The Ohio union. [volume] (Ashland, Ohio) 1849-1854, 1854-05-24
THE KIND OF PEOPLE on THE
.i1Bg qisli 10 ISTHMUS. 10 sN0de

uiHg TOst, III WulcH ne ooeo' efiDea tho
!, lslhmus and ils people! ,aaal tHs 5-g8 .
Among lhs common people, marriage il
scarcely ever solemnized. The parties
Hive together as man and wife, each resers.
ling The rgh. 10 leave The other as inleres,
Dor caprice may dictate. Now and iheh a
case occurs where the parties continue faith.
ful TO, each other for liz. These, however
are exceptions 10 The rule. ID great ma.
Ijority Of cases, women are left, after few
years, with a brood Of helpless children,
10 meet the vicissaudes Of life az. best
they can; and the chances of children SO
situated, 70 become reputable men and.wo.
men, or useful citizens, is small indeed
have seen women with two. three, or
more children, who, when asked, ais The
father ofyour children livingl' answered,
Yes; each child has father living" ad
II is only very recently that marriages
periormedb by others than ecclesiasics have
been legal, and the fees established by the
church have been SO enormous as TO place
them beyond the reach of the poorer
classes, 1t is doubtful. however, whether
the people will avail themselves Of The
recent lay-they prefer The present arrange.
menl. 'r@ E'a = IL oI 'A'"''''
Along the line Of the railroad, as we'll as
ofihe Chagres river, and about all of the
principal towns, The inhabitants are made
up Of a motley assembage Of West India
negroes and natives Of Central and South
America. These people are generally dis.
slpated, filthy, ,rsacherous, uulrustworthy,
and beaslly in The worst sense Of the world.
There are, of course, exceptions 10 this.
their general character. From this class of
population come most Of the desper4does
who have perpetraled thefs, robberies,
and murders. along lherout between Navy
Bay and Panama. 'ura.
Most Of The boalmen upon the Chagres
river are of this class, and also are The
mueleers and guides with whom the trav.
eler meets and by whom lie is imposed
upon in crossing "lhe lslhmus" l'o'
AS we recede from the great line of
travel and approach the rural districts,
there is a much 'pore marked tendency TO
predomlnance Of indian feature; and the
population of,hese rural districts are regar.
ded as much more honest, faithful, kind
and obllging, possessing, however, very
liule energy or industry. They are .sim.
pie, contsuled, temperate, and with few
waits, andihose easily supplied Many
of The land holders in this country Law
claim to- enormous tracts, often Several
miles in extent, and wilOu, any definite
line Of demarcaion or bouuJafy--son
times no. sign Of any clearipe excepia few
acres about The residence Of the landlords;
and yel no person is allowed 10 pasture.
calilepr erect any sgr. edifce on ibis
claim without permission from the pretend.
| ed owner.
There are nofdnces, and have moi seen
twenty rods of,'foAd that carriage viii
more than one wheel could pass over, in.
dependent ul the railroad.
The use Of the plough is unknown, the
machete serving rs axe, saw. hoe, plough
and sickle, as well as weapon If warfare.
The native, wiihethis inachet, clears the
timber from the land. and with lis puint
makes hole in The ground where he de-
posts his seeds, using the same for cutting
down the weeds, as well as for harvesting
The grain. ...g
The soil in most parts Of the country is
of amazing fertility, and capable, when well
titled Of sustaining immense crops Of all
sorts of tropical fruits and grains. The
fruits that grow almos, spontaneously are
cocoa nut, orange, planlain, banana, lines,
lemons, ETC., etc. Indian corn, coffee, rice.
sugar cane, yams, melons, etc., ETC., have
been successfully cultivated on a small
scale. ni Fs7.a5s" bol1i1a.l' easA' %
Many Of these landholders have immense
herds OF callle roaming over their possess
sions. ! have seen several hundred claim.
ed as the properly Of one man, The only
expense or trouble attending the ownership
being iha, Of herding them once year for
The purpose Of marking The calves. Goats,
asses, hogs, poulIry, etc., may be raised
(and are) largely in some Districts. ''A'
One can hardly fail Of being strongly
impressed with The many points Of resemb,
lance between the habits OF lie Of these
people and those OF The pairlarchal ages. as
described in the book Of Genesis. The
large herds of cattle, goats and asses, and,
to a certain extent their nomadc life,
continually call to mind Abraham and
Lot, win rheir fsmiIesi and The condition
of families SO much resembling concubi.
mage, to which have referred above
women with huge Jars (pilchers) filed with
walter on their heads-their simple attire,
The sandaledifeet--- and groups of men, wo.
men and children squsliiug on the ground,
al the door Of theircabin, ttenl,) aud even
the manner of gathering as well as
cooking their fruits, and preparing their
meats intend 10 impress one strongly with
The idea, that oriental times and habits
have come down. to in all their smplictty.
The inhabitants reside mostly in huts,
made Of bamboo poles, the lower ends of
which are placed ina trench dug in The
ground, while the upper ends are tied to.
gelher with thongs cut from pntanned
hides. These huls are covered with palm
leaves. They are entirely destitute of
floor "a dried bdlock's hide serves as a
couch for abe nighi, and a sea, as well as
table for day. a
/ The attire Of rhs men iS Of the simplest
kind; some ofthe more iulerprsing and
wealthy own q shirt and in a. very few
cases, ] have known the luxury Of pspta.
Icons INDUCED inon great occasions. agus1s