devil rushes off to the train as hard as he can go, and the lone
traveller from the North wonders where in the deuce all of a sudden
his fine ideas have gone to. However, lot's get sober; we are passing
the summit — we have ten miles to descend — nearly three hundred
feet of a decline to be overcome — sharp curves— steep precipices —
along the sides of high mountains far above the low valleys—away
down beneath— over deep gullies- the head waters of the Rio Grande
lea ping from rock to rock in wild torrents below— the foliage denser,
wilder— more tangled still,— all wild. Nature seems to have suffer-
ed terrible convulsions here. Not far from this spot during the
li t
l!;li
i i !l!» H
ill
early construction of the Road, wan a magnificent cliff of basaltic
flolumn.s a foot or more in diamuter and twelve or fifteen feet in
length, which overhung the track. Its curious formation, the splen-
dor of its crystals, were most strikmg to the eye ; and it wo\jld
perhaps have remained to this day the rival of Fingal's Cave in
Staffa, or that still more wondrous dome of lona described by
Scott :—
Where, ns if to nhnnie the temples decked
ny Hkill of earthly archit«ct,
Nature herself it eeemetl would raira
A niinater to her Mukor'a praise.
But the wretched engineers Boizod the splendid columns, and
pounded them into ballast for the Road. An engineer has no
poetry in his soul : rhombpids and acute angles jut from every
limb. One ought to bo impaled every ten miles along a Railway
as a warning to his successors, that the world still entertains an
appreciation of the beauties of Nature,and that it is not necessary
for the sake of saving a few shillings, to destroy all that is beauti-
ful and elevating in Nature's works Three or four miles bring
you to the valley of Paraiso, or Paradiso— so called,because former-
ly regarded as a lovely spot- And soon you are passing along the
Rioping i>li»ins which gradually take you to the Pacific. The Rio
Grande sweeps away to the right, and a few miles off stands Mount
Ancon, shadowing down upon the present city of Panama, and
almost cooling its base in the gently swelling waters of the Western
Sea. It was from this mountain that Balboa first discovered the
Pacific. The story as gathered from the Spanish chroniclers is
Tery interesting, and for present purposes may be briefly summaris-
ed as follows : —
In 1509 the Spaniards determined upon making permanent
Settlements on the mainland. They did so on the Gulf of Darien.
Their object was gold ; their rapacity unsatiable ; their cruelties
most atrocious. The people of the mainland accustomed to carry
on war with each other, received them with a boldness unex-
perienced in the Islands that had been so easily subdiied. Poisoned
arrows, inflicting r^ertain death — shipwrecks — want — diseases soon
broke up the expedition, — those who could returned to St..
Domingo ; those who could not remained at St. Mary's in the Pro-
vince of Darien. Here they became thoroughly disorganised—
when Yasco Nunez De Balboa appeared among them. He was A
inmans-
bold (larinf{ man, of undoubted coura/?c, groat |>Grsona1 Rtrcnglh and
plausible eloquence. He was Hoon Heloctod as their leader. Judg-
ing that more gold would be found in the inland than on the eoaHt,
he marchad with his band into the mountainous part<i of the
Isthmus. lie first, it is said, came across the Albinoes— pure white
with red eyes— feeble creatures in mind and body : but soon he
met with other tribes of a different race— brave — hardy — and ready
to defend their rights. Among these latter an odd custom prevail-
ed : the husbands on the death of their wives, and the wives on the
death of their husbands, cut off the end of a finger — widowers and
widows wore thus easily detected — and by the time a man had had
five wives, or a lady five hmbands, they would have no ends to
their fingers, — quite time to stop, you will say. Notwithstanding
the ferocity of these people, Balboa aided by the cupidity of his
soldiers— his own indomitable disposition— and pafks of blood
hounds brought over by the Spaniards, and used in all their con-
quests, ultimately succeeded in destroying most of the inhabitants
of Darien, and in subduing the remainder. One day as the con-
querors wore disputing about some gold, with great warmth, a
young cacique overturned the scales in which they were weighing
it, exclaiming with great di^^dain, " why<4o you quarrel for such a
trifle — it it is for this you quit your country and massacre so many
people, I will conduct you to a region were it is so common that
it is used for the meanest purposes !" He then explained that there
was another ocean, beyond the mountains, which lod to this rich
country.
An expedition was immediately planned ; and on the first of Scp-
tcmb^" 1513, one hundred and ninety Spaniards with one thousand
Indianb to servo as guides, and to carry provisions and baggag^i
set out with Balboa at their head. The march across was only sixty
miles, but it was necessary to climb steep mountains — pass wide
rivers — deep morasses — thick forests — and disperse, persuade, or
destroy so many tribes of fierce natives, that it was not until after
twenty five days that the journey was accomplished. They reached
Mount Anoon. Bidding his followers pauso in their ascent of the
mountain, Balboa continued alone to the top, and gazed long and
ardently upon the magnificent scene before him, — the first Euro-
pean whose eyes had ever beheld the Pacific. " Spectators of both
hemispheres," exclaimed this haughty leader, " I call you to
witness that I take possession of this part of the universe for the
1^^
'i
n
)
■1
! i
Hill
24
Crown of Oastilc,— ipy sword shall defend what roy arm hath given
to it.'' The cross was planted on the shore of the continent, and
the name of Ferdinand inscribed on the bark of some of the trees.
Buncombe seems indigenous to America. At the time Balboa
made this "magnificent" speechjtheonlycitizensof the two hemis-
pheres that were within sight of him were his own few followers some
little distance down the mountain, who constituted the citizens of
the Eastern Hemisphere, and the poor subdiicd, conquered In-
dians who constituted the citizens of the Western Hemisphere. IBut
still the idea was a big one. Since that time buncombe has grown
wonderfully ! It attained perfection in Washington some twenty
years ago, wh^u the " tall talk " took half the Province of New
Brunswick away. It flourishes very much at the present day in
Massachusetts, and the New England and Western States. It does
not get on bluly in the British Provinces, particularly when great
works are to be conceived. Victor Emanuel and Qaribaldi tried
it with great effect in Italy ; and Napoleon was supposed to be
the silent master of the art " from the Alps to the Adriatic" until
Bismarck came upon the stage and advertised the absorption of
kings and kingdoms with as much coolnesd as Barnum did his
" woolly horse." It does«ot take very much in England — but that
is a mistake. In a national point of view a little " tall talk " some-
times paves a world of fignting ; and England might justly use it
sometimes to advantage.
In England every man is entitled to the expression of his opinion
— nay more,— to the maintenance and advocacy of it. In this coun-
try we claim find exercise that privilege, too. We think that those
Englishmen— (/etc, we hope, «Aey are)— who talk lightly of throwing
off the great outlying dependencies of the British Empire— who
speak of severing the connection between England and her Colonies
— who weigh as an article of barter the attachment and devotion of
millions of British subjects defending her standard — planting her
institutions — and revering her Sovereign from the Citadel at Hali-
fax to tho distant homes of Vancouver's Island— who weigh in
the scales the value of a bale of cotton, or a yard of Manchester
cloth, against the hearts, and blood, and affection of men who cost
her not one shilling for local purposes — who ask for not one farth-
ing of her public money, further than may be necessary for tne pre-
servation of her own Imperial interests— who in her troubles and diffi-
culties with other nations— springing from matters which did not
i
T
25
\[ given
nt, and
e trees.
Balboa
(hemiB-
irs some
zens of
ered In-
re. But
s grown
5 twenty
of New
t day in
It does
en great
ildi tried
led to be
ic" until
•ption of
did hia
-but that
some-
tly use it
originate witli them, and over which they had no control— place
their whole revenues at her disposal, and are prepared to let their
own land be the battle field of her cause,— we say, the men
who so speak — who advocate such a course — mistake the true
policy of the groatnees and powerof England. When yet within
the memory of living man, Napoleon sweeping from Marengo
to Austerlitz, dictated from the Palaces of Berlin the decrees
which were to exclude her commerce from the world— when from
Kiga on the Baltic to Cadiz on the Atlantic embattled Europe
stood against her — when the blood was not yet dry upon the sanda
of Corunna — and Rorica and red Vimiera had proved but fruitless
triumphs — when the dark lines of Torres Vedras held behind
them, under her illustrious chief, ihe small remnant of the British
Army — when then the United States forgetful of their lineage
and their race threw in their squadroua against her — the men of
British North America did not falter I From every hearth and
home throughout their forest land went forth the cry " For En-
gland !" Her cause was in their hearts, — to share her triumph or
her fall was in their prayers,— her destiny was theirs. The descend-
ants of those men in the " New Dominion" will not falter now.
From every true and loyal heart, the cry is " For England" still I
With a firmer grasp and a stronger hand we nail the old colours
to the mast — and with each day's increasing power — each day's in-
creasing prosperity we will rally round her, and battle for her, —
the leader of nations in the cause of civilization, and freedom, and
happiness, thidaghout the world ! God grant that the policy of
those who would separate and divide us, and estrange us, may
never prevail I
But to Panama. The train has arrived — the passengers disem-
bark. The station buildings extend almost to the beach, and in
close proximity to the pier ; they differ very little from other
station buil4ings, except in their entire absence of any attempt at
adornment. Every thing is plain ; but every thing that is requisite
seems there,— ofl&ces, freight sheds, car sheds, and the ordinary
surroundings of a station. Panama lies off to the right — and
busses are in attendance for any who choose to go to the city. As
usual they are owned and managed by Americans. PaYiaraa, the
present city is about two hundred years old, and is built on a flat,
rocky peninsula about two miles square, which juts out from the
foot of Mount Ancon. It contains about ten thousand inhabitants.
1^
I
liM';!; I
1
1
' il
as
Its situation is beaUtifbl ; but no one would be justified in saying
the town is beautiful. Like all old towns of a former age, the
streets are extremely narrow, the sidewalks not wider than foot
paths ; and the evidenres of delapidation meet you everywhere.
It is not clean — not a tree offers its welcome shade from the burn*
ing sun — no fountains play— no dashing equipages arrest the eye —
BO rows of new buildings give evidence of modern life and pro-
gress — no bustle — no stirring scenes— -no manufactures— no sounds
of heavy hammers fall— no merchants rushing frantically from
bank to bank to get a few dollars discount — no hungry politicians
at the eoirners thirsting for each other's places — no candidates
for seats iu the legislature sweetly smiling, and fonlly asking
after all the dear ones at home — no malicious editors traducing
the character and conduct and motives of absent gentlemen — no
doctors with savage fierceness contesting whether allopathy or
homoeopathy will kill, cr cure, most effeatually — no lawyers— no
policemen — and ( Crednt Judoeus ! ) no penny papers !
But with all these wants— in the absence of these unspeakable
blessings — Pan<ima is nevertheless a mostinteresting place — appar-
ently a happy place ; and in its own quiet way, doing a great deal of
bu»nes& The shops are confined to no particular locality. There
is no one part of the town for residence— no one part fot business*
each man pursues his calling where he lives, with little or no dis*
play — and evei^ one seems civil and obliging. The shops are well
fSUed with excellent articles from London and Paris, and very
cheap. Spanish is principally spoken, except at the hotel, and
among the American residents. The latter are extremely cour^
teous and hospitable to strangers ; and it is a traveller's own fault
ifhe does iiotget along well with them. A striking feature in
the architecture to a man from the North, is the entire absence of
chimnies : no fire place, no mantel-piece meets the eye. As, stand-
ing on the verandahs which project from the second stories of
most of the dwellings, you gaze around and below over blocks
and squares of houses, no projection above the roofs points out
how or whore the smoke must go, or in what way your savory frijoles
and tortillas are cooked. Turtle steaks, and smoking stews come
up piping hot, but how they got so puzslcs the uninitiated to
know. But Panama to a traveller is a pleasant place — 'tis a dreamy
place. One delights to wander around its old ramparts, and amid
its ruined halls — itB orumblin^ (»thedrale— its falling churches — its
27
n saying
ige, the
tan foot
ywhere.
he burn-
he eye —
ind pro-
o sounds
Uy from
oUticians
mdidatos
y asking
traducing
jmeri — no
pathy or
vyers — nO
speakable
«-- appar-
eat deal of
ity. There
r basinesa,
or no dia-
)8 are well
and very
lotel, and
nely oour*-
own fault
eature in
absence of
As, stand-
stories of
(ver blocks
points out
Dry frijoles
tents oome
nitiated to
a dreamy
and amid
irches — its
I
I
old pajaces and eonvonts, covered witli the wild ivy and the vine, —
beautiful even in decay—
" Each ruined tower and stone
Pleads haughtily for glories gone."
In the early part of the eighteenth century it must have been
a city of great wcajth and beauty, — its religious edifices beyond
all nun^ber in proportion to its size. You can hardly walk a quarter
of a mile in any direction without seeing the evidences of former
greatDOss — the massive structures — the moss-grown walls the bas-
tions and parapets of its former defences— the sentinel towers — the
guai'dec^ gates — the covered approaches. No cloubt, under the
panoplied chivalry of old Spain, under the Pizarros, DeSotos, and
Carvajals, they must have been impregnable to the half-armed na-
tives; but at the present day, Strang way's shells, and "Armstrongs,"
or Foster's Batteries would knock them to pieces in a short time.
Of these structures apparently but t\>o at the present time re-
main for use ; one a convent, turned into a soldiers' barrack ; the
ot^er the Cathedra! of Panama. The litter must have been a noble
building in its day. It faces on the Plaza, and is approached by a
broad flight of stepa leading to a terrace : two lofty towers stand on
either side, and three great portals lead into the body of the build-
ing. A Latin in.scription along the architrave, almost eflfaced by
time, shews it to have been built upwards of two centuries ago.
fixternajly the stone is chipping and wearing away, and large cre-
vices along the front show i>lainly that unless soon attended to,
it will share the fate of its former companions. The interior was
once magnificently decorated, and is capable of holding many
t|iousand worshippers. Several small chapels branch off on either
side, and were formerjy adorned with beautiful statuary represent-
ing the Crucifixion and other Scriptural scenes connected with the
Saints ^nd the Virgin Mary. The remains of th'. gHding and
adornments may still be seen ; but the whole place has been
shamefully pillaged by the buccaneers and pirates in early days,
and by the successive revolutionary parties, which during the lasst
fifty years have succeeded each other for a time in seizing the
government of Central America. These chapels and the whole
buildings now present the most melancholy appearance : tawdry de-
corations fail to supply the place of former grandeur ; and the con-
fessional boxes themselves are mouldering away. The Cathedral
is opened for service every morning, and the Roman Catholio
. I
I' n
!
il'i 3
it ■!•
ceremonial is stilJ performed with much of its former pomp. As
Id the cathedrals on the continent, the great centre of the church
is free from seats ; the worshippers bring their little mats and
kneel — the solemn music swells through the columned aisles, and
peals back from the lofty walls — the priest dressed in vestments
of great richness, chants in Latin the beautiful prayers — ^incense
burners are moved gently backwards and forwards before the altar —
and fragrance fills the air. You gaze above and around, and you
see the evidences of bygone power— of bygone wealth — of bygone
greatness. You gaze below, aud on the monumental slabs which
are beneath your feet, you read the names of generations which
have passed away, —some who have filled their turn— some who
have gone when young and fair, and fondly loved,— if these re-
cords speak true. Around you kneeling, bowed in reverential awe,
are men and wnmen, and youths of tender years, whose earnest
suppliant looks are telling of a time that is to come— and the priest
still chants — and the music swells — and you may lean against the
column which supports the lofty dome, and there amid ruin, and
desolation, and decay, you may calmly look upon that solemn
scene, but an unconscious sadness steals upon the soul,— a sense of
something that there is no permanency here, and yon turn away a
wiser, if not a better man.
There is something painfully depressive in these views of old
religious edifices in Central and South America. Whatever per-
sona may think of the efficacy of the system under which they
were reared, at any rate there was sincerity, there was devotion.
The wealth that built them, though torn from captive lands, could
have contributed to the gratification of sensual pleasures^ bnt
was dedicated to a holier and a nobler end. Man in his rapine
might have spared what had been rendered sacred by the cause to
which it was devoted. But there seems after all to have been %
retributive Justice,— an avenging Nemesis in the afifairs of South
and Central America. The Spaniards in their thirst for gold had
in their early occupation desolated the country with blood. The
wail of slaughtered nations, — the cry of trampled humanity was
heard above —
"Forlo! a darker hour ascends —
The altar B'jakes — the crozier benda—
The ire of an Almighty King
Hides forth upon destruction's wing."
And the descendants of those very Spaniards, and the natives whom
29
tbey outraged, after the lapse of two centuries have swept away
the monuments of their power, and cursed with the desolation of
anarchy a country of itself the fairest and the richest that the sun
shines upon.
How unlike the sturdy old Puritans of New England, or the
reckless Cavaliers of Virginia who left their homes in the old
world not for gold, but for the sake of civil and religious freedom,
or the love of wild and daring adventure. No groves of palm, or
fragrant breezes bade them welcome — but oold and nigged blasts,
and bold and treacherous foes. They struggled not for gold, but
for life— for liberty— for principle — and the same retributive
Justice has given to their descendants a country teeming with
every blessing, and adding monument after monument to the evi«
dences of its greatness and power.
The Convent as before mentioned is now turned into a barrack.
It was once regarded w\th great respect ; and within but a short
period gone, travellers used to gc to the little wicket at the entrance,
place their bit upon the turn-table, and receive from the fair hand
of an unseen nun, a draught of the hol^^ water within. Tho
Government troops are now quartered there ; and a wretched sen-
try, with his firelock lying against the wall, is seen before the door
with two or three of the guard lounging lazily about. A stranger
merely passing through a place should not condemn things solely
because they do not come up to his ideas, or to what he
may have been accustomed ; but impressions will force them-
selves upon the mind ; and travellers will write ; and after
all it is from hearing what a great many say, that we arrive
at the truth at last. About forty men with a drum and
fife were going through guard mounting ; they were small
sized ; a few had some attempt at uniform, — the officer in cnm -
mand was tolerably well dressed, somewhat in" the French style, but
the greater number of the men were most wretchedly clad,— some
vnth a straw sandal on one foot, and a half slipper on the other—
and lolling about in a way when on the march that would
have put the Adjutant of the 15th into a fever. Each soldier
carried an old "brown bess" with a worsted ball and ribbon stream-
ers stuck in the muzzle, acartouchbox of huge dimensions, and very
ancient apperance, with other appointments of a similar character.
A very fi^e and easy crew they seemed to be, for men doing du^
in a garrison town, at guard mounting. They are said to be yeiy
/
'if:
#
ill
!■)
I
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poor hands in the use offircarnis,but at close quaitere against their
own people, with their machetes, hew and hack very well. Such
fts \i is, thi^ army occasionally revolutionises the country, and
topples over a general or a governor, as money is abundant or
scarce, or promises are made freely or withheld. But after all
what has such a sol4ier to fight for ? What glories cluster round the
past history of his country ? What future brightens with cheer-
ing hope his coming day ? Anarchy and confusion — poverty and
inisery— ill fed — ill clothed— and rarely paid— nothing to look back
to — nothing to look forward to — what is therd to care for — what
rights are there in such a country to maintain or defend ? On
8uch an occasion, an Englishman whether bom in the British Isles
or in Pritibh America involuntarily turns to his own country —
her history — her institutions — her laws— her army — her navy —
the past comes upon him— the \)xeh<^nt glows before \i\va. However
humble he be, there is a pride in the thought which steels him to
any endurance.
You know the story of Moyse the Private of the Buffs, In
1857 when Jiord Elgin went out as ambassndor and plenipoten-
tiary to China, in one of the conflicts in the vicinity of Canton,
' ' some Seiks and a private of the Buffs having remained behind
with the grog carts fell into the hands of the Chinese. On the
next day they were brought before the authorities and eomman4ed
to perform the Kotow. ' The Seiks obeyed, but Moyse the Englis|i
soldier declaring that he would not prostrate himself jbefore any
Chinaman alive, was immediately knocked on the head and his
body thrown on a dung hill." — China Corresj)on<J(ent of the Time$,
On this occurrence Sir f. Hastings Doyle wrote the following
beautiful Hnes: —
THE PBIVATE OF THE BUFFS.
Last night, among bia fellowa rough
He jested, quaffed and swore —
A drunken private of the Buffs
Who never looked before, —
To day, beneath the foeman's frown,
He stands in Elgin's place.
Ambassador from Britain's crown,
And type of all her race. '
Poor, reckless, rude, lowborn, untaught,
I^ewildered au^ ."<loae,
^
A Uenrt, with English instinct fraught,
He yet can call hie own.
Aye! tear his body lim'j from limb,
Bring cord, or axe, or flame, —
He only knows that riot through him
Shall England come to shame.
Far KentiBh hop-ficlde round him seemed,
Like dreams, to come an(^ go.
Bright leagues of cherry blossoms gleamed
One sheet of living snow, —
T? 8 smoke above his father s door,
In grey soft eddyings hung, —
Must he then watch it rise no more
Doom'd by himself so young ?
Yes Honor calls — with strength like steel
He put the vision by I
Let dusky Indians, whine and kneel,
An English lad must die !
And thus, with eye that wond not shrink—
With knee to nian unbent —
Unfaltering on its dreadful brink,
To his red grave he went !
Vain ! Tuightiest leets of iron framed —
Vain ! those all shattering guns.
Unless proud England keep untam'd
The strong hearts of her sons.
So let his name through Europe ring,
A man of mean estate.
Who died, as firm as Sparta's King,
Because his soul was great.
JJast night, among his fellows rough
He jested, quaffed and swore —
A drunken private of t^" Buffs,
Who never looked before, —
To day, beneath the foeman's frown,
He stands in Elgin's place,
Ambasador from Britain's crown
And type of all her race.
It is thus that the humblest individual can maintain the honor
of his country, and spread among distant nations a respect for its
character and people— nay, more,— leave behind him a name that
stimulates thousands of bis countrymen to acts of heroism and
1 J !•• /I 1 .
m
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3
ii ■; ■
a
daring. Such feelings io its masses constitute the foundation of a
nation's greatness.
According to all accounts the bay of Panama is never ruffled by
a storm. It is truly in the Pacific Ocean ; and no difficulty has
ever occurred in transporting the passengers and freight from it
to the main steamers which lie oif at the islands before mentioned,
^eome three miles out. The steamers on both the Atlantic and
Pacific sides may be well described as floating palaces, and are well
and ably commanded, the officers being not only gentlemen., but
seamen. Naval discipline and regularity arc kept up, and every
thing conducive to comfort or security attended to. The Colorado^
which, on the occasion of the present visit, was the receiving
steamer on the Pacitic'side, is of three thousand seven hundred tona
burden, and at night, with her tier upon tier of lights, is a magnifi*
cent sight. Hor upper deck sweeps an unbroken length of fully
four hundred feet, and is broad in proportion The saloons and
staterooms are of corresponding dimensions ; and she accommo*
dates with ease twelve or fifteen hundred passengers. Her com-
mander. Commodore Watkins, is a splendid specimen of a fine old
English admiral, and apparently a great favorite. About six
miles down on the left of the Bay are the site and ruins of the
ancient city of Panama destroyed in 1661 by the buccaneers un«2er
Morgan, who was a consummate pirate, robber, and rascal,
though he was an Englishman. The history of the " Brethren
of the Coast " or buccaneers, teems with the most eventAil
incidents, and shews an organization for pillage and robbery,
unparalleled before or since,— so much so, as from it« extent and
power on some occasions to have extorted from the civilized
nations of that day recognitions and negotiations which ought
never to have been extended to acknowledged outlaws and free-
booters. The Bay is covered with pelicans and other sea birds,
and is filled with the most voracious sharks. It makes one's blood
run cold to see the great brutes stealthily swimming around with-
out a ripple on the water, or anything to indicate their approach
but the silent cutting of the dorsal fin just above the water. Woe
to the person who plays his hand in the water as the boat moves
along I If he reaches the shore it will be with one arm less thaa
itrhen he left it. A " header" in^ the Pacific with all its tempta-
tions would be about the last plunge a man would take. The
Aspinwall House at Panama, is a fair, comfortable hotel where yoa
got capital claret for breakfast instead of tea, and fried plantains
instead of butter ; but it is not of the character it would be, if the
travellers over the Isthmus were more than mere birds of passage.
Ordinarily you do not go into Panama, but embark directfy on
arrival of the cars at the station and pier. This is speaking of the
travellers fron- New York to San Francisco ; those from or destin-
ed for ports in South America, or elsewhere, of course 'await the
arrival or departure of their respective steamers. From the increas-
ed communication with the ports to the South, and from Austra-
lia and New Zealand, it is computed that one large steamer arrives
at, or departs from Panama every day. It is not uncommon to
meet travellers who have come from Lima, or Valparaiso to Panama
thence to San Francisco, thence to China, thence to Singapore,
Oeylon, and the Red Sea, across Egypt, up the Mediterranean to
Trieste, or Marseilles, thence through Germany, or France, to En-
gland, thence to New York, and back to Lima, performing the
entire circuit of the globe, — and many of these travellers very
young men, too. An immense advantage. Such an intercourse
with the world brushes off a good deal of the littleness of a man's
mind, and teaches him what an insignificant item individually he
is. 'Tis a pity some of the young swells of New Brunswick could
not be sent abroad a little before they fancy themselves great
men.
It would be impossible to state what will be the effect upon the
trade of the Isthmus from the opening of the new line from San
Francisco to China,which commenced in January last': speculations
as to-the future seem preposterous, when one looks at the strides
which commerce has taken during the last twenty ydkrs.
Our time however is limited. We must retrace our steps for As-
pinwall again. Good-bye, good-bye, old Panama. May the pros-
perity of your coming years rival the glory of your past.
Up to February 1852, the terminus at Navy Bay had been with-
out any distinctive appellation. It was then proposed that it should
be formally inaugurated as a city and called " Aspinwall" to com-
memorate the services of that distinguished promoter of the Road,
and founder of the Pacific line. Every lover of fair play will give
it fhat designation. Some foreigners still persist in calling it
*' Colon", but it is little known as such. The place, the island of
Manzanilk, was not fit for a mangy dog to kennel in until tho
American took hold of it, and made it what it is ; and it is but
Si
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ll. ,-.:,::
right that his namo should go dowo to all future time with ita
growing prosperity and importance.
A day's sport on the Chagres may not be uninteresting to
some parts of the audience. The river abounds with alligators,
and at one or two places where the line crosses the river, or runs
parallel with it, they may sometimes be seen lying on the banks
basking in the sun, locking at a distance, and in the rapidity of
your own motion in the cars, more like great logs or old trunks of
trees than anything else. They range from twelve ta twenty feet in
length, and are very unpleasant customers either on shore or in the
water if you unexpectedly get too near them ; though in the first
instance if you are seen or heard approaching, they will always
endeavour to escape. -Their motions are extremely quick, and on
the slightest indication of danger they roll or scramble from the
bank to the water almost in the twinkling of an eye. It seems
incredible that such huge clumsy looking animals could move so
rapidly, and apparently wii/h such little efiFort. In swimming they
sink down, and there is nothing to indicate their presence . should
you fall overboard, — good-bye. Gatoon is one of the native settle-
ments, about eight or nine miles ftora Aspinwall on the bank of
the river — on *he left descending bank, the Railway being on the
right : there is no bridge or ford, the water very deep, and the
current strong. The only mode of crossing is in canoes. It
must be borne in mind that all the observations now and
hitherto made are to be considered with reference to the
season, the close of the month of August,— the rainy season lasting
from June to October. The keeper of the station opposite Cratoon
is a quiet intelligent Vermonter, Mr. Schwartz. His neat little
cottage is in the midst of a small garden, perhaps half an acre, nicely
fenced,— abounding with every species of tropical fruit,'cocoas —
mangoes— bananas — pine apples — oranges — citrons, etc. : a little
different from the beech nuts and pine cones of his native state.
However, he is a right good fellow, and a mason to boot. Yon
may leave the train at bis verandah. With some difficulty a canoe
is found, and a native to paddle. It is a wretched " dug out"
about twelve feet long and eighteen inches wide. It is very tick-
lish, and cants with the slightest move : it requires great care to
get into it without upsetting, and with the native and two sports-
men, is overweighted. As the head is slowly canting oflf into
the stream, you observe to your friend Mr. Schwartz standing oq
8»
tbebank, " this is rather ticklish in a river abounding ^th alliga-
tft'^** "Ohl'" he replies " the danger is not so much from alligator^
aV^m'^otimdl sharks: the river is full of them, and if you upset
they pull you down immediately." Great thunders ! What a plea-
Btire 1 By a convulsive effort your ball caftridges fly out of your
pbc^e^, yoiir rtfte is laid down in the bottom of the canoe : a shaky
fit obmes over you, and there you sit as stiH as a mouse with a oat
lodtcing at Win. It is a great pleasure. Slowly you work against
tap Htrong cur^nt— the canoe seems more rickety than ever.
*^Ah," sa^s the native, " there him alligator, shoot him I Shoot
him I ' ' £gad, the sensation is he' 11 shoot t/o'uf ' * Spectators of two
I^eikjispheres, shouts Balboa, behold me I I'll get out of this canod
tis fast as I can." And so we do ; the native was mistaken about
tte alligatx)f that tirje. We get over to Qatoon— see the pretty
girls With th6 scant clothes — and manage to get a good canoo
abttble th^ size, and then start off as plucky as young Highlanders.
The river takes a bend — the scenery becomes more lovely and more
xfiid. There are hardly any settlers here, none on the left side, a
few ranches only at scattered intervals on the right, a few cows in
the (Elticlo$ures around, grazing on the steep hills. The vegetation is
of the tatkest character, the trees standing out from the 'very
wktiet* — lio beach — no landing place on the steep bank — the water
fiVfe-and-twehty or thirty feet deep at the margin, and rushing
idbiil? With its swift current carrying occasionally large trees and
6the^ vegetable r^iatter — very muddy — the clouds scudding wildly
abb^e — the whole scene dark and gloomy, with a most Plutonian
^s^eclt ; Diife the birds are beautiful, — the blue heron— the white
ibis — the black and yellow turpiale— the parrots fly high in flocks
aboTe,3hriefcing their wild discordant notes— and the eagle and the
hawk s6ar along. The cocoa-nut trees are by thousands around
covered with fruit ; and the small lizards and inguanas are seen
running along. You have worked up against the current some
four or five miles — the river is about two hundred yards broad —
hist ! what is that in the rent on the steep bank oA the opposite
side? It looks like an old log. Gently 1 tV"ork up and across, and
dVop down. lia I there is no shaking now, — there's sport I Click !
as the hammers go back not a word — not a breath. Slowly you drop
down, nearly opposite— not thirty yards off— a low branch inter-
venes—no movement — 'tis a log. A sudden movement, — a round
black face, and two black, bead-like eyes without any white about
i
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1
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them stare at you. Quick as a flash, the monster glidea to the
water — but quicker than a flash, your rifle poals upon the air, and
a long line of blood bubbles up from the rushing stream. That
fellow's done for I
Altogether, it Ih the wildest and most exciting sport a man can
have. A good deal depends upon the day. On a bright, warm,
sunny day, they are seen in groat numbers, but, as a general thing;,
they do not turn out before ten, and retire about four. We aro
mistaken in supposing there is any great pleasure about the water
in these warm latitudes. Basking in the sunshine, and bathing in
the tepid stream, is a myth. Between alligators, and sharks, and
stinging nettles, and electric eels, an ordinary man dare not take a
swim. Even at Aspinwall, inside of the wharves, in ten feet
water, you are cautioned against going in ; and the sharks may be
seen a*, any time rising to the garbage thrown over from the
steamer. The natives and residents, however, dq not seem to fear
them ; and it may be pre^iumed that persons living there for any
length of time, become so familiarised with these dangers, as to
cea.sc to have any dread of them.
But here, for a moment let me pause to pay a tribute of respect to
the iitemory of a young and gallant friend. Of the two sportsmen
who were out on that occasion the your gest and the best has pass-
ed away.* Cut down by the fever on his second return vojtige
after the present, he only lived long enough to reach his home,
and die in the midst of his family and friends. Of a stalwart frame
of temperate habits, a strong and powerful constitution, in the
prime of life, of affluent means, of high education, and social
position, his seemed to be the promise of a long career, both of
utility and pleasure. Who would have thought that so soon that
career would have terminated ? Apparently the strongest of all
the party who went out in that ship, he was the first to fall.
He leaves behlni him the memory of a generous disposition, and
a noble heai —
" There have been tears, and breaking hearts for thee
And mine were nothing, had I such to give,"
But there are few my young and gallant friend who knew thee,
who will not sorrow o'er your untimely end.
The Republic of New Grenada, of which Panama is one of the
constituent provinces, id a confederation of eight states, and is the
*.Dr. Lewis Coxe, of Philadelphia, Suigeon of the Chaoncey.
87,
most important of the South American Republics. Its estimated,
area is about four hundred and eighty thousand square miles,—
greater than the Canadas, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick put
together. Its greatest length is eight hundred, and greatest breadth '
four hundred miles.* It is diversified with mountains of tho
loftiest character, and plainsof great extent and fertility ; its rivers^
numerous, broad and deep ; its temperature ranges from the heat
of tho torrid zone to the cold of the regions of perpetual snow and
ice ; its population may now be estimated at three millionj. Its
productions are all that may be expected from so varied a country.
Rico, cotton, tobacco, cocoa, sugar, fruits, wheat, maize, — almost
everthing that can be used for food. Its mineral resources are
great : but ics manufactnres are at a very low ebb. Its total
annual exports are estimated at fourteen millions three hundred
and fifty thousand dollars. The capital of the united confederacy
is Bogot , a city of sixty thousand inhabitants, situated on abroad
plateau, eight thousand six hundred and fifty-five feet above tho
level of the sea. It will astonish many here present to learn that in
New Grenada by law a free public school is established in every
parish throughout the republic, and that in all, there are over eight
hundred public schools in that country. The average rise of the
tide at Panama is about twelve feet, while at Aspinwall it is little
more than one. About nine miles to the south east of Panama ia
the beautiful and productive Island of Toboga, the rendezvous of
tho British Pacific Steamship Navigation Company. The position
of this Island is very commrndingas respects the trade of the Paci-
fic with the Atlantic by the Isthmus. It is singular how old John
Bull tumbles into strategic points in case of difficulties with other
nations. Gibraltar and Malta command the Mediterranean. The
little barren useless rock of Perrim, lies in the mouth of the Red
Sea, and watches over the trade of the Gulf of Persia, and the
transit to the East, Ceylon quietly lies resting on the road to
India, and Hong Kong hangs like a little cloud in front of China.
Capetown takes care of the South of Africa, and^ Halifax and the
Bermudas form the rendezvous for the fleets in the North
•Estimated area of New Branswick ia 27,700 square miles,
" •« of Nova Scotia 19,500 "
" " of Lower Canada 210,000 "
" " of Upper Canada 180,000 "
437,200
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Atlantic. Vancouver's Lslan^ quietly looks, into tne ColumliiaL'
lihe Falkland Islands are within the sl^adow ot Cape iforn : ahdf
hpre Just as the commerce of the world seems centering toward
t^o Isthmus^ thQ old red cross of St. G-sorae suddenly floats from
t^e Ishud of Taboga in the chops of the Ba^ of Panama. Truly
did Webster ^peak of the magnitude and the power of England.
T^ex pierchant statesmen are far se^ng. The little fslandf
reigns t^e mistress of the s^as, — and lon^ may pho do so.
.Under one of the conditions of the contract made with the IUii>
ifay Oompanyi it is sa,id the Government of New Urenada has
given notice of its intention at the close of the first period of twenty
years, after the completion o^ tlic Road, now about nine ^ears
hence, to pay the five million dollars, and take possession. This i^
is rumored has been done at the instigation of ah j^nglish cotif-'
pany, who propose to pay a bonu^to the Government in addition .to
re-paying that amount, and to tal^e the Koad off the Goyernment'S
hi^nds. This n^ay be strictly according to law, but it is hardly
fair pr just, certainly not gener0|us, and it may well be dotibtea
whether it will be advantageous to the couniry, or me route. Ac
present the rput^ is ezf remely popular, the n^anagemehi: has befefa
ippsttliDeralj^Dd Englishmen of all classes speak of thecoiirtesywidl
w^clT'they bave oeen treated., Tlie officers of tter Majesty's sbl^il
op that station are given free passes, and national civilities int^t-
changed* It is very questionable whether half a dozen directoinl
sitting in. spme dark offi'^e in London with ihe impression that ttie
world is a very small place, but London a, large one, will manage
ipja^ters with, the same liberality, pr the same courte^. Better
lot the Americans have tne tload : they have inahaged it well, liha
they deserve to keep it ,,....,.«. i,t
, Xbe observations hitherto made both of ^he cbuntiy ana tDii
climate, were all the impressions made and wiitfcen at tlhe
time. It may well be questioned whether greater experience or
both would not necessitate a moulfication of opinion. A weekdV
ten days hardly suffice to form very sound conclusions. The Ib^
of the E\)mingStar and the death of Dr. Coxe were subsequent
events which may welljustfy the doubt Several of the .officers
besides, afterwards had the fever, but thoilgh severe it 4id not
prove fatal. But at any rate whether right or wrong, such were
the impressions! of the moment
The time limited for a " paper" has eipired, so also has our
ln'J!i?''\^T'^'. ^" «*"^™«''« ^^^^ i« turned northward a«m
and the shades of evcninj? are clothJni, -;*i, • """P^^ •«»»»»
the receding shores. * ^''^ increasing obscurity
Slow 8ink8 more lovely , ere his race be run,
Along these Southern hilla the setting sun.
, ^*'^*""» Northern climes obscurely bright
»'»«n««ncIoaded blaze of living light
bo«nd:-;;^tittSilroL - '^-r-^
-linary existence. Good n^ht '^^^^^^^^^^ *'^ "^^^^^^^ «^ -
icing the Pole, or m the torrid clima
Dark heaving, boundless, endless and sublime.-.
The .mage of etern»ty-the throne
Of the Invisible. Even from out thy slime
rhe monsters of the deep are made. Each zone
Obeys thee. Thou goest forth, dread, fathomless alone •
T.me wruesno wrinkleson Thine azure hZ'
Such as Creation's dawn beheld, Thou roUest now '