, 1870-07-02

tonse vae built u the base ~ . pxutsutipR
from the Indians, from whom taid Was It
that tiue 1pprehsnded OF the vegetable
productions Of the region, xose*ood, nahog~
Lieutenant Hubbard and men also returned
without finding any route they could recon-
mend The ablps then left, and went along
the coast for about eighty miles, TO San Bias
Fay. \ fifth exploring party started up the
Mandiugo River on Apd1 2. It consisted Of
Lieutenant Hubbard and thirty-two men OF
the Nlpsie- Ther ascenled th8 Aan1ingo for
about eighteen miles, then took branch, and
pa rsued II to its sourro in the MountAns
They crossed Oh the dividing ridge, and struck
hranch of the San jose River, on the Paciro
slope.. They returned without finding the OBJ
ject OF ther seaErh-a good, or oven tolera-
Bile. canal r5ute.
The rs1th aud last ATTEMPT was made By En-
sign Jasper aud about fifteen men Of the Nip
sic. They went up the kartis Eiver. from San
Elas Bay to the mountains, lat their proyis-
ions gave out, and the levsls uere 80 high
there WAS no encouragement to wait for sup
plies or prosecute the journey any further
Thus six attempts to ind tolerab1e canal
opinion Of the explorers that il q canal must
be made, trnnelling will be the most sdviss-
bic plan, and downright cutting across SO high
and broad a ridge, apparently without any
passes, seems al bat tmpract1cable. The geo
logical character in some places ia favorable
to tQUQEluuH. tA4uAtS tAc Atus95 ANA
instance, tls formation consists Of decon-
posed syenite and trap. The expedition Was
accompanied By suitable fo1co Of scientific
men, including geo1ogists and an astronomer
with proper appliances
Two routes yet remain une1plored. The one
ia The Correto route, about Is miles south Of
Caledonia Bay; but there Is this objection to
sfart with. that there is no harbor there The
placa is only diatm guished by being the loca-
lion Of an Indian village o,..
The other unexp1nred route u the OtSsto
-uute, about 10 miles south OF Caledonla ray
On June II all the explorers had returned
and On the evening Of the 11th the Nipsic and
Guard left San Bliss Bay, the Guard for Car
thagena, with the donkeys and macheteEoay
and tbs Sipsic for AspinwaH
On each excursion, whenever man eot Ack
he vas Immediately relieved and sent to tho
ships, where he invariably recovered in =
very short time. During the whole time the
e1pethtlon was out there waa only one DEATH
that Of Mathew Davis, seaman on board the
Nipsie- He vas drowned at csletlonis
The route by Aspmwa11, it IS said, would be
at least az eligible AZ any other {she elevation
across from that point mover exceeding 800
feet) but for the fact that there arc no natural
harburr. The building OF harbozs, it is statesl>
would cost as much II tho construction OF tho
canal.
The explorers found no traces Of previous
explorations. Doctor Cullen, former ex-
plorer, speaks Of having notcned the trees
from ocean to ocean, from Calsdonia Ray, but
no notches were observable
The appearance aud customs OF ths Indians
Of the Ethmus are ain:ular- They keep their
women as much as possible secluded from the
view Of the whites. Tho natives are copper
coloted, short in statu1e, With deep ehests,
straight black hair. black eyes. and high
cheek tOneB The masculine custom is thin
calico p7ntaloous and shirts. The feminine
infants, have band tied ruund the ankle
and another just be1nw this knee. also
bands on the wrist., and these are not taken
o1 until the person is lnliy grown, 10 that the
ankles, wrists, &C., may ~ as small as posai-
lie. The upper part OF the garb OF = woman
I is 4 loose ehirt; the lower . gaudy colored
gown a curious circumstance Is that women,
and women only, wear large gold ring IL the
nose. The language Of these people Ia very
limited. surpassed to contain not much more
than 500 words. They choose the Oldest man
among them a. Governor. They alsn hare =
king, Who ia supreme The number Of able
bodied Indians on the fsthmus IS estimated at
shout II, ,oG0, md the total Indian population
from IL, COO to 60, ,000- They are e1sraorii-
nary walkers. Their principal villages are
Sasnrtlie and kartie, Which have population
OF from 800 to 100 each. The expedition will,
it is thought, resume operations in January
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