he wider
it became, and the current slacker so that we moved more slowly with the
same amount of rowing. At a place called Dos Hermanos (two brothers) we
could see a little cleared spot near the bank, which seemed to be three
or four feet above the water. There were no mountains nor hills in
sight, and the whole country seemed to be an extensive swamp. It was
near night that we came to a small native village of palm huts, and here
our boatmen landed and hid themselves, and not being able to find them
we were compelled to stay all night, for we dare not go on alone. The
place looked like a regular robbers' roost, and being forced to sleep
outside the huts, we considered it safest to sleep with one eye open. We
would have gone on with the boat only that we were afraid the river
might have more than one outlet, and if we should take the wrong one we
might be too late for the steamer, which even now we were afraid would
not wait for us, and getting left would be a very serious matter in this
country.

We had very little to eat, and all we could buy was sugar cane, bananas,
monkeys and parrots. We kept a sharp eye out for robbers, keeping
together as much as we could, for we knew that all returning
Californians would be suspected of having money. Most all of them were
ready for war except myself who had no weapon of any kind. All of these
people had a bad name, and every one of them carried a long bladed knife
called a Macheta, with which they could kill a man at a single blow. But
with all our fears we got through the night safely, and in the morning
found our boatmen who had hidden away. We waited not for breakfast, but
sailed away as soon as we could, and reached Chagres, near the mouth of
the river, before night.

The river banks here are not more than three feet high, and farther back
the land fell off again into a wet swamp of timber and dense vegetable
growth. The town was small and poorly built, on the immediate bank, and
the houses were little brush and palm affairs except the boarding house
which was "T" shaped, the front two stories high, with a long dining
room running back, having holes for windows, but no glass in them.

Before the bell rung for meals a long string of hungry men would form in
line, and at the first tap would make a rush for the table like a flock
of sheep. After all were seated a waiter came around and collected a
dollar from each one, and we thought this paid pretty well for the very
poor g