We started on the next morning, and on our way stepped over a large ship anchor that lay across the trail.  I suppose the natives had undertaken to pack it across the isthmus and found it too heavy for them.  Perhaps it was for Capt.  Kidd, the great pirate, for it is said that he often visited Panama in the course of his cruising about in search of treasures.

Passing along a sandy place in the trail, a snake crossed and left his track, big as a stovepipe it seemed to be, and after this we kept a sharp watch for big snakes that might be in waiting to waylay us for game.

There were plenty of monkeys and parrots climbing and chattering around in the trees.  The forest is here so dense that the wind never blows, and consequently it never gets cool.  The sun, ever since we got down near the equator, was nearly overhead, and the moon seemed to be even north of us.

When we reached the Chagres River we hired a boat of an Irishman for the trip down.  I wondered if there was a place on earth so desolate that the “Paddy” would not find it.  The boat for the journey cost two hundred dollars, and would hold passengers enough so that it would cost us ten dollars each, at any rate, and perhaps a little more.  Two natives had charge of the boat and did the navigating.  There were two ladies among the passengers, and when the two natives, who I suppose were the captain and mate of the craft, came on board, clad very coolly in Panama hats, the ladies looked at them a little out of the corners of their eyes and made the best of it.  Our two navigators took the oars and pulled slowly down the stream.

Nothing but water and evergreen trees could we see, for the shore on either hand was completely hidden by the dense growth that hung over and touched the water.  On a mud bar that we passed a huge alligator lay, taking a sun bath, and though many shots were fired at him he moved away very leisurely.  No one could get on shore without first clearing a road through the thick brushes and vines along the bank.  On the way one of our boatmen lost his hat, his only garment, into the river, and overboard he went, like a dog, and soon had it and climbed on board again.  I wondered why some of the big alligators did not make a snap at him.

The water in the run looked very roily and dirty, and no doubt had fever in it.  The only animals we saw were monkeys and alligators, and there were parrots in the trees.  The farther we went down the stream the wider it became, and the current slacker so that we moved more slowly with the same amount of rowing.  At a place called Dos Hermanos (two brothers) we could see a little cleared spot near the bank, which seemed to be three or four feet above the water.  There were no mountains nor hills in sight, and the whole country seemed to be an extensive swamp.  It was near night that we came to a small native village of palm huts, and here our boatmen landed and hid themselves, and not being able to find