Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/170



ever clianging  scenery  which  affords  the  observer  con- stant deUght, as  the  journey  is  now  made.

Chao;res at  this  time  was  a  town  of  about  seven hundred native  inhabitants,  dwelling  in  some  fifty windowless, bamboo  huts,  with  thatched,  palm-leaf roofs, and  having  open  entrances,  and  the  bare  ground for a  floor. The town  was  surrounded  by  heaps  of filthy  offal,  and  greasy,  stagnant  pools  bordered  with blue mud. It is  situated  on  a  small  but  exceedingly picturesque and  almost  land-locked  bay,  well  nigh buried by  the  foliage  that  skirts  its  banks  and  rolls off in  billowy  emerald  toward  the  hills  beyond. Be- tween the shore  and  mountains  stretch  away  for  miles in every  direction  broad,  open  savannahs,  cut  into farms, covered  with  chaparral,  and  stocked  with  cattle. Where the  river  and  ocean  meet  rises  a  bold  bluff, crowned by  the  castle  of  San  Lorenzo,  whose  ruined fortress and  battlements,  gnawed  to  a  skeleton  by  the teeth of  time,  gaze  mournfully  out  upon  the  sea  which lashes its  waves  against  its  steep  foundations,  as  if determined  to  uproot  in  all  these  inhospitable  parts the last  vestige  of  the  olden  time. Fallen to  the bottom of  the  cliff  were  parapet  and  guns  ;  screaming sea-birds occupied  the  crumbling,  moss-covered  watch- tower ;  while  within  the  dismounted  cannon,  bearing, with the  royal  arms  of  Spain,  the  date  of  1745,  were slowly changing  into  rust. Remnants of  the  old  paved road which  ascends  the  hill  were  there,  and  the  draw- bridge over the  moat — once  wide  and  deep,  but  now rank with  vegetation — leading  to  the  main  gateway ; likewise the  drawbridge  to  the  citadel  on  the  verge  of the  cliff,  whence  a  charming  view  of  sea  and  land  may be had. At Chagres,  passengers  were  accustomed  to stay  no  longer  than  sufficed  to  engage  boats  and  start on their  journey. This region  is  specially  noted  for the insalubrity  of  its  climate.

Aspinwall, or  Navy  bay,  where  the  first  blow  upon the railway  was  struck,  occupies  a  small  swampy  mud- reef called  Manzanilla  island,  fringed  with  mangrove