The Boy Travellers in South America / Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentine Republic, and Chili

THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN

SOUTH AMERICA

ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN A JOURNEY THROUGH

ECUADOR, PERU, BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, PARAGUAY, ARGENTINE REPUBLIC, AND CHILI

WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF PATAGONIA AND TIERRA DEL FUEGO, AND

VOYAGES UPON THE AMAZON AND LA PLATA RIVERS

BY

THOMAS W. KNOX

AUTHOR OF

"THE YOUNG NIMRODS IN NORTH AMERICA" "THE YOUNG NIMRODS AROUND THE WORLD"

"THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST: ADVENTURES OF TWO YOUTHS IN

A JOURNEY TO JAPAN AND CHINA—TO SIAM AND JAVA—TO CEYLON AND

INDIA—TO EGYPT AND THE HOLY LAND—TO CENTRAL AFRICA"

"THE VOYAGE OF THE VIVIAN" ETC., ETC.

Illustrated

NEW YORK

HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE

1886

By THOMAS W. KNOX.

THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN THE FAR EAST. Five Volumes. Copiously Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $3.00 each. The volumes sold separately. Each volume complete in itself.

THE BOY TRAVELLERS IN SOUTH AMERICA. Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentine Republic, and Chili; with Descriptions of Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, and Voyages upon the Amazon and La Plata Rivers. Copiously Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth.

THE VOYAGE OF THE "VIVIAN" TO THE NORTH POLE AND BEYOND. Adventures of Two Youths in the Open Polar Sea. Copiously Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $2.50.

HUNTING ADVENTURES ON LAND AND SEA. Two Volumes. Copiously Illustrated. 8vo, Cloth, $2.50 each. The volumes sold separately. Each volume complete in itself.

Published by HARPER & BROTHERS, New York.

☞ Any of the above volumes sent by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States or Canada, on receipt of the price.

Copyright, 1885, by Harper & Brothers.—All rights reserved.

PREFACE.

The plan of this volume is almost identically that of "The Boy Travellers in the Far East." Frank Bassett and Fred Bronson, with their accomplished mentor, Doctor Bronson, have traversed the length and breadth of the South American Continent from the Isthmus of Panama to the Strait of Magellan. Twice have they crossed the Andes; they have descended the Madeira and the Amazon rivers; navigated the La Plata and the Paraguay; visited the principal cities of the continent, and studied the manners and customs of the many people whom they encountered on their way. For the information of their friends and schoolmates at home they recorded the results of their travels and observations, and it is the author's pleasure to tell the story of their journey.

The characters of the story are fictitious, but the descriptions of everything coming under the observation of the Boy Travellers, or learned in their wanderings, are intended to be as nearly exact as possible. The author has not relied alone upon his personal knowledge of South America, but has drawn from the narratives of others who preceded or have followed him. It has been his earnest endeavor to present a realistic picture of South America; its lofty mountains, magnificent rivers, luxuriant forests, and fertile pampas, together with the many varieties of people that form its populations; their governments as we find them to-day, and an epitome of their history from ancient times. He earnestly hopes for the same kindly reception by press and public that was accorded to his volumes of a similar nature concerning Asia and Africa.

Many works of travel have been examined in the preparation of this book. Some of these are mentioned in the narrative, but it has not been practicable to refer to all. The author acknowledges his great indebtedness to that prince of travellers, Alexander Von Humboldt, whose graphic description was the first adequate picture of the South American continent ever presented to the world. He is specially indebted to the admirable work of the Hon. E. George Squier, upon "Peru and the Land of the Incas," not alone for information about the country and people, but for several illustrations which have been kindly loaned for this volume. He is also under obligations to the following books: "The Andes and the Amazon," by Professor James Orton; "Brazil and the Brazilians," by J. C. Fletcher and D. P. Kidder; "Life in Brazil," by Thomas Ewbank; "Fifteen Thousand Miles on the Amazon," by Brown and Lidstone; "Brazil, Amazons, and Coast," by H. H. Smith; "Wanderings in Patagonia," by J. Beerbohm; "Across Patagonia," by Lady Florence Dixie; and, "The War between Peru and Chili," by Clements R. Markham. The reports of the surveys and explorations of the various proposed routes for an inter-oceanic canal have supplied important data, and the officers of the company engaged in cutting the Panama Canal have cheerfully answered the author's interrogatories concerning that enterprise.

The publishers have kindly allowed the use of illustrations from their previous publications on South America, in addition to those specially prepared for this work, or obtained from Mr. Squier's "Peru." As a consequence of their courtesy the author has been able to present a "copiously illustrated" book, which is always a delight to the youthful eye.

T. W. K. New York, July, 1885.

CONTENTS

ILLUSTRATIONS.

THE BOY TRAVELLERS

IN

SOUTH AMERICA.

[CHAPTER I.]

FROM NEW YORK TO THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA.—INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE.—OLD TIMES AND THE PRESENT.—ASPINWALL.—A TROPICAL CITY.—THE TEREDO.—ENTRANCE OF THE PANAMA CANAL.

"Is everything ready?"

"Yes," was the reply. "The trunks are packed and strapped, and the carriage will be at the door at ten o'clock."

"That is quite early enough. The steamer leaves the dock at noon, and we can easily be settled on board by eleven o'clock."

"Quite easily," was the response. "And here comes Frank, who has been to see the porter about the heavy baggage."

"It's all arranged," said the latter; "the baggage-wagon will take our trunks, chairs, and other heavy things, and have them ready at the pier, so that we shall have only our satchels and rugs for the carriage."

"An excellent plan," was the reply; "and the next business before us is to go to breakfast."

The conversation recorded above took place not many months ago in the corridor of the Fifth Avenue Hotel, in New York. The parties to the dialogue were Dr. Bronson, his nephew, Fred Bronson, and Frank Bassett, a cousin of Fred. Some of our readers have met this trio of travellers, or, at all events, have read of their wanderings in Asia and Africa. When we last saw them they were on their homeward journey from Zanzibar, after making the ascent of the Nile, visiting the equatorial lakes of the Dark Continent, and reaching the Indian Ocean at Bagamoya. Those who have perused the narrative of the travels of Frank and Fred with the amiable doctor will need no further introduction.[1]

The Doctor and his young friends had planned a journey to South America, and at the time our present story begins they were just starting on their new adventure. With their experience in former travels they realized the wisdom of going to the steamer in ample season to take everything leisurely, and be comfortably settled before the hour of departure.

ON THE SEA AGAIN.

Promptly at the advertised time the steamer left the dock, followed by the cheers of the crowd that had come to witness her departure or say farewell to friends on board. As she moved slowly into the river there were dozens of handkerchiefs fluttering over her rail, and other dozens waving answer from the shore. Steadily the distance between ship and pier increased, and it soon became impossible to distinguish friends from one to the other, even with the aid of glasses. With her engines at half speed the great vessel moved majestically down the channel, passed the Narrows, and entered the lower bay. A fog blowing in from seaward compelled the pilot to order the anchor dropped, and the chain rattled through the hawse-hole with a vehemence that seemed to threaten the safety of the steamer's bows.

THE FOG CLEARING AWAY.

For two hours the fog continued; then it lifted, and the way to the ocean was revealed. Up came the anchor, round went the ponderous screw, the outer bar was passed, the pilot, his pocket filled with letters, the last messages to friends on shore, descended to his boat and was safely deposited on the light-ship at Sandy Hook, and then the steamer took her course for more southern waters.

SANDY HOOK LIGHT-SHIP.

The flag of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company fluttered at the main-truck, and it needed little observation to show that the craft on which our friends had embarked belonged to that famous organization. When the project for visiting South America was first discussed, the Doctor told his young friends that their best plan would be to proceed from New York to Aspinwall by one of the Pacific Mail Steamers. "We will then," said he, "have the whole of the continent before us; we can go down the western coast to any point we choose to visit, or we can travel along the northern and eastern coast, and make our way westward by one of the overland routes, or through the Strait of Magellan. We can ascend the Amazon, or descend it, or we may cross the Andes in the vicinity of Santiago. We will leave our plans incomplete till we reach Panama, and there be guided by circumstances."

As our friends were by no means novices in ocean travel they speedily dropped into the ways of the ship and made acquaintance with the passengers and officers. The passengers were a polyglot collection, numbering some fifty or more, and including about a dozen nationalities. There were Americans, on their way to California or Central America; Englishmen, with similar destinations, or bound for Callao and Valparaiso; Frenchmen, who were interested in the work on the Panama Canal; Peruvians, Chilians, Nicaraguans, and other natives of Central and South America; Germans, commercially engaged in the republics beyond the Equator; besides, as Fred expressed it in his note-book, "several districts to hear from." But in spite of their difference of nationality they were entirely harmonious, and the voyage proved a most agreeable one.

"Things are not now what they were before the overland railways were built," said one of the officers in conversation with Frank; "in those days we carried three or four hundred passengers in the first cabin, and twice or three times as many in the steerage. Now, the travel between the east and west goes by railway, and comparatively few persons make the sea trip between New York and San Francisco. But it's as pleasant as it ever was, and if people would only think they could spare the additional time there would be more of them going by steamer than by rail. There's no more delightful voyage in the world than from Panama to San Francisco. You are in sight of the coast nearly all the way; the ocean is so calm that you might suppose yourself on an inland lake, except on rare occasions; and before you begin to be weary of the trip you are entering the Golden Gate, and making fast to the dock, at your journey's end."

Dr. Bronson confirmed the assertion of this ancient mariner, as he had made the voyage to California in the manner described; "and we used to think," said he, "that we were getting along finely when we went from New York to San Francisco in twenty-three days. Now we can go in a week by the railway, and it is contrary to the American temperament to make the longer journey."

Frank and Fred were agreeably disappointed in the expectation of a storm before reaching the Caribbean Sea. In looking up the accounts of previous travellers they had found an old couplet:

"If the Bermudas let you pass,
You must beware of Hatteras."

They questioned the captain on the subject, and found that the poetical assertion was not without basis, as many a ship sailing on her course had encountered a gale in the neighborhood either of Cape Hatteras or the Bermuda Islands. "But in marine verses, as in every other sort," the captain continued, "you must allow for the poet's license, which often requires a very large margin to include it."

A STRANDED SHIP.

Hatteras and "the vexed Bermoothes" permitted them to pass without a semblance of a gale. They sighted one of the islands of the Bahama group, and there was great excitement on board the steamer when it was discovered that a ship was stranded on the shore. Fred and Frank rushed below to tell the Doctor, and that worthy ran on deck as soon as he could don his hat and coat. The captain scanned with his glass the unfortunate craft, and relieved the general anxiety with the information that she had sent a line to the land, and there was no danger to the lives of her people, whatever might be the risk to the property. "If anybody was in peril," said he, "I would do all I could to save him; but when it comes to a mere question of ship and cargo, none of us care to take any risk, or even go out of our course for a minute. It is a serious matter to stop a great steamer like this, and, besides, it is a peril to her passengers and crew. We will save life always, and the property of our own company, but when it comes to the ships of other people, who would, quite likely, refuse to pay anything for the service without a lawsuit, we mind our own business and keep on our way."

The correctness of his reasoning was apparent to all the listeners, and before the day was over the stranded ship was well-nigh forgotten.

WEIGHING BAGGAGE.

They passed the eastern end of Cuba, and then steered between that island and Jamaica. The sight of the palm-trees that fringed parts of the shores reminded the youths of their journeyings in Ceylon and the Malay Archipelago, and increased their eagerness to be once more in tropical lands. In the Caribbean Sea they renewed their acquaintance with the flying-fishes, that darted from wave to wave, and were sometimes so numerous that hundreds of them could be seen at once. On the seventh day of the voyage the heavy baggage was brought from below and piled on deck, each piece being carefully weighed, and checked off on the purser's books. The Doctor explained to the youths that each passenger was entitled to free transportation of one hundred pounds of baggage across the Isthmus, but all above that amount was subject to an extra charge.

At daybreak the next morning the steamer entered the harbor of Aspinwall and made fast to her dock. The city was named in honor of William H. Aspinwall, of New York, but the French persist in calling it Colon, which was its appellation before the Panama Railway was thought of. It was a place of little consequence until the discovery of gold in California, in 1848, called attention to the necessity for a route of speedy travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of our continent.

Frank and Fred were up early on the morning of their arrival at Aspinwall, and as soon as the gang-plank was out they hurried on shore, accompanied by the Doctor. Tropical verdure greeted their eyes as they looked inland, and the open sheds and slightly built houses told very plainly that they had reached a region where frosts were unknown.

The wharf where the steamer lay was more than a thousand feet in length, and, on inquiry, they learned that it was built on a coral reef, which formed an excellent foundation. "You observe," said Dr. Bronson, "that the piles resting in the water are covered with copper, to resist the teredo, a tropical worm which is very destructive to wood. Perhaps you would like to know something about him.

THE SHIPWORM AND HIS WORK.

"Well," the Doctor continued, "the teredo is better known as the ship-worm, a name he has obtained from his habits of attacking the timber of ships in tropical countries, and also in the warmer parts of the temperate zones. He is a long worm with a boring head; imagine an auger endowed with life, and you have a very good idea of what the teredo is. He enters the wood when young, and keeps on boring all his life; he goes in the direction of the grain of the wood, and only turns aside for hard knots or for a fellow-worm, whose presence he seems to detect by the sound of his work. The teredo attacks wood immersed in salt water, and hence his destructiveness to ships and to the piles that support docks and other marine structures. The timber is perforated and riddled so much that it crumbles to pieces in the course of time, and not a very long time either. Millions of dollars have been lost in consequence of the worm's performance, and not a few human lives. Ships lying in tropical harbors have been ruined by the teredo, and the injury has remained unknown until the vessels went to sea and were lost in the first gale that blew.

"But he has not been without his uses," said the Doctor, with a smile. "It was the teredo that gave Brunel his idea of a machine for tunnelling under the Thames River, and since his time most of the machines for tunnelling in soft earth have been made on the teredo principle. The head of the worm has a series of cutting disks that eat away the wood; Brunel made a gigantic worm with windows in front, and each window was occupied by a man who removed the earth before him and thus made way for the machine to be pushed forward. The progress of Brunel's worm under the bed of the Thames was exactly like that of the teredo in a piece of wood."

THE DONKEY'S DESCENT.

The Doctor delivered his improvised lecture amid the rattle of boxes that were sliding down the sloping gangway from the side of the steamer, as the process of unloading began almost immediately on her arrival. The lecture was suddenly terminated by the inattention of the audience, the antics of a donkey in a portable stall having caught their eyes. The animal did not relish the rapid descent along the gangway, as his progress easily averaged a mile a minute, and the momentum acquired in the slide carried him far out upon the wharf. He reared and plunged as he was going downwards, and in his struggles one of the upper slats of his cage was torn off. But at this point he became discreet, and carried his protests no further than to lift up his voice in its loudest tones.

THE WHARF AT ASPINWALL.

Threading their way through the mass of bales and boxes that covered the wharf, our friends were soon on solid earth at the end of the coral reef already mentioned. Here the tropical forest was visible in all its luxuriance, and not very far away, as the city does not cover a large area, and the trees grow luxuriantly wherever they are not kept down by the hand of man. Dr. Bronson explained to the youths that Aspinwall is built upon the island of Manzanillo, which is about three miles long by a mile in width; the harbor was formerly known as Navy Bay, and is said to have been discovered by Columbus on his third voyage.

In spite of the commercial importance of the place, Aspinwall contains little to interest the ordinary sight-seer. "You observe," said the Doctor, "that everything is designed for use, and not for ornament; the buildings are of a practical character, and many of them are not even intended to be permanent. There are only a few hundred houses in the city, most of them of wood, and very loosely constructed. Some of the buildings of the railway company are of iron or brick, partly as a precaution against fire, and partly to secure immunity from tropical insects and the rapid deterioration of wood in the damp climate of the Isthmus. The canal company has followed the same plan in the construction of its shops and sheds, but as these structures will be of no further use when the canal is completed there is no attempt to make them ornamental. In the ordinary parlance of the tourist, Aspinwall can be 'done' in half an hour."

Following the Doctor's suggestion, they strolled along the street of hotels and shops near the head of the wharf, passed in front of the stone church, the first Protestant edifice ever erected in New Granada, gave a hasty glance at the iron buildings of the Panama Railway, and then returned to the steamer for breakfast. After that meal was concluded they went on shore again, arranged for temporary quarters in one of the hotels, and immediately transferred their baggage to it.

As soon as they were settled at the hotel a carriage was ordered for a drive around the island by the "Paseo Coral," as the encircling road is termed. For much of the way the drive was through, or close upon, the tropical forest, and the youths were more than once reminded of their excursion in Singapore, and the ride in Ceylon from Point de Galle to Colombo. On one side of the island there was a view of the ocean, while on the other the scene included the dense swamp and series of islands lying between them and the mainland, with an occasional glimpse of the mountains that form the dividing ridge between the Atlantic and Pacific. The Doctor's scientific ardor was roused by the numerous shells with which the beach was strewn, and several times he stepped from the carriage to gather specimens for his cabinet of conchology. The youths looked longingly at the bananas and other fruits which grew in abundance, but they heeded the advice of their mentor, and abstained from indulging. Aspinwall is not a healthy place at best, and the dangers of a stay there are greatly increased by an intimate acquaintance with the products of its gardens, when one has freshly arrived from a sea-voyage.

DEPARTURE FOR PANAMA.

On returning from their excursion our friends went to deliver letters to one of the officials connected with the canal company's works, but, not finding him, they went to the railway terminus to witness the departure of the train for Panama. The passengers, mails, express matter, and "fast" freight had been loaded as expeditiously as possible into a train of eight or nine cars, and when all was ready the usual signals were given, and the locomotive moved off with its burden. One of the officers of the steamer had joined our friends, and explained that it was the custom of the company to despatch a special train on the arrival of a steamer, whether from Europe or America, in addition to the regular trains that were sent each way daily. Sometimes five or six trains were sent off in a single day, but such occurrences were unusual.

"In the old times," he continued, "when this was the principal route of travel between New York and San Francisco, the arrival of a steamer made a busy scene. Several hundred passengers were to be transferred, together with a large amount of mail and express matter; the passengers were packed into the cars as closely as possible, and when there was an unusual rush it took two or perhaps three trains to carry them all. In such cases the steerage passengers were sent away ahead of the others, while the cabin passengers and mails followed an hour or two later. Most of the passengers were encumbered with several articles of hand-baggage, together with oranges, bananas, and other fruits bought from the natives that swarmed around the station; you would have thought they were setting out for a journey of a week or more, and provisioning themselves accordingly, instead of a continuous ride of three or four hours over a railway. There was often a contest for places in the carriages, and many an impromptu fight has occurred on the spot where we are so peacefully standing."

Soon after the departure of the train Dr. Bronson and the youths returned to the hotel, where they found the official from the canal company awaiting them. He was accompanied by Mr. Colné, the secretary of the American committee of the company, and after the formalities of introduction were completed the party set out for the Atlantic entrance to the promised waterway from the Caribbean Sea to the Bay of Panama.

The entrance to the canal is on the mainland, just behind the island on which Aspinwall is situated. The island has been enlarged in this direction, and, when the great ditch is completed, Aspinwall will be its Atlantic terminus in much the same way that Suez is the Red Sea terminus of the Suez Canal.

Our friends were surprised at the magnitude of the works of the canal company, as they walked through the miniature city which has sprung up since the work of cutting the waterway was undertaken. There were acres and acres of warehouses and workshops, dwellings for the laborers, and residences of the officers, together with other edifices connected with the enormous enterprise. There was a scene of activity around the machine-shops, where engines and dredges were undergoing repairs, and it was difficult to believe that all this life had been infused into the tropical languor of the Isthmus in the past few years.

NATIVE MARKET, ASPINWALL.

Mr. Colné told the strangers that the new town had received the name of Christopher Columbus, in honor of the great navigator, who was believed to have visited the spot on his third voyage, at the time he discovered the bay in which Aspinwall is situated. "And here," said he, as they reached a row of neat cottages, "is the street called Charles de Lesseps; these houses were made in New York and then brought here and put together, and we have houses at other places of the same character. Most of our dredges were made in the United States, and an American company has taken the contract for a large part of our excavating. Part of the land on which the city is built was reclaimed from the bay by filling in with the earth dredged out for the canal and its approaches. Before we get through with the work we shall have changed the appearance of this part of the coast so that its friends will hardly know it.

"When we came here," he continued, "one of the first things we determined upon was the deepening of the harbor of Aspinwall up to the point where the canal is entered. As soon as the dredges were ready they went to work and made a channel that permits the largest ships to come up to the shore. We might have left it till the end of the enterprise, but it was better to have it done at the outset, as it facilitates the landing of our material."

PREPARING FOR A BOAT EXCURSION.

At the suggestion of Mr. Colné the party entered a boat, and spent a half-hour or more in an excursion around the harbor. While they were being propelled by the strong arms of six negro boatmen from the West Indies, their entertainer told them about the history of the canal enterprise. Frank and Fred listened eagerly to the narration, and the former made notes of its most important points. With the aid of these memoranda we will endeavor to repeat the story.

Note.—This book was written and in the hands of the publishers previous to the burning of Aspinwall by insurgents, in March, 1885.

[CHAPTER II.]

FIRST DAY ON THE ISTHMUS.—THE PANAMA CANAL.—HISTORY OF THE CANAL ENTERPRISE.—PLANS OF BALBOA AND OTHERS.—THE VARIOUS ROUTES PROPOSED.—STRAIN'S SURVEY OF DARIEN.—VISITING THE WORKS AT PANAMA.

"The idea of a waterway across the narrowest part of the American Continent, or, rather, of the isthmus connecting North and South America," said Dr. Bronson, "is almost as old as the discovery of the New World."

BALBOA TAKING POSSESSION OF THE PACIFIC.

"Quite right," replied their host. "In 1513, or twenty-one years after the discovery of America by Columbus, Vasco Nunez de Balboa, having taken possession of the Pacific Ocean, proposed making a passage through the rivers of Darien, but his death shortly afterwards caused the project to be dropped.

"Ten years afterwards, or in 1523, Fernando Cortez had conquered Mexico, and proposed a waterway through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. He employed Gonzalo Sandoval to make a very careful survey of the route, and continued to urge his proposition after the Emperor Charles V. had removed the government of Mexico from his control. But the emperor was not favorably impressed with the scheme, which contemplated the expenditure of a vast amount of money, and, besides, he was more interested in obtaining a revenue from Mexico than in doing exactly the reverse. The proposal of Cortez was rejected as emphatically as was that of Balboa, but it is a remarkable circumstance that these two routes are the northern and southern extremes of the lines proposed for inter-oceanic canals.

"By reference to a book by a celebrated Portuguese navigator of the sixteenth century, Antonio Galvao, it appears that, up to the year 1550, four routes had been discovered and examined, though none of them had been surveyed with care. Galvao states in his book that a maritime canal can be cut in four different places: First, between the Gulf of Uraba and the Gulf of San Juan; second, through the Isthmus of Panama; third, along the San Juan River, and through Lake Nicaragua; and, fourth, through the Mexican Isthmus. Several explorers were sent to examine these routes, but they encountered many difficulties, and none of them brought back any exact information. So, you perceive, the principal routes for an inter-oceanic canal were known to the geographical world three hundred years ago."

There was a pause to enable Frank and Fred to examine the map which was spread before them, showing the routes which Mr. Colné had mentioned. When the examination was completed their entertainer continued:

"Very little attention was given to the subject for about two hundred years from the time I have mentioned. In the latter part of the eighteenth century the idea was revived again; England thought it would be of great value to her if she could obtain control of a passage from ocean to ocean, and in 1778 she sent an expedition against Nicaragua in order to obtain possession of the country. The enterprise was unsuccessful, and the commander, Lord Nelson, narrowly escaped with his life.

"In 1780 and '81 surveys were made of the Panama and Nicaragua routes, the former by order of King Charles III. of Spain, and the latter by Antonio de Bucareli, Viceroy of Mexico. These were the first technical surveys of the routes, all previous examinations having been made without the aid of engineering instruments, and unaccompanied by calculations as to the amount of earth to be removed, and the probable cost of the work.

"In 1804, Alexander Von Humboldt and Admiral Fitzroy, the former having made a personal examination of the Darien route, declared in its favor. This route has had many adherents, and a large amount of money has been expended in its examination. I will not weary you with the names of all the explorers and engineers who have examined the various Isthmus routes. The catalogue is a long one; many valuable lives have been sacrificed in this work, and the most of those who returned alive were able to present only unsatisfactory reports. The climate was fearfully unhealthy; the natives were either hostile to the enterprise or indifferent, and would rarely give assistance; and though the governments through whose territory the routes lay were generally well disposed, they could not always control their subjects."

"Probably the most thorough explorations," remarked Dr. Bronson, "were those ordered by the government of the United States in 1870. Several ships were fitted out, and the Darien, Nicaragua, Tehuantepec, and Panama routes were examined. Commodore Shufeldt went to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec; Commanders Hatfield and Lull went to Nicaragua, the latter visiting Panama, to complete the exploration of that route. Commander Selfridge and Lieutenant Collins examined the Darien route, and also some of the rivers entering the ocean a little farther to the north. The whole exploration occupied about three years, and the reports are very voluminous. They are more interesting to the engineer than to the general reader, and I did not bring them along as part of my baggage."

"I have read," said Fred, "about the expedition of Lieutenant Strain. Please tell us what route he examined."

RESCUE OF THE SURVIVORS OF STRAIN'S EXPEDITION.

"Strain's expedition was to survey the Darien route," replied the Doctor. "It ended disastrously, as the party lost its way, and also its instruments and provisions, and wandered for many days in a dense forest where the men were obliged to cut their path at nearly every step. More than half the party perished in the wilderness, and Lieutenant Strain died soon after his return to the United States.

STRAIN'S ARRIVAL AT THE COAST.

"The misfortunes of Strain's expedition were due in great measure to information which proved to have been almost entirely false. An English engineer, named Gisborne, had published a book containing a pretended survey of the country, which he claimed to have surveyed; in consequence of this report the governments of England, France, New Granada, and the United States of America sent expeditions, all of which failed disastrously. Strain's was the only one of the number that succeeded in crossing from ocean to ocean, the rest having turned back on account of the many unexpected difficulties, and the hostility of the Indians, who attacked them repeatedly. It turned out that Gisborne had never crossed the Isthmus, and his map of the Darien region was almost wholly imaginary.

"Several companies have been formed at different times," the Doctor continued, "for the construction of a canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but the most of them have existed only on paper. The first of these companies was based on Gisborne's imaginary surveys, and was organized in England, with a capital of seventy-five million dollars. Sir Charles Fox and other heavy capitalists were the promoters of this company, and they confidently expected to complete their work before the year 1860. The preliminary operations showed that the canal, if built at all, would cost several times that amount, and the enterprise was abandoned.

"Concessions have also been granted on other routes, but no serious work has been performed; the concessions were limited in the time of commencing and completing the work, and one after another the limit of time expired without anything having been accomplished. The Panama route is the only one on which there has been an attempt to make a canal; the government of the United States has made a treaty with Nicaragua for the construction of a canal through that country, but, up to the present time, the scheme has not gone beyond the surveys and the reports of the engineers."

"We are confident," said Mr. Colné, with a smile, "that our canal from Aspinwall to Panama will be completed, and that large ships will pass through it before the 1st of January, 1890. Indeed, some of our engineers promise it for the New Year of 1889. Thus far the work has progressed quite as fast as we expected at the outset, and if no unforeseen difficulties arise, we shall have the canal completed before 1890."

One of the youths asked how much the canal was likely to cost, and how it would compare with the Suez Canal, which they had visited on their return from the Far East.

"Not to trouble you with details," replied the Doctor, "the estimate of the cost was originally six hundred millions of francs, or one hundred and twenty millions of dollars. Very few enterprises come within the original estimates, and it is probable that not less than thirty millions of dollars, and perhaps another hundred millions, must be added to these figures, and some engineers say three hundred millions will be required. The cost of the Suez Canal was about one hundred millions, and the work at Suez was very light compared with that at Panama."

"I remember," said Fred, "that the Suez Canal is practically a great ditch through a sandy country, with no elevation of more than sixty feet, and but very little rock to be cut away. Nearly half the length of the canal was made by filling up depressions in the desert, which were turned into lakes by allowing the water to run into them. Is there anything of the kind here?"

"Not by any means," was the reply; "the Panama Canal is being cut through a region where the difficulties are enormous by comparison with those at Suez. Instead of a waste of sand, there is a tropical forest for the greater part of the way, and in place of the depressions which were converted into lakes to form part of the Suez Canal, we have a chain of hills which are nearly three hundred feet high at the lowest points. The summit level of the Panama Railway is two hundred and sixty-three feet above the level of tide-water on the Atlantic coast, and the canal must have the enormous depth of three hundred feet, and at some points more than that."

"That is quite correct," replied their host. "It will be the deepest canal cutting in the world when it is completed. On the section of Culebra, in a distance of little more than a mile, we must remove twenty-five million cubic metres of earth and pile it up elsewhere. Fortunately, our work is rendered easy in this respect, as there are many valleys close to the canal where the earth can be disposed of. Do you know how much is represented by twenty-five million cubic metres?"

Fred made a calculation on a slip of paper, roughly converting metres into yards by adding one fifth. Then he reduced the yards into cubic feet, and announced that, with the earth to be removed from the Culebra section of the canal they could build a wall nine feet thick and twenty feet high for a distance of twenty-eight miles, and have a good many car-loads to spare.

VIEW ON THE CHAGRES RIVER.

"This will give you an idea of the work to be performed here," replied Mr. Colné, "and you must remember that it is only one single section of the entire line. Then, too, there are great difficulties in the way on account of the rains, and the sudden overflows of the Chagres River, which crosses the line of the canal. Instead of being a depression to be filled with water, it is liable to pour out at any moment much more water than we want."

BEACH NEAR ASPINWALL.

"The average rainfall of this part of the Isthmus," said Dr. Bronson, "according to the official reports, is over twelve feet. This is not distributed through the year, but is confined to about seven months. During a single rain-storm six and a half inches of water have fallen.

"The consequence is that there are excessive floods in the rivers; the Chagres River, which you see represented on the map as crossing the canal, is, in the dry season, a stream about two hundred and fifty feet wide and two feet deep. During a heavy flood it is fifteen hundred feet wide, and over forty feet deep, and it has been known to rise thirty or forty feet in a few hours. In these floods it brings down trees, rocks, and earth, and sometimes houses, and the sides of hills. In one freshet, an iron tank, that stood seventeen feet above the railway track, was washed away, and on several occasions considerable portions of the road have been destroyed."

IN THE RAINY SEASON.

"We get over that difficulty," said Mr. Colné, "by making a barrage, or dam, across the river, and between two hills, to retain the waters during the freshets, and let them out gradually by lateral sluices. The capacity of the reservoir formed by the dam will be much more than enough to hold all the water coming down in the greatest rise that has ever been known since the railway was completed, in 1855. Mr. De Lesseps says that there are three reservoirs in the world of greater capacity than this: one is at St. Etienne, France; one at La Gillappe, Belgium; and one at Alicante, in Spain. They have stood for three centuries, and are as good and strong as they ever were. Science has improved since the great retaining walls of Alicante were erected, and the dam of the Chagres River will be perfectly safe, and do justice to the science which constructs it."

By this time the boat had reached the line of the breakwater which was being constructed to protect the harbor from the strong "northers" that sometimes blow at Aspinwall, and make anchorage unsafe. The earth dredged from the canal and from the shallow portions of the bay was partly used for forming the ground already mentioned, and partly for constructing the breakwater. For the latter purpose it was piled between walls of rock, and it was expected that the work would be completed long before the canal was ready for use.

A HAND-CAR JOURNEY ON THE PANAMA RAILWAY.

From the breakwater they were taken to the entrance of the channel opened by the dredges for the canal, and the location of the proposed new port was pointed out. Then they proceeded up the great ditch for two or three miles, and landed where the canal and railway were close together. Two hand-cars were standing on the track and evidently waiting for them. The gentleman to whom they had brought the letter was there, and also one of the officials of the railway. At the invitation of the latter, the party was soon distributed on the vehicles, three on one and three on the other. Comfortably seated on the front of the hand-cars, which were propelled by natives in very scanty dress, our friends rolled easily over the level track, in the direction of the high ground, and also of Panama.

Frank and Fred thought they had never taken a more delightful ride. The air was delicious; there was the luxuriant vegetation of the tropics all around them; birds were abundant in the trees; monkeys occasionally chattered above them, or swung from the limbs, as if inviting the strangers to stop and visit their relatives; the speed was just enough for comfort; their vision was unimpeded, and there was no locomotive in front of them to poison the air with fumes of burning coal or shower them with cinders. Then, too, their guide was a cyclopædia of knowledge, as he had been for a long time connected with the railway and was thoroughly conversant with its history.

SURVEYING UNDER DIFFICULTIES.

"It was one of the most difficult roads to build that I ever heard of," said he, "and three times the work was suspended on account of the impossibility of getting enough laborers or bringing forward the necessary material. Everything had to be brought from New York or some other American or European city, as there was no labor worth having to be found on the Isthmus itself. Between Aspinwall and Monkey Hill the engineers had sometimes to wade up to their waists while laying out the line, and after the road was completed the track repeatedly sank down out of sight. It happened several times that two or three hundred feet of road would thus disappear in a single night, and then the whole force of the road was put to work to fill up the cavities. There are some places that were filled two or three times before the road-bed was solid enough to stay. Since the canal company began operations here it has built some new tracks, and occasionally meets with the same trouble, but the old part of the line is all right now.

NATIVE VILLAGE ON THE ISTHMUS.

"There is a good story of how the natives of the country around Gatun had their first view of a locomotive. The track was completed to that point, and a day was set for running an engine over it. People came for long distances; they had heard wonderful stories of the witchcraft of the strangers, and there was great curiosity to know about it. There was an immense crowd, and at the appointed time the locomotive came in sight, puffing vigorously, and emitting clouds of steam and smoke. There was great excitement, which reached the pitch of terror when the creature came into the midst of the crowd, and the whistle was blown. The whole crowd fled to the river, and many of them jumped in, expecting they would be pursued, and possibly devoured.

NATIVE IDEA OF THE LOCOMOTIVE.

"Finding the monster did not follow them, they gathered courage and reassembled, but stood at a safe distance, ready to run again if necessary. They sent forward their priest to examine the animal; he surveyed it carefully, and then informed his followers that it was not an animal, but a machine, in which there was a veritable demon chained, and compelled to work the crank which propelled it. The explanation was sufficient; the good priest knew it was hopeless to attempt to enlighten them on the uses of steam, and found the demon story the shortest way out of the difficulty. It is just possible, though, that he was not versed in natural philosophy, and his explanation may have been the honest result of his observation."

At several points, as they passed along, Fred observed men cutting away the bushes by the roadside, and, in reply to a question, he learned that the growth of the tropical forest was so rapid that men were kept busy all along the route in keeping it down, so that it would not touch the passing trains. "But it is not without its advantages," said their informant; "what it costs to keep down the rapid vegetation is more than compensated by the interlacing of the roots through the road-bed so that it makes a powerful resistance to the water which rushes down the slopes after the heavy rains. Many a serious injury to the road has been prevented by this mass of roots."

THE ESPIRITU SANTO FLOWER.

Their attention was called to flowers that grew in the forest, and the eyes of the youths were constantly occupied with the varieties of trees and plants that they passed in their ride. There were palms and mangroves, canes, ferns, orchids, and creeping, climbing, and hanging plants almost without number. There was hardly a tree without a parasite, and many trees were covered from the base to the topmost limb with foliage that was not their own. In some cases the trees were actually killed by the parasites that clung to them, and reminded our friends of the picture of a deer strangled by a serpent.

Fred asked for the famous product of the Isthmus, a member of the orchid family, Peristera Elata, known as "Flor del Espiritu Santo," or "Flower of the Holy Spirit." It was pointed out to them, and, at the youth's request, they stopped long enough to gather a few specimens.

The youths greatly admired the flower, and when they saw it neither of them wondered at its name nor the reverence with which it is regarded in Central American countries. It has a white blossom resembling the tulip, and in the inside of the blossom is the figure of a dove. It needs no imagination to show the form of the bird; there it rests, with its wings drooping at its sides and its head bent forward so that the bill almost touches the breast; the body of the dove is of a snowy white, while the bill is tipped with red. The flower has a perfume resembling that of the magnolia, and it blooms in the latter part of the summer months.

Frank wanted to send home some of the plants, and was told that he could do so with ease, but the bulbs would not live unless they were procured in May or June, when the stalks had been sufficiently developed to produce the flower. It is said that the early Spanish explorers of the Isthmus bowed before this flower and worshipped it, and the reverence that was then developed has never been lost. Down to quite recently it was very difficult to procure specimens of the Espiritu Santo flower, owing to this reverential feeling, and it is only since the colonization of the Isthmus by Americans that the stranger has been able to obtain all he wants. The flower is now cultivated in hot-houses, and has been transported to other tropical countries, where it is successfully grown.

GATUN STATION.

Fred called attention to several trees resembling some they had seen in Java and Ceylon, and Frank picked out three or four varieties of mahogany which he could recognize. Occasionally there was a clearing devoted to bananas and other fruits, and at Gatun Station, where the road was close to the bank of the Chagres River, several natives offered the fruits for sale. The old village of Gatun was on the opposite shore of the river, and consisted of a group of huts half concealed by the foliage. In the old days of California travel, before the construction of the railway, the inhabitants of Gatun drove a prosperous trade with the gold-seekers; according to one writer, "eggs were sold for twenty-five cents apiece, and the ground-rent for a hammock was two dollars a night."

An excavating machine was in operation not far from the railway, and huge mounds of earth had been thrown up on either side of the line of the canal. Hundreds of laborers were at work, and the scene was, in many respects, a repetition of what they had encountered at Aspinwall, or, rather, at the new city which has risen near it. "This is an American machine," said their guide, as he pointed to the excavator, "and it will interest you to know that the excavators and dredges from New York have proved more satisfactory than those of French construction. They are very effective, and rarely get out of order; the French machines were admirably adapted to the Suez Canal, but the soil here is much harder than that at Suez, and requires a more powerful engine for its removal."

From Gatun the party returned to the canal entrance, and thence to their hotel in Aspinwall. Later they dined with their new friends, and when they retired for the night they felt that they had crowded a good deal of sight-seeing into their first day on the Isthmus.

A TROPICAL HARBOR.

[CHAPTER III.]

OVER THE ISTHMUS.—A PROFITABLE RAILWAY.—ISTHMUS FEVER.—TROPICAL TREES, FLOWERS, AND ANIMALS.—SIGHTS IN PANAMA.—THE CATHEDRAL.—A STROLL ON THE BEACH.—THE PARADISE OF CONCHOLOGISTS.

MAP OF THE PANAMA RAILWAY.

Next morning our friends arranged to leave for Panama by the regular train. Just as they were about starting from the hotel they were met by the manager of the railway, who invited them to occupy the directors' car, which was to be drawn by a special locomotive, and would follow the train an hour or more later. They accepted the invitation, sending their baggage by the train, with the assurance that it would be found at the station at Panama on their arrival. The directors' car afforded superior facilities for seeing the objects of interest along the route, and, besides, they were to be accompanied by the manager, and also by the official who had been of such practical assistance on the previous day.

They were joined by some of the officials connected with the construction of the canal, and altogether the party was a most agreeable one. Dr. Bronson explained to the youths that when the canal company was organized it was deemed advisable to have command of the railway in order to facilitate the work. A controlling interest in the line was bought by the canal company, and it is fair to suppose that the owners of the shares received a good price for their property.

"The Panama Railway has been the most profitable thing of the kind in the world," said the Doctor, "or, at any rate, one of the most profitable I ever heard of. The managers have generally kept their affairs as much as possible to themselves, and would, doubtless, assure you that they had lost money by their investment, which is often the case with men who have a remunerative business of any kind. The local fare over the line between Aspinwall and Panama was established at twenty-five dollars, and remained at that figure for nearly twenty years. Twenty-five dollars for a ride of forty-eight miles, or more than fifty cents a mile! Thousands of passengers were carried over the road every month, and every thousand passengers meant twenty-five thousand dollars to the railway. At one time the steamships were carrying steerage passengers from New York to San Francisco for eighty dollars, including the transit of the Isthmus; the steamship company thus received fifty-five dollars for carrying a passenger five thousand five hundred miles, including his board and lodging for twenty-three days, while the railway company received almost half as much for carrying him forty-eight miles, lodging him four hours in rickety cars, and giving him no board whatever.

CROSSING THE ISTHMUS IN 1849.

"But bygones are bygones," continued the Doctor, "and if any traveller disliked the price of the railway journey he had the privilege of going by the old route. This involved a tedious journey up the Chagres River by bongoes or native boats as far as Gorgona, and a ride thence over the hills and through the mud to Panama. The riding was done on the backs of mules, as there was no wagon-road; travellers were often obliged to pass the night in the open air, as there were very scanty accommodations in the few villages along the road; a week or more was generally consumed in the trip; the prices of everything were exorbitant; and the tourist generally reached the end of his journey feeling very much as if he had been passed through a patent wringing-machine. Not a few fell ill and died on the way, and many a fevered sufferer in California, years afterwards, could trace the beginning of his ills to his exposure on the Isthmus. 'Isthmus fever' became known almost as a distinct malady, and it was often very difficult of cure. It is pretty well forgotten now, thanks to the rapid transit afforded by the railway. Under all the circumstances, the enterprising men who constructed this road deserve every cent they received from it; it has saved thousands of lives to the population of the United States and other countries, and has added materially to the commercial facilities of the world. It was built under many discouragements, and the energy displayed in its construction was worthy of a liberal reward."

A BONGO.

They rolled merrily over the track and in a little while had passed Gatun Station, and the point they visited in their excursion to inspect the work on the canal. They wound among the low hills and along the bank of the Chagres River, catching pretty views here and there, and passing several unimportant stations without stopping. One of the officials pointed out the cottage which was the favorite residence of Mr. John L. Stephens during his connection with the railway, and also a gigantic tree which has long been known as "Stephens's tree." Other objects of interest were indicated, and there was not an idle moment in the whole journey.

BRIDGE ACROSS THE CHAGRES RIVER AT BARBACOAS.

The railway crosses the Chagres River at Barbacoas, where there is a fine bridge, which has withstood the shocks of that capricious stream in a manner that reflects creditably upon its builders. A little beyond Barbacoas they met a train bound eastward, and waited a short time on a siding to enable the locomotive and its burden to get out of the way. The delay gave an opportunity for a brief excursion into the tropical forest, which came close up to the railway, as it does for the greater part of the distance between Aspinwall and Panama.

MEETING A TRAIN.

Frank and Fred were accompanied by one of their new friends, who seemed to be well versed in the botany of the country. The first tree to meet their gaze was a palm, and while they were noting its peculiarities their guide told them there was no place in the world where so many varieties of the palm could be found together as on the Isthmus. "There are," said he, "twenty-one different species of palm-trees; I am informed that three or four more have been found in the vicinity, but I have not seen them. From one of the well-known varieties is extracted the palm-oil of commerce; another produces a sweet sap from which the natives distil a wine they use freely as a beverage; there is the 'sugar palm,' from which sugar is made; the 'sago palm,' which produces sago, but of a quality inferior to that of the Malay Archipelago; the 'ivory palm,' which supplies vegetable ivory; the 'cabbage palm,' whose stalks resemble the cabbage in appearance and taste; and the 'glove palm,' from which bags for holding grain or kindred things are readily obtained. Houses, weapons, domestic utensils, and many other things are made from the leaves, stalks, fruit, bark, or wood of the palm, and the tree is quite as necessary to the existence of the natives of the Isthmus as is the bamboo to the inhabitants of tropical Asia."

THE SINGING HUMMER.

It was impossible to penetrate far into the forest, owing to the network of hanging and creeping plants that blocked the way, and the youths were not long in realizing the difficulties encountered by the surveyor who laid out the line of the railway. Their guide described many of the vegetable growths that were visible, and the number was so great that Frank was fairly bewildered with them. So he called attention to the birds darting among the thick foliage, and asked about the animal kingdom of the country.

THE HUMMING-BIRD AT WORK.

"There are birds, beasts, reptiles, and insects here in great number," was the reply. "There are parrots of several kinds, some of which will learn to talk while others will not; there are toucans, with enormous beaks especially designed for the disposal of fruits; humming-birds of gorgeous hues and hardly bigger than bees; and there are orioles, trogons, tanagers, and other birds whose names are only known locally or in scientific works. There are wild turkeys and grouse among the hills; the latter are shy and not easily taken, and the hunter is always at a disadvantage on account of the thickness of the shrubbery; the tapir abounds in the low ground and marshes near the rivers, and his flesh is not unlike pork in taste and appearance. You have already seen monkeys, and if you could go into the forest a dozen miles from the settlements you might see hundreds of them in a single day. They go in large parties oftentimes, and whenever they make a raid on a banana plantation they destroy in a few hours the labor of a whole season. There is a tradition that in the old days the natives used to serve up monkey flesh to the California emigrants under the name of 'opossum.' The opossum is found here, but he is not easily taken, and a man from the States would have no hesitation in eating its flesh, though he might seriously object to dining on monkey.

THE IGUANA.

"Besides the animals I have mentioned," he continued, "we have the ant-eater, peccary, sloth, deer, cougar, bear, and tiger-cat; the peccary is also known as the 'wild hog,' and is closely allied to the tapir. There is a lizard called the iguana, which is sometimes five or six feet long, and is as delicious as lobster or chicken; its eggs are much prized by the natives, and frequently seen in the markets. Americans who come here are generally chary of eating iguana, because it is a lizard; we have got over this difficulty by naming it 'Panama lobster,' and thus silencing all objections. There's a great deal in a name."

A CENTIPEDE.

The youths admitted the evident truth of the assertion. Suddenly, Frank espied almost under his feet a crab about the size of a half-grown chicken, and asked if it was a "Panama beetle."

A SCORPION.

"Not exactly," replied their guide, with a smile. "It is a land-crab, which is very abundant on the Isthmus, and considered an excellent article of food. It is rapacious, like the crab generally, and comes fearlessly into the presence of man in search of a breakfast. These crabs devour the flesh of animals, and will often reduce a horse or ox to a heap of polished bones in a few hours. It will be well for you to tread carefully on the ground in the vicinity, as you never know when you will encounter a scorpion, tarantula, or centipede, or even a venomous snake. Occasionally we find large serpents of the constrictor species, but they are not as dangerous as the smaller reptiles and insects. The tarantula is a sort of hairy spider, quite pretty to look at, but so venomous that his bite causes death in a few hours. The natives have a belief that if a tarantula simply walks over the flesh without biting there is left a poisonous trail which causes rheumatic and other pains, lasting for years or perhaps for a lifetime. Catch one of these spiders and show it to a group of natives, and they will run shrieking away from you."

EXHIBITING A TARANTULA.

The whistle of the locomotive put an end to the conversation, and recalled the young naturalists to the train. Fred observed a native with one foot bandaged across the toes, and asked what was the matter with him.

"Probably jiggers," was the reply.

"And please tell us what jiggers are?"

"Its native name is chigoe," answered their guide, "and this has been anglicized into 'jigger.' Its scientific name is Pulex penetrans; it is a species of flea which deposits its eggs in the human body, especially under the skin of the foot or the nails of the toes. Its presence is indicated by a slight itching and subsequently by a membranous sac, like the head of a pin. This sac can be removed with a needle or by washing the feet with tobacco juice; if allowed to remain it causes an ulcer, and the victim will quite likely lose his toes. It is necessary to keep close watch to one's feet, and wash them frequently with strong soap or decoction of tobacco."

HILLS NEAR THE RAILWAY.

Natural history gave place to more immediate matters as the train passed one of the points where excavations for the canal were going on. The scene was a repetition of that at Gatun, and needs no special description, but it naturally led to further conversation upon the great enterprise which was intended to unite the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Fred asked how it happened that a canal through the Isthmus connecting North and South America was being constructed by Frenchmen and with French capital?

MAP SHOWING HOW OCEAN ROUTES ARE SHORTENED BY THE PANAMA CANAL.

"For the very simple reason," the Doctor answered, "that Americans were unwilling to risk their money in the work and the French were ready to do so. The final surveys were made by Lieutenant Bonaparte Wyse of the French navy, and the expense was paid by French capitalists. M. De Lesseps, whose name has become known throughout the world for his energy in making the Suez Canal, caused an international congress to be assembled at Paris in 1879; this congress decided in favor of the present location, and for a canal without locks. Under his leadership the company was formed, and the work is going on as you see it.

"It is quite likely that diplomatic questions will arise concerning the use of the canal by the great nations of the globe; meantime, we need not disturb ourselves about it, but wait patiently for the day when ships will be able to pass from ocean to ocean. To understand the advantages to commerce which will result from the construction of the canal you have only to look at this map and observe the difference between the proposed routes for ships and those which are at present followed."

The Doctor unfolded a map which we give on page 53. While Frank and Fred were glancing at the routes marked upon it, Dr. Bronson read the following array of figures:

"Between England and Sydney they don't save much distance," Fred remarked; "but on all the other routes there is a great difference in the figures. We will all hope for the speedy completion of the canal, and on the opening day we'll fling our hats in the air and cheer as loudly as possible in honor of Ferdinand De Lesseps."

BASALTIC CLIFF.

Meantime the train had left the valley of the Chagres River and was ascending among the 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.

PANAMA IN THE DISTANCE.

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.