New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-05-08

Chagres fever among the troops In this country
life and death tread close on each others heels.
Everywhere are tho rank tropical vegetation and
the swanniDg animal life :. everywhere are the
evidences Of death and decay. The foreign real
dents here make their homes as luxurious and
healthy they can, but all their conversation has
in it something of the spirit which animated the
English soldiers when, amid the plague in India,
they sang
zone cup TO the dead already,
And hnrrahl for the next that dies!"
Monkey Hill. some three miles from Colon, is the
burial place for that city, and thither every night
a train carries the bodies of those who have died
in the course of tho day. So familiar the people
with death that even this train is made the subject
of CHASTITY joke, and from the fact that the
negroes are most numerous among the dead as they
are among the living here, 1t is called the Black
bury train" Only the wealthy dead can have
cons OF their own the POOR are taken to the grave
IN cofhns hired for tho purpose. The bodies are
thrown into shallow ditches few shovelfuls OF
earth thrown over them, and the collins returned
to the undertaken. When Prestan's followers were
committing their atrocities AT Colin 1T was the
custom OF the insurgents to take their prisoners out
to Monkey Hill and make them dig their own
graves. after which they We're promptly shot One
day they took an Englishman out and requested
him politely to dig. The Englishman was very
particular about his grave and he dug it long and
deep. The gentemany cutthroats who had come
along as executioners did not like to hurry the man,
80 they disposed themselves in the shade of the
palm trees to await his pleasure. When half of
them had dropped into a pleasant doze and the rest
were on the border land the Englshman, not to be
outdone in politehess. forebore to disturb their
slesta and went of into the woods believe he did
not like the location of his grave. At any rate. he
never returned TO complete it.
SOCIAL STATE OF THE IsTHMUs.
The inhabitants of the Isthmus are mostly
negroes and Indians The people of purely Spanish
descent are few and far between. The true
LsthmiaaOs are Indians small of stature but of the
most reckless personal bravery. Il is of them that
the armies of the revoutionists and Of the Govern
ment are composed. They are expert in a kind of
savage warfare and always aided by mob Of
negroes. The Isthmians are to all intents and
purposes savages. They live in villages which are
only collections Of huts. all over the Isthmus.
These huts are composed of wattles and matched
with banana leaves.
This Isthmus, which must of necessity always
remain great highway Of travel. is at the mercy
of these people and of the dregs of the population of
the cities Of Colon and Panama Revolution and
poverty seem to be the normal condition of the
country The State of Panama, which embraces
the whole Isthmus. is hopelessly bankrupt. and
after the present trouble over it is difficult to
how the Government is to DO carried on. Every
possible tax has been levied and every piece of
Government property mortgaged. Even the
revenues for many years to come have been dis
counted. Their coins light weight and the issue
Of paper money NTH such unstable Government
is impossible. IL is a striking commentary on the
relative stability Of the Government Of the United
States of America and the United States of Colon
bia, that greenbacks bring 80 per cent premium in
Colombian silver. But almost everyone demands
payment in American money, and everybody
charges war prices Washing for instance, Is
- 80 dozen in Colon and SO 80 dozen in
Panama. Life is the cheapest thing on the Isthmus
The penalty for killing a negro is two weeks
imDrisOnment and for killing white man three
months. For political offences, however. the
penalty is death Bnshwhacking" is now in
dulged i'm by the natives all over the lsthmus.
Almost every night the American pickets shoot a
few of the outlaWs