The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1850-06-19
PANAMA.. May I'd, 1850.

PANAMA, May Cd, 1850.
Our trip across the Gulf to Havana was
attended with no very great Inconvenience
The sea was comparatively smooth. Not
much sea-sickness. l lost but one meal
having taken the sailors advice, TO eat all l
could. We entered the harbor of Havana
early in the morning, through narrow pass,
strongly fortified. We passed fort after fort
sufficient, as it seemed, to defend the world.
Along the coast there extends range of
mountains, curving so as to make the harbor
one of the most beautiful l ever saw. The
city contains about 2O0,OO0 inhabitants 1t
is the most romantic, lovely and picturesque
city in the Western World. There is much
wealth displayed within the walls. On the
outside, villas and gardens the most costly,
the most luxuriant with work the most inge-
NOUS, and containing plants the richest of
every cline, are to be seen as you glide in a
Uolante over the back grounds. They are
extremely uneasy about the arrival OF Amer
leans and have 10000 troops in the city,
The SignorItas are beautiful and dress most
magnifcently. They sleep half the day and
travel all night. 1t is a gay sight on the
plaza by moonlight. There were four Amer
lean steamers in port at the same time and
we presented a. bold front. Havana must
ere long be ours. Many Calilornians would
like to live there, were the stars and stripes
! flying over it. | would Prefer it to any other
place ever saw. After delay of three
days we rounded the point of Cuba and put
across the Caribbean sea, for Chagres. 1t
was quite a rough sea. The waves tossed US
wildly. Much sea-sickness. No one able to
walk on deck without clinging to something.
Chagres is a small town. containing about
1000 nhabitants-mostly black-the genuine
negro and Indian. They are simple and very
innocent The men 90 naked, or nearly so.
The women dress tastefully-a fancy colored
skirt of lawn or muslin with a chemise white
as snow and embroidered most beautifully
and ingeniously, sandals on the feet and a
fancy shawl thrown over the shoulders when
ever they 90 out. They take great pains in
dressing the hair and are extremely neat in
appearance. We chartered canoe, with
| three natives, and were near two days reach
, ing Gorgona, the head of canoe navigation,
a distance of near 70 miles, The trip was
most agreeable and heat not at all oppres-
! sive. The scenery of the Chagres is rich,
romantic and lovely beyond description
: The forests dense, the foliage luxurant, the
fruits most luscious, birds, the rarest and most
t beautiful, singing on every bough; and the
monkeys chattering among the cocoanuts. o.
/ moonlight night we imagined ourselves
e among the jungles of Hindostan, when start
!. led by the hoarse groWl ofthe tiger or jaggar
end. All trouble and vexation arising from
Inconvenience, sunk into Ga la GJt) perfec
insignifcance.
h AT Gorgona we put our baggage on mules
and walked over the mountain III miIes) ir
less than day. 1t was pleasant day anC
4 the road good bride path, not very steep Of
rough, Gilison, CulbertSon, Humphrey anC
Il Martin (of Shongalo) are with me. We
have good health, though in Il degrees-the
q heat is not at all oppressive. would advise
e any one coming to take the LIST or I'd cabin i
able. The Storage passengers are treated
like deckers on the Mississippi. Severa
# friends now talking around me. No chance
r to write well. w. H. G.
= Panama contains about 1000 inhabitants
r an old, rckety rock barn newly fitted up
: About 200 Americans here. We have per
If mission of the city and do pretty much as We
: please. Women and children in abundance
= They grow spontaneously.