Romance of Panama Canal 157 



Culebra Cut an obstacle that seemed so 

 terrific to the French engineers, and by no 

 means easy for their successors. When in 

 progress the work was constantly held up 

 and the men and machinery threatened by 

 terrific landslides. One of these deposited 

 thirty million cubic yards of rock and earth 

 upon the excavation which had been pre- 

 pared. With the landslide went houses and 

 machinery. It took two years to clear up 

 this trifle, and held up the canal to that 

 extent. 



The Cut is nine miles in length, and the 

 whole of its course had to be prepared with 

 the greatest care; even so there were many 

 occasions in which the water disappeared 

 as if by magic and there were curious 

 hillocks in the middle of the course, up- 

 heavals which had not been there the day 

 before, and were doubtless caused by sub- 

 terranean pressure. Another set of locks is 

 now encountered and these lower the ship 

 into still another lake that of Miraflores, 

 an expanse of water less in size but of 

 greater beauty than Gatun Lake. After 



