The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1903-03-05


Buffalo, N Y.
are all of wood and mostly painted
brown, the two largest and handsomest
are those that were erected for NJ. de-
Lesseps and his son. 1t is said that a
bill for eighty thousand dollars apiece
was rendered and paid for these houses
though ten thousand dollars each
probably exceeded their actual cost.
But in those flush days of the beginning
of the French canal, money-other peo-
pies money-was literally mo object"
| to anybody but the few wise ones who
lined their pockets. The deLesseps
houses were occupied only for short
time; then for years they remained
empty, and long ago passed into other
hands. Near them stands the colossal
bronze statue of Columbus, whom the
French call Christophe Colombo, with
the figure of beautiful Indian girl
crouching beside him-a gift to the
/ town from Empress Eugene. There is
very large and well appointed hospital
here, and also another in the American
quarter. The latter has also its bronze
| statue, representing Mr. Aspinwall, the
| New Yorker The portion known as
| the native quarter is most interest
| Samuel Such Heterogeneous collec-
ton of nationaities as swarm here
would be hard to duplicate specially
since the high tide of prosperity has
ebbed, leaving behind a driftWood OF
human depreciation. 1t is estimated
| that fully fifty thousand people remain
on the tiny island, and large portion
of them are blacks, from Jamaica and
Santo Domingo, tall, powerfully built
! men and women, with the --LATEST noses,
| thickest lips and Wooliest wool that
ever grew on human craniums. The
circumscribed space wherein they
swarm and breed like flies bears no
comparison, | hope, to any other OF
| like dimensions under the sun. The one
street and the several narrow alleys
that intersect it are at all times crowd
| ed with negresseS-bOld, Haunting
creatures, many of them in bedraggled
! dresses of white lace or embroidery,
with beautiful white silk shawls, bare
! feet thrust into high-heeled French
slippers and kinky hair half covered
x,,;+l, br;rb+ n q nd l. orch iafc pOuuett iSh1v
knotted into doublebow sort of turbans,
set far back on the head so as not to
| interfere with the exaggerated 'bang,"
| like a miniature brush-heap, which
every one of them affects There was
a time when the large negro element
became extremely dangerous; and that
was Immediately after the collapse of
the French canal scheme, when thous-
ands of these people were suddenly
thrown out of work and famine stared
them in the face.
Those who had locked here from the
English West Indies, lured by fabulous
wages, were cared for by the govern
ment and supplied with daily rations
until money was furnished to pay their
passage home. In spite OF present
poverty, these happy -go-lucky children
of Ham seem perfectly contented, sing
ing. laughing and dancing the careless
hours away. Just now they are greatly
elated at the prospect of an American
canal and are building extravagant
hopes on the return of flush times.
The roofs of Colon are mostly tiled,
the upper half of each house projecting
far out over the sidewalks, with avn
inc-shaded verandas above. A large
share of the home-life goes on In these
yerandas, regardless of the public
eve" Some contain flowers blooming
in boxes, bird cages, women sewing,
children romping and maids pursuing
their household vocations; others are
piled with tubs, pots and refuse OF all
sorts. In some of them washlngS are
going on and the clothes Tapping in the
breeze; or ironing is in progress and
skirts and chemises spread out to air.
all these making a queer study OF the
city's principal street. There is con-
seize municipal, or town hall, large
iron market-house, calaboose always
fulD, a tolerable theatre, electric lights,
and several churches-Roman Catholic,
Episcopal, Methodist and Jewish. A
, newspaper called ''The Isthmus," is
published three times week, in the
three languages most spoken in this
modern Babel There are secret socie
ties without number, Masons, Odd Eel
J lows, Foresters, K. P.'s, and organiza
lions of darker secrets of African orr
Z gin. There are half a dozen hotels, nc
end of boarding houses and fonditas