The Boy Travellers in South America. Thomas Wallace Knox
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hills towards the summit level, two hundred and sixty-eight feet above the ocean. Many of the hills were sharply conical and showed that they were of volcanic origin; high embankments and heavy cuttings followed each other in rapid succession, and at one point the road wound round the side of a hill composed of basaltic crystals about twelve inches in diameter and eight or ten feet long. It was explained that this was one of the few instances in the world where basaltic columns were found in any but upright positions: at Fingal's Cave, in Staffa, the Giant's Causeway, in Ireland, and the Palisades of the Hudson they are upright, but on this hill of the Panama Isthmus they are in all sorts of positions, and indicate very clearly that there has been a great convulsion of nature since their formation.
The Cerro de Los Bucaneros, or "Hill of The Buccaneers," was pointed out. It receives the name from the fact that from its summit the buccaneer, Morgan, had his first view of ancient Panama in 1668, and he encamped at the base of the hill on the night before his attack upon the city.
Soon after passing this memorable hill the city of Panama was visible in the distance. Entering the railway station, they came to a halt, and in a few moments Frank and Fred were gazing on the waters breaking on the beach just outside the spacious building. A long pier jutted into the bay at the end of the station; a steamboat was being laden there with freight, intended for one of the large steamers grouped together two or three miles away. Dr. Bronson explained that the bay of Panama is quite shallow for a long way out, and only boats of light draft can come close to shore. The canal company is dredging a channel from the deep parts of the bay up to the shore, which will form an approach to the mouth of the canal, when that work is completed. The tide rises and falls about fifteen feet on the average, varying with the season and the phases of the moon; and consequently a lock will be necessary at Panama to prevent the formation of a current through the canal.
The mouth of the canal is at La Boca, some distance from the railway station. Engineering reasons caused the selection of this spot, as it possessed considerable advantages over the railway terminus. It is the intention of the company to dredge out a large basin near La Boca, where ships can lie in safety while waiting their turn to pass through to the Atlantic Ocean. Until this basin is completed, the anchorage for large ships will be in the vicinity of the islands where the Pacific Mail, and other large companies, have their docks and coaling-stations.
Our friends found their baggage at the station; they had telegraphed for accommodations in the principal hotel of Panama, and the runner of the house was waiting to meet them. Confiding their baggage to his care, they proceeded at once to the establishment; breakfast had been served in the directors' car during the ride from Aspinwall, and consequently they were ready to start at once to look through the city. We are permitted to make the following extract from Frank's note-book:
"Panama contains about eleven thousand inhabitants, and is very substantially built of stone. There is nothing particularly attractive about it, but it is quaint and interesting; the houses are built with court-yards, in the Spanish style, and you might easily imagine yourself in a part of Cordova or Cadiz, or even in Madrid. The cathedral is a fine building for this part of the world, though it would not be regarded as of much account in any prominent city of Europe. The bells are old and not very tuneful; they are rung at frequent intervals, beginning at an early hour of the morning, and it is not advisable for a nervous traveller to take lodgings in the immediate vicinity of the venerable building.
"The city is in north latitude 8° 57', and received a royal charter from King Charles I. of Spain, in 1521. 'Panama' is an Indian word which means 'a place abounding in fish;' the old city was about six miles northeast of the present one, which dates from 1670. Old Panama was destroyed in 1668, by Morgan, the buccaneer, and for a long time the present city was known as 'New Panama,' to distinguish it from its predecessor.
"The builders of the new city surrounded it with strong walls as a defence against invaders, but these walls have been allowed to go to ruin. They would be of no use against modern artillery, as a few cannon could batter them down in half a dozen hours. In many places, bushes and trees grow among the stones; at one time the inhabitants were allowed to help themselves to building material from the walls, but the practice was not long continued. Originally the walls were from twenty to forty feet high, with battlements and towers at frequent intervals; they cost so much that the Spanish government wrote to the commander of the city, and wished to know 'whether the walls were builded of silver or of gold.' We saw some of the cannon that were sent from Spain for the defence of the walls; they have not been fired for many years, and would probably explode at the first attempt to use them.
"We went along the principal street, looking into the cathedral, which is probably two hundred feet long by a hundred and fifty in width, and is divided in the interior by four rows of massive columns which support the roof. It contains numerous shrines and altars; the floor is of brick, and when we entered it was being swept by half a dozen dark-skinned natives, one of whom offered to show us through the building. We declined the proposal, as there did not appear to be much worth seeing, and our time was limited.
"In the plaza or square in front of the cathedral there were little groups of people, a few on horseback, but the most of them on foot. There were a few women whose veils of rich lace showed that they belonged to the upper classes, and others, more numerous, who wore the reboza or mantle of the descendants of the aborigines. There were water-carriers mounted on mules, and on each side of every mule was a couple of kegs of water, with a sprig of grass or a bunch of leaves stuck into the opening on top. Panama has no system of public waterworks, and the inhabitants are supplied from house to house, in the manner of two hundred years ago. The occupation of a water-carrier is said to descend from father to son; nobody gets rich at the business, but it affords a living to a good many people.
"There were many natives riding, or leading mules laden with garden produce from the neighborhood, and also other natives who were their own beasts of burden, and carried baskets or bags on their heads. There were priests in flowing robes and shovel-shaped hats, some hurrying along as if on important business, while others were idling among the people, and evidently enjoying themselves. The cathedral is on the western side of the plaza, and on the southern side is the cabildo or Government House, corresponding to our City Hall. It is a plain building of stone, two stories high, and with wide porticoes or balconies on both stories. Here all the business of the city is conducted.
"On the other side of the square there were several plain-looking buildings, with dwellings on the upper stories and stores below; some of them were old, while others were new, and there were two or three gaps where nothing but ruins was visible. Panama has suffered severely from fires. It was almost entirely destroyed in 1737, but was quickly rebuilt, as its business was then prosperous. In 1784 there was another serious fire, and since 1864 there have been three extensive conflagrations whose traces are still visible. The gaps around the plaza are the result of these later disasters.
"We crossed the plaza and continued on to the Postiga de las Monas, or 'Gate of the Monks,' which is crowned by a watch-tower, and leads through the ruined wall to the beach. A woman and child were sitting under the shadow of the gateway, and people were coming and going, on foot or in the saddle. When we reached the beach the tide was out and there was a large expanse of coral reef visible; it was alive with crabs, shrimps, cuttle-fishes, and other marine