In the river Chagre are seen numberless caymans or aligators; they are observed either in the water or on the banks, but on account of the thorny shrubs and thick underwood, cannot be pursued on shore. On the borders of this stream, the luxuriancy of the soil is such, that the trees stand so thick, as to render it very difficult to penetrate the forests. The barks which navigate the stream are formed of those trees which grow nearest the water; some of which are so large, as to measure twelve feet in breadth. These forests are plentifully stocked with all sorts of wild animals peculiar to the torrid regions, among which, are innumerable tribes of monkeys. Many of these creatures are caught for food by the negroes and natives. To prepare this dish, the body is scalded in order to remove the hair; and after this operation has been performed, it has the exact appearance of a young dead child, and is so disgusting, that no one, excepting those pressed by hunger, could partake of the repast. It is not at all improbable, that many savage nations who have been accused of cannibalism, have been very unjustly charged with it; for according to Ulloa, the appearance of the monkey of Panama, when ready to be cooked, is precisely that of a human body.
The peacock, the turtle-dove, the heron, and various other sorts of beautiful birds, frequent the forests of the Chagre and of Panama, and the country is dreadfully infested with reptiles, insects, &c.
The province of Panama contains three cities, twelve villages, and numerous settlements of converted Indians. The capital is Panama, a city and sea-port, built near the bottom of a large bay of the Pacific which bears the same name. From this city, the isthmus of Darien has frequently taken its appellation; but at present is indifferently styled the isthmus of Panama, or of Darien. It stands in 9° 0ʹ 30ʺ north latitude, and 79° 19ʹ west longitude. Tello de Gusman gave the country its name from this spot. In 1518, Pedro Arias de Avila, governor of Tierra Firme, settled a colony here, and in 1521, it was constituted a city by the Emperor Charles the Fifth. In 1670, it was sacked and burnt by Morgan, an English adventurer, who had already reduced Porto Bello and Maracaybo; he debarked at the mouth of the Chagre, reducing the fort there after an obstinate defence, and ascending the river, landed again at Cruces and marched to Panama, where after several skirmishes, he entered the city; the inhabitants flying to the woods. Soon after he left the place it was burnt down, but whether by accident or design is not known. The inhabitants resolved to rebuild the town at about a league and a half distance from where it first stood, and in a more convenient situation. It was then enclosed with a regular stone rampart; the houses were chiefly of wood with tiled roofs, having but one story, but of a very handsome appearance; and outside of the walls was a large suburb. In 1737, a fire commenced in a house where tar, naptha, and brandy, were stored; the devouring element was so rapid in its progress, that the city of Panama was entirely consumed in a very short time, with the exception of the suburb, which was saved, it being totally detached from the town. Panama was rebuilt shortly afterwards a second time, and the inhabitants having excellent quarries in the vicinity, erected their houses chiefly of stone; but it suffered again from fire in 1756, and in 1784 it was nearly destroyed by another dreadful conflagration.
The governor of Panama was formerly captain-general of Tierra Firme, and president of a court of royal audience, which has lately been removed to Santa Fé de Bogota. The city of Panama is the see of a bishop, who is subject to the control of the archbishop of Lima; but as he receives no tithes, is paid out of the royal coffers. A municipal council governs the district of the city; a treasury, custom-house, &c. are established there, and when the galleons came from Lima, Panama, and Porto Bello, might be said to have been the Acapulco and Vera Cruz of South America.
The cathedral is a handsome edifice of stone, as are the churches, convents, monasteries, and an excellent hospital.
The streets are broad and paved, both in the city and its suburbs, but the houses of the suburbs are mostly of wood, intermixed with thatched huts. Such is the spirit of trade of this place, that every person is engaged in bartering. The people of Panama, have a disagreeable drawling method of speaking, and appear as if they were overcome by the great heat of the climate; they nevertheless are really healthy, and live in general to a good age.
One of the favourite articles of food among the lower classes, and much used with the higher, is an amphibious animal of the lizard tribe, called the guana, about three feet long, of a yellowish green colour, having a bright yellow belly, with strong claws on its toes, its back covered with thin scales, and a serrated ridge running along the superior surface of the body and tail. It lays from fifty to sixty eggs, as large as those of a pigeon, which are esteemed great delicacies; these eggs are attached to each other by a fine membrane, and form a string or chaplet. The flesh, when dressed, is as white as that of a chicken, and greatly resembles it in taste; it is served with lime-juice, cayenne-pepper, or other high sauces.
Panama is now only remarkable for its fine bay, which is studded with islands; and amongst these is formed the road where the ships from the southern ports anchor in safety, particularly before the islands of Perico, Naos, and Flamingos; the distance of this road is two and a-half, or three leagues from the town.
The tide rises and falls from thirteen to sixteen feet at Panama, whilst at Porto Bello, the flux and reflux amounts to only as many inches. The Bay of Panama is famous for the pearl oyster, and the shoals near the islands del Rey, Tabago, and about forty others which form a small archipelago, formerly produced pearls as fine as could be procured in any part of the world. On these islands, huts were built for the divers, who were mostly negroes, and boats holding from eight to ten people, went out to the banks, which were not more than fifteen fathoms under water. The divers, provided with a rope tied to their bodies, and a small weight attached, plunged into the ocean; on arriving at the bottom, they seized a shell in the left hand, which they put under the arm, a second in the same hand, a third in the right, and sometimes one in the mouth; they then re-ascended to breathe and to put the fish in a bag.
In this practice, the unfortunate slaves were frequently destroyed by the sharks, mantas, &c. The manta is a large, flat fish of great size, which wraps its fins round the object it seizes, and presses it to death. The negroes usually carry a knife to defend themselves, but notwithstanding this protection, as well as that of their comrades in the boats, numbers were annually devoured by these horrid fish.