'^o^ O N •■ ^* V 7 ^;!i ^oV '^0"- '^o* .-iq. .0' .!/•'. "^ <*>. '"♦» <*. 'o, *» .G b "ryr^'^ A "NT _ ' o ^ .^'% Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/panamacanal01hall Santa Maria."— One of the Ships of Columbus. PANAMA AND THE CANAL By Alfred B. Hall Instructor in History in The Hotchliiss School. Lakeville, Conn, and Clarence L. Chester Traveler and Explorer NEW YORK NEWSON & COMPANY Copyright, 1910, by NEWSON & COMPANY (1149) CI.A256408 INTRODUCTION "Castilla del Oro " — Golden Castile — was the name given by Columbus to the Isthmus of Panama, in honor of Isabella, good queen of the old Spanish kingdom of Castile. Golden, indeed, it was to be, a land of treasure far beyond the dreams of the Great Discoverer. "Grave of the Spaniards" — the pioneers called it, who fought to win the treasure from savage Indians, cruel pirates, and a deadly climate. "Key to the Pacific" — some, too, have named it. As if, when Nature raised the broad continents of North and South America between the Atlantic and the Pacific, she originally planned a waterway at this con- venient spot to connect the two oceans. And then, as an after-thought, threw in this bit of land, at its narrowest point scarcely thirty miles wide, and with its hills at one place only three hundred feet above the sea, as a challenge to the strength and skill of mankind. Four hundred years ago men accepted the challenge. First Spain, then Scotland, England, and France poured out money and life in a vain effort to build a waterway and to defeat the powers of Nature. Last of all, the United States, led by a dauntless President, took up the fight. vi INTRODUCTION "This is the greatest engineering work the world has yet seen," said President Roosevelt, ''but the Canal shall be built!" These names tell in short the story of the Isthmus. In all the Western Hemisphere no spot has had so romantic a history as this small strip of land that joins the two continents but separates the two greatest oceans of the world. PREFACE In this little book the authors have attempted to present the history of Panama and of the Panama Canal in a man- ner which will be interesting and intelligible to younger readers. As a possession of the United States the Canal Zone deserves attention from teachers of geography and history. The state of Panama itself has had a most dra- matic and thrilling history. And the Canal is not only a wonder of modern engineering but is also an American achievement of first importance. The story is full of important facts in history and geography and presents a fund of information of a distinctly educational character. For the early historical matter the authors have drawn freely upon such material as is found in Fiske's Discovery of America and in a large number of books of a similar character. Through the courtesy of the Isthmian Canal Commission, many records and pictures have been secured. These have been supplemented by photographs taken on the Isthmus and by personal observation and study in the Canal Zone. December, 1909. yn TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction v PART I.— GOLDEN CASTILE Chapter I. A Route from Europe to Asia ..,..,. 3 II. Balboa and the Pacific ........ 12 III. Pizarro and the Gold of Peru ...... 19 PART II.— GRAVE OF THE SPANIARDS IV. The Pirates 27 PART III.— MODERN PANAMA V. Land of the Cocoanut Tree 41 VI. Natives and Animals 58 VII. City of Panama 78 PART IV.— KEY TO THE PACIFIC VIII. Roadways Across Central America 93 IX. Waterways Across Central America 108 X. The French at Panama 113 XI. The United States and Panama . . . . .128 XII. Conquest of Disease 137 XIII. Assembling a Working Force 156 XIV. Machinery and the Panama Railroad . . . . .170 XV. Sea-level and Lock Canals -177 XVI. The Lock Canal at Panama ....... 186 XVII. Building the Canal 194 XVIII. The Men Behind the Canal 218 XIX. Future of Panama and the Canal 22^ PART I GOLDEN CASTILE Map I. — "The Portuguese Find a Route to Asia; CHAPTER I A ROUTE FROM EUROPE TO ASIA Every schoolboy today knows more of geography than the most learned man in Europe knew -five hundred years ago. When Columbus w^as puzzling over his Latin books and learning to draw maps in the Portuguese schools of Genoa, Italv, no teacher could have f '"f ^ ^°"*® ' •" ' to Asia told him the real size and shape of the earth. A few persons believed that the earth was round like a globe but thought it much smaller than we now know it to be. The maps of that day marked with certainty only the continent of Europe, the INIediterranean Sea, a little of the north of Africa, and some of the western parts of Asia. What the remainder of Asia and Africa was like, no one could say. West of Europe was the Atlantic ocean, called the Sea of Darkness. No European ship was ever known to have crossed it. It was an ocean of unknown dangers. Sailors were afraid to try it. And as for North and South America and the Pacific ocean, stretching ten thousand miles beyond them, there was not the faintest idea that they existed. In those days, of course, there were no steamships nor railways. Nor was there any way for even small sailing 3 WEALTH OF ASIA vessels to pass from the Mediterranean into the Indian ocean and so direct to India, China, and Japan. The journey to the East was dif&cult and dangerous. Pirates, Turks, and highway robbers, and many long miles through unknown lands frightened the boldest traveler. And yet there were a few, per- haps not over half a dozen, who had visited China and India, and had come back, like Marco Polo, with such tales of strange lands and rich cities as to fill Europe with wonder and surprise. In the markets of Genoa Columbus, no doubt, saw the valuable drugs and spices, handsome rugs and silks, and the almost priceless gold and jewels which the slow cara- vans brought out of Asia to the Mediterranean and there sold to the traders from European cities. These oriental goods were in great demand, and the merchants in Venice, Genoa, and other towns made immense profits in this trade. It is not strange that during the boyhood of Columbus men were curious to know more of the wondrous eastern coast of Asia, and were greedy for its wealth. If only some new, outside waterway to Asia could be found, its millions of people might be conquered and its riches brought cheaply Christopher Columbus. CAPE GOOD HOPE 5 home to Europe. This was the great desire. Merchants and sailors, soldiers and priests, and even kings and queens hoped to share in the gold and glory of such a discovery. Twenty years before Columbus was born. Prince Henry of Portugal, called the Navigator, made up his mind that if a way around the southern end of Africa could be found, Portuguese ships might sail direct to India. For forty-five years this generous and devoted man denied himself the pleasures of the gay court of Portugal and devoted his life to the task of discovery. When he died in 1463 his daring sailors had explored the west coast of Africa for more than two thousand miles to Sierra Leone (Map I, p. 2). For years after his death his nephew. King John II, continued the explorations. In 1487 success rewarded these patient efforts. After a most remarkable voyage of at least thir- teen thousand miles, Bartholomew Diaz (De^ath) returned to Portugal with battered ships and worn-out crews, and reported that though he had not actually reached India, he had passed the southern cape of Africa and had sailed into the Indian ocean. "Let the cape be called Good Hope," said King John, "for now we have good hope that the long-sought ocean route to India has been found." We can scarcely imagine the interest which this discov- ery aroused in Europe, nor the envy with which the other kings looked upon this new Portuguese route and saw King John about to secure the riches of Asia for himself and his country. 6 A BOLD PLAN Now it happened that Christopher Columbus and his younger brother Bartholomew had become not only expert map makers but also excellent seamen. Co- and the luuibus tclls US that he went to sea when scarcely "Shorter fourteen years old. About 1470 they left their home in Italy, went to Portugal, and joined the expeditions down the coast of Africa. In fact, Bartholomew was a seaman on the ships of Diaz, when the great journey was made around Cape Good Hope. It was now clear to all that the Portuguese had found a route to Asia but that it must be at best very long and tedious. Africa proved to be much longer than was expected. In 1484 Christopher Columbus had made the astonishing proposal to King John that ships be given him for a voyage directly westward across the Atlantic. He declared that if the earth were really round, Asia could surely be reached in that way; and that instead of a route by Cape Good Hope of at least ten thousand miles, a journey west of only two thousand five hundred miles, as he figured it, would bring him to the rich island of Japan. The idea was not new, though few believed in it; but the courage to make the journey was new. King John was struck with the boldness of the plan, but his advisers declared that it was certain to be a failure. The ships were not given him, and Columbus in disgust departed hastily from Portugal to offer himself and his great idea to Ferdinand and Isa- bella, king and queen of Spain. VOYAGES OF COLUMBUS 7 We all know the remainder of the story, — eight long years of delays, disappointments, poverty, and ridicule; the final favorable decision of Queen Isabella; and the tliree little ships that set out from Palos on a Friday morning in August 1492, for the most notable journey ever made across the seas. We know, too, the intense excitement in Spain upon his return with news that he had crossed the Atlantic and had discovered some islands which he believed to be close to the coast of Asia. Honors were heaped upon him and he became the hero of the hour. Seventeen ships and fifteen hundred men at once prepared to set out for further discovery. Everyone supposed that Spain had beaten Portugal in the race for the untold riches of Asia. Now it was the turn of King John to be envious. Alas for poor Columbus ! Though he did not know it, he had not reached Asia after all, only Haiti and Cuba! This second trip lasted many months and proved most disappointing. The West India Islands were explored, thousands of fierce cannibal Indians encountered, but there were no rich cities nor coasts of Asia nor ship-loads of wealth brought back to Spain. Columbus's enemies now began to call him a humbug and to plot his ruin. And the king, too, began to think that his voyages were of little value after all. Yet a third .voyage was made in 1497. At the same time a number of other Spanish cap- tains crossed the Atlantic on similar voyages of discovery. BETWEEN TWO OCEANS Map II. — Columbus and the Isthmus. TRIUMPH OF DA GAMA 9 Hundreds of miles of the coasts of North and South America . were explored, A little gold was found and some Indians captured to be sold as slaves; but the ships returned with no "shorter route" to Asia discovered and with the sad tidings of the horrible death of hundreds of Spaniards at the hands of the fierce Indians of the West Indies. Imagine, then, the feelings of King Ferdinand and of Columbus, when the news came, in the summer of 1499, that Vasco da Gama, in the service of King John, had sailed around Africa by the Portuguese route and had actually reached India, had seen its rich cities, and brought back his ships to Portugal loaded with silks, satins, ivory, spices, rubies, and emeralds. Asia had been reached! How mean Columbus's voyages now looked in comparison with this triumph! Portugal had won the race by the longer African route. No wonder that men began to doubt the existence of Co- lumbus's "shorter route." Not so Columbus. „ , ^ Columbus He was now an old man, poor and sick ; but and the his noble spirit still clung to the belief that somewhere, through the new lands that he had found, there must be a waterway that would lead him on to Asia. Spain must do something to offset the triumph of Portugal. So it came about that the king and queen sent him from Cadiz, on the nth of May, 1502, on his fourth and last voyage. In June he reached the West Indies, and in July the Cape of Honduras south of Yucatan (Map II). For five lo EVIDENCES OF GOLD months he proceeded southward down the coast, encoun- tering head winds and wretched weather, but encouraged because he found the Indians there hving in large stone houses, possessed of much good pottery and copper tools, "The Beautiful Harbor of Porto Bello." and well clothed in brightly-colored cotton garments. There were plentiful evidences of gold, too, and many natives were seen with plates of gold suspended from their necks. Surely the rich lands of Asia could not be far away! On down the coast the vessels went, until they reached the Isthmus of Panama. Here the low hills, clothed with dense tropical forests, rose but little above the sea. Each bay NO WATERWAY ii and river was now carefully explored, especially the Chagres river, up which Columbus went to its sources, and was at one time but fifteen miles from the Pacific! The beautiful harbor of Porto Bello (Good Harbor) was entered and named on November 2, 1502. Still no passage to the west was found. Already the sailors were grumbling; the food was almost gone; and the vessels were worm-eaten and hard to manage. Yet the determined man pressed on mile after mile, hoping against hope. But in December, having passed along the entire coast of Panama, and being completely discouraged at finding no westward pas- sage, he was forced to turn about and head for Cuba. A year of shipwreck, a sad return to Spain, two years of neglect and misery ended the life of this great seaman in 1506. There was no waterway through Panama. The Isthmus had conquered the noblest of all discoverers. CHAPTER II BALBOA AND THE PACIFIC The schoolbooks tell us that the first white man to prove that Panama was but a narrow strip of land and that a great ocean lay to the west of it, — was the Spanish cava- lier Balboa. Perhaps few of us know that this great dis- coverer set out for Panama in a barrel. Balboa in a barrel! Such an amusing way of reaching the Isthmus deserves a word of explanation. When the Spaniards began to doubt if they could reach Asia by a westward waterway, they determined at least The s aniards ^^ couqucr the ncwly-discovcrcd lands and to Settle in sccurc their gold. Ships began at once to sail Panama to Panama. There they found gold in plenty in the sand of the rivers and returned to Spain heavily loaded. Within a year King Ferdinand created two prov- inces on these coasts — one, from the Atrato river eastward (Map II, p. 8), was given to the discoverer Ojeda (O-ha'tha) ; the other, the Isthmus of Panama — called Golden Castile— - was given to a court favorite Nicuesa (Ne-koo-'asa). These two governors set sail with parties of settlers in 1509. On reaching the eastern shore of his province Ojeda FAMINE AND SICKNESS 13 rashly went ashore with seventy men to catch some Indians for slaves. A fierce fight followed and all but Ojeda and one companion were killed by the savages. Thus began the bloody struggle with the natives, which was to continue for many years and to end only when the latter were nearly de- stroyed. The remainder of Oje- da's party had scarcely built their miserable little settlement at San Sebas- tian (Map II, p. 8), when they began to die of famine and sickness. Ojeda at once left the party in charge of Francisco Pizarro and sailed for Santo Domingo on the island of Haiti for supplies. Now it hap- pened that in Santo Domingo there lived a handsome young man heels over head in debt, and in terror lest he be sent to prison. He contrived to hide himself in a barrel and was rolled on board the ships that were about to set off with food for the starving men at San Sebastian. Days passed. And when Santo Domingo and his debts Vasco Nunlz dl Balboa. 14 A CENTER OF WORLD INTEREST Map III. — "The Spaniards Settle in Panama.' NICUESA 15 were left far behind, to the disgust of the captain, out crawled the gay Balboa from his barrel. Surely his courage deserved a better fate than was in store for him at Panama. San Sebastian was relieved, its survivors deserted the unhappy spot, and joined the new-comers to build a new town called Santa Maria. It was the first on the Isthmus. The ener- getic Balboa soon became the leader of this settle- ment (Map III). Terrible misfortunes also befell Nicuesa's party. They made a landing on the Isthmus and built a set- tlement which they called Nombre de Dios (Nom'~ bra-da-De'os) — Name of God. In a few months, of seven hundred men, only Nicuesa and sixty-nine others were left. Scarcely a white settlement in all America can show a more dreadful record of death, — nine dead out of every ten. And Nicuesa with the sixty-nine had become "filthy and horrible to behold," and nearly mad for lack of food. At last, in two The So-called Balboa Tree. From Its Top Both Atlantic and Pacific can BE Seen. i6 MORE TREASURE small boats, they sailed east to Santa Maria. There the settlers were so afraid of Nicuesa that they would not let him land. With seventeen followers he set out again to sea and was never heard from again. After such awful suffer- ings it is surprising that the few Spaniards who re- mained did not speedily leave Panama and return to Spain. One thing kept them at Santa Maria. A nearby Indian chief, by name Comogre, made friends with Balboa and gave him seventy slaves and a large quantity of gold. The story is that as the Spaniards were weigh- ing the treasure and quar- relling as to how it should be divided, the Indians were as- tonished at their excitement. We know that the natives used their gold only for ornaments and knew little of its value. A son of the chief told Balboa that if the Spaniards prized the yellow metal so highly, they should cross the mountains to a great sea, where, far to the south, people lived who had no end of the precious metal. Fired with excitement at this View of Atlantic from Balboa Tree. THE GREATEST OCEAN 17 news of more gold, the settlers were willing to remain. Balboa planned to cross the mountains and to see for him- self if a way could not be found to the land of treasure. Some months later, in September, 15 13, with two hundred men, he plunged into the tropical Dis^covTred forest. On the 25th of that month, from a high point of land on the Isthmus, he and his men looked with astonishment at a vast ex- panse of water stretching off to the west and south as far as eye could see. Four days later, on the 29th, having reached the water's edge, Balboa claimed pos- session, for the king of Spain, of the greatest ocean on the globe. Eager to make further plans, Balboa hurried back to Santa Maria, only to find to his dismay that fif- teen hundred gi-eedy ad- venturers had arrived from Spain, — all bent on shar- ing in the conquest of the golden country. With this com- pany came also a new governor for the Isthmus. This man, Pedrarias, has been called a "two-legged tiger." He View of Pacific from Balboa Tree. 1 8 AN UNTIMELY END was one of the most evil and brutal men ever sent by Spain to the New World. At once jealous of Balboa, he did all in his power to prevent his expedition to the golden country. But Balboa pressed on his preparations. His energy was amazing. By 151 7 he had forced the Indians to cut a road- way tlirough the dense jungles and to carry four ships, piece by piece, across to the Pacific; had put them together again; and was ready to sail down the coast of South America. Two thousand Indians are said to have perished in this task. But here Balboa's career was to come to an untimely end. The hatred of Pedrarias could allow him to go no further. He was arrested, tried on a false charge of trea- Baib?a°^ son, and beheaded by order of the governor. So perished the first white man to cross Pan- ama,— the Discoverer of the Pacific. Others must find the golden country. CHAPTER III PIZARRO AND THE GOLD OF PERU For the next seven years the Spaniards were satisfied to secure the treasure that was to be had near at hand. In 1 5 19 Pedrarias began to build the city of Panama on the Pacific and to connect this with the Atlantic by a road across the Isthmus, first to Nombre de Dios and later to Porto Bello (Map III, p. 14). The Pearl Islands in the Gulf of Panama were conquered and their chief gave the governor at one time, we are told, " a basket full of pearls weighing one hundred and ten pounds, — whereof some were as big as hazelnuts. One of these alone was later sold for one thousand two hun- dred ducats (about $1,500)." The Spanish also seized Nicaragua. Everywhere gold was forced from the natives 19 Francisco Pizarro. 20 FRANCISCO PIZARRO by every manner of fiendish cruelty that men mad with greed could devise. They were made slaves. They died by thousands. But now from Panama ships Spanish -' ^ Treasure began to Sail away to Spain with heavy car- goes of treasure and many Spaniards returned in them to swell the population of Panama. But this was only the beginning. In 1524 Francisco Pi- zarro received permission to take up again the plans for dis- Descendants of the Incas of Peru. Old Inca Masonry in Background. covering the golden kingdom away off to the south. This distant land the Spaniards called Peru. It extended south of the equator for more than a thousand miles down the DISTANT LAND OF PERU 21 western coast of South America, and was the richest and most highly developed of any part of the New World. Here were well-built towns, with palaces and temples of strange Bridge Still Standing on the Old Road from Panama to Porto Bello. and splendid workmanship. Here were fine roads, fertile fields, and millions of people. And here, too, were mines of gold and silver from which the rulers, called Incas (Ing'- kas), had gathered an almost unbelievable store of metal. We cannot here tell the long and thrilling story of the hardships suffered by Pizarro and otT^^T his men. No one can read it without being amazed by the reckless daring which finally brought them to the coast of Peru. Nor is this the place for the sad story 22 THE GOLDEN KINGDOM of the conquest. Horses and bloodhounds the natives had never seen before and were intensely afraid of them. Their weapons, too, were no match for the swords and firearms of the Spaniards. And so there followed in Peru the same greedy scramble for gold as at Panama, — the same torture, massacre, treachery, and slavery. The enormous wealth that now fell into the hands of Pi- zarro's men is difficult to estimate. We are told that when one of the rulers of Peru was held prisoner by the Spaniards in a room twenty-two feet long by seventeen feet wide, "he made a mark on the wall as high as he could reach with his hand, and offered as ransom gold enough to fill the room up to that height." The oft'er was accepted and more than $15,000,000 in gold w^as thus secured. Another ruler was promised his freedom for a similar amount. After it was collected, he was treacherously murdered. Immense quan- tities of silver were also secured. Here, indeed, was the Golden Kingdom and Spain pro- ceeded to make the most of it. Peru and, in fact, the whole west coast of South America was slowly but surely con- quered. Spanish towns were built and Spanish authority established. The natives were forced to work the mines. Vast quantities of gold, silver, and tropical products were shipped north to the city of Panama, to cross the Isthmus to Porto Bello, where fleets of Spanish ships came each year to convey them home to Spain. A fine stone road now con- nected Porto Bello and Panama. The two cities were THE CITY ON THE ISTHMUS 23 strongly fortified, and the latter, in particular, became one of the greatest and richest in America. The fortunate situ- ation of the city on the Isthmus made it a most important center of Spanish power. " It contained two thousand large buildings and five thousand smaller, — all of which were three stories high, and were elegantly constructed and richly furnished. Its merchants lived in great pan^ama°' opulence, their houses rich in articles of gold and silver, adorned with beautiful paintings and other works of art, and full of the luxuries of the age." "The pros- perity of Panama was the wonder and envy of the world." IMoreover, the wealth of America filled to overflowing the treasuries of Spain. Once a poor and weak country, she now was rich and powerful. Her ships ruled the seas and her soldiers were the finest in Europe. Within fifty years after the death of Columbus, the commands of the emperor of Spain were law for more than half of Europe. PART II GRAVE OF THE SPANIARDS CHAPTER IV THE PIRATES "Cheaply bought, dear in the end," is an old Spanish proverb. The hidden treasure of America, opened as if bv maejic, and the sudden rise of Spain to „„ , ,„ ^ t" ' ^ Effect of Her power, let loose the harsh and evil traits of conquests • 1 1 n °^ Spain character that were m the end to corrupt aJl classes. In the New World, where murder, theft, and slavery were the rule, men came to despise honest labor. This same spirit soon showed itself in the mother country. Enterprise and industry declined. Pride and tyranny in America bred bad government at home. The rulers seemed mad with a desire to crush out all liberty in their wide empire. "It was an ill fortune," says one writer, "that led the Spaniards to those parts of America in which the pre- cious metals were found, for the ruin of their own country was hastened by the cruel plundering of Peru." Spain concjuercd Portugal in 1580 and so came to con- trol with iron hand nearly all the commerce on all the oceans. This drove both the Dutch and the English to make war. For more than two hundred years the Spanish were obliged to fight almost constantly to hold what they had won. Their soldiers and sailors were brave enough, as we 27 28 THE PRINCE OF PIRATES know, but corruption and mismanagement at home meant defeat for Spain abroad. Her possessions in America were most open to attack and were now more and more poorly defended by half- paid and half-starved troops. French, English, and Dutch pirates began to infest the West Indies and to lie in wait for the rich merchant vessels and treasure ships that sailed between Spain and Panama. So bold were these pirates and so numerous their ships and men, that Spain was helpless, and her commerce was ruined. Captain Sharp, Lewis Scott, Davies, and Dampier were pirates at the very mention of whose names Spaniards trembled. But the prince of pirates or buccaneers, as they are sometimes called, was Henry Morgan. The account of his exploits at Panama makes the tales of pirates m^oTm ^^ ^^^ storybooks seem tame indeed. Born in Wales, he ran away to sea when still a mere boy, was sold as a slave, joined the pirates, became a leader, and took part in many wild adventures. At lensfth he determined to attack Porto Bello and assembled nine ships and four hundred and sixty men, — a motley band of cut-throats. The town was so large and well protected by two strong forts at the mouth of the harbor, that Morgan scarcely dared at first to tell his men to what place he proposed to take them. But so skillfully and secretly did they approach the harbor that they were able to surprise, seize, and blow up one of the forts. The PORTO BELLO PLUNDERED 29 sound of the explosion caused wild panic in the town. The garrison of the other fort fought with great courage, though unable long to resist the furious attacks of Morgan's men. No quarter was given, the town was set on fire, and "Ruined Fort with Its Guns and Watchtowers." those of the inhabitants who were not able to escape to the forests, perished in the streets or burning buildings. For fifteen days the pirates gave themselves up to every manner of debauchery in the enjoyment of their plunder. About all that was left of the flourishing town of Porto Bello was the ruined fort with its guns and watchtowers. Today they can still be seen much overgrown by the trop- ical jungle. 30 SAN LORENZO WAS CAPTURED Co/>yi-i^hl Oy L Interior of Fort San Lorenzo. " Cloud-crested San Lorenzo guards The Chagres' entrance still, Tho' o'er each stone dense moss hath grown, And earth his moat doth fill." MARCH ACROSS THE ISTHMUS 31 Before he left Morgan sent an insulting message to the governor of Panama, to the effect that he would soon return and do to Panama what he had done to Porto City of Bello. True to his word, he returned in 1671. Panama News of the great booty captured at Porto Bello, and of the still greater expedition now planned, had attracted pirates from far and near. Thirty-seven ships and two thousand men were soon under Morgan's command, "On the Spaniards' beach they landed, Dead to pity, void of fear, — Round their blood-red flag embanded, Led by Morgan the Buccaneer," / This time it was at the mouth of the Chagres river and the powerful fort, San Lorenzo, was captured. Chagrestown was destroyed and the pirates continued up the river as far as they could go. Then came such a nine days' march overland as only hardy pirates could have endured. Mor- gan had failed to bring any food for his men and the Span- iards had not only made the road nearly impassable but had also carefully burned everything that could be eaten. At last, from a high point of land the buccaneers looked down upon the lovely harbor and beautiful city of Panama. "In a valley below the eminence upon which they stood, herds of cattle peacefully grazed. The pirates rushed among the animals and, slaughtering them, devoured their flesh raw. After this savage feast they pushed on and 32 A STRANGE BATTLE soon the plain of Panama lay before them with the city on the further side." Old Panama was not a walled city. Therefore the gov- ernor had collected his four regiments of soldiers and two ULDiisT Spanish Church Still in Use on the Isthmus. hundred cavalry on the open plain outside the town. Here he had collected also a herd of two thousand wild bulls, with Indians to drive them headlong against the ranks of the pirates. In the fight that now began these bulls caused the greatest confusion. The pirates succeeded in turning them back upon the Spaniards, but the latter held their ground for two full hours of furious battle. When the cavalry RUIN OF OLD PANAMA 33 had been routed and at least a thousand men lay dead on the field, the ranks of the defenders at last broke, muskets were thrown awa}^ and a wild rush for the town began. Not even the great guns of the Spaniards could check the invaders. In three hours more they were in possession of the city. Immediately the dwellings and public build- ings were set on fire, and flames and smoke added to the horrors of robbery and massacre. Few of the inhabitants City Walls of New Panama. escaped death or capture. Then, amid the ruins, for a full month, the captors indulged in such acts of torture and debauchery as only the imagination can picture. 34 AN ANCIENT LANDMARK Massive Tower of Saint Augustin. SIR HENRY MORGAN 55 Finally the return march began. One hundred and seventy-five mules and six hundred prisoners helped to carry the plunder back across the Isthmus to the ships, ¥%- <-% --- 1^- ^1^?^^^' K^^~ - t^Hk) -'rt'.-<'it ■ **FouR Massive Lions Guard a Beautiful Column." 112 A NARROW ESCAPE his wonderful battle with the French fleet at Trafalgar, he nearly lost his life in Nicaragua. He was only young Captain Nelson then, and had been sent with some English ships and men to drive the Spanish out of Nicaragua and seize the lake. England had determined to get control of what was then thought to be the best route for a canal. Nelson succeeded in whipping the Spanish ships that were sent against him. But the tropical fever again fought in behalf of Spain, and that he could not whip. The crew of his ship, the Hinchinhrook, was suddenly taken sick, and in a few days only ten were left alive out of two hundred. The captain's own health, also, was injured for the re- mainder of his life. England did not despair. For many years she continued to make surveys at Nicaragua. Until very recently she still had plans for a canal. CHAPTER X THE FRENCH AT PANAMA On a certain day in 1882, up among the hills eleven miles back of the city of Panama, an unusual sight could have been seen. All about, the jungle had been cut away, the land cleared, and tracks, cars, engines, and machinery for digging had been set up. Some of them were actually in operation. Engines were puffing, men were shouting, gangs of workmen were hurrying here and there. Smoke, too, could be seen at points down the valley, and there were signs of activity everywhere. Amid all this commotion a company of a few hundred persons was gathered. No such company had ever met before on the Isthmus. There was the Bishop from the Cathedral of Panama, and with him a number of the lead- ing citizens of that town. There were some Americans also, and Europeans of different nationalities, especially Frenchmen. These all had the appearance of spectators much interested in something unusual that was about to happen. The center of the group was a little white-haired man, laughing and joking, and full of remarkable energy and good humor. Except for his white hair he appeared to be 113 114 THE CANAL BUILDER De Lesseps not over fifty years old. Certainly no one would have guessed that he had passed his seventy-sixth birthday. We are told that he would often "ride a fiery horse all day over rough country, — then dance all night like a boy, and the next day be as 'fresh as a daisy.'" He seemed now to be the chief in command of all the work. This man was none other than Count Ferdinand de Lesseps, and the work actu- ally going on was the dig- ging of a French canal across Panama. The company was as- sembled to witness the formal opening of the great work. The Bishop was to give it his blessing, and a tremendous charge of Count Ferdinand de Lesseps. dynamite was to be ex- ploded, to show how easy was to be the task of cut- ting through the rock. An eye-witness has described the scene for us. "The blessing had been pronounced, the champagne, duly iced, was waiting to cool the swelter of that tropic sun, as soon as the explosion "went off." There the crowd stood, breathless, ears stopped, eyes blinking, half ISTHMUS OF SUEZ 115 30 20° 10° 0° ID" 20° 3D° ^0° 10° 60° 70° 80 30° 20'' 10° 0° 10° 20° 30° ^0" S0° 60° 70° 80° Map VI. — De Lesseps and the Isthmus of Suez. ii6 AN UNLUCKY EXPLOSION in terror lest this artificial earthquake might involve gen- eral destruction. But there was no explosion! It wouldn't go ! Then a humorous sense of relief stole upon the crowd. With one accord everybody exclaimed "Good gracious!" and hurried away, lest after all the dynamite should see fit to explode." So, after much merriment and feasting, the company broke up and departed. As we look back upon that day's doings, which marked the beginning of the French enter- prise, there seems something unlucky about that charge of dynamite that refused to explode. But who was Ferdinand de Lesseps? And how did the French come to be building a canal at Panama? De Les- seps was a Frenchman who had lived for many and the^^^^ ycars in Egypt. There he was but a few miles Isthmus of from that other sreat isthmus of the world, — Suez ^ ^ ' at Suez, — where a strip of low land, less than one hundred miles wide, connects the two continents of Asia and Africa. As Panama blocked the most important route of commerce in the New World, so did the Isthmus of Suez in the Old World. For ages there had been a demand for a canal between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, and many wise men had studied the problem. To be of any value the canal must be what is called a "ship canal," that is, large enough for ocean vessels. But a ship canal one hundred miles long! No such had ever been built. The difficulties seemed too great. A CANAL AT SUEZ 117 Though De Lesseps was not an engineer of much expe- rience, he was very ambitious and anxious to connect his name with some great undertaking. He could see that the task of building a canal at Suez was really simple. It Copyrii;IU iiy Lndii-wvoU Ship Passing Through the Suez Canal. would require much money and patience, but the digging would be mostly through sand. There was little rock, and there were almost no hills. De Tesseps determined that he would be the man to build that ship canal. It was a daring scheme, indeed, but he went to work at once. In 1858 a company was formed. Men had confidence in ii8 ONE ISTHMUS CONQUERED De Lesseps and money was secured. In 1859 work was begun and progressed steadily and successfully for the next ten years. Before the world fully realized it, Africa was no longer connected w^ith Asia by land. The canal was com- pleted. The waters of the Mediterranean could flow into the Red Sea and a new route was secured from Europe to Asia. The Suez Canal is ninety-nine miles long, thirty-one feet deep, one hundred and eighty feet wide at the bottom, and four hundred and twenty feet at the water's Suez Canal surface. Great electric lights were placed along the banks and ships can pass tlirough it by night as well as by day. The time of transit is from fourteen to eighteen hours. The cost was $100,000,000 or about $1,000,000 for each mile. But those who had dared to put their money into this rash enterprise were richly rewarded, for enormous profits were made. Nearly four thousand ships now pass through the canal each year, and the Company receives an income from tolls of about $25,000,000. One of the two great isthmuses of the world was conquered. De Lesseps was now at the height of his fame. All Europe rang with his praises. No task seemed too difficult for this successful man. It is not strange, then, that he looked lor^gingly across the Atlantic toward that other great isthmus at Panama. Nor are we surprised to find him laying plans in 1877 to do FRENCH PANAMA CANAL COMPANY 119 in the New World what he had done in the Old. It need be only a forty mile canal at Panama. To be sure, others had tried and failed, but was he not the very man to win? When he declared that "the and Panama Panama Canal will be more easily begun, finished, and maintained than the Suez Canal," rich and poor alike were eager to furnish money. So in 1879 the French Panama Canal Company was formed. The Atlantic and Pacific were to be directly con- nected by a canal twenty-eight feet deep. It was to be built at a cost of $214,000,000, and to be finished in eight years. A great force of workmen was secured, machinery purchased, and everything made ready. The Bishop blessed the work, as we have seen, and the canal was begun. A whole book might be filled with the story of the French Canal. For us three words will explain what 1 1 French Work happened. ^, p^^^^^ Disease. — It seems as if De Lesseps and his associates should have known enough about Panama to have reckoned with the old enemy, — ^Yellow Fever. They did build expensive hospitals, — one at Panama City cost nearly $6,000,000, — another at Colon, $1,400,000; but they were badly managed and the sick were poorly cared for. We have, no doubt, already seen the yellow fever w^ard of the hospital at Panama City. In this one ward twelve hundred patients died. Worse still, while they tried to cure the sick, the French did little to prevent sickness. The towns were 120 DISEASE AND WASTE left as filthy as ever, the water supply remained poor, and the laborers continued to fall ill. Out of a total of 86,800 work- men, 52,000 were treated for sickness, The total deaths during the twenty-three years of French work were 6,283. l'"t\Eli WakD — FrKNCH HuSPIlAL, I'AXAilA CiTY. Waste. — The French had failed to make a careful study of the difficulties before they began the work. The Panama Canal was far harder to build than the Suez Canal. Money was poured out like water. But poor plans and poor engi- neers made the canal grow very slowly. Waste and extrav- agance were seen on all sides. Yet glowing stories of great progress were sent home to France. Newspapers were DISHONESTY 121 bribed to make false reports. For several years the French people were deceived. The canal was soon to be completed, they were told, and they continued to furnish huge sums of money for the work. Thcjt. — De Les- seps was not, per- haps, an intention- ally dishonest man. But he was an old man and unfit to guide so tremen- dous a work. Many men who worked with him were dis- honest and by them he was deceived. Not only in France but also in Panama large sums of money went into the pock- ets of those in power. It is said that fully one third of all the money raised was practically stolen from the treasury. This spirit of corrup- tion made its way down from the higher officials through all classes even to the lowest. Every form of vice flourished on the Isthmus. Disease, waste, and theft went on for seven years. Of Copyright by Jfin. H. R.iu. ' French Machine Working on a Bank in Panama Canal. 122 30,000,000 course, much good digging was done, but at the end of that time not over two fifths of the whole work was completed. Nearly three hundred million dollars had been raised. A De Lesseps Palace. large part of it was secured from French farmers and day- laborers, who believed in the great De Lesseps and turned over to him their little savings. About one third of this enormous sum was wasted, one third stolen, and one third actuahy spent on the canal. What a dreadful story of mis- management ! Had all the $400,000,000 been properly spent, the canal might have been finished. At last the whole world came to know what had hap- A NATIONAL SCANDAL 123 French Failure pened. It was clear that De Lesseps and the French Panama Canal Company had failed. Rage and excite- ment spread over France. Thousands of per- sons had sunk all their money in the great scheme, and now found themselves ruined. The end had come, no canal was built, the money was gone. Then a long trial was held to find out who was to blame. Many leading men in France were accused of sharing in the ^s^*^ Portion of Canal Completed by the French. robbery. Several committed suicide rather than face the angry French people. During the trial a number of mem- bers of the Company were sentenced to pay heavy fines or 124 AMONG THE RUINS DEATH OF DE LESSEPS 125 to spend years in prison. The aged De Lesseps, now broken in health and reputation, was unable to stand the strain. When he was sentenced to five years' imprisonment, he fell into an unconscious state, his mind gave way, and within a few months he died in a mad-house. In our visit to Panama we shall go out to see the wreck of the French work. Had we stayed long at Colon, when we French Dredges Sunk in Rio Grande. first landed, we might have seen the expensive dwelling built for De Lesseps and his associates. It is known as the De Lesseps Palace, and shows how French money was need- lessly wasted. 126 RUINED MACHINERY All along the route between Colon and Panama City are bits of the canal partially completed. For years, in the great ditches, the steam excavators stood silent, just as they were left when the French work stopped. In the rivers ■The Jungle Has Crept in Upon Them." the dredges rotted at their wharves or sank to the bottom. Here, for instance, in the Rio Grande are two dredges with their tops just sticking out of the water. Each cost many thousands of dollars. They are now worthless. Ten thousand cars, six thousand wagons, two hundred miles of track, with hundreds of locomotives, derricks, excavators, and dredges were left idle. STATUE OF DE LESSEPS 127 How sad a sight the long hnes of locomotives present. Black and rusty, they are fast going to ruin within sight of the very spot on which De Lesseps and his friends so gaily opened work on the canal. The jungle has crept in upon them. Nature is trying to hide the pitiful signs of French failure. The world has long ago decided that De Lesseps himself was only partially responsible for the wreck at Panama He at- tempted more than he was able to do. ,We can well afford to forget his failure there and to re- member him only as the man who planned and completed the canal at Suez, — the longest ship canal in the world. x\t the mouth of that canal his statue stands looking out over the waters of the Mediterranean. His right hand is outstretched, as if inviting the ships of the world to enter his great waterway. Copyright by IVm. H. Ran. De Lesseps Statue — Suez Canal. CHAPTER XI THE UNITED STATES AND PANAMA The fine American battleship whose picture appears opposite holds a splendid record in our navy. When war was about to break out between the United The Oregon lo'-ooi' States and bpam m 1898, this vessel was in the harbor of San Francisco, on the Pacific. As Spain's fleet was expected to attack our eastern coast, and the Oregon was one of the most powerful ships in the navy, she was needed in the Atlantic. Orders were sent to Cap- tain Clark on March 19, to leave San Francisco at once for the long trip around the southern point of South America and north to join the Atlantic fleet in the West Indies. None of our ships had ever made so long a trip or one so full of perils. If she came through it safely, there was no certainty that she would still be in fighting trim. Thirteen thousand and four hundred miles and all at record speed! W-e all remember the pleasure and enthusiasm that spread over the country when the gTeat ship joined the Atlantic fleet without the slightest damage to her machinery and with her guns and men ready to give battle to the Spaniards. The trip had required more than two full months. Had there been a Panama canal, the journey would have been i?8 AN OBJECT LESSON 129 but four thousand six hundred miles. It could have been done in fifteen days and no haste would have been neces- sary. Americans were more than ever roused to the value of a canal. This remarkable voyage had been an object lesson. Copyyight by Urn. H. Ran. Eattleship "Oregon." But it was not alone the voyage of the Oregon that inter- ested our people in a canal across Central America. If there were a canal, no nation of the world American probably would use it more than we, both in interest in times of war and in times of peace. For more than seventy-five years the United States has been interested in the canal. We read that away back in 1825 Henry Clay I30 "THE CANAL SHALL BE BUILT" declared it to be his firm belief that the United States should build it. From that time to this hundreds of other public men have expressed the same feeling. Both President Jackson and President Grant urged Congress to consider the matter. Many thorough surveys of the different routes have been made from time to time by American engineers. But until recent years the rich men of America, and the American government itself, were busy developing our own great lands. Mines, oil wells, factories, railroads, battle- ships, and scores of other necessary things, cost immense sums of money. There was little time or money left for a doubtful enterprise in Central America. So we were obliged to look on, while other nations tried to build a canal and failed. No people were more interested than ourselves in De Lesseps's plans. When the French failed and England seemed unwilling to try again, it was clear that no canal would be built unless by Americans. And so it finally came about at the close of the Spanish war, that our government decided that a canal must be built and owned by the United States. As President P^oosevelt said, "this is the greatest engineering work the world has yet seen, but the canal shall be built!" Until 1903 American engineers favored the Nicaragua route (No. 4, Map V, p. 94). We cannot here mention all the reasons for this. Questions of climate and floods, of distance and ease of digging, of storms and earthquakes, had to be considered. The canal at Nicaragua would be one RIVAL ROUTES 131 hundred and twenty miles longer than the Panama canal. But one hundred and seventeen of this would be through the great Lake Nicaragua. Then, too, the San Juan river could be used in part; so that RoutIr° only about twenty-seven miles would actu- ally have to be dug at Nicaragua. On the other hand the floods in the San Juan river were as severe as in the river Chagres at Panama, and the frequent storms on I^ake Nicaragua presented a difficulty. It was also thought that earthquakes are much more severe in Nicaragua than in Panama, and might damage the canal or even destroy it. At Panama were two good harbors, a railroad from ocean to ocean, a canal already partially completed, and an immense quantity of machinery of all sorts. In fact, much could be said in favor of each route, and much was said, not only in Congress but also in our news- papers and in private discussions all over the country. Finally, however. President Roosevelt and Congress de- cided that if the French Panama Canal Company would sell all they had left at Panama for a reasonable price, and if we could buy a strip of land across Panama, the canal should be built at that point. The French Company wanted $90,000,000 for its prop- erty but at last agreed to accept $40,000,000. The Republic of Panama in February, 1904, sold to the United States for the sum of $10,000,000 a strip of land ten miles wide and fifty miles long extending across the Isthmus from the At- 132 UNITED STATES TAKES POSSESSION lantic to the Pacific. This strip is now known as the Canal Zone, and it is controlled absolutely by the United States provided we build and operate a canal. Although an outlay of $50,000,000 was necessary before a shovelful of dirt was moved, the United States was now ready to build a canal at Panama. On May 4, 1904, President Roosevelt, in behalf of the American Government and people, took possession of the Canal Zone and all it contained, except the The Canal cities of Colou and Panama. These are in the Zone Zone but are still a part of the Republic of Panama. The area of the Canal Zone is about five hundred square miles or about one quarter the size of the little state of Delaware. As we shall see, the canal is to run directly through it from end to end. An Isthmian Canal Commission was appointed and the Hon. William H. Taft, then Secretary of War, was directed to supervise the work. Major- General George W. Davis was made Governor of the Canal Zone. A new and interesting piece of land was thus added to the territory of the United States (Map VII). It is, as we have said, 50 miles long and 10 miles wide. In it is a population of over 50,000 persons. There are twenty-five small towns and a number of camps for workmen. The American port of the city of Colon is called Cristobal, of the City of Pan- ama, Ancon. Between these two ends of the Zone the prin- cipal towns are Gatun, Gorgona, Bas Obispo, Empire, Culebra, and Pedro Miguel. GOOD GOVERNMENT ESTABLISHED 133 It vv^as no small task to establish a good government for all these towns and people. There must be courts, prisons and police, a fire department, post offices, schools, and all those things that would add vTl'r"^"^* ' " Established to the safety and welfare of those who were to dig the canal. Colombian money, for instance, was still (1903) in use on the Isthmus. The standard was the peso (pa^so). In name. Map VII. — The Canal Zone. at least, it was the same as our American dollar. But its value was less than one cent, Imagine taking a Colom- bian $5 bill to a bank and getting in exchange for it an American nickel. An amusing story is told by a gentle- man from New York, who invited the United States consul to a dinner at a hotel in the City of Panama. When the meal was over he found that it had cost him $1,400 in Co- 134 THE AMERICAN WAY ..^^gaa^^^S^ - V',. ''.M i COINS AND STAMPS ^35 lombian money, and was not much of a dinner at that. Our gold dollar is now the standard money in the Canal Zone, though coins of the Republic of Panama are also used. The Balboa is the standard Panama coin. It is of silver, about the size of our own silver dollar, and worth fifty cents. Police Staiion — Ancon. When writing letters home from Panama we may now use the American post ofhces of the Canal Zone, but the letters will carry the Panama stamps, with the words Canal Zone printed across the face. Before the Americans came to Panama fires were very 136 FIRE STATIONS common in the towns, especially in Colon and Panama City. There were no regular fire departments, and the volunteer fire companies were of little value. The firemen could not afi^ord to leave their regular employment and when the fire bells rang they were, of course, scattered about in various parts of the town. Nor did they at once run to the scene of the fire, but seemed more interested in first exchanging their working clothes for the gay, red suits of which they were very proud. Meanwhile the fire had done much damage. In Cristobal we perhaps saw one of the first-class fire sta- tions established in the Zone by the Canal Commission. It is in every way as good as we have at home. Safety from bad fires is now assured. One hundred and sixty policemen keep order in the Zone. We are told that they are as ''soldierly and efficient " as" any on American territory. CHAPTER XII CONQUEST OF DISEASE After the United States took possession of the Canal Zone, as we have just described, the American people expected to see the canal begun at once. "Make the dirt fly," demanded our newspapers. There was so much impa- tience and disappointment that for two full years little digging could be done. Yet plain American common sense tells us that an immense amount of preparatory work was necessary. The more we know of it, the more we shall admire the patient, careful way in which the Commission made ready for the great work. The lessons of past efforts at Panama were not forgotten. First of all, disease must be conquered. No canal work could hope to succeed until this was done. In the second place, a large force of workmen must be assembled and houses and food provided for them. Then, in the third place, plans and sun^eys must be most carefully made and a vast amount of powerful machinery secured. And while all these preparations were going on, waste and theft must be absolutely prevented. Our government expected to pay its workmen generously and to provide in every way for their comfort, but beyond that every dollar of American 137 138 DOCTOR AMADOR money must go toward building the canal. When all these things had been accomplished, the dirt might really "begin to fly." One morning in the City of Panama, not long before the United States took possession of the Canal Zone, Dr. Amador met the American consul. Amador was at that time Chief Health Officer of the City of Panama. Some- Entrance to Hospital Grounds — Ancon. thing serious was evidently troubling him, for his face showed great anxiety. "Consul," said he, as the two men shook hands, "we have six cases of yellow fever in the city." 'THEY ARE ALL DEAD" 139 At this bad news the consul was equally troubled and the two men discussed what could be done to stop the spread \'iEW OF Hospital Grounds froji Entrance — Ancon. of the disease. Like most Panamanians, Dr. Amador seemed to feel helpless in the presence of this old enemy. By chance the same men met upon the following morning. "Well, consul," said Amador, now smiling and happy, "it gives me pleasure to report that we now have no cases of yellow fever in Panama." "How is that?" said the consul. "They are all dead," replied the doctor. This story is often told to illustrate the wav in which I40 AN EVIL REPUTATION the people of Panama had come to look upon the tropical diseases so common upon the Isthmus. Here, as in many other parts of the tropics, the people felt that nothing could be done to prevent the dreadful loss of life. They were either ignorant of the causes of the diseases or if they did know, they were too lazy to remove them. The whole history of Panama, even from the days of Columbus, was one long record of human lives cut off by malaria, bubonic plague, and yellow fever. It is true that the natives were accustomed to the climate and did not suffer so severely as those who came to Panama from other lands, but the death rate was always high. The number of deaths among the French laborers shocked the whole world. Everywhere Panama had an evil reputation for unhealthfulness. As we walk about during our stay in Panama City, we find many parts of the town that are still neither clean nor healthful. But, as a whole, the place is today as clean as many of the better cities in our own country. It is now almost impossible to believe that Colon and Panama City were once about as dirty cities as could be found in the world. But let us look at some Conditions picturcs in order to see what the old condi- tions were. Here is a street in Panama as it looked a few years ago. Imagine attempting to cross it. Would you care to live on such a street? Do you see any signs of sewers or hydrants? Probably not, for there were none. Not a good sewer nor drain nor water pipe in a UNDER THE OLD REGIME 141 142 WATER BARRELS city of 30,000 people! Not every street was as bad as this, but there were many of them, and some m.uch worse. If you think the street itself is filthy, suppose we pick our way around behind the houses. We should not care to stay there long, — ^just long enough to see that all the refuse from them found its way into the back yard. From there the waste water slowly ran out into the street. So much rainfall kept the whole mass soaking wet. The hot sun beating down on clear days could not dry out such places. Foul odors and disease must have been common. Presi- dent Taft said of the streets of Panama City: "They were muddy in rainy weather, dusty in dry weather, and full of disease in all weathers." But what were those curious looking barrels and tanks behind the houses? Take a careful look into one of them. Do you see those odd '^wigglers" on the surface? They are little wormlike bodies and out of each a mosquito will soon hatch and fly away. Among these mosquitoes are, no doubt, some of that much dreaded sort that carry the yellow fever. And this dirty barrel certainly cannot con- tain drinking water, — and yet it does, for there is no other to be had in Panama City! Perhaps these barrels and tanks that catch the rain water on which the city depends, may explain why so many of the poor of Panama seem never to have taken a bath. A picture of a Colon street shows even worse conditions. Colon was built upon ground so low that there simply could UNDER THE NEW REGIME 143 144 WORK FOR COLONEL GORGAS be no drainage. The houses of the well-to-do were kept fairly clean, but of the houses of the poor, the less said the better. And all about Colon were the swamps and jungles, poisonous air, and more mosquitoes. If the two best cities of Panama were as unhealthful as this, what must have been the condition of the twenty or more miserable little towns along the line of the canal? It was clear to the Canal Commission at the very begin- ning that no canal could be built as long as filth and dis- ease continued. So they advised that a man be appointed to clean up the Canal Zone and the cities of Colon and Panama. He must be a man who knew about tropical diseases and had had experience in fighting them. He must have unlimited courage and patience. And he must be given all the money, men, and time necessary. Gorgat ^^^^ ^^"^ chosen for this important task was Colonel William C. Gorgas of the Medical Corps of the United States Army. Experience has shown that the choice was a good one. Colonel Gorgas had stamped out yellow fever in eight months in Havana, Cuba, where it had been epidemic for more than one hundred and forty years. But the task at Panama was much more difhcult and would surely have discouraged a less determined man. When Colo- nel Gorgas completed his first inspection of the Canal Zone and declared that he would make it a fit place for white peo- ple to live in, — practically the whole of Europe laughed. Let us see how near he has come to making good his promise. OLD COLON STREETS 145 Copyright by Und^nvood & Lhtde. Street in Colon Before Paving. 146 HOSPITALS At Colon and at Panama City the French Canal Com- pany had built expensive hospitals. Both were large and finely situated, especially the one at Ancon, the suburb of JoLivAR Street, Colon — Aexer Americans had Cleaned and Taxed It. the City of Panama. Colonel Gorgas enlarged and im- proved these hospitals and put them in charge of a corps of expert doctors and trained nurses. We can see for our- selves that they are as well equipped to care for the sick as are any in our own country. Smaller hospitals and camps for the sick were built also at convenient points, along the canal line. Another thing that had to be done at the very outset was A THOROUGH SCRUBBING 147 to clear away the filth in the cities and towns, — the untouched accumulation of years. In the early reports of Colonel Gorgas we can read of tens of thousands of loads of rubbish and filth carted away each month. But to give to the cities of Colon and Panama a thorough scrubbing and afterwards to keep them clean, required that the streets be paved, that there be good sewage systems Copyright Oy Underiuood & Uildcrivood. Colonel W. C. Gorgas, Medical Corps, U.S.A., Chief Sanitary Officer, Panama Canal Zone. built, and a plentiful supply of good water. These three things required many months of labor by several thousand men. But we can see now that the work has been well 148 ABUNDANT WATER done. Everywhere are well-paved, dry streets and plenty of drains and sewers. Out in the hills behind Colon and Panama City excellent reservoirs were built. If we chose SiREET IN Colon — Before Paving. to do so, we could go to see for ourselves that the water is abundant, pure, and good. It is piped into the cities and towns in such large quantities as to give to each inhabi- tant at least fifty gallons each day. Certainly that quantity should be sufficient to keep one person clean. The result is that Panama City is now the best paved, best sewered, and best watered city in all Central America or the northern half of South America. "GETTING CLEAN AND KEEPING CLEAN" 149 But this work met much opposition among the Panaman- ians. Too many were satisfied with the old conditions. They A Clean Zone be clean. did not want to They saw S.! no reason for dis- turbing their houses either inside or out. They opposed the use of clean water. Colonel Gorgas, therefore, selected a number of men, mostly intelligent natives, and sent them about day by day among the poorer classes to teach the value of keeping their houses, their streets, and themselves clean. Slowly these health inspectors succeeded. And we now find all classes assisting in the work of getting clean and keeping clean. As for the water, it is now used freely by all. It is a common and an amusing sight to watch Ml ^HB ^ '^ ' '^'^ w V 1 Street in Colon — Paved and Cleaned. 150 MALARIA, PLAGUE, AND FEVER the negro children enjoying the cool water from the hydrants. The three diseases that are most deadly to those who MdUXT il(ji'i, I " Comfortable, Dry, Wej i, i lili Houses." i6o COMMON LABORERS Zone, many of them have brought their famihes with them. In towns hke Cristobal, Ancon, and others we can see their comfortable, dry, well-built houses. Their children attend good American schools in the Zone and are as bright and happy children as could be found. In recreation hours these " Gold Men" are a jolly company. We shall find them engaged in baseball, basket ball, tennis, and other sports, or reading and loafing in the club houses provided by the Canal Commission. There are many of these club houses along the line of the canal work. They are conducted by the Young Men's Christian Association. There are libraries and women's clubs too; and fishing parties and picnics and other pleasures make life agreeable for both men and women. The 35,000 common laborers are paid in the silver money of Panama or its equivalent, and are Th^ejsiiver j^^^^.^^ ^^ "Silver Men." The usual wage amounts, on the average, to about $1 per day in our money or about $2 in Panamanian money. We remember that when the Panama Railroad was built, it was found very difficult to secure laborers who could endure the climate of Panama and do any real work. The De Lesseps Company had the same difficulty. The French found that the negroes from the islands of the West Indies, especially Jamaica, were the best all-round workmen that could be had in large numbers. This, too, has been the experience of the United States, Y. M. C. A. QUARTERS i6i Commission Clubhouse at Empire. BOWLINQ, i62 WEST INDIAN NEGROES At Panama these negroes receive higher wages than they have ever known before and are provided with hospital treatment when sick and with clean dwellings and good food. We shall see their houses and camps all along the line. Those of us who know what wretchedly dirty huts they are accustomed to, wih understand better why they are glad to stay and work on the canal. A prominent American of long experience with these men says, — "These West Indian laborers have never known, and in their most pleasant dreams have never hoped for, the splendid care and liberal treatment they are receiving from our govern- ment on the Isthmus of Panama." At the mess-kitchens for the negroes the Commission furnishes them tliree good meals per day for about thirty cents. It is said that at first they objected to the strength- ening American food because it made them feel too much like working. "It consists of rice, beans, onions, fresh and salt beef, codfish, lard, bread, sugar, and coffee, varied with occasional potatoes and bananas." Despite good care and good food these negroes are not good workmen. Some are expert loafers. Many study to do just as little as possible. Nearly all are dull, stupid, and ignorant. Their movements are slow and their efforts lack energy and intelligence. Moreover, they object to working in the rain and run for shelter when the first drops fall. Theodore P. Shonts, at one time Chairman of the Canal Commission, relates the following story to show how HOW THE LABORERS FARE "Clean Dwellings."— Common Laborers' Quarters, Colon. " Three Good Meals per Day for Thirty Cents. 164 AN EXPERT LOAFER they work, A heavy piece of machinery was being unloaded from the hold of a vessel. The tackle got caught in the rigging on the deck above; the foreman in charge of the gang of laborers sent one of them above to free the tackle. The laborer went to the place to which he was sent and did what he was told to do. The foreman, paying no attention to him after he started on his errand, missed him a few minutes later, and, looking around for him, discovered him sitting peacefully at the spot to which he Curious Turbans and Foreign Faces." had been sent. "What are you doing there?" yelled the foreman. "You told me to come here, Sah." "Well, why didn't you come back?" "You didn't tell me to, LABORERS FROM ASIA 165 Sah.'' Altogether these men probably do not accomplish more than one half as much as such laborers in a cooler climate. Better than the negroes in the value of their work are some East Indians. There are not many of them on the canal. They have come chiefly from Asia to the British West Indies and thence to Panama. What odd-looking fellows they are! The curious turbans on their heads and A Group of Spanish Laborers. their foreign faces make them seem quite out of place on an American canal. How much larger and more energetic than the negroes they are, and how slowly but quietly and i66 SPANIARDS AND ITALIANS steadily they go about their work! The Commission would be glad to get more of them, for they are thoroughly good workers, peaceful, sober, and industrious. We shall usually see them carrying the 50-lb. boxes of dynamite from the powder houses to the other workmen. They are proud of their race, remain closely by themselves, and even in Pan- ama keep many of their native customs. Of all the " Silver Men," the vSpaniards and Italians are the best. They will do twice as much work per day as will the negroes, and they receive much more pay. There are about 8,000 of them at work in the Zone. Nearly all come directly to Panama from Spain or Italy. The Span- iards are perhaps less likely to suffer from the climate and, therefore, accomplish more. They are small in size but muscular, willing to be tavight, and anxious to be pro- moted to better positions as subforemen or foremen of A Gang of Italians. OTHER "SILVER MEN" 167 their work. Where strength and inteUigence are needed, these men can be depended upon. No amount of rainy weather can keep them from the work. There are laborers of many other nationahties here and there on the canal work, but they are few in number. Interior of a Mess Hall for European Laborers. Taking the " Silver Men " as a whole, we shall find them of mixed race and language, poor workmen, and hard to handle. And yet, under the leadership of the " Gold Men," we feel sure that in the end they will build the canal. One more thing remains to be considered in respect to the working force. It is the problem of feeding them and i68 A DIFFICULT PROBLEM of providing them with clothing and other necessities. Over 40,000 persons to be fed and the markets 2,000 miles away! Certainlv this is no small matter. But here, Supplies " r 1 1 1.1 too, the same careful plans were laid as for other parts of the work and the same satisfactory results followed. At Cristobal and at twelve other vil- lages stores were built, in which food and all other neces- Typical Labor Train. sities can be purchased at prices only slightly above cost. An ice plant was erected at Colon and with it a cold storage plant, so that meat and vegetables and other perishable food can now be kept in as good condition as in any part SATISFACTORY RESULTS 169 of the United States in summer time. Early each morning a special train with cold storage cars is rushed out over the railroad to carry supplies to all points on the canal line. So it has come about that c[uite as good food is served in the hotels and mess-kitchens as is provided for men in similar work in the United States. CHAPTER XIV MACHINERY AND THE PANAMA RAILROAD It is an old saying that a poor workman puts the blame for his poor work upon his tools. It is equally true that a good workman cannot work well with poor tools. The United States government determined that whatever the quality of the laborers at Panama might be, the tools and machinery should be the very best. We have spoken of the American laborer as the best in the world. He does the most and in the shortest time. This may be so in part because he has better machinery with which to work. American inventors and machinery lead the world. All over our broad land, on the farms and in the factories, in the mills and quarries, on the rail- roads, and hidden in the unseen parts of great buildings, ships, and mines, is a vast amount of wonderful machinery. It does easily, cheaply, and swiftly, work that no number of human hands could do. Perhaps the most interesting to watch are those great machines that accomplish the heavy tasks of cutting, lift- ing, or carrying. We shall see many of this sort at work on the canal. Indeed, it' would be safe to say that without the splendid American machinery that our government has 170 OLD MACHINERY USED 171 been able to secure, no canal could be built at Panama. Human hands alone could never do the work. When our government purchased the property of the French Canal Company, it came into possession of an immense amount of machinery of all sorts, scattered along the line of the canal. That was in 1904. Much of the French machinery had been at work as far back as 1889, and so, of course, was OUt-of- Machinery date. ]\Iuch also had been ruined by rust and neglect. Some, however, could be used. For instance, it was found that more than one hundred and twenty-five of the old French locomotives could be repaired and put to work again. Some old dredges, scows, tugs, dump cars, etc., with many miles of track, were still ready for service. What work the Canal Commission accomplished during the first two years of preparation was in large part done with this old machinery. We can still see some of it at work on the canal. It has been said that the old French machinery was worth fully $2,000,000 to the United States. In general, however, an entirely new outfit of tools and machinery was necessary. Here again the distance of Panama from supplies of this sort added tre- New Outfit mendously to the diihculties. Locomotives and dump cars, dredges and steam shovels, barges and rock crushers, and a vast amount of hand tools were purchased and shipped to the Isthmus. In the Zone itself docks for handling machinery, coal, lumber, etc., were built. Long 172 SPLENDID NEW EQUIPMENT lines of track were laid to carry the machinery and supplies to the scene of work. The largest cement-mixing and handling plants ever built were here constructed. Com- pressed-air plants to furnish power for the drills, and great " One of the Two Greatest Repair Shops." general repair shops were erected. We shall surely be astonished, as we travel along the line, to see the splendid equipment for work that the Commission has secured. At Empire, for instance, is one of the two greatest repair shops. It is close to the line of the canal. Notice how the railroad tracks are arranged so that even the largest pieces of machinery can be brought directly to the shop. In this THE GREAT STOREHOUSE 173 one place we can see 1,000 men at work. The shops are modern in every way and equal to the best railroad repair shops in the United States. Here is a foundry and a lum- ber mill and everything necessary to repair or rebuild any piece of machinery on the canal. Near the repair shops is the great storehouse. Let us step inside. See the great rooms with shelves on shelves of all sorts of articles neatly labeled and laid away! We Storehouse at Empire. are told that here are over 10,000 different articles used in the canal work. Suddenly in rushes a workman with a note from some engineer or foreman out on the canal. A steam shovel has broken down or a drill is out of order 174 AMERICAN METHODS and a new part is needed at once. Immediately the men in charge of the storehouse can pick out the exact article, and before we know what has happened, the workman is Ten Thousand Articles — " Neatly Labeled and Laid Away." out again on the canal and the broken machine will soon be in order. This is the American way, — no confusion, no lack of materials, no delay. Time is as valuable at Panama as in New York. Around the shops and storehouse at Empire has grown up the largest town in the Canal Zone, exclu- Empire sive of Colon and Panama City. It is a pleasure to see how clean and neat the whole place is. It is more PANAMA RAILROAD 175 like a park than a town. The ground has been cleared of jungle for a long distance away from the houses. Here, as in all the canal towns, the Commission has done every- thing to make living comfortable and healthful. When the United States purchased the French Com- pany's machinery, it also secured the Panama Railroad. Like almost everything else left by the French it was in need of repair. Its docks, yards, warehouses, tracks, loco- " Powerful Locomotives were Also Added." motives, and cars were not fit for the great increase in busi- ness which at once came to the Isthmus. The road had been in the habit of doing everything in the most expensive 176 A FIRST-CLASS RAILROAD way. The unloading of coal from steamers is a good exam- ple. It was done almost entirely by the hands of negro laborers and cost $1.30 a ton. The Commission put in a modern coal-hoisting machine and did the work better " Now THE Road is in First-class Condition." Private car of Chairman of Isthmian Canal Commission. and quicker for 12 cents per ton. In the same manner the road was improved by heavier rails, by double track for nearly all of its length, by new and better wharves, and by larger yards and cars. Eighty-two powerful locomotives were also added. Now the road is in first-class condition. But all this work required many months of labor and much money. Real digging was still delayed. CHAPTER XV SEA-LEVEL AND LOCK CANALS The two years filled with the slow and costly work of preparation which we have been describing, seemed very long indeed to those who wished to see the "dirt fly." We can now understand clearly why so much delay was neces- sary. The canal could not be built without it. And when the work of digging once began it could go faster and more successfully. During these two years also a careful study was made of the land between Colon and Panama City, in order to see what sort of ship canal was best for the Isthmus at that point. Ship canals are not all alike. There are two kinds or types, as they are called, that we must understand before we can know what is being done at Panama. The first is the sea-level type. This type is easy to understand. A sea-level ship canal means merely a great open ditch dug at the same level between two bodies of water. The water flows freely Type^'""'^ through it from one end to the other. It is dug as deep and as wide as is desired. The canal is thus what the geographies would call a very narrow ''strait." 177 178 CORINTH CANAL Ships can pass back and forth through it from ocean to ocean without difficulty or delay. Of the nine ship canals of the world three are sea-level canals. They are the Cronstadt, the Corinth, and the Suez canals. With the latter we are already acquainted. The Cronstadt is in Russia. It is 20 feet deep, about 300 feet wide, and is about 16 miles long. The cost was $10,- 000,000. The canal was opened in 1890. The Corinth canal is in Greece and connects the Gulfs of Corinth and ^gina. The length is but 4 miles. The work was begun in 1884 and completed in 1893. The cost was $5,000,000. A picture of this canal, with Mr. J. P. Morgan's yacht Cor- sair passing through it, gives a very good idea of a sea- level ship canal. This picture also shows several interesting things about the Corinth Canal. As can be seen, it is perfectly straight. This is true for its entire length. The depth of water in the canal is 26 feet, but the width at the bottom is only 69 feet and at the water's surface only 80 feet. Imagine a great ocean liner like the Lusitania, — 88 feet in width, attempting to squeeze through. It would be impossible. Two very much smaller vessels could not pass each other. It is clear that in its present condition it is not useful for the large ships that carry the commerce of the world. No other ship canal has so high or so steep banks. This is possible only because it was cut down through granite and hard clay, and because the rainfall during AN OLD-WORLD ENTERPRISE Copyright by Undaivood &• L'>tciet~wooci. The ** Corsair" Passing Through the Corinth Canal. i8o ST. MARYS FALLS CANAL the year at Corinth is not great, and no rivers flow into the canal. But this sea-level type of canal is not possible where the two bodies of water to be connected are not on the same level or where the land between them is too high to be cut through. In such cases a lock canal is necessary. This is the second type. To understand exactly what a lock canal is, let us take an illustration from our own country. The St. Marys Falls Canal connects I^ake Superior and I^ake Huron at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. Some of us have seen this little canal and perhaps have passed through it. It is but 1-3- miles long, and is 160 feet wide and 25 feet deep. The important thing to notice concerning it is the fact that Lake Superior is about 20 feet higher than I^ake Huron. If a ship on Lake Huron sails into the lower end of the canal and wishes to pass on to Lake Superior, it must be lifted 20 feet at some place in the canal. If, on the other hand, a vessel wishes to pass in the opposite direction, it must be lowered 20 feet. This raising and lowering is done in a portion of the canal known as a lock. How does a lock work? Some pictures and a drawing may help to show. In the drawing the lock is seen to be a portion of the canal enclosed by strong walls and by two double gates A and B, one at each end. The walls are usually of masonry or concrete. Power is supplied by machinery, so that the gates can be HOW A LOCK WORKS i8l opened or dosed at will. Below gate A the water is at the lower level and a vessel is ready to sail into the lock. The water in the lock is at the lower level. Suppose that the gates at A are then opened. The vessel passes tlirough into the lock and the gates are tightly closed after her. We GATES B Diagram Showing Operaiion of a Canal Lock. can now see her in the second position, ready to be raised. The inside of the lock is connected with the outer water lev- els by large pipes. When the flood gates in these pipes are opened the water from the higher level rushes in and rapidly fills the lock. The vessel meantime has been lifted by the in-rushing water until she floats in the lock on a level with the upper part of the canal. Then the gates at B are thrown wide open and the vessel sails away through the remainder of the canal. The same thing can be done for a ship that wishes to go in the opposite direction. The gates at B are opened when the lock is full of water. The vessel passes in and A STEAMER IN THE LOCK v) '^l THE ST. MARYS FALLS LOCK 183 the gates are tightly closed after her. Next the flood gates are opened, the water in the lock runs out until it is down to the lower level, the gates at A are then opened wide and the ship continues on her journey. An Empty Lock — Sault Ste. Marie Canal. Now, if we look at the picture of the great locks in the St. IMarys Falls Canal, we can see the process actually going on. In this canal there are two locks side by side with a power house between them to furnish the power needed to operate the gates. In the distance, on the left of the picture, the upper level of the canal can be seen. Nearer to us is a vessel Locks in Operation i84 TWO BUSY LOCKS in the lock. We can see that the flood gates are being opened, for the water is rushing out, white with foam, directly toward us. It will not be long before the water has all run out and the ship been dropped to the lower level and then be ready to leave the lock. The lower level is shown in the foreground, and on it another vessel is waiting to enter the lock and be raised. On the right- hand side of the power house a third vessel has been low- ered from above and is just passing out of the other lock. Probably none of the large-sized locks in the world are more busy than these two at St. Marys Falls. More ships pass through this canal in a year than through any other ship canal, — three times as many as at Suez. They carry over 30,000,000 tons of freight and thousands of passengers. When two locks are placed side by side, as these two are, they are said to be "in duplicate." If Lake Superior were much more than 20 feet higher than Lake Huron, one lock would probably not be able to do the work of raising and lowering the vessels. Several locks might then be built, — one directly following the other, and each capa- ble of raising or lowering ships for a part of the full dis- tance required. The locks would then appear somewhat like great steps, one above the other. A number of locks so arranged are called a "flight of locks." "Flights of locks" may also be "in duplicate." We can now understand what is meant by a lock canal. The Erie canal, for instance, between Albany and Buffalo, ERIE CANAL 185 is only seven feet deep, and is not therefore a ship canal; but its locks are on the same plan as those just described, though smaller. In the 387 miles of this canal there are 72 locks. Of the nine ship canals of the world six are of the lock type. CHAPTER XVI THE LOCK CANAL AT PANAMA What is the best type of canal for Panama? At first thought this would not seem to be a difficult question to answer. If a deep channel, at least 500 feet wide at the bottom, could be cut from ocean to ocean and could be kept clear for the passage of ocean vessels of the largest size, it would be, of course, the ideal canal. But it is cer- tain that such a sea-level canal would cost at least $500,- 000,000 more than a good lock canal and would require very many years to build. The idea of ever digging such an enormous ditch was given up as impracticable more than twenty years ago. De Lesseps originally planned a sea-level canal. It was to be 29 feet deep and 72 feet wide at the bottom. He declared that it could be built in eight years for about $128,000,000. Before his scheme failed he had been forced to change his plans to the lock type with a depth of only 15 feet. The United States took possession of the Canal Zone in May, 1904. For more than two years the type of canal that we were to adopt was in doubt. Probably no engi- neering question of this sort ever aroused more widespread 186 BEST TYPE FOR PANAMA 187 interest in America. While the preliminary work of clean- ing the Zone and making it a healthful place, and securing workmen and machinery, was going on,» scores of engineers were at work on the canal plans. Holes were dug and borings made in many places to find out what sort of soil or rock lay beneath the surface. Surveys of all sorts were made and maps drawn. Both Houses of Congress dis- cussed the problem at great length. And magazines and newspapers printed hundreds of articles on the subject. In order to secure the most expert advice President Roosevelt appointed in 1905 a board of consulting engi- neers consisting of thirteen men. Of these, „^ ^ ^ c> ' The Board eight were Americans and five were foreigners, of Consulting This board included some of the world's fore- most authorities upon the construction of dams and canals. These men visited the Isthmus, studied all the facts they could secure, and listened to all who had ideas to suggest. Finally, in January of 1906, they made their report. Tliree Americans and all the five foreigners favored a sea-level canal. The five other Americans voted for a lock canal. At the same time the Isthmian Canal Commission, which was actually to have the digging in charge, voted 5 to i in favor of the lock type. So it was difficult to decide which of the two types was really better. Before we examine the two types more carefully, we should remember the following facts about the canal route. First, a canal of either sort will be fifty miles long, from i88 A DIFFICULT ROUTE Atlantic to Pacific, 41 miles through the land and 9 miles of channel in the harbors at the two ends. Second, the 41 miles through the land naturally divides itself the Route ^^^o four parts. From Colon, on the Atlantic, to Bohio, the route passes for 12 miles through low swampy ground not much above sea level. During the next 15 miles, from Bohio to Bas Obispo, the land rises to about 50 feet above sea level. Thence the canal cuts through the hills for 9 miles more to Miraflores. The highest point of land is Gold Hill at Culebra and is 662 feet above the sea. But there is a "saddle" between the hills through which the canal will run, which, at its lowest point is 312 feet above sea-level. This part is the famous Culebra Cut. It is mainly through a moderately hard rock. From Miraflores to the Pacific is a distance of 5 miles and is about at sea level. Third, the greatest difficulty is the control of the. floods of the Chagres river and its many tributaries. For 23 miles the route follows the valley of this river and crosses and recrosses its bed. This Chagres is an unruly stream. Though it is only a small stream in the dry season, in flood time tremendous quantities of water rush down its valley. It is estimated that during the great flood of 1879 it was, for several hours, thi'ee fourths as large as the Niagara river. A canal of either type must be so built as to pro- vide safe protection from such great floods. Bearing these facts in mind we are now ready to exam- ine the two types. Those engineers who favored a sea- SEA-LEVEL PLAN 189 level canal proposed a narrow channel of 41 miles in length, from 150 to 200 feet in width at the bottom, and 40 feet in depth. This is 10 feet deeper and 1 r • 1 Sea-level about 70 leet wider on the average than the canai at Suez Canal. It would not be possible to make Panama the width greater without too great expense. Nor would it be possible to dig a perfectly straight channel as at Corinth. Nineteen of the 41 miles are on curves such that vessels would be obliged to sail very carefully, — not over 4 miles per hour. If two ships were to pass each other, one must be stopped and tied to the bank, in order to avoid danger of collision. Two of the largest ocean liners could not pass at all. For the first 25 miles from Colon the channel would be largely through soft, swampy mud and not through rock. No one knows whether it would be possible to dig a ditch 50 to 90 feet deep through such material and prevent the banks from constantly caving in and obstructing the chan- nel. Through the 9 miles of the Culebra Cut the ditch would be through rock and from 100 to 373 feet in depth. No such enormous rock cut as this has even been accom- plished. It is estimated that this sea-level plan would require the excavation of at least 300,000,000 cubic yards of earth and rock. Each cubic yard would weigh about a ton. Can we picture to ourselves such a great mass? If it were piled up into a wall 3 feet wide and 20 feet high, it would extend I90 LOCK PLAN entirely around the world at the equator! To dig this canal would require fully eighteen years of labor and between $500,000,000 and $600,000,000 in money. The mind is staggered by these figures. Now, if we look at Map VIII, we can see what the pro- posed lock canal is like and how it differs from the sea- level type. In route and length it would be Lock Canal , , , i i i i '-ni i j at Panama ^^c Same as the sea-level plan, i here would be the same channels also in the harbors at both ends. Beginning first at Colon a nearly straight channel is to be dug at sea-level for 2^ miles to Gatun. It is to be 41 feet deep and 500 feet wide. At Gatun a great dam will be built across the valley of the Chagres. This will form an artificial lake 165 square miles in area. The surface of the water in Gatun Lake, as it will be called, will be 85 feet above sea-level. Beside the Gatun dam, it is proposed to place a duplicate flight of three locks to raise and lower vessels this distance of 85 feet. For 23 miles beyond Gatun the channel will be through the lake and from 500 to 1,000 feet in width and from 45 to 85 feet in depth. The same water level continues through the Cule- bra Cut to the Pedro Miguel Locks, and here the channel is to be from 300 to 500 feet wide. At Pedro Miguel one lock in duplicate will raise or lower vessels 30 feet. Below it is the little Miraflores I^ake and just beyond it is to be a duplicate flight of two locks with a combined lift of 55 feet. Then comes 4 miles of sea-level channel 500 feet wide THE CANAL ROUTE 191 ■f L^ CEAN GAT UN DAM, ^^UN LOCKS iLi^ 6^Tt ^^9^ EMPIRE./ CULEBRA") PEDRO MIGUEL LOCI MIra/Iores Lake MIRAFLORES LOCKS OBISPO _, % .^ . t . .^^ "^^ <^'' _ O N « ^^-v^. J^^^ V ^ * ^^ ."-t. ^°-*^ V 1 -A DOBBS BROS. '32084 ■v^j U...ARY ..Noma , s V,^ 'V .O"^ . * ' "- <> V" » '^'^ <^. . . * A <^. *?XT* .G^ "^5 'o . . - 'V A V . « „ <^ A ... -^ A V - „ _ .