I Some years ago I had an intimate friend, who had been taken suddenly ill; he had been a strong, athletic man, having previously enjoyed excellent health. As soon as I heard of his sickness, which was some days after he was taken ill, I called at his house, and on entering, was met by his wife, who, as soon as she saw me, burst into tears, saying, " she was going to lose her dear husband," and immediately gave vent to a paroxysm of grief. She took me to his bedside, when I at once saw that his dying, was all in my eye. What, with the doctor, who was intent on a good bill, and the old women, who were fast frightenine; him to death, I have no doubt he would have died of inanition.
For, neither doctor nor nurse would allow him any food, except a little weak tea, and a very small piece of toast, twice a day. My first salutation was, " halloo, William! What are you doing here? M He rolled up his eyes like a dying calf, shook his head, " 01 I am very weak." < 'What's the matter?" "0! IdontknowP " Have you eaten anything to-day? " " O! no sir; " says his wife, " the doctor won't allow him to eat anything." " Well, now look here," said I to his wife, " you are starving him. Send immediately, and get two pounds of tender loin, broil it well, and give him a small piece at a time, and when that is gone, get more, and I will insure you that he will live, and soon get well." She did so, and in a few days I called again; he was up, and dressed, walking about the room quite cheerful, and in a few days more, lie was about his business.
He is now, 1856, stout and hearty, and likely to live many years. To resume my journey, I had been twice at Panama in 1820, and there was a marked difference in the population, between that year, and 1850. Then, there were only a few Spanish citizens and about one thousand soldiers, and at siesta time in the afternoon, all was quiet as the grave, but now, the place was one continual scene of fights, rows, drunken yells, and every species of confusion. Nights and Sundays were no alleviation. The police regulations were wholly inefficient, the authorities not daring to imprison an American, let the offence be what it might. And here might be seen a specimen of the future population of San Francisco and the mining districts.
There were many cases of Isthmus fever, many of which terminated in death. The very idea of dying in this place, was worse than death itself. As our party all had through tickets, the company provided us with a passage to San Francisco in the steamer Unicorn, Capt. Porter. She sailed from New York some three months previous, with passengers for California, stopping at Panama for provisions and coal. We had among our cabin companions a number of Western boicie knife fellows, who were gambling night and day. On the first Sabbath after leaving Panama, they got their cards out the first thing after breakfast, and commenced playing. I went to the captain and asked him if he allowed gambling in his cabin on the Sabbath.
He replied that the passengers from New York had continued to do so since they left there, and he doubted whether he coidd stop it now. " Then/7 said 1, " you are no longer master of your own ship, if your authority does not extend far enough to stop what is not allowed on any other American steamer, that I have ever been on board of, and if you do not stop it, you are not the man I took you to be." He was willing to make the attempt, however, went below, and requested them to abstain. They at first showed symptoms of refusal, but finally concluded to put away their cards. They were down on me, in rather an underhanded manner, making frequent allusions to Methodists, picking out particular passages in the Bible, reading them aloud to the female passengers.
Notwithstanding all this, I was treated respectfully by all, being cautions not to come in collision with them, for I saw that they were a set of villa nous desperadoes, each carrying a bowie knife, or a revolver fully charged. One day an innocent sort of a fellow made a remark which one of these wretches did not happen to relish. The latter drew out his knife and made a plunge at him. Fortunately lie dodged the knife, jumped up and ran among the crowd, and the murderer after him. My blood fairly chilled, for I expected to see that horrid looking knife plunged into his body. He was rescued by the others, but there the fellow stood, trembling with rage with his knife in his hand, swear. ing he would have the fellow's heart's blood.