The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-06-19
We found them

without dismounting. We found them most convenient.
 Shortly after we had left town and before we had really begun our jour ney in earnest we passed a most as tonishing caravan going the other way. This consisted of sixteen mules and donkeys under sole charge of three men armed with antiquated and somewhat rusty muskets. On either side! of each mule, slung in a rope and plain to see, hung a heavy ingot of goldi Fascinated, we approached and stroked the satiny beautiful metal and wondered that on a road so crowded with travellers of all grades so precious train should be freely intrusted to the three ragged lazy natives So curi- ous did this seem that Talbot inquired of the leader why it was allowed.
 teWhither would a thief run to? How could he carry away these heavy ingots?' the man propounded.
 Often around subsequent campfres we have in idle curiosity attempted to answer these two questions success fully, but have always failed. The gold was safe.
 We arrived in Panama in the after noon, and we were all eyes, for here was a city taken directly from the pages of the Boys. Own Pirate" Without the least effort of the imag- ination we could see Morgan or Kidd or some other old swashbuckler, cut lass in teeth, pistols in hand, broad sashed, fierce and ruthless, rushing over the walls or through the streets, while the cathedral bells changed wild Iy and women screamed. Everything about it was of the past, for somehow the modern signs of American inva- sion seemed temporary and to be blown away. The two story wooden houses with corridor and veranda across the face of the second story, painted in bright cOlors, leaned crazfly out across the streets toward each other Narfow and mysterious alleys led up between them. Ancient cathe- drals and churches stood gray with age before grass grown plazas. And in the outskirts of town were massive masonry ruins of great buildings, con vent and colleges, some of which had never been finished.
 We stopped over one day at the Fonda Americana and then, realizing that we were probably in for long wait, found two rooms in house off the main street. These we rented from a native at fairly reasona bie l rate. They were in the second story l of massive stone ruin whose walls l had been patched up with whitewash. Outside the walls of the city was large encampment of tents in which l dwelt the more impecunious or more | economical of the miners. Here too had located a large hospital tent. 1 There was a great deal of sickness, due to the hardships of the journey,
 the bad climate, irregular living, the l overeating of fruit, drinking, the total
 lack of sanitation. In fact, only the
 situation of the city-out on an isth-
 mus in the sea breezes-I am con
 vinced, saved us from pestilence. Ev-
 cry American seemed to possess pat
 ent medicine of some sort, with which
 he dosed himself religiously in and out
 of season. A good many, I should
 think. must have fallen victims to
 these nostrums.
 Each morning regularly we went
 down to harass the steamship employ
 ees. Roughly speaking, some 300 of
 us had bought through passage before
 leaving New York, and it was an
 nounced that only ffty-two additional
 to those already aboard could be squeezed into the first steamer. The 1 other PAS would have to await the next. Naturally every man was de |
 for such a delay in such place at the
 time of gold rush was unthinkable
 The officials at that steamship office
 had no easy time. Each man wanted
 first of all to know just when the shfI
 was to be expected, thing no one
 could guess Then he demanded his
 accommodation and had dozen req
 sons why his claim should be pre-
 ferred over that of the others. I nev CT saw q more quarrelsome, noisy dog s kennel than that steamship office Why no one was ever shot there could not tell you.
 : In the evening the main street wal
 blaze of light, and the byways were : cast in darkness. The crowd was al 1 afoot and moved restIessly to and fri ] from one bar or gambling place to an : other. Of the thousands Or so of stran
 gers we came in time to recognize b, , sight great many. The journey hom . through the dark was perilous. w : never attempted it except in company
 and, as Johnny seemed fascinated wit ;, a certain game called Mexican monte , i we often had to endure long waits be } fore all our party was assembled. 3 One morning our daily trip to tn 1, steamship office bore fruit. We fonn 3 the plaza filled with excited men, al talking and gesticulating. The muc : tired officials had evolved a schem l for deciding which ffty-two of the 30 r should go by the first ship.
 s By next morning the transportatio
 officials had worked it out. We coul t not all get into the office, so the draw ] ing took place on the plaza outsid' f As each mans name was called = stepped forward, showed his tickt - and was allowed to draw a slip frol 2 a box. If it proved to be a blank |