Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/172



land was  made  by  filling  in  as  occasion  required. The result in  this  soft  soil  of  filth  and  vegetable  putridity may be  hnagined. The very  ground  on  which  one trod was  pregnant  with  disease,  and  death  was  dis- tilled in every  breath  of  air. The rain-fall  at  Aspin- wall is  very  heavy. During the  rainy  season,  which  is from  May  to  January,  the  windows  of  heaven  are opened, and  in  October  and  November  there  is  a quick  succession  of  deluges. Glued furniture  falls  in pieces ;  leather  moulds,  and  iron  oxidizes  in  twenty- four hours.

Quite a  contrast  between  the  old  and  the  new ! In making the  transit  by  rail,  the  day  before  reaching Aspinwall every  one  descended  into  the  hold  of  the steamer, either  in  person  or  by  proxy,  selected  his baggage, had  it  weighed  and  checked,  and  paid  ten cents a  pound  for  all  over  fifty  pounds  if  a  holder  of a  steerage  ticket,  and  all  over  one  hundred  pounds  if a  holder  of  a  cabin  ticket. BaCTcrao-e was  then  trans- ferred to  the  steamer  on  the  other  side  without  fur- ther trouble to  the  owner. No sooner  was  the  plank out than  the  closely  penned  passengers,  with  a  rush, squeezed and  stampeded — the  American  style  of  dis- embarking— hastened ashore,  scattered  themselves among the  hotels,  shops,  and  fruit  venders,  and  were soon lost  in  present  gratification  of  appetite,  and  in laying  in  a  store  of  comforts  and  disease  for  the future. The pleasure  of  placing  foot  on  shore  after  a long  voyage,  even  though  it  be  the  soft  spongy  shore of Aspinwall,  is  exquisite. To a  cramped  sea-rolled landsman any  spot  of  earth  looks  lovely,  especially when viewed  from  the  sea. To tread  on  solid  ground, and feel  mother  earth  beneath  your  feet  again,  seems like a  return  from  supernatural  regions. Thus to land  and  thus  to  cross  the  Isthmus  is  a  pleasant change from  the  tiresome  life  on  board  the  steamers. Railway passengers  wish  the  ride  was  longer,  wish they could  so  ride  all  the  way  to  San  Francisco. Seated by  an  open  window,  the  face  fanned  by  the