The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1903-03-05
I0I0N, OR ASPINWALL.
cpFAr FRENCH DITCH AS 1T
I'D looks TO-DAY.


a,-cd town is one of the many to
I.' fractions distance lends en-
G''' and the greater the dis
'.'+ -.,. better your opinion will re-
'D,' Viewed from the harbor, as
S'41 ,a.itors approach it, you see little
H' foreground of immense, ugly
1 wood and corrugated iron, be-
S' to the lsthmian Railway Com
P lacked by ragged looking cocoa
a@ j few towering royal palms,
'''- .,s,tiye ending in dim wilder
~ tropical verdure. This is the
'''- +.5 harbor which Columbus dis
f' i.rHis third voyage, and hence
,4,. name Of its port, Cristoval
4,ugdlng to the Spanish render
...,ay word, 1t was not much of a
e fter all, so far as valuable
a ,. ,guccrned, being exposed to
" ,nl that blows, and its danger
" s..a,s water barely covering the
..-a sua reefs.
w. .a, "a vessel up to the dock at
.......4 slow and serious matter, &C
....,I b, a gang of negroes, run
w." ,... and around big wooden
- whose 1eyolutions shorten the
..;..r itg inch. The wharf is more
.....1suid feet long, resting upon
tuudatiou of coral reef. All
......... .I..t touch the water are cover
...... ..pner 10 resist the ravages of
IN. distinctive little creature, the
..o,..m through whose insidious
-, su-4udS of human lives and
.......- collars have been lost.
n,. 4t the so-called harbors of
... .rl south America steamers
...no, ti to anchor mile or two
-r r0a md send passengers and
,,,o i,nac IN row boats and lighters;
.... .0.oa. after carefully feeling
..--4at smnng the reefs, they come
.ma.pg sa against the dock and you
es Ashore over rang plank, Passing
,s--- long. covered wharf, with its
,,..- Y...eS and boxes and its wide
sr., iii t.e floor, through which you
a.. .nu-es Of coral snags below,
.md4. ug surf and encrusted with
..ns. forms OF marine life, animal
a -,.,sbje. you emerge into the
-r s-9-, If tile town. The first step
af.f.- vetShoe in the mud, if after
.e@. -alson, or ankle deep in sand
-e ues Of the year. In either
a e4 are instantly besieged by
.. IF ses. with rickety carriages
H various stages of decrepl-
r.. .... mug to show you roun'."
f.---...-.d the vehicle that looks
u hold together another
Nu by the horse or mule
-1oUr feelings least by dis
.--. .rwest fostering sores, you
aa... a-4e with its driver. At
ms -mand not less than five
I'D. uUr, maybe more, if you
l...U4y tmsophisticated: but
s. -.vprs that you are not so
0 ypearances may indicate,
be e... wyA with celebrity to one
... The recognized tariff.
BE- world is aware Colon occu-
ual island of Manzanillo,
..e 0..es long by a mile wide,
.g' eastern side washed by Navy
-, about midway between
a- tld Chagres-the former
7 rl IN the days of the bucca-
Zee rand emporium of Amerl-
J the latter, at the mouth
Nj the same name, as the
h0u Garkation before the rise
'H. BOth are now almost de-
@'r' H-Iled beyond description.
Lac rprosy and fevers. Until
s"a0 '.1 50mbian government to
Ie'a4a Hallway Company in 1854
| 44@.H sand was nothing but a
".f- AJd tlats and salt marshes.
D." gm managers forthwith hitch
" i.- man land of the Isthmus
'a iUS '5rr tilled up considerable
@-N' mt RI" mud flats and established
htaH. Hirters at either end. They
"'raSsl jur vest of the island to CAPT
'"'I". alidng purposes and mush-
0" ."a ar once sprung up. Being
otiei saith total disregard for all
@1-o-t 'rga.atlous malignant diseases
most anenviable but de-
-''s s't-iuu. Commerce flourish
'' "0"i.lSlanding deaths hafveSts,
WY '''t 9'1dnle popular resort for
'''il' seekers. especially when the
.'.'l= 'i t.r canal work put millions
9''"is alto circulation and gave a
,'s".. ]letps to Isthmian trade. The
Ao"u evolution of 1885 was a
''''4 oout IN the history Of the
VIII l4 March of that year it was
''''V1 by Gen. Prestan, and was fin
4s,.''y+t by fire. No sooner was
'.' restored Prestan being executed
'SVSt IT the same year., than the
''''''s ot Colon began. The loca-
"9 .e same but an immense i'm
''5. was made over the old
,, s'ae OF the streets being ma
''.''T aud payements of plank and
om s 'enpying the swampy high