mewhat
impatient of the airs of superiority which many Americans have
endeavoured to assume over me? Mind, I am not speaking of all. I have
met with some delightful exceptions.

At length I succeeded in hiring a boat for the modest consideration of
ten pounds, to carry me and my fortunes to Cruces. My boat was far
from uncomfortable. Large and flat-bottomed, with an awning, dirty it
must be confessed, beneath which swung a hammock, of which I took
immediate possession. By the way, the Central Americans should adopt
the hammock as their national badge; but for sheer necessity they
would never leave it. The master of the boat, the padrone, was a fine
tall negro, his crew were four common enough specimens of humanity,
with a marked disregard of the prejudices of society with respect to
clothing. A dirty handkerchief rolled over the head, and a wisp of
something, which might have been linen, bound round the loins, formed
their attire. Perhaps, however, the thick coating of dirt which
covered them kept them warmer than more civilized clothing, besides
being indisputably more economical.

The boat was generally propelled by paddles, but when the river was
shallow, poles were used to punt us along, as on English rivers; the
black padrone, whose superior position was indicated by the use of
decent clothing, standing at the helm, gesticulating wildly, and
swearing Spanish oaths with a vehemence that would have put Corporal
Trim's comrades in Flanders to the blush. Very much shocked, of
course, but finding it perfectly useless to remonstrate with him, I
swung myself in my hammock and leisurely watched the river scene.

The river Chagres lolled with considerable force, now between low
marshy shores, now narrowing, between steep, thickly wooded banks. It
was liable, as are all rivers in hilly districts, to sudden and heavy
floods; and although the padrone, on leaving Gatun, had pledged his
soul to land me at Cruces that night, I had not been long afloat
before I saw that he would forfeit his worthless pledge; for the wind
rose to a gale, ruffling the river here and there into a little sea;
the rain came down in torrents, while the river rose rapidly, bearing
down on its swollen stream trunks of trees, and similar waifs and
strays, which it tossed about like a giant in sport, threatening to
snag us with its playthings every moment. And when we came to a
sheltered reach, and found that the little fleet of boats which had
preceded