Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-17

that they can speak the language more
clearly than our negroes at home. Nearly
all the Jamacians have common school
education. They read and write, and some
of them Of the better classes. such as the
locomotive engineers, take scientific jour
nails. Indeed. saw one of the firemen al
during the intervals of his work. They
learn quickly and seem to be born self-re
specting.
See this crowd of little children coming.
They are of all colors from white to black,
but every one looks as bright as new
silver dollar. Sitting here last night
ragged little girl of five came to me and
asked for a newspaper l had been read
ing. l told her that l did not think she
could read 1t. She thereupon took pencil
| and wrote her own name on the margin Of
the paper, proving the contrary.
There is a little gamin of six with skin
ike chocolate who peddles cigars around
the Grand Central Hotel every evening HIS
father works on the canal for about cents
an hour during the day and makes cigars
in the evenings This little peddler can reel
off Spanish poems by the yard. He recites
speeches about the Independence of Panama
in Spanish and that with such gusto and
smiles that he makes many sales out OF
sympathy.
Rich Panamans.
But not all the Panamans are poor. See
that portly dark-faced man In business
clothes who has just entered the plaza?
stands for the name of his wife). That man
started life here as a drug clerk and Is
now said to be worth 100000. Behind him
comes FREDERICK Boyd, who has mortgages
on the most of Panama and who is worth
quite as much Both of those men have
sent their children to the states to be edu-
Gated. and it is the same with many Pan
anna merchants There are a number OF
rich families here Obaldia, the Panama
minister to Washington, is wealthy In cat
tie and ranches; the Brandons, the bank
ers and merchants, have lots of money to
lend. and the Maduro family. which deals
in dry goods and imports and exports, Is
set down as worth something like quarter
of million dollars.
1t is such families that constitute the up
ner circles of Panama life. Their daugh-
tiers are finished Off in the United States at
our best Catholic schools, and from hfteen
to twenty such girls go TO New YORK every
fall. The women of this class dress very
well. although when out shopping or going
to mass they usually wear black Iney are,
as I have said, all Catholics, as is the case
with the native Colombians throughout the
iSthmus.
The Chief Engineer and the Mother
Superior.
Speaking of the Catholic Church, one sees
many monks and priests on the street and
also goodly number Of nuns. The nuns
do not as a matter Of course, have any
thing to do with the opposite sex. and some
of them I am told consider 1t deadly sin
to shake hands with man. In this con-
nection an incident occurred here which
illustrates the strong personal magnetism
of our chief engineer In the course OF ms
duties he had occasion to meet the mother
superior of the Convent of Panama. When
he was presented, without thinking of the
improperly of the act, he involuntarily
held out his hand, and the mother superior
as involuntarily grasped it and gave 1t a
shake before she appreciated what she was
doing I am told that the rules of the
order are such that her holiness will have
to do penance before she can again have
clean bill of spiritual health.
What Panama Eats.
But let us take our cameras to the lower
part of the city and learn what Panama
eats. The market buildings stand on the
edge of the sea. They are open sheds, with
galvanized iron roofs covering perhaps an
acre of ground Inside are tables behind
which the natives are selling meat fruits
and vegetab les. The market men are of all
colors They are negroes, mulattoes
whites. Colombians and Chinese. The lat
ter are the chief gardeners of the
tsthmus, and they do the most of
the petty merchandising as well. Stop
here before this Chfnaman who is
selling fruit. He raised those pineap-
pies himself and probably bought the pa
nanas beside them from Gatun. Inc pine
apnIes are as big as your head, and one
costs cents He offers US bananas at I
cent apiece and green cocoanut for 0
cents. As we 60 on we find that yams weigh.
i,,0 several pounds can be bought for
cents each, and that other vegetables are
cDmpara:ively cheap. The papaya, one OF
the best fruits OF the tropics. Is plentiful
here 1t is somewhat like q musk melon.