New-York tribune., 1872-08-01
THE HLSSLER EXPEDITION

OF THE MISUNDERSTANDING OF THE
CITY-SCIENTIFIC TOPICS.
FROM An OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT OP THB TRIBUNE
u. S. STEAMER HAsSLER, PANAMA ROADS,
July 17.Sydney Smith, remember rightly, furnished
quotation for the first OF this present series OF
letters to TIRE TRIBUNE aud, with the readers perms'
siou, shall call on the same eminent divine for o
description of the climate Of Panama. On somebody
referring the heat of the weather. the witty parson
replied that 1t was hot enough TO make him WISH 10
take of his flesh and sit in his bones. nave
spent about fortnight Of our three weeks
detention here on shore. L heard resident OF the
city speak of one morning extraordinarily cool tho
mercury had fallen about SUNRISE as low as SO Fareh-
heit and am soberly informed that that figure Is con-
sdered low here for any OF tho year or hour OF
the day. Such heat must finally tell Oh the energy OF
Northern flesh and blood. and the foreign residents
here keep up health and spirits only by running al least
once in two years. TO North generally making some
business arrangement by which they may gain pront
Also while gaining strength, flesh, and elasticity
Panama pleased me- at first sight by the neatnesS ana
cleanliness Of the people 1t is the rainy season.
soft water is abundant and the lower classes certainly
look much cleaner in person and in clothing than those
in the rainess wateress seaports OF Chul ana feiu
But in attempting TO estimate slowly soberly and
Justly the appearance and capabilities OF the people,
am greatly perplexod Forgive me for alluding third
time to the witty English reviewer, but 1t will be remem
bered that Sydney Smith said he never read book
before reviewing threading the hook prejudiced
one so much" IL is just in estimating strange
city. Stay there few hours, and you nave very uen
mite impression, and express yourself very clearly
and emphaticaly upon it. But If you stay there few
weeks the recipient of hospitaes, forming acquain-
anccs and getting Inside views, your general i'm
pressIons will be replaced by multitude of definite
Judgments hard TO generalze Behind fair outsdes you
have found sinks of vice. under hOmey exteriors you
have found modest worth and solid attainments You
attempt to make general statement favorable or una-
yorabe and you confused by remembering striking
individual exceptions.
PANAMA AND ITS INHABITANTS.
Panama seems to me TO have less Spanish blood re-
manning it, and less native energy, than the other
cities We have visited The business of the town seems
TO me largely in the hands OF foreigners, or those
OF Northern blood the jews also are honorably
prominent. The negro race more numerous than
Chill and Peru and the Indian features are less con-
spicuous. But the natives pretty thoroughly ANAL
gamated. and frequently find it difficult to say which
Of the three Castlan, African, Indian features show
themselves most decidedly in family individual
The natives do not display much energy the city has
everywhere except where the foreign traders congre
cate-and a new hotel furnishes good accOmmoda-
tiOns-an air Of decadence 1t seems TO have
been running down for indefinite period
ruins, and places half in ruins, seem largely to
outnumber the tenautabe houses. There some II
which a assembly for worship could be gathered.
college building of better architecture than usual s
a complete ruin; half the walls down Even on the
cathedral 'front.' and bushes spring from the null
tudDous cOrnices and tall bush almost completely
hides from view the central niche and esize statue OF
the Savior within it, This statue and those OF the 12
apostles on the same front, am told, Of wood,
carved, and painted white.
The Panama Railroad OF the great triumphs OF
century and is blessing TO the civilized world IL
seems TO he the hands and under the control Of
fellowcitzens Of the United States. The government OF
the road has exceedingly thoughtful and attentive
to Prof Agassiz and his party who have made several
trips 10 Aspnwal and intermediate stations, for the
sake OF making collections in natural history, Both the
plants and the animals of the Isthmus exceedingly
interesting The vegetation is truly tropical and al
though inferior in richness the accounts given Of Mica
ragua on the one side and the Amazon Valley on the
other 1t to finer than that Of Southern Brazil
which / last February. must not, however, forget
that visited Rio at the end of dry Summer, and am
vi sitting Panama in a showery Springtme Hot sun
shine and almost daily thunder showers enough to
make vegetation spring out of a cathedral wall
Fine fruits abound In the market the mango OF the
East Indies the maum6e Of the West Indies the nspero
and the alicado pear, with bananas and pantans are
the best
As for the animals, the geological members OF the party
have made very interesting and valuable collections Of
bats snakes, fishes, lizards frogs, butterflies and
rine things innumerabe. A few days ago found a
gro with small animal that he had just caught upon
tree fell In love at first sight and bought it. 1t
clning opossum fashion, TO branch, by its stout pre-
hensie tall and hard like hinder feet 1t about the
size Of Norway rat Of fine brown color, redder be
meath with black stripe down its back and down its
belly. AS / carried it 10 my room various persons
spoke TO Inc, one volunteering the information
that it cried al, al, in low, drawing tones
all night; but most Of them assuring me
that IL was very young soth young to feed Baum
eras the artist. who is here making some beautiful
studies of the old ruins and the tropical scenery of this
neghborhood, was also so much pleased with my pei
that he took his portrait in oilcoOrs While watching
the animal in the evening" when 1t was very active
saw that II could not be soth its Jaws were too weal
for chewing vegetable fiber and its long, slender tongue
assured US that anteater and so 1t proved 70
be- the little anteater of the textbooks. But for the
impossbity Of feeding it, should want to keep 1t as
pet it seemed to grow tame very rapdly 1t is very
beautiful In its limbs, and adaptation TO It's
life graceful its motions and interesting in It's habits
II allowed itself TO be gently caresed whether ASLEEP
fore feet over its eyes and then by vigorous move
ment Of the lOns jerked its head about, very mgcn IN
The manner Of sphinx caterpillar. Sleeping all day
II Is agile by night, climbing trees as eAperty as
monkey seeking the nests and trails OF the terneS ana
ants, which are also nocturnal animals
PREPARATIoNs FOR SURVEYING The PACIFIC COAST.
Our repairs having at length been accomplished in tine
machine shops Of Panama and Aspnwab, the Hasser
NOW begins the work which she constructed the
survey of route from Panama to San Francisco and
the survey OF Pacific Coast Her scientific guests are
allowed 10 accompany her still further and hope to have
some opportunities of scientific work the way to San
Francisco They have lost, however the company OF
Count Pourtaes one OF the pioneers Of deep dredg
ing who returned 20 NewYork by the last steamer we
yesterday tested the newly repaired engines by running
down to Chame Bay and after doing tto hshing and
cunning there last evening and THIS morning returned
svith some Interesting and rare skates and fishes.
ufu I9-It has been decided 10 put tine hasser upon
fine quasi dry dock here and remove the Sarnaces rom
~ hofnn IL Is supposed that the operation viii be
finished by Tuesday next, so that we may eaVe on tle
9Ith for Acapulco and San Francisco ana II Is hOped
bat the increase speed and satisfaction IN motion VIII