Evening star., 1898-03-12

regulations Of war. We saw no sign of
fortifcations or fighting. Our next land
was on the east of US. 1t was the noun
tains of Hayti, which we kept in sight for
hours. and then lost them to zee Gothirg
but the blue waters of Che Caribbean until
at pm, seven days out from New York,
we got our first glimpse of the Isthmus Of
Panama, that wonderful little strip of earth
and rocks which ties together the two
great continents of North and South Amer
lea. At first it was only a thin, hazy line
of blue in the western horizon. Then the
blue deepened. We saw low hills rising one
above another, and little islands coming
up out of the water along the shore. A
little later we were in sight Of the low
houses and the great wbarves cf Colon,
with great palm trees which line the leach
at the right shaking their giant fan-like
leaves and apparently waving welcome
to us as we came to anchor
Colon and the Canal.
Colon is intend I'd to be the eastern end of
the Panama canal. 1 will treat fully of
this work in another letter after I have
gone over the route and have seen the
work which is now being done on the CEN
trail and Western end of the isthmus Here
a. Colon You see only the extravaganza
of the first board of engineers who almost
ft1ned large part Of the peasantry of
France. The town of Colon, which now
by the French. and its beautiful cottages
are now weatherbeaten, rusty and rotten.
Archttecturally speaking. this is as ragged
a place as you can find on this hemisphere.
Everything is going to seed There is a
market house mere made of iron which
would be large enough for Washington
city. but there we're not more than fifty
people in 1T when I visited it the middle OF
tfis morning, and the rain came down in
streams from the holes in it's roof of cor
rUgated iron. The Panama railroad seems
t. own the town. Its tracks run through
the main street, and outside of them at the
east of the city it is almost impossible to
go to any place without travelling over the
rusting and rottirg debris of cars dredges
ana other machines which were brought
here at cost of millions and found to be
worthless. or were soon allowed to become
so. There is part of the town known as
the French Quarter. This is on a neck of
land which was built out to form break
water at the eastern mouth of the canal
ne most expensive houses were erected
mere, the wood being brought from the
Chited States. Ferdinand de Lesseps had
oto one OF s1 the no houses, which cost, it IS said
about 100000. and his son another almost
equally expensive. Soon after 1 landed I
hlred a carriage of highway robber in
lhe shape of a Jamaica coachman and
uroVe out to see these houses They have
never been occupied but for very shor.
periods and they are now dilapidated. The
road to them is through beautiful grove
vi PAINS ana the settlement itself is about
as near paradise in it's beautiful green as
any place upon this earth The sea washes
II on either side and cool breeze almost
always blows.
The People.
The people here are one of the queer
mixtures that you sometimes find on the
outposts of civilization, where for some
reason or other money is to be made. The
wharf at which we landed made me think
OF the docks of New Orleans. Nine-tenths
OF the people on it wera mulattoes or ne
sroes and most of them spoke English
with a cockney accent. The other tenth
We're Spanards, who looked like CreoIes
Inc negroes were from the English Island
of Jamaica They have come here to work
on the canal. and seem to be about the
only people who can stand the miasmatic
climate. l found a lot of such people at a
market stand on the beach and photo
graphed one of them as she was coming to-
ward me with bunch of bananas on her
mead. Then there are a lot of Chinese here
Ihey run all sorts of stores act as money
cnahsers ana DO, l am told the largest
Part OF the mercantile business of the 18TH
mus.
Among the chief businesses of the 18TH
mus are these which have to do with the
cemeteries and hospitals. / have been told
here again and again that ought to visit
the hospitals and the great cemetery on
Monkey Hill. Panama has fine hospitals
ana cemeteries, and all along the line of
the railroad you will find, / am told popu-
lous SraVeyards. l have never seen Chi
nese cemetery before outside of China, but
the lSthmus has them and the graves are
many. Ihere have b.en too many Chinese
ceaths In fact to allow the bones being
carried back to China. Many of the Amer
leans who are now employed on the rail-
1Cad nave been here for years, and some
Of them say the climate agrees with them
Nearly every one 1 have so far met how
ever tails me he has had siege of yellow
lever ana there Is little doubt but that the
isthmus has a score of Americans under
ground to every one who is now living
upon it. FRANK G. CARPENTER