ISTHMUS OF PANAMA. 



241 



of the isthmus might be realized, even if no 

 other more eligible line should be discovered. 



The difference of level between Cruces and 

 the Atlantic is from 210 to 220 feet.* The 

 highest part of the ridge^ over which the road 

 passes from Cruces to the Pacific, is about 500 

 feet above the level of the sea. From a hill 

 above Cruces, distant four or five miles from 

 the village, both oceans are visible. Possibly 

 this eminence may be the one from whence 

 Nunez de Balboa first beheld the South Sea. 

 The Isthmus of Panama, from sea to sea, in 

 a direct line, is twenty-nine geographical, or 

 thirty-four statute, miles. In some places it is 

 said to be even less. 



The road between Panama and Cruces is so 



bad and so difficult that it is hardly worth 



repair. It would be more expedient to make 



a new road lower down in the valleys, which is 



practicable, or from near the junction of the 



Trinidad with the Chagres, Lloyd proposed 



two lines from thence for the construction of a 



railroad. One to Chorrera, a town on the 



river of that name, distant twenty miles from 



* Vide note at the end of this chapter. 

 VOL. II. M 



