Chapter XXXIV: Interoceanic Communication (1)

1801-1887.

ANCIENT IDEAS ON THE NORTH-WEST PASSAGE—FROM PERU TO
LA PLATA—CAPE HORN DISCOVERED—ARCTIC REGIONS—MCCLURE'S
SUCCESSFUL VOYAGE—CROZIER'S DISCOVERY—FRANKLIN'S
ATTEMPTS—FINDING BY NORDENSKIÖLD OF THE NORTH-EAST
PASSAGE—PROJECTS TO UNITE THE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC OCEANS
ACROSS THE ISTHMUSES—PLANS ABOUT TEHUANTEPEC—EXPLORATIONS
FOR A SHIP-CANAL ROUTE IN NICARAGUA, PANAMÁ, AND DARIEN—THE
NICARAGUA ACCESSORY TRANSIT COMPANY—CONSTRUCTION OF THE
PANAMÁ RAILWAY, AND ITS GREAT BENEFITS—FURTHER EFFORTS FOR
A CANAL—ORGANIZATION OF A FRENCH COMPANY—A SHIP-CANAL UNDER
CONSTRUCTION ACROSS THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMÁ—DIFFICULTIES
AND EXPECTATIONS—CENTRAL AMERICAN RAILROADS AND
TELEGRAPHS—SUBMARINE CABLES.

No sooner had lands been discovered to the westward of Europe than the minds of cosmographers became fixed in the idea of short routes to India in that direction;[XXXIV-1] nor would they abandon it until long after both shores of the western continent had been explored from the Arctic sea to Cape Horn.[XXXIV-2]

[Sidenote: EARLY EXPLORATIONS.]

I have elsewhere presented a full account of explorations by land and sea to establish communications between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans prior to the opening of the present century.[XXXIV-3] The most important of the earlier discoveries, since Magalhaes' time, was that of the open polar sea south of Cape Horn, which was named by the Dutch navigators Le Maire and Van Schouten.[XXXIV-4] The north-west passage, so long the object of search, was at last found in 1851 by an English expedition. The discovery was effected by Robert Le Mesurier McClure, who, in command of the _Investigator_, sailed, together with the _Enterprise_ under Richard Collinson, from England in 1850. Before the close of the year, McClure passed Point Barrow, pushed along the continent, doubled the south end of Banks Island, and sailed through Prince of Wales' Strait, where he wintered near Melville Sound. In 1851, the west side of the peninsular part of Wollaston Island to Prince Albert's Sound was surveyed. By finding the strait connecting the continental channel with Melville Sound, McClure became the discoverer of the north-west passage, and was the first navigator to pass from Bering Strait to Baffin Bay.[XXXIV-5] Yet he gave to Captain Crozier, second in command of Franklin's expedition, the credit of prior discovery. McClure with the _Investigator_ was shut in during the winters of 1851-2, and 1852-3. In the spring of 1853 he resolved to abandon the ship and seek Mackenzie River and Lancaster Sound in two parties, a journey which would have been disastrous. At this moment, April 6th, Lieutenant Pym of the _Resolute_ appeared.[XXXIV-6] The McClure party were taken to the _Resolute_, and reached England in 1854.

[Sidenote: NORTH-EAST PASSAGE.]

The north-east passage was discovered by Adolf Erick Nordenskiöld in 1879, after 326 years from the first attempt by Hugh Willoughby in 1553.[XXXIV-7]

* * * * *

The necessity of shorter communication between the two oceans becoming more evident from day to day, with the increase of traffic with the western coast of America, with China, and with the numerous islands of the Pacific, various projects were entertained to establish such communication either by canal or railway. At Tehuantepec, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the isthmus of Panamá were formed the most favorable conditions for a forced or artificial transit.[XXXIV-8]

[Sidenote: TEHUANTEPEC ISTHMUS.]

The breadth of the isthmus of Tehuantepec between the bays of Campeche and Tehuantepec at the narrowest point is 130 miles. It is drained by the rivers Coatzacoalcos and Tehuantepec, the former running northward, discharging its waters into the first-named bay, and extending over three fourths of the width of this isthmus; the latter flowing into the bay of Tehuantepec. There are several lakes and lagoons. At one time it was proposed to cut a canal across this isthmus, and to improve the navigation of the Coatzacoalcos, to which end surveys were made.[XXXIV-9] But no action having been taken toward constructing a canal by the parties to whom franchises had been given, the scheme of a railroad across this section has been also contemplated,[XXXIV-10] and finally a grant was made to James B. Eads, to construct a ship railway between the two gulfs, capable of having transported over it the largest ships with their cargoes.[XXXIV-11] The scheme has been declared by Eads, and by other engineers of high repute in Europe and America, to be practicable. His opponents deride it. He applied, without success, to the United States government for assistance.[XXXIV-12]

[Sidenote: NICARAGUA ISTHMUS.]

The idea of uniting the two oceans, by means of a canal across the isthmus of Nicaragua, occupied the attention of the Spanish court from a very early day after the conquest to the last years of its occupation of the country.[XXXIV-13] Since the separation of Central America from the crown, the canal scheme has ever been uppermost in the minds of her rulers and thinking men, and many scientific engineers and capitalists of Europe and America have taken a deep interest therein. But for divers reasons nothing was accomplished toward establishing an adequate interoceanic communication, in any form, down to 1849.[XXXIV-14] This year a new arrangement was made with Cornelius Vanderbilt and Joseph L. White of New York, in which the government of the United States, through its representative, E. George Squier, became concerned. This arrangement gave rise to complications with Great Britain, which were finally settled by the Clayton-Bulwer treaty to perpetually guarantee the neutrality of the canal to be constructed. The contractors failed to carry out their agreement as regarded the construction of a canal, but established the Accessory Transit Company, and by means of steamers on the two oceans, and on the river San Juan and Lake Nicaragua, rendered valuable service in the transportation of passengers. The matter was given in detail, in connection with the relations of that company with the Nicaraguan government, including its history from the date of the foundation till 1869, when it ceased to exist. However, their engineer, O. Childs, made a survey of the route for a canal in 1851, and recommended one from the mouth of Lajas River to Port Brito, traversing the Rio Grande Valley.[XXXIV-15] Since that time many schemes have been contemplated, and contracts entered into, but none of them have given the desired result.[XXXIV-16]

[Sidenote: ACROSS MOSQUITIA.]

I have yet to mention Pim's scheme, advanced in 1853, of building a railway from Punta Mico on the Atlantic to San Miguelito, on the eastern shore of the lake, traversing Mosquitia. A company was formed, but the project was soon found to be impracticable.[XXXIV-17]

No efforts have been spared ever since by Nicaragua and American citizens to bring about the accomplishment of the long-expected canal, under the impression that it is the most desirable, feasible, and least expensive route. The assistance of the United States government has been solicited, and treaties made to afford facilities, but the American congress has thus far refused to do anything, except send commissions to explore the several lines, and their reports seem to be favorable.[XXXIV-18] The last treaty concluded between the two governments with reference to a canal was rejected by the United States senate. The last survey made under the auspices of the American government was that of Engineer Menocal, of the United States navy, who, with other officers, visited Nicaragua in January 1885. His report was presented in November of that year. The plan of this commission had been at first to convert the river San Juan above its junction with the Sarapiqui into an extension of the lake by constructing a dam 74 feet high, but it was found impracticable. The proposed route extends from San Juan del Norte to Brito. The total length is 169.8 miles, of which 38.98 miles will be excavated canal, and 130.82 navigation by Lake Nicaragua, the river San Juan, the basin of the river San Francisco, and seven locks. Lake Nicaragua will be connected with the Pacific by a canal, and with the Atlantic by slackwater navigation in the river San Juan, by a short section of canal from the San Juan to the basin of the San Francisco, by navigation through this basin, and by a canal thence to the Caribbean Sea. The route has been divided into three divisions, the western, eastern, and middle.[XXXIV-19] The cost was carefully estimated, including a contingent of 25 per cent, at $64,043,697. De Lesseps is of opinion, however, that a canal with locks would be inadequate to pass the traffic that will frequent it, and would suffer from uncertainty of sufficient water to supply the lockage and evaporation.[XXXIV-20]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: PANAMÁ ISTHMUS.]

One of the four routes suggested by Antonio Galvao to the king of Spain, for cutting a canal to join the two oceans, was the Isthmus of Panamá.[XXXIV-21] Soon after New Granada threw off the Spanish yoke, several surveys of Panamá and Darien were made, and canal projects recommended;[XXXIV-22] two of them, deemed the most important, were that of Lloyd's to build a railroad from Panamá or La Chorrera to the Trinidad River, a tributary of the Chagres; and that of a sluiced canal recommended in 1843 by Garella and Courtines, who studied the Isthmus under a commission of the French government. And there were other projects.[XXXIV-23]

The attention of the United States government was directed to the subject of interoceanic routes as early as 1825. In 1835 the executive was requested by the senate to enter into negotiations with the Central American states and New Granada, conducive to treaties for the protection of Americans who might attempt opening the communication between the two oceans. A treaty was made by the United States with New Granada on the 12th of December, 1846, under which the latter guaranteed to the former "the right of way or transit across the Isthmus of Panamá, upon any modes of communication that now exist, or that may be hereafter constructed." The United States government on its part guaranteed to New Granada the neutrality of the Isthmus, and the rights of sovereignty and property over its territory.[XXXIV-24] At last an American company, being stimulated by the great traffic across the Isthmus, took up the matter of a railway.[XXXIV-25]

[Sidenote: PANAMÁ RAILWAY.]

The termini resolved on were Colon on the Atlantic, and on the Pacific, a little to the eastward of the city of Panamá, quite clear of the suburbs. The work was begun in January 1850, and finished on the 28th of January, 1855. Its total length is 47 miles, 3,020 feet. The line is a single one, but has four very commodious sidings; namely, Gatun, 7½ miles from Colon; one near Barbacoas, 22 miles; one at Matachin, 30 miles; and one at the summit, 37 miles. There are stations at every four miles. The undertaking was a bold one, and was successfully carried out under the able and energetic superintendence of George M. Totten.[XXXIV-26] The actual cost, as per construction account, was eight million dollars. The road has been improved from year to year. Articles of the coarsest and heaviest description, as well as ordinary merchandise, have been constantly conveyed over it. The road began to yield some income since 1852, when it had reached Barbacoas. I give in a note some statistics on receipts and expenditures.[XXXIV-27] The company from the beginning of its operations had a line of telegraph between Panamá and Colon. In 1881 the railway was sold to the company organized to construct a canal for $17,500,000, being at the rate of $250 per share. Adding other items, and interest on annual instalments, the share-holders received about twenty million dollars.[XXXIV-28]

A survey made by United States officers in 1866, through Chiriquí, showed that it was practicable to build a railway through the cordillera. The harbors of Chiriquí and Sheperd on the Atlantic, and of Golfito in Golfo Dulce, were favorably reported upon by Commodore F. Engle.[XXXIV-29]

[Sidenote: VARIOUS SCHEMES.]

But the idea of an interoceanic canal was ever present.[XXXIV-30] Nothing was practically done, until the whole subject was discussed in 1875 at the congress of geographical sciences held in Paris, and a company was organized under General Türr for effecting the requisite explorations. Lucien N. Bonaparte Wyse, a lieutenant of the French navy, assisted by other engineers, was sent out to the Isthmus. The exploring commission effected their work thoroughly, and the section from Colon to Panamá was given the preference.[XXXIV-31] The Colombian government granted on the 18th of May, 1878, to the Civil International Interoceanic Association, residing in Paris, the exclusive privilege for ninety-nine years of constructing a canal between the two oceans, at the same time establishing the neutrality of the ports at the termini, and of the canal itself.[XXXIV-32]

De Lesseps, of Suez Canal fame, undertook in 1879 the task of constructing the canal, and the first meeting of the company, now called Compagnie Universal du Canal Interocéanique de Panama, took place in 1881. It was calculated that six hundred million francs, or be it $120,000,000, would cover the expense of construction and completion. One of the company's first acts was to establish in New York a branch board of directors, and another was to purchase the Panamá railway.[XXXIV-33] The works were commenced in October 1881.[XXXIV-34] The canal in course of construction follows the route of the railway, though keeping closer to the bed of the Chagres, which it is to cross again and again; on the Pacific side it will descend the Rio Grande Valley, and continue seaward to the island of Perico, a total length of fifty-four miles.[XXXIV-35]

[Sidenote: DIFFICULTIES TO OVERCOME.]

The works have been prosecuted with more or less vigor, by the use of powerful dredges, until the capital became exhausted, and their operations declined for many months, seeming to confirm predictions of failure.[XXXIV-36] However that may be, De Lesseps and his friends are confident that the opening of the canal will become an accomplished fact within eight years from the time of commencement.[XXXIV-37] There can be no doubt that a large portion of the original capital was wasted, and if rumor is not at fault much was misappropriated. But public confidence in De Lesseps remains unshaken in France, and he has been able to obtain by subscription abundant funds to continue the work,[XXXIV-38] and it is now being vigorously pushed. His calculation is that there will be business for the canal to the extent of 7,250,000 tons, yielding 6 or 7 per cent on 2,000 million francs, or 108,000,000 francs, equivalent to $21,600,000.

* * * * *

This is not the place in which to speak of the several northern railways across the continent. The Central American states—exclusive of Panamá, which has had that benefit since 1855—have made some progress in late years toward establishing railway communication between the two seas. Guatemala has one line from Port San José, on the Pacific, to the capital,[XXXIV-39] and another from Port Champerico, also on the Pacific, to Retalhuleu.[XXXIV-40]

[Sidenote: CENTRAL AMERICAN RAILWAYS.]

Measures had likewise been taken to communicate the capital by railroads with the northern sea, contemplating at the same time to build another line from Coban to the Polochic River. However, these projects, so far as I know, have been, since President Barrios' death, in abeyance. The Spanish court was repeatedly urged to open communications between Puerto Caballos and the bay of Fonseca.[XXXIV-41] Traffic on mule-back was carried on between both seas in colonial times; but what we know of the isthmus of Honduras is derived from the surveys made by the British Honduras Interoceanic Railway Company, and reported by their agent, E. G. Squier. As a practicable route for a ship canal, Honduras is out of the question; but the construction of a railroad was begun between Puerto Caballos or Cortés, on the Caribbean Sea, and Amapala in the bay of Fonseca,[XXXIV-42] through the valley of the Goascoran and Humuya rivers—232 miles. The road was graded, and a narrow-gauge track was built from Port Cortés to San Pedro, of about 37 miles in length. The work was suspended in 1871, and abandoned in 1873. Civil disturbances and lack of means have prevented its resumption. Several franchises have been granted in later years for continuing it; but nothing of a practical nature has resulted.[XXXIV-43]

Salvador has no territory on the Atlantic slope. She has a railroad between San Miguel and Port La Union; another line is being built from Port Acajutla to the heart of the coffee region of Santa Ana. It is possible that in the future the republic may be placed in communication, by railway, with the Atlantic, through the territory of her neighbors.

In Nicaragua the line between Corinto and Chinandega, and hence to Leon, was in operation in 1881-2. The work steadily progressed. The western section was opened to public service in 1884, connecting it with the steam-ship line on the lake. Thus was Managua, the capital, placed in rapid and cheap communication by steam with Corinto, the chief port of the republic. The whole line from Momotombo to Corinto was yielding six and four fifths per cent on the capital invested. In the eastern section the work was going on rapidly at the end of 1884, and 20 miles to Masaya would soon be finished. The government contemplated to have a direct railway line from Villa de la Paz to Managua, thus establishing a continuous communication between Managua and Granada.[XXXIV-44]

Costa Rica, thus far, has three lines, or rather divisions or sections; namely, the Central, running between San Jose and the interior provinces, via Cartago, Heredia, Alajuela, Tres Rios, and San Joaquin; the Atlantic, from Limon to the interior, which is the route through which most of the country's foreign trade is carried on; and the Pacific which runs from Puntarenas to Esparta.[XXXIV-45]

* * * * *

[Sidenote: TELEGRAPH LINES.]

The five Central American republics are intersected by telegraph lines belonging to their respective governments, and communicating their chief towns with one another within themselves, and with the sister republics.[XXXIV-46] The isthmus of Panamá has a communication by submarine cable with Central America and Mexico at the port of La Libertad and Acapulco. The cities of Panamá and Colon are in direct communication by wire. The Isthmus is further connected by cable, on the Pacific, with Peru, via Buenaventura, which also places it in telegraphic communication with Bogotá and the rest of Colombia. A cable to Jamaica affords another connection, via Cuba, with the United States and Europe.[XXXIV-47]

The question of interoceanic communication by ship-canal across the isthmuses of Central America occupying, as it does, general attention, I have concluded to append hereto information on the subject by several competent authorities; namely, the British explorer, Dr Edward Cullen, and E. George Squier.

IGNORANCE RESPECTING DARIEN.—It is a very singular
circumstance that the coast of Darien, the first settled in
America (Santa Maria having been founded in 1509, and Acla
in Caledonia Bay in 1514), within eighteen days' steaming
from England, close also to such frequented ports as Chagres,
Carthagena, and Kingston, Jamaica, should be at the present
day as unknown as the coasts of Patagonia or of New Guinea,
and that the vast advantages of this tract of country, for
a canal, should have escaped the penetration of the great
Humboldt, who, after having examined all the maps in the
Depósito Hidrográfico of Madrid, appears to suggest the
Chuquanaqua. He says: 'On the Pacific coast, also, the deep
Golfo de San Miguel, into which falls the Tuyra with its
tributary, the Chuchunque, runs far into the Isthmus; the
river Chuchunque, too, in the upper part of its course, runs
within sixteen geographical miles of the Antillean shore of
the Isthmus, westward of Cape Tiburon.' _Views of Nature_,
Potsdam, June 1849, p. 432 of Bohn's translation.

The Atrato route labors under the disadvantage of a bad
harbor, on the Pacific side, Cupica being of very small
extent, and open to the S. W.; and the Atrato has a bar with
only five feet of water on it, while the rise of tide in the
Gulf of Darien is only two feet.

The Chagres, or Limon Bay and Panama route, surveyed in 1829
by Col Lloyd and M. Falmarc, under a commission from the
Liberator, Simon Bolívar, and subsequently by M. Garella, has
such bad harbors that the idea of a canal by that line has
been totally abandoned.

The route from Chepo mouth to Mandinga Bay, proposed by Mr
Evan Hopkins,[XXXIV-48] who attempted to survey it in 1847,
for the New Granada government, although the narrowest line
across the Isthmus, being only twenty-seven miles across from
Chepo to Carti, has the disadvantages of bad coasts, a very
high cordillera, of from 2,000 to 6,000 feet elevation, and
a large population of Indians.

The bar at the mouth of Chepo River is quite dry at low
water, as is also a sand bank which extends several miles
out into the bay of Panamá; the part of the Atlantic coast on
the other side is beset with reefs, shoals, and kays, and is
dangerous of approach.

Capt Fitzroy, R. N., in his _Considerations upon the Great
Isthmus of Central America_, suggests a line from the upper
course of the Tuyra to the Atrato, or the coast of Darien
above its mouth, as an improvement of the route proposed by
me; but this would be nearly twice the distance of the Port
Escocés, and gulf of San Miguel route; there would be the
mountain of Chacargun or the Sierra de Maly to cross, and
should the canal open into the Atrato, there would be the
very formidable obstacle of the bar to remove, while of the
coast above the Atrato mouth, the _Columbian Navigator_ says:
'All this coast from Tarena Kays to Cape Tiburon is high and
precipitous, with deep water off it; and it is very wild in
the season of the breezes. It is very advisable, therefore,
at these seasons, to shun it.' Any route, however, in this
direction, would be included in the privilege granted, on the
1st of June, 1852, by the New Granada government, to Edward
Cullen, Charles Fox, John Henderson, and Thomas Brassey, for
cutting a canal from Port Escocés to the gulf of San Miguel,
which gives power to select any place from the west mouth of
the Atrato to Punta Mosquitos, for the Atlantic entrance of
the canal.

[Sidenote: DISCOVERY OF THE SAVANA RIVER.]

DISCOVERY OF THE SAVANA RIVER AND THE ROUTE FOR THE
SHIP-CANAL. I imagine that the river Savana was not
delineated in the maps which Humboldt saw.[XXXIV-49] Such,
indeed, was the case with the map which I had on my first
journey into Darien in 1849, so that I was totally ignorant
of its existence until I actually saw it, after entering
Boca Chica, when, finding 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
immediately ascended it, and crossed from Cañasas to the
sea-shore at Port Escocés and back, and subsequently, in 1850
and also in 1851, crossed and recrossed, at several times
and by several tracks, the route from the Savana to Port
Escocés and Caledonia Bay, notching the barks of the trees
as I went along, with a _machete_ or cutlass, always alone
and unaided, and always in the season of the heaviest rains.
I had previously examined, on my way from Panamá, the mouths
of Chepo, Chiman, Congo, and several other rivers, but found
them all obstructed by bars and sand banks, and impracticable
for a ship passage, so that upon seeing the Savana, I had not
the least hesitation in deciding that that must be the future
route for interoceanic communication for ships.

THE DARIEN CANAL ROUTE.—Port Escocés, or Scotch Harbor, and
the bay of Caledonia, on the Atlantic coast of the Isthmus
of Darien, present an extent of six nautical miles, from S.
E. to N. W., of safe anchorage in all winds. These harbors
are situated between Carreto Bay and the channel of Sassardi,
and are 140 miles E. S. E. of Limon Bay, and twenty-one miles
W. N. W. of Cape Tiburon, the N. W. boundary of the Gulf of
Darien. Port Escocés extends to the S. E. to lat. 8° 50´ and
long. 77° 41´; and Golden Island, or Isla de Oro, or Santa
Catalina, which forms the N. W. boundary of Caledonia Bay, is
in lat. 8° 54´ 40´´, and long. 77° 45´ 30´´.

The channel of Sassardi, also, extending from Caledonia Bay
N. W. five miles to the Fronton, or point of Sassardi, is
sheltered from the winds and seas of both seasons, and has
good depth of water.

Twenty-two miles S. W. of Port Escocés is the site of the
old Spanish settlement of Fuerte del Príncipe, on the river
Savana, established in 1785, and abandoned in 1790. From
thence the river Savana has nearly a S. by E. course for
fourteen miles to its mouth, which opens into the river
Tuyra, Santa Maria, or Rio Grande del Darien, three miles
above Boca Chica and Boca Grande, the two mouths by which the
latter discharges itself into the Gulf of San Miguel on the
Pacific.

Thus the distance from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, by
the route from Port Escocés or Caledonia Bay, to the gulf of
San Miguel, by way of the river Savana, would be thirty-nine
miles. In a direct line, from Port Escocés to the gulf, the
distance is thirty-three miles.

In _Considerations on the Great Isthmus of Central America_,
read before the Royal Geographical Society of London, on the
11th and 25th Nov., 1850, Captain Fitzroy, R. N., says: 'Any
route that could be made available between San Miguel Gulf
and Caledonia Bay, or the Gulf of Darien or Choco, would have
the advantage of excellent harbors at each end, and a great
rise of tide in one of them (San Miguel). The river Savana is
recommended by Dr Cullen from personal examination, as being
more navigable (for canoes[XXXIV-50]), and approaching nearer
the north coast than the Chuquanaqua does; though this does
not appear in the Spanish maps. From the head of the Savana,
a ravine, about three leagues in length, extends to Caledonia
Bay, and there (Dr Cullen says, having passed through it)
_he_ thinks a canal might be cut with less difficulty than
elsewhere, if it were not for the opposition of the natives.
He also speaks of the Indians transporting their canoes
across at this ravine, and of the comparative healthiness of
this part of the Isthmus.'

The whole work to be done, in order to make a ship-canal
communication between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans by this
route, would be to cut from Príncipe or from Lara mouth to
Port Escocés or Caledonia Bay, a distance of from twenty-two
to twenty-five miles, of which there would be but three or
four miles of deep cutting.

The canal, to be on a scale of grandeur commensurate with
its important uses, should be cut sufficiently deep to allow
the tide of the Pacific to flow right through it, across
to the Atlantic; so that ships bound from the Pacific to
the Atlantic would pass with the flood, and those from the
Atlantic to the Pacific with the ebb tide of the latter. Such
was the plan recommended in my report to Lord Palmerston. By
such a canal—that is, one entirely without locks—the transit
from sea to sea could be effected in six hours, or one
tide.[XXXIV-51]

For the engineering details, and estimates of the cost
of the work, I beg to refer to the valuable report of Mr.
Lionel Gisborne, C. E., who, with his assistant, Mr. Forde,
was commissioned, last April, by Messrs Fox, Henderson,
and Brassey, to survey this route, which they found to be
perfectly feasible for a ship-canal communication, and fully
as eligible as I had represented it.

[Sidenote: PASSAGE FOR THE PACIFIC TIDE.]

It is needless to say that, under the auspices of Messrs.
Fox, Henderson, and Brassey, who, with that clear discernment
and prompt decision, which have placed them in the elevated
position which they occupy, adopted this route in December
1851, after a careful examination of my statements, the
great work of an interoceanic canal is sure, erelong, to be
accomplished.

I trust that an attentive consideration of the advantages
of this route—viz., its shortness, the excellence of its
harbors, the low elevation of the land, the absence of
bars at the Savana and Tuyra mouths, the depth of water
and great rise of tide in the former, its directness of
course and freedom from obstructions, the healthiness of the
adjacent country, the exemption of the coasts from northers
and hurricanes, the feasibility of cutting a canal without
locks, and the absence of engineering difficulties—will
fully justify me in asserting it to be the shortest, the
most direct, safe, and expeditious, and in every way the most
eligible route for intermarine communication for large ships.

An examination of the physical aspect of the country from
Port Escocés to the Savana—presenting, as it does, but a
single ridge of low elevation, and this broken by gorges,
ravines, and valleys, and grooved by rivers and streams, with
a champaign country extending from its base on each side—will
prove the feasibility of making the canal entirely without
locks, a superiority which this route possesses over others,
which all present insurmountable physical obstacles to the
construction of such a canal.

In fact, a glance at the map ought to convince the most
sceptical that nature has unmistakably marked out this space
for the junction of the two oceans, and the breaking of the
continuity of North and South America; indeed, so narrow is
the line of division, that it would almost appear as if the
two seas did once meet here.

DETAILS OF THE ROUTE PROPOSED.—I shall now enter into a more
detailed description of this route, which I discovered in
1849, and proposed for a ship-canal communication between
the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in the _Panamá Echo_ of
February 8, 1850, in the _Daily News_ and _Mining Journal_
of May 1850;[XXXIV-52] in a paper presented to the Royal
Geographical Society, and read at the Edinburgh meeting of
the British Association in July 1850; and in a report to Lord
Palmerston, of January 15, 1851.

PORT ESCOCÉS.—Of Port Escocés, Caledonia Bay, and the channel
of Sassardi, the _Columbian Navigator_, vol. 3, p. 218, says:

'Port Escocés, or Caledonia, lat. 8° 51´, long. 77° 44´, is
a noble harbor; very safe, and so extensive that a thousand
sail of vessels may enter it.

'Punta Escocés is the S. E. point of Caledonia Bay, the
greater islet of Santa Catalina, or de Oro (gold), being the
N. W. Between point and point the distance is four miles, and
the points lie N. W. and S. E. (N. 40° W., and S. 40° E.),
from each other; and in respect to this line the bay falls
in one mile and two thirds. In the S. E. part of this bay is
Puerto Escocés (or Scottish Harbor), which extends inward two
miles in that direction, and forms good shelter. There are
various shoals in it, which are represented in the particular
plan of the harbor, by which plan any vessel may run in, for
the depths are five, six, seven, and eight fathoms of water
over a bottom of sand.

'Between Piedras Islet to the north, the west point of
Aglatomate River to the south, and that of San Fulgencio to
the S. W., is formed the Ensenada, or bay of Caledonia, and
the channel of Sassardi.

CALEDONIA BAY.—'The Ensenada, or cove of Caledonia, is,
strictly speaking, formed by the points already mentioned,
which lie with each other N. N. W. ¾ W., and S. S. E. ¾ E.
(N. 25° W., and S. 25° E.), one mile distant. This bay is
clean, and has good deep water; the greater part of its coast
is a beach, and near the middle of it disembogues the river
Aglaseniqua. The point of San Fulgencio is salient, scarped,
and clean, and it also forms an indent with little depth of
water, bordered by mangroves and various kays at its western
part.

THE CHANNEL OF SASSARDI.—'Between San Fulgencio point, the
great Oro Island, Piedras Islet, and the Mangrove Kays, which
are to the west of them, the channel of Sassardi is formed;
the S. E. entrance to this channel is off and on, with four
cables' length in extent, from edge to edge, and with from
nine to twelve fathoms depth on oaze; and farther in, from
eight to ten fathoms; as also between the turn of the bank
off Piedras Islet, and the bay of Caledonia, the depth is
from seven to fifteen fathoms; and the piece of sea which
intervenes between this bay and the Puerto Escocés is of a
good depth of water; but at a short mile S. E. by E. ½ E. (S.
55° E.), from Piedras Islet the sea breaks when the breeze
blows fresh.'

From its entrance the channel of Sassardi extends N. W. five
miles.

The engineer has here, then, a wide scope for selecting a
locality for the Atlantic mouth of the canal, which may thus
open anywhere from the S. E. end of Port Escocés to the N.
W. entrance of the Channel of Sassardi, an extent of eleven
nautic. miles.

Along a great extent of Port Escocés and Caledonia Bay,
vessels can lie so close in shore that no boats would be
necessary in the taking in or discharging cargo; the same
great advantage also presents itself at several points in the
channel of Sassardi.

[Sidenote: SOURCES OF FRESH WATER.]

Good fresh water may be obtained in abundance from any of the
numerous streams which fall into these harbors, particularly
from the Aglaseniqua or Aglatomate.

Port Escocés is entirely uninhabited, nor is there any
settlement in and of it; at Caledonia, near the mouth of the
Aglaseniqua, there are five huts, inhabited by a few Indians
of the Tule tribe, and about two leagues up the river is
another small settlement; this, however, is at a considerable
distance westward of the projected line of canal.

From the sea-shore a plain extends for nearly two miles to
the base of a ridge of hills, which runs parallel to the
coast, and whose highest summit is about 350 feet. This
ridge is not quite continuous and unbroken, but is divided
by transverse valleys, through which 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 Cañasas, which is about
twenty miles above its mouth.

The river Savana, at Cañasas, has a depth of six feet
of water, but is obstructed by ledges of a slate, called
_pizarra_, or _killes_, for four miles, down to the mouth
of La Villa, up to which the tide reaches. At Cañasas,
there is a forest of a species of bamboo, so dense as to be
impenetrable; and above it there is a fall of two feet, when
the river is low, but after rains this entirely disappears.
The first fall, in ascending the river, occurs at Caobano, a
little above La Villa.

From La Villa, where there is a depth of ten or twelve
feet, the river is perfectly free from obstructions down to
Príncipe.

At Fuerte del Príncipe, two miles below La Villa, there is
a single ledge of slate, visible only in a very low state
of the river, which has here a depth of three fathoms, and a
rise of tide of six feet. The banks of the river are elevated
about ten feet above the level of the water, and are quite
free from swamp. The site of the old Spanish settlement is
here indicated by a patch of very dense scrubby bush, without
high trees, on the west bank of the river; but the only
remains to be met with are some fragments of _botijas_, or
water-jars. Príncipe is in lat. 8° 34', and long. 77° 56', by
my observations; it is only two or three hours' journey from
the mouth of the river.

The Savana River, called by the Indians Chaparti, is very
direct in its course, from Príncipe to its mouth, and free
from sinuosities, _playas_, deep elbows, shoals, rocks,
snags, or other obstructions.

Its banks, elevated several feet above the level of the
water, are quite free from swamp and malarious miasmata,
consequently the endemic fevers caused by these in Chagres,
Portobello, Limon, and Panama, would not prevail in any
settlements that may be formed in the neighborhood of the
Savana. Indeed, it cannot be inferred that the Isthmus of
Darien is unhealthy, because the towns on the Isthmus of
Panama have all been settled in swampy localities, and in
the most unfavorable positions in a sanatory point of view. A
convincing proof of the freedom from swamp of the whole tract
of country, from Port Escocés to the gulf of San Miguel, is
the total absence of musquitoes, which invariably infest all
swampy grounds in the tropics. The great longevity of the
people of Darien, and the large proportion of very old men,
also attest the healthiness of the climate.

From Príncipe to the mouth of Matumaganti, one mile S. S.
W., the river increases greatly in width and depth; there are
some islands in this reach; and on the west bank a very large
cuipo-tree stands conspicuous, towering above the adjacent
forest.

From Matumaganti to the mouth of Lara, two miles, the river
has a depth of four fathoms, and a rise of tide of ten feet.

From Lara mouth to the islands in the second reach, four
miles, the river is very direct in its course, with a depth
of five or six fathoms. A ridge of hills runs parallel to
each bank, at about two miles' distance. Just below this
mouth, and above a widening of the river, called Revesa
de Piriaki, is Cerro Piriaki, a hill of about 400 feet
elevation, and above this there is no hill near either
bank of the Savana. Above the islands, Estero Corotu, Rio
Corredor, and other streams fall into this, the Calle Larga,
or Long Reach.

From the islands to Areti mouth, S. S. E., three miles, the
river has great width and depth; a ridge of hill here runs
along each bank, at about two miles' distance.

[Sidenote: RELATIVE WATER DEPTHS.]

JUNCTION OF THE SAVANA AND TUYRA.—From Areti mouth to the
junction of the Savana and Tuyra rivers, S., four miles, the
river has a uniform width of two miles, and a depth of from
eight to nine fathoms.

On the west bank of this reach is Punta Machete, with a small
shoal above it, called Bajo Grande, and one below it, Bajo
Chico. Both of these are close in shore, and oysters are
found on them.

THE SAVANA MOUTH.—From the west point of the Savana mouth,
in lat. 8° 21', long. 77° 54', the land rises into a ridge of
hills of about 309 feet elevation, running N. for about four
miles parallel to the river, from which it is separated by a
strip of level land half a mile wide. There is a quebrada, or
rivulet, in the ridge, called Laguadilla, which has plenty of
fresh water in the driest season.

Behind Nisperal, the east point of the Savana mouth, there is
a low ridge of hills; from the north bank of Iglesias, also,
a narrow ridge follows the course of the Savana for about
three miles. This is the Cerro Titichi, which gave its name
to a mission of Indians at the mouth of the Chuquanaqua, the
last survivor of whom is a man named Marcellino, who resides
at Pinogana, on the Tuyra. On the north bank of Iglesias is
Quebrada de Tigre, and on the Savana, above its mouth, is
Quebradita la Monera, where fresh water may be obtained.

At the mouth of the Savana there are nine fathoms, at low
water, and the tide rises from twenty-one to twenty-seven
feet.

Boca Chica and Boca Grande, the mouths of the Tuyra, are
perfectly safe entrances, and have a depth of thirteen to
twenty fathoms of water respectively.

The gulf of San Miguel has good depth of water, and would
hold the shipping of the world. Its mouth, between Cape San
Lorenzo on the north, and Punta Garachiné on the south, is
ten miles across, and opens into the Pacific, quite outside
the bay of Panama. Its direction inward is N. E. fifteen
miles to Boca Chica. Inside the bay of Garachiné, the shores
of the gulf approach each other, and the width diminishes
to four miles, between Punta Brava and Morro Patiño, with a
depth of from nine to twenty fathoms, but again increases,
and then diminishes to Boca Chica.

Close to Cape San Lorenzo is a small shoal, called El Buey,
which may be easily avoided. There are several islands in
the gulf, as Iguana, Cedro, Islas de San Diego, etc., etc.,
which are all safe of approach. On the north side, the
rivers Congo, Buenavista; and on the south the Moguey, Guaca,
Taimita, and Sambú, open into the gulf; while the Tuyra and
Savana fall into its eastern end, the Ensenada del Darien,
called by the Granadians 'Boca de Provincia,' or Mouth of the
Province. _Cullen's Isth. of Darien._

* * * * *

From what has been said, it sufficiently appears that
Nicaragua is a country of great beauty of scenery and
vast natural resources. She has, however, attracted the
attention of the world less on these accounts than because
she is believed to possess within her borders the best
and most feasible route for a ship-canal between the two
great oceans. The project of opening such a canal began to
be entertained as soon as it was found that there existed
no natural communication between the seas, as early as
1527. Since that period it has furnished a subject for
much speculation, but beyond a few partial examinations,
until very lately, nothing of a practical or satisfactory
character had been attempted. In 1851 a careful survey was
made of the river San Juan, Lake Nicaragua, and the isthmus
intervening between this lake and the Pacific, by Colonel O.
W. Childs, previously engineer-in-chief of the state of New
York, under the direction of the now extinct Atlantic and
Pacific Ship-canal Company. Until then, it had always been
assumed that the river San Juan, as well as the lake itself,
could easily be made navigable for ships, and that the only
obstacle to be overcome was the narrow strip of land between
the lake and the ocean. Hence, all the so-called surveys were
limited to an examination of that part of the line. One of
them was made under the orders of the Spanish government, by
Don Manuel Galisteo, in 1781; another, and that best known,
by Mr. John Baily, under the direction of the government of
Central America, in 1838. An intermediate examination, quoted
by Thompson,[XXXIV-53] seems to have been made early in the
present century. The following table will show the results of
these surveys as regards this particular section:

Greatest Greatest
Elevation Elevation
Authorities. Distance from Lake above above
to ocean. Ocean. Lake.
Galisteo, 1781 17 miles, 200 feet. 272 feet. 134 feet.
Quoted by Thompson, 17 miles, 320 feet. 296 feet. 154 feet.
1829
Baily, 1838 16 miles, 730 feet. 615 feet. 487 feet.
Childs, 1851 18 miles, 3,120 feet. 159 feet. 47½ feet.

As the survey of Colonel Childs is the only one which can be
accepted as conforming to modern engineering requirements,
it will be enough to present the detailed results to which
he arrived. The line proposed by him, and on which all his
calculations and estimates were based, commences at the
little port of Brito, on the Pacific, and passes across the
Isthmus, between the ocean and lake, to the mouth of a small
stream called Rio Lajas, flowing into the latter, thence
across Lake Nicaragua to its outlet, and down the valley
of the Rio San Juan to the port of the same name on the
Atlantic. The length of this line was found to be 194⅓ miles,
as follows:

Miles.
WESTERN DIVISION.—Canal from the port of Brito on the
Pacific, through the valley of a small stream called
Rio Grande, falling into the Pacific, into that of the
stream called Rio Lajas, to Lake Nicaragua 18.588

MIDDLE DIVISION.—Though Lake Nicaragua, from mouth of
Rio Lajas to Fort San Carlos, at the head of San Juan
River 56.500

EASTERN DIVISION.—_First Section._—Slack-water navigation
on San Juan River from San Carlos to a point on the
river opposite the mouth of the Serapiqui River 90.800

_Second Section._—Canal from opposite mouth of Serapiqui
to port of San Juan del Norte 28.505
-------
Total, as above 194.393

ORIGIN OF THE CANAL GRANT.—The charter of this company
under which Colonel Childs carried on his investigations
is dated September 22, 1849, and was obtained for a term of
eighty-five years from the completion of the proposed canal.
The surveys were to be commenced within one year, and the
whole to be completed in twelve years. The canal, by the
terms of the charter, was to be of dimensions sufficiently
great to admit and pass vessels of all sizes with speed
and safety. The company was to pay to the state, during the
period assigned for the construction of the work, the annual
sum of $10,000; to give to the state $200,000 of stock in
the canal, on the issue of stock; the state to receive, for
the first twenty years, twenty per cent annually out of the
net profits of the canal, after deducting the interest on the
capital actually invested, at the rate of seven per cent; and
for the remaining sixty-five years, twenty-five per cent of
the profits. The company, on the other hand, were to receive
fifteen per cent annually out of the net profits of the canal
for the first ten years after it should revert to the state,
provided it did not cost over $20,000,000; but if it should
cost more than that sum, the company to receive twenty per
cent for twenty years. During the period of constructing the
canal (twelve years), the company had the exclusive right
of navigating the waters of the state by steam, and also the
privilege of opening a transit route through its territories,
upon the principal condition of paying ten per cent of the
net profits to the state. There were some other provisions as
to lands, tolls, etc., of no special importance.

Under this charter, the company perfected its organization.
It divided its original shares into a considerable number,
called 'canal rights,' which were sold, and their holders
brought into the organization. The first instalment was paid,
and in August 1850, just in time to meet the stipulation
providing that the surveys should be commenced within one
year from the date of the contract, a party of surveyors
was sent out to Nicaragua. They were under the direction (as
already said) of Colonel O. W. Childs as chief engineer. He
arrived in Nicaragua on the 27th of August, 1850, and so far
as his report is concerned, we are left to infer that he at
once commenced the surveys for the canal. His report is dated
March 9, 1852.

[Sidenote: DIVERSIONS OF THE CANAL.]

THE LINE OF SURVEY.—In the various projects for uniting the
two seas, the line of the river San Juan has always been
contemplated as that by which the great lake of Nicaragua is
to be reached. From that lake to the Pacific, various routes
have been suggested:

1. From Lake Nicaragua via the river Sapoa to the bay of
Bolaños, in the gulf of Salinas, on the Pacific.

2. Via the Rio Lajas to the port of San Juan del Sur, or some
point not far from it, on the Pacific.

3. Via the Rio Tipitapa into the superior lake of Managua,
and from this lake to the Pacific at the little port of
Tamarindo, the port of Realejo, or into the magnificent gulf
or bay of Fonseca.

By his instructions, Colonel Childs was limited to a survey
of the direct routes from Lake Nicaragua to the Pacific,
provided either of them should prove practicable. As a
consequence, finding a route which, in his opinion, was
practicable, he made no surveys from the superior lake of
Managua to the Pacific. He, however, made some observations
on the line of the connection between the two lakes by the
river Tipitapa—if a channel dry for most, if not all, of the
year can be called a river. This is a source of great regret,
especially in view of the deficiency, on the surveyed routes,
of a good harbor on the Pacific, while both Realejo and the
gulf of Fonseca are all that can be desired as ports.

Lake Nicaragua is estimated by Colonel Childs to be one
hundred and ten miles in extreme length by thirty-five in
(average) width. Its nearest approach to the Atlantic is at
its southern extremity, from which, on a right line, it is
about eighty miles distant. The point of its nearest approach
to the Pacific is near the middle of its length, where, by
the shortest line, the distance is about eleven miles.

The San Juan River was found by Colonel Childs to be,
following its sinuosities, 119 miles in length. It has
a great number of tributaries, generally small, with the
exception of the San Cárlos and Serapiqui, which come in
from the mountains of Costa Rica on the south. The first of
these enters the San Juan at sixty-five miles, and the second
ninety miles below the lake. These streams flow through
valleys transversely to that of the San Juan, which is
further intersected by ranges of hills, coming in both from
the north and the south, at the Rapides del Toro, Castillo,
Machuca, etc.

The lake of Nicaragua lies longitudinally, nearly parallel to
the Pacific Ocean, and is separated from it, for nearly two
thirds of the length of the lake, by hills of comparatively
moderate acclivity and elevation, in most cases capable of
cultivation to their summits. Within this distance, also,
are several transverse valleys, extending nearly (Colonel
Childs says quite) across, with summits varying in height,
and furnishing generally good opportunities for direct
communications by ordinary roads or by canal.

ROUTE VIA RIVER SAPOA.—This line lies chiefly in the
department of Guanacaste, now in dispute between Nicaragua
and Costa Rica, and actually occupied by the latter.

The examination of this line by Colonel Childs only proved
its impracticability for the purpose of a canal. He found
that to pass the summit a cut 119 feet in depth would be
required, and an up-lockage from the lake of 350½ feet, and a
down-lockage to the Pacific of 432 feet. Water to supply the
upper locks, it was ascertained, could only be obtained with
difficulty, and at great cost. Besides, a long rock cut of
three fourths of a mile would be required from low-tide mark
in the bay of Salinas to deep water. In short, the physical
difficulties on this line, if not of a nature to make the
construction of a canal impossible, were nevertheless such as
to make it impracticable.

ROUTE FROM MOUTH OF THE RIO LAJAS TO BRITO.—The line from
Lake Nicaragua to the Pacific, to which public attention has
been most directed, is one starting from the mouth of the Rio
Lajas, a few miles below the town of Rivas, or Nicaragua, to
the port of San Juan del Sur, or Concordia, on the Pacific.
As already stated, not less than three surveys had been made
over this line; one in 1781 by Galisteo, a Spanish engineer,
and the last by Mr. Baily, an Englishman, under the republic
of Central America, published in Stephens' _Incidents of
Travel in Central America_. The line pursued by both Galisteo
and Baily was governed by the circumstance of a measurably
good port on the Pacific—that of San Juan del Sur, the best
on the whole line of coast from the bay of Salinas northward
to Realejo. Baily's line is sixteen miles and 730 feet in
length, and the greatest elevation above the lake 487 feet.
That of Galisteo is seventeen miles 200 feet in length, and
the greatest elevation above the sea 272, and above the lake
134 feet. Baily's line, for half of its distance, involved
209 feet of average vertical cutting; that of Galisteo,
for half of its length, an average vertical cutting of 108
feet. These facts, and others, among which the absolute
impossibility of supplying the summit levels with water, and
the necessity of tunnels, combined to make the construction
of a canal on this line wholly impossible.

[Sidenote: EXPLORING FOR A LINE.]

Colonel Childs seems to have been satisfied of the
impracticability of this line, after a very rapid
examination, and to have devoted himself to the discovery
of one more feasible. In doing this, however, it was
found necessary to abandon San Juan del Sur as the western
terminus.