Chapter XXXIV: Interoceanic Communication (2)

Starting at the point on the lake to the eastward of Rivas,
levelling westward, through a transverse, moderately
undulating plain, he ascended, on a distance of six and
a half miles, 326 feet, to the summit of a broad valley,
passing between the hills (which are here of moderate
height), and connecting with another valley on the west side,
which extends to a place on the Pacific called Brito, where
a stream, named Rio Grande, flows into the sea. The quantity
of water available for this summit being entirely inadequate,
and the cut altogether too formidable, on the plan of
carrying through the level, this route was abandoned. Another
line, not far from this, was attempted, with very nearly the
same result.

Colonel Childs next started from the mouth of the Rio Lajas,
the same point with his predecessors, and carried a line
of levels to the summit of a transverse valley lying about
six and a half miles south of Rivas, and reaching between
the valley of Rio Lajas and that of the Rio Grande, already
mentioned as flowing into the Pacific at Brito. This summit
was found to be only forty-seven and a half feet above the
surface of the lake, as it stood on the 23d day of December,
1850, at which time it was three and a half feet above its
lowest stages, and one and a half feet below the level at
which it ordinarily stands at the height of the rainy season.
The length of this line from lake to sea is about twenty
miles. This is the route, and the only direct one, between
the lake and sea, regarded by Colonel Childs as feasible, and
upon this all his calculations respecting the proposed canal
are based. In his own language: 'The conclusion was arrived
at that the line leading from the lake, at the mouth of the
river Lajas to the Pacific at Brito, presented more favorable
conditions for the construction of the canal than any other;
it was therefore determined to survey and carefully to locate
a line across upon this route.'

This line, then, runs through the valley of the river Lajas,
the waters of a principal branch of which interlock with
those of the Rio Grande, and, through the valley of the
latter, reaches the sea. The stream first named has its
origin about ten miles south-westerly from its entrance into
the lake, on the eastern slope of the dividing ridge, and
after running north-westerly two miles, along the base of
the hills, takes a northerly direction through comparatively
level savannas, a distance of six miles or eight miles, when
it bends to the east, and in a mile and three fourths enters
the lake. The Rio Grande rises on the eastern slope of the
same range of hills, and two or three miles north-west from
the sources of the Lajas, and, after flowing some three or
four miles at the foot of their slope, bends to the west, and
by a narrow and somewhat irregular valley passes through the
ridge, and thence, in a more capacious and uniform valley,
into the Pacific.

WESTERN SECTION OF PROPOSED CANAL BETWEEN LAKE NICARAGUA AND
THE PACIFIC.—The entire line of the canal proposed by Colonel
Childs, and upon which all his calculations and estimates are
based, is therefore through the valley of the river San Juan
into Lake Nicaragua, across Lake Nicaragua to the mouth of
the Rio Lajas, through the valley of that stream, and across
the summit of forty-seven and a half feet which separates it
from that of the Rio Grande, and down the valley of the Rio
Grande to Brito, where that stream enters the Pacific.

Now, in order to understand Colonel Childs' conclusions, and
appreciate the data which he gives, we must know what kind
of a work he proposes. He contemplates a canal but seventeen
feet deep; and as he intends to supply the western section,
from the lake to the sea, by water from the lake, it would
be necessary to commence construction in the lake at a point
where the water is seventeen feet deep at mean stage. This
point is opposite the mouth of the Lajas, and twenty-five
chains from the line of the shore. From this point, for
a mile and a half, partially along the river Lajas, the
excavation will be principally earth; but beyond this, for
a distance of five and a half miles, which carries the line
beyond the summit, three fourths of the excavation will be
in a trap rock. That is to say, the deepest excavation, or
open cut, will be sixty-five feet, and involve the removal of
1,879,000 cubic yards of earth, and 3,378,000 cubic yards of
rock. The excavation and construction in this five and a half
miles alone are estimated at upward of $6,000,000.

The summit passed, and the valley of the Rio Grande reached,
the excavation, as a general rule, will be only the depth of
the canal. Colonel Childs found that the lake, at ordinary
high water, is only 102 feet 10 inches above the Pacific at
high and 111 feet 5 inches above it at low tide, instead
of 128 feet, as calculated by Mr. Baily. This descent he
proposes to accomplish by fourteen locks, of eight feet
lift each, placed at proper points in the valley of the
Rio Grande, thus bringing us to Brito, the terminus on the
Pacific.

The harbor of Brito, as it is called, or the point where
the Rio Grande enters the sea, is at best only a bad
anchorage. There is here a small angular indentation of
the land, partially protected by a low ledge of rock, but
nothing adequate for the terminus of an important work like
the proposed canal, or capable of answering the commonest
requisites of a port. To remedy this deficiency, Colonel
Childs proposed to construct an artificial harbor, of
thirty-four acres area, by means of moles and jetties in
the sea, and by extensive excavations in the land. If, as
he supposes, the excavations here would be in sand, it is
obviously almost impossible to get proper foundations for
the immense sea-walls and piers that would be necessary for
a work of this kind. On the contrary, if these excavations
should be chiefly in a rock, as seems most likely, the cost
and labor would almost surpass computation. Assuming the
excavations for the purpose to be in earth and sand, Colonel
Childs estimates the cost of making a harbor at a little over
$2,600,000.

MIDDLE SECTION OF PROPOSED CANAL—LAKE NICARAGUA.—Proceeding
from seventeen feet depth of water in the lake, opposite to
the river Lajas, in the direction of the outlet of the lake
at Fort San Cárlos, there is ample water for vessels of all
sizes for a distance of about fifty-one miles, to a point
half a mile south of the Boacos Islands. Here the depth of
water diminishes rapidly to fourteen feet. For the remaining
five and a half miles to the fort, the water is variable,
averaging only about nine feet at low and about fourteen
at high water. For this distance of five and a half miles,
therefore, an average under-water excavation of eight feet
would be required to make the channel, at low water, of the
depth of the canal, or seventeen feet. But if the lake were
kept at high level, the under-water excavation would be but
an average of three feet.

Colonel Childs proposed to protect this portion of the
channel by rows of piles driven on each side, along its
whole extent, and thinks, after the excavation were made, a
sufficient current would be established to keep the channel
clear.

[Sidenote: THE RIVER SAN JUAN.]

EASTERN SECTION—THE RIVER SAN JUAN.—We come now to the
section between Lake Nicaragua and the Atlantic, through or
along the river San Juan. Excepting a small settlement at
the Castillo Viejo, at the Castillo Rapids, thirty-seven
miles from the lake, the valley of the San Juan is wholly
uninhabited. This section, hitherto supposed the easiest, is,
nevertheless, by far the most difficult part of the proposed
enterprise.

Colonel Childs carried a line of levels from the lake at San
Cárlos to the port of San Juan, on the northern bank of the
stream. The whole distance from San Carlos to seventeen feet
depth of water in the harbor of San Juan is 119⅓ miles; and
the whole fall, from the surface of high lake to the surface
of highest tide in the harbor, is 107½ feet—to lowest tide,
108¾ feet.

Of the above distance, the first ninety-one miles, or from
San Carlos to half a mile below the Serapiqui River, Colonel
Childs proposed to make the river navigable by excavating
its bed, and by constructing dams, to be passed by means of
locks and short canals; the remaining twenty-eight miles of
the canal to be constructed inland, or independently of the
river. Of the whole fall, sixty-two and a half feet occurs
on that portion which it is proposed to improve by dams,
and on which there were to be eight locks, and the remaining
forty-six and a quarter feet occurs on the inland portion of
the canal, on which were to be six locks—fourteen locks in
all.

Colonel Childs proposed to place the first dam at the head
of the Castillo Rapids, a distance of upward of thirty-seven
miles from the lake, and to pass the rapids by means of a
lateral canal. By means of this dam he proposed to raise the
water, at that point, twenty-one and a half feet, and the
entire level of Lake Nicaragua five feet above its lowest
stages, or in other words, to keep it at high-water mark. The
fall at this dam would be sixteen feet. He proposed also six
other dams, four of eight feet fall, one of fourteen and a
half feet, and one of thirteen and a half feet. Between all
of these there would be more or less excavation in the bed of
the stream, sometimes in earth, and often in rock.

Colonel Childs proposed further to improve the harbor of San
Juan by moles, etc., and to construct an artificial harbor in
connection with it of the capacity of thirteen acres.

In respect of the amount of water in the San Juan, we have
some interesting statistics. This amount, of course, varies
greatly with the different seasons. The quantity of water
that passed from the lake at its lowest stage, on the 4th of
June, 1851, was 11,930 cubic feet per second. The greatest
rise of the lake is about five feet. When it stood at 3.43
feet above its lowest level, the flow of water was 18,059
cubic feet per second, being an increase of about fifty per
cent. Supposing the same ratio of increase, at high lake the
amount of water in the river would be doubled.

The river receives large accessions from its tributaries.
Below these, and above the point of divergence of the
Colorado, flowing direct into the sea from the San Juan,
which falls into the harbor of the same name, the flow of
water was 54,380 cubic feet per second, of which 42,056
passed through the Colorado branch into the ocean, and 12,324
through the San Juan into the port.

DIMENSIONS OF THE PROPOSED CANAL.—Where the excavation is
in earth, Colonel Childs proposed (and all his estimates
are founded on these dimensions) that the canal shall have
a depth of 17 feet; that it shall be 50 feet wide at the
bottom, 86 feet wide at 9 feet above the bottom, and 118 feet
wide at the surface of the water. Where the excavation is in
rock, the canal is to be 50 feet wide at bottom, 77 feet at 9
feet above bottom, and 78⅓ feet at the surface of the water.

LENGTH OF PROPOSED CANAL.—The total length of the line
proposed by Colonel Childs, from San Juan del Norte on the
Atlantic, to Brito on the Pacific, is 194⅓ miles, as follows:

Miles.

Canal from port of San Juan to its point of intersection
with the river, near the mouth of the Serapiqui 28.505

Slack-water navigation on the San Juan River, from the
above point to San Cárlos, at the outlet of the lake 90.800

From San Cárlos, across Lake Nicaragua, to the mouth
of the Rio Lajas 56.500

From mouth of Rio Lajas to Brito 18.588
-------
Total, as above 194.393

ESTIMATED COST.—The cost of the work is estimated by Colonel
Childs in detail. The recapitulation, by divisions, is as
follows:

Eastern Division (i. e., from port of San Juan to $12,502,346
lake)
Middle Division (through lake) 1,025,676

Western Division (from lake to Pacific) 13,896,603
-----------
$27,424,625

Add, for contingencies, 15 per cent 4,113,693
-----------
Total estimated cost of canal $31,538,318

The canal company published a pamphlet, in which the
estimates for the canal were made at New York prices, and
in which the total was put down at $13,243,099. 'The prices
adopted in the estimate of $31,500,000,' says Colonel Childs,
'are made up with reference to the completion of the work
within six years from the time of breaking ground, and a
commencement of the settlement of the country in the vicinity
of the line previous to letting the contracts.'

CAPACITY OF THE PROPOSED CANAL.—The charter of the canal
company provided that the capacity of the work should be
sufficiently great 'to admit vessels of all sizes.' And
it is obvious that a work which will not pass freely the
largest vessels can but imperfectly answer the purposes
of its construction, or meet the requirements of commerce.
But Colonel Childs proposed only one 17 feet deep, 50 feet
wide at bottom, and 118 feet wide at top—a capacity wholly
inadequate to pass the larger classes of vessels, and one
which fails to meet the stipulations of the charter. The
larger merchant-ships, such as are generally employed in
the eastern trade, have a draught of from 20 to 25 feet,
and would require, to say nothing of war vessels and large
steamers, a canal of from 25 to 30 feet in depth, which would
involve more than double the amount of excavation proposed,
and probably treble the amount of cost, and carry it up from
$31,500,000 to $100,000,000. Here is the fatal deficiency in
the whole proposition of Colonel Childs.

To make the canal capable of passing vessels drawing 20 feet
of water, Colonel Childs says, would increase to a very great
degree the amount of the excavation on the river section,
and still more the expense. 'Any considerable increase
in the depth proposed (17 feet) would require under-water
excavations between the lake and the Toro Rapids, a distance
of 27 miles, to be almost continuous; it would very much
lengthen the cuts on the other portions of the river, and the
liability of these artificial channels to receive deposits
of earth to such an extent as to obstruct navigation would
be very much greater. On the inland portion of the canal,'
continues Colonel Childs, 'a depth of 22 feet of water would,
with fifty feet bottom-width, give a transverse water-section
about 45 per cent greater than a depth of 17 feet, with the
same bottom-width; and the expense of the inland portions
would also, by reason of the greater depth of excavation, be
increased in a still higher ratio.'

[Sidenote: THE VIEWS OF COLONEL CHILDS.]

Colonel Childs seems sensible of the inadequacy of a canal
of the proposed dimensions, but thinks that by changes in
model, etc., ships of great size could be built to pass a
17-foot canal. That is to say, the world may build ships
for the canal, instead of the canal company a canal for the
ships of the world! He states that most steamers draw less
than 17 feet, and quotes from Murray's _Treatise on Marine
Engines_ to show that of 261 steam-vessels, principally
English, 15 draw over 17 feet, 21 have 17 feet draught,
and 225 less than 17 feet. But he neglects to tell us that
experience and economy point to the construction of larger
steamers than those now in use, and that such as would be
used in the eastern trade, in the event of the construction
of the canal, would be still larger than those of the Collins
line, which draw over 22 feet. Besides, a canal of 17 feet is
only adequate to the passage of vessels of 15 feet draught.
No canal ought to be contemplated with a less depth than 25
feet, and with proportionate top and bottom width.

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal has a depth of 10 feet.

The Welland Canal is 28 miles long, 9 feet deep, 35 feet wide
at bottom, and 71 feet at top. It passes vessels of 350 tons.

The Caledonian Canal, between the eastern and western shores
of Great Britain, is 59 miles in length, of which 21½ miles
is inland and 37½ through lakes. It is 50 feet wide at
bottom, 110 feet at top, and is 20 feet deep. It is capable
of passing frigates of 32 guns, and merchant-vessels of 1,000
tons.

The canal from Amsterdam to New Dieppe, in Holland, is 50
miles long, 36 feet wide at bottom and 124 at top, and is 20
feet 9 inches deep.

In respect of navigating the canal, according to Colonel
Childs' suggestions, steamers will propel themselves, and
sail-vessels will be moved by tugs constructed for the
purpose, except on the portion west of the lake, and between
the river and port of San Juan, where the delay of the
driving steamers in passing the locks would make the use of
animal-power advisable. Calculating 24 minutes as the time
required for a vessel to pass each lock, 60 vessels, it is
calculated, could be passed in a day. The average rate of
speed with which steamers might safely move in the inland
portions of the canal is calculated at 2½ miles per hour, on
the river portions 7 miles an hour, and on the lake, 11 miles
an hour. Sailing vessels propelled by horse-power might move
on the canal at the rate of two miles an hour, and on the
river and lake with an average speed of 4 miles per hour. For
steamers, therefore, the passage from sea to sea is estimated
at 46½ hours, or about two days; for sailing vessels, 77
hours, or 3¼ days.

FACILITIES FOR CONSTRUCTING THE CANAL.—There are many
considerations connected with an enterprise of this kind
besides its feasibility in a mere engineering point of view,
such as labor, materials, etc., etc. To all of these Colonel
Childs seems to have devoted some attention.

_Timber._—As compared with those of the United States,
the original forests of Nicaragua are inferior in size,
and the kind and quantity of timber proper for use less
in proportion. The tree called the 'cedro,' or cedar, is
produced in considerable abundance, and can be usefully
applied. It grows to a great height, and will produce timber
36 to 40 feet long, and 12 to 18 inches square. The 'roble,'
a species of oak, is also a tall tree, and furnishes timber
equal to the cedar in size. The 'níspero,' 'laurel,' 'madera
negra,' and others, answer a very good purpose. The 'níspero'
is 29 per cent stronger than white oak, and may be procured
in sufficient quantities, in the opinion of Colonel Childs,
to be relied on as a substitute for all the purposes in
which oak is required. He thinks that, in the aggregate, the
forests of Nicaragua, in the sections traversed by the canal,
will probably produce all the lumber required.

_Stone._—Along the river San Juan, the rock is chiefly trap,
graywacke, and shale; in many localities too friable for
use, but in others, Colonel Childs thinks, it may be found
fit for the purposes required. On the west side of the lake
limestone quarries were found, capable of producing good
lime in abundance. The stone, generally, between the lake
and Pacific, on the proposed canal line, is not good, but it
was thought that in case of need it might be obtained from
Granada, sixty miles to the north-west, and from a lower
point on the Isthmus. Very good and abundant clays were
found, and a stone from which water-lime of a fair quality
may be obtained.

_Labor._—Colonel Childs concedes that the prosecution of the
works of the canal would be attended with vast difficulties,
resulting from a lack of all the essential requisites in the
shape of mills, roads, carriages, etc., etc. He thinks the
oxen of the country may be obtained in sufficient numbers to
do all the necessary hauling of materials. But there is yet a
consideration of vastly more importance, viz., labor. Colonel
Childs apprehends that it would be necessary to rely chiefly
on foreigners. He says that, although the laboring population
of the country, when under compulsory circumstances, are
capable of great activity and of enduring much fatigue, in
their ordinary avocations they are tardy and irregular in
their labor. An exception is, however, made in favor of a
class of boatmen employed on the river, some 400 in number,
in whom we have an example of physical labor and exposure
to the elements scarcely equalled in any country, endured
by them with no perceptible prejudice, but apparently with
advantage to their health. These men sleep on a narrow plank
across their boats, with no other protection than a single
blanket; yet there is probably in the world no class of men
of more athletic forms, and notwithstanding their indifferent
attention to the conditions of health, more capable of hard
service. So far as can be gathered from Colonel Childs'
observations, it seems that he would rely chiefly on foreign
labor for the construction of the proposed work.

[Sidenote: CLIMATIC TRIALS.]

He seems to think it is not unlikely that foreigners,
already accustomed to hard labor, may, when thoroughly
acclimated, and under no unnecessary exposure, be capable
of a fair amount of labor in this country, although not as
great an amount as in higher latitudes. He states that of
the party engaged in the survey west of the lake, nine were
unaccustomed to the climate. After a few months, a slight
fever, followed by ague, prevented some of the number from
continued daily exercise; but being in all cases under the
control of medicine, it was of short duration. During seven
months in this part of the state, illness in the party
at no time interrupted a daily prosecution of the survey.
Upon the San Juan River, the surveying party consisted of
twelve persons, exclusive of native citizens. The survey
occupied six and a half months, from March to September. 'The
party generally enjoyed good health, and no individual was
prevented by indisposition, beyond a day or two, from full
service. Of those engaged as axemen in clearing the line,
two were northern men, whose daily exercise exceeded that
usual to men in canal-work, without detriment to health or
constitution.'

_Soil._—From San Juan Harbor to where the proposed canal
would strike the river, the soil is vegetable mould, coarse
sand, and sandy loam. Along the river it is of a more mixed
character, clay and loam predominating in the valleys, and a
gravelly clay, with detached stones, on the hills. West of
the lake, the central portion of the summit is principally
clay; the remainder, together with the soil through the
valley to Brito, has a very nearly uniform and equal
intermixture of clay, sand, and gravel. The surface soil is
generally fine, and contains enough of vegetable mould to
render it capable of great production.

_Food._—Among the staple articles of food that would,
during the construction of the canal, be most required for
consumption, may be named maize, plantains, and beans. Of
the former and latter two crops are annually raised on the
same ground, and the supply of plantains is constant. Besides
these are bananas, oranges, lemons, pineapples, cocoanuts,
squashes, melons, tomatoes, and other garden vegetables.
Colonel Childs, while considering these sources of supply in
food, is nevertheless of opinion that salt meat and flour
would have to be brought in large quantities from abroad.
Fresh beef, pork, and poultry are abundant in the country.

OPINION OF COLONEL ABERT AND LIEUTENANT-COLONEL
TURNBULL.—Although a different impression has been sought
to be produced in the public mind, yet the government of the
United States had no direct interest in the proposed canal,
nor manifested any other than might naturally attach to
any enterprise of supposed general importance. The surveys
of Colonel Childs seem, nevertheless, to have been sent
to the secretary of war, with a request for the opinion of
the government engineers. Mr Conrad politely referred it to
Colonel Abert and Lieutenant-colonel Turnbull, of the bureau
of topographical engineers, who give their opinion in a brief
letter, dated March 20, 1852. Proceeding upon Colonel Childs'
data, they think his plan practicable, that his estimates
for a canal of seventeen feet are liberal, and that some
reductions might possibly be made. They think that a shorter
line might be traced between the port of San Juan and the
point of intersection with the river, and recommend another
survey of that portion.

OPINION OF ENGLISH ENGINEERS.—The American minister
in England, at the request of the company, appears to
have transmitted Colonel Childs' surveys to the earl of
Malmesbury, with a wish that he would submit it to competent
English engineers for their opinion. James Walker, Esq.,
civil engineer, and Edward Aldrich, captain of the royal
engineers, were named for this service. They seem not only to
have examined Colonel Childs' survey, but to have subjected
that gentleman, who was then in England, to a very close
personal examination. Taking his plans, measurement, and
statements to be correct, their opinion is, on the whole,
favorable. They think that his estimates for work are ample,
but regard the amount set down for 'contingencies' (fifteen
per cent) too small by at least ten per cent, that is to
say, that it should have been twenty-five instead of fifteen
per cent. Of all the works of the proposed navigation, they
regard the Brito or Pacific harbor as least satisfactory.
To use their own language: 'Presuming Colonel Childs'
statements and conclusions to be correct, the Brito harbor
is in shape and size unworthy of this great ship navigation,
even supposing the Pacific, to which it is quite open, to
be a much quieter ocean than any we have seen or have any
information of.'

They also object to the proposed size, and suggest a canal
twenty feet deep instead of seventeen, sixty feet wide at the
bottom instead of fifty, and the locks 300 feet instead of
250, as being one 'more efficient for the general purposes of
trade, by steam or sailing vessels.' This would, of course,
be attended with great additional cost; but, as they truly
observe, 'if the junction of the Pacific with the Atlantic be
worth doing at all, it is worth doing well.' They conclude
that, judging from the data, without presuming to vouch for
their accuracy, the work is practicable, 'and would not be
attended with engineering difficulties beyond what might
naturally be expected in a work of this magnitude;' that
the surveys have every appearance of accuracy, and they are
satisfied of the perfect fairness and candor of Colonel
Childs; that the works are generally sufficient for the
purpose they are intended to answer; and 'that the estimates
upon the present value of money are adequate, in a general
way, so far as judgments can be formed from the documents
produced and the explanations of Colonel Childs.'

OPINION OF BRITISH CAPITALISTS.—We come now to a point not
indicated in the report of Colonel Childs, viz., the refusal
of the leading capitalists of England to engage in the
projected work.

It is well known that at least two expeditions or missions to
England were undertaken by agents of the canal company. At
their first visit in 1851, they were unable to present any
specific data upon which to solicit the aid of capitalists;
they, however, made out a hypothetical case, which they
submitted, and received for answer, 'Substantiate your
statements by facts, and no difficulty will be experienced in
securing the financial aid which you desire; until then, we
can return you no definite answer.' This reply was not made
public in terms, but the agents, on their return, proclaimed
that the 'great European capitalists had engaged to furnish
half the capital for the enterprise.' A few, and it is
believed only a few, persons, considering the precise source
whence this vaunt came, attached the slightest importance to
it.

[Sidenote: REASONS FOR DECLINING.]

The second expedition was made in 1852, and this time
the agents took out with them both Colonel Childs and his
surveys. The opinion of certain British engineers (as we have
seen) was procured, and the whole matter resubmitted to the
great capitalists, who now, for the first time, thought it
sufficiently advanced to merit their serious attention. The
result of their examination was communicated to the company
in a letter from Mr Bates, head of the house of Baring
Brothers, in August 1852, and consisted in a declension to
embark in the enterprise, for a variety of reasons, chiefly,
of course, financial.

1. The dimensions of the canal were not such as, in their
opinion, to meet the requirements of commerce, and the work
could not be used except by medium-sized steamers and small
vessels.

2. That the proposed dimensions were not in conformity with
those required by the charter of the company, and that
it could not be built of the proposed dimensions without
securing a modification of the charter, which, in the
existing state of feeling in Nicaragua, it was not likely
could be effected.

3. That, supposing the work not to exceed the estimated
cost of $31,000,000, the returns, to meet the simple
interest of the investment at six per cent, must be at least
$1,860,000 over and above its current expenses; or, to meet
this interest, and the percentage to be paid to Nicaragua,
it must reach, over and above its expenses, $2,269,200.
Estimating the expenses of repairs, superintendence, cost of
transportation, etc., at $400,000 a year (a sum regarded as
too small), then the gross returns to make the work pay must
be $2,670,000.

4. But it is found, by inquiry and calculation, that little,
if any, of the European trade with the Orient would pass
through the canal, inasmuch as the passage by the way of Cape
Good Hope is, on an average, 1,500 miles nearer than by way
of the proposed work.

5. That even if the distance were in favor of the proposed
canal, its small size would prevent nearly, if not quite,
two thirds of the vessels engaged in the Indian trade from
passing it; and this objection would equally lie against most
of the vessels employed in the trade with western America,
the only trade in which the canal would prove serviceable to
Europe.

6. That the heavy toll of $3 a ton on ships would prevent
such vessels as could pass the canal from doing so, inasmuch
as on a vessel of 1,000 tons the toll would be $3,000, or
more than the average earnings of such vessels on their
voyages.

7. That a canal of the proposed size could only be used by
small passenger-steamers, the returns from which would not be
adequate to pay the current expenses of the enterprise.

While unhesitatingly conceding the immense local advantages
of a canal to the United States, these capitalists confessed
themselves utterly unable to discover how it could prove
of compensating value to the men who should invest their
money in the enterprise. They therefore, for these and other
reasons, declined to meet the views of the projectors and
their agents.

GUARANTEE OF THE UNITED STATES, ETC.—By the convention of
1850 between the United States and Great Britain, a qualified
guaranty was extended to this enterprise, in common with
several others. There was also a clause inserted with
direct reference to this company, which provided that it
should 'have a priority of claim over every other company
to the protection of the United States and Great Britain,'
on condition that it should, within 'one year from the
date of the ratification' of the convention, 'conclude its
arrangements and present evidence of sufficient capital
subscribed to accomplish the undertaking.' The treaty was
ratified, and the ratifications exchanged July 5, 1850. No
subscription of stock having taken place, and no evidence
of capital having been presented in the time specified, or
indeed at any other time, the company forfeited this special
protection in July 1851; and as the twelve years within which
the work was to be constructed will expire in 1861, it may be
assumed that its prosecution will depend upon new conditions
and combinations. Indeed, it may be questioned if the opening
of railways between the oceans may not indefinitely postpone
the project of a canal; for, however desirable such a work
may be, its realization will depend upon precisely those
practical considerations which apply to the simplest works
of public utility. It will not do to foot up the commerce
between Europe and Asia, and assume, as has generally been
the case, that the totals will pass through the canal, if
constructed. Now, the simple truth is, that, so far as Europe
is concerned, that part of her trade which goes to ports on
the Pacific coast of America, to the Sandwich Islands, Japan,
the northern ports of China, to New Zealand and Australia, is
all that will be materially benefited by the construction of
a canal. As regards Australia, the principal advantage would
be in having a safer, easier, and consequently quicker and
surer means of communication than is afforded by the Cape of
Good Hope; for the Pacific Ocean is preëminently the sea of
steamers, and where steam navigation, in respect of speed at
least, is destined to achieve its most brilliant success. So
far as the United States is concerned, the advantages of such
a work would naturally be greater than to Europe.

Assuming a canal to be built across the Isthmus of Nicaragua,
the following table will illustrate the relations of
Liverpool and New York with the principal ports of the east,
in respect of distance:

Via Cape of Via Proposed Net Net
Good Hope. Canal. Loss. Gain.
From Liverpool—
To Canton 12,900 13,800 900
Calcutta 11,440 15,480 4,040
Singapore 11,880 15,120 4,240
Sydney 14,980 12,550 2,320
From New York—
To Canton 14,100 11,820 3,280
Calcutta 12,360 13,680 1,320
Singapore 12,700 11,420 280
Sydney 15,720 9,480 5,240

[The distances to Sydney are calculated via Torres Straits.]

[Sidenote: THE COURSE OF TRAFFIC.]

The following table will illustrate the relations of
Liverpool and New York in respect to the principal western
ports of America:

Via Via Gain.
Cape Horn. Proposed Canal.
From Liverpool—
To Valparaiso 8,700 7,500 1,200
Callao 10,020 6,800 3,220
Sandwich Islands 13,500 8,640 4,860

From New York—
To Valparaiso 8,580 4,860 3,720
Callao 9,900 3,540 5,360
Sandwich Islands 13,200 6,300 6,900

But it is not to be assumed that all the trade, much less
all the travel, treasure, and mails to the points which I
have indicated, will, under any circumstances, pass through
a canal. The passengers between New York and San Francisco,
amounting annually to nearly 100,000, would never consent
to make a voyage of from 1,000 to 2,000 miles out of their
way, to Nicaragua, Panamá, Darien, or Atrato, for the sake
of passing through a canal, however grand, when by a simple
transshipment at Honduras, for instance, and a transit of
209 miles by railway, they would be able to avoid this long
detour, and effect a saving of from 5 to 8 days of time;
for even if steamers were to run to any canal which might
be opened, and supposing no detention on account of locks
or other causes (calculated by Colonel Childs at 2 days),
even then it would be necessary for them to stop, for coals
and other supplies, more than quadruple the time that would
be occupied by the passengers over the railway in effecting
their reëmbarkation. And what is true of passengers is
equally true of treasure, the mails, and light freight of
small bulk and large value.

I do not wish to be understood as arguing against a canal;
what I mean to illustrate is this: that, open a canal
wherever we may, it will always stand in the same relation to
a railway as does the baggage-train to the express. A canal
would be chiefly, if not wholly, used by ships and vessels
carrying heavy and bulky freights; but as most articles of
this kind are kept in stock in all the principal ports of
the world, it is not of so much consequence to have rapidity
as constancy of supply, and hence, unless the canal shall be
constructed so economically as to admit of a moderate tonnage
rate, it is not improbable that ships of this kind would find
it more economical to follow the routes now open. _Squier's
States of Cent. America._

* * * * *

In tracing, or attempting to trace, the routes of recent
travellers in Darien, there is extraordinary difficulty,
although the locality in question does not exceed a space
of 40 miles by 30. Strange to say, the routes of the old
buccaneers, of Dampier, Ringrose, Sharp, Wafer, and Davis,
the inland journey of that remarkable man Paterson, and of
the Spanish officer Don Manuel Milla de Santa Ella,[XXXIV-54]
can be followed on the old Spanish maps, but not in our
modern ones, even the best; while there are no data hitherto
published that afford more than a guess at the tracks of
modern explorers after leaving the sea-coast. Mr Gisborne
has compiled, or rather copied, the principal part of the
map, on which he has shown, _in red_, those portions which
he himself saw and was enabled to lay down. No surveyor
who reads his _Journal_ and _Report_ can doubt that he has
given eye-sketches, aided by compass bearings and estimated
distances; but the estimation of a practised eye is not to be
undervalued. Dr Cullen can be traced up the Tuyra to Yavisa,
and up the Paya; also up the Savana, but no farther inland.

The state of our geographical knowledge of that exceedingly
interesting region is the following:

All examinations, all surveys, of the Great Isthmus were made
by Spain alone, while she held the country (till the years
1821-31). Very good maps of much of the Spanish territory
existed at that time; but they have been copied and recopied
by all manner of hands; scales and bearings have been
altered, not intentionally, but by mistake; names omitted
or misspelled; and absolute longitudes applied erroneously.
Thus good original work came to be so deteriorated by its
transmutations as to be almost useless.

No surveys need be better than some of the Spanish works
undertaken toward the end of the last and during the
beginning of this century. Methods and instruments were
used by Tofiño, Malaspina, Espinosa, Bauza, Córdova, and
others, that were not adopted, if known, by French or
English surveyors until afterward. Triangulation without
the compass, bases obtained by angular measurements of known
objects,[XXXIV-55] and the most perfect style of plan-drawing
on true principles, were practised by Spaniards before this
century commenced.

The south coast of the Great Isthmus and the interior of
Darien were not explored and mapped sufficiently, because of
the hostile Indians, and political reasons connected with
the gold mines in that district. There was also another
source of error in that particular vicinity which has only
recently been eliminated; namely, the great difference of
longitudes, according to the maps, between places on opposite
sides of the Isthmus which are really in the same meridian.
This amounted to more than 30 miles along all the coast from
Chiriquí to Darien with respect to the corresponding southern
coast-line.

Thanks to the far-seeing and indefatigable hydrographer to
the admiralty, Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort, the British
surveys have included much of the coasts of Central America,
and they are now placed in relatively correct positions
on our latest maps. Having therefore exact coast-lines,
or boundaries, we can avail ourselves more readily of much
Spanish interior detail; but it is exceedingly difficult to
get at the _original_ works.

A very neatly engraved and _apparently_ complete map of
the Isthmus has been lately published at New Orleans by
Dr Autenreith, but in reality it is only a copy of Spanish
documents and recent surveys made by England; it is not an
original work. There are in this country at present more
materials for a map of Darien than exist elsewhere. Bauza
brought copies of all the Spanish-American documents to this
country, with many original maps; but there is still a great
extent, nearly all the interior of the Isthmus of Darien,
unexamined by the eye of a surveyor.

In the last century (1780), a Spanish party of five
engineers and surveyors, under Donoso, escorted by a large
body of troops,[XXXIV-56] was stopped by the Indians in the
Chucunaque River, and obliged to return without executing
their orders to survey the region near Caledonian harbor;
and _this_ was the _last_ attempt by Spain, or by _any one_,
to make a regular survey of the interior of that part of the
Isthmus.

In the valuable collection of Mr Arrowsmith are many Spanish
documents, among which one plan, dated 1774, shows all the
Spanish establishments, military and religious, as well as
mining, at that date, in Darien. Others show details of a
previous century, and a few give the earliest settlements of
the 16th century.

[Sidenote: INJURY TO TRUTHFUL GEOGRAPHY.]

And here allow one word to be said of the injury to
_truthful_ geography, caused by copying all materials without
acknowledgment, or by adding imaginary topography without
explanation. The map by Dr Autenreith has much the appearance
of an exact survey; there is no distinction made between
those parts for which there is authority and those which are
partly the results of imagination (the interior hill-work).

The public in general being unaware of the _authorities_ for
a map, the mere copyist is often supposed to be the _author_
of the work. Maps or charts that are not original ought
always to show from what data they have been compiled.

In order to assist in now forming a correct opinion of
Darien, a retrospective historical glance at a few points is
necessary.

The first settlement in all America was founded in 1509 at
the mouth of the Atrato. It was called Santa Maria de la
Antigua. The next settlement on the Isthmus was at Acla, or
Agla, in 1514, a few miles inland[XXXIV-57] from that port
or bay now famed in history and romance, called by Paterson
Caledonian Harbor. It was from Agla that Balboa crossed to
the South Sea, and that the earliest expeditions to Peru were
despatched.

In 1532 these two settlements were abandoned, and their
population transferred to Nombre de Dios and Panamá. This is
said to have been done on account of the unhealthy site of
Santa Maria de la Antigua, surrounded by marshes and mangrove
jungles; but why Agla was abandoned does not appear, except
by Paterson's narrative, whence it may be inferred that the
settlers there were harassed by the Indians, and were too far
from the sea-shore. Besides which, as intercourse increased
with places on the Pacific coasts it became, no doubt, more
convenient to have a principal rendezvous on the southern
shore more accessible from the Pacific.

In those early days so famed was Darien for gold, that the
province was called 'Golden Castile'[XXXIV-58] (Castilla del
Oro). It was the principal portion of that 'tierra firme,' so
famed afterward as the 'Spanish Main,' the real 'El Dorado'
to which Sir Walter Raleigh went in 1517-18, Sir Francis
Drake in 1557, troops of buccaneers in the 17th century, and
the Scotch colony in 1698.

Repeated aggressions on this auriferous district, where
abundance of gold was procured by black slave labor, after
the aborigines had been diminished in numbers by oppressive
cruelties, induced Spain to close and abandon the mines for
a time (early in the 18th century)—even those famous ones
in the mountains of Espíritu Santo near Cana, from which
alone more gold went through Panamá in a year than from all
the other mines of America taken together. These Cana mines
were sacked in 1702 and 1712 by English, in 1724 by French,
and by the Indians in 1727. Nevertheless, in 1774 the mining
operations were again going on, having been reëstablished a
few years previously.

When Cana was taken by the expedition (as narrated by
Davis) sent from Jamaica by Colonel Beckford in 1702, there
were about '900 houses' (probably most of them mere huts);
therefore, the population could hardly have been less than
3,000 at that time. From 1719 to 1727 there was a great and
general resistance of the Indians, who attacked the Spaniards
in all directions, and drove them out of all the detached
settlements. Some years afterward peace was made (in 1740),
missions of the Jesuits advanced among the natives, and by
their aid not only much topographical knowledge was acquired,
but Spanish settlements in the interior were renewed and
mines worked. But the Indians again rebelled; therefore,
small forts were reëstablished at Yavisa, Molineca, and Santa
Maria Real, with a new post (in 1780) at _El Príncipe_, or
Ocubti, from which a road was cut by Arisa, leading toward
Caledonian Harbor. The fort El Príncipe does not appear in
the Spanish MS. map of 1774; it was built about 1785, when
the Spaniards had again advanced into the interior Indian
territory.

In 1788 Milla de Santa Ella, an officer of Spain, went from
Caledonian Harbor to El Príncipe direct by the road then
recently opened by the Spaniards; but as he did not think it
advisable to return the same way, he went down the Savana,
and up the Chucunaque to the Tubuganti and Chueti rivers,
whence he crossed to his station at Caledonian Harbor by the
same route, undoubtedly, that Paterson traversed on his visit
to the Indian great chief at Ponca in 1698.

The examination of no traveller, except Humboldt, previous
to 1850, induced a belief that a canal might be cut directly
through Darien. Dr Cullen's personal inspection of Caledonian
Harbor, and of the Savana River, with their neighborhood,
added to the information he obtained orally and by reading,
led him to the conclusion that the lowest summit level
between those places did not exceed 300 or 400 feet, while it
might be very much less. Feeling so confident that a lower
level existed, he went there again to explore; but while
collecting further information and arranging preliminaries,
at Bogotá, the seat of government in New Granada, Mr Gisborne
(an engineer employed by Messrs Fox and Henderson) made short
excursions from each side of the Isthmus, which satisfied him
that the lowest summit level does not exceed 160 feet above
the sea.

According to the most authentic map of this district, Mr
Arrowsmith's last printed, not yet published, the distance
across in a direct line—between deep water on each side—is
about 33 miles. The windings of a canal may require nearly
a third more, and if so, the whole distance to be canalized
is about 40 miles—_a shorter distance than can be found
elsewhere_.

Mr Gisborne's examination of the principal features of this
line across Darien, however incomplete, is a material advance
toward certainty. We have his two bases of operations,
at Caledonian Harbor and San Miguel (entrance), nearly
determined by recent government surveys, and we have his
character as a guaranty for the value of those details which
he has given in his _Report_. There may be a few miles
of distance to settle, and there may be doubts whether
the river near his watershed, or summit level, called by
him _Caledonia_, may not be another river, perhaps the
Chucunaque, or one of its tributaries; and moreover, that the
range of heights supposed by him to separate those rivers is
not truly placed, while his river Caledonia (otherwise the
Golden River, or Aglatomate) winds through a more northerly
area. But these are trifles compared with his barometric
measurement of the summit level, and his own overlapping
eye-views of the country which he did not traverse.

If indeed the mouth of the Savana be not accurately laid
down, or assumed by him, if it be much farther west than he
supposed, his surveys may not have overlapped; and he may
have looked across two different plains; in which case there
may be yet another ridge or watershed beneath the rivers
which he actually touched. The expedition employed by our
government to survey this coast did not examine the mouths
of rivers running into San Miguel. Only the western part of
that gulf was examined in continuing the coast line. Hence
the position of the Savana may be less accurately known than
is generally supposed.

[Sidenote: A HASTY SCRAMBLE.]

It is hardly necessary to remark here that to make
independent observations for latitude, longitude, distance,
and accurate triangulation requires more time and instruments
than can be carried in a hasty scramble through a wild
country.

Mr Gisborne's examination of the geology and mineralogy is
valuable. Far from discovering any remarkable impediments
to cutting a canal, he states that there are _no_ particular
engineering difficulties with respect to the _ground_; that
there is much stratified shale-rock, easy to quarry, and fit
to line a canal. There is abundance of fine timber. Mangrove
forests, rather than jungles, surround the waters of the
gulf. Densely matted underwood follows on drier ground;
and then, on the elevated country, there are magnificent
timber-trees very little encumbered by underwood.

Having thus endeavored to take a general view of this
question, we may perhaps ask ourselves what are the greatest
impediments to the excavation of a canal—impediments
exceeding those that would attend any corresponding work in
Europe.

Supposing that political arrangements are satisfactorily
completed, the claims of other parties compromised or
barred, and adequate funds disposable, the only peculiar
and important impediments will be two—the natives and the
climate. The native or Indian question, as connected with
the independence and rights of the aborigines, should be
considered deliberately. That the Indians may be overawed
and conciliated by proper management, there is no doubt;
but their reasonable claims must be satisfied, irrespective
of all jurisdiction assumed over them by New Granada—a
jurisdiction which the natives of Darien repudiate. Fair
dealing, while an overpowering force is in sight, will
prevent any attempt to have recourse to arms, or to molest
the parties employed about a canal, and would therefore
obviate any irritating and probably prolonged guerrilla
hostilities.

It is estimated that there are about 5,000 independent
Indians on the Isthmus east of Costa Rica. Of these, it may
be presumed that there are not 2,000 capable of bearing arms;
a small number when dispersed in the highlands between Costa
Rica and Chocó, but quite enough to molest small parties of
workmen very seriously.

For defensive purposes, as well as for the general order
and discipline of very large bodies of laborers, in a
wild country, some degree of military organization and
an acquiescence in military discipline would seem to be
indispensable.

Whether convicts might be employed advantageously may be a
subject for grave consideration. In clearing the wood of a
tropical forest, and exposing ground to the sun's rays for
the first time, much pestilential sickness may be caused,
as has been repeatedly proved (at Pulo Penang, Fernando Po,
and many other places). It cannot be doubted that convicts
would be peculiarly liable to the influence of such diseases,
and therefore it might be unwise to make such an experiment.
Natives of tropical climates, or Chinese, would probably be
able to stand the malaria of newly cleared ground far better
than Europeans.

The most formidable, because permanent and irremediable,
obstacle is unquestionably the climate. There is no doubt
that rain prevails about two thirds of the year, even on the
higher grounds of Darien; while it is no less certain that
in the gulf of San Miguel (where mangrove jungles bound low,
muddy shores, and the great fall of tide exposes extensive
mud-banks) there is a continued succession of rains, more
or less heavy, except during short intervals. Examine any
travellers' accounts, read their narratives—they themselves
bear witness to the undeniable fact, although in _general_
terms they may say there is not _so much_ rain, and it is not
_so_ unhealthy, as has been supposed.

Many Europeans state they did not suffer, although much
and continuously exposed to the rains and heat. Active and
temperate men have not found the climate very detrimental.
Persons who have had many years' experience there assert
that care and regularity will ward off such attacks of
fever or dysentery as are common among thoughtless Europeans
unaccustomed to tropical regions.

It is possible that the great rise of tide on the south side
of the Isthmus may tend to purify the air on its shores, and
this effect, in such a place as San Miguel Gulf, may be very
beneficial.