rub they served afterwards.

No ship had as yet been in sight to take us away from this lowest,
dirtiest, most unhealthful place on earth, and the prospect of remaining
here had nothing very charming about it. The river was full of
alligators, so the bathing was dangerous, and the whole country was
about fit for its inhabitants, which were snakes, alligators, monkeys,
parrots and lazy negroes. It could not have been more filthy if the
dregs of the whole earth had been dumped here, and cholera and yellow
fever were easy for a decent man to catch.

My companion and I went out on the beach a mile or two to get the salt
water breeze, and leave the stinking malaria for those who chose to stay
in the hot, suffocating village, and here we would stay until nearly
night. Across a small neck of water was what was called a fort. It could
hardly be seen it was so covered with moss and vines, but near the top
could be seen something that looked like old walls. There was no sign of
life about it, and I should judge it was built at some very early day.
Surely there was nothing here to protect, for the whole country did not
seem able to support even a few barefooted soldiers.

Some men who wandered along up the river bank, following a path, said
they had seen some dead human bodies thrown into the swamp and left,
probably because it was easier than putting them under ground.

For a bedroom I hired a little platform which a store keeper had placed
before his store, where I slept, and paid a dollar for the privilege.
Some one walked around near me all night, and I dared not close more
than one eye at a time for fear of losing a little bag of gold dust.
This little bag of gold was getting to be a great burden to me in this
sickly climate, and the vigilant guard I had to keep over so small a
treasure was very tiresome.

The second night no steamer came, but on the third morning the steamer
was riding at anchor three or four miles out, and soon after a ship came
in from the Atlantic end of the Nicaragua route with one thousand
passengers, there being no steamer there for them to take a passage home
on, and so they had to come here for a start. This filled the little
town to overflowing, but as the ship that had arrived was the Georga,
one of the largest afloat, all could go if they only could endure the
fare.

We now had to go in small boats from the shore to the ship, and the trip
cost two dollars and a half. I waited till I had seen