The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1883-08-25
For the Democratic Advocate.
NOTES OF TRAVEL.


two Years ago over much of the same
route Our voyage commencing at San Fran
CISCO the eXtCntiOn of previous one, terml-
mated at New Orleans.
The Frisco of that day q have not been
there since) must have been very unlike the
San Francisco of the present. 1t was dreary
looking place then, backed by red and seem
ingly barren hills That was just after "the
fire My recollection Of it is: u street or
two of pretty fair buildings, number OF
wharfs or piers, or their remains, jutting far
out into the bay, some of them enclosing
abandoned ships; every foot of ground or
rather planking taken up by groggeeries and
gambling places, some Of them OF the mean
est structure and of very contracted limits.
Leaving the Golden Gate the latter part of
June we headed down the cost under steam
and sail. The weather was hot enough to
desire to sleep in the open air at night. Here
| learned for the first time, from an old sailor,
that sleeping in the moonlight on that coast
was sure to result in fever. How true this
NAV be | do not know, as | did not try it my
self and never had it verified by any one who
did. We touched at Acapulco, | think for
water 1t seems to me that Frisco was not
esteemed by ship masters as watering place
at that time. We lay at Acapulco about six
teen or twenty hours, in what L considered a
very snug harbor, surrounded on nearly all
sides by high hills. We had scarcely cast an
Choir when we were surrounded by native
boats loaded with fruit. On the 26th OF June.
towards midnight, we entered Panama bay,
having run down in about five days. AL
though anchored in an open roadstead, mile
or two from shore, the universal yankee
was on hand with sufficient boats and barges
to help us disembark at once.
In the course of a rather checkered exist
ence | have been in many places and have
seen many things. In the words of the song
~ have journeyed o er mountains and crossed
the wide plain; have been upon wave-rolling
sand, &C. and it is but natural to suppose
that some portions ofthe wilds of Nature and
of the works of man have left more lasting
impressions upon my mind than others; so
nothing in all my joumeyngs by land or sea
has left such an indelible impression as the
last hour | spent upon the waters of Panama
Bay. 1t was about the time of midnight; the
spirits of the air slumbering in perpect rest;
the huge Pacific rolling in in long grand swells
against its eastern shore without ripple upon
its surface; the muffled sound Of the distant
surge upon the coast the barge, propelled in
silence by its native rowers, rising and falling
with each graceful unduation of the sea, lull-
ing the soul into the most exquisite repose,
and high above all the moon, round as my
shield white, clear, sedate, the bay, retul
gent with its light, rejecting it back again to
heaven. know | am not nor ever was poet
zeal, | have eaten too much salt pork and
mouldy bread, and have felt too many pegs
in my shoes to be affected in that way; be-
sides, the ordained duties and labOrs of
life lrW keep the nose to the ground however
much the desire Of the fancy to soar; but as
lawn that boat that night saw the very Genius
4 -, il-n f,pT
and felt how blissful it would be then and
there to die, to shake off this material body,
to feel ones self gradually dissolve in the
boundless mOonlit ether, gradually to expand
into a limitless, everlasting harmony of sea
and sound and light and peace God bless
us What passing things i'll our wandering3
connect us with higher condition of being!
And how we'll it is for us that it is so, that we
in our maturer years may look back with eyes
that see upon those little GASES in our lives
reminding us less of earth than Heaven. But
we must get across the lsthmus.
At early morning, after Il tolerable break
fast, we mustered upon the Plaza, opposite
the cathedral, where was lot OF mules IN
SNOWY trappings for our accommodations
say accommodation advisGdly, for they proved
to be the most good natured lot Otmules ever
had any companionship with. The one |
Al
friendly eye nearly covered with a magnifi-
Gent saddle cloth of green wooden stuff bord.
cred with yellow; the saddle high in peak and
cantle, would have charmed a knight of the
olden time for the security Of the seat. Armed
with pair of good spurs each we set out
And here | had one of the many astonish-
ments | endeavored to get accustomed to in
my early and unsophisticated career. Onthe
road, outside the city, the native women mot
yankees) had tables set out by the roadside,
bearing fruit and water-the water selling at
twelve and a half cents q glass. From this
Judge that fresh water was scrace in Panama
and its environs. How it is supplied nOw, by
the glass or by the pipe, indeed don't know.
A mule ride lin a high saddle of about thirty
miles lit may be much less) from Panama to
Cruces was some pumpkins. 1t was both pleas
ing and arduous. The dust was considerable,
the heat was considerable, and, as we had
good reason to know, the rain was sometimes
considerable if not more, The agreeable
features of the occasion were the tropical
scenery, the perfume of the lines growing
wild by the roadside, and the docility and
patience of the mules
| never saw Tor felt such rain before or
since, and yet it can come down pretty freely
in some parts of the United States. Talk of
rain drops! Those were not drops, but long,
cylindrical rods of water, an inch in diameter,
reaching from the cloud to the poor animated
nature so unfortunate as to be caught underit.
The first part of the road was wide and
good, but as it crossed the water shed it re-
duced itself to mere narrow gullies, sometimes
from twenty to thirty feet deep, and barely
wide enough for pack mule to pass through
without touching either side. Should pack
animal make a misstep and fall, thing, |
hot bonnanoH ba
ton, think it would have to remain until
the vultures lifted it up. AS those gullies
were of considerable length and the travel
was continuous both ways, the guide always
preceded the party, and with a prolonged
shout warned others of our proximity, lest
they NAV enter at the same time at the other
end.
What struck me as singular while descend
ing the northern declivity were the deep holes
worn in the rocky bed of the gullies by, as
supposed, the constant travel of the mules
and the washing of the torrents of water dur
ing or after rainfall which passed through
them. My mule stepped into those holes with
perfect regularity, and | observed the one
going before doing likewise.
There were two modes of transportation on
this part of the route-one, as in our case, by
mule back, the other, not so much adopted
land here again ! was astonished), by man
back. To see for the first time dignifed
American gentleman with glasses on his nose,
book in hands and pants tucked in his boots,
in semi-reclining position to an
exceedingly high backed chair with as eX
ceedingly long hind legs, elevated five or six
feet above the normal level on the back of
stalwart native, is a sight, venture to say, at
once both astonishing and demoralizing
Figure to ourselves a couple of our local
worthy citizens playing the part of an Indian
baby on the back of its s.warthy parent, and
we have somewhat Of an idea of what aston
ished me. OF the effect of this manner of
travelling upon the matured human body and
and temper-I am sorry to |
say remain in discreditable ignoraoe. We |
met several white women accompanied by |
men, bound for California, riding cross back |
on mules, looking smiling, amiable and happy.
In what condition in life they were it was,
underline circumstances impossible to surmise.
Cruces was an imnortant little VILLAGE on |