Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1867-06-26
letter from Central Africa.

The nited States Of Columbia for
merly called New Granada, extends from
Costa Rica To Ecuador. ana from Neuezu-
ella to the Pacific Ocean The govern
ment l. republicans ami the union II COM
posed of seven ~tate-. 1t Is not in alliance
with any of the South American states
though il Is supposed that General Mos
guerra. the President. i.3vors an alliance
with Chill ia Her quarrel with Spain, and
l. ouiy restrained from carving out his
warllke NIc~~ by The oppOsIuon Of the
Congress now In session at Bogota. nike
our peaeeable and law-abidjng President,
Andrew johnson. No~4uera j. disposed 10
Ice revolutionary when baked by con-'itu
tioual authority and al one time he ac-
tually imprisoned the members of the
national Legislature, by the aid o! the ma
tional troops, for daring to oppose his pol
icy The latest report from Boeota l.
that Congrcs~. over the veto of McSquera,
has decrcel 10 sell the navy in order to
defeat any warlike demonstration Of Mos
guerra III aid OF Chilli. NJ Ma9laiena
there are indications of open warfare be-
tween level de Golu. IN command Of the
national troops and President Ahello. Al
together Columbia does not ~ present APP
pear TO H. happy or peaceful land The
members Of Congress are trembling III their
boots and anxious to close the session and
ret away from Bogota before No>quera
again makes prisoners of them. No steps
appear to have been taken by Chill, "a
vet. toward the settlement of the Spanish
difficulty, and the entire South American
country seems to he in restless and fever
ISL paroNysm Of r,> olution and war.
Panama, from it, being the nearest
point Of approach between the Atlantic
and Pacific, has long been familiar to the
world. and since the great accession to the
United States Of the golden land of Cali
fornja has very much increased in impor-
tance nder Spanish dominion il was Il
place of great commerce and strength.
This arose from the policy pursued by that
government in restricting the transit OF
merchandise from and to Mexico, Peru,
and Europe to this port, and down to the
year 1894 Panama was the highway be-
tween Spain and her colonies III the Pa
citic But the downfall Of Spain, together
with the opening of the route around Cape
Horn, DESTROYED the prospect of Panama.
Ut Sltt Ol iii'ilid HdS Hcth 'i'N =
changed. The old original city was To-
Gated three miles east of It's present situa-
ton and the ruins are still remaining. 1t
was built by the native Indians, who were
attracted thither by the abundance of fish
on the coast. and who, on this account. are
said to have named it Panama. the word
signifving much fish. The Indians were
driven out by the Spaniards in the year
15l1, who occupied it until the year 1870
when il was sacked and burned by the
pirate Morgan After this it was built
where it now stands 1t is situated on 8
tongue Of land shaped nearly like a spean
head. extending a considerable distance ou
to sea. and gradually swelling toward the
middle IT. harhor Is but an open road
stead and at low water it is even Difficult
for small boat TO make its way TO shore
over the surfy reefs. \ little way from
the main land. however, there is a numbe
of small islands, under whose lee there i
good anchorage The Pacific steamers, ii
waiting for passengers from the east, lie un
der these islands, and the passengers ar
transported from the shore to the ship a
high tide in small steamboats,. The prln
cipal streets which are exceedingly narrow
extend across the peninsula from sea {
sea The Notifications, and the wall sur
rounding the city. which must have COS
| vast labor and muck gold, are fast crumh
ling to ruins The old buildings are c
r stone, more substantial than any [ hav
e seen elsewhere on the coast, erected in oil
Spanish style. The cathedral on the plaza
the four converts, now deserted and
] ruins, belonging formerly to the Domin
can, Augustlnian,, franciscan, and Mercs
n narios monks, a nunnery, and the remain
, of Jesuit College, begun on magnificeF
n scale but never finished, and now mas
e of ruins, all impress the mind of a though
full beholder. and chasten the spirit wit