Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1857-02-17

t.ranadan tributaries 10 the A,lantic,) we have
the following brief but vivid idea Of
NATIVE CLEANLINESS.
! Dinner when IL comes, i bat "A repetition Of
breakfast. 1t is hasiy. Judging ofnniionnl char.
nefer by the conduct ut the table ola steamboat,
especially when mnny nations are represented
| as here. | have seen boats on Western waters
with as much pggshness at table. but it could
hardy be- worse served. Richard, the steward.
was a well.meaning Jamaica negyo. but his two
assistants are very stupid Indian boys. | heard
n passenger sc"lding one of them. md asked
him what he had done He replied. ~ called
fora knife, and. as he was bringing it, he used it
In scrape his arm with. When | complained Of
that he wiped it on his pantaloons.'
A HARD LIFg.
Tho boga is a sort of deck hand, or FIRE 81 wator
lnborer, of whose positions and duties correct
knowledge may be gathered from the fact that
they propel, by sheer force Of arms, IA hugo flat
boat called "The Cbampan.' The work is ex.
eeedingly hard Our author, in tho course of
his description of them, says:
One blnck rascal had string tied round his
waist, and tied to it his trunk key SO he has
clothes, il seems. somewhere ; but when a man
has put every rag he has into his trunk, in what
pocket shall he put his key A knotty question,
which the fellow seems to have solved complete
ly.
But the most amazing problem Of political
economy ever tried to solve il. how to nerve a
naked vagabond up 10 almost superhuman ex-
er,ions day after day, in land where starvation
is impossible. The boga's task used to be to
pnsh his huge champan against n violent current
up stream from Mompos TO lIonda-a months
dire iask of twelve honrs' dreadful labor every
day. cxeepttwo or three accustomed stops, where
neither promises threats. spheming nor pistols
could start him purticle but you mny AZ we'll
inquire why man will be poet, ma, urali,. n
book maker, with the certainty of hard labor and
bud ply, as boga.
INDUSTRY AND INGENUITY.
During an on shore rumbie at stopping place.
he says:
= came upon two men ut work, a really
s,Eange sight in this land With the most shock
ing substitute for axes they had cut down largo
tron. hown II four square. and were now cutting
deep groove the upper side, like trough
They showed Ino similar, but deeper groove
IN the under side, and told me that when these
two grooves met in the middle they would have
two plnnks-a hard way of making lumber
think they were to make part of u ohampan.-
fnis wns the only instance of men at work that
| snw between Carthagena and Bogota, except
one mar making fish net at town on the Mag
dhlena.'
CHEAP BATHING,
our author eventually reaches tho town of
Honda. lie says:
1t wasr rather n busy day for it seemed as if
AL the population were bent on IA pablo swim.
The little river has its congregation when it hns
my water. The Magdalena is much frequontcd
just whore the rapids begin, and again at the
mouth Of the Gnuli. The 3uali itself between
the bridge and the Magdalena, was the resort of
n few quiet ones, but the livelicst scenes in
the rapid current, just above the bridge. There
were full grown and lnrgc boys stark naked,
young girls in the same state, aud women of all
ages with their bodies more or less covered with
blue skirt
The better bred of these would come down un.
der an umbrella to shade them from the sun--u
servant following with II skirt, sheet, and to-
tnmn. The baihor would throw the sheet over
her, aud emerge from it in tho skirt. Next the
body is covered with soap, aud the hair filled;
this l. then converted into aher. Then follows
pouring ot water from the totuma for long
time. without inter,nission. If any children
10 be wa shcd, now is the time to take them into
hand. After this they plunge into the stream,
II they choose, aud thus rass the time they have
Ia stay III the water. Again they enyclop them.
selves IN the sheet, which now serves for II towel
we'll dressing room, and at length they
emerge from it, nearly dressed. Tho servant
iinses the skirt in the river, wrings it, aud puts
il and the other wet clothes into "A tray, which
she carries huuc On her head. Thus the Indy
has secured good swim in the open river. with
out any violation # drcornm. But it would not
bet il to the reader to lenve him t" lmngiur that
all these details are the result of one day obser-
valion. Il would be difficult 10 fad the hour in
all the week in which some of these scenes
not going on.
CRIME MID It's PUNISHMENT.
At Gundaas, situated in the delightful valley
1t the sane name, where heat and cold are
known, the thermometer being always between
20 and ~ degrees. our author paid visit to ono
of our public constitutions"
Gnaduls contains ono Of tho two houses of
correction of New Granada They have three
orders of p"nitontlarcs. according to the nature
at crimes Forced l.abors, Preside, and the
holse uf correction. Where the law would con
demn man to either OF tho two former, woman
youth is sent to the house If correction for
longer period, so that the proportion of boys and
females hero Is large 10 that of men. Through
the kindness of Gen. Acosta was conducted all
over the estabhs hment 1t was IN extinct Fran
eiscan convent, founded in lSO6 These build
ings make excellent prisons without any altrra
ton. All public buildings, with scarce an TX
eeption, were originally built for converts, or
! have been seized on by the monks
found the inmates making cigars and cigar.
boxes, and saving out boards for these by hand.
The discipline seemed excellent. The matron
appeared to be well fitted for her task. To one
of her punishments | ventured To cbject.as being
hardest on the most sensitive or least depraved.
It was shutting them up in tie public coffin in
winch corpseS are taken to tho grave, and then
taken ont 10 be buried.
There some criminals here whose cnses
would be great novelties in a criminal calendar.
one pointed out to me who conspircd with
priest. She killed man for whom she
hnn,ekeeper; and the priest testified to having
nar"d her to him in private before his death
She hoped to inherit his fortune and share ii with