Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1921-03-16
m THE DAYS NEWS
PANAMA.

washington, u O.--Lne hepuDllC OIL
Panama, which was described in recent
news dispatches as experiencing
strained relations with the heighboring
Republic Of Costa Rica over disputed
boundary is the subject of the follow
ing bulletin issued by the National
Geographical Society:
The Isthfnus of Panama, which now
almost exactly corresponds to the Re-
public Of Panama, has probably had as
many thrills to the square foot as any
other section of the earth of similar
size. They have ranged from the igno-
BILE to the noble. from the drunken de-
bauchefies Of bloodthristy pirates as
they sacked the prosperous cities Of
the country, to the feelings Of Balboa
as he stood, the first white man to
view the waters of the Pacific, and
those Of the American engineers who
saw the completion there OF the world s
greatest engineering feat. And through
it all large tracts OF the little country
have remained much as they were
when Columbus first set foot there in
1902, ana happy to find part of a real
continent after seemingly interminable
islands, named it Terra Firme'
Panama prepetrates one of the
greatest OF geogra phic jokes ON those
who visit it. 1t very convincingly
| makes east west. From Panama City
the sun rises out of the Pacific, which
| to most American minds is the proper
place only for setting suns. And he
| who sails through the canal from the
Atlantic to the Pacific travels not from
east to west as he naturally expects
| to do, but from west to east, or more
| accurately, from northwest to south
east. One gets the impression, as one
writer has phrased it, that there 10
something crooked about this The
crookedness is found to be in the
| isthmus which runs predominantly
| east and west instead OF north and
| south, and in addition makes a double
curve like the letter s, so that at one
place the Atlantic waters are actually
west of those of the Pacific.
| ut may seem a far cry from the
! lay Of the land at Panama to the South
Sea, but because Of the east and west
trend of the isthmus the popular name
for that huge, island dotted ocean has
largely taken the place of the more
nearly, correct, South Pacific When
Balboa stood on an isthmian mountain
crest in 1913 and discovered the great
ocean stretching off to the southwark
he naturally named 1t Ell Mar del Sur
the South Sea. A few days latel
when he had won his way to the
newly discovered ocean he waded int
it and made the singularly modest
claims for the King of Spain Il
sovereignty over the sea and all land.
and islands bordering on it, from pol,
to pole, till Judgment day
Since a few years after Balboa!
discovery the Isthmus of Panama :
for long time called Darien-has beer
the gateway for commerce between tn,
East and the west ana between Paci
fic. South America and Europe. TIL
, ela city Of Panama was founded a
the entry port on the Pacific side II
1913 more than a hundred years be
fore the Pilgrims landed iii Massa
chusetts. Peftobello, known to al
. readers of pirate tales, was the At
lantic poft, ana between them wa
, constructed paved trail. At tn
: height Of Spanish colonial power gol
and silver from Peru were carte
across this old trail like cord wood.
such great wealth Fak an irresisti
BILE attraction to the/ buceaneers VIII
! infested the Caribbean. Time afte
time they s~66ped down on the 18th
/. mus nom their strange island com
. fhonwealth near Haiti. Old Pahan
= was entirely DESTROYED in 1871 by sue
an expedition under the leadership
Q the notorious Henry Morgan, later s
: Henry. On other occasions, Portobe
n 10, in spite Of its formidable fortihcs
tions, was taken, and even occupis
by the pirates as base for months
a time. One Of the old forts OF Porti
belle, useless in the village Is Wink
; the one-time 1pulent port has shrufi
| was demolished during the building
the Panama Canal ana its ston,
! crushed to make material for concret
Politically the Republic OF Panan
Is a thing apart. 1t was formerly
/ state of the Republic OF Columbia.
a South America, but gained it's ind
ie pendence in 1898. Geographically
n is a. part Of Central America, but
E. has been left out Of the recently formi
t Unien of Central America. This isoh
le ton is-no doubt due in, large part
I the existenek III the canal under Unit
( states 6whtfship extending thfoul
ID Panama territory
"The little republic Is shaped Iii
II a seetisn Of waving ribbon or Of