360 Steam Navigation to the Pacific, Sc. 
coal was shipped in what are called here chequas, made of grass. 
What influence they may have had in producing spontaneous 
combustion it is not in my power to say, and I should be much 
obliged if you could account to me for its spontaneous ignition. I 
cannot at present make any large deposit of this coal until I make 
some experiments, and for this object I shall load one or two 
small. vessels with the coal, and watch it carefully, keeping it free 
from any vegetable matter, and from water, and giving it all the 
ventilation in my power; it is a great drawback upon my opera- 
tions at present. On board the steamers we have iron bunkers 
for about ten or eleven days’ fuel, and it causes me no anxiety in 
putting it on board. I had this arrangement of our bunkers made 
with a view of using this coal. 
On my voyage south, I found at Valdivia and Chiloe the same 
strata of coal, and ina line of coast of more than four hundred miles 
there does not appear to exist the slightest difference in quality. 
It. is perhaps worthy of remark, that the coal found at Boca del 
Toro, on the Atlantic side of the isthmus of Panama, and near 
Cherokee on the Pacific side of the isthmus, is the same to all ap- 
pearance as that found in this district. 
I am at present mining about fifty tons a week, but hope in the 
course of a few days to open some more mouths, and mine 0 
much farther than I am doing at present ; my only fear is that in 
sinking a shaft I shall be obliged to contend with a large quantity 
of water. As it isa new thing and a work in which I have ne 
knowledge, I am obliged to adopt a common sense view of it, and 
work on as well as I can, until miners can be sent me from Eng- 
The cost at the pit’s mouth will not exceed two d 
perton; should I get it lower down, it will be necessary to cleat 
it of water by a steam engine, which will render it somewhat 
dearer. Notwithstanding our operations are paralyzed at present, 
I feel persuaded that by the end of this year our line of inter- 
course to Panama will be completed, and our communication 
with North America and Europe greatly facilitated. | 
I have no doubt that the coal beds here will bring about soonet 
the steam intercourse westward from Europe to Australasia : this 
has been a favorite plan of mine for several years, and I hope that 
the arrangements which I made before I left England, patroni2e" 
by Sir Edward Parry, Captain Fitzroy, Mr. Montague and pope 
. 
Sy aol 
