The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1905-05-20

beating the clothes between two rocks
a primitive method to which these laz,
= people still adhere. We next came tt
Culebra-a steep mountain with a s1ice
/ cut out Of the center, looking al
though it had been rent asunder By
/ an earthquake. This gap, which hal
been cut for the canal, is now large
| enough to drop a Chicago sky-scrape
! in, and is yet to be cut hundred
feet deeper.
Next comes Carozal, where are now
built several hundred cottages for the
canal employees, with a 40O-room hotel
and thousand additional cottages
nearing completion. These all have
every modern convenience and i'm
] provement, and are a great deal better
than the average American house.
1 Marriage seems to be encouraged. for
the bachelors are sent to the hotel,
but as soon as they marry they are as
/ signed to an individual cottage-all
! furnished free by the United States
| government, with a set of furniture,
electric lights. waterworks, janitor,
ETC., included. This new town is but
six minutes ride from Panama City
| and Ancon, where are located the gen
eral Offices Of the commission, and
| therefore the clerical force are able to
reside all the year round at a summer
resort in the mountains. They are
| furnished with free passes and trains
are run until late ID the night for their
aecommod alton. These convenienees
are either completed or nearing COM
pletion wherever a clerical force is
located.
Panama City is a very quaint and
historical old place, somewhat resem-
bling the French portion Of New Or
leans, only that the streets are but
twelve to twenty feet wide, few reach
ing the maximum OF twenty-five feet.
The city is on d peninsula, the sea-
coast being enclosed inside a stone
wall about forty feet high and along
which is a nice promenade, with can
non at regular intervals. Here is an
abundance of converts and churches
which look as picturesque and old
enough TO have been built by Colum-
bus. The traveller comes to frequent
parks in which are growing every va
riety OF tropical plant and flower,
which are we'll kept, but when he be-
comes thirsty he will have to buy a
drink of water, for among other things
under monopoly the fresh water
supply is included and is sold the
same as liquor. But the canal en-
ployees are not Inconvenience on this
score, for the United States govern
ment brings trains Of fresh water down
from the mountains daily, and accord
ing TO the treaty will soon complete
an up-to-date Waterworks system
throughout the city.
a fortnight ago, when a new town
was formally opened for occupancy at
Culebra, the Canal employees from
all over the Isthmus were complimented
with an excursion and dance there, the
government giving the trip free in
every particular. The following Sun
day we were eomplimented with al ex-
cnrsion to Taboga Island. In Panama
Bay there are about three dozen little
Islands, which, while small, are several
hundred feet high. Taboga is the
farthest out, about fifteen miles. While
approaching II from sea it appeared
to contain but few acres, but party
that tried to explore it found it to con-
tain several square miles and to rise to
a height of several thousand feet.
Here we found a small town where all
the streets, with but one exception,
were SO zigzag, narrow and up and
down over. rocks that not even a two
cart could traverse them. |
Why the place was started there is a |
my stery since there are many better To- |
cations on the Island for town. We |
found an abunda nce of all varieties of |
fruit which were to be had at /
rock bottom prices, excellent fishing
and bathing, several miles of beach
covered with a hundred varieties of
seashells, and a modern United States
government sanitarium which owing to
The almost total absence Of sickness
among the canal employees, has but
small fraction of the number of pa
tents that We're anticipated. We
found native hotel where we were
served a number of dishes the like of
which none Of US ever tasted before.
and which we afterwards learned in
GUIDED goat steak. After day on the
sland we returned to the ship anchored
n the harbor and had a pleasant hours
sea ride. At the wharf we were trans
erred direct to the train, and by dark
we're at home on this side OF the Isthmus.
This trip was given by the govern
nent entirely free to the clerical force,
ind is but an instance of the consid-
ration shown for their comfort and
pleasure. Similar excursions are
-lven by the government on Sundays
md at other times, and before long /
viii be able to write book full about
his country.
With kindest regards, I remain,
Very sincerely,
JOS. M. TTGHE.
Letter TO r. McCulIob. II