Page:Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, Volume 1 (2nd edition).djvu/108

86 a beautiful cathedral, four convents (now nearly deserted) belonging respectively to the Dominican, Augustin, Franciscan, and Mercenarios monks; a nunnery of Santa Clara, a college de la Compania, and also the walls of another, which was begun on a magnificent scale, but was never finished, and is now falling to ruins.

Immediately about Panamà, east along the coast, and north-west from it, thee land is low and fiat; but west and north-east the mountains approach it closely: and from a hill, called Cerro Ancon, about a mile west from the city, ans six hundred feet high, an excellent bird's-eye view is obtained of the whole adjoining country, including the city, the islands in the bay, the neighbouring plantations, the mountains of Veragua, the Pearl Islands, the flat country towards Chagres, the elevated chain between Porto-Bello and Panamà, the Rio Grande, the low land along the coast towards the Pacora and Chepo, Panamà Vieja, &c., all which come successively under review, and together constitute a landscape beyond measure beautiful.

Porto-Bello—Was first discovered in 1502 by Columbus, who thus named it from the excellence of its harbour. It is situated in lat. 9° 24′ 35″ N., long. 77° 45′ W., close to the sea, at the foot of immense mountains, which surround the whole port;—and consists of one long street, which circles around the bay, with a few short ones branching off where the ground will admit of them. There are, besides, two plazas, or squares, one in front of the Treasury which is built of stone; the other formed on one side by the church, which is also of stone, and capacious, relatively to the population, but of late years it has been allowed to go very much to ruin. The same may, indeed, be said of all the public, and most of the private works: the hospital, and even the fortifications, are dilapidated, and of the house in town only a few remain tenantable.

It has been already noticed that animals brought from other countries speedily degenerate and cease to produce here; even the fowls sent from Carthagena, or Panamà, shortly giving up laying eggs. All the meat that is consumed is thus sent from Panamà, or from some of the hatos on or near the road; and if not immediately killed the animals become emaciated, and their flesh little better than carrion, though there appears plenty of excellent herbage in the vicinity of the city. For this reason, although in every other part of the county there are numerous cattle estates, not one is to be found in this vicinity; and the only animals that appear to thrive are pigs and mules.

The heat is generally most oppressive. The town being surrounded by mountains, the freshening sea-breeze is never felt; and the immense forests that cover the mountains, and indeed the face of the whole country, precluding the passage of the sun's rays to