Chapter I: Front Matter

Transcriber’s Notes

Text printed in italics has been transcribed _between underscores_,
bold face text =between equal signs=, and underlined text ~between
tildes~. Small capitals have been replaced with ALL CAPITALS.

More Notes may be found at the end of this text.

NOTE: From its Atlantic end at Colon, the Canal runs for 10 miles _due south_; then its general course is to the eastward into the Pacific. This is quite contrary to the popular conception of its general direction and is due to the fact that the Isthmus, at the Canal, bends to the eastward, so that the Pacific Ocean at this point is south and east of the Atlantic, as shown by the small insert map at lower left hand corner of the main map above.]

PANAMA
And the Canal
IN PICTURE AND PROSE

A complete story of Panama, as well as the history, purpose
and promise of its world-famous canal--the most
gigantic engineering undertaking since
the dawn of time

_Approved by leading officials connected with the great enterprise_

By WILLIS J. ABBOT
Author of The Story of Our Navy, American Merchant Ships and Sailors,
Etc.

Water-colors by
E. J. READ and GORDON GRANT

Profusely illustrated by over 600 unique and attractive photographs
taken expressly for this book by our special staff

Published in English and Spanish by
SYNDICATE PUBLISHING COMPANY
LONDON NEW YORK TORONTO
HAVANA BUENOS AIRES
1913

Copyright 1913, by F. E. Wright

CONTENTS

PAGE

INTRODUCTION 5

CHAPTER I. THE FRONT DOOR TO PANAMA 9

Antilla, a New Sugar Port--The Island of Jamaica--Kingston, The
Colonial Capital--Women as Burden Bearers--Characteristics of the
Native Jamaican--Life of the Negro Woman.

CHAPTER II. CRISTOBAL-COLON; AND THE PANAMA RAILROAD 23

The Approach to Colon--The Architecture and Population of
Colon--Railroad Building in a Swamp--The French Come to Colon--The
Beautiful Roosevelt Avenue--Colon Streets in the Early Days--The
Varied Population of Colon--San Blas Indians and Their Cayucas--The
Ghastly Story of the Chinese--Cost and Charges of the Panama Railroad.

CHAPTER III. NOMBRE DE DIOS, PORTO BELLO AND SAN LORENZO 45

The Harbor of Porto Bello--The First Appearance of Balboa--Early
Indian Life in Panama--The Futile Indian Uprising--The First Sight of
the Pacific--The Beginning of Balboa’s Downfall--The Traitor in
Balboa’s Camp--The Character of Vasco Nunez de Balboa--Panama a Link
in Philippine Trade--Flush Times in Porto Bello--The Piratical Raid of
Sir Francis Drake--The Futile Attack on the Treasure Train--The
Appearance of Morgan the Buccaneer--The Pillage of Porto Bello.

CHAPTER IV. SAN LORENZO AND PANAMA 75

The Waterway to San Lorenzo--Approach to San Lorenzo Castle--A Rip Van
Winkle of a Fortress--The Assault of the Buccaneers--The End of Porto
Bello and San Lorenzo.

CHAPTER V. THE SACK OF OLD PANAMA 87

The Advance of the Buccaneers--The Banquet before Panama--The
Buccaneers Triumphant in Battle--The Pirates’ Orgy of Plunder--How
Morgan Plundered His Pirates--The Scene of Morgan’s Great Exploit.

CHAPTER VI. REVOLUTIONS AND THE FRENCH RÉGIME 101

The Scottish Settlement in Panama--Disasters Beset the Scotch
Colonists--The Repeated Revolutions of Panama--Early Projectors of a
Panama Canal--Sea Level or Lock Canal--A Relic of the French
Days--Some of the Finished Work of the French--The Financial
Aberrations of De Lesseps--Yellow Fever’s Toll of French Lives--The
Value of the French Work.

CHAPTER VII. THE UNITED STATES BEGINS WORK 123

Why Panama Wanted Independence--Our Share in the Revolution--A
Revolution Without a Single Battle--Treaty Rights of the United
States--Illustrations of the Magnitude of the Canal Work--The Passage
of the Canal Locks--Spectacular Features of Gatun Lake--The
Abandonment of Canal Towns--The Pacific Terminus of the Canal--The
Forts at the Pacific Entrance.

CHAPTER VIII. THE FORMATIVE PERIOD 147

The Beginning of Work under Wallace--The Absentee Commissioners and
the Red Tape--The Successful War with Yellow Fever--The Change from
Wallace to Stevens--The Varying Estimates of the Canal Cost--The
Resignation of Engineer Stevens.

CHAPTER IX. COL. GOETHALS AT THE THROTTLE 161

What the Colonel Meant by Orders--The Colonel’s Sunday Morning
Court--The Autocratic Power of Col. Goethals--The Panama Work Shows
Governmental Efficiency.

CHAPTER X. GATUN DAM AND LOCKS 171

Atlantic Beginning of the Canal--The Plan of the Gatun Dam--How the
Chagres Current was Blocked--The Spillway, The Nerve Center of Gatun
Lake--The Uses of the Electric Power of Gatun--The Colossal Concrete
Work at Gatun--The Motive Power of the Lock Gates.

CHAPTER XI. GATUN LAKE AND THE CHAGRES RIVER 187

The Native Affection for the Chagres--The Indispensable Native
Cayuca--Keeping the Record of the Chagres--Cruces in Its Day of
Greatness--Animal Life on the Chagres River--A Typical Foreign Laborer
on The Zone.

CHAPTER XII. THE CULEBRA CUT 201

The Great Problem of the Slides--The Physical Characteristics of the
Slide--Some Peculiar Features of the Slides--The Explosive Experience
of Miguel--The Gorgeous Coloring of Culebra--The Perilous Passage of
Culebra Cut--The almost Human Work of the Steam Shovel--The Work of
the Steam Shovellers--The almost Indispensable Track Shifter--The
Industrious Ants of Panama--The End of the Canal at Balboa.

CHAPTER XIII. THE CITY OF PANAMA 224

The First Appearance of Panama City--The Popular Panama
Lottery--Panama’s Cost of Living is High--Scenes in the Panama
Market--The Prevalent Temper of the Panamanians--Why Americans are not
Popular--American Sentiment on the Isthmus--The Public Buildings of
Panama--The Stout Walls of Panama City--Scenes of the Mardi Gras
Carnival--Cock-Fighting and the Liquor Trade--In the Ancient Chiriqui
Prison--The Many Churches of Panama--Panama Clubs and Open Air Life.

CHAPTER XIV. THE SANITATION OF THE ZONE 253

Beginning the Warfare on Mosquitoes--Methods of the Anti-Mosquito
Crusade--Some Humors of the Mosquito War--How the Streams are
Sterilized--Results of the War on Mosquitoes--The Two Great Canal
Commission Hospitals--The System of Free Medical Treatment--The
Pleasant Village of Taboga--The Sanitarium and Leper Colony.

CHAPTER XV. THE REPUBLIC OF PANAMA 273

The Doubtful Soil of Panama--The Simple Study of Native Life--The
Building of the Bridegroom’s House--Labor and Land Titles in
Panama--Agriculture and Temperature in Panama--Rubber and Cocoanuts
Offer Possibilities--The Sport of Shooting Alligators--A Colossal
Agricultural Enterprise--The Banana as an Empire Builder--Why the
American Flag is Rare--Getting the Bananas to Market--David and the
Cattle Country--Gold from the Indian Tombs--Efforts for a System of
Industrial Education.

CHAPTER XVI. THE INDIANS OF PANAMA 305

Marriage Customs of the Indians--The Many Tribes of Panama
Indians--Characteristics of the San Blas Tribe--An
Exclusive Aboriginal People--Family Quarters of the San Blas--Customs
of the Chocos and Guaymies--Peculiarities of the Darien Indians.

CHAPTER XVII. SOCIAL LIFE ON THE CANAL ZONE 320

The Population of the Canal Zone--The Temptations to Matrimony on the
Zone--The Gold and Silver Employees--The Object Lesson of the Canal
Zone--Why It is not at all “Socialistic”--In a Typical Canal Zone
Dwelling--Some Features of Zone Housekeeping--Prices of Food at the
Commissary--The Complicated Social Life of the Zone--Church Work and
the Y. M. C. A.

CHAPTER XVIII. LABOR AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ZONE 341

The Colossal Business of the Commissary--The Task of Feeding Forty
Nationalities--The Stern Suppression of the Social Class--Evil Effect
of the Abolition of the Canteen--Some Figures Concerning the
Commissary Service--The International Agreement on the Commissary--The
Police System of the Zone--The School System of the Zone--Agricultural
Possibilities on the Zone--Future Possibilities of the Canal Zone.

CHAPTER XIX. FORTIFICATIONS, TOLLS, COMMERCE AND QUARANTINE 363

Why Fortify the Canal at All?--The Suez Canal no Parallel--Some
Details of the Fortifications--The Mobile Force on the Zone--The
Sufficiency of Fortifications Planned--Effect of the Canal on Trade
Routes--The Railroad Fight on the Canal--The Canal and the Flag--The
First Immediate Advantage of the Canal--The Much-mooted Question of
Tolls--Our Trade with Pacific-Latin America--Time Saved by Panama
Canal Route--The Possible Commerce of the Canal--Some Phases of Our
Foreign Trade--The Need of Our Own Ships and Banks--What Our Merchant
Marine is--The Grave Question of Quarantine.