Page:The Boy Travellers in South America.djvu/31

 flying-fishes, that darted from wave to wave, and were sometimes so numerous that hundreds of them could be seen at once. On the seventh day of the voyage the heavy baggage was brought from below and piled on deck, each piece being carefully weighed, and checked off on the purser's books. The Doctor explained to the youths that each passenger was entitled to free transportation of one hundred pounds of baggage across the Isthmus, but all above that amount was subject to an extra charge. At daybreak the next morning the steamer entered the harbor of Aspinwall and made fast to her dock. The city was named in honor of William H. Aspinwall, of New York, but the French persist in calling it Colon, which was its appellation before the Panama Railway was thought of. It was a place of little consequence until the discovery of gold in California, in 1848, called attention to the necessity for a route of speedy travel between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of our continent. Frank and Fred were up early on the morning of their arrival at Aspinwall, and as. soon as the gang-plank was out they hurried on shore, accompanied by the Doctor. Tropical verdure greeted their eyes as they looked inland, and the open sheds and slightly built houses told very plainly that they had reached a region where frosts were unknown. The wharf where the steamer lay was more than a thousand feet in length, and, on inquiry, they learned that it was built on a coral reef, which formed an excellent foundation. " You observe," said Dr.Bronson, " that the piles resting in the water are covered with copper, to resist the teredo, a tropical worm which is very destructive to wood. Perhaps you would like to know something about him.

" Well," the Doctor continued, " the teredo is better known as the ship-worm, a name he has obtained from his habits of attacking the timber of ships in tropical countries, and also in the warmer parts of the temperate zones. He is a Ions: worm with a boring head; imagine an auger endowed with life, and