The Donaldsonville chief., 1907-10-26
eAsTlMEs IN PANAMA.
Alligator Hunting, Mountain Climbing
and Bull Fighting-A Bull-and-
9iRer Fiasco-Battle of Rival
Ant Tribes.


Ant Tribes.
snedsl Correspondence Of The Chief.
La BocA, PANAMA, Oct. 4, 1907.
Dx'iy lie In Panama in q majority
of cases is highly enjoyable TO new
comers, and is still interesting to the
sold. timers" who have been here two
or three years. While the rivers,
bays aDd other waters fairly TEEN
with fish, and the woods and jungle
are equally alive with game, The sport
chiefly INDUCED in is alligator hunt
ing. varied with q little mountain
climbing and occasionally attending
bull-6ght. There are two re asons that
tend to make alligator hunting at
tractive: one Is that the trip can be
made in q steam launch without any
hardships, and the other reason Is
that as sport 1t is exciting and similar
to going into battle but without the
danger OF the enemy's return fire; and,
while it savors of danger and peril,
serious accident is almost impossible.
| took part in such hunt few days
ago. The expedition consisted OF
seventeen members, about third of
whom were ladies. Our conveyance
was o steam launch and our destina-
tion a point up the Chorrera river,
the mouth Of which is sixteen miles
above Panama City on the Pacific
coast. The participants resided atvari-
Gus stations sthroughouttheC Canal Zone,
some coming from as far away as the
Atlantic coast. We first gathered at
the Tivoli Hotel, from whence we pro-
ceeded to the Marina wharf in front
of President Amador's palace. Here
the Pacific Ocean stretched out before
US as far as human eye could reach;
the bay was as calm as mill
pond and the almost vertical sun that
beat down upon us from a cloudless
sky gave the bay the appearance OF a
lake of quicksilver. Our little boat
rode at anchor about fifty yards from
the wharf; farther out were larger
vessels, and about four miles out lay
group of four islands containing in
all about thousand acres; between
these islands quietly nestled the great
Pacific liners awaiting their turn to
land at the wharf; then at distances oi
Ixyn los To bnn q
and other large and small islands,
though the day was SO bright and clear
that to the uninitiated Taboga would
not have appeared over two miles
away instead of twelve. All in all
| the panorama was pleasing aud-bar'
ring tie hot sun-the day inviting
At $50 g. m. our journey had com
| menced. We first passed the grim ole
| Spanish fortress and it's underwater
dungeons; then the remainder of the
city; next came a straight three mils
ride across the bay, from which 10
cation we had panoramic view o
the hills, wharves, old French dredgei
and other objects now so familiar te
| US. Another mile and we were in from
OF the leper colony, which comprises
! several new buildings erected by
the Isthmian Canal Commission, on 8
J small bluff overlooking sandy
beach. They have red painted roof:
and nestle In grove of banana plants
The ground Immediately to the real
rises into mountains with their peaks
thrust above the clouds, and the whole
country is enveloped by dense Jungle
For twelve miles more we continued
to view natural scenery. At places
| the mountains came abruptly to the
| w8ter's edge in the form of a per
pendicular wall Of rock higher than {
New York sky scraper; at other places
| the coast line was interspersed with
bays, sand beaches and an occasiona
| meadow containing native hut in the
| center of small banana grove. A
noon We arrived at the mouth O.
Chorrera river. Here we beheld vir
gin tropical grandeur ia all it's glory
and Immediately proceeded to SEE
what as in it. This river was abou
the width of an extra-wide city avenue
and both banks were lined with &
dense forest which overhung the water
for fully fifty feet from each side
The trees were full of chattering
monkeys, and gaily-plumaged birds flew
from shore to shore screeching- anG
warning the alligators of our inva
sion. With all this, game was plenti
full. We had been told that in thi;
locality alligators were as numer'
Gus as minnows in pond anG
that specimens exceeding twenty
, one feet in length were frequently
killed. This We h@s not believed
but now experienced it in actuality
| In half an hour / counted over Isl
alligators, fifty of which were longer
than large skif. They were so bis
and so bold as to ignore the warning
screams of the birds until we reminded
them of our presence by puncturine
their heavy hides with large calibrt
bullets from new model army rifles
then-issuing a reverber ating snort
the alligator would splash into th,
water with the fury of a japanese
hurricane. This would awake th,
next alligator who happened to bt
| haslinr in hhn snn nroha hlr th;r4,