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1.

Panama May 13, 1849

My dear Wife

According to my expectations at the time, I mailed
the letter from Chagres the mail had gone when we arrived here
& I consequently had no opportunity of writing until the first of June
steamer. – I suppose you would prefer a plaine [plain] narrative
of events as they actually accured [occured] in order to obtain a correct
understanding of the dangers & difficulties real & imaginary with which
those truthfull [truthful] individuals the penny a lives have invested the
idea of crossing the Isthmus. – Early in the morn'g [morning] of the 25
the Orus came along side of us at our anchorage in Navy bay
we were soon transferred on board with our baggage & got under
way, touring the Chas Devins out of the harbour we soon cast
her off & proceeded on our way along the shore th to Chagres
some 10 miles, the shore here is an abrupt bluff of about 50 to
100 feet high covered with a dense growth of timber of varieties
entirely new to me, on the way saw two or 3 indian huts
constructed of poles thatched with palm leaves surrounded with
cocoanut [coconut] trees which with few plantain & bananas form almost
their entire subsistence – they are very las indolent, instances having
been known of their being too lazy to scratch themselves. –

On a high rocky bluff to the left of the entrance of the Chagres River
stands (or rather totters) the old spanish castle of St Lorense [St. Lawrence] a
strong place where new but now a complete muk, the gun
carriagges have all rotted away, some of the guns have fallen
over the parapet & lie at the waters edge the balance, are lying
in disorder about the fort. I do not think a single soldier is
kept here – the entrance is shallow & dangerous, then being only
eleven feet water & quite narrow – close by the rock on which the
castle stands inside of the bar the river is perfectly calm & so deep
that ships lay against the right shore without difficulty, on the left
shore it is shallow & then the town of Chagres is built, it numbers
about 60 or 70 miserable huts one story high with a high steep roof
thatched with palm leaves – they are built with a frame work of