UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA LIBRARIES li l^,^,Xy% / Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from Lyrasis IVIembers and Sloan Foundation http://www.archive.org/details/reportoninteroceOOunit ow Sevv/a^Tcrvj' iiii:p»oiiT mTEROCEA?(IC CAMLS AND RAILROADS BETWEEN THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS. BY REAR-ADMIRAL CHARLES H. 'DAVIS, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE N^VaL H 3 i. il V A T U Y WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1867. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. July 12, 1866. — Eead aud referred to the Committee on Post Offices and Post Koads. July 26, 1866. — Resolved, That two thousand five hundred extra copies of the report of the Secretary of the Navy on interoceauic railroads and canals, with the accompanying maps, be ijrinted and bound for the use of the Senate. February 9, 1 867. — Resolved, That five hundred additional copies of the report of Admiral Davis, of the Naval Observatory, on interoceauic canals and railroads, be printed for the use of the Observatory. February 28, 1867. — Resolved, That five thousand additional copies of the report of the Secretary of the Navy on interoceauic canals and railroads, with an additional chart, be printed and bound, of which forty-five hundred copies shall be for the use of the Senate, and five hundred copies shall be for the use of the Superintendent of the Naval Observatory. March 11, 1867. — Resolved, That of the copies of the rei)ort of Admiral Davis upon inter- oceanic railroads and canals, heretofore ordered to be printed, three hi;ndred be furnished to the Secretary of the Navy. LETTEE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, COMMUNICATING. In compliance tvith a resolution of the \^0i of March, 1866, a report of Rear - Admiral Charles H. Davis, Superintendent of the Naval Observatory, in re- lation to the various proposed lines for interoccaiiic canals and railroads be- tween the waters of the Atlantic and Pacijic oceans. Navy Department, July 12, 1866. Sir : I liave the honor to transmit herewith a report of Rear-Admiral Chas. H Davis, Superintendent of the Naval Observatory, prepared by order of this Department, and in pursuance of a resolution of the Senate of the 19 th of March last, in relation to the " various proposed lines for interoceanic canals and rail- roads betweeu the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans." The report, dated the 11th instant, is accompanied by a series of maps. Very respectfully, &c., 'GIDEON WELLES, Secretary of the Navy. Hon. L. F. S. Foster, President pro tern, of the U. S. Senate. United States Naval Observatory, Washington, July 11, 1866. Sir : I have the honor to transmit to the Department a report on interoceanic canals and railroads between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, in compliance with your order of March 20, 1866. This report is accompanied by a series of maps. Respectfully, your obedient servant, C. H. DAVIS, Rear- Admiral, Super intcndait. Hon. Gideon Welles, Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C. EEPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF THE NAYAL OBSERYATORY, Secretary of the Navy, in answer to Senate resolution of the 19t7i March, 1866, on interoceanic canals and railroads between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacijic oceans. The following report is made under the dii-ection of the Hon. Secretary of tlie Navy, in compliance with aresolution of the Senate of the United States, dated March 19, 1866, which resolution reads as follows : ^^ Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy furnish, through a report of the Superiutend- ent of the Naval Observatory, the summit levels and distaoces by survey of the various pro- posed lines for interoceanic canals and railroads between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans ; as, also, their relative merits as practicable lines for the construction of a ship canal, and especially as relates to Honduras, Tehuantepec, Nicaragua, Panama, and Atrato lines; and also whether, in the opinion of the Superintendent, the isthmus of Darien has been satisfactorily explored ; and if so, furnish in detail, charts, plans, lines of levels, and all information connected therewith, and upon what authority they are based." The object of this inquiry is to collect and collateour existing information concerning the several isthmuses through or over which it has been jjroposed to open a communication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It is the aim of the Honorable Senator, Mr. Conness, of California, to acquire by the an- swer to his resolution, such accurate knowledge with regard to the whole quesr tion as will, in the first place, prevent the re-examination of any ground which is already sufficiently known ; and, in the second place, will prevent any useless expenditure of money upon schemes that are infeasible or unpromising. The resolution is properly divided into two general heads, which are again subdivided as follows : I. The consideration of the "various proposed lines" will include — " Summit level;" " Distances by survey ;" and " Their relative merits as practical lines for the construction of a ship ca- nal, especially for the Honduras, Tehuantepec, Nicaragua, Panama, and Atrato routes." II. The inquiry, "Has the isthmus of Darien been satisfictorily explored," calls for — " Charts ;" " Plans ;" "Lines of levels, and infoimation therewith;" and " Authorities on the whole subject." In conference with the mover of the resolution, I have ascertained that I shall execute the task assigned me in the most acceptable manner, if I confine myself to a simple statement of fticts, avoiding all unnecessary descriptions, whether of geography, topography, or« natural history, all scientific details not required for a full comprehension of results, and all merely speculativ'e opinions. In truth, nothing would seem to be less called for at the present day than a renewed attempt to show by argument, whether based on statistical or other INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. 5 considerations, the advantages of a suitable artificial water communication between the two great oceans. This joroject has engaged the attention of the most eminent statesmen, political economists, engineers, and merchants of the world, from a period but little subsequent to the discovery of this continent. Minds of the largest comprehension have employed themselves in the contem- plation of the benefits that would flow to mankind from the successful accom- plishment of this purpose. *By promoting intercourse, and therefore peace and good. will among men, it would contribute as much to human progress as any of the leading discoveries of the century. It is entitled to this highest commendation, that it will elevate the authors of its execution to the rank of those in history who have deserved, most of their fellow-men. The ingenious and enterprising thinkers of thit-- country and of western Europe will never rest satisfied until this project is either carried out or is shown by a thorough examiflation, such as leaves no question unansAvered, to be totally impracticable. I will so far anticipate the conclusions of this report as to say that my study of the subject rejects the latter idea. With these preliminary remarks, I will enter at once upon the business of the report, under the several divisions and subdivisions heretofore enumerated: I. The various proposed lines for interoceanic canals and. railroads and their relative merits, viz : A. Tehuantepec ; B. Honduras ; C. Nicai'agua ; D. Panama; E. Atrato. A. — TehuAx\tepec. The attention of the early discoverers was drawn towards this isthmus by two of its features — one, the remarkable depression of the Mexican plain at this point, and the other, the hydrographic basin of the Coatzacoalcos, M'hich drains the northern slope of the sunken Cordillera and discharges itself into the Gulf of Mexico. Mr.'AYilliams, who is our best authority witli regard to this part of the con- tinent, divides the isthmus of Tehuantepec into three distinct divisions, each possessing its own characteristic peculiarities. The first, or northern division, lying between the Cordilleras and the Gulf, he calls the Atlantic plains ; the second, or middle division, the mountainous district ; and the third, or southern division, bordering on the gulf of Tehiiantopec, he calls the Pacific plains. In the series of maps appended to this report (No. II) I have copied his two profiles, one of which extends from ocean to ocean, while the other comprises the mountainous districts only. These maps contain in themselves all the details necessary to a correct understanding of the ground. They were prepared, it will be remembered, with reference to a railroad project only. But for many years the idea had been entertained of opening a canal between the two oceans; and this idea received a sudden impulse in 1771, from the unexpected discovery in the port of San Juan de Ulloa that some cannon cast at Manilla had. crossed the isthmus by the rivers Chimalapa and Coatzacoalcos. (Humboldt — Essai Politique.) This discovery led to the most extravagant expectations, and gave rise to a succession of surveys or examinations under the governments of the Vice- royalty and of the Republic, which surveys are of little value at the present time. The really accurate and reliable surve}' of the isthmus v/as made by the scientific Commission under the direction of Major (now Major General) J. G Barnard, United States Engineers, in 1850-'51, and it is this which has fur- b INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. nished us with our profiles. From this survey we learn that this route pos- sesses but little " merits as a practicable line for the construction ofa ship canal." B. — Honduras. Our knowledge of this isthmus is derived from hydrographic, topographic, and barometrical survej^s, instituted by the directors of the British Honduras Interoceanic Railway Company, and reported by the general agent of the com* pany, E. G. Sqnier, Esq., August 1, 1S5S. Since it has never been pi-oposed to construct a canal on this route, it will not be necessary to speak of it at length. The third of the appended maps is both a map and profile of the whole line between the bay of Honduras and the bay of Fonseca. The reader -who follows the course of the surveyors, naturalists, and geologists* from the capacious, safe, and excellent harbor of Puerto Caballos (Fort Cortes) through regions remarkable for their salubrity, fertility, great variety of climate and productions, and valviable mineral re- sources, to the waters of the splendid harbor of La Union, cannot but regret that capitalists have not found it to their interest to carry out one of the most promising, and one of the least embarrassing, enterprises of the day. But, so far as concerns its relative " merit as a practicable line for the con- struction of a ship canal," Honduras is excluded from our further consideration. C. — Nicaragua. There has been a time when the transit from ocean to ocean, on a line fol- lowing the river San Juan del Norte, either in its bed or on its banks, cross- ing Lake Nicaragua, and thence to the Pacific, has enjoyed special favor and attention., From Greytown to the lake the mode of proceeding has been the same in most of the plans. It has included the improvement of the naviga- tion of the river San Juan, where possible, by excavations in its bed, and by the construction of dams, which, with the rapids of the rive^*, were to be passed by means of locks and canals. But, from the lake to the Pacific outl(*t, various branches have been proposed. Three of these pass through Lake Managua ; a fourth terminate,"? at Brito ; a fifth, at San Juan del Sur; a sixth proceeds by the Sapoa river to Salinas bay; a seventh, keeping in the southern part of. the State of Nicaragua, proposes to cut from the river San Juan, through the State pf Costa Rica, to Nicoya gulf Only two of these routes have been care- fully surveyed, those terminating in Brito and San Juan del Sur. • There are so many difficulties attending all these routes, which detract from their "relative merits as practicable lines for a ship canal," that I should feel authorized, under ordinary circumstances, to pass over this region in a few words ; but so much has been said and written about it by eminent authorities that I feel called upon to jDresent some descriptive details. A variety of circumstances have concurred to concentrate public opinion and favor upon this route. I refer particularly to the accidental settlement of Grey- town ; to the establishment of a transit through Nicaragua ; the actual navigation •f the San Juan river, and of Lake Nicaragua; the connexion of eminent names, including that of the present French Emperor; and the agricultural and mineral wealth of the Chontales region. And to these circumstances may be added the advances seemingly made by nature in offering the water communications of San Juan and the lakes, which reduce the isthmus to one-tgnth of its whole breadth. Extravagant expectations have been fostered, and hasty . schemes have been formed, including extensive plans of colonization — schcmjs that never have reached maturity. The late Admiral Fitz Roy, in the first paper Avhich he presented to the Royal Geographical Society, on the isthmus of America, entered into a careful examination of this line and its branches, and maturely considered the value of INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. 7 the statements made by* its advocates, aud the feasibility of tbe project witb reference to the natural difficulties to be overcome. The conclusion at which he arrived was unfavorable. I take pains to cite the authority of this distinguished hydrographer, because it will be received with the highest respect by all who are acquainted with his useful labors ^nd great abilities. It is not worth while to follow him over the ^ame ground ; to discuss the statements of Mr. Bailey, or the data of the French Emperor, or to dwell upon the unfavorable conditions arising from climate, earthquakes, volclboes, &c. I will base what I have to say upon the report of the survey made by Messrs. Childs and Fay, in the years 1S50-'51, for the American Atlantic and Pacific Ship-Canal Company. The map appended to this report, numbered IV, contains a profile of the line surveyed; and this profile may be regarded as a ty^e of the whole region, em- bracing all the branch lines mentioned above. It is not at all probable that any other of the proposed routes would find either a lower summit level or easier cuts. The line selected by Colonel Childs proceeds from Lake Nicaragua by a short and easy route to the harbor of Brito. It traverses the lake directly to its out- let at Port San Carlos ; it employs slack-water navigation on the San Juan river for a distance exceeding ninety miles, and then pursues a canal, inde- pendent of the river, to the harbor of San Juan del Norte. This plan of opera- tion- requires fourteen (14) locks to descend from the lake to the Pacific ocean, and fourteen (14) locks to descend from the lake to the Caribbean sea, in which last enumeration are included light locks at dams on the San Juan. There are seven (7) dams on the river. Costly improvements, possessing the charac- ter of artificial harbors, will be necessary at the two points of departure from the lake. The seaports of Grey town aud Brito, at the two ends of the line, will require costly and extensive improvements in the way of excavations, piers, jetties, breakwaters. Sec. The total length of the line is a little more than one hundred and ninety-four (194) miles. It may be safely asserted that no enter- prise, presenting such formidable difficulties, will ever be undertaken with even our present knowledge of the American isthmuses. Still less is it likely to be entered upon while such strong and well-founded hopes are entertained by the promoters- of the union of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans of finding elsewhere a very much easier, cheaper, and more practicable route for a canal, in every way suited to the present demands of commerce and navigation. The relative merits of the Nicaragua route as " a practicable line for the construction of a ship- canal " do not require further consideration. I have taken Cbilds's survey as a standard. I will therefore mention that it is regarded by Squier aud other competent authorities as the authentic and I'e- liable survey of the Nicaragua route ; and, further, that in March, 1852, his drawings, reports, and estimates were submitted to the examination of Colonels Abert and Turnbull, United States engineers. Squier's language in regard to the survey is very emphatic ; he says, " Childs's survey is the only one to be accepted as conforming to modern engineering requirements." Childs's report was further submitted by the Earls of Malmesbury to Englislf engineers, who also questioned its author personally. They reported that, " presuming Colonel Childs's data aud statements to be correct, the harbor of Brito is, in size and shape, unworthy of j^his great ship navigation." CHIRIQUI. The next line in the order of our enumeration is Panama ; but there lies be- tween Nicaragua and Panama another isthmus which has been thought of more than once as a convenient place of transit — the isthmus of Chiriqui. The best information concerning this route is derived from the examination 8 INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. made by the Cliiriqui commission, commanded by Commodore Frederick Engle, United States navy, of which Commander Jeffers was the hydrographic engineer, and First Lientenant J. St. CLiir Morton, who fell at Petersburg, the topograph- ical engineer. Commodore Engle describes the luirbor of Chiriqni as "large, deep, and well protected." Commander Jeffers confirms the accuracy of the survey of Captain (now Rear- Admiral) Barnett, lloyal Navy, and adds : " No*finer harbors can be found than those on the Atlantic side, Shepherd's harbor included." He says also of Golfito, in Golfo Dulce, on the Pacific side, that it "is unsurpassed in natural facilities ; * * * three streams, the GURfito, Coisal, and the Canaza, enter the harbor and afford an ample supply of fresh water." Lieu- tenant Morton lauded at Frenchman's creek, and crossed the isthmus twice ; in doing which he explored a swamp of groat extent, and discovered a hitherto un- known pass through the Cordilleras. His examination resulted in " the convic- tion that it is entirely practicable to connect the harbors by a line of railroad adapted to commercial purposes." But since Lieutenant Morton describes his work as a reconnaissance merely, made with the Schmalcalder compass, and has left no map, journal, or note-book in the archives of the War Department, I am imable to trace his route precisely, and have accordingly laid it dov/n on the general map with a broken line. Mr, Evans, the geologist of the Chiriqni commission, made examinations to ascertain the extent a^id value of the coal deposits on the Chiriqni lands. He found " coal seams varying in quality from lignites to semi-bituminous and semi-anthracite coals." * * << ^pj^g supply is abundant." He found " gold and ores of iron, copper, and platinum, * * a rich mineral region." The plains are described as being fertile, and abounding in timber. Concerning a portion of the province of Chiriqni, known as the territory of Eu- rica, we ha^e some interesting information from J. H. Smith, esq., of Panama, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. I have cited him among my authorities for the convenience of the future student or explorer, when this re- gion is again brought under examination. COSTA RICA. At the very moment of our writing, another ])roject of an iuteroceanic rail- road is presented to the world in a pamphlet entitled "The Interoccanic Railroad througli the Republic of Costa Rica, by F. Kurtze, C. E., Director general of public works, Republic of Costa Rica. New York: Gray & Green, 1866." This route starts from Port Lemon on the Atlantic, below Point Blanco, and bordering on the tenth parallel of latitude. After running in a straight direction due west across the level ground to the foot of the mountains, it turns to the northward and follows the course pointed out by nature, skirting the different spurs of the Cordillera, and crossing the minor streams until it reaches the right bank of the Reventason, which it follows for some distance, gradually ascending \\p to the table lands of Cartago. Near Cartago, at Ochomogo, it reaches the summit level, which is five thousand one hundred and eighteen feet above the sea level ; thence it descends into the fertile plains of San Jose and passes close to the capital of tte same name. From the plains of San Jose it descends into the valley of the Rio Grande, and terminates in the noble gu'.f of Nicoya, at a point called Caldera, from the hot mineral springs in its vicinity. This route possesses, in a marked degree, the advantag;fs ascribed to -the Honduras route. It passes through a territory the physical geography of which exhibits a variety of forms, the soil of which embraces large differences of pro- ductions, and the climate of which is rendered salubrious, even under the tropics, by the moderateness due to great elevations. Its mineral resources, also, are rich and diversified. In length it is a hundred miles shorter than the Honduras route; but its gradients are more difficult, and its summit level exceeds that of Honduras by more than two thousand feet. IXTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. 9 But this project comes before the public embeili.-^bed with cue recommcnclation peculiar to itself. Throughout the strip of territory, not exceeding eight miles in breadth, in "which the line of railroad lies, the government of Costa llica has constructed (with the exception of a few miles at the Atlantic end which is fast being completed) a wngon road from sea to sea, described by tlie director of public works as a substantial, ihacadamized higlnvay, with a number of cut-stane bridges. It is said that in many places mile after mile of this wagon I'oad can be used without fnrther leveling. This road is declared to be sixty feet wide, and therefore able to spare the width of the track. Although this route is wholly excluded from our consideration of "practical lines for the construction of a ship canal," yet I have given it a, little space on- account of its interest and importance. It requires no uncommon foresight to predict that unless some unexpected calamity occurs to obstruct the growth of' the healthy, vigorous, fertile, and flourishing Kepublic of Costa Rica, portions of this road, at least, on the northeastern slope Avill be built from time to time if only to meet the wants of local travel and traffic For, as Mr. Kurbee observes,. " it is but a single step from a substantial macadamized highway to a railroad with its trains of freight and passenger cars ;" and the people which has been obliged to build the former, for the accommodation of a valuable and I'apidly hicreasing commerce, is not far from the construction of the latter. D. — Panama. There is no part of the American isthmus with which we are so- well ac- quainted as the oJd route from Porto Bello or Chagres to old or new Panama, the established line of communication since the year 1532 — that is, since twenty- three years after the first settlement in America. The surveys made by the engineers of the Panama railroad have established the important fact that the difference between the mean level of the two oceans is eithei^ nothing, or so slight as to present no obstacle to the construction of a canal. The difficulties pertain altogether to the climate, to the elevation, the nature of the soil, and the supply of water. The character and extent of these difficulties may be learned from the survey and project of M. Garella, Ingenieur-en-chef des Mines, in 1843. la order to present the whole subject in the most satisfiictory manner, I have in- cluded among the maps appended to this report (No. T) M. Garella's survey and profiles, containing all tlie details of his project. This route was selected only after a careful inspectton of the intervening space, and after making the requisite levellings. It will be seen by this map that he follows the valleys of the Bernardino and Caimito on the southern descent, and those of Quebrado and Chagres on the northern. The mountainous region ap- proaches very near the Pacific, and its highest elevation is four hundred and fifty-nine (459) feet above the level of the sea. He tunnels the mountain at about ninety-nine (99) metres (324 feet 9" inches) below its highest point; and he establishes his summit-level for a distance of 25,361 feet, at an elevation of one hundred and thirty-five (135) feet above high water from the Pacific ocean. From this summit-level he descends to the Pacific ocean by means of seventeen (17) locks, some of which are necessaril}'' very much crowded. On the other side he descends to the Atlantic by eighteen (18) locks, which, owing to the more gradual descent on the north, are more conveniently spaced. it is remarked by the commission of the " Ponts et Chaussiies," appointed to report upon M. Garella's project, that his mode of proceeding- is reasonable, and entirely in conformity with the rules of art. A glance at t-lie plan and profile shows that the near approach of the chain of the Andes to the Pacific ocean obliges him to pursue the course he has adopted. Of the whole length of the summit-level, seventeen thousand five hundred and fifty feet are subterranean; and, as the Commission observes, this is not only in- convenient to vessels, but it involves great expense, since the tunnel must be 10 INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. sufficiently liigli to allow vessels to pass tlirongli with tlieir lower masts, at least, stauding. The means of feeding the canal are not satisfactorily stated. The river Chagres was gauged, it is true, at Cruces and at Gorgona, hut the river is to be tapped above these points. Provision is also made for an auxiliary reservoir; still, the commission is not satisfied on this question. ■* The harbors which form the termini of the canal are, on the Atlantic side. Navy bay, and, on the Pacific side, the bay of Vaca del Monte. We know that Navy bay is an insecure anchorage at certain periods of the year, and the harbor on the Pacific is altogether insufiicient for vessels of even moderate draught. M. Garella is obliged to include in his estimates a sum of a million and a quarter of dollars for the improvement of this harbor. I have entered into these details of M. Garella's project — all of which are more fully displayed on the map — because it presents a fair representation of the difficulties to be overcome in the con- struction of a navigable ship canal across the isthmus of Panama proper; and in order to render this subject still more intelligible to the general reader, I have added Colonel Hughes's survey of the Panama railroad in map No. VI, which contains the topogiaphical features and profile of the route. I have spoken of the isthmus of Panama proper. Geographers have given the name of Darien to that part of the isthmus which is contained between the Panama line and the province of Choco. On this isthmus of Darien, as we shall call it, between the Panama line and the province of Choco, there are three other lines or pl|^ces which have always commanded great interest, but which have never received the attention they merit. These three routes are. from the Chepo or Bayanos river to San Bias or Mandinga* bay, from the Gulf of San Miguel to Caledonia bay, and from the Gulf of San Miguel to the southern part of the Gulf of Uraba or Darien, or else to some point on the lower part of the Atrato below the mouth of the Cacarica. I will take up these three in the order now mentioned. The first of these lines, from Chepo to San Bias, has always been the subject of special curiosity on account of the jealous exclusion by the Indians of all strangers from their territory. Our accurate knowledge of the geography of the coasts on both sides enables us to determine that here is the narrowest part of the isthmus. This is of itself an important fact; and added to this, a rumor or report has been received from the Indians in this vicinity that they are in the habit of hauling their canoes on wooden slides across the Cordilleras from the Mandinga river and launching them in the waters of the Bayanos. This rumor, which is noticed by many writers, is particularly mentioned by Mr. Oliphant, the secretary of the Royal Geographical Society, in a paper read before that society on the 24th of April, 1S65. The writer of that paper made a journey from Panama to the Chepo or Bayanos river simply for a reconnaissance, and he says that the tide of the Pacific extends to within fifteen (15) miles of the north- ern coast, and that he saw from Chepo a remarkable depression in the moiTutain chain aboirt ten miles distant. He makes the remark, in which all will concur, that it is a discredit to the civilization of the nineteenth century that this part of the isthmus should not have been explored. This is not owing, however, to a want of effort. Attempts to cross the isthmus at tins point were made by Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Wheelwright. They were both driven back by the aborigines. It is very gratifying to have it in my power to say that this disci'edit to the civilization of the nineteenth century has been removed by the indefatigable zeal and enterprise of Mr. Frederick ]\I. Kelly, of New York, of whom it was justly said by the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers of London, that he " had produced more intelligible information towards tlie solution of this problem, of such vast importance to the commercial and political interests of the *Al80 called the Gulf of Manzanilla. INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. 11 world, than had hitherto been given;" and of whom Sir R. Murchison, Vice- President of the Royal Geographical Society, also said that he " heartily wished he , might succeed in this great and philanthropic project, which so deeply interested all civilized nations." After having spent a great deal of labor and money upon the examination of the Atrato and San Juan rivers in search of a suitable route for an iuteroceanic candl across the province of Choco, Mr. Kelly and his friends, in 1864, took up the long deferred but much coveted exploration of the route from the Chepo to the Gulf of San Bias. The results of this exploration are given in the annexed map, numbered VII. From Mr. Kelly's plans it will be perceived that the whole length of the route from ocean to ocean is only thirty miles. On the north, there is the ad- mirable, spacious, and deep harbor of San Bias; and on the south the channel leading into the bay of Panama has not less than eighteen (IS) feet of water at mean low tide, while the ordinary rise of tide is sixteen (16) feet. I give these figures from Mr. Kelly's survey; but I must observe that this result of the ex- amination by his engineer of the entrance of the Chepo is entirely unexpected, and does not accord with the admiralty charts. But the most striking feature of the project, as of M. Garella's, is a tunnel, similar in its length, and in other respects, to the great tunnel through the Alps at Mont Cenis, which is nearly one-half cut through, and in which the progress is so satisfactory that the period of its completion can be definitely fixed. When the tunnel through Mont Cenis, and the still greater one through Mont St. Gothard, are finished and in use, such undertakings will cease to be regarded with the aversion we now feel towards them. It must be observed, however, with regard to Mr. Kelly's survey, that owing to its being a private affair it was necessarily accomplished at the least expense and with the utmost expedition. It pursued a single line, Mathout deviating to the right or left, although the surveyors were satisfied that they saw evidences of greater depression to the westward of their course; and there can be no doubt whatever that a deliberate examination, made under such advantages as would pertain to a governmental survey, would lessen the difiiculties, and, perhaps, lead to the discovery of such a route through the valleys as would render a resort to tunnelling unnecessary. This subject will be resumed in the general remarks and recommendations with which the report will be concluded. GULF OF SAN MIGUEL TO CALEDONIA BAY. The next place in order is the line between the gulf of San Miguel and Caledonia bay. We have here, at both ends of the line, harbors spacious and admirable in every respect, and, on the south side, there is a height of tide suited to the construction of docks for repairs, &c. It is held by many persons that no line of iuteroceanic canal merits serious attention unless it possesses this indispensable requisite of good natural harbors, requiring no artificial im- provements, except those for the ordinary conveniences of commerce, such as wharves and docks. Certainly it will add very much to the difficulties and embarrassments, as well as to the expense, of this great enterprise, to mix with it any doubtful questions of harbor improvement. The greatest interest has always centred in this particular line on other accounts. The first settlement in all America was iu this vicinity, and the next settlement on the isthmiis was at Agla, a few miles inland, on Caledonia bay. It was through this district of country that the buccaneers made frequent incursions upon the original Spanish settlers, who had opened and were working mines at Cona or Cana and Espiritu Santo. The history of the buccaneers furnishes us with many interesting accounts of their incursions into this region. But since their topographical descriptions are not full enough to be traced on any modern map, it is sufficient merely to refer to them.* It was, no doubt, *It may be said, on the authority of Fitz Roy, that they can be followed ou the old Spanish maps. . 12 INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. owing to the success of the buccfinecrs that Paterson was induced to settle at Darieu with his Scotch colony. He derived the information on Avhich he acted, in part, from personal intercourse with the surviving buccaueers. In one of his letters to the court of directors of the "Indian and African Company," cited by Dalrymple in his Memoirs of Great Britain, voh 2, page 115, he says: " Gold may be gotten in very many places. No mines are worked or looked after that yield as low as J ounce per day to the laborer. Often they yield 4 ounces per day. The mine of Cana is worked by a thousand negroes." In our own time, this line of communication has received more attention than any other, except the Panama line. The governments of Great Britain, France, and the United States have each undertaken its exploration, with a singular want of success. One English surveyor, Mr. Gisborne, entered the country from Caledonia bay, and, after reaching the summit of the Cordillera, turned back. Captain Prevost, of the royal navy, led the exploring party which ascended the Savana from the gulf of San Miguel to the head of navigation, and thence cut his Avay through the woods and swamps until he reached the Cordillera, Avhen he also turned back. lie says in the official report of his pro- ceedings, under date of January 4, 1854: "Although finding ourselves in the centre of the Cordilleras, and, 1 believe, within a very few miles of the object of our search, yet, having already exceeded the limits of my stay, it became my duty to rejoin the ship without delay, still feeling confident that had time and our provisions allowed us, we should eventually have reached the Atlantic shores, and that easily, by following one of the several rivers or streams which appear to exist in this range of hills, forming certain passages to the sea." Th^ expedition of Strain, though it called out a remarkable display of courage and endurance under the most fearful trials, was even less fruitful of knowledge than those of Gisborne and Prevost. 1 have appended a map, numbered VIII, of the joint exploration of the two English gentlemen here mentioned, taken from Gisborne's report to the Royal Geograj)hical Society. It will be perceived that the routes of these two gen- tlemen join on to each other. Sections of both tracks are given on the map. The only person in our time who claims to have crossed the isthmus directly between the two great bays is Dr. Cullen. Dr. Cullen says that on his first jour- ney into Darien, in 1849, he was totally ignorant of the existence of the Savana river until he actually saw it, after entering Boca Chica, "when," he continues, "fiiiding the great depth of water at its mouth, and that it flowed almost directly from the north, I became convinced that I had at last found the object of my search, viz., a feasible route to the Atlantic ; and thereupon I immediately ascended it, and crossed from Canasas to the sea-shore, at Port Escoces, and back; and subsequently, in 1850, and also in 1851, crossed and recrossed at several times and by several tracks the route from Savana to Port Escoces and Caledonia bay, notching the bark of the trees as I went along with a-jnachete or cutlass, always alone and unaided, and always in the season of the heaviest rains. * * * And I bad not the least hesitation in deciding that that must be the future route for intoroceanic communication for ships." (Isthmus of Darien Ship Canal, by Dr. Cullen, kd edition, p. 19.) The principal point of interest in this exploration is, of course, the passage of the Cordillera. Concerning this, Dr. Cullen says: "From tlie sea-shore, (Port Escoces,) a plain extends for nearly two miles to the base of a ridge of hills which runs paralled to the coast, and whose highest summit is about 350 feet. This ridge is not quite continuous and unbroken, but is divided by trans- verse valleys, through Avhich the Aglaseniqua, Aglatomate, and other rivers have their course, and whose highest elevations do not exceed 150 feet. The base of this ridge is only two miles in width, and from its south side a level plain extends for thirteen miles to a point on the river Savana, called Canasas, which is about twenty miles above its mouth." (Page 28, ibid.) INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. id No language could be more simple, explicit, and direct than the language of ttis statement. Admitting it to be literally correct, we have to go no farther; for the object of our search, the existence of a practicable route for an inter- oceanic ship canal, has been discovered. Dr. Cullen's map, numbered IX of the series appended to this report, pre- sents a line of communication which combines all the advantages required by the engineer., It possesses the indispensable rer^uisite of harbors of perfect security, sufficient depth of water, and large capacity at both termini — that on the Pacific side having a rise of tide which adapts it to the construction of building and repairing docks, a circumstance the value of which cannot be over- estimated. It cuts the Cordilleras at a depression at least thirty feet below any that has ever been reported, and several hundred feet below any that has actu- ally been surveyed, or that has been approximately determined by trustworthy observers. The course of this line is direct, free from obstructions, and excep- tionally healthy, while its outlets open updu coasts where violent storms are rarely known. The plains on each side of the dividing ridge are of easy slope and readily penetrated. The Savana river itself would form a part of the canal. And, finally, accepting the particular statement of Dr. Cullen as fully reliable, a ship canal may be cut on this line without locks, and even without tunnel, and yet not surpass, either in difficulty, in labor, or in the amount of time or money consumed in its construction, several other monuments of human genius and enterprise in past times and in our own day. Thus, for example, the Mexican Desague, of which Humboldt says : " In its actual state it is undoubtedly one of the most gigantic hydraulic operations #ver executed by, man. We are filled with admiration when we consider the nature of the ground, and the enormous breadth, depth, and length of the aperture. If the cut were filled with water to the depth of ten metres (32.8 feet) the largest vessels of war could pass through the range of mountains which bound the plains of I\Iexico to the northeast." (Humboldt, New Spain, vol. 2d, pp. 110, 111.) "This wonderful work," says Admiral Fitz Roy, "200 feet deep anfi^ 300 feet wide for nearly a thousand yards, and above 100 feet deep through an ex- tent of three thousand yards, (making altogether two miles of distance in which that vast excavation would be capable of concealing the masthead of a first- rate man-of-war,) executed within the last three centuries within Central Amer- ica, should induce us to listen respectfully to the plans of modern engineers, howeyer startling they may appear at first." (Journal Royal Geographical So- ciety," vol. 20, p. 176.) A ship canal twenty- six or twenty-seven miles in length, on such a line as that described by Dr. Cullen, (pp. 24, el seq.) with a cut of two miles only through hard rock, would, in all respects of time, money, and difficulty, fall far short of that tunnel which is now in progress unsler the Alps at Mont Cenis, for the purpose of connecting France and Italy by a continuous railway. The length of this tunnel is seven miles and 1,044 yards. At Mont Cenis it is, in fcection, twenty-six feet three inches, and twenty feet eight inches high above the rails. Throughout the whole line it passes through rock, and, in some places, very hard rock. This, by far the greatest and boldest work of the kind ever yet undertaken, with its covered drain throughout, its lining of masonry, its re- cesses at the distance of every fifty metres, (164 feet,) and its chambers ten or twelve feet square at intervals of 1,650 feet, may well spur us on to engage in this enterprise, which has for its object the union not of two adjacent countries, but of remote continents; the promotion, not of interior traffic in one or two dis- ti'icts, but of commerce and intercourse between all the peoples of the habitable globe. I say this because the construction of an interoceanic ship canal is — to borrow the thought of an eloquent writer on this subject — the same thing as if by some revolution of our globe the eastern shores of Asia and the southern continent were brought nearer to us. 14 INTEEOCEANIC EAILROADS AND CANALS. Such ai-e the prospects wliicli the statements of Dr. Culleu ofFer to us. But it is with extreme reluctance I am compelled to say that these statements stand in Dr. Oullen's book as mere assertions, unaccompanied by notes or measure- ments. I cannot but join with Admiral Fitz Roy in his regret that Dr. Oullen has not given to the world the journals and details of his repeated explorations ; such, for example, as are given by Grisborne and Prevost on or about the same line. However, it is a great satisfaction to observe that Admiral Fitz Roy gives Dr. Cullen credit for " valuable information gleaned from archives, maps, books, oral accounts and his own persd\ial observation, and for being the first to ascer- tain the existence of a low summit-level." lie adds that Dr. Oullen's state- ment " is corroborated by Gisborne ;" and ascribes to Dr. Oullen the merit " of recommending from personal observation the river Savaua as preferable to the Chuquanaque on account of its nearer approach to the noi'th coast." It is also gratifying to perceive that Airiau, who has made a careful study of this subject, has arrived at the same conclusion ; that is, that the proper line for an interoceanic canal is from the bay of San Miguel up the river Savana to its junction with the Lara, and from this point straight across the plain to the foot of the Oordilleras. (Prevost's route, approximately.) " With regard to the Oordillera, in proportion as it advances, proceeding from the base of the isthmus, it descends a good deal, and is only, so to speak, a range of hills or isolated peaks, the bases of which are intersected by ravines which point out to • the engineer the true route of the canal. The Indians in the neighborhood of Caledonia bay make use of these passages. One of them is elevated about fifty metres, (164 feet,) and is covered with a luxuriant growth of mahogany, paflh, ebony, and other trees." (Oanal Interoceanique par I'lsthme du Darien, p. 52. See list of authorities appended to this report.) The same writer describes the country on the north of the Oordillera as a slope, gradually descending to the water's edge. No special authority is given for this description of the Oordillera, though Gisborne and other travellers are generally quoted ; and it is further to be remarked that Airiau's estimates (chap, iv) are based upon probabilities, not on actual measurement, and these probabilities are deduced from Garella's survey, as well as from the statements of Gisborne and others. • Besides Cullen and Airiau, there are other high authorities who have re- garded the isthmus of Darien as the place where we are to look for the con- summation of our, wishes. Admiral Fitz Roy, wIjo, at the period when he last wrote, 1853, had made a more careful and accurate study of the whole sub- ject than any man then living, and whose opinions no one experienced in the hydrography of the globe will lightly question, has said : " A strong conviction remains on all our minds that Darien should be surveyed without delay. The illustrious Humboldt declares himself thoroughly satisfied that the isthmus of Darien is superior to any other portion of the entire neck for a canal." But we can go further back in our authorities. The incursions of the old buccaneers, Dampier, Ringrose, Sharp, Wafer, and Davis, which can be followed on the old Spanish maps, have made us strangely familiar with some parts of this region, abounding in the gold that was the object of their search. The well-known and pi'oductive mines of Cona and Espiritu Santo, partly on ac- count of these very incursions, were long since abandoned. We also follow, without difficulty, the direct route (1788) of the Spanish officer, Don Manuel de Milla Santa Ella, from Caledonia harbor to El Principe, thence down the Savana river to the harbor of Darien, up the Tuyra, and again up the Chuqua- naque to Yavisa. While stopping in this village he received information from the governor that two hostile Chucunaque Indians were pursuing his tracks. On this, he determined to send his Indian guide Urruchurchu forward with the despatches and go back himself and return to Carolina by the way of Panama and Porto Bello. (Cullen, pp. 192 et seq.) INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. 15 And, lastly, we must adduce the testimony of that very remarkable man, William Paterson, who carried with him, in his settlement at Caledonia harbor ample stores of information collected from the buccaneers, who, during his long residence, had leisure and opportunity to make himself acquainted with the sur- rounding district, and who made at least one journey into the interior, the journal of which is given in his papers. One hundred and seventy years ago, the far- reaching mind of Paterson had contemplated the isthmus of Daiiea with the same enlightened views as the statesmen and political economists of the present time. He originated and partly executed the project of settling a great colony in this then remote region for the purpose of " removing distances and drawing nations nearer to each other." In one of his letters to the Darien company, he says, (what is as true now as it was then,) " the time and expense of navigation to China, Japan, the Spice islands, and the greater part of the East Indies, will be lessened more than one-half, and the consumption of European commodities and manufactures will soon be more than doubled. * * * Thus this door of the seas and key of the universe, with anything of a reasonable management, will, of course, enable its proprietors to give laws to both oceans and become arbitrators of the commercial world." This, however, is not said in any narrow spirit of selfishness ; for, he adds, " You may easily perceive that the nature of these discoveries is such as are not to be engrossed by any one nation or people to the exclusion of others." And he denounced the contrary. policy as being no less ruinous than niggardly. I might extend these and similar quotations almost indefinitely. A glance at the list of authorities on this subject of interoceanic communication, appended to this report, will suffice to show how easy it Avould be to so stretch-out this pSper to any extent by historical, ge'ographical, hydrographical, statistical, and descrip- tive passages and illustrations. I am, however, free from any temptation to do so, for I am Avell aware that I shall best answer the end of the call under which I am writing by confining myself as strictly as possible to the actual state of our knowledge of the great isthmuses, and to the channels into which new attempts are to be directed. But I will not forbear to mention that it is interesting to the American statesman of the present day to see in what light the possession of the isthmus was regarded by a British statesman of the latter part of the last century. [Vide Dalrymple's Memoirs, vol. 2, p. 111.) I have still one more exploration in this region to mention, the last one of which we have any accurate knowledge, but by no means the least interesting and profitable. I refer to the expedition of M. Bourdiol, civil engineer, who was employed in 1864, by a French society, to conduct a new exploration on the isth- mus of Darien. For the greater convenience of supplies for his party, he found it expedient to begin on the Pacific side. His expedition comprised twenty -five persons, of whom one was an Indian and nine were negroes. M. Bourdiol's course lay from the mouth of the Lara across the isthmus to the river Chu- quanaque, which he reached at a point a little below the Sucubti. Here he was oblig'ed to turn back, all the natives having abandoned him through fear of the hostile aborigines (the hravos) on the northern slope of the Cordilleras. This expedition of M. Bourdiol is full of instruction for the future surveyors of the isthmus, not only on account of the manner in which it was conducted, but on account of its failure to reach the Atlantic shore. M. Bourdiol had made better preparation than any of his predecessors. He introduced into his work accuracy, zeal, and laborious industry. He encountered great hardships, and yielded only when the obstacles to his progress became insurmountable. His narrative in the Bulletin of the G-eographical Society of Paris, 1864, will be attentively read by every one who is to follow in his track. But the prin- cipal lessons to be derived from it may be summed up as follows : First. The imperative necessity of taking provision in a concentrated form, on which I dwell more than once in this report, is very clearly shown. The 16 INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. want of provisions was one of the insurmountable obstacles that obliged him to turn back. It appears to have b^ en impracticable to supply the party from the vessel Avlien they had reached the interior. The second and equally important lesson is, that the proper season is to be selected. Bourdiol attempted to make his exploration in the month of May. At one time he Avas in danger of having his retreat cut off by the enlargement of the streams, and by the torrents created by the abnndant rains. At another time he was wading up to his waist in water ; and, in order to make sure of a safe return across an inundated plain, he left, as he advanced, his people sta- tioned at intervals like live beacons. But for this precaution he might never have found his Avay back; and, in spite of it, he came near losing one of his men. Thirdly. I speak elsewhere of the necessity of providing the means of clearing the way through the dense and matted undergrowth by steel and by fire. (Page 22.) j\r. Bourdiol's experience on mis point is exceedingly instructive. The natives mny be employed with their machetes. They are strong, active, and enduring, but are very timid, and not to be relied upon. Fourth and lastly. Suitable preparation must be made for encountering the hostility of the Indian hraros who inhabit the Atlantic declivity. This is the proper place to call special attention to the benefits which have been conferred upon the. world by all previous explorers, whether their labors have been carried on systematically and to an end, or have been cut short by accident, hostility, or a want of proper equipment. Every successful and complete survey, like those of Tehuantepec, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, &c., which has proved the unfitness of the route for an interoceanic jfommunication by canal, has benefited us by eliminating these points from our consideration, and thus narrowing down our field of inquiry. Every unsuccessful attempt has conferred a benefit by teaching us the precau- tions Ave are to observe, and the errors Ave should avoid. FROM SAN MIGUEL TO GULF OF URABA OR DARIEN. The remaining line on this part of the isthmus is that Avhich ascends the Tuyra and crosses to the A'alley of the Atrato. It is satisfoctory to know that a plan for a survey of this route is already on foot. Mr. Gogorza, a resident of New Granada, has recently communicated the discovery of a short and easy transit across the Cordillera at this point. According to his statement, the mountain is depressed to an elevation offifty-eight metres (190 feet) above the level of tide-Avater; the distance between the Avaters, navigable by canoe, on the tAvo sides of the mountain, is only three miles. Since the verification of these estimates is about to be undertaken by compe- tent authority, it is not expedient to say anything fui'ther on this route than this : that it is expressly pointed out by Fitz Roy, and draAvn on his general map, and that it is also mentioned at length by TrautAvine. A regular survey by the government would be desirable, Avhether the present private enterprise on foot should make any important discoveries or not. E.-^ThE AtRATO ROUTE. For many years explorations have, from time to time, been carried through the valley of the Atrato to various points on the Pacific coast in search of a suitable path for effecting a union of the two oceans by a ship canal Avithout locks. These explorations have, in one respect, been satisfactory. They have been conducted by able engineers, who enjoyed the confidence of the public, and they have been given to the Avorld in the most useful' and intelligible form. We are noAv sure that Ave are Avell acquainted with the region, especially in those particular parts over which the surveyors have passed. Whoever will take the pains to study the maps and reports of Trautwine, Kennish, and Colonel Mich- INTEEOCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. 17 ler of the United States engineers, will be able to form an independent opinion with regard to the practicability of finding in this direction the means of ful- filling the world's expectation of a passage through the great American isthmus. It is well known that we are indebted to one gentleman, principally, for all these trustworthy contributions to our geographical knowledge. In the year 1852, Mr. Kelly, of New York, influenced by the early reports of Humboldt, (who, however, it must be remembered, does not here speak from his own knowledge, but merely recites what is communicated by others,) and in- spired by the grandeur of the object, commenced a series of surveys, beginning at the mouth of the Atrato river, and crossing the Cordilleras at several points. Of these surveys I will here give a brief account, in order to show precisely where we stand in regard to this region. What is here said concerning the early history of these undertakings is taken, in part, from a paper communi- cated to the Royal Geographical Society of London, by its secretary, Dr. Nor- ton Shaw, in 1856. The first espedition, undertaken at the expense of Mr. Kelly and other gentle- men, was placed under the direction of Mr. J. C. Trautwine, an engineer of Phila- delphia, who had already acquired distinction in Honduras and in the work of the Panama railway. Mr. Trautwine surveyed the mouth of the Atrato, and then ascended the river to Quibdo, examining several of its tributaries in passing. Above Quibdo he followed first the tributary Quito, and then the tributary Pato to its source; here he crossed the dividing ridge of the Cordilleras, and took a canoe on the river Baudo, which he traced to its mouth on the Pacific. Returning on his steps he turned off from the Baudo, at the mouth of the Pepe, which river lie ascended to its source, and crossed the mountains on a second track to the river Surucco, one of the headwaters of the San Juan, and proceeded along the last-named river on a third track. He crossed from San Juan to Quibdo, which track leads across the water-shed said to have been intersected by the famous Ras^adura canal. The existence of this canal is now disproved, if the word canal is intended to signify a practicable artificial water-course, constructed and employed for the passage of boats or vessels.* This route was again traversed by Mr. Trautwine, when he returned from Quibdo, and navigated the river San Juan throughout its length to the bay of Chirambira, on the Pacific coast. Thus it will be seen that Mr. Trautwine during his expedition crossed the Cordillera at three different places. A copy of Mr. Trautwine's map is included in the appended series and numbered X; it embraces his plan and elevation of the dividing ridge between the Atrato and San Juan rivers. * In 1853, another expedition was fitted out by Mr. Kelly, at his own ex- pense, and placed in charge of Mr. Lane and Mr. Porter, civil engineers of New York, with instructions to extend and follow up the investigations of Mr. Trautwine. Mr. Porter pursued the route previously taken by Mr. Traut- wine, ascending the Atrato, and crossing over the dividing ridge to San Pablo, on the San Juan. His observations harmonized entirely with those of his predecessor." Mr. Lane, after examining the Atrato to Quibdo, took the eastern course along the Atrato to the Andagueda, whence he crossed the di- viding ridge to the San Juan. He also examined the supposed Raspadura canal. Throughout his expeditions his results agree with those previously re- ported by Mr. Trautwine. "We may sum up the results of these surveys, so far as the question of an interoceanic canal is concerned, in the following declaration : The examina- * It is worth mentioning, as a matter of curiosity, that this canal of Raspadura has been actually laid down on a large chart of South America, and also on a chart of Columbia, both by Bni6, and also on a chart of New Granada, given by Maltc Brun, p^re, in the ]6th vol. of the Annales des Voyages for the year 1811. This last ohart passed under Humboldt's review. (Malte Brun, fils, 1857, p. 22, note.) 2 I R 18 . INTEEOCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. tion of the headwaters of the Atrato, of the intervenhig water-shed, and of the headwaters of the San Juau, satisfactorily proved that nature forbids ns altogether to entertain the idea of a union of the two oceans in this direction. Mr. Kelly's indefatigable spirit of inquiry took a new course. Humboldt had been told that from the bay of Cupica eastward, for a distance of fifteen or eighteen miles, the ground was level and suitable for a canal which would teiTninate on the river Napipi. It was represented to him that between this part of the coast and the valley of the Atrato the chain of the Ai^des is entirely broken, and on this point he quotes the authority of an intelligent Biscayan pilot. A number of other authorities are cited by Fitz R03', particularly Lieu- tenant Wood, E-oyal Navy, and Captain Illingsworth, (Journal Royal Geograph- ical Society, 1851, p. 178,) who give color to the correctness of this statement by circumstantial facts ; and, in addition to all this, the opinion is so current in the country that the native Indians are in the habit of passing, freely and with- out difficulty, between the Pacific coast and the tributaries of the Atrato, that it probably has some better foundation than we are aware of. Acting upon these reports, Mr. Kelly fitted out two other expeditions in the year 1854, one of which, under Mr. Lane, was despatched to the Truando, and the other, imder Mr. William Keimish, was directed to commence operations on the side of the Pacific. Mr. Kelly's instructions to Mr. Kennish were drawn up in accordance with the preceding information. He was to follow the coast from Point Garachine southward to 7° north latitude, (Cupica bay is 6° 41' 19" north,) and to look for any depression in the range of the Cordillera which held out the prospect of an open cut without resorting to locks, and on observing any such place, he was to institute a thorough survey, for which the means and instruments were provided. Mr. Kennish, after passing the bold and mountainous region to the north- ward of Punta Ardita, met with a remarkable depression opposite that portion of the coast which lies to the southward of that point, and between it and Punta Marzo. Mr. Kennish says in his report: "In this interval the country loses its mountainous character entirely, and assumes the appearance of a gradual rise or slope, with hills of little elevation in the distance." Opposite this depression of the Cordilleras, he discovered an inlet not before described, but now known as Kelly's inlet, afiording aonvenient shelter and anchorage, into which the Paracuchichi empties its waters. Encouraged by these favorable conditions, and by the best inlbrmation he could obtain from the natives, he determined to cross from that point to the Atrato by the shortest course. The party, following the course of the streams on the west of the water-shed, crossed the summit at a height of five hundred and forty (540) feet, and descended over a series of falls to the Nerqua, a tributary of the Truando, along which rivers they proceeded to the Atrato. The information furnished by Mr, Kennish's survey, particularly tending as it did to strengthen the previous reports of Humboldt and other travellers, was received everywhere with attention. In England, the subject was taken up by the Royal Geographical Society and by the Institution for Civil Engineers, and freely discussed in all its bear- ings. In the United States' the government thought it worth while to ask for a special appropriation to defray the expenses of an expedition to the same region for the purpose of verifying Mr. Kennish's explorations. This expedition was placed under the direction of Lieutenant (now Brigadier General) Michler, of the engineers, and Lieutenant (the late lamented Com- mander) T. A. Craven, United States Navy ; the hydrographic work being assigned to the latter, and "the explorations and verification of surveys already made near the isthmus of Darien to the former." The reports of Mr. Kennish were confirmed in all essential particulars ; but beyond this — and what, perhaps, is more important — General Michler's work was conducted with all the INTEROCEANIC KAILEOADS AND CANALS 19 advantages wliich the best instruments and the most thorough education can confer. His topography and his levels furnish us with a complete representation of this region, reliable in all its details, and not subject to any of those painful doubts which belong to mere reconnoissance or primary exploration. It is in the highest degree satisfactory to know precisely what we are to expect in this part of the Cordilleras, which has given rise to such ardent hopes in the minds of numerous writers and explorers, from Humboldt and his native corre- spondents, who first drew his attention in this direction, down to Kelly and Michler. General Michler, it is very interesting to know, is struck with the same promising but deceptive appearance of the mountain range when viewed from the ocean. He says : "In looking back from the ocean upon the country through which the party recently travelled, the depression in the Cordilleras becomes plainly visible. It seems, in reality, to lose the mountainous character entirely, and assumes the character of a gradual rise or slope, with hills of little elevation in the distance. The dense growth of timber which mantles the crests of the hills make the resemblance to a low flat region still more apparent; and Avhen beheld from a little distance out at sea the view must be still more strikingly so. One can easily, therefore, conceive why a preference should have been shown to this section by those interested in explorations of a route for a ship canal." (Report, p. 93, Ex. Doc. No. 9, 36th Cong., 2d sess., Senate.) The annexed sheets, numbered XI and XII, contain the map and profiles of General Michler's line of survey, from the mouth of the Truaudo to Kelly's inlet. This map, studied in connection with his itinerary, (pp. 49-99, ibid.,) will make the reader thoroughly acquainted with this now celebrated isthmus of Choco, not only with the physical geography, geology, natural history, &c., but with the mode of travel and the manners and customs of the people. Both Trautwine and Michler have, through their experience, given xis some important lessons upon the conduct of expeditionary parties in these regions. Both of these gentlemen were, in spite of their best precautions, exposed to con- siderable hardship and privation. (See their reports, 'pcissim.) I shoixld fail to profit by these lessons if I were not to point out the necessity for providing all future surveying and exploring expeditions with provisions in a concentrated form. This is a matter not to be overlooked. . Before concluding this branch of the subject, I must not omit to mention au important point in which Trautwine and Michler fully concur, and that is, the docile and tractable character of the native Indians. Neither of them had any difficulty in securing aid, and never failed to receive from them kindness and good will. ''I never," says Trautwine, "in all my New Granadian experience, felt myself to be among Ruffians. Among the Indian tribes through which I passed, I laid aside my pistols and armed myself with a pocketful of cigars. A present of an empty sardine box was more effective than a two-edged sword ; and a lump of sugar to a papoose was a better passport than my government could afford." The greatest regret was experienced by General Michler in being compelled to part with two of his native assistants who had been long with him. These statements must be understood, however, to apply, to the Indians of the valley of the Atrato, and not to those of the isthmus of Darien proper. COXCLUSION. We get the idea of the value attached to the construction of a ship canal across the American isthmus — "the mightiest event, probably, in favor of the peaceful intercourse of nations which the physical circumstances of the globe present to the enterprise of man" — from the character of the minds which have taken an interest in this scheme, as well as from the number of projects which have been offered for its fulfilment. Among the governing minds of the world which have recognized the conseq^uences to the welfare of mankind with which 20 INTEROCEANIC RA.ILROADS AND CANALS. this undertaking is pregnant, may be mentioned that of Pitt. It will be remem- bered by the readers of diplomatic history that the plan for the emancipation of the Spanish colonies from the mother covintry, which was drawn up by Miranda and his associate deputies and commissioners and presented to the British gov- ernment, contains in the sixth article a stipulation for the opening of navigation between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by the isthmus of Panama, as well as by Lake Nicaragua. This document is dated Paris, December 22, 1797. Mr. Pitt entered with promptness into the scheme. So, also, oiir own Jefferson bestowed his thoughts and interest upon this st^b- ject, as may be seen in more than one of his letters to Mr. Carmichael. In one of them, dated Paris, May 27, 17SS, he says : * * "With respect to the isthmus of Panama, I am assured by Burgoine that a survey was made and a canal appeared very practicable ; but the idea was suppressed for reasons altogether political. He has seen and minutely examined the report. Tliis report is to me a vast desideratum, for reasons political and philo- sophical." * * (Jefferson's Works, vol. 2.) I have spoken of the number of projects which have been off'ered to the world. Including canals and roads they amount in all to twenty-six, (26,) as shown by the following tables, taken principally from Malte Bran, (fils.) TABLES I.. II. III. V . ^ s bc 1-5 fcr f^ \ ^ 2 cs • Ifl Outward : only 40 days saved by canal < Singapore . ) "^ ( Australia and New Zealand Sandwich islands 68, 530 16, 003 16,500 522, 426 1 950 California 11 800 • Value, of trade 139,184,834 51,464,750 1,029,295 Value of ships, at $50 per ton Total value of trade and shijjs 190, 649, 584 51 464 750 30 INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. Table slioxcing the trade of France that icould pass through the isthtnus canal, if now finished ; taken frovi the official returns for the year 1857. Cotintrics traded Avith. Chile. Peru. Half of Mexico Half of New Grauada Ecuador Bolivia California ^H°v'-^' ■ ;■ t' '^■ \ Outward only . Dutch East Indies... > Sandwich islands Philippine islands Australia Value of cargoes Value of ships, at $50 per ton . Total value . Exports and imports. Tonnajre. $10,000,000 13, 160, 000 2, 790, 000 1,090,000 440, 000 100, 000 2, 073, 859 2, 180, 000 4,440,000 2, 000, 000 1,000,000 19, 800, 000 $25, G88 35, 09G 10, 004 2,389 1,651 1,000 8,997 2,028 20, 400 4,119 1,463 50, 000 59, 073, 859 8, 136, 750 67, 210, 609 162,735 8,136,750 Table showing the total tonnage that would j^ass yearly through the isthmus canal, if noio finished ; from official returns. Tons. United States 1, 857, 485 England , 1, 029, 295 France 162, 735 Other countries 44, 555 Total 3,094,070 Table showing the general results of the foregoing tables. Tonnage and trade of United States $] 93, 168, 937 Do. England 190,649,584 Do. France 67, 210, 609 Do. Other countries 16,802,000 Total trade affected by the canal 467, 831, 130 Table showing the saving in money to the trade of the United States that would result from the use of the isthmus canal; according to the official statistics for the year 1867. Insurance on vessels and cargoes saved $3, 863, 37S Interest saved on cargoes 3, 008, 840 Saving of wear and tear of ships, five per cent 4, 643, 712 Saving of freight money, (by time) ..\ 11, 250, 000 Saving of wages, provisions, crew, &c 13, 230, 000 'Total yearly saving to the United States 35, 995, 930 INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. 31 Tabic shoic'utg the yearly saving in money to tJie trade of England, as ascer- tained by the official returns for 1856, if the trade jiassed through the isthmus canal instead of round the capes. Insuivauce on vessels and cargoes $1, 906, 495 Interest on cargoes 1, 858, 826 Saving of Avear and tear of ships . . 2, 573, 237 Saving of wages, provisions, &c 3, 611, 790 Total yearly saving to England 9, 950, 348 Table showing the saving in money to the trade of France that would result from the use of the isthmus canal ; according to the official statistics for the year 1857. Insurance on vessels and cargoes $753, 000 Interest saved on cargoes 452, 084 Saving of wear and tear of ships 325, 470 Saving of freight money, estimated by time 276, 949 Saving of wages, provisions, and outfit of ships 376, 427 Total yearly saving to France 2, 183, 930 Table showing the saving to the trade of the world by usi?ig the isthmus canal. United States $35, 995, 930 England 9, 950, 348 France. 2, 183, 930 Other countries * 1, 400, 000 Total 49, 530, 208 Exports of Great Britain increased one hundred and seven per cent, in ten years. Exports of France increased one hundred and thirty per cent, in ten years. Exports of the United States increased ninety-three per cent, in ten years. If the trade increases one hundred per cent, in the next ten years, the saving to the world will then be ninety-nine millions sixty thousand four hun- dred and sixteen dollars ($99,060,416) per annum. APi'ENUIX No. II. Table showing the articles prejmred for the report on interoceanic communica- tion, in answer to the resolution of the Senate of the United States of March 19, 1866. No. I. General map of the American isthmuses, shoAving the various lines pro- posed for interoceanic communication; compiled by Rear-Admiral 0. H. Davis, United States navy, Superintendent United States Naval Observatory; Julv, 1866. Equated from the trade of England, France, and the United States. 32 INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. No. II. Profiles of the isthmus of Tehuantepec, taken from surveys made under the direction of J. G. Barnard, colonel United States engineers, ISol; J. W. Williams, principal assistant. No. III. Map and vertical section of the proposed Honduras interoceanic railway, located 1S57-'5S; Squier, Trautwine, Jeffers. No. IV. Map and profile of the route for the construction of a ship canal from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean across the isthmus in the State of Nicaragua, Central America; surveyed for American Atlantic and Pacific Ship-canal Com- pany by 0. W. Childs, 1S50-'51. No. V. Map of the isthmus between Chagres and Panama; by Chief Engi- neer Napoleon Garella, 1845. No. VI. Survey for Panama railroad; Colonel G. W. Hughes, 1849. No. VII. Map and profile of the route for the construction of a ship canal be- tween the Pacific and Atlantic oceans; A. McDougal, chief engineer; C. A. Sweet, J. E. Forman, and N. Rude, assistants; 1564. (Surveyed for Mr. F, M. Kelly.) No. VIII. Isthmus of Darien ; map showing the routes of Prevost and Gis- borne; 1854. No. IX. Map of part of the isthmus of Darien, by Dr. Cullen; 1853. No. X, Map of an exploration for an interoceanic canal by way of the rivers Atrato and San Juan in New Granada, South America; laid down from obser- vations made by J.-C. Trautwine, civil engineer; 1852. No. XI. General sketch of the surveys for an interoceanic ship canal near the isthmus of Darien, via the rivers Atrato and Truando; Michler, 1858-'59. No. XII. Interoceanic ship canal, via the Atrato and Truando rivers ; Michler, 1858-'59. No.XIII. Isthmus of Darien from 77° 20' to 80° 10'; compiled at the United States Naval Observatory from various authorities, including maps of 1764; lS65-'66. No. XIV. Description of the province of Darien, or Great Golden Castile, being an explanation of the map of the interior of this province, and of the new discoveries made by the governor, Don Andres de Ariza. Reduced and revised anew by him, by order of his excellency the viceroy, Seuor Don Manuel Antonio Flores, in the year 1781. Appendix No. III. List of the principal authorities relating to projects of interoceanic commu- nication through the American isthmuses. Considerations on the Great Isthmus of Central America. Captain R, Fitz Roy, royal navy, in Journal of Royal Geographical Society. Volumes xx, and xxiii. (Library of Congress.) Report on Interoceanic Ship Canal from 'San Juan del Nortcto Brito, Nica- ragua. 0. W. Childs and J. D. Fay. 1852. (Observatory library.) Report to the Directors of the Honduras Interoceanic Railway Company. E, G. Squier, esq. London, 1858. Chemin de fer Interocdanique de Hondu- ras. Rapport de E. G. Squier. Paris, 1855. (Observatory library.) The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, being the results of a survey for a railroad to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, made by the scientiiic commission un- der the direction of Major J. G. Barnard. J. J. Williams, principal assistant engineer. New York, 1852. (Library of Congress; library of State Depart- ment.) Central America. John Bailey. London, 1850. Memoir on the lake of Granada, the river San Juan, and the isthmus between the lake and the Pacific INTEROCEANIC RAILED ADS AND CANALS. 33 ocean, ia Nicaragua. J. Bailey. (A survey under the authority of General Morazan. 1837-'38.) (Library of Congress.) Survey of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, 1842-'43, under a scientific Commission appointed by the projector, Don Jose Garay, 1842. Journal Royal Geographi- cal Society, volume xiv. London, 1844. (Library of Congress.) Levellings across the Isthmus of Panama, to ascertain the relative height of the Pacific at Panama, and of the Atlantic at the mouth of the river Chagres. John A. Lloyd, in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society for 1830. Supplement to the same in Journal Royal Geographical Society. Volume i- (Observatory library. ) Projet d'un Canal de jonction de I'ocean Pacifique et I'ocean Atlantique a travers I'lsthme de Panama. Paris, 1845. jSTapok'on Garella. (Library of Congress.) Rapport sur le projet de M. Garella, ingcnieuv en chef des mines. Annales des Ponts et Chaussees Memoires, et Documents. Volume 13. (Library of War Department, Bureau of Engineers.) L'Isthme de Panama. Examen Historique et geographique des differents directions suivaut lesquelles on pourrait le percer, et des moyens a y employer, par M. Chevalier. Paris, 1844. (Library of War Department, Bureau of En- gineers.) L'Isthme de Panama. Memoire de Michel Chevalier in Annales des Ponts et Chaussees. Memoires et Documents, volume 7. (War Department, Bureau of Engineers.) Report of the Secretary of War, communicating Lieutenent N. Michler's re- port of his survey for an interoceanic ship canal near the isthmus of Darien. 1861. (Observatory library.) Nicaragua: The Proposed Interoceanic Canal. E. G. Squier. New York, 1858. (Library of Congress.) Notes on Central America : The Proposed Honduras Interoceanic Railway. E. G. Squier. New York, 1858. Memoria sobre la Geografia, Fisica y Politica, de la Nueva Granada. Dedi^ cada a la Sociedad Geografica y Estadistica de Nueva York, Por el General J. C. De Mosquera, presidente de la Nueva Granada, Miembro Honorario de la S«ciedad de Agronomia Practica de Paris, &c., &c., &;c. New York, 1852. Incidents of Travel in Central America. J. L. Stephens. 1852. (Observatory library.) The Junction of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by a ship canal without locks, by the valley of the Atrato. (Pamphlet.) F.M.Kelly. New York, 1856. The union of the oceans by ship canal without locks, via the Atrato valley. F. M. Kelly. 1S59. Explorations through the valley of the Atrato to the Pacific in search of a route for a ship canal. F. M. Kelly, New York, in Journal Royal Geographi- cal Society. Volume 26. (Library of Congress.) Rough notes of an exploration for an interoceanic canal by way of the rivers Atrato and San Juan in New Granada, South America. J. C. Trautwine, civil engineer. Philadelphia, 1854. Also in Journal Franklin Institute. Volumes 1854-'55. (Smithsonian library.) Notieias Americanas entretenimientos phisico-historicos sobre la *America Meridional y la Septentrional Oriental. Antonio de Ulloa. Madrid. 1774, (Library of Congress.) Conquista de Mexico. F. Lopez de Gomara. Madrid. 1852. (Library of Congress.) Historica General de las Indias. F. L. Gomara, Madrid, 1852. (Library of Congress.) Isthmus of Darien ship canal, with history of the Scotch colony of Darien. E, Cullen. London, 1853, (Library of the State Department.) 3i R 34 INTEROCEANIC RAILKOADS AND CANALS. Over Darien by a Ship Canal. A report of the mismanaged expedition of 1S54, with suggestions for a survey. E. Cullen, 1856. ' Wilham Paterson, the merchant, &c., by S. Bannister; 1858. Edinburg. Central America, 1701, with a map from a manuscript in British Museum. Wm. Paterson. Edited by S. Bannister. London, 1857. (Library of Con- gress.) Journal of the Expedition of Inquiry for the junction of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Lionel Gisborne. London, 1853. (Library of Congress.) Official Report of the Proceedings of the Exploring Party under Commander J. C. Prevost, of her Majesty's steamer Virago, sent to cross the Isthmus of Darien. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xxiv. (Library of Congress.) Crt)servations on the Territory of Burica, in the Province of Chiriqui, Isthmus of Panama. J. H. Smith. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xxiv. (Library of Congress.) The new route through Chiriqui ; Harpers' Magazine, January, 1861. A succinct view and analysis of information on the practicability of joining the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by a ship canal. R. B. Pitman. London, 1825. (Library of Congress.) Considerations sur les interets politiques et commerciaux qui se rattachent a risthme de Panama. A. Denain. Paris, 1845. (Library of Congress.) ' Writings of William Paterson, with a biographical introduction, 2 vols. 8vo., 1858. History of the Buccaniers of America, 2 vols., London, 1741. (Library of Congress.) Memoirs of Great Britain and Ireland. Sir John Dalrymple, vol. ii. (Li- brary of Congress.) The Isthmus of Tehuantepec ; Herr M. G. Hermesdorff. Journal "f the Royal Geographical Society, vol. xxxii. (Library of Congress.) Einige Technische Nachrichten von den Entwiirfen zur verbindung des Mit- telmeeres mit dem Rothen meere bei Suez und des Atlantischen meeres mit dem Stillen meere bei Panama durch canale und Eisenbahnen. Berlin, 1846. (Admiralty library.) The practicability and Importance of a ship canal to connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, with a history of the enterprise from its first inception to the completion of the survey. Pamphlet. New York, 1855. (Kennish's survey.) (Admiralty library.) Memoria Historica sobre el canal de Nicaragua. Guatemala, 1855. (Admi- ralty library.) Account of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, with proposals for establishing a communication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceaps. Pamphlet. London. 1846. (Admiralty library.) Political Essay upon New Spain ; Alex, von Humboldt. Essai Politique sur le Royaume de Nouvelle Espagne ; Alex, von Humboldt. . (Library of Con- gress.) Observations on the Isthmus of Panama ; Wheelwright, 1843. Library of Congress.) Voyage around the Globe ; W. Dampier. London, 1729. (Library of Con- gress.) Encyclopajdia Britannica, vols, ii, v, vii, viii, xii, xvi, xvii. (Observatory library.) Bulletin of the American Geographical and Statistical Society for 1854, for interoceanic communication across the Isthmus of Panama or Darien, by George B. Watts, (Observatory library.) Bulletin of the American Geographical and Statistical Society for 1859, for " the Isthmus of Tehuantepec," by J. McL. Murphy. (Observatory library.) INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. 35 Mittheilungen aus Justus Perthes, Geographischer Anstalt ; Dr. A. Peterman . Vols, for 1861-'62-'63. (Observatory library.) Voyage and Description of the Isthmus of Darien ; Lionel Wafer. London. 1699. (Library of Congress.) Central America : Colonel Don Juan Galindo, corresponding member Royal Geographical Society ; Journal of Society, vol. vi. (Library of Congress.) Message of the President of the United States in relation to Central America. 1850. (Observatory library.) Speech of Hon. Edward Everett. 1853. (Observatory library.) Speech of Hon. E. Ward, of New York. February 15, 1859. (Observatory library.) CEuvres de Napoleon III, vol. 2. Pamphlet on Nicaragua, with initials L. N. B.; published in London, 1847, and reprinted in Revue Britannique for 1859, and M. Belly's " Percements de risliime." London, 1859. Official despatch No. 278 from the American minister at Berlin, Mr. Wheaton, to the Secretary of State, December 17, 1845. [29th Cong., 2d sess.. Exec, " confidential."] (Library of the Department of State.) The Leader. (England.) July 31, 1858. Panama, Nicaragua, and Tehuantepec ; the Question of Communication, be- tween the Atlantic and Pacific ; W, B, Liot. London, 1849. (Library of Con- gress.) Seven Years' Travel in Central America, New Mexico, &c. ; Julius Froebel. London, 1859. (Library of Congress.) The Gate of the Pacific ; Commander Bedford Pirn, R. N. 1863. (Library of Congress.) Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society for 1861-'G2 for the Discus- sion of Pirn's Route. (Observatory library.) Edinburgh Review for January 1809, and vol. xvi. (Library of the State Department.) London Times, November 28 and December 11, 1850, and for February, 1853. (Library of the State Department.) « Colburn's New Monthly Magazine, July to December, 1850. Report of British Association for 1850. (Observatory library.) Canal Interoceanique par I'lsthme de Darien, Nouvelle Granada; (Amerique du Sud;) Canalization par Colonization. Paris, 1880. A. Airiau. (Astor ^ library.) Du Projet de Communication Interoceanique par I'lsthme de Darien; V. A. Malte-Brun. Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie de Paris, 1857. (Library of Congress.) Exploration dans I'lsthme de Darien; par M. Bourdiol, iugenieur civil; 1864. (Bulletin de la Societii de Geographie de Paris, 1864. (Library of Congress.) Report on the* Progress of Geographical Science for the year 1864; V. A. Malte-Brun. (Bulletin de la Societe de Geographie de Paris, 1864.) Library of Congress.) Annales des Voyages for 1857 for description of eighteen different routes across the Isthmus; by V. A. Malte-Brun. Ditto, for chart of New Granada. Vol. 16, for 1811. (Astor library.) The Darien Papers; A Selection of Original Letters and Official Documenis relating to the establishment of a colony at Darien, by the company of Scot- land trading to Africa and the Indies. Edinburgh, 1849. (Library of Congress.) Canalization des Isthmes de Suez et de Panama; par les freres de la Oom- pagnie Mj».-itime de Saint Pie, ordre Religieux, Militaire, et Industriel, Paris, 1848. (Astor library.) Report to the Hon. Secretary of the Navy; by Lieutenant J. G. Strain, October 25, 1854. 36 INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. A Paper on the History aud Prospects of Interoceanic Communications by the American Isthmus; J. G. Strain. New York. 1S56. (Astor library.) Panama in 1855 ; An Account of the Panama Raih'oad, of the Cities of Panama and Aspiuwall, with sketches of Life on the Isthmus. New York, 1855. (Astor library.) Memoir of the Mexican Revolution. W. Robinson; 1820. (Library of Congress.) Canal Interoceanico, 1866 ; Bogota. Imprenta de Gaitau. (Observatory library.) Annales des Ponts et Chaussees; Planches; 1841 to 1845, and 1846 to 1850. (Library of War Department, Bureau of Engineers.) Summary of Report on survey of the Isthmus of Darien, by Lionel Gisborne, F. R. G. S., in Journal Royal Geographical Society, vol. 27. (Library of Con- gress.) Report on European Tunnels, by Charles S. Storrow, A. M., C. E., A. A. S. (Report ©f the Commissioners upon the Troy aud Greenfield Railroad and Hoosac Tunnel, February 28, 1863; Massachusetts senate, No. 93.) Seeman's Voyage of her Majesty's Ship Herald, 2 vols., 1853. (Observatory library.) Journal Society of Arts; London, January 23, 1857. (Observatory library.) Harpers' Weekly ; March 20, 1858. (Observatory librar3^) The Bayanos River, Isthmus of Panama, by Laurence Oliphant, Secretary Royal Geographical Society, in proceedings of Royal Geographical Society; April 24, 1865. (Observatory library.) Nicaragua, Past, Present, and Future, by P. A. Stout; Philadelphia, 1859. (Library of Congress.) Explorations and Adventures in Honduras ; W. 0. Wells, 1857. (Library of Congress.) Jefferson's Works. (Library of Congress.) Treaty between the United States and New Granada; 1848. Clayton-Bulwer Treaty ; 1850. ^ Report of Colonel G. W. Hughes ; Survey of Panama Railroad ; 1849. Report of a Survey for a Railroad through the Province of Chiriqui ; Com- modore Frederick Engle, U. S. N. ; Assistants, Lieutenant Wm. N. Jefters, TJ. S. N., hydrographic engineer ; Lieutenant J. St. Clair Morton, U. S. Eng., topographical engineer ; Dr. Evans, Geologist. (New York Herald, December 8, 1860.) Notes of an Excursion to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. R. Dale. London, 1851. (Library of Congress ) Travels in the Free States of Central America. Carl Scherzer, London, 1857. (Library of Congress.) La Prossima Comunicazioue di tutt 'i Popoli Delia Terra, (avec carte.) Memoria Statistico Geografica, del Cav. Ferd. de Luca. Notice sur le Golfe Dulce dans I'Etat de Costa Rica, (Ameyique Centrale,) et sur un Nouveau Passage entre les deux Oceans, avec une carte, par M. Gabriel Lafond de Lurcy, Consul General, Charge d'Affaires de Costa Rica en France. Paris, 1856. The Isthmus of Panama. By Charles Tolwell Bidwell, F. ll. G. S., British. Canal Interoceanique du Darien Amdrique. Notice historique et gdograph- iique sur I'etat de la question du canal du Darien, par M. V. A. Malte-Brun. Paris, 1866. Annales de la Suciete de Geographic for 1865 and 1866. La question du percement de I'lsthme de Panama, devant un congres In- ternationale, par H. Bionne. Paris, 1866. , Illustrated History of the Panama Railroad, F. N. Otis, M. D. New York, 1862. INTEROCEANIC RAILROADS AND CANALS. 37 Notes sur le fleuve du Darien et sur la configuration du Sol au point de vue du tracd d'uu canal iuteroceanique entre le Rio Grande du Darien et I'Atrato, par M. Jules Flachat, 1 broch., en 8 vo. de 48 pages et 2 planches. Paris J 866. Report by Hon. C. Fenton Mercer, chairman Committee oil Roads and Canals, on the memorial of Aaron Clark, mayor of New York, H. Le Roy, W. Rad- cliff, and other merchants of Nev*- York, and Mathew Carey, of Philadelphia, praying aid of the United States in procuring the construction of a canal across the isthmus between North and South America. Executive Documents, twen- ty-fifth Congress, third session, House of Representatives. Interoceanic Railroad through the Republic of Costa Rica, by F. Kurtze, C. E., Director general of public works, New York, Gray & Green, 1866. Eine Reise in das Innere der Landenge von San Bias, und der Cordillere von Chepo in der Provinz Panama. Von Dr. Moriz Wagner, Mittheilungen aus Justus Perthes' Geographischer Anstalt, 1862. See, also, the authorities cited by Admiral Fitz Roy, in Journal Royal Geo- graphical Society, vol. xx, which are not given in the preceding list, viz: Admiralty Hydrographic Office ; Alcedo ; Burney ; Cochrane ; Coutin ; Ed- wards ; Palmare ; Galindo ; Guzman ; Hamilton ; Hughes ; Jeffreys ; Juan ; Lawrence ; McQueen : Mollien ; O'Leary ; Purdy ; Scarlett ; Watts ; Wood. '/'<- on^>i„i„„nlui,oil „l Uaii . iiliiunil (III). U IS. I S.\\ iir.lrmi hv lUisohilimi <,nii,' .Snialr ol'lh,' I ,„li;l Sl.ihs .,tM,irIAI\VM) Vi:ini( AL SIX TIOX OF I'lii'; i'H()i'()Si:i) ll()M)l'I{AS I\Ti;U()( FAXK liAIIMA^ l<.-r<'i'.'ii<', AITIIOTJ ITI 1 :s /■,y,:.sv/«/(7,7;.sv/'.Y,///', u/i ./r7hiii/irn/<:i:s,/\ 1 7/ii/'l:'i/// ' (i>iii\\.\.lrirns,IIS\. Itijdiiiiiiiijiliici.iKi ,(■■ llriiKlij. \ijl •'■'i.;'/,"" Mijjilfl'i'' _- L !• 1. A I ,\ (I |. H r 1. A S . /:i..«if ^:i;Bi'.i"i-M t VAI.I.KY 01- llll. 111(1 IIIMI Y. ^sssam^i^^^^^si I'HOFILK. ivn.rai ,1. i„,(.' 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