Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1849-04-20

VISIONS and baggage al any price, In oFdeT 10
get along quicker must tell you how things
are transported on this road. The natives
carry almost every thing on their backs, from
/ Gorgona TO Panama, a distance OF twenty-five
miles. We. at home, made calculation about
mules; have not seen one al Gorgona The
animals that / did see were poor miserable
horses. and once in a great while mule does
get there; not better off than their horses.
Some little baggage is carried on horses, but
/ it is very difficult TO get them. Fer riding.
you ran always gel some shadow of ho sc
1t would be committing an outrage on the
Queens English TO call them horses.
| he natives are great rascals; they will, for
instance. engage 10 carry mans baggage for
a certain price now another man steps up
and offers them shilling more, and the first
persons things are taken down from the hor-
ses, or their backs, and left, no matter where,
and the second mans things are taken up
MY friend c.. being able to speak Spanish
succeeded on the Sd day 10 hire five horses
Two for riding. and three 10 carry our baggage
at $40 apiece We left GoTgona at 10
A. NJ oaeour way 10 Panama.
! March 4TH. My pen is not able TO give
you the faintest description of that road. 1t
is continual up bill and down hill. | have
could ever get up this hill or down that. And
then there are bitches, or rather gorges. TO
cross. in which the horses will sometimes
stick fast, unable to move. We passed thro'
crevices in the rocks, in which our feet were
in danger, they are so narrow. The road, in
some places. resembles a flight of steps-the
ground being trodden down by the animals
feet, always stepping in the same track.
Sometimes dizziness befalis you, looking
down from high ILL into some apparently
fathomless precipice. And Notwithstanding
all this, the country all around looks enchan
ting in the extreme The whole road from
Gorgona to this place. with the exception of
three miles. is like through grove Of oaks in
their richest foliage: always in the shade
Midway. on the road, is the camp Oft the Anne
rcan Engineers, engaged in Surveying the
country, & selecting location for Rail Road.
The thought of building Rail Road across
here seems righteousness ITSELF our Yankees
tho have got Napoleans motto on their banner:
'sNothng is impossible" Travelling along
these cresices, could not help citing Schiller,
when he makes Tell say, waiting for Gessler,
Through this narrow, hollow lane must he come,
! "No other no leads TO RuessnacM''
No other road leads to Panama, il seems!-
We saw about 20 dead horses along the road,
which had died from exhaustion. One of our
, horses fell in ditch he carried one of my
, trunks, and anothers fortunately, there was
no wafer in the ditch. We had to unload
him, and get him up again; he was, luckily,
t not hurt, and we continued our journey till
, about half past p. NJ, when we halted.
, laid down on the ground and slept another
=. night in the open air. But we slept soundly
/; for We were tired to death. Next morning
e after travelling while, we struck the Cruces
: road, about three miles from this. The road
: then began to be little better; but still one
hundred thousand times worse than the one
from Mr. LIS 10 the depot. Al last we reach
T Ell This place at / in the morning, Before
9 telling Won anything ahoat il though, must
- rejr!ce my steps, and give Won few more
j. items about the natives They are, as men
! toned before, a rascally set; they will cheat
the people, and steal from them all they can
= | know Of instances enough, but will only
h site few. Men who had hired them to carry
n their baggage across, and who had rs the
0 rule is. paid them half the price of trausporta-
!. ton, at The delivery Of the goods, lost half Of
+ them by their rascalitY They Ike the trunks
o to their hoUses--open them there--lake OF
q whatever they fancy, and 1eaVe the balance
to take care of itself One gentleman hat
o hired 4 horse At GorgoNa 10 take HIN 10 Pa
II mama, three miles from the former mace; thG
horse took il INTO his head to sleep "a slea!
that knows no waking" and the gentleman
4 vas compelled to take il afoot. Having
e carpet bag ana gun with him, which re,ard
Il ed his progress. he hired another Of the sci
,e to carry them 10 Panama, --gying him So e.
II 50 doing. He has been here TOW 3 forth Oh,
+, and has neither seen the man, nor his gln G
g bag Such cases, and the 81 Ike Of them,
il could mention great many; but the lette
IF would be too tedious They (thc natives
8 have raised tie prices for transportation 10 Al
$, enormous amount: in fact they ask. and il
.e mast cases get, what they please.
,r Well. then, to continue: On The 29h, a
d 10 A Nj, arrived here-just 10 days from
q our STEAMER; | took lodgings al the American
i, Hotel, at 81 90 day it S kept by a German
r | was utterly exhausted ana worn out, an
.e could hardly write those Jew lines sent yo
ID then, announcing my arrival here.
1. The Oregon is here, and viii sal on til
ID 10Th pcoyjmo.
id Panama is very pretty ola ruin; pac
ID in which the hours drag away heavier an
to slower than any place I ever was in. Their
r are a great many churches here, that have nc
e quite fallen to pieces yet, no doub; owing t
in their being Of superior structure hut they al
If On the point Of following their neigh5ors.
is Business, there is very little here, or rathe
none though now there seems 10 be q grea
le Improvement, on account of the large emigra
y ton from The States.
ii remained two days at the Hotel. and the
ct went 10 boarding at a private house. paysl )
is a day. ! coud perhaps live for Si-Sl Is
ir but prefer paying little more and live reg
= ular-ireguIarty Ill living is very fatal here
Y, There are here in all, two Hotels and tw
&c Restaurants. Lodging is cheap here, hut pro
e visions very high Butthe worst OF the mai
es teris, our poor prospect about getting ava
10 from here. To go at present WIKI a steame
is not to be thought Of there are no vessel
Re in now, except one Brig and one Schooner
ID both engaged by 200 passengers, leaving ahou
er 500 behind them | saw two steeraga ticket
rs in the steamer sell for $1,000, and one cab
70 ticket for $3.50 The tickets in the brig co:
II originally $3.50, and now $3.50 is offered "a
e. them have taken a ticket in a brig " /
ne arrive" which paid sl60 for, cabin passag;
m and have already had $3.50 offered for II
~ You can form no idea about the specuiatio
ne carried on with these tickets; it is a reguia
ne Exchange II person had known that, the
~ could have made fortune in buying and sci
m ing them. took great pains 10 get a tick
be in the California; ana was asked $500 f
a one in the steerage | wished that had /;
e. ken another route; for If do get away, it wi