360 Steam Navigation to the Pacific, S^c. 



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 in a line of coast of more than four hundred miles 

 there does not appear to exist the slightest diflference 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 in 

 much farther than I am doing at present ; my only fear is that in 

 sinking a shaft 1 shall be obliged to contend with a large quantity 

 of water. As it is a new thing and a work in which I have no 

 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- 

 land. The cost at the pit's mouth will not exceed two dollars 

 per ton ; should I get it lower down, it will be necessary to clear 

 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 sooner 

 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, patronized 

 by Sir Edward Parry, Captain Fitzroy, Mr. Montague and others, 

 will soon go into effect. Perhaps the greatest change ever effected 





