The Express.
London, England, 1850-08-28 00:00:00

CALIFORNIA.

PION 01/1 OWN 00111/OPONDINT.
CAORBB, ix 1.
We ruched this place this moHrnieg, afteJ nr • short
palsy of nice days from New York. The Americans
bave now two lines of stammers between this latter
town and the river of Chores, seek oossistiog of two
vessels of an avenge taans sof 1,000 tons and from
430 to 600 hone-power. are two departures
ea the let, and two on the 19th of each month. The
Are from New York to Chagres is 123 dollars by
Aspiawalre line, and 100 by the competition one.
The seeommodatioes are indifferent by both : indeed,
the weird of paseengers is such, each steamer carry-
ing sheet 230, that comforts are completely out of the
question.
Then is a third line of American steamers eon.
meting New Orleans with Chaves, ria Havanna.
The Alabama and Falcon, two old boats with rickety
esgiase, beep up the cemmunieations in this quarter.,
These are pretty golden times for the American steam
shipowners. '1 here is not a single casein which their
capital does not yield them 1,000 per cent. clear
protit.
asap" has an altend and improved appearance.
On the right, as you enter Use river, stands the Amy-
risen town, consisting of some 60 wooden houses, all
of which have started up within the last tone mouths.
Each of these structures bran the name of some
fa.hioaable hotel in New York, such as Astor cr Tow-
lag-house. The accommodations they affoid INN
wretched in the extreme. The bill of fare never com-
prises more then two dither, salt beef and cheese,
and these have to be imputed from New
York or Europe. The American tsvrn is,
however, better 'limited than the old Spinieh
one of the same name, both as regards commero, asd
health. The latter is ensconced behind a high p-o-
-montory, capped by a dilapidated fort, and therefore
i shut out from the sea breezes, which can alone coun-
'tenet the malaria arising from the moan of stagnant
and petrified vegetable and animal sabstasces which
obstruct the entrence to the river. The former, on
the contrary. has expcsed to these breeze, which
spring op invariably in the evening, and sometimes
blow keenly enough to drive ships on chore.
Ships generally cast anchu opposite the month of
the river in five fathoms water. The moorage is
unsafe, and the danger great when it happens to blow
strong from sea. I noticed, however, the Alabama
lying within the bar under the promontory, a position
into which no English steamer has yet ventured.
There were several large schooners minding clues
to the American town, and also within the bar, in as
favourable • position that the merchandise could be
landed without the intervention of boats or loggers.
This fact struck me as one of considerable mercantile
interest.

There le a brisk trade now going on between
Jamaica and Chagres in fruit, sugar, vegetables,
chiefly the potatoe, and English merchandise. There
are few articles which do not bring high prices; the
payment being made in French silver coin, which is
abundant on the Istbmnp, or in gold due. The im-
migration of black and mulattoes from Jamaica is
also considerable. On the Spanish side of the river,
nearly all the boats and hotels belong to dark emi-
grants from Jamaica or from the Dutch island of
Curagoa.. . .

There bad been • species of civil war at Chsgres a
few days before our arrivaL The population of the
American town, a most gregarious set of deserters,
gamesters, runaways from justice, took it into their
heads one evening to organise themselves as a dis-
tinct and independent community. They drew up a
string of resolutions expressive of their firm resolve
to obey thenceforward no other magistrate than a
fellow called Taylor, a notorious drunkard and
gamester, whom they appointed provisional president.
Taylor entered upon his functions by opening a warm
fire from rifles and revolvers on the inhabitants of the
old town. The latter arembled in considerable
numbers and repelled the assailants. A gun
was discovered by them among the ruins
of the fort, and pointed on the American
town which it completely commanded. The United
States Consul interfered, but only received kicks and
cuffs from his countrymen for his pane. It was only
when they saw themselves on the eve of being driven
into the sea that the Americans would listen to rerun.
The matter was at length hushed, after several lives
having been loot on both sides, but the old animosities
still remain, and will undoubtedly burst forth the
moment the Americans find themselves strong enough
for another encounter. It was believed that the
attention of the government at Bogata had been
I called to this anomalous state of thing., and that a
company of troops would shortly arrive to protect the
New Grenadine territory, and the inhabitants of
Chegree.
There is at length a fair prospect of the railway
across the Isthmus being taken up in earnest. The
contractors, the Messrs. Aspinwall, of New York,
have secured the adhesion of the Wes: India Steam
Packet Company. The latter consent to bear one
quarter of the entire expenses, leaving the American
Company free to go any length they think proper.
It is now believed that ere eight months elapse, the
works will be so far advanced that travellers may
pan in a cowered carriage from one ocean to the
other. The starting point will be Table bay, a point
of the coast about 20 miles to the west of Porto Bello.
A system of carriages with two horizontal interior
wheels is to be introduosd, catching or pressing on a
middle or third raiL It is hoped that very high
declivities may be ascended and descended by this
means without the expending of labour on cuttings.
The system has no* that lam aware, been yet tried
on a large or practical male in Europe.
You are no doubt aware that the American Com-
pany have obtained, from the New Grenadine gover-
ment, a privilege for conveying scrum the Isthmus
the mails of all nations. Against this privilege
England has protested through her Charge d'Affaires
at Bogata, but as yet without effect. matter
is of considerable importance, and it seems strange
that France, which is equally interested, should as yet
have taken no steps therein. Surely the powers of
Europe, however engrossed by their internal bicker-
legs, cannot shut their eyes to the danger of allowing
such a monopoly to be claimed and exercised by
America on the high road to the Pacific and to Cali-
fornia.

PANAMA, JULY 6.
I reached this place yesterday, after a hard pull
across the isthmus. People may say what they
please, but a trip from Chagres to Panama is no
child's play. You have, in the first plies, the river
to emend as high as Gorgon or Crude, the current
being against you all the way ; then you have the
mountains to cross to Panama. A word of informa-
tion on the nature of the difficulties that are to be
miciuntered may not be here misplaced.
When you land at Chagres from the steamers you
are forthwith smiled by a whole battalion of boatmen
—white, black, and blue, of all hoes and countries ; in
a word, each making a tender, in fijnuiish or English,
of his canoe, and praising ite qualities to the skies.
Don't be impatient—don't aloes with the first
that offers. Make your choice carefully, and
remember that, as you have to go against
a current seven knots strong, the light, mall and
delicate skiff is the better one. Of the boatmen, too,
the whites, whether European or American, are the
worst. They are, in general, a set of drunken ban-
ditti, who know nothing of the stream and to whom
it would be unsafe to confide either your person or
your goods. Single out the bronse-coloured swarthy
children of the 80000 del Toro who have learnt their
profession at Carthagesa. You can wally recognise
them by their breadth of chest, sinewy arms, and re-
tiring look. Treat them liberally, and if it be an ob-
ject with you to get up the river as speedily as pos-
sible, promos them an additional dollar for every hone
they may gain on the avenge time. Next to these
the Jamaica and Cameos Wasa are the best, if
they are provided, as is usually the came, with; a
man-of-war'gsin wes gig.
My bare soon made. For an amount of
100 dollars I secured a email gig, which had for-
merly belonged to a British man-of-war, with a Co-
moa panne and three fine Boom del Tom rowers.
We commenced our task at six in the evening, and
proceeded to Oatoon the same day. There we found
a whole fleet of canoes, gigs, and boats, all warped in
to the shore waiting for day to proceed on their
journey. The right bank of the Chaves is oluit-
Demented in this place b 7 a group of some fifty or
sixty huts, constructed with branches and covered
with pandanos or palm leaves. From the
bottom of the Tiller, where we landed
we could distinguish the entire population
assembled around a reap of Midday'
who were footing it away in a glorious " fandango.*
Heavens! what a confusion of sounds. All the
tangoes, kettles, and Was cc the isthmus seemed