The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-10-11
IN PANAMA.
LIFE ON THE ISTHMUS HAS
 MANY DRAWBACKS

And Some Dangers But It Fas-
 cInates-ToId By One Who Lived
 There.
 Life in Panama has its disadvant- ages, said mining man from the Darien district The Iuxuriant vege- tation, .gaiy plunged birds and the happy, care-free atmosphere of the tropics may appeal to people of artistic temperament, but the practical man is too conscious of the many physical discomforts that he meets. I can tell you that it is no fun to ride mule that has to wade through mud four feet deep, to be poisoned by the venomous insects that infest those regions or to put up with the lazy, unpfincipied habits of the degraded natives.
 To begin with, the number of in- sects that have a fondness for the hu- man body is legion. We think the fieas of California area dreadful pest. but we do not appreciate the fact that it is possible to catch them Cf one have sufficient agility. Now, the Panama flea is tiny creature. bright red in color, and it is almost impossible to see him. When you are aware of his presence (and he is very forcible in making himself known), the only means of relief is to bathe in alcohol. And since he is an omnipresent crea- ture that means an alcohol bath every night before retiring. If you omit this operation you are assured of wakeful night
 Still worse than the little red flea and far more deadly in it's effect is small insect that gets into the flesh or the feet, usually about the nail This insect itself is microscopic, and it burrows into the flesh, laying an egg that soon matches and causes most disagreeable itching, with final swell ing. The little sac in which the egg is laid swelIs to the size of an ordinary pea and causes so much soreness and pain that 1t has to be removed as soon as possible ill order to prevent blood poisoning Many people have had to have a toe amputated on account of the infection of this little insect.
 The novice in the operation of remov- ing the insect from his foot experiences much discomfort, for. as in everything else, ther is the proper way to do 1t and the foreigner that is shrewd will take his cue from the natives, who eyirlce much skill in this little surgi- cal operation. When the itching is first felt the sac may be esily re- moved without drawing the blood, but if allowed to remain. the soreness and swelling make the operation a painful one, Many Americans have been laid LID for months on account of these in sects, and there are cases in which foot has been amputated to save life.
 To be free from the torments of these creatures seems an utter impossibility, since they and the red fieas will find their way under heavy buckskin leg gins and stiff walking boots. The only solution of the problem is to learn from the natives the trick of removing them. When out upon expeditions 1t is not uncommon to see the natives sit suddenly upon the ground and begin to operate upon their toes. There Is another creature, boring worm, that sometimes gets below the skin. It is similar in effect to the one I have just < described, and may be cut out in the same manner
 Snakes of all descriptions, from the boa constructor to the common harm less snake of smallest dimensions, also thrive in the region of Panama. One of the most deadly of these reptiles in- fests the trees that overhang the 1nn the natives are constantly on the alert for them. The white man who wishes to sail on the streams sits in the mid- de of thee -'pirogue"-with his gun across his knees and shoots as the natives point out the snakes in the spreading branches As many as twenty of these large, poisonous snakes have been shot in distance of two or three miles up the river There seems < to be no creature of which the blacks have more fear than they have of these yenornous makes, and they will pole away out into the current rather than 20 beneath the thick Bark trees where thes enemies to human life may turk.
 Some of thes makes make Q sound like the cluck of hen. One night the mining man related, after he had put out the light, he heard this pecul- far noise, which sounded loud enough to be in his room. He dared not step on the floor. but reaching for lantern struck light and cautiously made { his way about the room. Finding nothing, he went outside, gun in hand. The houses are set four feet from the ground to permit of a free circulation of air and thus prevent fever and when he stopped and cast the light of the lantern under the house there was a. coiled snake larger around than a ; mans arm and fully ten feet long. He shot the snake and found easy epla- nation for the nearness of the sound since the mahogany floors (mahogany < Is just as common in Panama as red~ wod is in California; are made with wide cracks. And the snakes6in, which measured fourteen inches in width, now decorates a wall in 8 home ''way down east"
 But insects and snakes are not the only trials of Panama life. Where it rains ten months in the year the mud naturally causes some inconvenience. The mud on the roads averages four fet in depth. and you must not be surprised when the poor mule you are < riding rolls over into this sticky E t.3 35.mF