THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 117 



more rapid transit by railroad, over that of a ship 

 canal, will not repay the cost of discharging and re- 

 lading cargoes, inasmuch as the means are already 

 on the Pacific for re-shipment to any destined port. 

 With this view of the subject, the Panama railroad 

 was undertaken, and having been frequently alluded 

 to in these pages, it becomes necessary, in order to 

 embrace all points of interest to the public, to speak 

 more definitely of it. 



The Company w^as organized on the second* day 

 of July, 1819, by the election of a board of directors, 

 and is represented by John L. Stephens, William 

 H. Aspinwall, and Henry Chauncey. John L. Ste- 

 phens was elected president of the board, and Francis 

 Spies was appointed secretary. Mr. Stephens ha$ 

 been, emphatically, the pioneer in this enterprise, 

 and the duties of his office could not have been 

 placed in better hands, not only from his thorough 

 knowledge of the country, and the habits of the peo- 

 ple he had to deal with officially, as the representa- 

 tive of the Company, in obtaining a grant for the 

 road ; but for his accurate judgment, liberal policy, 

 and untiring devotion to the interests of the work. 



The company thus formed proceeded at once to 

 direct full and careful explorations and surveys of 

 the country, in order to decide upon the best route 

 for the construction of the road. About one year 

 and a half was consumed in these investigations, 

 which finally resulted in the selection of the route 

 from Manzanilla Island in Navy Bay to Panama on 

 the Pacific, as laid down on the map accompanying 



