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</noinclude>434
HARPER'S NEW MONTHLY MAGAZINE.
Granada, in exploring together the proposed
route for a ship canal across the Isthmus. It
will be seen in the succeeding pages that this
report was also a fiction; that Mr. Gisborne
never crossed the Isthmus at all — never saw
across it — never advanced more than a dozen
miles inland at the farthest — and, in fact, was
afraid to make the attempt, and that, instead
of the summit-level being 150 feet, it is at least
one thousand feet. As an inevitable result, there-
fore, the various expeditions, relying as they
did entirely on this report, with its accompany-
ing maps, would be led into error, and in the
end completely baffled. The English one, starting
from the Pacific side December 23d, 1853, pro-
ceeded up the Savana, and cutting its way more
than 26 miles from the place of debarkation on
that river, finally became disheartened, and,
with the loss of four men slain by the In-
dians, returned discomfited to the ships. Strain,
from the Atlantic side, started nearly a month
later. Three days after his departure, another
expedition, composed of French and English
together, under the guidance of both Dr. Cullcn
and Mr. Gisborne, set out from the same point,
and endeavored to follow in his track. .But, not-
withstanding they had the men who said they
had crossed and surveyed the Isthmus — the for-
mer having walked it " several times and notched
the trees" — they were unable even to get out of
Caledonia Valley, and after having penetrated
notmore than sixmiles in all returned. Gisborne
and Cullen could not follow their own maps,
not to mention the notched trees. The Grana-
dian expedition started still later. This was a
very large party, under the command of Co-
dazzi, the principal engineer of New Granada.
How far it penetrated is not known, but strag-
gling over the space of a mile it was completely
broken up, and returned, after having lost sev-
eral men. It is with feelings of national pride
I state that the American expedition, under
Strain, alone accomplished the passage, though
under an accumulation of suffering rarely re-
corded in the annals of man.
On the morningof the 17th of January, 1854,
the Cf/ane, Captain Hollins, with Lieutenant
Strain and his party on board, entered Caledonia
Bay, where they were immediately visited by a
number of Darien Indians, some of whom spoke
broken English and Spanish, which they had
acquired in their intercourse with the traders on
the coast. They came on board fearlessly, were
very intelligent and observant, and, though much
below the ordinary stature, were strongly built
and athletic.
On the 18th a council was held which lasted
about eighteen hours, and finally terminated fa-
vorably. For a long time the chiefs resisted Hol-
lins's demand for permission for Strain's party to
traverse the Isthmus, and opposed the project of
a canal most pertinaciously, insisting that if God
had wished one made, he would have given
greater facilities (an opinion in which Strain fully
coincided before he got across), and that they
ought not to be disturbed in the quiet posses-
sion of the land which the Almighty had given
them. Strain replied that God had created
them naked, but they had chosen to clothe
themselves, which was as much an infraction
of his laws as it possibly could be to construct
a canal. To this special pleading they could
not reply, and finally, believing that Captain
Hollins would send a party through their coun-
try with or without their permission, gave their
consent, remarking that it appeared to be the
will of God that they should cross ; and after
stipulating only that they should not disturb
their women, and respect their property, ce-
mented the treaty by a hearty supper, during
which they indulged freely but not immoder-
ately in strong liquors.
Relying on Mr. Gisborne's book, the party
took only ten days' provision. Each mem-
ber of it, with the exception of Mr. Kettle-
well, the draughtsman, had either a carbine
or a musket, with forty rounds of ball cart-
ridges ; while eight of the officers and engineers
had, in addition, a five-barreled Colt's revolver,
with fift} r rounds of ammunition to each pistol.
The arms and provisions, in addition to the
blankets and minor articles, brought the aver-
age weight borne by each individual to about
fifty pounds, which was quite as much as they
coidd carry through a pathless wilderness, and
in a tropical climate.
The naval officers who were detailed for the
expedition were — Passed midshipmen, Charles
Latimer and William T. Truxton, and 1st as-
sistant-engineer, J. M. Maury, whom Strain ap-
pointed assistant-astronomer and secretary, hav-
ing obtained sufficient knowledge within the
last ten years of his high capacity in each de-
partment. Mr. Latimer, however, being taken
ill, never started. Mr. Truxton was appointed
acting master and executive officer.
Midshipman II. M. Garland, of the Cyane,
accompanied the party as a volunteer. The as-
sistant-engineers were Messrs. A. T. Boggs, S.
II. Kettlewell, J. Sterret Hollins, and George
U. Mayo. Dr. J, C. Bird, of Wilmington, Del-
aware, was the surgeon. In addition to these
were three others, volunteers.
Messrs. Castilla and Polanco, commission-
ers appointed by the New Granadian govern-
ment, also determined to accompany the party,
which numbered, all told, twenty-seven men.
Having safely landed his little band, Strain drew
them up, read his instructions to them, and then
took up the line of march for a small fishing vil-
lage at the mouth of the Caledonia river, where
good water could be obtained.
As the huts were abandoned by the Indians,
they took possession of them for the night, and,
having stationed four armed men as sentinels,
stretched themselves on the floor. But the
heavy booming of the surf, as it fell in regular
and tremendous shocks at their feet, made it
like sleeping amidst the incessant crash of ar-
tillery. The billows, as they broke on the beach,
swept on -through the houses, over the sand spit,
and into the river beyond. <noinclude><references /></div></noinclude>
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