66 KELLEY. [April 28, 1856. 



survey made. The vast quantity of water in the rainy season had been com- 

 plained of. A large quantity of rain, he thought, would most of all favour 

 Mr. Kelley's project, as it would serve to maintain the streams of the rivers. 

 Mr. Walker referred to the Caledonian Canal, of which the great repairs 

 and improvements made after its original formation were done under his 

 direction, as in some degree a parallel case to that of the Atrato and Truando, 

 and also to the proposed junction of the Pacific and Atlantic through the Lake 

 of Nicaragua, on which he had, with Colonel Aldrich, r.e., reported to the 

 British Government. 



Mb. Kelley, in answer to some questions proposed by Mr. Walker, re- 

 marked that an excavation of only 120 feet in height, or 90 feet above high 

 water, would be required for the tunnel, as vessels would strike their topmasts ; 

 also, that the mean inclination of the Truando was 3 inches per mile, and not 

 a foot, as had been stated. The sectional area of the Atrato, at the junction 

 of the Truando, was 350 yards broad and 58 feet deep. He proposed to 

 deepen the bed of the Truando 15 feet, and to convert it into a canal to run 

 into the Pacific. In his plans he had calculated that all the water for the canal 

 might be derived from the Atrato, although the valley of the Truando abounds 

 in lagoons and swamps from which much water might be obtained. 



Mr. Peacock, f.r.g.s., had met at Buenaventura, Admiral lllingworth, of 

 the Bolivian Navy, who had travelled on the San Juan. He had ascertained 

 that the " Arrastadera" (Raspadura) Canal, said to have been formed by 

 a curate at the end of the last century (who died in the " Inquisition " 

 at Carthagena), really did exist, and that goods had been sent by it from 

 one ocean to the other. This gentleman had also stated that the Napipi 

 could be reached from the Pacific after crossing a small elevation, probably 

 not more than 100 feet, by following the windings of the valleys between the 

 mountains ; and that, in the Atrato, there was plenty of water for the largest 

 ships. The bar, at the mouth of the river, might be easily removed, or, what 

 would be still better, a canal might be cut from deep water to deep water, as, 

 if the bar were removed, the mouth would probably soon silt up again. 

 He thought that the importance of the work could not be over-estimated. In 

 his opinion, the climate was the only great obstacle to success : the valley of 

 the Atrato had been called the Valley of Death, so far as Europeans were con- 

 cerned. Panama is comparatively healthy, yet very many had lost their lives 

 in the construction of the railroad. 



Mr. Webster, f.r.s., thought that there had been some misunderstanding 

 with regard to the levelling. The level from Humboldt Bay to the Truando 

 had been ascertained by means of a spirit-level. In answer to Mr. Walker, as 

 to whether this route were intended to exclude the Nicaragua scheme, he 

 would say. No ; Mr. Kelley had not brought it into contrast with other 

 routes such as those of Panama and Nicaragua. The route Mr. Kelley had 

 proposed was essentially a canal route, and the important question is 

 whether any better route can be devised. The mouth of the Napipi ap- 

 pears to be about 70 miles farther up the Atrato than the mouth of the 

 Truando. Now, it would plainly be desirable, in order to secure the greatest 

 depth of water, not to ascend the river too far. Therefore, at first sight, the 

 proposed route is the most practicable. The tunnel required had been objected 

 to ; yet, what was a tunnel of 3 miles, compared with the tunnels on some of 

 our railroads? It is not quite fair to contrast this scheme with railway 

 schemes ; but the comparison of work to be done was favourable to Mr. Kelley's 

 route, as that would involve a removal of only 147,000,000 cubic feet of 

 earth, whereas the Panama railroad required the removal of 226,000,000 cubic 

 feet. The Nicaragua route, again, required several locks, and the works on 

 that would be truly gigantic when compared with the route he proposed. He 

 thought that the alarm at the drying up of the Atrato might serve for an 

 objection by the engineer of a rival railway ; but when it is knosvn what such 



