The Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1846-1852, 1849-05-25

lemnities Of funeral. But upon inquiry
l ssceriained that il was always their
habit to rejoice at the death Of an infant
for The simple reason that its soul has Ger.
tainly gone to Heaven. Well, so !
thought that would do and passed on.
The next thing that attracted my at.
ieniion was the fact that every hutor'casa'
had connected with it. as a part Of its
household furniture, hog. dog and a
game cock. A New Granada hog is Il
singular specimen cflhe swine gems To
one accustomed to the fine breed we have
in America. have heard tell Of a half
starved Irish pigj but had it not have been
for the unmistakeable grunt, should Ger.
tainly have classified The hogs in Chagres
among the Rhinoceros species only Of
the heron kind. Why you could split a
rail with the sharp end Of their backs,
use their long snouts as crowbar and
shave shingles with their pointed hams
In point of bones and want Of flesh the
living skeleton wouldn't stand any com.
parison with them. Most ofthe dogs are
like the one brought me from Mexico
known and designated ,ifI recollect right
ly, by the lofty coguomen of Santa Anna.
You may look into any casa and you
will find these dogs aud hogs lying
quietly and undistulbed in the best part
of the house and the little children loling
and rolling over them. AS remarked
before every man has his game cock,
which is invariably fastened by string
on one leg to the front door sill, and con-
sidered as indispensable as we would the
most useful and necessary article offur-
niture. Cock fighting isone oftheir prin.
clple sources of amusement, a Sundays
diversion after Mass. In the evening, |
attended fandango. which TO say the
most oft was dull affair. So many citi-
zens from the States crowd into them as
to wholly Americanize them and as a
consequence destroy the novelty. The
inhabitants OF Chagres are an orderly.
honest and very clever set of people.
Seeing that theAmericans are go ahead
impetuous people, they have just sense
enough to take advantage Of lheil impa-
tience and desire for locom0tion to make
all the money off of them they can; and
so it is throughout the whole of Nueva
Granada.
1t may be possible that | saw Chagres
at the most favorable time; but am told
by all with whom have conversed, on the
subject, that correct report was never
given of this place, that at no time III the
year is ills condition such as has been
represented. The situation of the town
and the appearance of its inhabitants all
contradict the rumors which you have so
frequently heard in the States. must
say that as much as desired expedition
in my route to California, left Cha
gres with the regret that had not few
days longer time given me to examine
the curiosities ofthe place.
On the morning ofthe 18Th, the day af.
ter we arrived at Chagres. we took pas
sage on board the Steamer Orus tor Cor
gaua-and here let me remark that a
greater humbug than this self same steam.
er Orus was never started forth by Yam
kee ingenuity and enterprise. In the
first and most important point, it can new
er be of any practical utility to passen-
gers either in expedition or economy, for
the simple reason that the Chagres river
is not and never eau be made navigable
for more than 20 or 25 miles, and this
distance can be made by the natives ia
much quicker time, with less expense and
by more comfortable way of travelling.
So that by taking passage on the steamer
Orns, you have to pay more and really
travel with less expedition and comfort
than in the natives canoe. By the time
my letter reaches you. you will have, TO
doubt, read in many ofour public journals
much more beautiful and perfect descrip.
tions of the river Chagres than can give
you; but whatever accounts you may hear
of it, however fancifully aud highly
wrought they may be, they will certainty
fall short of the reality. Why just imag.
inc beautiful clear stream-so pure and
clear that you can see in the bottom the
clear nice gravel over which it runs-ke pt
in its channels, not by banks. but by the
growth of all The richest and most beau.
tiful plants, vines, flowers, and roses in
the vegetable ingdom--the boughs and
branches ofthe trees overhanging the riv,
er. as if they would be glad to shake
hands and embrace the limbs of their OPP
posite neighbors. The vines along the
Chagres river do not content themselves
by creeping lazily up few feet and there
wther aud die; but they go on shooting
upward and upward until they can no
longer find trees tall enough to cling to,
and then they creep downward until they
lose themselves in the rippes of this
beautiful river. Just in the rear of these
vegetable banks, (for l can give them no
other names, for the vegetation is so thick
and luxurient there you can see no earth
at all } you can see the tops of the Cocoa
and Flora trees-a Flora tree (lhe DO.
tanical name / cannot give you-I give
you the names orthings as learned them
from the natives,) is something like our
umbrella tree at the top; but its height is
generally from 40 to 60 feet. The VIII ole
top ofthe tree is covered by profusion
of the richest flowers ever beheld. In
some spots you will see acres covered
with these beautiful trees. The body of
the tree is as straight as an arrow and as
perfectly rounded and smoothed off as the
main mast ofa ship. What adds so much
to the beauty of the scenery along the