The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1867-11-08
THE KALEIDOSCOPE (;
NO. xLIV.
A TRIP ON THE PACIFIC.

TRIP ON THE PACIFIC.
THE English Mail Steamer was to
leave Panama at noon of August 18TH,
but as our baggage had not arrived vet
rom Aspinwall, the Captain kindly
detained the vessel until o'clock. a
crowd of dusky natives accompanied us
to he beach, some with baggage, some
on begging intent, and Others from mo-
tives OF curiosity. As the tide was out,
alld the surf heavy, the steamers boats
could not reach the shore, but the diff
| ruity was soon overcome by athletic
! natives taking us one by one to the
! bOats their shoulders, much to the
amuscncnt of the gaping oilers, and
| our Ow disgust
| From the deck of the steamer we had
fine view of Panama with its back
| ground If mountains, and of the Bay,
| studded here and there with evergreen
! Islands, appearing in the bright sun
| iight lii Crnernlds in Il diamond setting.
| The lalg gcSt of these, TObago, il the
Stutcn lSlandor the nnamcse, although
| owned by the British Government, and
dsed by it IT, II naval station. Years ago
| these Islands were the resort and rom
| icAHous of the pirates who chen infested
/ Inc south American seas. As | gaH, 1t
| ipOu IN" beautiful one before me, little
did Imagine that in II few years its
| soil would cover the mortal remains of
| Il beloved brother, whose death WAS the
lcsli. of Il civil war which few then
bell possible.
Another interesting feature was the
Bay itself, Ia whose clear waters shoals
of pOrpui ,co' shai ks, and other fish
could PLAN y be sren. Many of the
former were eight feet long, round
backed, ,sharp-no,e md swarm around
ne vessel or iCapcu .rom the water, us
| though curious TO examine the monster
which 50 boldly sat upon the waters.
The numerous pearl .livcrs in their
canoes also excited much attention.
Form, rly many pearls Ofa fine quality
| were found in the Bay, but of late years
the supply has been limited Besides,
many OF the best divers are deferred
from following their vocation ON ac-
count of the presence of large numbers
Of voracious sharks. These divers are
natives trained To- the business, and
sometimes descend as often Il, fifty times
IA day in watet thirty ana ioriy feet deep,
and can lemain below minute and u
naif, during which time they gather
from the rocks about ole hundred pearl
oysters. Each takes weight to assist
in his descent, and while under, his
companions keep watch to see that no
hungry shark prowlS about to seize
their comradC.
The acco llodationS on the Bogata
we're magnificent. Not only We're the
state rooms and cabins large and com
nodiouS, but the officers were more
sentlemanly, the walters more accOmo-
Iating, the convcnienceS for passengers
,rcaler, and the living more luxurious
,han on the American Steamers. They
:an well afford this, however, for 4 first
class passenger is taxed one hundred
dollars for four days trip, and the
,harges on freight are In proportion.
AS there II no competing line of steam
crs they are enabled TO charge these
unusual sums with impunity. To illus
lrate further: the postage on u letter
rom New York to San FrancscO--a
distance of 5000 miles--is only three
'ents, while the rae from Panama to
iuayaquii--a distance of 1000 mileS-is
ueaty:jOlr cents. Besides this munopO-
y oftrade and travel, large subsidies
Te grated the Company, not only by
he British Government, but by the
tNpubirs on the Western coast of south
America. ia cheaper line were cslab-
i,hcd, connecting directly with the
iOrs not there il no calculating the bcnc-
| It that 'Iouid accrue to the people ot
| luth y, 9Th aud south America, mas.
| ouch n there would u, an immediate
| Nrhans = OF produce, and, what Is bet
| go, of deHS for the people of thOSt
| ,uuntri,S would then be induced t,
| travel al examine for themselves the
| lraCtiCa. wurkIng OF our institutions
ne theory OF which they now sea, cely
| understand, and hence cannot put them
| fully into practice. 1t is matter o.
! surprise to some that England, though
| situated so far of, should mOnOpolizt
| l,usr markets, though we are much
| nearer and are able 10 manufacture
good, ol cheaper and better quaii'y
| hut it should be remembered hat the
| iprmur fosters and protects her trade
| while our government, not only leave
all to private enterprise, but by tariff
! and other restrictions mi ureS our com
mcrcc. Notwithstanding all this,
| American enterprise is beginning to bt
Ielt, and already we are building theil
railroads, vessels, factories, and steam
engiars-minc their gold and silver
aud in shot, are rapidly preparing
chem for their manifest destiny;" anC
il j. II noticeable tact that those Repub
iicsaru most prosperous where American
influences and ideas prevail. ! say
1nlfricuH because that is the term ap
piled the world over 10 citizens of th'
United States. Our nation was the frs
to give them ideas of liberty. The,
modelled their Governments after ours
land class their Bolivar with ou
Washington. our people first explored
their rivers, and aided in bringing evel
the cannibals into contact with ciriiiza
ton, until now you can scarcely enter
town or village from Cape Horn t
Mexico, but some Yankee will be foun
peddling patent rights, or enter II singl
tie3du that does not keep for sal
"Brundreth's Pills" Holloway's Oint
ment, '"S. lsGO-X," orsome othe
! .,oluction of Allerican genius.
On the 18th We crossed the equator
| which event was duly celebrated by
number of the passengers. In forme
| ,,.nr- "a u-os ,t.,tul IN Initiate traveller