Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1885-03-26
Panama Letter.


| frlcnu MenIlcS: - lnOugnJ
would give you few notes Of my
trip and of the country in general
around here.
On Saturday morning, Jan. Sist,
| left New York on board the Str
City of Para of the Pacific Mail
Steamship Line. She is very fine
steamer about four hundred fee,
long very nicely finished outside and
handsomely furnished inside with
all the conveniences desirable and a
very pleasant and accommodating
set Of officers. We had pleasant
weather and calm smooth sea most
of the way. In crossing the Car
ribean sea it was quite rough for
two days, making most of the pass
engers sea sick, myself with the sick
ones. We passed through the west
Indias between Cuba and Haiti gett-
ing a good view of the shores OF
each and arrived at Aspinwall on
Sunday evening. Feb. sth making
The trip in about nine days, no stops
being made between New York and
Aspinwall'
Aspinwall is a small city with n
population of about II, 700, made up
of all nations, French, English,
Spanish, Jamacian's, Chimes and
Americans. 1t is a large Port there
being from thirty to fifty boats in
the harbor all the time. The city is
rapidly improving all the time in the
way Of macademized streets, stone
walks and some very fine buildings.
They do a big business in the city.
The Paaama Railroad is very
nicely constructed road, standard
gauge, best of rolling stock, steel
rails and iron telegraph poles, it runs
across the isthmus from Aspinwall
to Panama forming the connection
of the Pacific mail steamers between
New York and San Francisco. The
length of this road is forty-eight
miles. There are some neat little
towns on the line, twenty-three sta
tions in all.
Panama is a city of about $4,000
population, a much prettier and
cleaner city and more fine stone
buildings than in Aspinwall although
not rs much business is done there
The Panama canal follows the rail
road very close most OF the way
across the isthmus. About 10000
men are at work on the canal and a
great amount of rolling stock, steam
dredges, oxcavators and so on but az
yet they have, it appears, made but
little progress. 1t Will be years be
fore it is completed, if it ever is. a
good many people doubt whether it
will ever be completed or not.
In regard to the climate here it is
not near as bad as it is reported. In
the most of your northern towns it
runs about eighty in the shade but
here it is the same thing the year
round, then we get healthy strong
sea breeze all the time night and
day. A man working inside does
not feel the heat so much. So far
have not felt it as bad here as | did
those hot days you have up there in
your summer seasons. / never en-
joyed better health but take better
care of myself than / did in the
north. There is very little sickness
among the white people who take
care of themselves the sickness is
among the Jamaica negros and the
natives who work out in the hot sun
and take no care of themselves. The
most of them live like so many hogs,
eat nothing but rice, vans, bread
fruit and sugar cane, and hundreds
of them sleep under the houses on
the ground, never remove t1eir boots
or any of their clothing for weeks,
then they get drunk and lay in the
hot sun. Lots of them are dying off
every day but not near as fast as the
northern papers report it. 1t is as
tonishing to a person, after seeing
how they live, that they don't die
off five times as fast. The most of
the reports your northern papers
get are sent up there for purpose,
that is to keep other merchants out
of here. For my part the reports
did not keep, me away and so far !
am far better pleased and find every
thing very much better than i ex-
pected and if keep my health l
shall remain here for some time; but
should my health commence to fail
me l shall certainly leave here; but