The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1851-07-24
LETTER FROM A LADY.
A friend has furnished us the subioined extract
from letter written by a lady en- route for Cali
fornia Ii is dated

from letter written by a lady en- route for Cali
fornia 1t is dated
PANAMA, May 9, 1851.
Havana is the most beautiful place ever saw,
or ever expect to see. No foreign ship is allowed
TO approach its wharves so we had fine view up
the bay, which is as beautiful as the pictures Of
the hay of Naples. We took carriage and rode
every minute Of the two or three hours which We
had to stay. IL was q gala-day. The troops were
on parade, and the public drives alive with car
riages, filled with the most beautiful ladies', in
what We would call ball costume and, what
seemed so queer, seldom gentleman with them,
and the driver always riding the horse instead of
having his seat in the front Of the carriage.
The Falcon, on which we sailed from Havana
to Chagres, made a slow trip, and is an utterly
abominable craft We had a smooth sea at Cha
gres, and no difficulty in getting ashore in the
little boats
There is a snug little steamboat on the Chagres
river which saved US padding up in small boats
The scenery on this river is very beautiful The
trees so tall, the flowers 80 bright and every
thing 30 luxuriant and so strange, that almost
felt myself in another world We did not get
quite to Gorgona the first day, and the river is
crooked that we could not navigate at night, 80
they tied up the boat and we eat our suppers by
the way. This boat furnishes only passage,
bed and board being private matters. Every
body had provisions prepared on the Falcon sep
arately or in little companies, according to fancy.
IL you could have seen us-about so persons
eating in little squads rs the boat wound through
that wild crooked river, you would have said it
was picturesque at least At night, every one
male the best bed he could on the deck
We reached Gorgona about noon. There
were twenty females, many Of them very pleasant
ladies' The afternoon was spent in preparing for
the mule ride OF the next day. There were few
side-saddles, and could have had one but they
are considered unsafe on these little wriggling
mules that only two ventured them; ono was
Boston lady, who had been to q riding school till
she could ride like Texan ranger, aud the
other an Illinois woman, accustomed to gallop
over the prairie with any or no saddle Several
Of the ladies had suits prepared, others did the
best they could ! made pair of pants of apron
check, and wore my old de lsine dress. The most
tucked their dresses The most convenient and
unexceptionabe dress for this trip is thin woollen
pants and linen blouse, or sack, coming to the
knees, and belted at the waist with a morocco belt
gum-cloth leggings Some like sun bonnet but
a brosd-brimned hat looks f better In the morn.
ing We hal grand time mounting some affected
pieces Of humanity, who would mince about put
ting their foot over, and detain a hundred people
till the muleteer would swear got so disguised,
that when II came TO my turn TO mount put my
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sight in no time The muleteer said il was the
neatest thing that had been done through the
morning. never enjoyed anything
more than the first part Of the ride The morn
! ing was like one Of the brightest in your bright
month of June, and the road shaded with such
grand old trees-the stately palm and cocoanut,
the graceful bamboo, and these old, gnarled, de-
fant-looking mahoganys, with their myriad of
parasites, and the trailing vines, and the flowers
and birds, and the song of the muleteers, aud the
Withholding people returning from California,
with their merry salutations-all this, and much
more, united to make me so happy, that was very
tired before knew il. About two O'clock 1t be-
gan to rain and this WAS as new to me as is every
thing else Perhaps the rain does come down In
drops but it has the appearance Of descending
in streams and, In looking forward, the mir seems
TO be a sheet Of water.
man who sirs on the opposite side Of the table
from me says that the air was 30 thickly laden
with water, that his mule could not get through
Il. Our mules objected TO nothing; but the road
was soon full of water, and the streams unforda-
BILE, 30 We stopped for the night, The last stream
we forded, my mule got into hole in a strong
current, and nothing but my two stirrups saved
us both from going under. w were near a steep
bank, and, ~ the poor brute Was weaving aud