Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1910-01-14
PANAMA EDITORIAL TRIP.
Letter No. II.

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pavement.
After making the bargain 1--WE had
been posted as to price we should
pay to be hauled to a hotel. which
was zoe each in their money, Toe
American we pushed into the cab
and were quickly whirIing away in
to the heart of the bustling Spanish
City, our cabman popping his whip
and urging continuously into d trot-
gallop his small wiry pony. 1t was
marvellous how swiftly we proceeded
through the none TOO wide congested
streets, without any collisions,
though the warning bell of our driv-
er was constantly iingled.
The city was electric lit but rather
dimly, as there were not many lights
and they of the small size of the
corner-street arc lights. The streets
were well paved with verified brick,
and the hoofs of the various and
ever darting cabbie- ponies beat clat-
tering tattooes, carrying hither and
thither the moving throngs.
After little we were sitting eat
ing in cafe from which we could
look on the Plaza City SQUARED in
which it happened that night a band
concert was being given, and the
gay inhabitants OF the Tropical city
were out enjoying the music and
promenades which the con c + e
walks through the Plaza afforded.
The band made good and stirring
music. To one end of the Plaza
stood an ancient Cathedral whose
walls told of the corroding touch of
time. and in the arcades could be
seen the usual white statuary of
saints. The silvery bell would ring
out anon its call to wOrshipers.
When we emerged from our room
! the next mOrninn we saw some negro
washerwomen hanging out clothes
on lines stretched across open spots
on fiat topped-roof of house next
door to our hotel.
CHANGING to the rear of the city
we saw the sombre hill which looks
down upon it. This hill is really a
mount of small proportions, and it
with its kindred form an uplift in a
semi-circle which girths Panama
City. There is a low level at the
feet of these hills on which the city is
built. This rim allows a very com
Portable town site with the hills to
the hinderparts and the Pacific
Ocean on the front. Now we go out
on the balcony and gaze off above
the housetops till our sight greets
the shimmering blue of the mightiest
sea on earth, the placid Pacific.
After breakfasting we go for a
stroll about the place without guide
or instructions as we prefer looking
and seeing things for ourselves and
the place is not so big as to fear get
ting bewildered They claim some
twenty odd thousand inhabitants we
were told
The expression rum soaked would
certainly apply to this city if the
amount Of bottle goods on display is
to be taken as evidence that way.
Passing up the business streets, at
practically every store we espy
strong drinks on display in more or
less quantities according to the bent
of the proprietor. Dry good stores,
drugstOres, groceries, shOe-shOps,
notion marts, junk joints, barber
shops, hotels, Ice Cream parlors, in
fact about every kind of establish
ment you could think of carried It's
stock of wet goods. Rum seems to
be the predominating drink. Its
cheap there being made OF the
fermented sweets Of cane t t.
They sell it in huge baske5-encased
bottles for less than an American
dollar. OF course there are some
business houses that did noG handle
the accursed dram, but they were a
rarity. We found one barber and
curio- man who eschewed it, SO we
turned into his place and made some
purchases of postcards of which he
had an immense assortment of views
of the Canal and Panama scenes
Here we spent sometime writing
postcards to our dear ones back in
the States.
The next thing was the post Office
which we started OUT to find. Accost-
ing one of the low statured vanilla
colored bue-coatcd and helmeted
street patrols, tagged 'Vigilante'
NhAOu VIC 81 ppOoC 10 'ubCI p1CbCA lIUO
English, policeman, we inquired the
way thinking he would surely be able
to speak our tongue being u custo-
dian of the public peace. He jab-
bered away impossible stuff to US
ard I suppose we did the same to
him. Our colloquy soon arrested the
passersby until the sidewalk was
jammed with the gazing crowd. BY
gestures we got him to understand
we wanted to mail our letters, and |
he then called out shop-keeper
near by who could "speakee de En-
gleese" and who in quite broken
speech managed to direct us on the
right course.