To Panama and back

THE RECORD OF AN EXPERIENCE
HENRY T. BYFORD, M. D.
W. B. CONKEY COMPANY
CHICAGO
Copyright, 1908, BY Henry T. Byford, M. D.
DEDICATED to the Panama Canal Commissioners, who invited the President of the United States to run down and see them dig the Canal while he waited; and to the President, who went to the Canal and found them asleep, and didn’t wait until it was dug.
MAP OF PANAMA (click image to enlarge)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS
FOREWORD
When I made up my mind to go to Panama, I could find no guide book. I had to depend for information upon the advertising matter of the United Fruit Company, and upon the experience of a friend who had spent a few days there on business and who had seen nothing but swamps, rusty machinery, polyglot politicians and gesticulating foreigners. I had no conception of what I was coming to, and had to be content with the reflection that he who has no books must learn by experience. On the other hand, it occurred to me that by recording the main facts and mental impressions of my trip, I might take the reader with me in spirit and impart to him such knowledge as would be of use to him if he went there, and of interest if he stayed at home, for he who has no experience must learn from books.
As a physician attending the Pan-American Medical Congress, I felt that I was not competent to give the accurate general information sometimes found in guide books, and that I should be more concerned with climate and disease than the average writer; but on the other hand I hoped that, since my viewpoint would differ somewhat from that of the general run of writers, my impressions might not be unworthy of record, and might contribute in their way to a better understanding of the country and its customs.