from the ornamental parts of some structures, it is evident that superior
workmen were employed in their erection;[27] and should notice at any time
be given that public works were about to commence there, accompanied by an
assurance that artisans would meet with due encouragement, thither
able-bodied men would flock, even from the West Indies and the United
States. Hardy Mulattoes, Meztizoes, free Negroes, and Indians, may be
assembled upon the spot, among whom are good masons and experienced hewers
of wood; and, being intelligent and tractable, European skill and example
alone would be requisite to direct them. The existence of coal along the
shores of Chili and Peru, is also another encouraging feature in the
scheme;[28] and as the ground for a railroad would cost a mere trifle, if
any thing, the whole might be completed at a comparatively small expense.

The profits derivable from the undertaking, when accomplished, are too
obvious to require enumeration. The rates levied on letters, passengers,
and merchandize, after leaving a proportionate revenue to the local
government, must produce a large sum, which would progressively increase
as the route became more frequented. Mines exist in the neighbourhood, at
present neglected owing to the difficulty of the smelting process. It may
hereafter be worth while for return vessels to bring the rough mineral
obtained from them to Europe, as is now done with copper ore from Cuba,
Colombia, and Chili. Ship timber, of the largest dimensions and best
qualities, may also be had. The charges on the transit of merchandize
would never be so heavy as even the rates of insurance round Cape Horn and
the Cape of Good Hope. The first of these great headlands mariners know
full well is a fearful barrier, advancing into the cheerless deep amidst
storms, rocks, islands, and currents, to avoid which the navigator is
often compelled to go several degrees more to the south than his track
requires; whereby the voyage is not only lengthened, but his water and
provisions so far exhausted, that frequently he is under the necessity of
making the first port he can in Chili, or seeking safety on the African
coast.

[25] Ulloa (Book iii. chap. 11) remarks, that although the greater
part of the houses in Panama were formerly built of wood, fires
very rarely occurred; the nature of the timber being such, that if
lighted embers are laid upon the floor, or wall made of it, the
only c