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43 My stay in Panama was by one means interesting. The various incidents transpiring in our company - the novelties in the streets - the doings of the Americans. Kept my attention always lively. One of the first points in Company matters and the settling of the cooking question. This was settled finally by taking the task in routine by two's term of service three days. The general plan followed by the emigrants who did not camp without the city was to hire rooms - buy food and cook for themselves. Those who prefered stopping at the hotels could be boarded for $2.0 per diem. Our company the BCEC - hired very pleasant rooms on the corner of the Cull de San Antonio and the Calle de San Miguel. We ascended an easy flight of stone stairs - from the landing of which we entered our rooms. The first ones our luggage and dining room - this opened into a room devoted our Director and his family - and into the general lodging room of the company. The front room opened to the balcony - a pleasant place for evening sociability. Below we had access to the court - in yard - in which our culinary work was performed. I cannot refer these apartments but with a feeling of pleasure - for though their actual looked anything but promising - yet there was a beautiful in their actual - evident to a contented spirit - brought out by pleasant associations connected therewith. They never seemed gloomy or ugly to me. Their size kept the heat of the climate in abbeyance - while their large doors and windows gave facility of entrance to the land and sea breezes - making a circulation of air very agreeable. Indeed I hardly suffered at all from the heat of the climate. Senor Lopez was our landlord - a young Spanish gentleman - with whom and his cousin Senor Sosa - I shortly became acquainted. The rental of our rooms was 20 rials per day. The passing of the United States dime - for a rial - made this coin in good demand among the Americans. Shortly after our arrival a party was formed to go out on the hills and fetch in fuel. They accomplished their purpose - returning with the faggots on their backs - but one of the men loitered behind. Nothing was thought about it - dinner was eaten the afternoon passed - evening came and Huskins had not been seen. Our house was in commotion - a thousand misfortunes were thought of - and some even suggested in one of his desponding - lunatic fits - Huskins might have shuffled off his mortal coil. Parties set out in