The Republican journal., 1907-09-19

sign of human habitation or of life ex-
cept a few times when some one of the
boatmen would espy hut in the dis
lance and cry out to his companions
Hay casa! Hay casa' There is a
houseD and then one and all would
quickly pull on their shirts. The in
slant the hut was passed they would
pull them off again. Sometimes we
could distinguish these huts and ma
tive or two, and sometimes not, but
often enough to discover what that
strange Cry Hay casa meant.
"Pink tiamingOes, great birds with,
long legs and neck, stood on the sand
bars in the river and filled me with de.
light. At night the monkeys called to
each other in the forest and all kinds
of night birds screamed and howled.
Sometimes all these queer creatures
would keep still for a few moments,
plotting together it would seem, to
create silence more awful than their
noises-until, suddenly, some moving
flock of birds or some restless animal
would cause disturbance and a grand
chorus of yells and screams would
arouse us-not from sleep, for we did
not really lose ourselves in sleep on
that queer boat ride-but to cuddle
closer, mother and l, and for the Irish
maid, who had lost heart long before
we left Chagres, to tell her beads with
all rapldlty.'
Again in the words of Mr.. Jewett' S
letter: 81 met on the banks of the river
the second day a priest, very inteli-
gent, speaking Spanish only, but with
whom found it very easy to communi-
cate with and to understand in return,
and the facts learned from him settled
my further course TO supplement the
slight reference to this meeting in the
words of Mr.. Jewett's daughter:
con the second day as we were mov-
ing slowly up the river, we neared some
mud banks with few huts in the back
ground. Down one of these banks a
man was slowly descending toward our
boat. | was delighted to see another
white person, and when at signal
from the man the natives pulled our
out and ran up the bank to meet him.
Mother was little afraid of all the
strange surroundings, and preferred to
remain in the boat, and father, | APP
preciate now, did not display quite all
my enthusiasm, but he left the boat
and followed me. In a moment more
we had distinguished the priests dress.
We looked at each other, and then he
smiled. [ think he was glad to see us
and remember l thought he was such
nice Padre. Then we all began to
talk, by signs, and it was wonderful
how many questions could be asked
and answered with the use of almost
no words. Father wished to learn about
his route.
The Padre put two fingers of one
hand over one of the other hand to in
dictate a riding horse. Then he took a
silver dollar out of his pocket and held
up four fingers to show the price for
each riding horse and three fingers for
the price of each baggage mule. AT
last he drew little map of the road on
the sand and repeated to us several
times the word "Gorgona. So then
We knew our way and our new destina-
ton"
Mr.. Jewett had made an agreement
to give his boatmen forty-fve dollars
to carry them all as far as Las Cruces,
''SuppoSing,' as he wrote, that all my
various informants could not be wrong
in directing me there, not one of whom
told me OF any such place as Gorgona.
Yet we had learned enough of Spanish
and CLEANED enough from our interview
with the priest to change our place Of
landing. This change l was aware
would save my boatmen one days la
Dor (the latter part of the river being
the most rapid and this had prevented
me from trusting to any opinion they
might give.
Tuesday night we stayed at Cor
coma, where each house is made of
bamboo, something after the fashion
of the Indian camp in the woods-and
where children spring up spontaneous
ly, being Indigenous to the soil; the
woman where we stopped having eigh-
teen and being apparently at an age to
aid in naming eighteen more. We slept
upon the ground with the eighteen
children and the chickens, as there
were no beds and no other kind of
floor.
Sin the morning we awoke, fresh for
a ride across the remaining part of the
Isthmus-'a la Espanola,' that is, with
foot upon each side OF the mule, for
in no other mode can a female ride
over that unfrequented route. Our
baggage was packed upon eight mules
or small horses rather, that appeared
to be species of the mule. We as
signed mule to Isabella, who here
took her first lesson in horsemanship,
and then each of us mounted our own.
The mules for myself and wife each
had bride with bit, but those for
Isabella and our waiting maid each had
only string around the nose. We had
guide and there was a man to drive
each baggage mule. Equipped in this
most fantastic and yet appropriate man.
ner, we started for Panama at eight
o'clock in the morning. The distance
was twenty-five miles and we accom-
plished it at six o'clock that evening,
having followed single track through
ldense forest with Cholo guide. in
advance of our baggage mules, which
did not arrive until the next morning
"Mrs. Jewett had been seasick, very,
and of course very weak. 1t seemed al
most impossible at times for her to
command strength to hold on, as each
mule would present successfully hori-
zontal, diagonal and almost perpendicu-
lar position in passing over the numer-
Gus ravines that exist and water the
country over which we passed.
s'The soil the whole distance was rich
beyond anything of the kind in the
New England States, and the forest
heavy and magnificent. The whole dis.