The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1888-12-16

DECEMBER Is. 1873 g.
village, and has mongrel population
OF Mexicans. Indians. negroes. creOles
carIbs, Spaniards and Engl1shmen. Boil
towns are little better than collection!
OF rude huts; miserable, poor, dirty
and unhealthy-their only Importance
being as a mail station between Great
Britain and the western coast of the TWO
Americas.
Chagres harbor VIII accommodate
only vessels drawing not more than ten
or twelve feet of water, and at all times
, is extremely difficult of entrance, re
curing fair wind. When once in
side, however.
SHIPS ARE PERFECTLY SECURE
as far as the elements are concerned
no matter what storms may rage upon
the Iron Gulf; and for that reason it is
much sought during the season of
northers.
The great river upon which the twin
towns lie rises some thirty miles north
of Panama City, and traverses fertile
country. But though from twenty to
fifty feet deep, it is not navigable b, =
cause broken by numerous cascades
and owing to the rapidity of its cur
rent. Its sff1uents-the rivers Pequeni,
Gatun and La TIinidad-are all con-
siderable streams, and upon its banks,
farther in the interior, are several
towns, each infinitely better than
Cbagres.
On this coast are also found many
of those places whose names are ia
miliar in our schOol-days and map
drawing experiences-the Gulf of
Darien, (near its eastern extremity,
Port Escosesa, the harbor of San Bias,
Caledonia Bay and the Chlriqui La
COON. The last-named (pronounced
Cheree kee) includes the river, lagoon
and archipelago, and belongs mostly 10
TIE adjoining state of Costa RIGA de-
parlment of Verague.
THE cH1RIQUI RIVER
after taking a northWard course, enters
the lagoon of the same name, which is
separated from the Carbide IN sea by
the Chiriqui archipelago. The lagoon"
is a magnificent bay, with three en-
frances, capable of anohoring vessels of
largest size. 1t extends along IL coast
for ninety miles, and inland from forty
to fifty miles.
Except few scattered Carib huts its
numerous lovely isl4nds are IN
inhabited, if not wholly unexplored
Some of them are b a1tifully wooded
with poisoning vinss sWaying from
the tree tops, and strange, sweet odors
waited upon every passing breeze.
What secrets their foHery success con-
tains what treasures for the scientist,
the naturalist, the archacologist, no
man can tell But certain it is that
the crocodiles, basking alcng the sunny
shores, the serpents that hiss and
writhe in the fragrant coverts, the
ravinous sharks, and the terrible man
eaters" that occasionally shuw their
ugly heads in the vicinity, serve to
guard them as effeetually from human
intrusion as are guarded the golden
apples of the Hesperides.
1t is assert d by those who reside here
thai never within The memory of man
has money been SO scarce as now at
Colon" as the town is
more commonly called. Never was
local business so dull, even in the
DARKEST DAYS OF REVOLUTION,
nor the people so utterly depressed.
Dire forebodlngs of further fl lei |
disasters seem to have settled down
upon the place like a pall-"deeply,
darkly, desperately blue. :" Men 60
about the streets with hands in their
pockets and gloom upon their faces,
and refuse to commit themselves to the