Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, IA [i.e. Ind.]) 1839-1854, 1849-03-07
From the Indiana State Seniirel

y 1t will be recollected that, in Decemb.
:. last. Captain John McDougal of our cit,
with his lady and child, bid US all 200
! bye. and set out for California. The 70
. lowing are extracts from one Of Mrs. No
!. Douglas very interestin letters to he
u mother.
: PANAMA, January 7, 1849.
r My dear Mother:-We left New O,
, leans on Monday evening, the 18th {
| December last, in the ship Falcon, an
| anchored three miles from Chagres O.
t the 9th at one o'clock, p. NJ. The cap
tain and several other gentlemen wen
( ashore in the long boat TO make arrange
ments for landing. Ga the next morning
about day light. several open boats. rowe,
f by negroes almost naked. came to the shi 0
They were engaged nearly ali day in ia
king Off the baggage; and about four O.
clock IN the afternoon. we got into the life
boat, and were rowed to shore, being com
pletely drenched with salt water. The
town Of Chagres where we landed. con
tains about hundred houses built ofcane
standing upright, with roofs matched with
palm-very airy and cool, but without
any other comforts. We staid all night
and got supper and breakfast. at the Al.
calde's. for which he charged us six dol.
lars. The inhabitants sleep in hammocks,
cook over little fire made between round
stones, and season everything with gar
lick. They number seven or eight hun.
dred, and are all black Such race oil
people never want to see again-a dirty,
savage set. Tell your black servants for
me, that they don't know how we'll thew
nj ytn,,
ored brethren in Central America. they
would be happy at home.
We had one treat. however, at Chacres
that shall always remember Just out
side OF the town is an old fort, built on a
KIND OF rocky peninsula, up TO which we
Climbed by means Of stone steps, all over
grown with grass. The fort must have
been magnificent one in its day. and i'm
pregnable almost-three sides of it being
surrounded by water. 1t is said to have
been built by Cortes; and to be three hum
dred years old. 1t bears the mark of gre at
age. Trees are growing on it, and the
sixty brass cannon there are very much
worn by time. 1t is the first ancient ruin
ever saw, and | shall never forget my
feelings when treading on that ground,
once inhabited by a race Of beings now
extinct. Besides. the view from there of
the surrounding country is the most beau
tiful ever beheld We saw the sun set
from that ancient ruin, and then retraced
our steps to the village, where we had
bare cot and nothing else on which to rest.
SO much for Chagres We left it next
aho1t fen n'clont in {. l:..l-
or dug Ga large log hollowed.) about
twenty feet long, a part of which was
matched over with leaves to protect us
from the rain and sun. Into this boat we
put our baggage, with that Of a young
man who accompanied us. and then got
in ourselves-the roof just high enough
for my head when | sat Oh the bottom Of
the boat. We stad three nights and three
days and half in this boat. with three
negroes to work it The first day and !
night they rowed; but afterwards the cur
rent became SO rapid that they had to take
long poles 20 push US up the river. 1t rain
ed almost necessarily. and was exceeding
ly warm. We saw seven or eight large
alligators, fight between a cougar and an
several wild monkeys in the I
woods. and an armadillo. Just imagine
our canoe tied on dark rainy night, in a
Iense wilderness, with no habitation near. /
he wild beasts bowling around Us. and
hree big. savage negroes in the boat
Don't you think our sleep must have been
sweet! We stopped every time we could
ind anything to eat. and got something
cooked up that tasted very sweet to me
Who ever thought that should cook in
Central America! IT'S strange, but true
We arrived the third day. at noon. at a
negro village named Gorgona, and hoped
% get mules there to take us TO this city;
)ut finding the roads were so bad, and the
prices so high, we concluded to 90 on to |
Cruses. another little town six miles fur
her. where we arrived the same evening
1t sun-down. 1t was then raining in tor
'ents. and when we got up to our Hotel, |
vas as wet as ] could be. It cost US
hrty- eight dollars TO get that distance
We staid one day and two nights at Cru
les. at dollar and a half piece [very
cheap for this countryl
Transports for ourselves and baggage
lcross the mountains eighteen miles be-
NC procured at cost of sixty eight dol
ars, and Mr.. McDougal having put me
IN mule and little Sue on a man s back,
'ur party started. But how shall un-
lertake to describe the road from Cruises.
oetcNc III WOuiu Oc iuIpOSSIUle 10 con.
-ince You that such road could exist
We went almost Perpendicu-
arly up twenty or thirty feet over smooth
ock. with here and there kind of lit.
lie step made just large enough for the
mules foot, and the water running over
hat; whilst on each side. so close as to
ouch. rose solid rocks higher than our
reads. In one Of these places. my poor
mule lost her foo,hold. slipped. and fell;
the plunged to regain her feet but failed;
md then slipped down the precipice to a
,lace where she could stand. | got off.
md walked some distance through the
water About one-third of the road is just
ike this. The rest is full Of large round
tones, over which no horse from the
states could ever go. In some places.
he path for the mules feet is not a foot
vide. Indeed, can give you no idea of
his road Your ina DIN alton co,Ild nova,E