Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1910-04-13

Slty tHdh ohdhlo, anu yOt thO coiiiS
tropical characteristics are promin-
ent. A splendid water and electric
light system has been established,
the streets paved, and many excel
lent piers afford landing places for
ships from all ports of the world.
Like Panama, there is probably
every nationality in the world
represented in the city of Colon ex-
cept the Esquimeaux. Walking up
the street we met Spanish, French,
Japanese, Chinese, English, Ger
mans, Hindoos, Indians, Turks,
groes from the islands of the sea
and South America, and almost
every other nationality one might
think of.
1t seems that Colon is the rem
devious Of the undesirables of all
Central America. for if there is a
J lower, more degraded city on the
ylobe, we have never heard of it,.
4 We were told that there are 900
occupants of houses of i'll fame in
that city, and the streets at night
looked like it. Some of the stores
are quite pretentious, conducted by
men showing business ability, while
many are only little shops of the
/
Chinese and Spaniards. Along the
streets the grotesque driving ponies
or lazy burros, the Hindoos with a
wad of hair twisted on top of their
heads, the half-dressed, lazy, list
less, dirty, careless, indolent natives
and foreigners, mingling with the
alert, enterprising, progressive AM
orleans make a combination which
one may search the world for and
never see elsewhere.
We spent the night in our state
room aboard the good ship Cartago
which was moored in the harbor
waiting for us to get ready to re-
turn home. The next morning the
entire party was up bright and early
and spent the forenoon visiting the
various points of interest about
Colon. We engaged one of the little
cabs we have described in a pre-
vious article and made tour of the
city, along the beautiful shore line
where the white-tipped waves coming
in from the sea broke against the
rocks along the shore, above which
lowered. in majestic beauty rows ot
stately royal palms, while between
the rows were beautiful driveways
in front of the comfortable modern
Aemrican homes, an ideal place tc
live were it not for the contaminat-
ing influences of the city of foreign.
ers so close behind them. We drove
along the shore past the hospital
grounds out TO the bathing beach
where men, women and children
gather in the afternoons, and where
the horses are taken for baths in
the morning. Here are large turtle
corrals. built of bamboo poles in the
shallow water, where the big turtles
are kept after being captured until
sold on the market. Further on is
a cocoanut farm, which we visited
and II was rare treat to watch q
negro climb the straight. sleek co.
coanut palm and get some green CO.
ooanuts for us, which he cut open
and gave us a drink Of the milk, as
we'll as a taste of the meat, which
when green is like a Shiny mush
Some of our people pretended that
they relished it, but we were per-
fectly satisfied with very small
portion.
Driving little further on We
came across a party of fishermen
coming to shore with an 500 pound
shark, which they had just caught
on a huge double iron hook. nearly
as large as a pair of ice-tongs. They
had baited a single hook with a
cows's head, and a half hour before
had the shark on, but by its great
strength it had broken off the hook
and swallowed it, Then they dou-
bled the hook, fastened 1t to big
chain. and tried again, and soon the
big monster gobbled 1t again, and
after a fight of a half hour they
landed it. It's mouth when open
was about the size Of the top of a
sugar barrel, and inside were mum.
erous small sharks, a couple of feet
long, which, they told us, went into
the large sharks mouth for protec-
tion when other sea fish were about
We saw them skin and butcher 1t,
and were surprised to learn that al
most as much of it was saved and
sold as is the case in this section
In killing cattle. Even the back
bone is earnestly sought after by the
Panamanians. They insert straight
stick of wood inside of the flexible
back bone, or spine, of the shark
and use 1t for cane, and the pos
laAn ~ m 10 nnf