"Moving somewhat like a ship in a storm, rising and sinking alternately at stern and bow, surmounting first one huge stone, then a deep mud hole, then another stone, and then a small lake, my mule and myself at last reached Crucis in the evening, the whole distance traversed not being above twenty miles."[16] The town of Crucis is a place very similar to Gorgona, but not so large. The houses are built of cane and plastered with mud. No attention is given to arrangement, and but a small portion is so constructed as to bear any resemblance to a street. The climate is unhealthy, and travellers from the United States make as short a stay there as possible. Doubtless, with the increase of travel, the character of the town and its accommodations will improve; but the heat and humidity of the atmosphere, particularly just after the rainy season, cause a great deal of injury to the health of people from the United States, and will prevent any considerable settlement of Anglo-Saxons in the town. Panama, the terminus of the varied and difficult route across the Isthmus, is situated on the shore of an extensive and beautiful bay. It contains about eight thousand inhabitants, most of whom are negroes. Being one of the old Spanish towns, upon the decline of the Spanish power, the place fell into decay. The houses are generally of stone or brick, two and three stories in height, whitewashed or covered with a coat of plaster, and are invariably surrounded by a balcony protected from sun and rain by the roofs of the houses extending over them. The town is regularly arranged, the strait and narrow streets intersecting each other at right angles. The substantial character of the buildings as well as the evidences of neglect and decay, strike the traveller at the same time. A wall was built by the Spaniards, around the portion of the town nearest the bay, but at least one half of the population reside beyond its limits, and it is in a dilapidated state. A venerable, decayed, but still imposing cathedral; a grand _plaza_, or open common--a general characteristic of Spanish built towns; several churches, partly in ruins; the ruins of the College of Jesuits, which cover a large extent, and of two monasteries, of which the walls and bells alone remain; and the frowning walls and towers of the battery, fronting the bay, are the principal features of the town of Panama. Since the commencement of the emigration to California, a number of Americans have established hotels and eating-houses in the town, and good accommodations are, therefore, to be obtained by travellers.