PANAMA CANAL. 



to carry out the undertaking would be less 

 than had been estimated. There was more 

 earth and less rock to be removed than had 

 been supposed, and the rock was less difficult 

 to deal with. In addition to the final surveys, 

 much was accomplished in the way of collect- 

 ing machinery and supplies, establishing quar- 

 ters for workmen, and getting laborers together. 

 M. Blanchet succumbed to the climate and the 

 effects of overwork, and died on the Isthmus 

 in November. M. Roux, who was the chief in 

 charge of the sounding and testing of the ma- 

 terial to be excavated, returned to Paris in the 

 autumn. The following extracts are from a 

 statement made by him to a correspondent on 

 the 23d of November : 



I find that from Colon to Tiger Hill the route adopt- 

 ed for the canal runs almost entirely through alluvial 

 soil. Here and there you have volcanic tufa, however. 

 From Tiger Hill to S*an Pablo we have conglomerate 

 soil, clays, etc. Between San Pablo and Matachin wo 

 coma to the alluvial formation of the Chagres, whence 

 for some distance the level of the district traversed is 

 very little above that of the sea twenty-five metres, or 

 say eighty feet at most. At Matachin the canal will run 

 through the most difficult part of the route. Here we 

 have to do with solid rock a most characteristic spec- 

 imen of which is met with close to the cataract of the 

 Kio Obispo. The rock is hardest just beyond the cat- 

 aract on the Panama side. Next comes more clayey 

 tufa, overlying the dolorite of the Serro Culebra^ the 

 highest point on the canal route. From Matachin to 

 Oulebra the cuttings will be extremely deep in parts 

 as deep as eighty-seven metres (roughly three hun- 

 dred feet), and hereabout we have been brought face 

 to face witli a most difficult problem perhaps the 

 most difficult we have had to deal with what inclina- 

 tion should the canal-banks have ? This point has 

 had my most careful consideration. On a superficial 

 view of the question it would seem natural to cut 

 down in as nearly perpendicular a lino as possible. 

 Indeed, many engineers some of them Americans 

 pressed us for a summary settlcmsnt of the difficulty 

 in that sense. It seemed to me, however, in the high- 

 est degree foolish and reckless to give so grave a mat- 

 ter a solution without previous investigation of tho 

 most serious kind. A perpendicular or nearly per- 

 pendicular cutting would, of course, have great ad- 

 vantages, if it could be made, for it is evident that tho 

 slightest additional inclination given to tho banks 

 must enormously increase the quantity of rock to be 

 removed, and therefore the labor and expense. Nev- 

 ertheless it was decided that the local formation should 

 be examined minutely from the summit to tho very 

 bed of the projected canal. I feared that the upper 

 strata of rock might be found to rest on a rotten and 

 unstable foundation. In reply to the suggestions 

 made me I said, " Let us see whether this rock has a 

 stable basis." In tho sequel my doubts were shown 

 to have been reasonable. At about one hundred feet 

 from the rocky surface I cama to tufa, which, though 

 originally clavey, had gradually become sandy and 

 aquiferous(*<i4Z&s agylutin.es and aquiferes). Now, had 

 we listened to the advice of our over-hasty enirineerii ig 

 friends and decided to cut straight banks, tlio super- 

 stratum of rocks, restins: on a sandy foundation, must 

 have fallen into the bed of the canal and blocked it. 

 "We shall therefore have to mtikcthe banks slope con- 

 siderably. 



The Panama Canal Congress was much exercised 

 by the numerous and periodic inundations of the Cha- 

 gres. To oppose them it was sviggestcd that an arti- 

 ficial bar ray e should be constructed at Gamboa. It 

 has been proposed that the enormous amount of clay 

 at Culebra should bo transferred to Gamboa. Being 

 water-tight, it would make an admirable barrier, and 

 no masonry would be needed. The engineers incline 



Panama it will run through solid pyroxenie rook and 

 sandstone tufa, such as you may see on the liovedus 

 promenade at Panama. 



As regards the actual execution of our plans, wo 

 have as yet not done very much. But the ground lias 

 been thoroughly prepared, and we shall now go ahead 

 fast. Oi>erations have been begun on the Colon side 

 of the Isthmus. The excavators are at work,and work- 

 shops have been erected for fitting together and re- 

 pairing the immense quantity of machinery we have 

 ordered. The excavators and drags selected by Messrs. 

 Couvreux and Hersent are of the most powerful kind. 

 The drags will be capable of removing from eighteen 

 hundred to two thousand cubic metres of subaqueous 

 alluvial matter daily. As regards the rock, my idea 

 was to use the compressed-air perforators employed so 

 successfully at Frcggio, the Prato, the Mont Cenis, 

 and the St. Gothard. Nothing is yet definitively 

 settled about these perforators. We nave not picrceU 

 through any nick. Up to the present we luive been 

 busied with preliminary investigations, soundings, 

 hydrographic surveys; etc. 



M. Roux thought the work could be com- 

 pleted in seven years, but much depended on 

 the health of the workmen. The climate was 

 not so unfavorable as had been reported. Yel- 

 low fever was not epidemic on the Isthmus, 

 though there were local fevers which were 

 more or less dangerous, but not sufficiently 

 prevalent or unavoidable to threaten serious 

 embarrassment. There were at that time from 

 1,500 to 2,000 workmen in the employ of tho 

 company; tho majority of them natives ne- 

 groes and Indians. There were also some 

 blacks from Jamaica, some Chinese, and a num- 

 ber of Europeans. 



About the first of June a majority of the 

 stock of the Panama Railroad Company was 

 purchased by the canal company, and arrange- 

 ments were made for absorbing tin- whole of 

 it on certain terms, with the con-a-nt of the in- 

 dividual holders. The nominal amount of tho 

 stock of the railroad company was 7.<<>0,000, 

 but it had been paying a dividend ot'2i>pT 

 cent, and the shares had been quoted as high :is 

 $275. The total cost to tho canal company of 

 securing possession of the railway property 

 was about $20,000,000. 



The prospect of a successful prosecution of 

 tho canal enterprise has raised the question of 

 its relation to tho public interests of various 

 commercial nations. Tho original contract 

 made by tho Colombian Government with tho 

 Civil International Society of the Intcrotvanic 

 Canal, whoso rights and privileges have been 

 transferred to tlie Intel-oceanic Canal Company, 

 contains the following provision, ron-itituting 

 Article V: "The (iovermnent of the republic 

 declares neutral in all tine* tho ports of both 

 extremities of the canal and the waters of tho 

 latter from ocean to ocean ; and oOMMneilftly, 

 incase of war between other nations, the tran- 

 sit through the canal will not be interrupted 

 by this motive; tin- m.-reantili- v -< N ninl 

 the people of all nations of tho world will bo 

 permitted to enter tho said ports without bo- 



