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PANAMA AND THE CANAL 
 TO-DAY 
 
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i 
 
 PANAMA AND 
 
 THE CANAL 
 
 TO-DAY 
 
 AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT 
 
 OF THE CANAL PROJECT FROM THE EARLI- 
 EST TIMES WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO 
 THE ENTERPRISES OF THE FRENCH COM- 
 PANY AND THE UNITED STATES, WITH A 
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE WATER- 
 WAY AS IT WILL BE ULTIMATELY CON- 
 STRUCTED:" TOGETHER WITH A BRIEF 
 HISTORY OF THE COUNTRY AND THE FIRST 
 COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF ITS PHYSI- 
 CAL FEATURES AND NATURAL RESOURCES. 
 
 BY 
 
 FORBES LINDSAY 
 
 Author of " Panama, the Isthmus and the Canal," etc. 
 
 WITH FIFTY -THHEE ILLUSTRATIONS FROM RECENT 
 PHOTOGRAPHS, AND FIVE MAPS 
 
 tftCew 'Revised Edition 
 
 BOSTON * * 
 AND COMPANY * 
 
 L. C. PAGE 
 MDCCCCXII 
 
Copyright, 1910, 
 By L. C. Page & Company 
 
 (nJCOBPOBATED) 
 
 Copyright, 1912, 
 By L. C. Page & Company 
 
 (INCOKPOBATED) 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 
 A 
 
 First Edition, October, 1910 
 New Revised Edition, January, 1912 
 
 Electr otyped and Printed by 
 THE COLONIAL PRESS 
 C. H. Simcmde & Co., Boston, U.S.A. 
 
DEDICATED 
 TO MY FRIEND 
 
 3. U, ©urfjam 
 
 IN APPRECIATION OP HIS STERLING CHARACTER 
 AND AMIABLE PERSONALITY 
 
PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION 
 
 Wobk on the Canal has moved with such 
 rapidity during the twelve months since this 
 volume first appeared, that the end is clearly 
 in sight and the Administration is looking be- 
 yond construction to operation. The world at 
 large joins in this prospective view with the 
 keenest interest. There is a wide-spread de- 
 sire to know the conditions under which the 
 waterway will be operated, the facilities it will 
 offer to traffic, and the charges it will impose 
 upon vessels using it. Whilst these questions 
 cannot be settled until Congress has taken ac- 
 tion upon them, it is possible to give a statement 
 of the plans and the recommendations of the 
 Canal Administration in regard to them. An 
 additional chapter in the present edition has 
 been devoted largely to the subject. 
 
 The year just passed has witnessed a marked 
 increase in the interest displayed in Panama 
 as a field for investment and enterprise. The 
 hundreds of enquiries received by the author 
 
vi Preface 
 
 during the period in question are evidence of 
 extensive desire on the part of American citi- 
 zens for information regarding the natural re- 
 sources and industrial possibilities of the coun- 
 try. Not a few of the writers contemplate set- 
 tlement on the Isthmus, though hardly any of 
 them have even the most superficial knowledge 
 of the conditions to be encountered. In its 
 original form, this volume afforded a certain 
 amount of information upon these matters. 
 That is now amplified and additions are made 
 to it, so that the man contemplating investment 
 or settlement on the Isthmus will find in the 
 following pages answers to, at least, the ques- 
 tions which he would ask in preliminary en- 
 quiry. 
 
 The author takes this opportunity to ac- 
 knowledge appreciation of the manner in which 
 this book has been received by the press and 
 the public, and to state that his knowledge of 
 the interior of Panama is at the service of any 
 serious enquirer. 
 
 Fobbes Lindsay. 
 
 Germantown, Pa., January 1, 1912. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The construction of the Canal recently en- 
 tered upon its final stage. Up to this time the 
 plans have been frequently changed; but it is 
 hardly possible that any important modifica- 
 tions can be made in future. The present, 
 therefore, appears to be a peculiarly appropri- 
 ate time to publish an account of the work 
 which has been done and a description of the 
 plans upon which it will be finished. 
 
 In the past few years a widespread interest 
 in the country of Panama has been evinced and 
 capital, in constantly increasing volume, has 
 turned to it as a field for investment. In the 
 section of the book devoted to the interior I 
 have given an account of the resources of this 
 little known region, derived from careful per- 
 sonal investigation and information gained 
 from experts. 
 
 In this volume I employ the word " Pan- 
 aman " in place of " Panamanian." The lat- 
 ter, although it has the endorsement of Amer- 
 
viii Preface 
 
 ican officials, is a clumsy and unscholarly con- 
 struction. There is no more ground for it than 
 there would be for " Americanian," or " Can- 
 adanian." 
 
 I acknowledge with sincere thanks my in- 
 debtedness to Colonel Goethals and several 
 members of his staff for numerous courtesies 
 and facilities extended to me in examining the 
 work. I have always found the Commission 
 willing to afford every assistance to investi- 
 gators, — even though they approached the 
 task in an inimical spirit, — and to furnish 
 them with all the information and material 
 available. 
 
 I wish also to acknowledge the courtesy of 
 the War Department in permitting the use by 
 me of the Department's new official map of the 
 Eepublic of Panama. 
 
 The pleasure of my visit to Chiriqui was 
 largely due to the kind attentions of Don 
 Lorenzo Obaldia, for whom I shall always en- 
 tertain a feeling of warm regard. 
 
 v. L. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 chapter Past I. — The Canal page 
 
 Preface to Second Edition V 
 
 Preface vii 
 
 I. The Dream of the Strait 1 
 
 II. Practical Projects 21 
 
 III. The Panama Railroad 41 
 
 IV. The French Enterprise 63 
 
 V. The Transfer of the Canal 80 
 
 VI. The American Enterprise 103 
 
 VII. The Canal as It Will Be 121 
 
 VIII. The Work under Army Engineers . . . 141 
 
 IX. Along the Line of the Canal .... 164 
 
 Part II. — The Country 
 
 I. Panama Viejo 179 
 
 II. Morgan Sets out for Panama 197 
 
 III. The March across the Isthmus .... 218 
 
 IV. Morgan Sacks Panama 250 
 
 V. Panama of To-day 283 
 
 VI. The Churches of Panama 305 
 
 VII. The Country and Its Resources .... 326 
 
 VIII. The Ancient Graves of Chiriqui .... 348 
 
 IX. Up - Country in a Coasting Steamer . . . 363 
 
 X. David and the Interior 382 
 
 XI. Preparing for Operation 397 
 
 XII. Progress in Panama 416 
 
 Appendices 437 
 
 Index 469 
 
 ix 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 -• — 
 
 PAGH 
 
 The Isthmian Canal Commission (See page 142) Frontispiece 
 Map of the Republic of Panama. — Western Section 1 
 Map of the Republic of Panama. — Eastern Section . 20 
 
 Panama from the Sea 32 
 
 Miraflores Upper Locks, Looking North from Berh 
 Crane, Showing Forebat and Construction of 
 
 Lift Sills, Jult 25, 1911 40 
 
 Gatun Lower Locks, Showing Progress of Con- 
 struction, August 5, 1911 62 
 
 Negro Quarters, Colon 74 
 
 A Group of Natives 98 
 
 Map of the Canal Zone 110 
 
 Profile of Canal 121 
 
 Concrete Mixing Plant, Gatun 123 
 
 Bird's-eye View of the Canal District . . . 130 
 West Chamber of Gatun Upper Locks, Looking South, 
 Showing Upper Guard Gates under Construc- 
 tion, July, 1911 . .... 134 
 Upper Guard Gates, in East Chamber, Gatun Upper 
 
 Locks, August 5, 1911 . . ... 138 
 
 Arrival at Cristobal of S. S. Ancon with 1,500 La- 
 borers from Barbadoes, September 2, 1909 . . 146 
 Sanitary Department Drain, No. 4, Toro Point, July, 
 
 1911 .... 152 
 
 xi 
 
xii List of Illustrations 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Agfa Clara Reservoir, Showing Lake and Dam, Ga- 
 
 tun Water Works, July, 1911 161 
 
 Negro Boys Playing Cricket, Colon .... 168 
 
 Isthmian Canal Commission Club House, Culebra . 171 
 
 Culebra Cut, Looking South, Oct. 27, 19G9 . 172 
 Native Shacks, from the Verandah or the Tivoli 
 
 Hotel, Ancon 174 
 
 Panama Bay 197 
 
 The Chagres River, Showing Labor Camp on the 
 
 Left 218 
 
 Native Hut . . .... . . 240 
 
 The Patio or Courtyard of a Country House . . 266 
 
 Two-year-old Banana Trees 282 
 
 Patio of the President's Palace, Panama . . . 300 
 
 Rubber Trees Planted by the French . . . 303 
 
 Bishop's Palace, Panama. — A Street in David . 310 
 
 San Felipe Neri. — Ruins of San Domingo . . . 320 
 Church of Santa Ana. — Ruins of the Old Jesuit 
 
 College and Monastery 323 
 
 The Plaza, David ... 332 
 
 A Stretch of Llano on the Road between Aguadulce 
 
 and David 334 
 
 A Horse Corral 336 
 
 Making a Clearing. The land is cut over and the 
 
 brush burned where it lies ... . 346 
 
 Pottery and Stone Articles from Ancient Graves. — 
 
 Gold Ornaments from Ancient Graves . . 352 
 
 Village of Divala ... 353 
 The " David " Loading at Panama. — A Native Boat 
 
 in Panama Bay 355 
 
 The Wharf at Puerto Mutis . . . . . 369 
 
List of Illustrations xiii 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Captain Crawford and His Pet Monkey. — A Glimpse 
 
 of Panama Bat 372 
 
 Island of Coiba 378 
 
 Don Lorenzo Obaldia and the Author on the Bal- 
 cony of the Obaldia House, David . . 382 
 Street Scene in David, Showing the Lombardi Hotel 
 
 on the Left ... .... 385 
 
 Municipal Building, David . .... 386 
 
 Home of Mr. Leslie Wilson, at Divala . . . 388 
 
 Typical Native Huts. — Mr. Wilson's Pet Tapir . 392 
 Culebra Cut, Looking South from Contractor's 
 Hill, Showing Cucaracha Slide on Left, May, 
 
 1911 .399 
 
 West Chamber of Pedro Miguel Locks, Looking 
 
 North, July 15, 1911 402 
 
 The Balboa Marine Shops 414 
 
 Chiriqui Cattle and Mules in a Corral . . . 423 
 
 Two-year-old Rubber Trees, Mariato .... 432 
 
ao 
 
 JO' 
 
 711 
 
 .4 U U 
 
 H K 
 
 .V 
 
 /: a 
 
 
 /<rt^'/T\ 
 
PART I 
 THE CANAL 
 
PANAMA AND THE CANAL 
 TO-DAY 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 THE DREAM OF THE STRAIT 
 
 We are on the eve of the consummation of five 
 centuries of effort to find or make a direct west- 
 erly route from Europe to the Orient. The task 
 which the oldest kingdoms of Christendom es- 
 sayed and failed to accomplish, is nearing its 
 completion at the hands of the youngest of na- 
 tions. "When, a few years hence, the Panama 
 Canal shall be opened to the fleets and the mer- 
 chant marine of the world, the dream of Colum- 
 bus to sail from Spain to Cathay, with his prow 
 ever pointing into the eye of the setting sun, 
 will have become a possibility. 
 
 Among the ancient Greeks the theory was 
 entertained that the shores of Asia might be 
 reached by a comparatively short sail to west- 
 ward from the mainland of Europe. But it was 
 
 l 
 
2 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 not until the fifteenth century that navigators 
 and the sovereigns, upon whom they necessarily 
 depended for the means and permission to 
 make distant expeditions, were sufficiently im- 
 pressed with the idea to put its truth to the 
 test. Columbus was only one of many who, in 
 his time, believed that the lands visited by 
 Marco Polo could be arrived at by a voyage to 
 the west, and that an open passageway lay be- 
 tween them and the countries of Christendom. 
 Columbus alone, however, among the adventur- 
 ers of his day, seems to have had the courage 
 of his conviction. His ideas on the subject 
 were very vague and faulty, being derived from 
 the rude maps of the day and from the wild 
 conjectures of others, and often based upon 
 mere imagination. His conception of the size 
 of the world was widely at variance with the 
 truth and, like the ancients, he imagined the 
 distance between Europe and Asia to be several 
 thousand miles less than it actually is. "When, 
 after having persuaded Ferdinand and Isabella 
 to support his venture, he embarked on his first 
 voyage to America, it was with the confident 
 expectation of gaining the eastern shores of 
 the Old "World in less than two weeks' time. 
 The discovery of one after another of the 
 
The Dream of the Strait 
 
 islands of the West Indies did not disconcert 
 him nor dampen his ardor. He took it for 
 granted that they were outposts of the main- 
 land which he sought. He describes them as 
 " the Islands discovered in the Indian Sea," in 
 his report of the voyage to his royal patrons. 
 The developments of the second voyage only 
 confirmed and amplified these delusions, from 
 which the great explorer was never freed. 
 Cuba, along the southern coast of which only- 
 he sailed, was readily accepted by him and by 
 his officers as a part of the mainland of Asia, 
 and, when his next expedition touched the 
 shores of South America, near the delta of the 
 Orinoco, the land was unhesitatingly pro- 
 nounced to be another portion of the same con- 
 tinent. This self-deception Columbus sustained 
 and increased by his too-ready habit of confus- 
 ing the names of places mentioned by the Carib- 
 bean Indians with those referred to by Marco 
 Polo in his account of his Oriental travels. 
 Columbus set out upon his last and fourth 
 voyage with the design of discovering a strait 
 which should enable him to pass through Terra 
 Firma, as he had named the mainland of South 
 America, to India. And here was the first 
 nebulous idea of the Panama Canal. Accord- 
 
4 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 ing to Gomara, Columbus, on this occasion, dis- 
 covered the ' ' River of Crocodiles, which is now 
 called Eio de Chagres, which hath its springs 
 near the South Sea, within four leagues of 
 Panama." Had the intrepid navigator sailed 
 up that river he might justly have been ac- 
 corded the distinction of having been the first 
 explorer of a trans-Isthmian canal route. He 
 died without realizing the true import of his 
 great discoveries, and still believing that his 
 momentous cruises had been in the seas and 
 along the coasts of Asia. 
 
 In the meanwhile, Vasco de Gama, sailing 
 under the flag of Portugal, had rounded the 
 southern point of Africa and reached the Mala- 
 bar Coast of India, returning safely toward the 
 end of 1499. This exploit stimulated Spain to 
 renewed efforts to discover a western passage. 
 Amerigo Vespucci made important discoveries 
 along the coast of South America which he, like 
 Columbus, believed to be the continent of Asia. 
 On the first map to show America, that of 
 WaldseemuLler, published in 1507, a narrow 
 strait between the continents is shown in place 
 of the existing isthmus. In the book which ac- 
 companied this map, Waldseemiiller credits 
 Vespucci with the discovery of the newly de- 
 
The Dream of the Strait 
 
 picted region and suggests that it should be 
 named the Land of Amerigo, or America. The 
 claim was not a justifiable one, but there is good 
 authority for the statement that Alonzo de 
 Ojeda, with Vespucci as the pilot of his expedi- 
 tion, landed upon the mainland of South Amer- 
 ica within a year of the occasion when Columbus 
 discovered the land near the delta of the Ori- 
 noco. Amerigo Vespucci made two more voy- 
 ages during the succeeding ten years in a search 
 for the strait. At this time many other adven- 
 turers were engaged in the same quest, or in the 
 hunt for gold, large quantities of which were 
 secured by the early comers without the trouble 
 of mining for it. The natives held it in no great 
 value and readily exchanged it for articles of 
 European manufacture of trifling value. 
 
 The decade following the last voyage of Co- 
 lumbus was a period of eager exploration by 
 navigators of various nations. The coast of 
 the Americas, from Labrador to Brazil, was 
 scoured in the hope of finding a waterway to the 
 ocean beyond. With continued failure, it began 
 to be believed that no such channel existed. 
 This view was greatly strengthened in 1513, by 
 the discovery of the Pacific Ocean. Vasco 
 Nunez de Balboa was one of the early govern- 
 
6 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 ors of the Province of Darien. He had married 
 the daughter of one of the Indian chiefs and 
 was on the best of terms with the natives. 
 From them he learned of a vast sea, only a few 
 days' march beyond the mountains, that divided 
 the continent. He collected a force of Span- 
 iards and Indians and sailed to a point near 
 Caledonia Bay, whence he was informed the 
 crossing could be most easily effected. The 
 route adopted is the shortest passage from 
 ocean to ocean, although it does not pass over 
 the divide at the lowest level. Progress through 
 the dense jungle was difficult. It was nineteen 
 days after starting when, on September 25, 
 Balboa saw the Pacific Ocean from the summit 
 of the divide. Four days later he entered the 
 water and formally claimed the " South Sea," 
 as he called it, in the name of the King of 
 Spain. 
 
 Meanwhile, Balboa had been the subject of 
 the usual intrigues at the Court of Spain, and, 
 at the time of his great discovery, Pedrarias 
 was preparing to sail for Terra Firma with au- 
 thority to supersede him as governor. The 
 news of Balboa's important exploit did not 
 reach Ferdinand until after the new governor 
 had sailed, but a royal warrant was immedi- 
 
The Dream of the Strait 
 
 ately issued confirming the former in his posi- 
 tion and conferring upon him the additional 
 honor of Adelantado of the lands upon the new- 
 sea that he had discovered. This order was 
 doubtless delivered to Pedrarias and he seems 
 to have kept it to himself, after the high-handed 
 manner of viceroys in the American possessions 
 of Spain at that period. The first act of 
 Pedrarias on landing in America was to order 
 Balboa's arrest and trial on a charge of treason. 
 The result was an acquittal, and for a while 
 the rivals, each with a formidable body of fol- 
 lowers at his back, maintained an armed truce. 
 At length Pedrarias resorted to subterfuge in 
 order to get his enemy into his power. He was 
 aware of Balboa's keen desire to explore the 
 coast southward on the other side of the conti- 
 nent, prompted by the stories of the Indians, 
 who declared that a country abounding in gold 
 and other precious metals lay far away to the 
 south. Pedrarias feigned a revulsion of feeling 
 toward Balboa and assured him of his future 
 friendship, at the same time giving his consent 
 to the proposed expedition. 
 
 "With the wonderful energy that characterized 
 him, Balboa set about carrying out his cher- 
 ished project, which involved nothing less than 
 
8 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 a journey to Peru. Suitable trees for the con- 
 struction of vessels were to be had only on the 
 Atlantic side, or at least that was the impression 
 of the commander. He conceived and carried 
 out the daring task of fashioning all his mate- 
 rial at the starting point of his former expedi- 
 tion and conveying it overland to the point of 
 departure. This stupendous undertaking was 
 accomplished with the aid of thousands of In- 
 dians. After months of labor the timbers were 
 put together on the Pacific shore, and the fleet 
 was on the eve of departure, when a messenger 
 from Pedrarias reached Balboa with an urgent 
 request for his return. Leaving his followers 
 with the ships, the impatient leader hurried 
 back to Adas. He was seized at the instant of 
 his arrival, put through a hurried trial by a 
 court composed of the governor's creatures, 
 and beheaded. 
 
 Balboa was the first of a numerous line of 
 able men who fell victims to the jealousies and 
 differences that kept the Conquistadores con- 
 stantly embroiled with one another and at odds 
 with the Crown. If we may judge from what he 
 accomplished in the few years that were af- 
 forded him, Balboa was one of the most able 
 of that group of remarkable men who contrib- 
 
The Dream of the Strait 9 
 
 uted so greatly to the brilliancy of Spain's his- 
 tory at this period. He appears to have been 
 more humane than the majority of his fellows. 
 That he was more ingenuous and less self-seek- 
 ing may be inferred from the ease with which 
 Pedrarias outwitted him. His bravery, re- 
 source, and fortitude under misfortune were 
 frequently exhibited in the course of a romantic 
 and eventful life. 
 
 Twenty years after Vasco de Gama rounded 
 the Cape of Good Hope Ferdinand Magellan 
 made his famous voyage through the strait that 
 bears his name and demonstrated the existence 
 of a continuous waterway between Europe and 
 the Orient. This feat rather stimulated than 
 retarded the efforts to find a more direct pas- 
 sage, but thenceforth the search was mainly 
 confined to the isthmian section of the Amer- 
 ican continents, where it had been definitely 
 ascertained that the oceans lay least widely 
 apart. Under the directions of Cortez, de Soto, 
 de Cordova, and others, these explorations were 
 carried on, and, although the principal object 
 of them was never attained, they led to impor- 
 tant discoveries and resulted in the establish- 
 ment of overland routes from the Atlantic to 
 the Pacific. The most important of these was 
 
10 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 the post road, constructed about 1521, between 
 the old city of Panama and the settlement of 
 Nombre de Dios on the Pacific Coast. At the 
 close of the century the latter terminal was 
 abandoned and one at Porto Bello took its place. 
 Fifty years before this change was effected a 
 route for light draught boats had been estab- 
 lished from Nombre de Dios up the Chagres to 
 Las Cruces ; thence by land to Panama. This 
 line of communication was in use at the time 
 that the gold seekers from the United States 
 made the journey to California by way of the 
 Isthmus, and many of them travelled by the 
 Chagres route. 
 
 The line of communication between Panama 
 and the Atlantic port rapidly grew in impor- 
 tance after the conquest of Peru. Vast quanti- 
 ties of gold and silver were transported over it 
 by the relays of horses that were constantly 
 kept in service for the purpose. On the other 
 hand large shipments of various commodities 
 for the use of the colonists and articles to be 
 bartered with the Indians were carried over the 
 same road, and from Panama distributed to the 
 settlements in the north and south. In time the 
 trade of Panama extended to the main land of 
 Asia and the Spice Islands of the Pacific. 
 
The Dream of the Strait 11 
 
 The search for a strait, which Cortez took up 
 after he had completed the conquest of Mexico, 
 led to the discovery of facilities for the transit 
 of the Isthmus in the Tehuantepec region. A 
 route was established up the Coatzacoalcos, 
 across the divide, and down the farther slope 
 to the Pacific. Terminal ports were created, 
 and, in a few years, a considerable trade was 
 built up with the mother country on one hand 
 and the countries of eastern Asia on the other. 
 At the same time the explorations of Davila 
 paved the way for interoceanic traffic in the 
 Nicaraguan country. 
 
 Meanwhile the idea of a ship canal had al- 
 ready arisen in more than one mind, and each 
 successive failure to find a natural channel con- 
 necting the oceans added to the advocates of an 
 artificial waterway. Alvaro de Saavedra, a 
 kinsman and follower of Cortez, seems to have 
 been the first to broach this proposal. What a 
 daring project it was we can better understand 
 than did the men who originally entertained it. 
 In fact, it is doubtful whether they had any- 
 thing like a just appreciation of the difficulties 
 in the way of consummating it. Even though 
 no more than an eight-foot channel had been 
 attempted, the excavation through the divide 
 
12 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 would have presented a stupendous task in 
 those days. 
 
 It is said that as early as 1520 Charles V 
 ordered the Isthmus of Panama to be surveyed, 
 with a view to ascertaining the best route for a 
 canal across it. There is no record of this man- 
 date having been carried out, and, indeed, it 
 would have been no easy matter at that time to 
 have made even the roughest kind of survey of 
 the region in question. The mere passage 
 across it, through the virgin forest, involved 
 weeks of toil and danger. In the following 
 decade the ship canal scheme was widely dis- 
 cussed and Saavedra made detailed plans for 
 it in 1529. Five years later the King of Spain 
 issued a more definite decree regarding the mat- 
 ter, and one more easy to comply with. This 
 required that the territory between the head of 
 navigation on the Chagres and the Pacific should 
 be carefully examined by men of experience, to 
 ascertain the feasibility of connecting the navi- 
 gable waters of the river with the ocean. This 
 was done, and the governor, Pascual Andagoya, 
 reported that the difficulties in the way were in- 
 surmountable. He expressed the opinion that 
 it would be practically impossible to construct 
 a canal through the Isthmus at that or any other 
 
The Dream of the Strait 13 
 
 point, and declared that the undertaking would 
 exhaust the richest treasury in Christendom. 
 
 Nothing further was done in pursuit of the 
 project during the remainder of the reign of 
 King Charles, and the accession of his son 
 Philip to the throne, at the close of the century, 
 marked the inception of an entirely new policy 
 towards the Spanish possessions in Terra 
 Firma. Philip shrewdly decided to leave well 
 alone. He realized that the stream of precious 
 metals that then flowed into the coffers of the 
 Crown from America would not be increased by 
 improved methods of shipping, and that the con- 
 templated facility for direct communication by 
 water to the farther coast of the continent 
 would be of greater benefit to other nations than 
 it would to Spain, by enabling the former to 
 reach the sources of supply with comparative 
 ease. So strongly did King Philip maintain this 
 view, which we must admit was a sensible one, 
 that he strictly forbade all public advocacy of 
 the mooted waterway and prohibited all explo- 
 ration in connection with it. At about this time 
 the navigation of the Atrato was opened up, 
 and led to the discovery that the upper reaches 
 of that river were comparatively near to the 
 Pacific littoral. This, of course, suggested a 
 
14 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 canal at that point, and it began to be talked 
 about. Knowledge of the project no sooner 
 came to the King than he ordered the naviga- 
 tion of the river to be abandoned and the pen- 
 alty of death to follow disobedience. 
 
 For two centuries after the death of Philip II 
 the attitude of the Crown of Spain toward water 
 communication between the two great oceans 
 remained adverse. Discussion of the subject 
 could not, however, be suppressed, and explor- 
 ers in the Isthmian region could not fail to con- 
 sider it in connection with the new surveys that 
 were constantly being made. Any new light 
 that may have been cast upon the question in 
 this manner was promptly extinguished. All 
 maps and documents bearing on the point which 
 reached the mother country were jealously 
 guarded from the public, and stowed away in 
 vaults from which the majority of them never 
 emerged. 
 
 During the reign of King Philip the activities 
 of English privateers and pirates became a 
 serious detriment to the commerce of Spain. 
 Their attacks upon the vessels carrying trea- 
 sure from the Isthmus at length led to the tem- 
 porary abandonment of the Panama-Porto 
 Bello traffic and the substitution of the route by 
 
The Dream of the Strait 15 
 
 way of Cape Horn. Only brief respite was 
 gained by this measure, however. The free- 
 booters promptly transferred the scene of their 
 operations to the Straits of Magellan and be- 
 yond. Sir Francis Drake inflicted on the Span- 
 ish fleet in the South Sea a series of blows that 
 practically destroyed it. For a short while a 
 return was made to the Panama line of transit, 
 but that of Nicaragua soon took its place. Lit- 
 tle was gained by this change, for in the middle 
 of the seventeenth century English adventurers 
 began to lead raiding parties against the Span- 
 ish posts in Nicaragua, and before the end of 
 the century trade in that region was destroyed. 
 In the meantime the diversion of the Spanish 
 shipping from the lower Isthmus had laid the 
 settlements there peculiarly open to attack. 
 The opportunity thus afforded attracted the at- 
 tention of Henry Morgan, the most daring and 
 unprincipled buccaneer of his day. In 1671, 
 encouraged by the success of an attack made a 
 few years previous, he reduced Porto Bello and 
 then marched across the isthmus and captured 
 Panama. The city was sacked and burned to 
 the ground. It was never rebuilt on the original 
 site, and Spanish commerce at this point died 
 at the hands of a brutal pirate. 
 
16 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 The repeated success of the English in their 
 attacks upon the Spaniards by land and at sea 
 stimulated their aggression. Jamaica had been 
 seized, and attempts were made at settlement 
 in Nicaragua. Just before the close of the sev- 
 enteenth century a Scotchman named William 
 Paterson, the same who founded the Bank of 
 England, launched an ambitious project, in- 
 volving a colony in Darien and the ultimate 
 establishment of a trade route between the 
 oceans. The ill-fated enterprise, which was au- 
 thorized by an act of the Scottish Parliament 
 and sanctioned by King William of England, 
 was known as the Darien Expedition. Three 
 ships carried a party of colonists, numbering 
 one thousand two hundred, from Leith to the 
 New World. The site chosen for the settlement 
 was near the old city of Adas, where Balboa 
 was executed, and the point from which he be- 
 gan his journey across the Isthmus. The ap- 
 proximity of the oceans in this locality was a 
 decided advantage, but otherwise the situation 
 was ill-chosen. The Indians in that section 
 were implacably hostile to the whites, and have 
 ever remained inimical. The location was very 
 unhealthful and disease attacked the unfortu- 
 nate colonists as soon as they landed. In eight 
 
The Dream of the Strait 17 
 
 months ' time their number had been reduced to 
 a few hundred, and this remnant of the expedi- 
 tion, which started out with such great promise, 
 abandoned the colony and returned to Scotland. 
 On the way they passed, without being aware 
 of it, two ships bringing a reinforcement of emi- 
 grants. These landed at the deserted settle- 
 ment under discouraging conditions, which ren- 
 dered them even more ready prey to the climate 
 than had been their predecessors. They were 
 reduced in force and weakened by sickness 
 when the Spaniards sent a military detachment 
 to dislodge them. The settlers made a gallant 
 resistance and repulsed this attack, but they 
 had neither the strength nor the heart to repeat 
 the effort when another body came against 
 them shortly afterwards. They surrendered, 
 and were allowed to embark in their vessels and 
 sail for their native country. Thus the much 
 vaunted Darien Expedition, which its promoter 
 declared would make Great Britain the " arbi- 
 ter of the commercial world," came to an end, 
 with the loss of two thousand lives and much 
 money. 
 
 During the century following Pater son's dis- 
 astrous venture little was done towards pro- 
 moting interoceanic communication and inter- 
 
18 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 est in the question of a ship canal seems to have 
 waned. A royal commission, authorized by the 
 Crown of Spain, surveyed the Nicaraguan route 
 more thoroughly than had been done before. 
 The report was decidedly unfavorable, but two 
 British agents who had accompanied the expe- 
 dition represented to their government that a 
 waterway in that region was quite feasible, and 
 that the undertaking would not be attended by 
 extraordinary difficulties. This secret report 
 no doubt influenced Great Britain, when war 
 was declared against her by Spain in 1780, to 
 send an invading force into that part of the 
 Spanish possessions. Horatio Nelson, then a 
 post captain, had charge of the naval operations 
 in connection with this expedition. In a des- 
 patch from the scene he made the following 
 statement, which betrays the purpose of his 
 superiors and shows his own appreciation of 
 the importance of a trans-Isthmian waterway: 
 " In order to give facility to the great object 
 of government I intend to possess the Lake of 
 Nicaragua, which, for the present, may be 
 looked upon as the inland Gibraltar of Spanish 
 America. As it commands the only water pass 
 between the oceans, its situation must ever 
 render it a principal post to insure passage to 
 
The Dream of the Strait 19 
 
 the Southern Ocean, and, by our possession of 
 it, Spanish America is divided in two." This 
 plan was entirely frustrated, not by the Span- 
 iards, who were overcome at every point, but 
 by the climate. The force had entered upon the 
 campaign in the rainy season and the men fell 
 victims to fever in appalling numbers. Of the 
 full complement of Nelson's ship, the " Hin- 
 chinbrook," two hundred in number, all but ten 
 were buried in Nicaragua, or soon after the ar- 
 rival of the expedition in Jamaica. Nelson 
 himself suffered a long illness, that enfeebled 
 him for years and permanently impaired his 
 health. 
 
 Up to the close of the eighteenth century, no 
 actual progress had been made toward the es- 
 tablishment of water communication between 
 the Atlantic and the Pacific. The discussion of 
 the subject had been vague and the plans pro- 
 posed quite impracticable. Of the numerous 
 surveys that had been made, not one threw any 
 valuable light on the matter. Indeed, they 
 rather befogged the consideration of the subject 
 by disseminating the wildest theories and the 
 grossest falsehoods regarding the conditions. 
 As late as 1788, Manuel Milla, a Spanish engi- 
 neer, surveyed the Darien route and reported to 
 
20 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 his government that a canal could be con- 
 structed over it with ease and that no consider- 
 able elevations would be encountered in the 
 way. Humboldt, who spent several years at the 
 beginning of the nineteenth century in the ter- 
 ritory which is now Mexico and Central Amer- 
 ica, expressed his great surprise that, after 
 three hundred years of Spanish occupation, so 
 little was known about the physical features of 
 the country. He declared that the elevation of 
 no single mountain, plain, or city from Mexico 
 to Granada was precisely known. 
 
ao 
 
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CHAPTER II 
 
 PEACTICAl, PROJECTS 
 
 The problem of an interoceanic ship canal 
 began to be studied with, the precision of scien- 
 tific investigation at the beginning of the nine- 
 teenth century. The interest of all Europe was 
 aroused by the publication of Humboldt's " Po- 
 litical Essay on New Spain," in which he 
 strongly urged the prosecution of the. project. 
 He suggested no fewer than nine routes, but, 
 strangely enough, omitted mention of one of the 
 most obviously feasible, that which would have 
 its Atlantic terminus in Caledonia Bay. One 
 of Humboldt's waterways would have extended 
 through the Mississippi, Missouri, and Colum- 
 bus rivers. As a passage for the small vessels 
 of his time, it was not so extravagant a propo- 
 sition as it appears to-day. Although the scien- 
 tist did not express any individual preference, 
 it may be inferred from his remarks that he 
 especially favored the route up the Chagres 
 
 21 
 
22 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Eiver and thence to the city of Panama. All 
 the routes advocated by Humboldt, with one 
 possible exception, involved some river, and he 
 seemed to think that the idea of a canal through- 
 out, even though facilitated by locks, should not 
 be considered as within the bounds of practi- 
 cability. Later experience has shown that he 
 was right in his estimate of the possibilities at 
 that time. 
 
 The publications of Humboldt relating to the 
 Isthmian canal question, and a visit which he 
 made to Spain shortly after their appearance, 
 aroused the government of that country to re- 
 newed activity in the matter. In 1814, the 
 Cortes passed a law providing for a waterway 
 capable of accommodating the largest vessels, 
 and authorizing the formation of a company for 
 the purpose of carrying out the work. The 
 undertaking hung fire for some years, and, with 
 the revolutions that shortly after broke out in 
 Spain's American possessions and ultimately 
 led to their freedom, the last chance of Spain 
 having the glory and advantage of constructing 
 the canal expired. In fact, Spain was almost 
 the only European nation that had no part in 
 the negotiations which from this time on as- 
 sumed a practical aspect. 
 
Practical Projects 23 
 
 The emancipation of the Spanish American 
 colonies, while it destroyed all prospect of canal 
 building for the mother country, opened up the 
 field to other nations. The new republics, need- 
 ing money and anxious to build up commerce, 
 saw in an interoceanic waterway the greatest 
 advantage to the region they occupied and par- 
 ticularly to that country which should be so for- 
 tunate as to secure the prize. Each of them 
 welcomed proposals and, in their eagerness, 
 granted concessions without due consideration. 
 
 In 1824, Aaron H. Palmer, of New York, on 
 behalf of an American syndicate, made over- 
 tures to the Central American Republic. These 
 were favorably received, but, before acting de- 
 cisively upon them, the government of that 
 country sought to enlist the United States in 
 the enterprise, at least to the extent of formally 
 endorsing it. The political representative of 
 the Eepublic suggested to Henry Clay, then 
 Secretary of State, a treaty between the two 
 countries embodying an agreement on the sub- 
 ject of a canal at Nicaragua. Mr. Clay in re- 
 sponse expressed his appreciation of the im- 
 portance of the matter and undertook to have 
 an investigation made for the purpose of de- 
 termining whether the proposed route was en- 
 
24 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 titled to preference over all others of those 
 available. In case of the enquiry leading to 
 such a conclusion, he promised to bring the sub- 
 ject to the attention of Congress. 
 
 The matter does not seem to have ever ad- 
 vanced beyond the stage of correspondence. In 
 June, 1826, the Republic of Central America de- 
 cided not to wait longer for action on the part 
 of the United States and entered into a con- 
 tract with Aaron Palmer and his associates. 
 Twelve months from the date of the contract 
 work was to be commenced on a canal equal to 
 the accommodation of the largest vessels of 
 that day. The American interests were to retain 
 their control until they should be reimbursed 
 for all the capital invested, together with ten 
 per cent interest, and for a term of seven years 
 thereafter they were to receive one-half of the 
 net proceeds from the operation of the canal. 
 The waterway was to be strictly neutral, and 
 under no circumstances were any privileges to 
 be granted to one nation to the exclusion of any 
 other. 
 
 The concessionaires then attempted to organ- 
 ize a corporation with the cumbersome title of 
 The Central American and United States Atlan- 
 tic and Pacific Canal Company, and the totally 
 
Practical Projects 25 
 
 inadequate capital of $5,000,000, for the pur- 
 pose of effecting the construction. In America, 
 capitalists were disappointingly slow in re- 
 sponding to the proposal and the promoter 
 went to London, where he spent the best part 
 of a year with no better result. Twelve months 
 after signing the contract with the Eepublic of 
 Central America, Palmer and his associates 
 were in no position to enter upon the work, and 
 the project was abandoned. 
 
 After a futile effort to secure the co-operation 
 of the Netherlands in a canal project, the Ee- 
 public of Central America again approached 
 the United States on the subject. This led the 
 Senate to pass a resolution which prompted 
 President Jackson, in 1835, to send Charles 
 Biddle to the Isthmus with instructions to ex- 
 amine the various canal and transisthmian rail- 
 road routes. The outcome was not satisfactory, 
 and two years later the President sent a mes- 
 sage to the Senate expressing the opinion that 
 it was not at that time expedient to enter into 
 any negotiations with regard to an interoceanic 
 canal. In the following year, however, the mat- 
 ter was extensively discussed in Congress and 
 the President was requested to open or con- 
 tinue negotiations with foreign nations in ac- 
 
26 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 cordance with the Senate resolution. Comply- 
 ing with the wishes of Congress, President Van 
 Buren sent John L. Stephens to the Isthmus for 
 the purpose of examining the question. Mr. 
 Stephens' report recommended the Nicaraguan 
 route in preference to any other, and estimated 
 the cost of a canal there at $25,000,000, but he 
 deemed the undertaking inadvisable at that time 
 on account of the unsettled state of the coun- 
 try. 
 
 Meanwhile, other nations had become inter- 
 ested in the canal project. The King of the 
 Netherlands was only deterred from accepting 
 the offer of the Republic of Central America by 
 the intervention of the United States, which 
 was, at that time, disposed to take the ground 
 that no European nation could undertake 
 the work without violation of the principles of 
 the Monroe Doctrine. A British company sent 
 John Bailey to Nicaragua to survey a route and 
 to secure a concession, if possible. Simon Boli- 
 var gave a franchise for a canal at Panama to a 
 Frenchman. In 1844, Nicaragua, which had be- 
 come a separate republic, sent an envoy to Louis 
 Philippe with a view of inducing him to estab- 
 lish a protectorate over Nicaragua and con- 
 struct a canal through the country. The pro- 
 
Practical Projects 27 
 
 posal did not meet with a favorable reception, 
 but Louis Napoleon, at that time a State pris- 
 oner, took up the latter feature of the scheme 
 with enthusiasm. He petitioned the French 
 Government on the subject, begging to be re- 
 leased in order that he might proceed to Amer- 
 ica and devote himself to the enterprise, and 
 promising never to return to France. When, 
 shortly afterwards, he escaped to England, he 
 issued a monograph relating to a waterway at 
 Nicaragua and advocating the line that had been 
 marked out by Bailey in 1837. In this pamphlet 
 the author urged England to undertake the 
 work for political considerations. A few years 
 later the distinguished exile returned to France 
 as President of the Republic, and in his plot- 
 tings for the revival of the Empire the canal 
 project was forgotten. 
 
 In 1838 the Republic of New Granada granted 
 to a French company a concession for the 
 establishment of a transit line from the city 
 of Panama to any desirable point on the Atlan- 
 tic coast by road, rail, or water. Several years 
 were spent by the company in making explora- 
 tions and surveys. The purported results were 
 conveyed to the French Government in the hope 
 of inducing its aid. The representations, which 
 
28 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 were recklessly false in many particulars, drew 
 the most alluring picture of conditions at the 
 Isthmus, and concluded the statement that a 
 passage through the mountains existed at an 
 elevation of less than 40 feet above mean sea 
 level. M. Guizot was sufficiently impressed by 
 this report to send an engineer officer to make 
 an investigation on behalf of the Govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Napoleon Garella, the agent of the French 
 Government, found a very different situation 
 from that which the concessionaires had rep- 
 resented as existing. The lowest pass through 
 the divide was seven or eight times higher than 
 the fanciful depression which had been re- 
 ported and offered so serious an obstacle that he 
 advocated a tunnel more than three miles long, 
 rather than a cut through it. Nevertheless, 
 Garella reported favorably to the project and 
 submitted a detailed plan for a canal capable of 
 accommodating vessels drawing twenty-one 
 feet of water. This canal was to have thirty- 
 six locks and its estimated cost was $25,000,000. 
 
 The Garella report showed the undertaking 
 in so much more formidable a light than had 
 that of the projectors that the French Govern- 
 ment hesitated to embark upon it. Disappointed 
 
Practical Projects 29 
 
 in this source of assistance, the company 
 which had secured the concession allowed it to 
 lapse. 
 
 About the middle of the nineteenth century, 
 several events occurred that had the effect of 
 increasing the importance to the United States 
 of more direct maritime communication between 
 the coasts of the continent. In 1848, Oregon 
 definitely became a territory of the United 
 States, and in the same year California was 
 ceded to it. The discovery of gold in the latter 
 region immediately stimulated transisthmian 
 travel to great proportions. The favorite 
 routes were those through Nicaragua and across 
 the Panama isthmus. In 1848 a treaty between 
 New Granada and the United States was rati- 
 fied, giving to the latter nation a right of way 
 for its troops and transport trains. 
 
 A similar convention with Nicaragua was de- 
 sired, and the negotiations were entrusted to 
 Elijah Hise, the representative of the United 
 States in that country. Hise secured from the 
 Republic an extremely favorable agreement 
 which involved the exclusive right to construct 
 roads or waterways through Nicaragua. But 
 these privileges- depended upon the United 
 States binding herself to defend Nicaragua 
 
30 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 against foreign aggression. This was more 
 than the Government at Washington cared to 
 undertake, and the treaty arranged by Hise was 
 not ratified. 
 
 At that time Great Britain was advancing 
 the contention that the boundaries of her ter- 
 ritory on the Mosquito coast included the mouth 
 of the San Juan River, which was the terminus 
 of practically every Nicaraguan canal route 
 that had been suggested. At the same time the 
 British began to execute designs for securing 
 possession of Fonseca Bay, the most favorable 
 terminal on the farther coast. The United 
 States exerted diplomatic activity to checkmate 
 these plans, and in the prosecution of their con- 
 flicting interests, the two nations came to the 
 verge of war. 
 
 The famous Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850 
 provided for an adjustment of the difficulty. 
 The principal points of the agreement were 
 that each of the contracting powers should do 
 all in its power to promote the construction of 
 a canal at Nicaragua by rendering support and 
 aid to any company, with sufficient capital, that 
 might secure a concession for the purpose ; that 
 they should mutually protect the neutrality of 
 the contemplated waterway and that neither 
 
Practical Projects 31 
 
 should seek to secure exclusive control of it, nor 
 erect any fortifications along it. 
 
 An American company had, in the previous 
 year, obtained a franchise from Nicaragua for 
 a ship canal through its territory, and a clause 
 in the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty made provision 
 for the protection of its rights. Leaving the 
 construction of the canal in abeyance for the 
 time, and seeking to meet the immediate de- 
 mand for transportation as expeditiously as 
 possible, the members of this company formed 
 another organization named the Accessory 
 Transit Company, and secured for it the right 
 to operate a combined water and land line in 
 connection with steamships on either coast. In 
 the year 1852 the Accessory Transit Company 
 began the operation of this line and maintained 
 it for many years until the disturbances conse- 
 quent upon Walker's filibustering expeditions 
 led to its abandonment. 
 
 No work was ever done by the American At- 
 lantic and Pacific Company upon the canal for 
 which they had obtained a franchise, but Colonel 
 Childs was employed by them to make an in- 
 strumental survey of the route and locate a line 
 for the waterway. The survey by Colonel 
 Childs was the first reliable one of consequence 
 
32 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 that had been made in the Isthmian country. It 
 proved of great value in later investiga- 
 tions, and was the basis for after operations at 
 Nicaragua. 
 
 At the close of the year 1848, an American 
 syndicate secured from the government of New 
 Granada a concession for a railroad to connect 
 the oceans in the Panama country. This road 
 was vigorously pushed, to meet the pressing 
 demand on the part of Americans migrating 
 to the newly opened gold fields in California. 
 Despite enormous difficulties, the line was com- 
 pleted in 1855 from Colon, or Aspinwall as it 
 was then called, to Panama, a distance by rail 
 of 48 miles. The railroad was a great step in 
 the direction of establishing easy communica- 
 tion between the oceans, but it was far from a 
 consummation of the design and served to stim- 
 ulate, rather than allay, the desire for a water- 
 way. 
 
 The surveys at Nicaragua and Panama, made 
 by Childs and Totten respectively, had revealed 
 many unsuspected difficulties in the way of the 
 construction of a canal. In the hope of finding 
 an easier route than either of these, explorers 
 began to turn their attention to the Darien 
 country, where the first passage of the Isthmus 
 
Practical Projects 33 
 
 was made by Balboa. The governments of the 
 United States, Great Britain, and France were 
 most active in these explorations, some of which 
 were promoted by private individuals, or com- 
 panies. 
 
 In 1866 the Senate called upon the Secretary 
 of the Navy for all the information at his com- 
 mand, relating to rail or water routes across 
 the Isthmian territory between Tehuantepec 
 and the Atrato Biver. In response, Admiral 
 Chas. H. Davis made a report in which nineteen 
 canal and seven road projects were enumerated. 
 The eight routes in Nicaragua were pronounced 
 impracticable, and the opinion was expressed 
 that "it is to the Isthmus of Darien that we 
 are first to look for the solution of the great 
 problem of an interoceanic canal." It should 
 be understood that at that time the term 
 " Isthmus of Darien " was used to include what 
 is now the country of Panama. 
 
 Following the succession of General Grant to 
 the Presidency, a number of expeditions were 
 sent to the Isthmian country by the Govern- 
 ment and a great deal of valuable data was col- 
 lected. In 1875, the Secretary of the Navy as- 
 signed Captain E. P. Lull, with A. G. Menocal, 
 a civil engineer, to the task of investigating the 
 
34 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 possibilities of a canal along the line of the 
 Panama Railroad. After a careful survey, a 
 line forty-one and seven-tenths miles in length 
 was recommended, which, in the main, followed 
 the course that was ultimately adopted by the 
 French. 
 
 An Interoceanic Canal Commission had been 
 created, with the authority of Congress, in 1872. 
 After a careful study of all the data available, 
 this body unanimously reported in 1876 as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 " The route known as the ' Nicaragua route,' 
 beginning on the Atlantic side at or near Grey- 
 town ; running by canal to the San Juan River ; 
 thence . . . to . . . Lake Nicaragua; from 
 thence across the lake and through the valleys 
 of the Rio del Medio and the Rio Grande to 
 . . . Brito, on the Pacific coast, possesses, 
 both for the construction and the maintenance 
 of a canal, greater advantages and offers fewer 
 difficulties from engineering, commercial and 
 economic points of view than any one of the 
 other routes shown to be practicable by surveys 
 sufficient in detail to enable a judgment to be 
 formed of their respective merits." 
 
 The year before this report was issued an 
 irresponsible speculator, named Gorgoza, had 
 
Practical Projects 35 
 
 secured from the Colombian Congress a conces- 
 sion for a canal through the San Bias country in 
 which the Atrato and Tuyra Rivers were to be 
 utilized. A number of speculators and politi- 
 cians were attracted by Gorgoza's proposition 
 and a company was formed under the title of 
 " La Societe Civile Internationale du Canal In- 
 ter oceanique." Count Ferdinand de Lesseps, 
 whose fame as the projector and constructor of 
 the Suez Canal was then undimmed, General 
 Etienne Tiirr, and his brother-in-law, Lieuten- 
 ant Lucien Napoleon Bonaparte Wyse, were the 
 most distinguished of the early promoters of 
 the scheme. 
 
 Lieutenant Wyse was despatched to the 
 Isthmus for the purpose of surveying the pro-- 
 posed route. It was not found satisfactory, nor 
 was any feasible alternative route discovered 
 in the territory covered by the concession. 
 
 In this dilemma Wyse turne'd to the Panama 
 route, but a serious obstacle was in the way. 
 The contract of the Panama railroad with the 
 Colombian Government gave to the former the 
 exclusive right of transit in that territory. 
 Nevertheless, Wyse proceeded to Bogota and 
 laid before the authorities there a proposition 
 to commence work on a canal through the Isth- 
 
36 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 mus of Panama in two years ' time and to finish, 
 it within twelve years after the date of com- 
 mencement. He secured a concession condi- 
 tional upon his obtaining the consent of the 
 Panama Eailroad to it. 
 
 At this time there was pending before the 
 Legislature of Nicaragua a. bill to authorize the 
 construction of a canal in that territory by an- 
 other French company. After carrying his 
 point at Bogota, Wyse went to Nicaragua and 
 succeeded in defeating the efforts of his rivals 
 to gain a concession. He then went on to New 
 York and effected an agreement with the 
 Panama Eailroad Company. 
 
 Whilst Wyse was engaged in these negotia- 
 tions, Lieutenant Reclus made a perfunctory 
 survey of the proposed route. On the return of 
 these officers to Paris, they submitted a roseate 
 report to their principals and the Societe Civile 
 promptly adopted the route. 
 
 The contract with the Colombian Government 
 provided that whatever route the Societe might 
 propose should have the endorsement of an in- 
 ternational body of engineers and other scien- 
 tists. In accordance with this requirement, De 
 Lesseps convened at Paris in May, 1879, the 
 " International Scientific Congress." It con- 
 
Practical Projects 37 
 
 sisted of one hundred and thirty-six members, 
 of whom seventy-four were Frenchmen. The 
 body was largely composed of men friendly to 
 De Lesseps and his scheme. Fewer than fifty 
 of them were engineers, or scientists, a greater 
 number being speculators and politicians. De 
 Lesseps presided over the gathering and dom- 
 inated its proceedings. 
 
 Fifty-four members were appointed by 
 De Lesseps, who nominated all the com- 
 mittees to consider the question of the 
 route. At the outset considerable opposi- 
 tion to the line chosen by the promoters 
 was shown. . The San Bias route was advanced 
 by one of the American delegates; the Darien 
 route by another. The partisans of De Lesseps 
 showed the deepest resentment at the opposi- 
 tion and a pronounced disinclination to submit 
 the matter to open argument. They made it so 
 plain that they intended to carry their point, 
 regardless of. every consideration but their own 
 interests, that a number of the members of the 
 committee declined to take further part in the 
 proceedings. Immediately after their with- 
 drawal, the remainder of the body cast a vote 
 in favor of the Panama route and the Congress 
 ratified it without debate, although in the final 
 
38 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 declaration not more than one hundred of the 
 members went on record. 
 
 The methods of the promoters in this Congress 
 created the distrust of the foreign governments 
 that had interested themselves in the project 
 and even aroused unfavorable public opinion 
 in France. De Lesseps was acutely alive to the 
 bad impression that had been made and 
 promptly set about counteracting it. In Sep- 
 tember, 1879, he went to the Isthmus and made 
 an investigation. Although he was not an en- 
 gineer, his opinion in the matter carried great 
 weight, on account of the prestige attaching to 
 him as the builder of the Suez Canal. He con- 
 firmed the favorable reports of Wyse and Ee- 
 clus and published plans for a canal at sea level 
 to be twenty-eight feet deep and to cost 
 $132,000,000. 
 
 In the meantime, adverse feeling against the 
 French project had grown in official circles and 
 amongst the business men of the United States. 
 Prominent capitalists and engineers, including 
 Admiral Ammen and Lieutenant Menocal, the 
 official delegates to the International Congress, 
 organized the Interoceanic Canal Company, 
 with the design of constructing a waterway at 
 Nicaragua. In the spring of 1880, the latter 
 
Practical Projects 39 
 
 officer secured a concession from the Nicaragua 
 government, on the condition that work should 
 be commenced within two years. 
 
 De Lesseps, realizing the great importance of 
 propitiating the Government of the United 
 States and securing the good will of its people, 
 visited New York and Washington in March, 
 1880. He was treated as a distinguished guest 
 and cordially received by President Hayes, but 
 the latter shortly afterwards sent a message to 
 the Senate in which he gave it as his opinion 
 that an interoceanic canal by any route should 
 properly be controlled by the United States, 
 and that the United States could not consent to 
 the surrender of the control of such a waterway 
 to any European power. This was a direct slap 
 at De Lesseps' programme, which involved a 
 canal whose neutrality should be guaranteed by 
 a concert of European nations. The Frenchman 
 was shrewd enough to yield on this point with 
 seeming cordiality, but he set about trying to 
 secure his ends by less direct processes. An 
 American board was created, with prominent 
 men composing its personnel, and some of the 
 leading banking houses of the United States 
 were engaged as fiscal agents. Large sums of 
 money were placed at the disposal of these agen- 
 
40 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 cies for the purpose of influencing public opinion 
 through, the medium of subsidized newspapers. 
 The immediate result was a campaign against 
 the adoption of the policy advocated by Presi- 
 dent Hayes and an organized opposition to the 
 Mcaraguan project. 
 
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CHAPTEE III 
 
 THE PANAMA RAIIJtOAD 
 
 With the sack and abandonment of the old 
 city of Panama, which is described elsewhere in 
 this volume, its once great commerce expired. 
 The new site enjoyed no such facility as the 
 " paved road," which had connected Panama 
 Viejo with its Atlantic port. The need of con- 
 venient interoceanic communication was recog- 
 nized before the discovery of gold in California 
 made it urgently desirable. In 1848, John L. 
 Stephens, W. H. Aspinwall, and Henry 
 Chauncey applied to the government of New 
 Granada for a concession to operate a transit 
 line. It was granted two years later, by which 
 time developments in the newly acquired terri- 
 tory of the United States upon the Pacific coast 
 had created a promising outlook for what, at the 
 time of its inception, was generally regarded as 
 a wild enterprise. At best the undertaking was 
 a hazardous one, fraught with enormous diffi- 
 culties and beset by innumerable uncertainties. 
 
 41 
 
42 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 In 1849, surveys were made for a railroad, 
 and it was decided, though why it is difficult to 
 understand, to locate the Atlantic terminus on 
 the Island of Manzanillo. In May, 1850, the 
 work of construction was commenced. " No 
 imposing ceremonies inaugurated breaking the 
 ground. Two American citizens, leaping, ax in 
 hand, from a native canoe upon a wild and 
 desolate island, their retinue consisting of half 
 a dozen Indians who clear the path with rude 
 knives, strike their glittering- axes into the near- 
 est tree ; the rapid blows reverberate from shore 
 to shore, and the stately cocoa crashes upon 
 the beach. . . Thus, unostentatiously, was 
 announced the commencement of a railway, 
 which, from the interests and difficulties in- 
 volved, might well be looked upon as one of the 
 grandest and boldest enterprises ever at- 
 tempted. ' ' 1 
 
 Then commenced a splendid fight against tre- 
 mendous obstacles, — a long, wearing struggle 
 with unfamiliar conditions that was to end tri- 
 umphantly five years later. A two hundred ton 
 vessel brought Chief Engineer Totten and his 
 assistants to the Isthmus. The craft was an- 
 
 1 " Handbook of the Panama Railroad," F. N. Otis. Out of 
 print. 
 
The Panama Railroad 43 
 
 chored off Manzanillo and furnished the head- 
 quarters of the force. For a long time it was 
 impossible for them to sleep on shore and they 
 made their home on the boat. Here they were 
 able to escape the mosquitoes that har- 
 assed them through the day, but the cock- 
 roaches which swarmed over the ship were 
 hardly less annoying. The country through 
 which the line had to be carried was wild and 
 covered with jungle. The way had to be cut 
 through the tangle of vegetation, and in this 
 work the men were exposed to the attacks of 
 noxious insects and reptiles. Often they had 
 to labor waist-deep in the mire of swamps. 
 The construction had been begun at the begin- 
 ning of the rainy season, and, for the following 
 eight months, heavy downpours and humid heat 
 were added to the other difficulties. Not one 
 of the party escaped the wasting calentura, as 
 the jungle fever of Panama is called. Soon they 
 were all thin and pallid, but not one gave in 
 until he had reached the last extremity of en- 
 durance. 
 
 It was as daring a piece of engineering work 
 as the world has ever seen, and it was carried 
 out with superb heroism. The eldest of these 
 men, Col. G. M. Totten, was a veteran in experi- 
 
44 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 ence, though, not more than forty-five years of 
 age. His youngest assistant, James L. Baldwin, 
 was barely thirty but he displayed such remark- 
 able ability and enterprise that it was not long 
 before he became the right hand man of his 
 chief. It was Baldwin to whom the extremely 
 arduous task of locating the track was en- 
 trusted. Plunging into the wilderness with a 
 small band of Indians and two or three Ameri- 
 can aides, he accomplished the work in a sur- 
 prisingly short time. 
 
 Among the engineers who were conspicuous 
 for the part they took in this pioneer under- 
 taking, were J. C. Trautwine and J. J. Williams. 
 It is claimed for each of them that he had 
 the honor of breaking the first ground, but 
 however that may be, both did their fair share 
 in the trying labors that ensued. 
 
 Parties of gold-seekers had already begun to 
 cross the Isthmus on their way to California, 
 and the work on the road was pushed with 
 feverish activity in order to meet the needs of 
 this traffic as soon as possible. When the con- 
 tracts were placed for the construction it was 
 hoped that the line might be completed in two 
 years. But the calculations had been made, and 
 necessarily so, without any definite knowledge 
 
The Panama Railroad 45 
 
 of the work to be accomplished or the expense 
 of doing it. The contractors experienced unex- 
 pected difficulty in securing suitable labor. The 
 natives of the country were not equal to the 
 labor, either in the matter of intelligence or 
 physique. The cost proved to be vastly in ex- 
 cess of the estimates. At the end of the second 
 year, instead of having the road finished, the 
 contractors had reached the end of their re- 
 sources and threw up the sponge. 
 
 This was a severe blow to the directors of the 
 Company, but they did not falter in their pur- 
 pose. The bankrupt contractors were promptly 
 released, and the construction was taken into 
 the hands of the Company. Enthusiastically 
 backed by the officers, the engineers attacked the 
 task with redoubled zeal, but they were con- 
 stantly retarded by unexpected setbacks, and 
 the climate was a perpetual obstacle. Every 
 kind of labor available was tried. Whites 
 from the United States, though picked for their 
 stamina, quickly succumbed under the trying 
 conditions. Negroes were little better. A con- 
 tingent of Chinese was enlisted in the work. 
 They soon sickened, and a large proportion of 
 them committed suicide in despair. So many 
 laborers were constantly on the books of the 
 
46 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 hospitals that in order to keep things moving 
 with anything like satisfactory expedition it was 
 necessary to employ a force three times as great 
 as that actually engaged on the work. The 
 mortality during five years was slightly more 
 than 6,000. 
 
 On the first day of October, 1851, the single 
 track was opened to Gatun, a distance of seyen 
 miles from the starting point. A few weeks 
 later it happened that two steamers carrying 
 passengers bound for California by the Isth- 
 mian route, were caught in one of the northers 
 that frequently strike the Atlantic coast of 
 Panama at that time of the year, and were ob- 
 liged to take shelter in Navy Bay. This oc- 
 currence gave the new railroad its first business 
 and a valuable advertisement. The passengers, 
 who should have been landed at the mouth of the 
 Chagres, were brought ashore at Manzanillo, 
 and the railroad company undertook their trans- 
 portation to Gatun. There was not such a 
 thing as a passenger coach on the Isthmus, but 
 the voyagers and their baggage were carried on 
 flat-cars and construction trucks and trans- 
 ferred to boats which took them up the river to 
 Las Cruces. 
 
 The traffic over the finished portion of the 
 
The Panama Railroad 47 
 
 line increased steadily, encouraging the Com- 
 pany and furnishing it with funds for the con- 
 struction. In a few months, the rails had 
 reached Barbacaos, the half-way point. Here 
 the Chagres had to be crossed. A contract had 
 been made for a bridge, but after about a year's 
 work the contractor abandoned the undertaking 
 and the Company was obliged to assume it. 
 When this vexatious delay had been overcome, 
 the work went forward briskly and without 
 any further serious mishaps. On the 27th of 
 January, 1855, the last rail was laid and the 
 railroad, which has had a remarkable history, 
 was opened throughout its length. It had cost 
 $140,000 per mile, or a total of $7,000,000. The 
 next question was, would it pay? 
 
 At the moment that well-deserved success at- 
 tended the efforts of the Company, its coffers 
 were empty and its prospects appeared to be 
 dark. Its funds had been exhausted in the task 
 of completing the road, and the greatest diffi- 
 culty was experienced in securing an adequate 
 equipment of motive power and rolling stock. 
 But the directors were full of hope and cour- 
 age, and good fortune rewarded them from 
 the outset. With poor and limited facilities for 
 handling traffic it was shrewdly determined to 
 
48 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 put the tariff rates at what were believed to be 
 prohibitive figures for all but the most urgent 
 business. The first rate sheet issued was as 
 follows : 
 
 For Passengers 
 
 First class $25.00 gold 
 
 Steerage 10.00 gold 
 
 For Freight 
 Personal Baggage .... $0.05 per pound 
 
 Express 1.80 per cubic foot 
 
 Ordinary First class ... .50 per cubic foot 
 Second class . . . . 1.50 per 100 pounds 
 
 Mails 22 per pound 
 
 Coal 5.00 per ton 
 
 The Company was fully prepared to make 
 considerable reductions in these rates as soon 
 as it should be on its feet and in a position to 
 handle all the business offering. To its sur- 
 prise, however,, the extraordinarily high 
 charges did not prove to be in any degree pro- 
 hibitive. The traffic demand was so great and 
 insistent that the schedule was adopted as per- 
 manent and it remained in force for more than 
 twenty years. Money began to pour into the 
 Company's treasury in a steady stream. Im- 
 provements were made all along the line, ter- 
 minal wharves and other needful structures 
 were erected, and the road was furnished with 
 ample cars and engines. 
 
The Panama Railroad 49 
 
 Almost immediately dividends on the original 
 fifty thousand shares were paid, and soon 
 amounted to twenty-four per cent, while large 
 sums were carried to the sinking fund. In the 
 early years of the Company's operation its 
 stock came to be regarded as one of the very 
 best investments in Wall Street. It ran up to 
 more than one hundred per cent over par and 
 had such stability that, although a stock divi- 
 dend of forty per cent was declared to cover 
 the amount of earnings that had gone toward 
 the construction of the road, the shares sold the 
 following day without decline. In fact, during 
 the first ten years of its history, the road's pros- 
 perity was marvelous. The management, under 
 the presidency of David Hoadley, was strictly 
 honest, and conservative, perhaps to a fault. 
 The business world became accustomed to look 
 upon the Panama Railroad as one of the most 
 prosperous enterprises in existence and one 
 whose prosperity was fixed upon an unshakable 
 foundation. 
 
 During the ten years ending with 1861 the 
 total receipts exceeded $11,000,000. A large 
 proportion of this sum was used in improve- 
 ment, but quarterly dividends of six per cent 
 were paid and the stock issue was raised to 
 
50 Panama and the Canal To-day- 
 seventy thousand shares, making the capital 
 $7,000,000, whereas it had originally been 
 $5,000,000. It was confidently expected by 
 the public that the natural increase in traffic 
 would result in corresponding increase in 
 profits. 
 
 There were, however, two or three serious 
 drawbacks to the continuance of the road's re- 
 markable prosperity. The chief of these was 
 the fact that the contract made with the Govern- 
 ment of New Granada was for a very short 
 period, when the character of the enterprise is 
 considered. The concession was to expire at 
 the end of forty-nine years from 1848, and it 
 had been agreed that on the expiration of the 
 first twenty years after the opening of the line, 
 the Government of New Granada could take 
 possession of it by making a payment of $5,000,- 
 000; or, if the Government should waive that 
 option, at the end of thirty years it might se- 
 cure the property by making a payment of 
 $4,000,000; or at the end of forty years of 
 $2,000,000. With the expiration of the term of 
 the concession, the road and all its assets were 
 to pass to the Government of New Granada 
 free. 
 
 Before half of the first term had expired, the 
 
The Panama Railroad 51 
 
 enterprise had established itself as the best 
 paying railroad in the world. The directors 
 were fully alive to the advantage of securing 
 unhampered possession of it, and the Govern- 
 ment of Colombia, which had succeeded New 
 Granada, was equally appreciative of the value 
 of its reversionary interest in the property. 
 There was no doubt about Colombia's availing 
 herself of the first option to acquire the line 
 and its appurtenances. 
 
 With this dread contingency in view, Colonel 
 Totten and William Nelson were sent to Bogota 
 as representatives of the Company to negotiate 
 a new contract at any cost. After several 
 months of dickering, an agreement, superseding 
 the old one, was signed by the interested parties 
 in August, 1867. It was not as favorable as 
 had been hoped for, but considering that Colom- 
 bia clearly had the whip hand of the situation, 
 the Company's representatives probably did as 
 well as was possible. 
 
 The new franchise had a life of ninety-nine 
 years from the date of its execution, but a num- 
 ber of additional obligations were imposed by 
 it. One million dollars in gold was paid at once 
 as a douceur, and the annual payment of 
 $250 ? 000 in gold was stipulated for during the. 
 
52 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 continuance of the concession. The Company- 
 was bound to " extend the railroad on the Pa- 
 cific side to the islands of Naos, Culebra, 
 Perico, and Flamenco ; or other place in the Bay 
 of Panama where there may exist a permanent 
 depth of water for large ships. ' ' This was an 
 onerous condition that could only be carried out 
 at the expenditure of many millions. The con- 
 tract also provided for the recession of the Is- 
 land of Manzanillo, on which Colon stood. The 
 original agreement conveyed it to the Company 
 in perpetuity ; under the later terms it was to be 
 restored to the Government at the same time 
 that the road should revert. There was also 
 a provision for the carriage of Government 
 troops and munitions free. This did not, at 
 the time, appear to be of considerable conse- 
 quence, but in later years it proved to be a 
 heavy burden, as, for instance, in 1903, when, 
 with only 4,633 first-class paying passengers, 
 there were transported 6,601 troops who rode 
 free. 
 
 When it became known in New York that the 
 Panama Railroad had weighted itself with such 
 heavy liabilities, the shares dropped from three 
 hundred to eighty in a few days. This was the 
 beginning of evil days. Other unfortunate cir- 
 
The Panama Railroad 53 
 
 cumstances shortly arose. In 1862, Congress 
 had passed an act authorizing a railroad and 
 telegraph line across the continent. For years 
 the project languished, but at length it was 
 taken up by men of energy and determination 
 with the result that in May, 1869, the last rail 
 of the " Overland " was laid at Promontory 
 Point. 
 
 This development robbed the Panama Rail- 
 road of the best of the California business on 
 which its prosperity had been built up. But 
 there remained an even richer source of profit 
 in the trade of Central and South America. 
 This was obviously the most desirable field for 
 the directors of the road to cultivate, and an 
 opportunity to secure a good hold upon it 
 shortly occurred to them. 
 
 For some time the Pacific Steam Navigation 
 Company had complained that their business on 
 the Pacific Coast was hampered by the lack of 
 adequate facilities afforded by the Panama 
 Railroad, whose share in the division of rates 
 for through traffic was unsatisfactory to the 
 steamship company. When the loss of the 
 California traffic became assured, Colonel 
 Center, the superintendent of the railroad, 
 probably acting without the authorization of 
 
54 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 his directors, met the Manager of the Pacific 
 Steam Navigation Company and made an 
 agreement covering the matters in which both 
 corporations were interested. This provisional 
 contract provided that the rates for passages 
 and freight should be made by the company with 
 whom the business originated, and the total 
 charge should be divided equally between the 
 Panama Railroad and the steamship companies 
 on either side of the Isthmus. 
 
 Colonel Center had reason to believe that the 
 officers of his company would be delighted with 
 the result of his negotiation, for the agreement 
 was equitable and quite advantageous to the 
 railroad, while it involved the extremely de- 
 sirable feature of an amicable alliance with the 
 Pacific Steam Navigation Company. That cor- 
 poration was one of the most prosperous and 
 best managed in the world. Its business was 
 well-established and free from competition. It 
 had twelve good vessels running between Pan- 
 ama and Valparaiso, and calling at twenty- 
 eight intermediate ports. 
 
 When the tentative agreement that had been 
 arrived at between Colonel Center and Mana- 
 ger Petrie was laid before the directors of the 
 Panama Eailroad, they flatly declined to en- 
 
The Panama Railroad 55 
 
 dorse it, declaring that their company would 
 collect such charges as they might see fit to 
 make, and would not submit to dictation in the 
 matter from any source. This suicidal action 
 can only be accounted for on the supposition 
 that the officials of the Company were ignorant 
 of the resources of the Pacific Steam Naviga- 
 tion Company and believed that the manage- 
 ment of the latter would be obliged to concede 
 the point insisted upon. In this they were ut- 
 terly mistaken. As soon as the ultimatum of 
 the railroad company was made known to the 
 steamship company, it began preparations for 
 conducting its business independently. In 1868 
 regular voyages were commenced by its vessels 
 between Liverpool and Valparaiso, and later 
 extended to Callao. By 1874 a fleet of fifty-four 
 boats, with a gross tonnage of 120,000 tons, was 
 operating on this line. The smaller vessels 
 only were sent to Panama and they carried no 
 more than was necessary. The large repair 
 shops and coaling station were removed from 
 the Island of Toboga to Callao. Thus an op- 
 portunity was thrown away which the Panama 
 Railroad never had a chance to recover. There 
 is no doubt that had the agreement with the 
 Pacific Steam Navigation Company been ef- 
 
56 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 fected the fortunes of the road would have been 
 greatly influenced for the better. 
 
 The year 1868, that in which the Pacific Steam 
 Navigation Company began running its ships 
 round Cape Horn, saw the prosperity of the 
 Panama Eailroad reach high water mark. The 
 following statement was made in the annual 
 report for that year. 
 
 Total receipts from all sources .... $4,337,668.48 
 
 Total expenses, including the 
 
 new Colombian subsidy . $2,030,185.52 
 
 Four quarterly dividends of six 
 
 per cent each on $7,000,000 . 1,680,000.00 
 Surplus 627,482.96 
 
 $4,337,668.48 
 
 It is questionable whether any railroad ever 
 made such a showing as this. Upwards of four 
 millions earned in a year by forty-seven miles 
 of single track, netting more than one hundred 
 per cent profit ! 
 
 At the end of a few brief years a great change 
 was indicated in the directors' report. The an- 
 nual statement for 1871 showed : 
 
 Total Receipts $1,284,418.98 
 
 Total Disbursements, exclusive of dividends . 997,875.44 
 
 Surplus . $286,543.54 
 
 This was a pitiful falling off, but there was 
 worse to come. 
 
The Panama Railroad 57 
 
 In the following year, the Panama Railroad 
 fell into the hands of an adventurer in the field 
 of finance, who commenced his meteoric career 
 by marrying an heiress while the steward of a 
 Hudson River steamboat. Alden B. Stockwell 
 saw the stock of the road declining, and con- 
 ceived the idea that it would be a likely prop- 
 erty to acquire and loot. Early in 1872 he se- 
 cured a large number of the shares and a suffi- 
 cient proportion of the voting proxies to elect 
 himself president of the company. For several 
 years thereafter the securities of the corpora- 
 tion were manipulated by Wall Street specula- 
 tors without regard to the interests of the prop- 
 erty, or the shareholders. In 1874, Russell Sage 
 was the president, and, soon after, Trenor "W. 
 Park obtained control. The last named held 
 a majority of the shares at the time that the 
 line was transferred to the Panama Canal 
 Company. 
 
 The total receipts of the road from 1851 to 
 1898 were $94,958,890.36 and its total expendi- 
 tures $57,036,234.46. On a capital of $7,000,000 
 it had paid dividends aggregating $37,922,655. 
 Splendid as this showing is, it might have been 
 very much better if the directors had exercised 
 more foresight, and but for the gross misman- 
 
58 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 agement, during the seven years of French con- 
 trol. 
 
 When the French canal project was launched, 
 the railroad company was in a position of ex- 
 traordinary advantage. Its consent was nec- 
 essary to the granting of the canal concession 
 by New Granada. Its line parallelled the pro- 
 posed channel and the French were obliged to 
 transport their supplies over it at the regular 
 rates. This was such an enormous tax on their 
 treasury that they were forced to buy the road 
 at the price asked for it by the shareholders. 
 It was a providential opportunity to dispose of 
 a fast deteriorating property at fancy figures. 
 For 68,534 of the 70,000 shares the Canal Com- 
 pany was forced to pay $18,094,000, or at the 
 rate of $250 a share. But this was not all, for 
 a dividend of fifty-two per cent was paid 
 shortly before the transfer, and a treasury fund 
 of $1,700,000 was retained by the sellers. 
 
 In 1904, all the property of the French 
 canal company passed to the United States by 
 purchase. Of the amount paid, $6,800,000 was 
 allotted as the pro rata value of the railroad. 
 Omitting the fact that the line is a necessary 
 adjunct to the construction of the Canal, the 
 price paid for it was low. The assets, aside 
 
The Panama Railroad 59 
 
 from the franchise, were about seventy miles 
 of track, thirty-five locomotives, thirty passen- 
 ger coaches, nearly one hundred freight cars, 
 and a quantity of other rolling stock. In addi- 
 tion, there were a number of repair shops, 
 wharves, and other buildings at Panama and 
 Colon, the greater part of the Island of Man- 
 zanillo, a considerable amount of real estate 
 along the line, a half interest in the islands of 
 Naos, Perico, Culebra and Flamenco, and three 
 steamships running between New York and 
 Panama. 
 
 The road has been improved in every reppect 
 since it came into the hands of the United 
 States. It is now a double-track line which was 
 re-located last year to conform with the plans 
 for the Canal. It handles an enormous amount 
 of traffic in connection with the construction 
 work and is, considering its mileage, by far the 
 busiest railroad in the world. The engineering 
 department of the Isthmian Canal Commission 
 operates about three hundred miles of construc- 
 tion trackage and the Panama Railroad acts as 
 a clearing-house for its traffic. It receives the 
 loaded dirt cars and returns them empty. As 
 soon as the trains come upon the Company's 
 tracks they fall under their jurisdiction and 
 
60 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 responsibility. From seven hundred to eight 
 hundred of these dirt cars are operated daily 
 with unfailing regularity. The material han- 
 dled in this manner last year by the road 
 brought its freight movement up to the enor- 
 mous figure of 280,000,000 tons, with which the 
 traffic of no fifty miles of railroad elsewhere 
 can compare. The contrast is all the more 
 marked when it is considered that the move- 
 ment of the Panama Eailroad is restricted to 
 nine hours of the day, whereas an ordinary 
 road operates during the entire twenty-four. 
 In addition to the spoil referred to above, the 
 road carries a large quantity of supplies for 
 the Commission and handles a considerable 
 volume of commercial freight. 
 
 The passenger traffic of the Panama Railroad 
 is also extraordinarily great. Four passenger 
 trains are run in each direction daily and their 
 coaches are always crowded with laborers and 
 gold employes, who get on and off at the twenty- 
 four stations strung along the line. During last 
 year, 1,385,645 passengers were carried, and the 
 earnings from that source alone exceeded half 
 a million dollars. 
 
 The new, or re-located line of the Panama 
 Eailroad is 46.2 miles long, or about one mile 
 
The Panama Railroad 61 
 
 shorter than the old road. From Colon to 
 Mindi, 4.17 miles, and from Corozal to Panama, 
 2.83 miles, the old location is used, but the re- 
 maining 36 miles are entirely new. From Mindi, 
 the Atlantic terminus of the Canal, to Gatun, 
 the railroad runs in general parallel to the 
 Canal, and the maximum grade of the line, 1^4 
 per cent, is in this stretch, where the ascent 
 from nearly mean sea level to 95 feet above is 
 made. At Gatun, the road leaves the vicinity 
 of the Canal and runs east along the valley of 
 the Gatun River to a point about 4% miles 
 from the centre line of the Canal, where it turns 
 southward again and skirts the east shore of 
 Gatun Lake to the beginning of Culebra Cut, 
 at Bas Obispo. In this section there are several 
 large fills, and the maximum elevation of the 
 line is reached, 210 feet above mean sea level. 
 Through Culebra Cut the road runs on a berm 
 on the east side, ten feet above the surface of 
 the Canal. From the south end of Culebra Cut, 
 at Paraiso, it will run practically parallel with 
 the Canal to Panama. The maximum grade 
 between Gatun and Panama is 0.45 per cent, 
 and the maximum curvature is six degrees. 
 Where the road crosses the Gatun Eiver, a bas- 
 cule steel bridge is to be erected, and a steel 
 
62 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 girder bridge one-quarter mile long, with a 200- 
 foot truss channel span, is in use across' the 
 Chagres Eiver at Gamboa. Smaller streams 
 are crossed on concrete culverts. Near Mira- 
 flores a tunnel 736 feet long has been built 
 through a hill. The cost of the new line is esti- 
 mated at $7,225,000. 
 
« 
 a 
 
 o 
 « 
 
 o 
 
 o 
 a 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 THE FRENCH ENTERPRISE 
 
 There is no doubt that Ferdinand de Les- 
 seps entered upon the canal enterprise in the 
 full belief that it could be carried out and that 
 it would be so profitable as to stand the weight 
 of almost unlimited expenses. In order to cre- 
 ate confidence in the project and secure the nec- 
 essary subscriptions to stock, he found himself 
 obliged to institute a plan of promotion that 
 involved the support of powerful newspapers 
 and financial houses. This cost enormous sums 
 of money, and, at the outset, the company 
 formed for the construction was hampered with 
 a load of liabilities, which were recklessly in- 
 creased as time went on. From the inception 
 of the undertaking De Lesseps was associated 
 with a number of speculators and schemers, 
 who had nothing but their individual interests 
 in view, and many of whom became wealthy at 
 the expense of the deluded shareholders. 
 
 63 
 
64 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 In the light of our present knowledge it is 
 safe to say that disease alone would have ren- 
 dered the accomplishment of the task by the 
 French practically impossible, but the disas- 
 trous termination of their effort was due mainly 
 to causes that might have been avoided and the 
 responsibility for it must be laid at the door 
 of the chief promoter. De Lesseps dominated 
 all the affairs of the Panama Canal Company. 
 He directed the promotion proceedings, author- 
 ized the lavish outlays, decided upon all plans 
 and even took all the engineering features un- 
 der his control. He did not hesitate to override 
 the judgment of the business and technical 
 directors, and to depart from their decisions 
 whenever he saw fit. Without consulting them, 
 he went so far, on more than one occasion, as 
 to materially alter their estimates and state- 
 ments before issuing them to the public. De 
 Lesseps, it must be understood, was not an en- 
 gineer by education, although he had picked 
 up a considerable amount of technical knowl- 
 edge in the course of his experience with the 
 Corinth and Suez Canals, but his ability did not 
 compare in any degree with that of men whose 
 Opinions he confidently set aside when they 
 failed to coincide with his own. Nevertheless, 
 
The French Enterprise 65 
 
 he constituted himself the sole arbiter in all 
 matters relating to the project and directed 
 every step without counsel or control. It is 
 only charitable to suppose that his great pow- 
 ers had begun to wane at this time, but if so, 
 the decline was not accompanied by any dimin- 
 ishment in his self-confidence, for one of his 
 first public utterances was that " the Panama 
 Canal will be more easily begun, finished and 
 maintained than the Suez Canal." Nor was it 
 long before he infected the common people with 
 his optimistic belief. Showers of silver came 
 to him from the little hoards of the French peas- 
 antry, and continued to flow long after the 
 world at large had lost all faith in the enter- 
 prise. 
 
 At the first meeting of the shareholders they 
 were informed that the following expenses had 
 to be met by way of establishment: 
 
 For the Concession $2,000,000 
 
 Preliminary Expenses 2,160,000 
 
 Profit on Preliminary Expenses . . 2,360,000 
 
 American Financial Group . . . 2,400,000 
 
 Total $8,920,000 
 
 Of course no detailed explanation of these 
 vaguely expressed items was attempted, nor 
 could it have been made without an undesirable 
 
66 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 exposure of graft at the very outset. For in- 
 stance, the payment to the " American Finan- 
 cial Group ' ' was no more nor less than a bonus 
 to secure the co-operation of certain newspa- 
 pers and financiers in the United States, and, 
 as the event proved, a very unprofitable invest- 
 ment. However, the shareholders who attended 
 this meeting were so deeply impressed with De 
 Lesseps' recital of his great plans and the im- 
 mense profits which would surely follow their 
 execution, that a matter of eight or nine mil- 
 lions of dollars looked like a mere bagatelle to 
 them. 
 
 " Founders' profits " were provided for in 
 the first appropriation of cash, and continued 
 to be a drain upon the company as long as there 
 was anything to be extracted from it. In addi- 
 tion to immediate cash payments a provision 
 was made for the receipt by the founders of fif- 
 teen per cent of the net profits of the Company. 
 These contingent profits were capitalized in 
 order to enable the beneficiaries to realize im- 
 mediately upon their prospects. Parts de fon- 
 dateur of 5,000 francs each were issued. The 
 original number of these was 500, but later they 
 were increased to 900. So effective had been 
 the publicity campaign with which this ill- 
 
The French Enterprise 67 
 
 fated enterprise was launched that, before a 
 stroke of work had been done and immediately 
 upon their issuance, these founders' shares 
 sold at 80,000 francs each, and towards the 
 close of 1880 the price had risen to 380,000 
 francs. Although there never were any profits 
 realized by the Company, approximately 
 $1,000,000 were paid out on this account in 
 1883. 
 
 The Panama Canal Company was capitalized 
 at $80,000,000 and at the first call a sum much 
 in excess of this amount was offered, the great 
 majority of the subscribers being poor people. 
 The Paris Congress had estimated the cost of 
 the Canal at $214,000,000 and many of the mem- 
 bers considered the figures too low. They were 
 altogether too high for De Lesseps and the 
 speculators who were associated with him. 
 Early in 1880 he went to the Isthmus with a 
 technical commission for the purpose of making 
 the final surveys and locating the exact line 
 of the Canal. The work was done in a perfunc- 
 tory manner, the party only remaining upon the 
 ground a few weeks, but the commission made 
 a new estimate of the cost of the operation, 
 which it placed at $168,600,000. De Lesseps as- 
 sumed the responsibility of reducing these 
 
68 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 figures by nearly $40,000,000 in order that the 
 proposition he was presenting to the public 
 might have a more attractive aspect. Together 
 with this fanciful calculation, was issued an 
 equally unfounded statement of the returns to 
 be expected from the operation of the waterway 
 when completed. The promoters declared that, 
 on a conservative estimate, 6,000,000 tons of 
 traffic, yielding $18,000,000, might be reljed 
 upon for the first year. 
 
 The capital stock of the Company having been 
 subscribed for, a number of engineers and other 
 experts were sent to Panama to make precise 
 and practical surveys and to ascertain the 
 actual conditions that existed. All the previous 
 work in this direction, from the time of Wyse's 
 so-called " survey," which only covered two- 
 thirds of the distance across the Isthmus, but on 
 which, nevertheless, an estimate of cost had 
 been based, to the examinations of the technical 
 commission, had been hasty and slipshod. After 
 the public had subscribed millions to the enter- 
 prise on the definite representations of the pro- 
 moters, the Company set about learning the 
 facts in the case and arriving at something like 
 a sound basis for estimates of cost and time of 
 construction. This, however, was for their own 
 
The French Enterprise 
 
 information, and not with, any idea of enlight- 
 ening the investors. 
 
 In 1882, actual construction was commenced 
 and several thousand laborers were put to work 
 along the entire length of the line. Then graft, 
 extravagance, immorality and disease began to 
 pervade the scene. Froude, describing condi- 
 tions after a visit to the seat of the French 
 operations, declared: " In all the world there 
 is not, perhaps, now concentrated in any single 
 spot so much swindling and villainy, so much 
 foul disease, such a hideous dung heap of moral 
 and physical abomination, as in the scene of this 
 far-famed undertaking of the nineteenth cen- 
 tury." 
 
 No preparation had been made for the sanita- 
 tion of a region which at that time had a reputa- 
 tion of the worst in this respect. When they 
 realized the necessities of the case, the French 
 were not slow in affording all the medical aid 
 and hospital accommodations possible. But 
 these were of little avail in the state of ignor- 
 ance that prevailed as to the sources of yellow 
 and malaria fever. The hospitals soon became 
 known as foci of the former disease, as we can 
 easily understand now, when we know that their 
 verandahs and wards were filled with large 
 
70 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 plants in pots that stood in earthen basins filled 
 with water. The French cultivated flowers ex- 
 tensively about their dwellings and buildings 
 and each flower pot afforded an ideal breeding 
 place for mosquitoes, that conveyed the yellow 
 fever and malaria germs. The fight against 
 these diseases was a hopeless one under the cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 Money was spent with an open hand, but with- 
 out judgment or knowledge of the requirements. 
 Vast quantities of machinery and supplies were 
 shipped to the scene with no object other than 
 the profit of the manufacturers or dealers in 
 France. A great deal of this material was 
 never used, but allowed to rust and decay at dif- 
 ferent points along the line. Thousands of 
 buildings were put up, many of them unneces- 
 sarily. Extravagant salaries were paid, and 
 unjustifiable perquisites allowed. 
 
 Dr. Wolfred Nelson, who was at Panama dur- 
 ing the greater part of the French occupancy, 
 has the following to say with regard to the graft 
 and extravagance that characterized the 
 work: 
 
 " Some eighteen months ago M. de Lesseps 
 announced to the world that five great contract- 
 ing firms had pledged themselves to deliver the 
 
The French Enterprise 71 
 
 canal cut to tide level. . . I have informa- 
 tion from a source that I know to be reliable, 
 that the great contracting firms mentioned had 
 placed to their credit before commencing work 
 the handsome sum of $1,000,000 'each, which 
 they were allowed to expend for the purchase 
 of the plant deemed necessary, and when the 
 said sum was expended it was -considered as so 
 much work done, and they were at liberty to 
 make an additional charge of fifteen per cent 
 thereon as profit. 
 
 " The famous Bureau System is what has 
 obtained on the Isthmus up to the present time, 
 with changes and amplifications without num- 
 ber. There is enough bureaucratic work, and 
 there are enough officers on the Isthmus to 
 furnish at least half a dozen first-class republics 
 with officials for all their departments. The 
 expenditure has been simply colossal. One 
 Director (xeneral lived in a mansion that cost 
 over $100,000 ; his pay was $50,000 a year, and 
 every time he went out on the line he had his 
 deplacement which gave him the liberal sum of 
 fifty dollars a day additional. He travelled in 
 a handsome Pullman car, specially constructed, 
 which was reported to have cost $42,000. 
 Later, wishing a summer residence, a most ex- 
 
72 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 pensive building was put up near La Boca. 
 The preparation of the grounds, the build- 
 ing, and the roads thereto, cost upwards of 
 $150,000. 
 
 " The way money has been thrown away is 
 simply astonishing. One canal chief had had 
 built a famous pigeon house while I was on the 
 Isthmus lately. It cost the company $1,500. 
 Another man had built a large bath-house on the 
 most approved principles. This cost $40,000. 
 Thousands and tens of thousands have been 
 frittered away in ornamental grounds, for all 
 had to be beau, utility being a second considera- 
 tion." 1 
 
 The following figures are taken from the re- 
 port of Mr. Armero, a Colombian officer, which 
 was made up to June 30, 1886, that is to say 
 about four years after work was actually com- 
 menced : 
 
 " Excavations of 14,000,000 cubic metres, 
 $28,000,000; material purchased, $22,000,000; 
 combustibles, $3,800,000; explosive material, 
 $1,300,000 ; purchase of Panama Railroad, $18,- 
 685,088; encampments on the line, $9,000,000; 
 Central Hospital of Panama, $5,600,000; Hos- 
 pital at Colon and ambulances, $1,400,000; 
 
 1 Five Years at Panama. Wolfred Nelson, M. D. Out of print. 
 
The French Enterprise 73 
 
 stables, $600,000 ; carriages and horses for em- 
 ployees, $215,000; servants for employees, $2,- 
 700,000 ; mules and wagons, $125,000 ; buildings 
 for offices, private residence for the manager, 
 country seat for the same, grounds, etc., $5,- 
 250,000 ; parlor car for the same, $42,000 ; sana- 
 tarium at Toboga, $465,000 ; indemnity to com- 
 missioners (sent to Panama at the Canal 
 Company's expense to report on the canal), 
 $2,000,000; indemnity to contractors (for com- 
 pany's failure to carry out certain contracts), 
 $2,300,000; wages of employees on the line, 
 $5,000,000; offices at New York, Paris and 
 Panama, $8,400,000; police on the encamp- 
 ments, $2,300,000 ; pharmaceutical staff, $4,800- 
 000; interest at five per cent on capital, $30,- 
 000,000. Total, $154,509,088." 
 
 The inexpert eye may, without difficulty, see 
 graft sticking out all over these figures. Actual 
 excavation accounts for less than one-fourth of 
 the total expenditure, which considerably ex- 
 ceeds De Lesseps' estimate for the complete 
 work. The essential expenses amount to a com- 
 paratively small proportion of the whole. 
 Wages of employes on the line amount to less 
 than two-thirds of the sum expended on the 
 offices 
 
74 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Briefly stated, De Lesseps proposed a canal at 
 sea level with a uniform depth of 27% feet. Its 
 length was to be 45% miles, extending from 
 Colon to Panama. A large tidal basin was to be 
 constructed at the Pacific end to counteract the 
 effect of the difference between the tidal oscilla- 
 tions in the two oceans. This waterway was to 
 be finished in eight years from the time of the 
 organization of the Company. 
 
 With a permanent staff of engineers upon the 
 ground, reliable information regarding the un- 
 dertaking began to accumulate, and it all 
 pointed to the conclusion that the task was very 
 much greater than the promoters had imagined 
 it to be. Nevertheless, De Lesseps adhered to his 
 original estimates until 1885, two years after the 
 inception of the construction. At a meeting of 
 the shareholders in that year, he asked for an 
 extension of the time to July, 1889, and in- 
 creased his estimate of cost to $120,000,000. 
 But, at this time, barely one-tenth of the re- 
 quired excavation had been made and it needed 
 no great mathematical skill to calculate that at 
 the same rate of progress and expenditure, the 
 work would occupy twenty years and cost a fab- 
 ulous sum. Moreover, the methods of financing 
 and the extravagant management of affairs had 
 
The French Enterprise 75 
 
 excited adverse criticism. The papers which 
 had not been subsidized became savage in their 
 attacks upon the enterprise, and a general lack 
 of confidence was exhibited. The additional 
 funds that were urgently needed could not be 
 secured from the public and De Lesseps sought 
 the aid of the Government, which had been ex- 
 tended to him in his Suez Canal undertaking. 
 
 In May, 1885, the Panama Canal Company 
 petitioned the French Government to be allowed 
 to raise $125,000,000 on lottery bonds. The 
 petition was not presented to the Chamber of 
 Deputies until a year later. The grant was 
 recommended, but before complying, the Gov- 
 ernment sent a responsible engineer to the Isth- 
 mus, with instructions to make an impartial in- 
 vestigation of conditions. This commissioner 
 reported that, even though the desired Govern- 
 ment aid should be given to the Company, it 
 would be practically impossible to complete the 
 work unless the plan should be changed to that 
 of a lock canal. The conclusion was prompted 
 by the consideration that the enterprise was a 
 purely commercial one and would be an utter 
 failure unless the Canal could be completed at a 
 cost that would allow of some return on the 
 money invested. 
 
76 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 De Lesseps would not hear of the proposed 
 change and withdrew the Company's petition. 
 He decided to make another attempt to restore 
 public confidence. He gathered a large party of 
 men influential in commercial and financial 
 circles and with them made a visit to the scene 
 of operations. Few of these persons had any 
 technical knowledge, but most of them proved 
 susceptible to the persuasive ability of the pro- 
 moter. On their return, the enterprise received 
 the endorsements of a number of chambers of 
 commerce and other prominent institutions. 
 This move was so far successful that the stock- 
 holders authorized the issue of additional bonds 
 which were subscribed for, and saved the situa- 
 tion for the time being. But the state of affairs 
 continued to grow worse and by the middle of 
 1887 De Lesseps was glad to abandon his atti- 
 tude as to the form of the Canal and consent to 
 anything that held out a hope of a continuance 
 of the work. 
 
 A plan for a lock canal was hurriedly made 
 and approved by the directors. The line was 
 to conform to that of the original plan. The 
 summit level was to be 49 meters in elevation. 
 The depth was considerably reduced, and the 
 
The French Enterprise 77 
 
 estimate of cost was placed at figures altogether 
 too low. 
 
 The application to the Government was re- 
 newed and the Company received permission to 
 issue lottery bonds to the amount of $160,- 
 000,000. These were to draw four per cent in- 
 terest and to share in semi-annual drawings. 
 
 Ordinarily such a proposition would have 
 been attractive to the French people, but the 
 credit of the Company had fallen so low that 
 only one-tenth of the offering was taken up. A 
 second attempt to float the bonds with addi- 
 tional inducements to subscribers proved futile. 
 
 The Company had at that time outstanding 
 obligations aggregating the enormous sum of 
 $350,000,000. Its annual interest charge was in 
 excess of $16,000,000 and it had not sufficient 
 cash on hand to cover one month's current ex- 
 penses. It was hopelessly involved, and every 
 effort to raise funds met with failure. On the 
 fourth day of February, 1889, a receiver was ap- 
 pointed to handle the affairs of La Universelle 
 Compagnie du Canal Interoceanique de Panama, 
 to give it its official title. The receiver's state- 
 ment of the receipts and expenditures of the 
 Company from the date of its organization fol- 
 
78 Panama and the Canal To-day- 
 lows, the sums being approximately reduced 
 from francs to dollars. 
 
 Receipts 
 
 Proceeds from the Capital Stock, various loans 
 
 and bond issues . $254,338,527 
 
 Other receipts from sundry sources . 7,933,318 
 
 Expenses incurred but not paid . . . 3,668,770 
 
 Total amount collected and due by the 
 
 Company . ... $265,940,615 
 
 Expenditures 
 (Outlay on the Isthmus) 
 
 Salaries and expenses of management . . . $16,540,883 
 
 Rents and maintenance of leased property . 3,301,070 
 
 Purchase of articles and material for consumption 5,847,920 
 
 Purchase and transportation of machinery, etc. 23,874,946 
 
 Surveys and preparatory work . . . 270,940 
 
 Central workshops and management . . 5,989,577 
 Various constructions, buildings, and general 
 
 installation . 9,407,705 
 
 Work of excavation and works of construction 89,434,225 
 
 Purchase of lands . . . . 950,655 
 
 Sanitary and religious service . . . 1,836,786 
 
 Total expenditures on the Isthmus $157,224,689 
 
 (Outlay at Paris) 
 
 Paid for the Concession $2,000,000 
 
 Paid to the Colombian Government 150,000 
 
 Various expenses incurred before organization . 4,612,244 
 
 Paid to American Financial Group . . . 2,400,000 
 
 Interest on various obligations .... 43,124,272 
 
 Amortization transactions 4,505,617 
 
 Expenses of floating bonds, loans, etc., commis- 
 sion, advertising, printing, etc 16,616,841 
 
 Paid to agents of the Colombian Government . 42,760 
 
 Boards of management and direction . . 1,242,458 
 
 Salaries of employees 1,023,444 
 
 Home Office and furniture 417,479 
 
 Compensation to contractors on cancellation of 
 
 contract . ... 240,000 
 
 Total expenditures at Paris , , . $76,375,115 
 
The French Enterprise 79 
 
 It is not necessary to dwell upon the judicial 
 proceedings that gave the final tragic touch to 
 this dismal failure. Convictions of a criminal 
 nature were secured against the De Lesseps, 
 father and son, but the sentences against them 
 were not enforced. Many other prominent per- 
 sons, including a number of Senators, Deputies 
 and Government officials, were found guilty of 
 corruption. 
 
 Despite the gross mismanagement that char- 
 acterized the French undertaking, they did a 
 large amount of work. Much of this has been 
 turned to account by our engineers and has 
 greatly lessened our task. In the matter of sur- 
 veys they were especially thorough during the 
 later years of their operation. The plan which 
 we are following is based on their investigations 
 and the data received from them. Furthermore, 
 the study of their mistakes saved us from falling 
 into similar errors. Their experiments in ma- 
 chinery and methods were also useful to our 
 engineers and a large quantity of their material 
 and many of their buildings have been used by 
 us. In short, the effort of the French to con- 
 struct a canal paved the way for us and facil- 
 itated our task. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE TRANSFER OF THE CANALi 
 
 The assets in hands of the receiver of the 
 Panama Canal Company, which included the 
 work done on the Isthmus, were conservatively 
 valued by him at $90,000,000, but, of course, 
 they were worth little or nothing unless the 
 operation should be continued. To abandon it 
 would be to entail upon upwards of two hundred 
 thousand persons, most of them poor, or in 
 moderate circumstances, losses which they 
 could ill afford to bear. The receiver addressed 
 himself with vigor to the task of renewing con- 
 fidence in the enterprise as the first step 
 towards securing the necessary funds for its 
 continuance. He appointed an able committee 
 to investigate the situation on the Isthmus and 
 determine the future possibilities. In the last 
 month of 1890, this committee repaired to 
 Panama and after a careful examination of the 
 work and the conditions to be met, reported that 
 a lock canal could be completed in eight years 
 
 80 
 
The Transfer of the Canal 81 
 
 at a cost of $300,000,000 of additional money. 
 It recommended that a company should be or- 
 ganized for the purpose. 
 
 In pursuance of this object, Lieutenant Wyse 
 was sent to Bogota by the receiver. Wyse se- 
 cured an extension of the original concession 
 for ten years on the condition that the prospec- 
 tive company should be fully organized by Feb- 
 ruary, 1893, and that the waterway should be 
 open to traffic before the close of 1904. 
 
 In October, 1893, the New Panama Canal 
 Company was organized, an extension of time 
 having been granted by the Colombian Govern- 
 ment for a consideration. The Company had a 
 capital of $13,000,000 to begin with, and the 
 ownership of all the material assets of the old 
 company. When the Canal should be completed 
 sixty per cent of the profits were to be paid to 
 the latter for the liquidation of its liabilities. 
 The Government had by extraordinary action 
 in the matter of legislation enabled the New 
 Panama Canal Company to get started, but its 
 assistance stopped there and it assumed no 
 responsibility for the Company's future. 
 
 The directors took a wise step at the outset. 
 A technical committee was appointed to direct 
 the operations and determine upon the precise 
 
82 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 plan for the Canal. The Comite Technique was 
 composed of seven French engineers and seven 
 foreigners, including two Americans. The body- 
 represented an aggregation of extraordinary 
 talent and several of the members had extensive 
 knowledge of canal work. The committee per- 
 formed its task in the most thorough and pains- 
 taking manner. It began by examining all the 
 technical data derived, from the old company, 
 endorsing it, or rectifying it, as the case might 
 be. It made new surveys and, while securing 
 information upon which to base a plan for the 
 projected waterway, directed the continuance 
 of excavations where they would be sure to 
 serve in any course of operation that might ul- 
 timately be adopted. The work of this com- 
 mittee was by far the most valuable that had 
 been accomplished upon the Isthmus up to that 
 time. When the American authorities took 
 over the assets of the New Panama Company, 
 the Chairman of the Isthmian Canal Commis- 
 sion declared that the maps and documents 
 which originated with the Comite Technique 
 were worth one million dollars, or more. 
 
 In its final report, which was submitted at the 
 end of 1898, the committee estimated the cost 
 of a canal which should be equal to the utmost 
 
The Transfer of the Canal 83 
 
 demands of commerce and could be finished in 
 ten years, at $100,000,000. It recognized three 
 principal difficulties to be contended with. 
 These were the problem of sanitation, the cut 
 through the Culebra pass, and the control of 
 the Chagres River. 
 
 " The studies of the New Company were 
 based on three - fundamental principles : (1) To 
 reject any plan that did not, independently of 
 considerations of time and expense, offer every 
 guarantee of a serviceable canal. (2) To reject 
 any fanciful scheme depending on the applica- 
 tion of new and untried devices not justified by 
 experience; and (3) to give due weight to the 
 peculiar tropical conditions under which the 
 work must be executed. These must compel the 
 employment of a class of laborers inferior to 
 those available in better climates, and the work 
 will be exhausting to those supervising the con- 
 structions. No technical details should there- 
 fore be admitted involving operations of excep- 
 tional difficulty." 1 
 
 While the plans of the French Company and 
 the opinions of its engineering experts were of 
 general interest so long as the form of water- 
 
 1 Problems of the Panama Canal. Brig-Gen. Henry L. Abbott 
 U. S. Army (retired). Late member of the Comite' Technique 
 New York, 1905. 
 
84 Panama and. the Canal To-day 
 
 way to be adopted by us remained in doubt, a 
 recital of them now would be wearisome to any 
 but the technical reader, who may easily apply 
 to first hand sources. Suffice it to say that they 
 were well conceived, and might possibly have 
 been carried out but for several adverse cir- 
 cumstances which were beyond the control of 
 the Company, and chief of which was the pro- 
 motion of the American project for a canal 
 across Nicaragua. 
 
 The fact of the French launching the Panama 
 Canal enterprise did not deter those who de- 
 sired to see a waterway constructed by Ameri- 
 cans from pursuing their object. In fact, two 
 of the delegates from the United States to the 
 Paris Conference of 1879 were prominent mem- 
 bers of a corporation which was shortly after- 
 wards organized for the purpose of making a 
 canal in Nicaragua. But, with the progress of 
 time, sentiment grew in favor of the Govern- 
 ment assuming the undertaking, and the failure 
 of the French tended strongly to increase it. 
 
 In 1884, the American Secretary of State and 
 the Nicaraguan Minister at Washington came 
 to an agreement which provided for the con- 
 struction of a canal, to be held and controlled 
 by the two countries jointly. One of the condi- 
 
The Transfer of the Canal 85 
 
 tions of the proposed treaty was that the United 
 States should guarantee the territorial integrity 
 of Nicaragua and this feature militated against 
 its ratification. The idea was not allowed to 
 die, however. In 1887, an expedition was sent 
 to Nicaragua to survey a canal route. In 1889, 
 Congress granted a charter to a corporation 
 known as the Maritime Canal Company of the 
 United States, which had for its purpose the 
 construction of a canal in Nicaragua. The com- 
 pany was capitalized at $150,000,000 and a con- 
 struction company with $12,000,000 capital 
 stock was shortly afterwards formed. "Work 
 was begun on the Atlantic end and continued for 
 three years, at the end of which time the con- 
 struction company had exhausted its resources. 
 Unfortunately, its appeal for additional funds 
 was made during the panic of 1893, and met 
 with a result which in better times 'might have 
 been otherwise, for there was the keenest desire 
 in America to see such an enterprise success- 
 fully carried out. The Construction Company 
 was compelled to go into the hands of a receiver 
 and work on the Nicaragua Canal ceased. 
 
 During the following decade' numerous at- 
 tempts were made to promote private enter- 
 prise in this direction and to induce Govern- 
 
86 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 mental action in it. At length, in 1897, Con- 
 gress created an Isthmian Canal Commission 
 and appropriated $300,000 for its use. This 
 body was headed by Admiral John C. Walker 
 and included a number of prominent engineers, 
 both civil and military. The Commission went 
 to Nicaragua and made a close investigation of 
 conditions, which resulted in a unanimous re- 
 port favoring a canal at Nicaragua. Mean- 
 while, the improbability of the French com- 
 pleting the work at Panama had become so 
 apparent that attention was turned in that 
 direction as possibly affording a desirable alter- 
 native. In June, 1899, a new commission was 
 appointed with Admiral Walker as Chairman, 
 and it was charged with the duty of making a 
 comparative estimate of the two routes. 
 
 The Commission inspected the operation at 
 Panama and extended its investigation to Paris. 
 The consent of the Colombian Government to 
 the transfer of the concession having been 
 gained, the New Panama Company was invited 
 to state the terms on which it would convey to 
 the United States Government all its rights and 
 assets. The proposition placed the Company 
 in rather a delicate position. The Commission 
 had no authority to accept an offer and in real- 
 
The Transf er of the Canal 87 
 
 ity was only seeking for information. Under 
 the circumstances, the Company was justified 
 in declining to commit itself definitely. It set 
 the price tentatively at somewhat less than 
 $110,000,000, but offered to submit the property 
 to expert valuation and arbitration whenever 
 the value put upon an item should fail to meet 
 with the approval of the representatives of the 
 United States. This proposition was fair 
 enough. The figures were based on the con- 
 servative valuation by the receiver of the assets 
 that came into his hands and on the work and 
 material added by the New Panama Company. 
 Of course the members of the Commission fully 
 realized this, but they seem to have considered 
 it their duty to take advantage of the helpless 
 position of the Company to drive a hard bar- 
 gain. Had they been dealing with the French 
 Government the matter might have assumed a 
 somewhat different aspect, but when it is con- 
 sidered that the sellers were an aggregation of 
 needy persons who, at the best, would suffer 
 heavy loss, the United States does not appear 
 in a very admirable light in this transaction. 
 
 The Isthmian Canal Commission rendered its 
 report to the President in November, 1901. It 
 omitted the memoranda of assets and detailed 
 
88 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 valuation submitted by the Company, and 
 merely stated that ' ' the total amount for which 
 the Company offers to sell and transfer its 
 canal property to the United States " is 
 $109,141,500. The Commission's estimate of the 
 value was $40,000,000 ! 
 
 The report terminated with the following 
 recommendation: " After considering all the 
 facts developed by the investigations made by 
 the Commission and the actual situation as it 
 stands now, and having in view the terms of- 
 fered by the New Panama Canal Company, this 
 Commission is of the opinion that ' the most 
 practicable and feasible route ' for an Isthmian 
 canal, to be ' under the control, management, 
 and ownership of the United States,' is that 
 known as the Nicaragua route." 
 
 When the decision became known in Paris 
 consternation seized the directors of the Com- 
 pany. They inferred, however, that it was not 
 conclusive and realized from the phrase, " and 
 having in view the terms offered by the New 
 Panama Canal Company," that the chief ob- 
 stacle was the question of price, but they would 
 not assume the responsibility of selling the 
 property for such an inadequate sum as that 
 suggested by the Commission and resigned. 
 
The Transfer of the Canal 89 
 
 A general meeting of the stockholders was 
 immediately held at which it was determined to 
 submit to the estimate of the Commission. 
 There was practically nothing else to do. If 
 the United States should proceed with its un- 
 limited resources to construct a waterway at 
 Nicaragua the Company could never hope to 
 complete its undertaking, or to make it profit- 
 able if completed. The decision of the stock- 
 holders was promptly telegraphed to the Com- 
 mission and led to a supplementary report stat- 
 ing that " the unreasonable sum asked for the 
 property and rights of the New Panama Com- 
 pany when the Commission reached its former 
 conclusion overbalanced that route, and now 
 that the estimates of the two routes have been 
 nearly equalized the Commission can form its 
 judgment by weighing the advantages of each 
 and determining which is the more practicable 
 and feasible. . . . After considering the 
 changed conditions that now exist, the Commis- 
 sion is of the opinion that ' the most practicable 
 and feasible route ' for an Isthmian canal to 
 be ' under the control, management, and owner- 
 ship of the United States •' is that known as the 
 Panama route." 
 
 Congress passed the Spooner Bill, authoriz- 
 
90 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 ing the President to acquire the property and 
 rights of the New Panama Canal Company for 
 a sum not to exceed $40,000,000 and to negotiate 
 with the Colombian Government for the per- 
 petual control of the territory needful for op- 
 erating the Canal; it also directed the Presi- 
 dent to place the work in the hands of a com- 
 mission to consist of seven members of his own 
 appointment. 
 
 In 1903, Secretary Hay and Doctor Herran 
 negotiated a treaty designed to secure to the 
 United States the right of constructing a canal 
 through the Isthmus of Panama and of exer- 
 cising perpetual jurisdiction over the strip of 
 territory traversed by it. In return for these 
 benefits a payment of $10,000,000 was to be 
 made to Colombia. The politicians of that 
 country, in their dealings with the Panama Rail- 
 road and the French canal companies, had be- 
 come so accustomed to the milking process as 
 applied to concessionaries that they looked upon 
 the American overtures as a providential op- 
 portunity for playing the game anew. The 
 national legislature declined to ratify the 
 treaty, no doubt with the expectation that a 
 better offer would be made. Indeed, the Colom- 
 bians had every reason to believe that they 
 
The Transfer of the Canal 91 
 
 could extort almost any terms that they might 
 choose to impose-, for the French concession had 
 only until October, 1904, to run. 
 
 The action of the politicians at Bogota was 
 far from pleasing to the people of Panama, who 
 fully appreciated the great advantages which 
 would accrue to them from the construction of 
 a canal by the United States. They had long 
 been dissatisfied with the central government 
 and had more than once revolted against it. At 
 this juncture their leading men determined to 
 take matters into their own hands. They sent 
 secret emissaries to the United States who re- 
 ported that in the event of the Province of 
 Panama throwing off the yoke of Colombia, 
 there was no doubt about the United States 
 recognizing its independence. The activities of 
 these agents, the principal of whom was Dr. 
 Amador, who became the first president of the 
 new republic, soon came to the knowledge of the 
 authorities at Bogota and led them to take steps 
 before the revolutionists had carried their prep- 
 arations any farther than the stage of planning. 
 
 A detachment of the half-clad and poorly 
 armed youths who composed the Colombian 
 army were despatched to Colon for the purpose 
 of seizing the conspirators and conveying them 
 
92 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 to the capital. On their arrival the management 
 of the Panama Railroad declared its inability to 
 transport them, until a sufficient amount of roll- 
 ing stock should be sent in from the other side. 
 The principal officers determined to go forward 
 at once. On their arrival at Panama they were 
 seized and held by the revolutionists. 
 
 The Colombian troops at Colon made a dem- 
 onstration against the American residents, and 
 threatened to destroy the railroad property. 
 Trouble was averted by the landing of marines 
 from the U. S. S. Nashville, which was in the 
 harbor at the time, and two days later the de- 
 tachment of Colombia's army took ship for 
 Bogota. The revolution had been accomplished 
 without the spilling of a drop of blood. 
 
 There is no doubt that the Panama Railroad 
 management played into the hands of the revo- 
 lutionists in their natural desire to see the 
 American project put into effect. It is equally 
 unquestionable that the action of the marines 
 was a powerful factor in the result, but their 
 presence was quite unpremeditated and their 
 interference absolutely necessary to the pres- 
 ervation of American life and property. The 
 whole matter was singularly timely and condu- 
 cive to the interests of the United States, but 
 
The Transfer of the Canal 93 
 
 there was no ground for the insinuations widely- 
 expressed in the journals of the time that the 
 authorities at Washington engineered the revo- 
 lution and extended covert aid to its promoters. 
 Immediately after the occurrence, the officer 
 in command of the Nashville despatched the fol- 
 lowing account of it to the Secretary of the 
 Navy: 
 
 " U. S. Nashville, Thied Eate. 
 
 " Colon, U. S. Colombia, November 5, 1903. 
 
 " Sik: Pending a complete report of the oc- 
 currences of the last three days in Colon, Co- 
 lombia, I most respectfully invite the Depart- 
 ment's attention to those of the date of Wednes- 
 day, November 4, which amounted to practically 
 the making of war against the United States by 
 the officer in command of the Colombian troops 
 in Colon. At 1 o'clock p.m. I was summoned 
 on shore by a preconcerted signal, and on land- 
 ing met the United States consul, vice-consul, 
 and Colonel Shaler, the general superintendent 
 of the Panama Eailroad. The consul informed 
 me that he had received notice from the officer 
 commanding the Colombian troops, Colonel 
 Torres, through the prefect of Colon, to the 
 effect that if the Colombian officers, Generals 
 
94 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Tobal and Amaya, who had been seized in 
 Panama on the evening of November 3, by the 
 independents, and held as prisoners, were not 
 released by 2 o 'clock, p. m., he, Torres, would 
 fire upon the town of Colon and kill every 
 United States citizen in the place, and my advice 
 and action were requested. I advised that all 
 the United States citizens should take refuge 
 in the shed of the Panama Eailroad Company, 
 a stone building susceptible of being put into 
 good state of defense, and that I would imme- 
 diately land such body of men, with extra arms 
 for arming the citizens, as the complement of 
 the ship would permit. 
 
 " This was agreed to, and I immediately re- 
 turned on board, arriving at 1.15 p.m. The 
 order for landing was immediately given, and 
 at 1.30 p.m. the boats left the ship with a party 
 of forty-two men under the command of Lieu- 
 tenant-Commander H. M. Witzel, with Midship- 
 man J. P. Jackson as second in command. Time 
 being pressing, I gave verbal orders to Mr. "Wit- 
 zel to take the building referred to above, to 
 put it into the best state of defense possible, 
 and protect the lives of the citizens assembled 
 there, — not firing unless fired upon. The 
 women and children took refuge on the German 
 
The Transfer of the Canal 95 
 
 steamer Marcomania and the Panama Railroad 
 steamer City of Washington, both ready to haul 
 out from dock if necessary. 
 
 ' ' The Nashville got under way and patrolled 
 along the water-front close in and ready to use 
 either small arm or shrapnel fire. The Colom- 
 bians surrounded the building of the railroad 
 company almost immediately after we had 
 taken possession, and for about one and a half 
 hours their attitude was threatening, it being 
 seemingly their purpose to provoke an attack. 
 Happily our men were cool and steady, and, 
 while the tension was great, no shot was fired. 
 
 " At about 3.15 p.m. Colonel Torres came 
 into the building for an interview and expressed 
 himself as most friendly to the Americans, 
 claiming that the whole affair was a misappre- 
 hension, and that he would like to send the 
 alcalde of Colon to Panama to see General 
 Tobal and have him direct the discontinuance of 
 the show of force. A special train was fur- 
 nished and safe conduct guaranteed. At 
 5.30 p. m. Colonel Torres made the proposition 
 of withdrawing his troops to Monkey Hill if I 
 would withdraw the Nashville force and leave 
 the town in possession of the police until the 
 return of the alcalde on the morning of the 5th. 
 
96 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 ' ' After an interview with Colonel Shaler and 
 the United States consul as to the probability 
 of good faith in the matter, I decided to accept 
 the proposition and brought my men on board, 
 the disparity in numbers between my force and 
 that of the Colombians — nearly ten to one — 
 making me desirous of avoiding a conflict as 
 long as the object in view — the protection of 
 American citizens — was not imperiled. 
 
 ' ' I am confident that the determined attitude 
 of our men, their coolness and evident intention 
 of standing their ground, had a most salutary 
 and decisive effect upon the immediate situa- 
 tion, and was the initial step in the ultimate 
 abandoning of Colon by these troops and their 
 return to Cartagena the following day. Lieu- 
 tenant Witzel is entitled to much praise for his 
 admirable work in command on the spot. 
 
 " I feel that I can not sufficiently represent 
 to the Department the grpssness of this outrage 
 and the insult to our dignity, even apart from 
 the savagery of the threat. Very respectfully, 
 
 " John Hubbard, 
 " Commander, United States Navy, 
 Commanding. 
 " The Secretary of the Navy, Navy Depart- 
 ment, Washington, D.C." 
 
The Transfer of the Canal 97 
 
 Following this occurrence, President Boose- 
 velt sent a message to Congress in which he 
 reviewed the relations of the United States and 
 Colombia in the matter of a canal treaty and 
 expressed his opinion of the policy that ought 
 to be adopted toward Panama : ' ' During all the 
 years of negotiation and discussion that pre- 
 ceded the conclusion of the Hay-Herran treaty, 
 Colombia never intimated that the requirement 
 of the United States to control over the canal 
 strip would render unattainable the construc- 
 tion of a canal by way of the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama; nor even were we advised, during the 
 months when legislation of 1902 was pending 
 before the Congress, that the terms which it 
 embodied would render negotiations with Co- 
 lombia impracticable. It is plain that no nation 
 could construct and guarantee the neutrality of 
 the canal with a less degree of control than was 
 stipulated for in the Hay-Herran treaty. A 
 refusal to grant such control was necessarily 
 a refusal to make any practicable treaty at all. 
 Such refusal therefore squarely raised the ques- 
 tion whether Colombia was entitled to bar the 
 transit of the world's traffic across the isth- 
 mus. . . . Colombia, after having rejected the 
 treaty in spite of our protests and warnings 
 
98 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 when it was in her power to accept it, has since 
 shown the utmost eagerness to accept the same 
 treaty if only the status quo could be restored. 
 One of the men standing highest in the official 
 circles of Colombia on November 6 addressed 
 the American minister at Bogota, saying that 
 if the Government of the United States would 
 land troops to preserve Colombian sovereignty 
 and the transit, the Colombian Government 
 would ' declare martial law, and by virtue of 
 vested constitutional authority, when public 
 order is disturbed, approve by decree the rati- 
 fication of the canal treaty as signed ; or, if the 
 Government of the United States prefers, call 
 an extra session of the Congress — with new 
 and friendly members — next May to approve 
 the treaty.' 
 
 " Having these facts in view, there is no 
 shadow of a question that the Government of 
 the United States proposed a treaty that was 
 not only just but generous to Colombia, which 
 our people regarded as erring, if at all, on the 
 side of over-generosity, which was hailed with 
 delight by the people of the immediate locality 
 through which the canal was to pass, who were 
 most interested in the new order of things, and 
 which the Colombian authorities now recognize 
 
The Transfer of the Canal 99 
 
 as being so good that they are willing to prom- 
 ise its unconditional ratification if only we will 
 desert those who have shown themselves our 
 friends and restore to those who have shown 
 themselves unfriendly the power to undo what 
 they did. I pass by the question as to what as- 
 surance we have that they would now keep their 
 pledge and not again refuse to ratify the treaty 
 if they had the power; for, of course, I will 
 not for one moment discuss the possibility of 
 the United States committing an act of such 
 baseness as to abandon the new Republic of 
 Panama. ' ' 
 
 The United States entered into a treaty with 
 the Republic of Panama, after having formally 
 recognized its independence. This convention, 
 which was ratified in February, 1904, is repro- 
 duced in full in the Appendix to this volume. 
 Its chief provisions were the guarantee by the 
 United States of the independence of the Re- 
 public of Panama; the immediate payment to 
 the latter of the sum of $10,000,000 and the 
 further payments during the life of the conven- 
 tion of $250,000 a year, beginning nine years 
 after the ratification of the treaty; the grant 
 to the United States in perpetuity of the use and 
 control of a certain zone of land for the con- 
 
100 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 struction and operation of the canal ; the agree- 
 ment that the cities of Colon and Panama shall 
 comply with the regulations of the United 
 States in the matters of sanitation and that it 
 shall have the right to enforce public order in 
 them; the guarantee of the United States that 
 the ports of Colon and Panama shall be free for 
 all time and that the canal shall be neutral in 
 perpetuity. 
 
 The decision of the Government to adopt the 
 Panama route did not deter the advocates of a 
 canal at Nicaragua from continuing to agitate 
 the matter. In fact, a vigorous campaign was 
 carried on by them in Congress and through the 
 public press for years. The slightest opportun- 
 ity for adverse criticism of the Panama under- 
 taking and the men who were carrying it out 
 was eagerly seized upon, and so limited was the 
 actual knowledge of the subject that newspapers 
 whose tendency was toward impartiality were 
 often imposed upon by writers who claimed to 
 be expert judges. During the first three years 
 of the American occupation of the Canal Zone 
 there was more nonsensical rubbish printed in 
 newspapers and magazines regarding the Canal 
 than would appear to be conceivable in the light 
 of our present knowledge. 
 
The Transfer of the Canal 101 
 
 There was no lack of data upon which to 
 found a decision as to the comparative merits 
 of the rival routes. Both had been surveyed 
 time and again by engineers of the utmost abil- 
 ity. Each had important features in favor of 
 it but the balance of advantage easily lay in 
 favor of Panama. 
 
 Whilst the Nicaraguan coast can not boast a 
 single natural harbor on either side, the Pan- 
 ama route affords an excellent one at each ter- 
 minus of the Canal. In the matters of winds, 
 rains and earthquakes, the advantage lies with 
 the latter region. The weight of expert opinion 
 inclines to the idea that the difficulties to be 
 overcome in construction would be much greater 
 at Nicaragua and consequently the cost of a 
 canal there would be proportionally larger than 
 that of one at Panama. The San Juan Eiver 
 and Lake Nicaragua present problems quite as 
 serious as those connected with the Chagres 
 Eiver. At Panama a substantial amount of the 
 work had already been done, extensive facilities, 
 including the railroad, existed for its continu- 
 ance, and the conditions to be encountered were 
 in a less degree problematical than those at 
 Nicaragua. 
 
 With every year that has passed since the 
 
102 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 United States embarked in the undertaking, the 
 impression has gained ground that it acted 
 wisely in taking up the task which the French 
 abandoned, rather than entering on a similar 
 one in a practically untried field. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE AMERICAN ENTERPRISE 
 
 Following the completion of preliminaries, 
 the President appointed an Isthmian Canal 
 Commission to direct the canal operation. The 
 Commission was composed of the following 
 members: Eear- Admiral John G. Walker, 
 U.S.N, (retired), Chairman; Major-General 
 George W. Davis, U.S.A. (retired), Governor 
 of the Canal Zone; William Barclay Parsons, 
 C. E. ; William H. Burr, C. E. ; Benjamin M. 
 Harrod, C. E. ; Carl E. Grunsky, C. E. ; Frank 
 J. Hecker. The last named was the business 
 man of the body. General Davis had just com- 
 pleted a term as Governor of Cuba. Admiral 
 Walker had the advantage of extensive experi- 
 ence in Isthmian canal investigations, and re- 
 cent assignments of duty had made him familiar 
 with the details of the French operations. The 
 remainder were engineers of exceptional ability. 
 
 The two most important posts in connection 
 
 103 
 
104 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 with, the work were filled by the appointment 
 of John F. Wallace as Engineer-in-Chief, and 
 Surgeon-Colonel William Crawford Gorgas, of 
 the United States Army, as Chief of the Sani- 
 tary Department. The former was in the front 
 rank of his profession and had the highest repu- 
 tation as a railroad engineer. The latter was 
 fresh from his labors in Cuba, where his fine 
 work in the suppression of yellow fever had ex- 
 cited the admiration of physicians throughout 
 the world and gained the commendation of his 
 superiors. 
 
 The Commission was made subject to the su- 
 pervision of the War Department and in his let- 
 ter of instructions to Secretary William H. 
 Taft, the President defined its duties as being 
 the civil administration of the Canal Zone, the 
 performance of all engineering work and the 
 execution of all sanitary measures. The docu- 
 ment went on to say that the inhabitants of the 
 Zone were to be safeguarded in their persons, 
 property and religion ; that their private rights 
 and relations were to be conserved and that 
 their customs and avocations were to be dis- 
 turbed as little as possible. The municipal laws 
 of the Zone were to be administered practically 
 without change and the law of the land was to 
 
The American Enterprise 105 
 
 remain in force, except where it might be at 
 variance with the principles of the Constitution 
 of the United States. 
 
 In a later communication, the President made 
 an important statement of the broader policy 
 of the United States toward the new Republic : 
 
 ' ' The United States is about to confer on the 
 people of the State of Panama a great benefit 
 by the expenditure of millions of dollars in the 
 construction of the canal; but this fact must 
 not blind us to the importance of so exercising 
 the authority given us under the treaty with 
 Panama as to avoid creating any suspicion, 
 however unfounded, of our intentions as to the 
 future. We have not the slightest intention of 
 establishing an independent colony in the mid- 
 dle of the State of Panama, or of exercising 
 any greater governmental functions than are 
 necessary to enable us conveniently and safely 
 to construct, maintain, and operate the canal 
 under the rights given us by the treaty. Least 
 of all do we wish to interfere with the business 
 and prosperity of the people of Panama. How- 
 ever far a just construction of the treaty might 
 enable us to go, did the exigencies of the case 
 require it, in asserting the equivalent of author- 
 ity over the Canal Strip, it is our full intention 
 
106 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 that the rights which we exercise shall be exer- 
 cised with all proper care for the honor and 
 interests of the people of Panama. The exer- 
 cise of such powers as are given us by the treaty 
 within the geographical boundaries of the Re- 
 public of Panama may easily, if a real sympa- 
 thy for both the present and future welfare of 
 the people of Panama is not shown, create dis- 
 trust of the American government." 
 
 The treaty with Panama conferred extraor- 
 dinary powers and privileges upon the United 
 States. The cities of Colon and Panama, 
 though geographically within the Canal Zone, 
 are not included in its jurisdiction. The United 
 States have, however, the fullest scope in the 
 maintenance of public order and sanitation in 
 those centres and this precludes the possibility 
 of another revolution ever taking place. A 
 speedy illustration of the wisdom and effective- 
 ness of this provision of the treaty was forth- 
 coming. We had hardly taken possession of 
 the Zone when General Huertas assembled the 
 ragamuffin Panaman army, numbering some- 
 thing less than two hundred, with the object of 
 overthrowing the Amador administration. The 
 mere threat of calling upon the handful of 
 United States Marines on the Isthmus was suf- 
 
The American Enterprise 107 
 
 ficient to put a quietus upon the movement. 
 Huertas was placed on the retired list with a 
 pension and the army was disbanded. Panama 
 has since been in the enviable situation of a 
 country in the revolutionary zone without a 
 military force. 
 
 On the whole, the Panamans appreciate the 
 great benefits that have befallen them as a 
 direct result of the American occupation of a 
 portion of their territory, but the merchants of 
 the City of Panama have made serious com- 
 plaint against what they consider interference 
 with their business by the Commission in its 
 practice of supplying its employes as far as 
 possible with all necessities through its string 
 of stores along the line. The Commission 
 claims to limit its supplies to necessities, but it 
 is difficult to draw the line. The negro, for in- 
 stance, seems to think that perfume comes un- 
 der that head and the inclusion of this com- 
 modity in the Commission's price lists was one 
 of the features that lent a little color to the 
 complaint. It had no substantial foundation, 
 however, and was offset by the fact that the 
 merchants of the city do not keep extensive 
 stocks and charge prices that are often unjusti- 
 fiably high. On the other hand, the Commis- 
 
108 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 sion supplies its employes at cost, or nearly so, 
 but if they secure clothing and groceries at a 
 saving, they have the more to spend on lux- 
 uries, from the sale of which the business men 
 of Panama reap the benefit. The chief argu- 
 ment in favor of the Commission's course is 
 that it obviates the necessity of a trip into the 
 city every time that a man needs to buy a pair 
 of shoes, or a shirt. Under the French, the 
 laborers spent their money in Panama but most 
 of it went to the keepers of dives and saloons. 
 The men were paid off every Saturday. For 
 two or three days thereafter they hung about 
 in the city drinking. Few laborers on the pay 
 rolls of the Panama Canal Company put in 
 more than twenty days' work in a month. It 
 was largely to prevent a continuance of that 
 sort of thing that the Commission decided to 
 supply its employes with everything that they 
 could ordinarily need. With the same motive, 
 saloons of a limited number, under a high li- 
 cense and close supervision, are permitted in the 
 Zone. That the Commission has ever counte- 
 nanced, or allowed the presence, of houses of 
 ill-fame in the territory under its jurisdiction 
 is an unfounded libel. The low groggeries with 
 which Panama abounded before our advent, and 
 
The American Enterprise 109 
 
 which flourished, under the liquor monopoly of 
 the Colombian Government, have, for the most 
 part, gone out of business, but there is no doubt 
 that the legitimate retail trade of the city has 
 increased since 1904. 
 
 The task of civil administration has not 
 proved a difficult one. An excellent police force, 
 which is mounted, was organized as one of the 
 earliest measures. Criminals have been 
 promptly arrested and crime has been greatly 
 reduced. Good roads have been made with 
 prison labor. The chief of these, a wide high- 
 way to extend from ocean to ocean, is nearing 
 completion. 
 
 When the Commission arrived at the Zone, 
 a few hundred men — and, perhaps, half a score 
 of excavating machines, were at, work in the 
 Culebra Cut. Otherwise the operation was at 
 a standstill. When the French transferred the 
 property, machines and other material lay 
 thickly about all along the line. This was nec- 
 essarily left just as it lay, and in the long 
 months that elapsed before our occupation, 
 rain, rust, and a tropical atmosphere, wrought 
 havoc with it. Months were required to bring 
 something like order out of the confusion, and 
 not until recently was any attempt made to 
 
no Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 clear away the debris, except where it inter- 
 fered with the work, so that in a progress across 
 the Isthmus reminders of the French occupa- 
 tion, in the shape of abandoned and useless 
 machines, old rails, and ruined buildings, were 
 met with at short intervals. 
 
 A large proportion of the French material 
 was turned to account. Many of the buildings 
 were utilized and much of the machinery was 
 repaired and put into use. The narrow gauge 
 rails and small Belgian engines, which had been 
 used by our predecessors, were, however, dis- 
 carded and an improved type of excavator was 
 installed. 
 
 The first task of the Commission was to de- 
 termine upon the form of waterway. The orig- 
 inal intention of the French was, it will be re- 
 membered, to make a canal at sea level. One 
 with locks was determined on when the prohib- 
 itive cost of the former became apparent. Dur- 
 ing the fifteen years that had elapsed since the 
 adoption of the first French projet naval archi- 
 tecture had made great advances and the di- 
 mensions of De Lesseps' canal would have 
 fallen far short of satisfying the demands of 
 commerce at the time that we took up the work, 
 not to mention those of to-day, Congress, and 
 
abogoilla I. 
 
 10 
 
 THE CANAL ZONE AND THE NEIGHBORING 
 
 Enlarged from the map of the Republic of Panama prepared in the War E 
 
 .,,u ~-~ ...- ..w.-..«~. ...--, REGION 
 
 Republic of Panama prepared in the War Department, U. S. A. 
 
The American Enterprise ill 
 
 the American people looked for a waterway that 
 would accommodate the largest ships that 
 might reasonably be expected to be built for 
 some time to come. The Commission had much 
 greater scope than the French company in 
 making its plans. The latter was bound to keep 
 the cost within the limits of commercial feasi- 
 bility. The former, while of course always con- 
 sidering economy, and aiming, if possible, to 
 make the enterprise a paying one, has pro- 
 ceeded on the principle that the first and most 
 important requirement is a commodious and 
 permanent canal, no matter what the cost. In 
 pursuit of this object, numerous improvements 
 and additions have been made to the plan from 
 time to time, with the result that the finished 
 structure will very greatly exceed in cost the 
 original estimates for it. 
 
 The question of whether the canal should be 
 one with a number of locks or one at sea level 
 caused as much discussion and partisanship 
 as that of the route. It was not finally decided 
 until the middle of 1908, when the construction 
 passed into the final stage from which there 
 could be no turning back. 
 
 The Walker Commission favored a plan for 
 a multi-lock canal with eighty-five-foot summit 
 
112 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 level and a lake about thirty-eight square miles 
 in area extending from Bohio to Bas Obispo. 
 This was practically the project recommended 
 by the Comite Technique and, although it was 
 not adopted, it formed the basis of the plan 
 under which we are proceeding. 
 
 In rejecting the sea level alternative, the 
 Commission made the following statement: u If 
 a sea level canal be constructed, either the canal 
 itself must be made of such dimensions that 
 maximum floods, modified to some extent by a 
 reservoir in the Upper Chagres, could pass 
 down its channel without injury, or independent 
 channels must be provided to carry off these 
 floods. As the canal lies in the lowest part of 
 the valley, the construction of such channels 
 would be a matter of serious difficulty, and the 
 simpler solution would be to make the canal 
 prism large enough to take the full discharge. 
 This would have the advantage, also, of fur- 
 nishing a very large canal, in which navigation 
 under ordinary circumstances would be excep- 
 tionally easy. It would involve a cross section 
 from Obispo to the Atlantic, having an area of 
 at least 15,000 square feet below the water line, 
 which would give a bottom width of at least 400 
 feet. The quantity of excavation required for 
 
The American Enterprise 113 
 
 such a canal has been roughly computed, and 
 is found to be about 266,228,000 cubic yards. 
 The cost of such a canal, including a dam at 
 Alhajuela and a tide lock at Miraflores, near 
 the Pacific end, is estimated at not less than 
 $240,000,000. Its construction would probably 
 take at least twenty years." 
 
 Many other, and forcible arguments, . have 
 been advanced against the sea level type and 
 the weight of expert opinion now decidedly 
 favors the course that has been followed. At 
 the time, however, it was an open question with 
 the balance of public sentiment inclined toward 
 the simpler form of structure. 
 
 Before long it became apparent that the Com- 
 mission was not working smoothly. Its number 
 and its composition were such that work could 
 not readily be apportioned and responsibility 
 divided among its members. The charges of 
 inefficiency that were widely made against the 
 body were not justified by the facts. The press 
 and people of the United States had no idea 
 whatever of the conditions that prevailed on 
 the Isthmus. They expected the Commission 
 to go down and begin excavating at a rapid rate 
 without delay. Admiral Walker and his asso- 
 ciates, on the other hand, knew that the wiser 
 
114 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 course was to make thorough preparations and 
 to get a clear idea of the task to be performed 
 before plunging vigorously into the work. Un- 
 fortunately they yielded to the insistent demand 
 to " make the dirt fly " and brought serious 
 trouble upon themselves in consequence. 
 
 In January, 1905, President Eoosevelt ap- 
 plied, to Congress for more power in the organ- 
 ization of the personnel of the Canal operation. 
 He declared that " the general plans for the 
 work must be agreed upon with the aid of the 
 best engineers of the country, who should act 
 as an advisory or consulting body. The con- 
 sulting engineers should not be put upon the 
 Commission, which should be used only as an 
 executive instrument for the executive and ad- 
 ministrative work. The actual work of exe- 
 cuting the general plans agreed upon by the 
 Commission, after receiving the conclusions of 
 the advising engineers, must be done by an en- 
 gineer in charge ; and we now have an excellent 
 engineer. 
 
 Congress passed a bill in accordance with the 
 President's wish, but it failed to go through the 
 Senate. The President then asked for the res- 
 ignation of the entire Isthmian Canal Commis- 
 sion and reformed that body, placing the direc- 
 
The American Enterprise 115 
 
 tion of affairs in the hands of an Executive 
 Committee, consisting of three of the seven 
 members. Theodore P. Shonts, a prominent 
 and practical railroad official, was made Chair- 
 man, with general supervisory powers. John 
 Wallace retained the position of Chief Engi- 
 neer and was made a member of the Commis- 
 sion with full control of the construction. The 
 third member of the Executive Committee was 
 Judge Magoon, who was made Governor of 
 the Canal Zone. 
 
 It was believed that with this change a great 
 improvement in general conditions would be 
 seen. The need for strong and efficient control 
 was urgent. The organization and morale of 
 the force were far from satisfactory. The men 
 went at the work in a half-hearted manner. 
 These shortcomings Mr. Wallace attributed to 
 the frequent interferences with his plans, lead- 
 ing to the impression among his subordinates 
 that their superiors were vacillating and wanted 
 confidence in the enterprise. An epidemic of 
 yellow fever broke out, creating a panic which 
 was with difficulty prevented from becoming a 
 stampede. In the midst of these conditions, 
 Mr. Wallace amazed the country by resigning 
 his position without warning. 
 
116 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 The change in the management of the Canal 
 operation had been made largely with a view 
 to giving to the Chief Engineer the greater de- 
 gree of independence and responsibility which 
 he had demanded. He had expressed himself 
 as qnite satisfied with the new arrangement, but 
 it had hardly been in force two months when 
 he threw up his position without any adequate 
 explanation. 
 
 The resignation of Mr. Wallace was promptly 
 accepted, and John F. Stevens, a railroad engi- 
 neer with a fine record, was appointed in his 
 place. Mr. Stevens had the advantages of wide 
 experience, strong personal magnetism, execu- 
 tive ability, and the faculty of judging and han- 
 dling men. His first step was to secure the 
 services of several young engineers who had 
 worked under him in the "West. He then pro- 
 ceeded to a thorough organization of the force 
 and effected it in a comparatively short while. 
 For the first time the operation took on an 
 aspect of definite progress. 
 
 The question of the type of canal to be con- 
 structed still remained to be settled. The Pres- 
 ident determined to seek the advice of the lead- 
 ing authorities in the world and to that end in- 
 vited several foreign governments to name 
 
The American Enterprise 117 
 
 members of an international board to wbom the 
 matter should be submitted. 
 
 The International Board of Consulting En- 
 gineers met at Washington in August, 1905. 
 The members were : Henry Hunter, Chief Engi- 
 neer of the Manchester Ship Canal (nominated 
 by the British Government) ; Adolph Guerard 
 (nominated by the French Government) ; Eu- 
 gene Tincauser (nominated by the German 
 Government) ; J. W. Welcker (nominated by 
 the Government of the Netherlands) ; M. L. 
 Quellenec, Consulting Engineer of the Suez 
 Canal; Gen. G. W. Davis (a former member 
 of the Isthmian Canal Commission) ; Alfred 
 Noble, Chief Engineer of the Pennsylvania 
 Railroad; William B. Parsons (a former mem- 
 ber of the Isthmian Canal Commission) ; W. 
 H. Burr (a former member of the Isthmian 
 Canal Commission) ; Frederick P. Stearns, a 
 leading hydraulic engineer, Gen. Henry L. Ab- 
 bott (formerly a member of the Comite Tech- 
 nique) ; Joseph Bipley, Engineer of the Sault 
 Ste. Marie Canal; Isham Randolph, Engineer 
 of the Chicago Drainage Canal. Thus there 
 were five foreigners and eight Americans, each 
 of them a man well qualified to study and pass 
 judgment on the question at issue. 
 
118 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 The President informed the Board that he 
 hoped that it would prove possible to build a 
 sea level canal, ' ' but, while paying due heed to 
 the ideal perfectibility of the scheme from the 
 engineer's standpoint, remember the need of 
 having a plan which shall provide for the imme- 
 diate building of the canal on the safest terms 
 and in the shortest possible time. 
 
 " If to build a sea level canal will but slightly 
 increase the risk, then, of course, it is prefer- 
 able. But if to adopt a plan of a sea level canal 
 means to incur hazard, and to insure indefinite 
 delay, then it is not preferable. If the advan- 
 tages and disadvantages are closely balanced I 
 expect you to say so. 
 
 ' ' I desire also to know whether, if you recom- 
 mend a high level multi-lock canal, it will be 
 possible after it is completed to turn it into, or 
 substitute for it, in time, a sea level canal, with- 
 out interrupting traffic upon it. Two of the 
 prime considerations to be kept steadily in mind 
 are: 1. The utmost practicable speed of con- 
 struction. 2. Practical certainty that the plan 
 proposed will be feasible ; that it can be carried 
 out with the minimum risk." 
 
 After a careful study of all the data available 
 at the headquarters of the Isthmian Canal Com- 
 
The American Enterprise 119 
 
 mission, which were then in Washington, the 
 Board of Consulting Engineers spent several 
 weeks at the scene of operations. 
 
 The report of the International Board of Con- 
 sulting Engineers was submitted in February, 
 1906. It was a voluminous and able document, 
 the most important feature of which was the 
 recommendation by a majority of the members 
 of a canal at sea level. This conclusion was 
 reached by the five foreign members and Gen- 
 eral Davis, Professor Burr and Mr. Parsons. 
 The remaining members favored a multi-lock 
 canal. 
 
 The decision of the Board, which was a purely 
 advisory body, disappointed the President and 
 he determined to make a contrary recommenda- 
 tion to Congress. In this he had the support 
 of the present Isthmian Canal Commission, and 
 its predecessor, of Secretary Taft, and Chief 
 Engineer Stevens, each of whom put his argu- 
 ment into documentary form. 
 
 The arguments on which the majority of the 
 Board based their reports were disputed by 
 their dissenting colleagues and by many other 
 eminent engineers. The chief of them was 
 founded on a belief that the large locks which 
 would be necessary could not be constructed 
 
120 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 and operated with safety. On this point Amer- 
 ican opinion is generally conceded to be of 
 greater weight than that of foreign engineers 
 because here the experience has been more ex- 
 tensive than abroad. The engineers who should 
 know most about the subject proclaimed their 
 absolute confidence in the feasibility and safety 
 of the largest locks that were taken into con- 
 sideration. 
 
 The law left the President power to proceed 
 with the Canal according to his best judgment. 
 If he had endorsed the sea level project he must 
 have applied to Congress for a larger appro- 
 priation with which to carry it out. As he did 
 not do so, the matter was allowed to remain in 
 statu quo and, as the Spooner Bill had clearly 
 contemplated a multi-lock canal, the work was 
 proceeded with along those lines. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 THE CANAL AS IT WILL BE 
 
 In submitting its report, the minority of the 
 Board of Consulting Engineers expressed the 
 belief that a lock canal is the better one for the 
 United States to construct for the following 
 reasons: 1. Greater capacity for traffic than 
 afforded by the narrow waterway proposed by 
 the Board. 2. Greater safety for ships and less 
 danger of interruption to traffic by reason of 
 the wider and deeper channels which the lock 
 canal makes possible at small cost. 3. Quicker 
 passage across the Isthmus for large ships or 
 a large traffic. 4. Materially less time required 
 for construction. 5. Materially less cost. 
 
 This report included a detailed plan for a 
 canal which, in many important features, con- 
 formed to that of the Commission of 1899-1901. 
 In the former, however, the dimensions are in- 
 creased, the main dam is placed at Gatun, in- 
 stead of at Bohio, and the terminal lock on the 
 
 121 
 
122 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Pacific side is moved from Miraflores to Sosa. 
 This is in the main the plan upon which the 
 work is being carried to a conclusion. The chief 
 deviations from it are, the return of the ter- 
 minal lock to its former site at Miraflores, and 
 a general increase in the dimensions. 
 
 The plan, briefly stated, involved a channel 
 commencing well out in the harbor in the Bay 
 of Mindi, and continuing at sea level to Gatun. 
 Here a large artificial lake was to extend to 
 Obispo, where the passage of the Culebra Cut 
 begins. At Pedro Miguel the summit level ter- 
 minated with a set of locks and a smaller lake 
 extended to Sosa, where sea level was again 
 reached by the channel, which continued out into 
 the harbor. 
 
 The bottom of the channel under this plan 
 would lie at 40 above sea level for the greater 
 part of the distance, and in the alternative plan 
 for a tide level canal at 40 below, a difference 
 of 80 feet. This entire difference would be 
 saved in excavation where the ground stands 
 at an elevation of 40 feet or over. But, as the 
 lock plan contemplates a much broader channel, 
 the disparity in the quantity of work required 
 by each is somewhat lessened. From Gatun 
 for about 20 miles through the lake practically 
 
The Canal as It Will Be 123 
 
 no earth needs to be removed in order to get 
 the requisite depth of channel. In the Culebra 
 Cut the excavation for the sea level canal would 
 have to be carried a clear 80 feet, most of it 
 through hard material, deeper than that for the 
 lock canal. 
 
 The principal feature of this plan is the great 
 dam at Gatun which is to be thrown across the 
 channel of the Chagres River. The waters 
 thus intercepted in their course to the sea will 
 collect in the valley basin and form the huge 
 artificial lake. The lake will also furnish water 
 for the lockages and for power, while affording 
 practically open navigation through the greater 
 part of its length. 
 
 The dam is to be an enormous solid structure, 
 calculated to withstand the forces of nature 
 and, as the report states, one that " could only 
 be destroyed by making excavations which 
 would require a large force working for a long 
 time." The crest of this dam, as planned, 
 stands at 135 feet elevation, or 50 feet above the 
 summit level of the lake; at the top it is 100 
 feet in width, and at water level, 374 feet; at 
 its base it is 2,625 feet, or one-half mile, in 
 thickness. These dimensions have been some- 
 what changed. 
 
124 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 This dam will have a face, reinforced with 
 riprap, extending a distance of one and a half 
 miles and connecting two hills. A rock wall 
 along its foot will parallel the face. These rock 
 structures, together with the flanking hills, will 
 form a kind of box. Specially selected material, 
 consisting of clay and sand carried in water, 
 will be pumped into this enclosure, and when 
 the water has drained off, there will be left a 
 compact and hard mass, impervious to seepage. 
 Near the centre of the face a spillway, with 
 sluice gates, will permit of the regulation of 
 the stand of water in the lake. 
 
 It is confidently expected that this massive 
 structure, being, as it were, welded into the 
 earth at bottom and along its sides, will with- 
 stand any earthquake to the force of which it 
 is likely to be subjected. It will be much 
 stronger than the dams at San Leandro . and 
 Pilarcitos, connected respectively with the 
 waterworks of Oakland and San Francisco, 
 which are at present the largest in existence. 
 The latter was not in any degree injured by the 
 great earthquake of San Francisco, although it 
 lay within the zone of disturbance. " This 
 huge mass will exert a pressure upon its foun- 
 dation of one ton to the square foot for every 
 
The Canal as It Will Be 125 
 
 twenty feet of its height. Its great weight will 
 be an element of safety, provided the founda- 
 tion is not susceptible to percolation. The 
 Gatun Dam is the key to the plan, and its im- 
 portance has made its site the centre of the 
 critical investigations to which the plan has 
 been subjected continuously since its inception. 
 Borings innumerable have been made during 
 the past four years, and it is safe to say that 
 our engineers are as familiar with the under- 
 lying strata as they are with the surface of the 
 ground. The fund of applicable data has been 
 enlarged by the construction of experimental 
 dams, by soil analysis, by water tests, and by 
 geological examinations. In short, the dam 
 and lock sites at Gatun have been explored ex- 
 haustively, and from every possible point of 
 contact. The results show conclusively: (1) 
 That the foundations are suitable, and perfectly 
 safe for the construction of a stable and water- 
 tight earth dam of such material as is available 
 and near at hand. (2) That the concrete spill- 
 way and concrete locks will rest upon rock foun- 
 dations of the most satisfactory description." 1 
 This dam has been made the object of the 
 
 1 From an article by the Author in the Review of Reviews. 
 April, 1909. 
 
126 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 severest criticism by the advocates of a sea 
 level canal. The wildest misstatements have 
 been disseminated regarding it and an attempt 
 has been made to create the impression among 
 the public that it is experimental in its nature 
 and that the engineers in charge of the work 
 have comparatively little knowledge of the 
 ground upon which the dam is to stand. A 
 trivial slide, such as engineers always look for 
 in fills before the material has finally settled, 
 was eagerly seized upon as a basis for a sensa- 
 tional report that a serious cave-in had oc- 
 curred. One of the newspapers printed an ab- 
 surd story to the effect that a subterranean 
 lake had been disclosed. The matter was made 
 so much of by a large proportion of the press 
 that public confidence was seriously impaired 
 and the President determined to appoint a spe- 
 cial commission to investigate. The body was 
 composed of engineers whose experience was 
 particularly great in the matter of dams. After 
 ten days of investigation on the spot, the Com- 
 mission reported that the dam, its plan, site, 
 and the material that was to be used in its 
 construction, were all that could be desired. 
 
 The water supply is, of course, a matter of 
 the utmost importance. The subject was 
 
The Canal as It Will Be 127 
 
 treated by General Abbott, an unquestionable 
 authority, in a separate paper which was em- 
 bodied in the report. The records of the flow 
 of the Chagres and its tributaries during fifteen 
 years showed 1,250 feet per second in the driest 
 seasons. On a conservative estimate, 2,577 feet 
 per second can be depended on during the en- 
 tire three months of least rainfall. 
 
 "To determine the number of lockages which 
 this quantity of water will provide for, the fol- 
 lowing provisions and assumptions have been 
 made: Intermediate gates are to be provided 
 for at Pedro Miguel and Sosa, so as to give a 
 chamber length of 600 feet (the full length of 
 the lock being 900 feet), and it is assumed that 
 the intermediate gates will be used for eight- 
 tenths of the lockages. ... It is further as- 
 sumed that all ships passing in one direction 
 will use one set of locks and all ships passing 
 in the other, another set. (All the locks on the 
 Canal are to be in duplicate.) On this assump- 
 tion the same quantity of water is used whether 
 a ship passes through a single lock or through 
 two or three in flight. The lift to the normal 
 level at Pedro Miguel is 30 feet and at Gratun 
 28.50 feet per lock. The quantity of water re- 
 quired per lockage at Pedro Miguel, on the as- 
 
128 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 sumption that intermediate gates will be used 
 eight-tenths of the time, is 22.13 cubic feet per 
 second, and the quantity per lockage at Gatun 
 29.77 cubic feet per second, making a total of 
 51.90 feet per second. The net available quan- 
 tity of water is, as already stated, 1,350 cubic 
 feet per second, and will therefore provide for 
 26 lockages per day at each lock in the driest 
 season. ' ' 
 
 It is expected and hoped that the traffic will, 
 at no great distance of time, demand a greater 
 number of lockages than the maximum provided 
 for. The present Engineer in Chief is of the 
 opinion that this will come about so soon as to 
 justify the inclusion of an extension of the 
 water supply in the operations now in progress, 
 more especially as a great saving in cost would 
 be effected thereby. He favors the Alhajuela 
 dam and reservoir, which was proposed by the 
 Comite Technique, and which will supply 
 enough water for about thirty additional lock- 
 ages. 
 
 The surface of the Canal, at 85 feet elevation, 
 is the summit level, which is maintained beyond 
 it through the Culebra Cut, a total distance of 
 about 32 miles. The plan of the Board pro- 
 vided for a triple flight of locks in duplicate at 
 
The Canal as It Will Be 129 
 
 Gatun, by means of which, vessels would rise 
 from the channel at sea level to the lake. These 
 locks would permit of two ships passing 
 through them at the same time, and would have 
 the additional advantage that, in case of one 
 set being put into temporary disuse, traffic 
 could be continued through the other. The 
 dimensions of the locks throughout the Canal 
 were to be 900 feet clear length, 95 feet usable 
 width, and 40 feet depth over the miter sill. 
 
 Of the total length of the land channel, about 
 41 miles, more than half lies within the lake, 
 where a broad and deep way is available. The 
 greater part of the Canal course is along 
 straight lines. There are no sharp curves and 
 where changes of direction occur, the outer 
 lines of converging courses are carried to an 
 intersection and the point of the inner angle 
 dredged off, so that a curve of 8,000 or more 
 feet radius can be laid down wholly within the 
 channel. The channel will be nowhere less than 
 300 feet at the approach to a curve, nor less 
 than 600 feet within it. 
 
 The Board's dimensions gave a channel in 
 the Culebra Cut as narrow as 200 feet in places. 
 On the farther side of the Cut the greatest 
 changes that have been made from the plan of 
 
130 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 the Board of Consulting Engineers occur and 
 it is not necessary to give further details of 
 their project. 
 
 The following description of the Canal is the 
 latest issued by the Isthmian Canal Commis- 
 sion. There is hardly a possibility of its being 
 changed, except perhaps in minor details, so 
 that it may be accepted as descriptive of the 
 waterway which will be finished and opened to 
 the traffic of the world in the year 1915, if not 
 earlier. 
 
 The entire length of the Canal from deep 
 water in the Atlantic to deep water in the 
 Pacific is about 50% miles. Its length on land 
 is about 4:0y 2 miles. 
 
 In passing through it from the Atlantic to 
 the Pacific, a vessel will enter a channel with a 
 bottom width of 500 feet in Limon Bay, follow 
 this for about seven miles to Gatun, where it 
 will enter a series of three locks in flight and 
 be lifted 85 feet to the level of G-atun Lake. It 
 will steam at full ocean speed through this lake, 
 in a channel varying from 1,000 to 500 feet in 
 width, for a distance of about 24 miles, to Bas 
 Obispo, where it will enter the Culebra Cut. It 
 will pass through the Cut, a distance of about 
 nine miles, in a channel with a bottom width of 
 
, 3 a £ A ''J , 
 
 BIBD S-EYE VIEW OF THE CANAL DISTEICT. 
 
The Canal as It Will Be 131 
 
 300 feet, to Pedro Miguel. There it will enter 
 a lock and be lowered 30 1-3 feet to a small lake, 
 at an elevation of 54 2-3 feet above sea level, 
 and will steam through this for about iy 2 miles 
 to Miraflores. There it will enter two locks in 
 series and be lowered to the sea level, passing 
 out into the Pacific through a channel about 8y 2 
 miles in length, with a bottom width of 500 feet. 
 The depth of the approach channel on the Atlan- 
 tic side, where the tidal oscillation does not ex- 
 ceed iy 2 feet, will be 41 feet at mean tide, and 
 on the Pacific side, where the maximum oscilla- 
 tion is 23 feet, the depth will be 45 feet at mean 
 tide. 
 
 The Gratun Dam, which will form Gatun Lake 
 by impounding the waters of the Chagres and 
 other streams, will be nearly 1% miles long, 
 measured on its crest, nearly y 2 mile wide at its 
 base, about 400 feet wide at the top, and its 
 crest, as planned, will be at an elevation of 115 
 feet above mean sea level, or 30 feet above the 
 normal level of the Lake. The interior of the 
 Dam will be formed of a natural mixture of 
 sand and clay, dredged by hydraulic process 
 from pits above and below the Dam, and placed 
 between two large masses of rock and miscel- 
 laneous material, obtained from steam shovel 
 
132 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 excavation at various points along the Canal. 
 The top and upstream slope will be thoroughly 
 riprapped. 
 
 The Spillway is a concrete lined opening, 
 1,200 feet long and 300 feet wide, cut through 
 a hill of rock nearly in the centre of the Dam, 
 the bottom of the opening being 10 feet above 
 sea level. During the construction of the Dam, 
 all the water discharged from the Chagres and 
 its tributaries will flow through this opening. 
 When construction has sufficiently advanced to 
 permit the Lake to be formed, the Spillway 
 will be closed with a concrete dam, fitted with 
 gates and machinery for regulating the water 
 level of the Lake. 
 
 The water level of Lake Gatun, extending 
 through the Culebra Cut, will be maintained at 
 the south end by an earth dam connecting the 
 locks at Pedro Miguel with the high ground to 
 the westward, about 1,700 feet long, with its 
 crest at an elevation of 105 feet above mean 
 tide. 
 
 A small lake between the locks at Pedro 
 Miguel and those at Miraflores will be formed 
 by dams connecting the walls of Miraflores 
 locks with the high ground on either side. The 
 dam to the westward will be earth, about 2,700 
 
The Canal as It Will Be 133 
 
 feet long, having its crest about 15 feet above 
 the water in Miraflores Lake. The east dam 
 will be of concrete, about 500 feet long, and will 
 form a spillway for Miraflores Lake, with crest 
 gates similar to those at the spillway of the 
 Gatun Dam. 
 
 Gatun Lake will cover an area of 164 square 
 miles with a depth in the ship channel varying 
 from 85 to 45 feet. Throughout the first 16 
 miles from Gatun, the width of the channel 
 will be 1,000 feet; then for 4 miles, it will be 
 800 feet, and for 4 miles more 500 feet, when the 
 entrance to the Culebra Cut, at Bas Obispo, will 
 be reached. The water level in the Cut will be 
 that of the Lake, and the bottom width of the 
 channel will be 300 feet. 
 
 The territory through which the Canal runs 
 is called the Canal Zone. It contains about 448 
 square miles. It begins at a point three marine 
 miles from mean low water mark in each ocean, 
 and extends for five miles on each side of the 
 centre line of the route of the Canal. It in- 
 cludes the group of islands in the Bay of Pan- 
 ama named Perico, Naos, Culebra, and Fla- 
 menco. The cities of Panama and Colon are 
 excluded from the Canal Zone, but the -United 
 States has the right to enforce sanitary ordi- 
 
iM Panama and the Canal To-day- 
 nances in those cities, and to maintain public 
 order in them in case the Eepublic of Panama 
 should not be able, in the judgment of the 
 United States, to do so. 
 
 There will be 12 locks in the Canal, all in 
 duplicate; three pairs in flight at Gratun, with 
 a combined lift of 85 feet; one pair at Pedro 
 Miguel, with a lift of 30% feet, and two pairs 
 at Miraflores, with a combined lift of 54 2-3 feet 
 at mean tide. The dimensions of all are the 
 same — a usable length of 1,000 feet, and a 
 usable width of 110 feet. Each lock will be a 
 chamber, with walls and floor of concrete, and 
 watertight gates at each end. 
 
 The side walls will be 45 to 50 feet wide at 
 the surface of the floor; will be perpendicular 
 on the face, and will narrow from a point 24 1-3 
 feet from the floor until they are 8 feet wide at 
 the top. The middle wall will be 60 feet wide, 
 approximately 81 feet high, and each face will 
 be vertical. At a point 42 1-3 feet above the 
 surface of the floor, and 15 feet above the top 
 of the middle culvert, this wall will divide into 
 two parts, leaving a space down the centre much 
 like the letter TJ, which will be 19 feet wide at 
 the bottom. In this centre space, which will be 
 44 feet wide at the top, will be a tunnel divided 
 
The Canal as It Will Be 135 
 
 into three stories, or galleries. The lowest gal- 
 lery will be for drainage; the middle, for the 
 wires that will carry the current to operate the 
 gate and valve machinery, which will be in- 
 stalled in the centre wall ; and the upper will be 
 a passageway for the operators. The lock 
 chambers will be filled and emptied through 
 lateral culverts in the floors, connecting with 
 main culverts, 18 feet in diameter, in the walls, 
 the water flowing in and out by gravity. 
 
 The lock gates will be steel structures 7 feet 
 thick, 65 feet long, and from 47 to 82 feet high. 
 They will weigh from 300 to 600 tons each. 
 Ninety-two leaves will be required for the en- 
 tire Canal, the total weight being 57,000 tons. 
 Intermediate gates will be used in the locks, in 
 order to save time and water, if desired in lock- 
 ing small vessels through, the gates being so 
 fixed as to divide the locks into chambers 600 
 and 400 feet long respectively. Ninety-five per 
 cent of the vessels navigating the high seas are 
 less than 600 feet long. In the construction of 
 the locks it is estimated that there will be used 
 approximately 4,500,000 cubic yards of con- 
 crete, requiring about the same number of bar- 
 rels of cement. 
 
 No vessel will be permitted to enter or pass 
 
136 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 through the locks under its own power. Elec- 
 tricity will be used to tow all vessels into 
 and through the locks, and to operate all 
 gates and valves, power being generated by 
 water turbines from the head created by Gatun 
 Lake. 
 
 The time required to pass a vessel through 
 all the locks is estimated at three hours, one 
 hour and a half in the three locks at Gatun, and 
 about the same time in the three locks on the 
 Pacific side. The time of passage of a vessel 
 through the entire Canal is estimated as rang- 
 ing from ten to twelve hours, according to the 
 size of the ship, and the rate of speed at which 
 it can travel. 
 
 The total excavation, dry and wet, for the 
 Canal, as originally planned, was estimated at 
 103,795,000 cubic yards, in addition to the ex- 
 cavation accomplished by the French companies. 
 Changes in the plan of the Canal, made subse- 
 quently by the order of the President, increased 
 the amount to 174,666,594 cubic yards. Of this 
 amount, 89,794,493 cubic yards were to be taken 
 from the Central Division, which includes the 
 Culebra Cut. Active excavation work on a 
 large scale did not begin until 1907, when 
 15,765,290 cubic feet were removed. In 1908, 
 
The Canal as It Will Be 137 
 
 over 37,000,000 cubic yards were removed, and 
 in 1909, over 35,000,000, making a total for the 
 two years of over 72,000,000 cubic yards, or a 
 monthly average for those two years of 
 3,000,000 cubic yards. The total of those two 
 years was nearly half of the entire excavation 
 for the Canal. On April 1, 1910, the excavation 
 exceeded 103,000,000 cubic yards, nearly the en- 
 tire amount called for in the original plan. The 
 French companies had excavated 78,146,960 
 cubic yards, of which 29,908,000 cubic yards 
 were useful in the present plan of construction. 
 The statement, which was issued in the first 
 half of 1910, contains a summary of expendi- 
 tures, which makes interesting reading when 
 compared with the similar statement of the 
 Panama Canal Company. 
 
 Appropriations 
 
 Payment to the New Panama Canal Company . $40,000,000 
 
 Payment to Republic of Panama . . . 10,000,000 
 
 Appropriation for 1902 10,000,000 
 
 Appropriation for 1906 11,000,000 
 
 Deficiency for 1906 5,990,786 
 
 Appropriation for 1907 25,456,415 
 
 Appropriation for 1908 27,161,367 
 
 Deficiency for 1908 . 12,178,900 
 
 Appropriation for 1909 29,187,000 
 
 Deficiency for 1909 5,458,000 
 
 Appropriation for 1910 33,638,000 
 
 $210,070,468 
 
138 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Classified Expenditures to March 1, 1910 
 
 Department of Construction and Engineering, . 
 Department of Construction and Engineering, 
 
 Plant 
 
 Department of Sanitation 
 Department of Civil Administration 
 Panama Railroad Second Main Track 
 Panama Railroad Relocated Line 
 Purchase and Repair of Steamers 
 Zone Water Works and Sewers 
 Zone Roadways .... 
 Loans to Panama Railroad Company 
 Construction and Repair of Buildings 
 Miscellaneous 
 
 $63,143,128 
 
 22,471,687 
 10,884,410 
 3,926,853 
 1,107,910 
 4,354,137 
 2,555,009 
 3,270,248 
 1,429,752 
 3,718,567 
 9,574,865 
 3,960,658 
 
 Total ... $130,397,224 
 
 There have, in addition to the above men- 
 tioned sums, been expended for pavements, 
 water works, sewers, etc., in the cities of Pan- 
 ama and Colon about $2,500,000, and work un- 
 der an additional appropriation of $800,000 is 
 now in progress in these cities, making 
 $3,300,000 in all. This sum will be returned to 
 the United States Treasury by water rates to be 
 collected by the Zone authorities during a 
 period of fifty years. 
 
 The equipment with which the work is being 
 carried on embraces 100 steam shovels of the 
 latest and best type ; 4,131 cars ; 160 American 
 locomotives and 119 acquired from the French ; 
 30 unloaders ; 24 spreaders ; 10 track shifters ; 
 35 cranes; 16 pile drivers; 18 dredges; up- 
 wards of 60 barges, tugs and other small ves- 
 
frhe Canal as It Will Be 139 
 
 sels. The extensive equipment of the Panama 
 Railroad which, of course, is a potent aid in the 
 work of construction, is not included in the 
 foregoing statement. 
 
 The Americans acquired from the French 
 2,150 buildings of various kinds. Of this num- 
 ber 1,537 have been placed in use. Their esti- 
 mated value at the time that they changed 
 hands was about $2,000,000. The Commission 
 has spent on these buildings about $890,000, 
 making their value to-day about $2,890,000. 
 
 On March 23, 1910, the total force of the Isth- 
 mian Canal Commission and Panama Railroad 
 Company, actually at work, was 38,732, of 
 which 30,716 were employed by the former, 
 4,499 being on the gold payroll. The gold force 
 is composed of the officials, clerical force, con- 
 struction men, and skilled artificers. The silver 
 force is made up of unskilled laborers, of whom 
 about 5,000 are Europeans, mainly Spaniards, 
 and the remaining 28,000 West Indian negroes. 
 The standard wage for the latter is 10 cents an 
 hour and for the Spaniards 20 cents. 
 
 The Subsistence Department is an extensive 
 organization. It is divided into two branches — 
 commissary and hotel. It does about $7,000,000 
 worth of business in a year, two-thirds of this 
 
140 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 through the commissary and one-third through 
 the hotels. It feeds, clothes and provides with 
 necessaries, approximately 50,000 persons. The 
 Department is self-sustaining. The commissary 
 system consists of 13 general stores in as many 
 Canal Zone villages, and three camps along the 
 re-located line of the Panama Eailroad. No 
 goods are sold for cash, only coupons issued to 
 employes being accepted in payment for pur- 
 chases. 
 
 The hotel branch maintains the Tivoli Hotel 
 at Ancon, and also 18 hotels for white gold em- 
 ployes, at which meals are served for 30 cents 
 each; 18 messes for European laborers, who 
 pay 40 cents per ration for three meals, and 17 
 kitchens for West Indian laborers, who are 
 charged 30 cents per ration of three meals. 
 There are served monthly in the hotels for gold 
 employes, 188,000 meals ; in the messes, 269,000 
 meals ; and in the kitchens, 180,000. The sup- 
 plies for one month cost about $90,000; labor 
 and other expenses, $21,000. The monthly re- 
 ceipts, exclusive of the revenue from the Hotel 
 Tivoli, amount to $112,000. 
 
CHAPTEE VIII 
 
 THE WORK UNDER ARMY ENGINEERS 
 
 For about nine months excellent work was 
 done under John F. Stevens, as Chief Engineer, 
 but he became dissatisfied with conditions and 
 in April, 1907, his resignation was accepted. 
 There is reason to believe that for some time 
 the idea had been growing in the minds of the 
 President and Secretary Taft that the work 
 might better be done by engineers of the United 
 States Army, and when the difficulty with Mr. 
 Stevens opened the way for a change, a military 
 organization was installed without delay. In 
 considering the splendid progress that has been 
 made by the Army officers, it should not be over- 
 looked that they found excellent conditions in 
 existence, due to the fine work of the preceding 
 Chief Engineer and of Colonel Gorgas, the head 
 of the Sanitary Department. The former had 
 created order and system out of a state of af- 
 fairs that was most unpromising. The latter 
 
 141 
 
142 Panama and the Canal To-day- 
 had banished yellow fever and the fear of it 
 from the Zone, so that there has not been a case 
 of it in more than three years. The labor prob- 
 lem had also been solved and there has been no 
 difficulty about securing a sufficient supply dur- 
 ing the past two or more years. 
 
 Colonel George W. Goethals, Corps of Engi- 
 neers, U. S. Army, was appointed Chairman of 
 the Isthmian Canal Commission and Chief En- 
 gineer. The other members of the Commission 
 were, Lieut.-Colonel H. F. .Hodges, U. S. A. ; 
 Lieut.-Colonel D. D. Gaillard, U. S. A. ; Lieut.- 
 Colonel Wm. L. Sibert, TJ. S. A. ; Civil Engineer 
 H. H. Rousseau, U. S. N. ; Colonel W. C. Gor- 
 gas, U. S. A. ; and Hon. J. C. S. Blackburn. The 
 only change in the composition of the body has 
 been the appointment of Maurice H. Thatcher 
 in April, 1910, to fill the vacancy occasioned by 
 the retirement of Senator Blackburn. 
 
 A complete reorganization of the work was 
 inaugurated, with a view to concentrating au- 
 thority, to expediting the transaction of busi- 
 ness, to securing better coordination, to fixing 
 responsibility more definitely, and to reducing 
 the cost of administration. 
 
 Whilst the operation of the Panama Railroad 
 remained, as before, under the direction of a. 
 
The Work Under Army Engineers 143 
 
 General Manager, the control of all its business 
 and affairs was placed in the hands of the Chair- 
 man of the Commission. 
 
 In the organization of the Engineering De- 
 partment all construction work is divided into 
 three districts, each under a Division Engineer, 
 with full control and responsibility. This Divi- 
 sion Chief is answerable directly and only to 
 the head of the Department. 
 
 The Atlantic Division extends from deep 
 water to Gatun Lake and includes the great 
 locks and dam. It may be called the most im- 
 portant and difficult section of the operation by 
 reason of the character of the work involved in 
 it. Colonel Sibert is in charge of the Atlantic 
 Division, with Major Chester Harding as as- 
 sistant. 
 
 The Central Division extends from Gatun 
 Dam to the locks at Pedro Miguel. This em- 
 braces the Culebra Cut and involves the largest 
 amount of the excavation work. Colonel Gail- 
 lard is in charge here with L. K. Eourke as 
 assistant. 
 
 The Pacific Division extends from Pedro 
 Miguel to deep water in the Pacific Ocean. It 
 includes Pedro Miguel Locks and dam and the 
 Miraflores locks, dam and tunnel. S. B. Will- 
 
144 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 iamson, a civil engineer, is in charge, with J. M. 
 G. Watt as assistant. 
 
 In a general way, the work may be divided 
 into three classes: (1) Wet excavation, or that 
 which is performed by dredges. This amounts 
 to 12 per cent of the whole, and the largest pro- 
 portion of it occurs in the terminal channels. 
 (2) Dry excavation. This includes all material 
 removed by steam shovels and other power ex- 
 cavators, and comprises nearly half of the en- 
 tire work. (3) The third class covers the con- 
 struction of locks, dams, and spillways. These 
 account for 39 per cent of the work. 
 
 The work of the office of the Chief Engineer 
 was also organized in three divisions. The first 
 is under Colonel H. F. Hodges, who, as Assist- 
 ant Chief Engineer, has charge of the design of 
 the locks and dams and their appurtenances ; he 
 also considers and reports on all questions of a 
 civil engineering nature that may arise in the 
 progress of the work. The second office division 
 is under Mr. H. H. Rousseau, who has charge 
 of all mechanical questions that may arise, looks 
 after expenditures, the preparation of esti- 
 mates, and supervises cost keeping. The third 
 is under Mr. C. M. Saville, who, as assistant 
 engineer, has charge of all hydrographic and 
 
The Work Under Army Engineers 145 
 
 meteorological work, such general surveys as 
 are not properly included in the scope of either 
 of the construction divisions, and makes such 
 special investigations as may be assigned to 
 him. 
 
 In the new plan of organization the Quarter- 
 master's Department is charged with the highly 
 important work of supplying a sufficient force 
 of laborers. The force has steadily increased 
 in numbers, until at the close of April, 1910, 
 there were "actually working for the Commis- 
 sion and the Railroad, 33,699 men, this being the 
 largest force on record. 
 
 The labor question has always been one of 
 the most difficult involved in the canal construc- 
 tion. Speaking on the subject, when Chairman 
 of the Commission, Theodore P. Shonts de- 
 clared that " the character of the labor em- 
 ployed on the Isthmus has more to do with the 
 time that it will take to build the canal — more 
 to do with the cost of construction, than any 
 other determining factor." He went on to say 
 that there is no insuperable difficulty in the way 
 of construction with any ordinary class of labor, 
 but the problem is to get such labor as in Amer- 
 ica would be considered ordinary. The Com- 
 mission, following in the footsteps of the orig- 
 
146 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 inal Panama Eailroad and the French canal 
 companies, have tried or investigated labor of 
 nearly every nationality. Oriental coolies 
 might have proved comparatively satisfactory, 
 but for the legal obstacles in the way of employ- 
 ing Orientals. The only way in which it could 
 have been done, that of letting the work out to 
 contract, had many objections against it. 
 
 Experiments with Italians were not encour- 
 aging.' They did not display the necessary vi- 
 tality and stamina. Spaniards have turned out 
 to be the best class obtainable, but no more 
 than a few thousand can be engaged at one 
 time. These and two or three hundred Portu- 
 guese make up the bulk of the Europeans who 
 are found in the force of unskilled laborers. 
 
 The Commission has been forced to the con- 
 clusion, which was reached by its predecessors 
 in the field, that all things considered, the West 
 Indian negro is the most desirable of any class 
 of labor that can be secured in sufficient num- 
 bers. Unfortunately, it is of such poor quality 
 that its employment must entail a serious in- 
 crease in the cost of construction over what it 
 would be if Americans were available. 
 
 The general opinion of those who have had to 
 deal with them is that the efficiency of the West 
 
ARRIVAL AT CRISTOBAL OF S. S. ANCON WITH 1,500 LABORERS FROM 
 BARBADOES, SEPT. 2, 1909. 
 
The Work Under Army Engineers 147 
 
 Indian negroes is not above 33 per cent as com- 
 pared with the best common labor of the United 
 States. In this connection, Mr. Stevens said: 
 " On the basis of the present rates of pay for 
 West Indian colored labor, which is the lowest 
 grade of labor, we are paying 20 cents silver 
 per hour. . . . The relative efficiency of this 
 labor, as compared to ours at home, is about 
 three to one. In other words, we are paying 
 to-day for this labor $2.40 in gold, or $4.80 in 
 silver. Close inspection of the different gangs, 
 which extend over at least five months, demon- 
 strates very clearly that the average superin- 
 tendent or foreman, either white from the 
 Northern States, or colored from Jamaica and 
 the other West Indian islands, has never been 
 able to work continuously over 50 per cent 
 numerically of the different gangs. . . . In- 
 stead of obtaining a fair continuous amount of 
 labor, as we do from gangs here at home, one- 
 half of the efficiency of this colored labor is lost, 
 owing to their deliberate, unceasing, and con- 
 tinuous effort to do as little work as possible. 
 In other words, instead of our colored labor 
 costing us $2.40 per day, the real situation is 
 that we are paying twice $2.40 gold per day, or 
 almost $5 for eight, hours labor." 
 
148 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 But the excessive wage does not represent the 
 total of the loss, for having to employ three 
 times as many men as would otherwise be neces- 
 sary, involves in incidental expenses of housing, 
 feeding, hospital treatment, supervision, etc., 
 probably a tripled expenditure. 
 
 At the present time the West Indian laborer 
 is paid 90 cents for a nine hours day. He is fur- 
 nished with quarters gratis and may get three 
 meals a day from the Commission for 30 cents. 
 The European laborer gets twice the wage for 
 the same day's work and is charged 40 cents for 
 three meals. He also has free quarters. 
 
 American mechanics, such as steam shovel 
 men and other hourly employes on the gold pay 
 roll, receive, as a rule, 65 cents an hour and 
 their day is limited to eight hours by law. The 
 average pay of Americans on the Isthmus is 
 approximately $150 a month. 
 
 When the Canal operation was turned over to 
 the Army engineers, many predicted that the 
 change would be for the worse. It was doubted 
 whether the military men had sufficient experi- 
 ence, and it was believed that they would be both 
 extravagant and slow in the performance of the 
 work. The outcome has amply proved the fal- 
 lacy of these misgivings. Admirable organiza- 
 
The Work Under Army Engineers 149 
 
 tion and perfect discipline have been conspicu- 
 ous features of the new regime. The work has 
 been pushed with a thoroughness and speed that 
 exceed the expectations of Secretary Taft and 
 others who had the utmost confidence in the 
 ability and energy of Colonel Goethals and his 
 aides. There has been no friction on the inside 
 and the work has gone steadily forward during 
 the two years that the present Commission has 
 had the control and direction of affairs. 
 
 Until comparatively recent years, the Isth- 
 mus of Panama was a hotbed of disease. Dr. 
 Wallace, writing in 1882, declares that, while 
 the actual sanitary condition of the ports of 
 Colon and Panama was comparatively good at 
 that time, it is " well known that small-pox, the 
 yellow fever and the paludal fevers, in their in- 
 finite varieties and forms, never are absent in 
 these tropical regions where they are truly en- 
 demic. ' ' 
 
 In September, 1884, the harbor of Colon was 
 full of shipping, among which yellow fever ap- 
 peared. A British brig lost all her crew but 
 the cook. Other vessels lost in the aggregate 
 upwards of twenty men. In Colon there were 
 one hundred and seventy cases, with a mortality 
 of more than two-thirds. During the same 
 
150 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 month, the Canal Company buried six hundred 
 and fifty-four of its force. Such epidemics were 
 of frequent occurrence in the period preceding 
 the American occupation. It rarely happened 
 that five years passed without a severe out- 
 break of yellow fever, and sporadic manifesta- 
 tions of the disease were too common to excite 
 notice. A large proportion of the natives ap- 
 pear to be immune, but the presence of any con- 
 siderable number of strangers from northern 
 latitudes invariably marked the occurrence of 
 an epidemic of yellow fever. Malaria was rife 
 and even less notice was taken of it. The local 
 authorities did nothing whatever to improve 
 conditions, but, in fact, rather induced the 
 spread of disease by their indifference to sani- 
 tary measures. The French companies did their 
 best, under the circumstances, to prevent the in- 
 crease of disease, and their provision for the 
 care of the sick was admirable, but it was not 
 until the Canal passed into our hands that 
 effective measures for permanent sanitation 
 were put into effect. 
 
 It would be impossible to overrate the splen- 
 did work which has been done by Colonel Gorgas 
 and his assistants. They produced conditions 
 in which Americans can, by the exercise of or- 
 
The Work Under Army Engineers 151 
 
 dinary discretion, maintain good health in con- 
 nection with hard work. They have greatly re- 
 duced the mortality and sickness among the 
 laborers, and so have proportionally increased 
 the general efficiency of the force. In short, 
 they have converted the entire Canal Zone, in- 
 cluding the cities of Colon and Panama, into a 
 region where the dangers and discomforts of 
 living are decidedly less than those that gener- 
 ally prevail in the tropics. It is now admitted 
 that the climate, while enervating, is not in 
 itself especially harmful. Indeed, as will pres- 
 ently be shown, the vital statistics for the pres- 
 ent time compare favorably with those of the 
 most healthful portions of the United States. 
 
 Without this improvement in sanitation, the 
 work could have been done, if at all, only at 
 great loss of life and health, not to mention an 
 excessive consumption of time. The medical 
 officers responsible for sanitation recognized 
 this from the first, and urged the necessity of 
 subordinating everything else to the improve- 
 ment of health conditions, but they were not 
 represented on the Commission until the later 
 appointment of Colonel Gorgas as a member. 
 The members of the "Walker Commission were 
 not unappreciative of this point of view, but 
 
152 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 they could not withstand the impatient demands 
 of the American press that the dirt should be 
 made to fly without delay. It is much to the 
 credit of the sanitary officers that, under dis- 
 couraging circumstances, they pursued their 
 efforts uncomplainingly and with unimpared 
 zeal. 
 
 The Shonts Commission determined to devote 
 its chief energies at the outset to cleaning up 
 the Zone and pushing the sanitation work, real- 
 izing that when the health and comfort of the 
 force should be provided for, the work of con- 
 struction would proceed with fewer casualties, 
 and at a greater rate of speed than if it were to 
 be pushed ahead without such preliminary 
 work. 
 
 All along the line of the Canal a campaign 
 was instituted against the two species of mos- 
 quito that convey respectively yellow fever and 
 malaria. The experience of Colonel Gorgas and 
 his associates in Cuba enabled them to attack 
 this task with a definite and effective plan. This, 
 whilst simple in its essential features, entailed 
 a vast amount of labor. Since the malaria mos- 
 quito can only become infected by sucking the 
 blood of a sufferer from that disease, it was 
 evident that by placing as many of the victims 
 
The Work Under Army Engineers 153 
 
 as possible beyond reach of mosquito bite, the 
 insect's source of germ supply would be greatly 
 reduced. Wherever malarial subjects could be 
 found within the Zone, they were isolated in 
 screened rooms until the parasite had been 
 eliminated from their systems. Such, at least, 
 was the aim of the sanitary officers, but it may 
 easily be imagined that a plan of this sort could 
 not be carried out with anything like thorough- 
 ness. 
 
 At the same time, work was directed toward 
 the destruction of the breeding places of the in- 
 sects. All along the line long grass and rank 
 vegetation was cut down, marshes were drained, 
 pools were sprinkled with oil, dwellings were 
 cleansed, and stagnant water everywhere re- 
 moved. This campaign involved an enormous 
 amount of labor and close supervision, but the 
 results have amply justified all the trouble and 
 expense. At the inception of the work, Colonel 
 Grorgas said, referring to similar efforts in 
 Havana : " At the end of about eight months of 
 this work it was found that the number of yel- 
 low fever mosquitoes had been greatly de- 
 creased, and those that were left could find no 
 human being infected with yellow fever, 
 whereby they, the yellow fever mosquitoes, 
 
154 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 might become infected, and thus convey it to 
 other human beings. For the past three years 
 Havana has been free from yellow fever. An 
 unacclimated man can go to Havana now, and 
 though he may probably be bitten a good many 
 times by yellow fever mosquitoes, these mos- 
 quitoes have had no opportunity in the past 
 three years of biting a human being infected 
 with yellow fever, and therefore are themselves 
 entirely harmless. This condition we hope to 
 bring about in the villages along the canal route 
 by means similar to those adopted in Havana. ' ' 
 
 Another interesting quotation from the same 
 source bears on the general health and climatic 
 conditions at Panama. It should be borne in 
 mind that the utterance was given about the 
 middle of the year 1905, since which time the 
 " hope and expectation " expressed by the 
 Chief of the Department of Sanitation have 
 been more than fulfilled. 
 
 " The Panama strip is now about as healthy 
 as the ordinary tropical country. The death 
 rate is a great deal higher than that in New 
 York, but this would be the case almost any- 
 where in the tropics. About twenty people per 
 thousand in New York die every year and about 
 fifty per thousand in Panama. The general 
 
The Work Under Army Engineers 155 
 
 idea about Panama seems to be that we shall 
 suffer as the French did and as all European 
 venturers in Panama did, and that, instead of 
 dying as we do in New York, at the rate of 
 twenty per thousand per year, we shall die, as 
 sometimes occurred to the French and others 
 at Panama, at the rate of five or six hundred 
 per thousand per year. Other men of experi- 
 ence in the tropics, and who have been at Pan- 
 ama for some time, maintain that the matter of 
 sanitation is exceedingly simple and easy, and 
 that the health of the Panama strip ought to be 
 as good as that of most parts of the United 
 States. Both opinions, it seems to me, are ex- 
 treme, and the truth will fall somewhere be- 
 tween the two. Any health officer with experi- 
 ence in dealing with a practical question of this 
 kind will know how exceedingly difficult it will 
 be in a population of about fifteen thousand 
 (that is the population of the villages along the 
 Canal line) people infected with malaria to de- 
 vise and apply any system by which the cases 
 can be individually recorded and treated. Per- 
 sonally I approach the problem with hope and 
 expectation of having approximately the same 
 success that rewarded similar efforts applied 
 by our military authorities in Cuba. But it is 
 
156 Panama and the .Canal To-day- 
 no simple matter. We shall, no doubt, meet 
 with disappointments and discouragements, and 
 shall succeed in the end only after many modi- 
 fications of our plans and after many local 
 failures." 
 
 Before describing the present health condi- 
 tions in the Zone, it will be well, by way of 
 furnishing a comparison, to give a brief state- 
 ment of what they were during the period of 
 French occupancy. The first work on the Canal 
 was done in 1881, but few men were employed 
 until the following year, when the force num- 
 bered nearly 2,000. It was gradually increased 
 until in 1884 the average number of laborers 
 carried on the pay rolls was 17,635. During the 
 eight years in which the operation was carried 
 on by the Panama Canal Company and its suc- 
 cessor, an aggregate of 86,812 men were em- 
 ployed, giving an annual average of 10,881. 
 The number treated for illness was 52,814. 
 The number of deaths was 5,627, giving an 
 average per year of 6,535 sick and 703 deaths 
 in a force of less than 11,000. 
 
 At the present time all classes of employes 
 on the Canal are comfortably housed and fur- 
 nished with wholesale food at low cost. In fact, 
 the majority of them live under conditions con- 
 
The Work Under Army Engineers 157 
 
 siderably better in this respect than they would 
 enjoy at home. Extensive provision is made 
 for their recreation, including several club 
 houses at different points operated by the 
 Young Men's Christian Association. 
 
 During the year 1908, the death rate among 
 an average white force of 12,058 was 15.34 per 
 one thousand; and among the 5,000 American 
 employes, 8.14 per one thousand. In the force 
 of blacks, averaging 31,000, the mortality was 
 19.48 per thousand, or less than the average of 
 the City of New York. 
 
 During the year 1909, the health conditions 
 in the Zone showed an improvement over the 
 preceding year. The total admissions of em- 
 ployes to hospitals and sick camps, including 
 those sick in quarters, amounted to 46,194, 
 representing for the year 23.49 as the number 
 of men sick daily out of every thousand names 
 on the pay rolls, as against 23.85 for the pre- 
 ceding year. This is a percentage of consider- 
 ably less than 3, and the majority of the cases 
 were of trivial consequence. The total number 
 of deaths was 530, and assuming that the aver- 
 age number of names on the pay rolls for the 
 various months of the year amounted to 44,261, 
 the number of deaths would be equivalent to a 
 
158 Panama and the Canal To-day- 
 rate of 11.97 per thousand, as against 18.32 for 
 the preceding year. 
 
 This truly wonderful showing is the more 
 remarkable when it is considered that a large 
 proportion of the West Indian laborers who are 
 imported arrive in an underfed condition and 
 many of them suffering from disease. In great 
 degree the improvement in the vital statistics is 
 attributable to the fact that in recent years the 
 negroes have been compelled to take good and 
 sufficient food under the ration regulations. 
 Formerly the matter of food was left entirely 
 to themselves, with the result that many ate 
 irregularly and insufficiently. 
 
 The gold employes are compelled to take six 
 weeks vacation in each year, during which full 
 pay is allowed. Until recently they were re- 
 quired to go out of Panama for their holiday, 
 but since the Commission has learned to appre- 
 ciate the salubrious climate and healthful con- 
 ditions of the Province of Chiriqui, employes 
 have been allowed to spend their vacations 
 there, if they desire. The establishment of a 
 sanitarium in Chiriqui for the sick and conva- 
 lescent is under consideration. 
 
 Exercising the right acquired under the 
 treaty with the Eepublic of Panama, the Com- 
 
The Work Under Army Engineers 159 
 
 mission made the most extensive improvements 
 in the terminal ports. Both cities have been 
 paved, cleansed, and supplied with sewer and 
 water systems. In fact, they have been so 
 transformed that they bear little resemblance 
 to the foul and unsanitary centres we found on 
 our arrival at the Isthmus. This work was dic- 
 tated by practical business policy and an agree- 
 ment provides for the repayment of the cost of 
 it by the Republic. Had Panama and Colon 
 been left in their former state, the sanitation of 
 the Zone could not have been of much avail. 
 Furthermore, unless these ports are entirely 
 divested of their old reputation as foci of dis- 
 ease, when the Canal is opened to commerce, 
 shipping will take an alternative route when- 
 ever that is possible. 
 
 When we took over the Canal, the City of 
 Panama was a dirty town of narrow streets, 
 paved with cobble stones. It had neither water 
 nor sewer systems, and the streets were im- 
 perfectly drained by means of gutters which 
 were frequently clogged by refuse. The popu- 
 lation depended for its water supply upon bar- 
 rels and cisterns, which were the most favorable 
 breeding places possible for the stegomyia, or 
 yellow fever mosquito. The patios of the 
 
160 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 houses were generally littered with rubbish and 
 few persons thought of disinfecting the cess- 
 pools. 
 
 The cemeteries, which will be described 
 elsewhere, were another serious menace to 
 health. The habits of the majority of the in- 
 habitants were conducive to disease. In short, 
 the conditions in the city were such that the 
 wonder was that death and sickness were not 
 more prevalent among its people. 
 
 The Island of Manzanillo, on which the city 
 of Colon stands, is in part below the level of 
 the sea and nowhere more than four feet above 
 it. At high tide considerable portions of it were 
 flooded. This condition precluded the presence 
 of any adequate system of drainage and this 
 city, like Panama, lacked water and sewer serv- 
 ices, except for that small section which was 
 occupied by the dwellings of the officials and 
 white employes of the Railroad. This was sup- 
 plied with water of indifferent quality from a 
 reservoir near Mount Hope, in the vicinity of 
 the cemetery. As for the rest of the population, 
 they enjoyed, if possible, even a less degree of 
 sanitary convenience than the people of Pan- 
 ama. 
 
 In both cities the campaign against the mos- 
 
The Work Under Army Engineers 161 
 
 quito was vigorously carried on in the face of 
 protests by the beneficiaries, who seemed to 
 consider the risk of yellow fever preferable to 
 the discomfort of fumigation. Excellent water 
 supplies were instituted, and all uncovered re- 
 ceptacles for water were thereafter forbidden. 
 The streets of Colon and Panama were paved, 
 and much of the Island of Manzanillo was filled 
 in and drained. An adequate sewer system has 
 been installed in each city, and a good fire de- 
 partment is now established in Panama. Only 
 those who knew these cities at the time of the 
 French occupation can fully appreciate the 
 wonderful transformation that has been ef- 
 fected in them. 
 
 In a public address, delivered in August, 
 1909, Mr. H. H. Rousseau of the Isthmian Canal 
 Commission thus summed up the work of the 
 Sanitary Department : 
 
 " The work of the Sanitary Department, 
 under the member of the Commission who has 
 been its head since its organization, has been 
 phenomenally successful, and, by removing the 
 cloud which rested over the Isthmus from its 
 unsanitary and extremely unhealthful condi- 
 tion, and thus making it possible for Americans 
 to live and work there in health and happiness, 
 
162 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 it has performed a service of inestimable value 
 toward the construction of the Canal. The pres- 
 ent condition has been reached only by per- 
 severing hard work. There have been 135 cases 
 but since 1905, nearly four years ago, not a case 
 of yellow fever among employes and 34 deaths, 
 has been known. Similar success has attended 
 the fight against malaria. In 1904, three- 
 fourths of the Zone population were infected 
 with malaria, and in the early days of Canal 
 construction the number of employes treated 
 for malaria in hospitals in a year averaged 
 over 80 per cent of the whole number. It is 
 scarcely one-third of this at present. In the 
 last three years the hotel sick rate of employes 
 has been reduced more than one-half, and the 
 death rate more than two-thirds. 
 
 ' ' Over 1,200 men are carried on the pay rolls 
 of the Department of Sanitation, and the ex- 
 penditures amount to $2,000,000 per annum. 
 It will require constant work and unceasing 
 vigilance to keep health conditions up to the 
 standard which has been established. The total 
 expenses of the Sanitary Department will 
 amount, it is estimated, to about $20,000,000, or 
 a little over 5 per cent of the total cost of the 
 
The Work Under Army Engineers 163 
 
 Canal. Of the total expenditures of the French, 
 less than $2,000,000, or hardly one-half of one 
 per cent, was charged up to hospital service, and 
 practically nothing to sanitation." 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 ALONG THE LINE OF THE CANAL 
 
 At the time that the Panama Railroad opera- 
 tion was inaugurated, the Island of Manzanillo 
 was wilderness, inhabited upon its edges by a 
 few Indians. It was here that the Railroad 
 Company decided to locate its Atlantic terminal. 
 A worse choice could hardly have been made, 
 but no doubt there was good reason at the time 
 for the selection of the site. The town, which 
 grew up on the seashore, was called Aspinwall 
 by the Americans, after one of the promoters 
 cf the railway enterprise. The Colombian 
 Government, however, named it Colon. The 
 island is a coral formation covered with sand. 
 Its length is less than a mile and its breadth 
 about six hundred yards. The railroad em- 
 bankment connects it with the mainland. The 
 town was originally built without any regard 
 to order or convenience. The railroad sheds 
 and shops, and the laborers' shacks, were scat- 
 
 164 
 
Along the Line of the Canal 165 
 
 tered about promiscuously. As no trees grow 
 upon the island, with the exception of a few 
 wind blown palms on the beach, the site of the 
 town has always been bare and exposed to the 
 full force of the sun's rays. 
 
 In the early part of 1885, a revolution broke 
 out in the interior of Colombia. A body of the 
 insurgents threatened the city of Panama, and 
 General Gonima, the officer in charge of a small 
 detachment of national troops at Colon, was 
 ordered to transfer his force, together with the 
 entire police of the town, to the other end of 
 the Isthmus, for the purpose of aiding the de- 
 fence. Before leaving, General Gonima re- 
 quested Commander Kane of the United States 
 ship Galena, then anchored in the harbor, to 
 afford protection to Colon. It is claimed, with 
 apparent truth, that the naval officer undertook 
 the responsibility. "Whether he did so or not, 
 his later action, or rather lack of action, is in- 
 explicable. 
 
 No sooner had the Colombian troops and the 
 police left Colon, than one Pedro Prestan gath- 
 ered about him a gang of ruffians, seized the 
 Prefectura, collected all the arms procurable, 
 and instituted a reign of terror. Many out- 
 rages were committed on American citizens, but 
 
166 . Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Commander Kane took no steps to restore or- 
 der, although a score of American marines, or 
 jackies, might easily have gained control of the 
 situation. At length, a force was sent from 
 Panama to suppress the disturbance. Prestan 
 went out to Monkey Hill to await the govern- 
 ment troops and, for his better protection, 
 placed two prominent Americans in the van of 
 his men. It was midnight before the Panama 
 force arrived at Monkey Hill, and, under cover 
 of the darkness, the Americans contrived to 
 make their escape. At the first fire Prestan 's 
 rabble broke and ran back to Colon. Their 
 leader gave the order to fire the town. This 
 was done, and, in the ensuing confusion, the 
 mob looted the stores and houses without inter- 
 ference. With the exception of a few build- 
 ings upon the beach, the entire town was burned 
 to the ground. 
 
 In the reconstruction of Colon, somewhat 
 more regard was shown for orderliness and 
 sanitation, but the improvement left much to 
 be desired in both respects. The town remains 
 a straggling and unattractive collection of 
 buildings, almost all of them frame, and .com- 
 monplace in appearance. The exceptions are 
 the hospital structures and the Washington 
 
Along the Line of the Canal . 167 
 
 Hotel, which is maintained by the Commission. 
 The French erected some handsome residences 
 and made an attempt at floral ornamentation, 
 so that the little corner of the island called Cris- 
 tobal presented a pleasing appearance in con- 
 trast to the quarter occupied by the wharves 
 and railroad buildings. On the point at Cris- 
 tobal stands a large wooden house which was 
 originally the villa of De Lesseps and is now 
 occupied by the officers of the Subsistence De- 
 partment. This is one of the few places in the 
 town that may excite momentary interest. 
 
 The condition of land ownership in Colon is 
 peculiar. Practically all the land is held by the 
 Railroad under its original franchise, the terms 
 of which provided for its reversion to Colombia 
 at the expiration of that franchise. This de- 
 bars the Panama Railroad from alienating the 
 land. By the treaty of 1904 the Republic of 
 Panama transferred to the United States all its 
 right and interest in this land as the successor 
 of the Republic of Colombia. Therefore, the 
 United States having purchased the Railroad 
 from the French, became the owner of the land, 
 but subject to the restraint that prevented the 
 road from disposing of it by sale. At the ex- 
 piration of the Panama Railroad Company's 
 
168 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 franchise in 1966, this land will be turned over 
 to the United States and the extraordinary con- 
 dition of one government owning land in the 
 territory of another will arise. No donbt the 
 situation will be adjusted to the entire satisfac- 
 tion of both governments. 
 
 The land is considered very valuable at the 
 present time, and unquestionably will become 
 more so, for even though the Atlantic entrance 
 of the Canal has been moved a few miles away 
 from Colon, that city will grow into increased 
 importance as the terminus of the Railroad, 
 which will have a greater traffic as a result of 
 the operation of the waterway. 
 
 The visitor to the Isthmus will not linger any 
 longer than necessary at Colon, but will take 
 the first train possible to Panama, where much 
 of interest awaits him and where he can secure 
 better accommodation than he could in the At- 
 lantic port. There are two or three fairly good 
 hotels in the city of Panama and an excellent 
 one, the Hotel Tivoli, conducted by the Com- 
 mission at Ancon. 
 
 The railroad follows the line of the Canal for 
 the greater part of the way, and the best view 
 of the works is to be had from the windows of 
 the train, unless one is fortunate enough to be 
 
Along the Line of the Canal 169 
 
 taken over the construction tracks in one of the 
 division superintendent's cars. There is no 
 lack of guides to point out the particularly in- 
 teresting spots and explain the character of the 
 work, for every train carries a number of em- 
 ployes, going from one to another of the many 
 stations on business. 
 
 A short distance out of Colon, the train en- 
 ters the famous " Black Swamp," in connection 
 with which many sensational stories are told. 
 This stretch of deep bog broke the hearts and 
 the purses of the first railroad contractors. In 
 places they failed to find bottom at two hun- 
 dred feet. Tons upon tons of trees and rock 
 were thrown into the fearful quagmire before 
 a stable basis for a roadbed could be made. 
 Even at that it was not permanently stable, for 
 many times since then the ground has caved in. 
 It is said that within the past three years, one 
 hundred and fifty feet of track, with some roll- 
 ing stock upon it, fell through and disappeared 
 "within a few hours. 
 
 In places the road runs through dense jungle, 
 where the vegetation maintains an incessant 
 struggle to reach the light and air. Here and 
 there a pathway has been cut and, looking up 
 the dark lane thus formed, one may catch a 
 
170 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 glimpse of a shack standing in the most un- 
 healthful situation imaginable. Here some ne- 
 gro, tired of work, has located with his family 
 and abandoned himself to a life of solitude and 
 sweet do nothing. Strangely enough, people 
 who settle in the dark, damp, misty depths of 
 the jungle appear to enjoy fairly good health, 
 and no doubt this is due to the fact that they 
 have been accustomed to similar surroundings 
 in their own country. 
 
 At frequent intervals lengths of rusty track 
 and long since abandoned machinery will be 
 discerned beneath their covering of weeds. 
 Heaps of stone or brick mark the remains of 
 old French buildings, and here and there, in 
 out of the way spots, small wooden crosses de- 
 note the burial places of former Canal laborers. 
 The frequency with which these graves were 
 encountered before the extension of our work 
 necessitated the clearing away of most of them, 
 would give the impression that under the 
 French many of the dead must have been buried 
 where they dropped. 
 
 A fine view of the works at Gratun can be had 
 from the train. The passenger looks over the 
 lake site and passes close to the dam and locks, 
 which are progressing so rapidly that the scene 
 
Along the Line of the Canal 171 
 
 will have assumed quite a different aspect when 
 he returns ten days or so later. Over 22,000,000 
 cubic yards of earth will be required to make 
 the dam. About 2,000,000 cubic yards of con- 
 crete will be required for the locks. On May 21, 
 1910, one-eighth of the amount had been laid. 
 This was placed by eight mixers at the daily 
 average rate of 2,918 cubic yards. 
 
 All along the line, at a few miles' distance 
 from each other, are stations, and at each is 
 a little town inhabited by the Canal employes. 
 Each is an orderly settlement with good roads, 
 attractive and often handsome houses for the 
 gold force and comfortable dwellings for the 
 negro laborers. At several of the larger sta- 
 tions are club-houses and bachelor hotels. 
 
 Culebra is the engineering headquarters of 
 the Commission. John F. Stevens first estab- 
 lished it here in his desire to be in the midst 
 of his work and always on the spot. It has 
 been at Culebra ever since, and Colonel Goe- 
 thals now has his residence, as well as his of- 
 fices, at that place. 
 
 The highest point in Culebra Hill was 312 
 feet before the cut through it was begun. The 
 French excavated down to about 161 elevation, 
 but without sufficient breadth to comply with 
 
172 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 our plans, so that although their work was of 
 the greatest value, their cut had to be consider- 
 ably widened. 
 
 In the Cut, the scene is of the busiest. Dirt 
 trains are moving in every direction, or stand- 
 ing to be filled. Steam shovels are rattling, 
 and power drills boring into the rock. The 
 largest of the shovels take up five cubic yards 
 of material and make a dump every fifteen or 
 twenty seconds. Not a moment is lost unneces- 
 sarily. As soon as one of, the sixteen-car trains, 
 of which three or four hundred are in use 
 every day, is filled, it pulls off to the dumps. 
 Emptying the train occupies about five minutes 
 and it gets back for another load as soon as 
 possible. The strings of cars move back and 
 forth like shuttles in a loom and nothing is 
 allowed to interfere with their regularity. All 
 other traffic gives way to the dirt car. 
 
 Precise records of the work of the steam 
 shovels are kept and comparative figures are 
 published weekly in the Canal Record. The 
 effect of this is to create a desirable spirit of 
 competition and excite rivalry. The following 
 is a typical extract from the Record for the 
 week ending April 13, 1910 : 
 
 " The best records made in March were as 
 
Along the Line of the Canal 173 
 
 follows: Shovel No. 107, Earth 19,284 cubic 
 yards ; Rock, 19,676 cubic yards ; Total 38,960. 
 Shovel No. 105, Earth 35,000 cubic yards ; Total 
 35,000 cubic yards. Shovel No. 117, Earth 
 32,900 cubic yards, Eock, 1,800; Total 34,700." 
 
 In the past two years, upwards of seventy 
 million cubic yards of material have been ex- 
 cavated. The amount is nearly equal to the 
 total excavation done by both French compa- 
 nies. But it must be admitted that we have a 
 great advantage over them in the character of 
 the machinery now in use. One of our shovels 
 has taken out more than 50,000 cubic yards of 
 earth in twenty-five working days. Nothing 
 approaching this was possible with the best 
 machines possessed by the French. Further- 
 more, the French had more and greater set- 
 backs from landslides in the Cut than have 
 occurred to us, although we have had some bad 
 ones. 
 
 Still, the difference in results is not by any 
 means a matter of machinery only; men and 
 methods have as much to do with it. 
 
 The train runs on to La Boca, the port of 
 Panama, situated about one mile to the east of 
 the city, but most of the passengers alight at 
 Ancon. Here are the administrative head- 
 
174 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 quarters of the Commission with offices in a 
 handsome stone building well up toward the 
 top of the hill. Ancon is on the outskirts of 
 Panama, one merging into the other without 
 a perceptible division. 
 
 The Tivoli Hotel is the largest and most 
 prominent building at Ancon. It is constructed 
 somewhat on the lines of the best summer ho- 
 tels of fashionable resorts in the States. The 
 appointments are handsome and every effort 
 is made to insure the comfort of the guests. 
 The rate of about $6 a day for room, bath and 
 meals is generally considered too high, espe- 
 cially as the Commission's employes can get 
 the same accommodation at half the price. 
 Despite the cost, however, nearly all American 
 visitors to the Isthmus put up at the Tivoli in 
 preference to enduring the discomforts of a 
 city hotel. 
 
 At the Tivoli one encounters interesting per- 
 sons from every quarter of the globe. They 
 come in at both ports and from every direction. 
 A dance is held at the hotel every Saturday 
 night, the music being furnished by the 
 "I. C. C." band. To one accustomed to life 
 in the tropics elsewhere, it is surprising to see 
 Americans perspiring in heavy dress suits, A 
 
Along the Line of the Canal 175 
 
 sprinkling of foreigners in the conventional 
 white dress of the British tropical colonies set 
 them an example which, for some inexplicable 
 reason, they decline to follow. In fact, our 
 people are singularly backward in adopting the 
 customs that experience has proved to be con- 
 ducive to comfort and health. The bills of fare 
 at the Tivoli are very similar to those of a hotel 
 in New York, or Boston. Several kinds of meat 
 are offered at breakfast, and you may see 
 Americans who have a day's work before them 
 under the trying conditions of heat and humid- 
 ity, eating unrestrainedly of beef and bacon at 
 seven o'clock in the morning, and within half 
 an hour of rising. Europeans in the tropics 
 break their fast with a slice of toast and a cup 
 of coffee, then take some easy exercise before 
 eating a light breakfast. The natives of Pan- 
 ama eat an egg and a roll the first thing and 
 postpone breakfast until three or four hours 
 later. 
 
 In one important respect, at least, our men 
 on the Isthmus are adapting themselves to the 
 requirements of the tropics. There is very 
 little drinking of spirituous liquors. This les- 
 son was learned very promptly when it became 
 evident that the heavy drinker could not last, 
 
176 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 both, because his health would not stand the 
 abuse and because as soon as he became marked 
 for a toper he was shipped home. 
 
 The most beautiful spot in Ancon is the hos- 
 pital enclosure. The French planted trees and 
 flowers abundantly about the grounds and our 
 people have improved on both the buildings 
 and their surroundings. A number of new 
 structures have been added to the original ag- 
 gregation. Among these are a group of build- 
 ings in which the insane of the Eepublic of 
 Panama as well as those of the Canal Zone are 
 cared for. 
 
 Note: — The latest information on the progress of the work 
 on the Canal is given in Part II, Chapter XI, Page 397. 
 
PAET II 
 THE COUNTEY 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 PANAMA VIEJO 
 
 The site of Old Panama is a favorite resort 
 of visitors and residents of the Canal Zone. 
 It is about six miles from the modern city, and 
 may be reached by a ride over the savannas 
 and along the sea beach, or directly by boat. 
 The latter mode of approach is not to be re- 
 commended to parties including women, or 
 children, for a strong surf breaks on the shore 
 and makes landing a somewhat dangerous 
 process. The ruins of Panama Viejo are over- 
 grown with dense vegetation and a considerable 
 portion of them has not been seen by the eye 
 of man in two hundred years. Enough is, how- 
 ever, accessible to make the place unusually in- 
 teresting and to attest to the substantial man- 
 ner in which the Spaniards of old erected their 
 buildings. The tower of the Cathedral of St. 
 Anastasius rises above the tangle of tropical 
 jungle and affords a prominent landmark. In 
 
 179 
 
180 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 the days of Panama's prosperity and pride, this 
 was the focal point of the city, for the Church 
 was more powerful than the temporal author- 
 ity. A fine old stone bridge, in a good state of 
 preservation, is a picturesque reminder of the 
 period when the " Gate to the Universe " stood 
 on this spot. There are remains of fortifica- 
 tions and dungeons, and the famous " paved 
 way," which was, in reality, no more than a 
 road of cobblestones, may be seen where the 
 forest is not too dense to penetrate. 
 
 In its palmy days Old Panama was the seat of 
 wealth and splendor such as could be found no- 
 where else in the world than the capitals of the 
 Orient. At the court of the Governor gathered 
 noblemen and ladies of gentle birth. There 
 were upwards of seven thousand houses in the 
 place, many of them being spacious and splen- 
 didly furnished mansions. The monasteries, 
 Convents, and other ecclesiastical edifices were 
 numerous, and contained vast amounts of treas- 
 ure in their vaults. There were fine public 
 buildings devoted to various purposes, among 
 them pretentious stables in which were housed 
 the " King's horses," the valued animals that 
 carried the " King's treasure " across the Isth- 
 mus to Porto Bello, whence it was shipped to 
 
Panama Viejo 181 
 
 Spain. A constant stream of gold, silver, 
 pearls, and other valuables passed through 
 Panama and a fair proportion of it stayed there. 
 Panama had the name of the wealthiest city in 
 the world. Its fame spread far and wide and 
 proved to be its undoing. The story of the 
 hoarded riches in the almost unguarded city on 
 the shores of the South Sea aroused the cupidity 
 of the buccaneers and stimulated the demon dar- 
 ing of Morgan to make a raid upon it. Panama 
 Viejo was destroyed in the very zenith of its 
 glory. In a few hours it fell, never to rise again. 
 
 The story of the Morgan raid and sack of 
 Panama is an intensely interesting one. No ac- 
 count of it is so authoritative as that of Esque- 
 meling, who was one of the band, exists. The 
 following is an exact reproduction of the 
 original. The story gains by the quaint lan- 
 guage of the writer and the circumstantial 
 detail with which he tells it : 
 
 Capt. Morgan, always communicated vigor 
 with his words, and infused such spirits into his 
 men as were able to put every one of them in- 
 stantly upon new design; they being all per- 
 suaded by his reasons, that the sole execution 
 of his orders would be a certain means of ob- 
 taining great riches. This persuasion had such 
 
182 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 influence upon their minds, that with inimitable 
 courage, they all resolved to follow him. The 
 same likewise did a certain pirate of Campeche, 
 who on this occasion joined with Capt. Morgan, 
 to seek new fortunes under his conduct, and 
 greater advantage than he had found before. 
 Thus Captain Morgan in a few days gathered a 
 fleet of nine sail, between ships and great boats, 
 wherein he had four hundred and three score 
 military men. 
 
 After that all things were in a good posture 
 of readiness, they put forth to sea, Capt. 
 Morgan imparting the design he had in his mind 
 to nobody for that present. He only told them 
 on several occasions, that he held as indubitable 
 he should make a good fortune by that voyage, 
 if strange occurances altered not the course of 
 his designs. They directed their course towards 
 the continent, where they arrived in a few days 
 upon the coast of Costa Eica, with all their 
 fleet entire. No sooner had they discovered 
 land than Capt. Morgan declared his intentions 
 to the Captains, and presently after to all the 
 rest of the company. He told them he intended 
 in that expedition to plunder Porto Bello, and 
 that he would perfrom it by night, being re- 
 solved to put the whole city to the sack, not the 
 
Panama Vie jo 183 
 
 least corner escaping diligence. Moreover, to 
 encourage them he added: This enterprise 
 could not fail to succeed well, seeing he had 
 kept it secret in his mind without revealing it 
 to anybody ; whereby they could not have notice 
 of his coming. To this proposition some made 
 answer: They had not a sufficient number of 
 men wherewith to assault so strong and great a 
 city. But Captain Morgan replied: If our 
 number is small our hearts are great. And the 
 fewer persons we are the more union, and better 
 shares we shall have of the spoil. Hereupon, 
 being stimulated with the ambition of those vast 
 riches they promised themselves from their 
 good success, they unanimously concluded to 
 venture upon that design. But, now, to the in- 
 tent my reader may better comprehend the in- 
 comparable boldness of this exploit, it may be 
 necessary to say something beforehand of the 
 city of Porto Bello. 
 
 The city which bears this name in America is 
 seated in the province of Costa Eica, under 
 the latitude of ten degrees north, at the distance 
 of fourteen leagues from the Gulf of Darien, 
 and eight westwards from the port called 
 Nombre de Dios. It is judged to be the strong- 
 est place that the King of Spain possesses in all 
 
184 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 the West Indies, excepting two, that is to say, 
 Havana and Cartagena. Here are two castles, 
 almost inexpugnable, that defend the city, being 
 situated at the entry of the port; so that no 
 ship or boat can pass without permission. The 
 garrison consists of three hundred soldiers, and 
 the town constantly inhabited by four hundred 
 families, more or less. The merchants dwell 
 not here, but only reside for awhile, when the 
 galleons come or go from Spain; by reason of 
 the unhealthiness of the air, occasioned by cer- 
 tain vapours, that exhale from the mountains. 
 Notwithstanding, their chief Warehouses are at 
 Porto Bello, howbeit their habitations be all the 
 year long at Panama, whence they bring the 
 plate upon mules at such times as the fair be- 
 gins and when the ships, belonging to the Com- 
 pany of Negroed, arrive here to sell slaves. 
 
 Capt. Morgan, who knew very well all the 
 avenues of this city, as also all the neighboring 
 coasts arrived in the dusk of the evening at the 
 place called Puerto de Naos, distant ten leagues 
 toward the west of Porto Bello. Being come to 
 this place, they mounted the river in their ships, 
 as far as another harbour called Puerto Pointin 
 where they came to an anchor. Here they put 
 themselves immediately into boats and canoes, 
 
Panama Vie jo 185 
 
 leaving only a few men to keep them and con- 
 duct them the next day to the port. About mid- 
 night they came to a certain place called Estera 
 longa Lemos, where they all went on shore, and 
 marched by land to the first post of the city. 
 They had in their company a certain English- 
 man, who had been formerly a prisoner in those 
 parts, and who now served them for guide. To 
 him, and three or four more, they give com- 
 mission to take the sentry, if possible, or kill 
 him upon the place. But they laid hands on 
 him and apprehended him with such cunning, 
 that he had no time to give warning with his 
 musket, or make any other noise. Thus they 
 brought him, with his hands bound to Captain 
 Morgan, who asked him: How things went in 
 the city, and what forces they had : with many 
 other circumstances, which he was desirous to 
 know. After every question, they made him a 
 thousand menaces to kill him, in case he de- 
 clared not the truth. Thus they began to ad- 
 vance towards the city, carrying always the said 
 sentry before them. Having marched about 
 one-quarter of a league, they came to the castle 
 that is near the city, which presently they sur- 
 rounded, so that no person could get either in 
 or out of the said fortress. 
 
186 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Being thus posted under the walls of the 
 castle, Capt. Morgan commanded the sentry 
 whom they had taken prisoner, to speak to 
 those within, charging them to surrender, and 
 give up to his discretion ; otherwise they should 
 be all cut to pieces, without giving quarter to 
 any one. But they would harken to none of 
 these threats, beginning instantly to fire ; which 
 gave notice to the city and this was suddenly 
 alarmed. Yet, notwithstanding, although the 
 Governor and soldiers of the said castle made 
 as great resistance as could be performed, they 
 were constrained to surrender to the Pirates. 
 These no sooner had taken the castle, than they 
 resolved to be as good as their words, in putting 
 the Spainards to the sword, thereby to strike 
 a terror into the rest of the city. Hereupon, 
 having shut up all the soldiers and officers as 
 prisoners into one room, they instantly set fire 
 to the powder (whereof they found great quan- 
 tity) , and blew up the whole castle into the air, 
 with all the Spaniards that were within. This 
 being done, they pursued the course of their 
 victory, falling upon the city, which as yet was 
 not in order to receive them. Many of the in- 
 habitants cast their precious jewels and moneys 
 into wells and cisterns, or hid them in other 
 
Panama Vie jo 187 
 
 places underground, to excuse, as much as pos- 
 sible, their being totally robbed. One party of 
 the Pirates being assigned to this purpose, ran 
 immediately to the cloisters, and took as many 
 religious men and women as they could find. 
 The governor of the city not being able to rally 
 the citizens, through the huge confusion of the 
 town retired to one of the castles remaining, 
 and thence began to fire incessantly at the 
 Pirates. But these were not in the least negli- 
 gent either to assault him or defend themselves 
 with all the courage imaginable. Thus it was 
 observable that, amidst the horror of the as- 
 sault, they made very few shots in vain. For 
 aiming with great dexterity at the mouths of 
 the guns, the Spainiards were certain to lose one 
 or two men every time they charged each gun 
 anew. 
 
 The assault of this castle where the Governor 
 was, continued very furious on both sides, from 
 break of day until noon. Yea, about this time 
 of the day the case was very dubious which 
 party should conquer or be conquered. At last 
 the Pirates, perceiving they had lost many men 
 and as yet advanced little towards the gaining 
 either this, or the other castles remaining, 
 thought to make use of fireballs, which they 
 
188 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 threw with their hands, designing if possible 
 to burn the doors of the castle. Bnt going abont 
 to put this into execution, the Spaniards from 
 the wall let fall quantities of stones and earth- 
 ern pots full of powder and other combustible 
 matter, which forced them to desist that at- 
 tempt. Capt. Morgan seeing this generous de- 
 fence made by the Spaniards, began to despair 
 of the whole success of the enterprise. Here- 
 upon, many faint and calm meditations came 
 into his mind ; neither could he determine which 
 way to turn himself in that straitness of af- 
 fairs. Being involved in these thoughts he was 
 suddenly animated to continue the assault by 
 seeing the English colours put forth at one of 
 the lesser castles, then entered by his men, of 
 whom he presently after spied a troop that came 
 to him, proclaiming victory with loud shouts of 
 joy. This instantly put him upon new resolu- 
 tions of making new efforts to take the rest of 
 the castles that stood out against him; espe- 
 cially seeing the chief citizens were fled to them, 
 and had conveyed thither great part of their 
 riches, with all the plate belonging to the 
 churches and other things dedicated to divine 
 service. 
 To this effect, therefore, he ordered ten or 
 
Panama Vie jo 189 
 
 twelve ladders to be made in all possible baste, 
 so broad tbat tbree or four men at once migbt 
 ascent by tbem. Tbese being finished, be com- 
 manded all tbe religious men and women whom 
 be bad taken prisoners to fix tbem against tbe 
 walls of tbe castle. Tbis mucb be bad before- 
 hand threatened tbe Governor to perform, in 
 case he delivered not the castle. But his answer 
 was : He would never surrender himself alive. 
 Capt. Morgan was much persuaded that the 
 Governor would not employ bis utmost forces, 
 seeing religious women and ecclesiastical per- 
 sons, exposed in the front of the soldiers to the 
 greatest dangers. Thus the ladders, as I have 
 said, were put into the hands of religious per- 
 sons of both sexes; and those were forced, at 
 the head of the companies, to raise and apply 
 them to the walls. But Capt. Morgan was fully 
 deceived in his judgment of this design. For 
 the Governor, who acted like a brave and cour- 
 ageous soldier, refused not, in performance of 
 his duty, to use his utmost endeavours to de- 
 stroy whoever came near the walls. The relig- 
 ious men and women ceased not to cry to him 
 and to beg him by all the Saints of Heaven that 
 he would deliver the castle, and hereby spare 
 both his and their own lives. But nothing could 
 
190 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 prevail with the obstinacy and fierceness that 
 had possessed the Governor's mind. Thus many 
 of the religious men and nuns were killed before 
 they could fix the ladders. Which at last being 
 done, though with great loss of the said religious 
 people, the Pirates mounted them in great num- 
 bers, and with no less valour ; having fireballs 
 in their hands, and earthern pots full of powder. 
 All which things, being now at the top of the 
 walls, they kindled and cast in among the 
 Spaniards. 
 
 This effort of the Pirates was very great; 
 insomuch as the Spaniards could no longer re- 
 sist nor defend the castle, which was now en- 
 tered. Hereupon they all threw down their 
 arms, and craved quarter for their lives. Only 
 the Governor of the city would admit or crave 
 no mercy ; but rather killed many of the Pirates 
 with his own hands, and not a few of his own 
 soldiers, because they did not stand to their 
 arms. And although the Pirates asked him if 
 he would have quarter, yet he constantly an- 
 swered: By no means: I had rather die a 
 valiant soldier than be hanged as a coward. 
 They endeavoured, as much as they could, to 
 take him prisoner. But he defended himself so 
 obstinately that they were forced to kill him; 
 
Panama Vie jo 191 
 
 notwithstanding all the cries and tears of his 
 own wife and daughter, who hegged of him 
 upon their knees he would demand quarter and' 
 save his life. When the Pirates had possessed 
 themselves of the castle, which was about night, 
 they enclosed therein all the prisoners they had 
 taken, placing the women and men by them- 
 selves, with some guards upon them. All the 
 wounded were put into a certain apartment by 
 itself, to the intent that their own complaints 
 might be the cure of their own disease ; for no 
 other was afforded them. 
 
 This being done, they fell to eating and drink- 
 ing after their usual manner; that is to say, 
 committing in both these things all manner of 
 debauchery and excess. After such manner 
 they delivered themselves up to all sort of de- 
 bauchery, that if there had been found only fifty 
 courageous men, they might easily have retaken 
 the city, and killed all the pirates. The next 
 day having plundered all they could find, they 
 began to examine some of the prisoners (who 
 had been persuaded by their companions to say 
 they were the richest of the town), charging 
 them severely to discover where they had hid- 
 den their riches and goods. But not being able 
 to extort anything out of them, as they were 
 
192 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 not the right persons who possessed any wealth, 
 they at last resolved to torture them. This they 
 performed with such cruelty that many of them 
 died upon the rack, or presently after. Soon 
 after, the President of Panama had news 
 brought him of the pillage and ruin of Porto 
 Bello. This intelligence caused him to employ 
 all his care and industry to raise forces, with 
 design to pursue and cast out the Pirates 
 thence. But these cared little for what extraor- 
 dinary means the President used, as having 
 their ships near at hand, and being determined 
 to set fire to the city, and retreat. They had 
 not been at Porto Bello fifteen days, in which 
 space of time they had lost many of their men, 
 both by the unhealthiness of the country and 
 the extravagant debaucheries they had com^ 
 mitted. 
 
 Hereupon they prepared for a departure, 
 carrying on board their ships all the pillage 
 they had got. But, before all, they provided 
 the fleet with sufficient victuals for the voyage. 
 While these things were getting ready, Captain 
 Morgan sent an injunction to the prisoners that 
 they should pay him a ransom for the city, or 
 else he would by fire consume it to ashes, and 
 blow up all the castles into the air. "Withal, he 
 
Panama Viejo 193 
 
 commanded them to send speedily two persons 
 to seek and procure the sum he demanded, which 
 amounted to one hundred pieces of eight. To 
 this effect, two men were sent to the President 
 of Panama, who gave him an account of all 
 these tragedies. The President having now a 
 body of men in readiness, set forth immediately 
 towards Porto Bello to encounter the Pirates 
 before their retreat. But these people, hearing 
 of his coming, instead of flying away, went out 
 to meet him at a narrow passage through which 
 of necessity he must pass. Here they placed an 
 hundred men very well armed ; who at the first 
 encounter, put to flight a good party of those 
 of Panama. This accident obliged the Presi- 
 dent to retire for that time, as not being yet in 
 a posture of strength to proceed any farther. 
 Presently after this encounter he sent a mes- 
 sage to Capt. Morgan to tell him : That in case 
 he departed not suddenly with all his forces 
 from Porto Bello, he ought to expect no quarter 
 for himself nor his companions when he should 
 take them, as he hoped soon to do. Captain 
 Morgan who feared not his threats, knowing 
 he had a secure retreat in his ships which were 
 near at hand, made him answer : He would not 
 deliver the castles, before he had received the 
 
194 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 contribution-money he had demanded. Which 
 in case it were not paid down he would certainly 
 burn the whole city, and then leave it; demol- 
 ishing beforehand the castles, and killing the 
 prisoners. 
 
 The Governor of Panama perceived by this 
 answer that no means would serve to mollify 
 the hearts of the Pirates, nor reduce them to 
 reason. Hereupon he determined to leave 
 them ; as also those of the city, whom he came 
 to relieve, involved in the difficulties of making 
 the best agreement with the enemies. Thus, in 
 a few days more, the miserable citizens gath- 
 ered the contribution wherein they were fined, 
 and brought the entire sum of one hundred 
 thousand pieces of eight to the Pirates, for a 
 ransom of the cruel captivity they were fallen 
 into. But the President of Panama, by these 
 transactions, was brought into an extreme ad- 
 miration, considering that four hundred men 
 had been able to take such a great city, with so 
 many strong castles ; especially : seeing that 
 they had no pieces of cannon, nor other great 
 guns, wherewith to raise batteries against them. 
 And what was more, knowing that the citizens 
 of Porto Bello had always great repute of being 
 good soldiers themselves, and who had never 
 
Panama Viejo 195 
 
 wanted courage in their own defence. This as- 
 tonishment was so great, that it occasioned him, 
 for to be satisfied herein, to send a messenger 
 to Capt. Morgan, desiring him to send him some 
 small pattern of those arms wherewith he had 
 taken with such violence so great a city. Capt. 
 Morgan received this messenger very kindly, 
 and treated him with civility. Which being 
 done, he gave him a pistol and a few small 
 bullets of lead, to carry back to the President, 
 his master, telling him withal : He desired him 
 to accept that slender pattern of the arms 
 wherewith he had taken Porto Bello, and keep 
 them for a twelvemonth after which time he 
 promised to come to Panama and fetch them 
 away. The Governor of Panama returned the 
 present very soon to Capt. Morgan giving him 
 thanks for the favor of lending him such 
 weapons as he needed not, withal sent him a 
 ring of gold with his message : That he desired 
 him not to give himself the labour of coming to 
 Panama as he had done to Porto Bello ; for he 
 did certify to him, he should not speed so well 
 here as he had done there. 
 
 After these transactions, Capt. Morgan 
 (having provided his fleet with all necessaries, 
 and taken with him the best guns of the castles, 
 
196 Panama and the Canal To-day- 
 nailing the rest which he could not carry away) 
 set sail from Porto Bello with all his ships. 
 With these he arrived in few days at the 
 Island of Cuba, where he sought out a place 
 wherein with all quiet and repose he might 
 make the dividend of the spoil they had got. 
 They found in ready money two hundred and 
 fifty thousand pieces of eight, 1 besides all other 
 merchandizes, as cloth, linen, silks, and other 
 goods. With this rich booty they sailed again 
 thence to their common place of rendezvous, 
 Jamaica. Being arrived, they passed here 
 some time in all sorts of vices and debauchery, 
 according to their common manner of doing, 
 spending with huge prodigality what others had 
 gained with no small labour and toil. 
 
 1 The coin " pieces of eight " had the value of eight Spanish 
 reals. Equivalent to 40 cents gold. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 MORGAN SETS OUT FOB, PANAMA 
 
 Capt. Morgan perceived that fortune favored 
 his arms, by giving good success to all his 
 enterprises, which occasioned him, as it is usual 
 in human affairs, to aspire to greater things, 
 trusting she would always be constant to him. 
 Such was the burning of Panama ; wherein for- 
 tune failed not to assist him, in like manner as 
 she had done before, crowning the event of his 
 actions with victory, howbeit she had led him 
 thereto through thousands of difficulties. The 
 history hereof, I shall now begin to relate, as 
 being so very remarkable in all its circum- 
 stances that per-adventure nothing more de- 
 serving memory may occur to be read by future 
 ages. 
 
 Not long after Capt. Morgan arrived at 
 Jamaica, he found many of his chief officers 
 and soldiers reduced to their former state of 
 indigence through their immoderate vices and 
 
 197 
 
198 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 debauchery. Hence they ceased not to impor- 
 tune him for new invasions and exploits, 
 thereby to get something to expend anew in 
 wine, as they had already wasted what was se- 
 cured so shortly before. Capt. Morgan being 
 willing to follow fortune while she called him, 
 hereupon stopped the mouths of many of the 
 inhabitants of Jamaica, who were creditors to 
 his men of large sums of money, with the hope 
 and promise he gave them of greater achieve- 
 ments than ever, by a new expedition he was 
 going about. This being done, he needed not 
 give himself much trouble to levy men for this 
 or any other enterprise, his name being now 
 so famous through all those islands, that that 
 alone would readily bring him in more men than 
 he could well employ. He undertook therefor 
 to equip a new fleet of ships; for which pur- 
 pose he assigned the south side of the isle of 
 Tortuga, as a place of rendezvous. With this 
 resolution, he wrote divers letters to all the 
 ancient and expert Pirates there inhabiting, as 
 also to the Governor of said isle, and to the 
 planters and hunters of Hispaniola (Hayti), 
 giving them to understand his intentions, and 
 desiring their appearance at the said place, in 
 case they intended to go with him. All these 
 
Morgan Sets Out for Panama 199 
 
 people had no sooner understood his designs 
 than they flocked to the place assigned, in huge 
 numbers, with ships, canoes and boats, being 
 desirous to obey his commands. Many, who 
 had not the convenience of coming to him by 
 sea, traversed the woods of Hispaniola, and 
 with no small difficulties arrived there by land. 
 Thus all were present at the place assigned and 
 in readiness, against the 24th day of October, 
 1670. 1 
 
 Capt. Morgan was not wanting to be there 
 according to his punctual custom, who came in 
 his ship to the same side of the island, to a port 
 called by the French, Port Coullon, over 
 against the island De la Vaca, this being a place 
 which he had assigned to others. Having now 
 gathered the greater part of his fleet, he called 
 a council to deliberate the means of finding pro- 
 visions sufficient for so many people. Here 
 
 1 Upon the conclusion of a treaty of peace in 1670 between 
 England and Spain, which confirmed the former in her posses- 
 sions in the West Indies, but forbade her subjects to trade to 
 any Spanish port without a license ; a proclamation was issued 
 in pursuance of such arrangement, which greatly exasperated the 
 freebooting community, and the direct result of which was an 
 assemblage of the largest fleet ever brought together by the 
 buccaneers, amounting to 37 ships of all sizes, manned by more 
 than 2,000 pirates. They met in December, 1670, at Cape 
 Tiburon, Gulf of Uraba, and held a council to decide whether 
 their forces should be directed upon Cartagena, Vera Cruz, or 
 Panama. The last was chosen as Deing the richest, and Morgan 
 was elected admiral. 
 
200 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 they concluded to send four ships and one boat, 
 manned -with four hundred men, over to the 
 continent, to the intent they should rifle some 
 country towns and villages, and in these get all 
 the corn or maize they could gather. They set 
 sail for the continent, towards the river, De la 
 Hacha, with design to assault a small village 
 called La Rancheria, where is usually to be 
 found the greatest quantity of maize of all these 
 parts thereabouts. In the meanwhile Capt. 
 Morgan sent another party of his men to hunt 
 in the woods, who killed there a huge number 
 of beasts, and salted them. The rest of his com- 
 panions remained in the ships, to clean, fit and 
 rig them out to sea, so that at the return of those 
 who were sent abroad, all things might be in 
 readiness to weight anchor, and follow the 
 course of their designs. 
 
 The four ships above mentioned, after they 
 had set sail from Hispaniola, steered their 
 course till they came within sight of the river, 
 De la Hacha, where they were suddenly over- 
 taken with a tedious calm. Being thus within 
 sight of land becalmed for some days, the 
 Spaniards inhabiting along the coast, who had 
 perceived them to be enemies, had sufficient 
 time to prepare themselves for the assault, at 
 
Morgan Sets Out for Panama 201 
 
 least to hide the best part of their goods, to the 
 end that, without any care of preserving them, 
 they might be in readiness to retire, when they 
 found themselves unable to resist the force of 
 the Pirates, by whose frequent attempts upon 
 those coasts they had already learnt what they 
 had to do, in such cases. There was in the river 
 at that present a good ship, which was come 
 from Cartagena to lade maize, and was now 
 when the Pirates came almost ready to depart. 
 The men belonging to this ship endeavoured to 
 escape, but not being able to do it, both they 
 and the vessel fell into their hands. This was 
 a fit booty for their mind, as being good part 
 of what they came to seek for with so much 
 care and toil. 
 
 The next morning about the break of day 
 they came with their ships toward the shore, 
 and landed their men, although the Spaniards 
 made huge resistance from a battery which 
 they had raised on that side, where of necessity 
 they had to land, but notwithstanding what de- 
 fence they could make, they were forced to re- 
 tire towards a village, to which the Pirates 
 followed them. Here the Spainiards, rallying 
 again, fell upon them with great fury, and main- 
 tained a strong combat, which lasted till night 
 
202 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 was come ; but then, perceiving they had lost a 
 great number of men, which was no smaller 
 on the Pirates side, they retired to places more 
 occult in the woods. 
 
 The next day when the Pirates saw they were 
 all fled, and the town totally empty of people, 
 they pursued them as far as they could possibly. 
 In this pursuit they overtook a party of Span- 
 iards, whom they made all prisoners and exer- 
 cised the most cruel torments, to discover where 
 they had hidden their goods ; some were found 
 who by the force of intolerable torture con- 
 fessed, but others who would not do the same 
 were used more barbarously than the former. 
 Thus, in the space of fifteen days that they 
 remained there, they took many prisoners, 
 much plate and movable goods, with all other 
 things they could rob, with which booty they 
 resolved to return to Hispaniola. Yet not con- 
 tent with what they had already got, they dis- 
 patched some prisoners into the woods to seek 
 for the rest of the inhabitants, and to demand 
 of them a ransom for not burning the town. To 
 this they answered, they had no money or plate, 
 but in case they would be satisfied with a cer- 
 tain quantity of maize, they would give as much 
 as they could afford. The Pirates accepted 
 
Morgan Sets Out for Panama 203 
 
 this proffer, as being more useful to them at 
 that occasion than ready money, and agreed 
 they should pay four hundred hanegs, or 
 bushels of maize. These were brought in three 
 days after, the Spaniards being desirous to rid 
 themselves as soon as possible of that inhuman 
 sort of people. Having laded them on board 
 their ships, together with all the rest of their 
 booty, they returned to the Island of Hispani- 
 ole, to give account to their leader, Capt. Mor- 
 gan, of all they had performed. 
 
 They had now been absent five entire weeks, 
 about the commission aforementioned, which 
 long delay occasioned Capt. Morgan almost to 
 despair of their return, fearing lest they had 
 fallen into the hands of the Spaniards, espe- 
 cially considering that the place whereto they 
 went could easily be relieved from Cartagena 
 and Santa Marta, if the inhabitants were at all 
 careful to alarm the country ; on the other side 
 he feared lest they should have made some 
 great fortune in that voyage, and with it es- 
 caped to some other place. But at last seeing 
 his ships return, and in greater number than 
 they had departed, he resumed new courage, 
 this sight causing both in him and his com- 
 panions infinite joy. This was much increased 
 
204 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 when, being arrived they found them full laden 
 with maize, whereof they stood in great need 
 for the maintenance of so many people, by 
 whose help they expected great matters through 
 the conduct of their commander. 
 
 After Capt. Morgan had divided the said 
 maize, as also the flesh which the hunters 
 brought in, among all the ships, according to 
 the number of men that were in every vessel, 
 he concluded upon the departure, having viewed 
 beforehand every ship, and observed their be- 
 ing well equipped and clean. Thus he set sail, 
 and directed his course towards Cape Tiburon, 
 where he determined to take his measures and 
 resolution of what enterprise he should take in 
 hand. No sooner were they arrived there than 
 they met with some other ships that came newly 
 to join them from Jamaica. So that now the 
 whole fleet consisted of thirty-seven ships, 
 wherein were two thousand fighting men be- 
 sides mariners and boys; the Admiral hereof 
 was mounted with twenty-two great guns, and 
 six small ones, of brass, the rest carried some 
 twenty, some sixteen, some eighteen, and the 
 smallest vessel at least four, besides which they 
 had great quantity of ammunition and fireballs, 
 with other inventions of powder. 
 
Morgan Sets Out for Panama 205 
 
 Capt. Morgan finding himself with snch a 
 great number of ships, divided the whole fleet 
 into two squadrons, constituting a Vice-Ad- 
 miral, and other officers and commanders of the 
 second squadron, distinct from the former. To 
 every one of these he gave letters patent, or 
 commissions, to act all manner of hostility 
 against the Spanish nation, and take of them 
 what ships they could, either abroad at sea, or 
 in the harbours, in like manner as if they were 
 open and declared enemies (as he termed it) of 
 the King of England, his pretended master. 
 This being done, he called all his captains and 
 other officers together, and caused them to sign 
 some articles of common agreement between 
 them, and in the name of all. Herein it was 
 stipulated that he should have the hundredth 
 part of all that was gotten, to himself alone, 
 that every captain should draw the shares of 
 eight men, for the expenses of his ship, besides 
 his own : That the surgeon, besides his ordinary 
 pay should have two hundred pieces of eight, 
 for his chest of medicaments : And every car- 
 penter, above his common salary, should draw 
 one hundred pieces of eight. As to recompences, 
 they were regulated in this voyage much more 
 than usual. Thus, for the loss of both legs, 
 
206 Panama and. the Canal To-day 
 
 they assigned one thousand five hundred pieces 
 of eight or fifteen slaves ; for one leg, whether 
 the right or left, six hundred pieces of eight or 
 six slaves, for a hand as much as for a leg, and 
 for the loss of an eye, one hundred pieces of 
 eight or one slave. Lastly, unto him that in any 
 battle should signalize himself, either by enter- 
 ing the first any castle, or taking down the 
 Spanish colours and setting up the English, they 
 constituted fifty pieces of eight for a reward. 
 In the head of these articles it was stipulated 
 that all these extraordinary salaries, recom- 
 pences and rewards should be paid out of the 
 first spoil or purchase they should take, ac- 
 cording as every one should then occur to be 
 either rewarded or paid. 
 
 This contract being signed, Capt. Morgan 
 commanded his vice-Admirals and Captains to 
 put all things in order, to go and attempt one 
 of three places, either Cartagena, Panama or 
 Vera Cruz; but the lot fell upon Panama as 
 being believed to be the richest of all three; 
 notwithstanding this city being situated at such 
 distance from the Northern sea, as they knew 
 not well the avenues and entries necessary to 
 approach it, they judged it necessary to go 
 
Morgan Sets Out for Panama 207 
 
 beforehand to the isle of St. Catherine, 1 there 
 to find and provide themselves with some per- 
 sons who might serve them for guides in the 
 enterprize; for in the garrison of that island 
 are commonly employed many banditti and out- 
 laws belonging to Panama and the neighboring 
 places, who are very expert in the knowledge 
 of all that country. But before they proceeded 
 any farther, they caused an act to be published 
 through the whole fleet, containing that in case 
 they met with any Spanish vessel, the first cap- 
 tain who with his men should enter and take the 
 said ship, should have for his reward the tenth 
 part of whatsoever should be found within her. 
 Capt. Morgan and his companions weighed 
 anchor from the Cape of Tiburon, the 16th day 
 of December in the year 1670. Four days after 
 they arrived within sight of the Isle of St. 
 Catherine which was not in possession of the 
 Spaniards again, and to which they commonly 
 banished the malefactors of the Spanish do- 
 minions in the West Indies. In this island are 
 found huge quantities of pigeons at certain sea- 
 sons of the year; it is watered continually by 
 four rivulets or brooks, whereof two are always 
 
 1 Also known as Santa Katalina or Old Providence, an island 
 in the Caribbean Sea, 100 miles from the Mosquito Coast, now 
 belonging to Venezuela. 
 
208 Panama and the Canal To-day- 
 dry in the summer season. Here is no manner 
 of trade nor commerce exercised by the in- 
 habitants, neither do they give themselves the 
 trouble to plant fruits than what is necessary 
 for the sustentation of human life; howbeit, 
 the country would be sufficient to make very 
 good plantations of tobacco, which might render 
 considerable profit were it cultivated for that 
 use. 
 
 As soon as Capt. Morgan came near the 
 island with his fleet, he sent before one of his 
 best sailing vessels to view the entry of the 
 river and see if any other ships were there who 
 might hinder him from landing, as also fearing 
 lest they should give intelligence of his arrival 
 to the inhabitants of the island, and they by 
 this means prevent his designs. 
 
 The next day before sunrise, all the fleet 
 came to anchor near the island, in a certain bay 
 called Aguada Grande, upon this bay the Spain- 
 iards had lately built a battery, mounted with 
 four pieces of cannon. Captain Morgan, 
 mounted with a thousand, more or less, and 
 disposed them into squadrons, beginning his 
 march through the woods, although they had no 
 other guide than some few of his own men who 
 had been there before when Mansvelt took and 
 
Morgan Sets Out for Panama 209 
 
 ransacked the island. The same day they came 
 to a certain place where the Governor at other 
 times kept his ordinary residence; here they 
 found a battery called The Platform, but no- 
 body in it ; the Spaniards retired to the lesser 
 island, which, as was said before, is so near the 
 great one that a short bridge only may conjoin 
 them. 
 
 The lesser island aforesaid was so well for- 
 tified with forts and batteries around it as 
 might seem impregnable. Hereupon, as soon 
 as the Spaniards perceived the pirates to ap- 
 proach, they began to fire upon them so furi- 
 ously that they could advance nothing that day, 
 but were contented to retreat a little, and take 
 up their rest upon the grass in the open fields, 
 which afforded no strange beds to these people, 
 as being sufficiently used to such kind of repose, 
 what most afflicted them was hunger, having 
 not eaten the least thing that whole day. About 
 midnight it began to rain so hard that those 
 miserable people had much ado to resist so 
 much hardship, the greatest part of them hav- 
 ing no other clothes than a pair of seaman's 
 trousers or breeches, and a shirt, without either 
 shoes or stockings. Thus finding themselves in 
 great extremity, they began to pull down a few 
 
210 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 thatched houses to make fires withal; in a 
 word, they were in such condition that one hun- 
 dred men, indifferently well armed, might eas- 
 ily that night have torn them all to pieces. The 
 next morning about break of day the rain 
 ceased, at which time they began to dry their 
 arms, which were entirely wet, and proceed 
 on their march. But not long after, the rain 
 commenced anew, rather harder than before, as 
 if the skies were melted into waters, which 
 caused them to cease from advancing towards 
 the forts, whence the Spaniards continually 
 fired at the Pirates, seeing them to approach. 
 
 The Pirates were now reduced to great afflic- 
 tion and danger of their lives through the hard- 
 ness of the weather, their own nakedness and 
 the great hunger they sustained. For a small 
 relief hereof, they happened to find in the fields 
 an old horse, which was both lean and full of 
 scabs and blotches, with galled back and sides. 
 This horrid animal they instantly killed and 
 flayed, and divided into small pieces among 
 themselves as far as it would reach, for many 
 could not obtain one morsel, which they roasted 
 and devoured without either salt or bread, 
 more like ravenous wolves than men. 
 
 The rain as yet ceased not to fall, and Capt. 
 
Morgan Sets Out for Panama 211 
 
 Morgan perceived their minds to relent, hear- 
 ing many of them say they would return on 
 board the ships. Amongst these fatigued both 
 of mind and body, he thought it convenient to 
 use some sudden and almost unexpected rem- 
 edy; to this effect he commanded a canoe to 
 be rigged in all haste, and the colours of truce 
 to be hanged out of it. This canoe he sent to 
 the Spanish governor of the island with this 
 message: That if within a few hours he de- 
 livered not himself and all his men into his 
 hands, he did by that messenger swear to him, 
 and all those that were in his company; he 
 would most certainly put them all to the sword, 
 without granting quarter to any. 
 
 After noon the canoe returned with his an- 
 swer: That the Governor desired two hours 
 time to deliberate with his officers in a full 
 council about that affair ; which being past, he 
 would give his positive answer to the message. 
 
 The time now being elapsed, the said Gov- 
 ernor sent two canoes with white colors, and 
 two persons, to treat with Capt. Morgan, but 
 before they landed, they demanded of the Pi- 
 rates two persons as hostages of their security. 
 These were readily granted by Capt. Morgan, 
 who delivered to them two of his captains, for 
 
212 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 a mutual pledge of the security required. With, 
 this the Spaniards propounded to Capt. Mor- 
 gan that their Governor in a full assembly had 
 resolved to deliver up the island, not being pro- 
 vided with sufficient men to defend it against 
 such an armada of fleet. But withal he desired 
 that Captain Morgan would be pleased to use a 
 certain stratagem of war, for the better saving 
 of his own credit, and the reputation of his offi- 
 cers both abroad and at home, which should be 
 as follows : That Capt. Morgan would come with 
 his troops by night, near the bridge that joined 
 the lesser island to the great one, and there at- 
 tack the fort of St. Jerome, that at the same 
 time all the ships of his fleet would draw near 
 the castle of Santa Teresa, and attack it by 
 sea, landing in the meanwhile some more 
 troops, near the battery called St. Matthew; 
 that these troops which were newly landed 
 should by this means intercept the Governor 
 by the way, as he endeavoured to pass to St. 
 Jerome's fort, and then take him prisoner, 
 using the formality, as if they forced him to 
 deliver the said castle; and that he would de- 
 liver the English into it, under the fraud of 
 being his own troops; that on one side, and 
 the other there should be continual firing to one 
 
Morgan Sets Out for Panama 213 
 
 another, but without bullets, or at least into 
 the air, so that no side might receive any harm 
 by this device; that thus having obtained two 
 such forts, the chief of the isle, he need not care 
 for the rest, which of necessity must fall by 
 course into his hands. 
 
 These propositions, every one, were granted 
 by Capt. Morgan, upon conditions they should 
 see them faithfully observed, for otherwise 
 they should be used with all rigour imaginable ; 
 this they promised to do, and hereupon took 
 their leave, and returned to give account of 
 their negotiations to the Governor. Presently 
 after, Capt. Morgan commanded the whole fleet 
 to enter the port, and his men to be in readiness 
 to assault that night the Castle of St. Jerome. 
 Thus the false alarm of battle began with in- 
 cessant firing of great guns from both the 
 castles against the ships, but without bullets, 
 as was said before. Then the Pirates landed, 
 and assaulted by night the lesser island, which 
 they took, as also possession of both the for- 
 tresses, forcing all the Spainiards, in appear- 
 ance, to fly to the church. Before the assault, 
 Capt. Morgan had sent word to the Governor 
 he should keep all his men together in a body, 
 otherwise if the Pirates met any straggling 
 
214 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Spaniards in the street, they should certainly 
 shoot them. 
 
 The island being taken by this unusual 
 stratagem, and all things put in order, the 
 Pirates began to make a new war against the 
 poultry and all sort of victuals they could find. 
 This was their whole employ for some days, 
 scarce thinking of anything else than to kill 
 those animals, roast and eat them, and make 
 good cheer, as much as they could possibly at- 
 tain unto. If wood was wanting, they presently 
 fell upon the houses, and pulling them down, 
 made fires with the timber, as had been done 
 before in the field. The next day they num- 
 bered all the prisoners they had taken upon the 
 whole island, which were found to be in all four 
 hundred and fifty persons, between men women 
 and children, viz one hundred and ninety sol- 
 diers belonging to the garrison, forty inhab- 
 itants who were married, forty-three children, 
 thirty-four slaves belonging to the King, with 
 eight children; eight banditti; thirty-nine ne- 
 groes belonging to private persons, with 
 twenty-seven female blacks, and thirty-four 
 children. The Pirates disarmed all the Span- 
 iards, and sent them out immediately to the 
 plantations, to seek for provisions, leaving the 
 
Morgan Sets Out for Panama 215 
 
 women, in the church, there to exeTcise their 
 devotions. 
 
 Soon after they took a review of the whole 
 island, and all the fortresses belonging there- 
 unto, which they found to be nine in all, as fol- 
 lows: the fort of St. Jerome, nearest to the 
 bridge, had eight great guns of 12, 6 and 8 
 pound carriage, together with six pipes of 
 muskets, every pipe containing ten muskets. 
 Here they found still sixty muskets, with suf- 
 ficient quantity of powder and all other sorts 
 of ammunition. The second fortress, called St. 
 Matthew, had three guns, of 8 pound carriage 
 each. The third and chief among all the rest, 
 named Santa Teresa, had twenty great guns, of 
 18, 12, 8 and 6 pound carriage, with ten pipes 
 of muskets, like those we said before, and 
 ninety muskets remaining, besides all other 
 warlike ammunition. This castle was built 
 with stone and mortar, with very thick walls 
 on all sides, and a large ditch around about it 
 of twenty foot depth, which although it was dry 
 was very hard to get over. Here was no entry 
 but through one door, which corresponded to 
 the middle of the castle. Within it was a mount, 
 or hill inaccessible, with four pieces of cannon 
 at the top, whence they could shoot directly 
 
216 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 into the port. On the sea side this castle was 
 impregnable, by reason of the rocks which sur- 
 rounded it and the sea beating furiously upon 
 them. In like manner, on the side of the land, 
 it was so commodiously seated on a mountain 
 that there was no access to it, but by a path 
 of three or four foot broad. The fourth for- 
 tress was named St. Augustine, having three 
 guns of 8 and 6 pound carriage. The fifth, 
 named La Plattaforma de la Concepcion, had 
 only two guns, of eight pound carriage. The 
 sixth, by name San Salvador, had likewise no 
 more than two guns. The seventh, being called 
 Plattaforma de los Artilleros, had also two 
 guns. The eighth, called Santa Cruz, had three 
 guns. The ninth, which was called St. Joseph's 
 Fort, had six guns of 12 and 8 pound carriage, 
 besides two pipes of muskets and sufficient 
 ammunition. 
 
 In the storehouse, were found thirty thou- 
 sand pounds of powder, with all sorts of am- 
 munition, which were transported by the Pi- 
 rates on board the ships. All the guns were 
 stopped and nailed, and the fortresses demol- 
 ished, excepting that of St. Jerome, where the 
 Pirates kept their guard and residence. 
 
 Capt. Morgan enquired if any banditti were 
 
Morgan Sets Out for Panama 217 
 
 there from Panama or Porto Bello, and here- 
 upon three were brought before him, who pre- 
 tended to be very expert in all the avenues of 
 those parts. He asked them if they would be 
 his guides, and show him the securest ways and 
 passages to Panama, which, if they performed, 
 he promised them equal shares in all they 
 should pillage and rob in that exposition, and 
 that afterwards he would set them at liberty, 
 by transporting them to Jamaica. These prop- 
 ositions pleased the Banditti very well, and 
 they readily accepted his proffers, promising to 
 serve him very faithfully in all he should de- 
 sire, especially one of these three, who was the 
 greatest rogue, thief and assassin among them, 
 and who had deserved for his crimes rather to 
 be broken alive upon the wheel than punished 
 with serving in a garrison. This wicked fellow 
 had a great ascendancy over the other two ban- 
 ditti, and could domineer and command over 
 them as he pleased, they not daring to refuse 
 obedience to his orders. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE MARGH ACROSS THE ISTHMUS 
 
 Hereupon Capt. Morgan commanded fonr 
 ships and one boat to be equipped and provided 
 with all things necessary, to go and take the 
 castle of Chagre, seated, upon a river of that 
 name. Neither would he go himself with his 
 whole fleet, fearing less the Spaniards should 
 be jealous of his farther designs upon Panama. 
 In these vessels he caused to embark four hun- 
 dred men, who went to put in execution the 
 orders of their chief commander Capt. Morgan, 
 while he himself remained behind in the Island 
 of St. Catherine, with the rest of the fleet, ex- 
 pecting to hear the success of their arms. 
 
 Capt. Morgan sending these four ships and 
 a boat to the river of Chagre, chose for Vice- 
 Admiral thereof a certain person named Capt. 
 Brodley. This man had been a long time in 
 those quarters and committed many robberies 
 upon the Spaniards when Mansvelt took the 
 
 218 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 219 
 
 Isle of St. Catherine. He, being therefore well 
 acquainted with those coasts, was thought a fit 
 person for this exploit, his action likewise hav- 
 ing rendered him famous among the Pirates, 
 and their enemies the Spaniards. Capt. Brod- 
 ley being chosen chief of these forces, in three 
 days after he departed from the presence of 
 Captain Morgan, arrived within sight of the 
 said castle of Chagre, which by the English is 
 called St. Lawrence. 1 This castle is built upon 
 a high mountain, at the entry of the river, and 
 surrounded on all sides with strong palisades 
 or wooden walls, being very well terrepleined, 
 and filled with- earth, which renders them as 
 secure as the best walls made of stone or brick. 
 The top of this mountain is in a manner divided 
 into two parts, between which lies a ditch of 
 the depth of thirty foot. The castle itself has 
 but one entry, and that by a drawbridge which 
 passes over the ditch aforementioned. On the 
 land side it has four bastions, that on the sea 
 containing only two more. That part thereof 
 that looks towards the south is totally inaccessi- 
 ble and impossible to be climbed, through the in- 
 finite asperity of the mountain. The north side 
 
 1 English rendition of the Spanish, " San Lorenzo." The re- 
 mains of the castle constitute one of the interesting points in the 
 neighborhood of Panama. 
 
220 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 is surrounded by the river, which hereabouts 
 runs very broad. At the foot of the said castle, 
 or rather mountain, is seated a strong fort, with 
 eight guns, which commands and impedes the 
 entry of the river. Not much lower are to be 
 seen two other batteries, whereof each hath six 
 pieces of cannon, to defend likewise the mouth 
 of the said river. .At one side of the castle are 
 built two great store-houses, in which are de- 
 posited all sorts of warlike material, and mer- 
 chandize, which are brought thither from the 
 inner parts of the country. Near these houses 
 is a high pair of stairs, hewn out of the rock, 
 which serves' to mount to the top of the castle. 
 On the west side of the said fortress lies a small 
 port, which is not above seven or eight fathoms 
 deep, being very fit for small vessels and of 
 very good anchorage. Besides this, there lies 
 before the castle, at the entry of the river, a 
 great rock, scarce to be perceived above water, 
 unless at low tide. 
 
 No sooner had the Spaniards perceived the 
 Pirates to come than they began to fire inces- 
 santly at them with the biggest of their guns. 
 They came to an anchor in a small port, at the 
 distance of a league or less from the castle. 
 The next morning very early they went on 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 221 
 
 shore and marched through the woods to at- 
 tack the castle on that side. This march con- 
 tinued until two 'clock in the afternoon, before 
 they could reach the castle, by reason of the 
 difficulties of the way, and its mire and dirt. 
 And although their guides served them exactly 
 notwithstanding they came so near the castle 
 at first that they lost many of their men with 
 the shots from the guns, they being in an open 
 place where was nothing to cover nor defend 
 them. This much perplexed the pirates in their 
 minds, they not knowing what to do, nor what 
 course to take, for on that side of necessity they 
 must make the assault, and being uncovered 
 from head to foot, they could not advance one 
 step without great danger. Besides that, the 
 castle, both for its situation and strength, 
 caused them much to fear the success of their 
 enterprise. But to give it over they dared not, 
 lest they should be reproached and scorned by 
 their companions. 
 
 At last, after many doubts and disputes 
 among themselves, they resolved to hazard the 
 assault and their lives after a most desperate 
 manner. Thus they advanced towards the castle, 
 with their swords in one hand and fireballs iu 
 the other, The Spaniards defended themselves 
 
222 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 very briskly, ceasing not to fire at them with 
 their great guns and muskets continually cry- 
 ing withal : Come on, ye English dogs, enemies 
 to God and our King; let your companions that 
 are behind come on too, ye shall not go to Pan- 
 ama this bout. After the Pirates had made 
 some trial to climb up the walls, they were 
 forced to retreat, which they accordingly did, 
 resting themselves until night. This being 
 come, they returned to the assault, to try if by 
 the help of their fire-balls they could overcome 
 and pull down the pales before the wall. This 
 they attempted to do, and while they were about 
 it there happened a very remarkable accident, 
 which gave them the opportunity of the victory. 
 One of the Pirates was wounded with an arrow 
 in his back which pierced his body to the other 
 side. This instantly he pulled out with great 
 valour at the side of his breast, then taking a 
 little cotton that he had about him, he wound 
 it about the said arrow, and putting it into his 
 musket shot it back into the castle. But the 
 cotton being kindled by the powder, occasioned 
 two or three houses that were within the castle, 
 being thatched with palm leaves, to take fire, 
 which the Spaniards perceived not so soon as 
 was necessary. For this fire meeting with a 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 223 
 
 parcel of powder, blew it up, and thereby caused 
 great ruin, and no less consternation to the 
 Spaniards, who were not able to account for 
 this accident, not having seen the beginning 
 thereof. 
 
 Thus the Pirates perceiving the good effect 
 of the arrow, the beginning of the misfortune 
 of the Spaniards, were infinitely gladdened 
 thereat. And while they were busied in extin- 
 guishing the fire, which caused great confusion 
 in the whole castle, having not sufficient water 
 wherewithal to do it, the Pirates made use of 
 this opportunity, setting fire likewise to the 
 palisades. Thus the fire was seen at the same 
 time in several parts about the castle, which 
 gave them huge advantage against the Span- 
 iards. For many breaches were made at once 
 by the fire among the pales, great heaps of earth 
 falling down into the ditch. Upon these the Pi- 
 rates climbed up and got over into the castle, 
 notwithstanding that some Spaniards who were 
 not busied about the fire, cast down upon them 
 many flaming pots, full of combustible matter 
 and odious smell, which occasioned the loss of 
 many of the English. 
 
 The Spaniards, notwithstanding the great 
 resistance they made, could not hinder the pal- 
 
224 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 isades from being entirely burnt before mid- 
 night. Meanwhile the Pirates ceased not to 
 persist in this intention of taking the castle. 
 To which effect, although the fire was great 
 they would creep upon the ground, as nigh unto 
 it as they could and shoot amidst the flames 
 against the Spaniards they could perceive on 
 the other side, and thus caused many to fall 
 dead from the walls. When day was come, 
 they observed all the movable earth that lay 
 between the pales to be fallen into the ditch in 
 huge quantity. So that now those within the 
 castle did in a manner lie equally exposed to 
 them without, as had been on the contrary be- 
 fore. Whereupon the Pirates continued shoot- 
 ing very furiously against them, and killed 
 great number of the Spaniards. For the Gov- 
 ernor had given them orders not to retire from 
 those posts which corresponded to the heaps of 
 earth fallen into the ditch, and caused the artil- 
 lery to be transported to the breaches. 
 
 Notwithstanding, the fire within the castle 
 still continued, and now the Pirates from with- 
 out used what means they could to hinder its 
 progress, by shooting incessantly against it. 
 One party of the Pirates was employed only 
 to this purpose, and another to watch all mo- 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 225 
 
 tions of the Spaniards, and take all opportuni- 
 ties against them. About noon the English 
 happened to gain a breach, which the Governor 
 himself defended with twenty-five soldiers. 
 Here was performed a very courageous and 
 warlike resistance by the Spaniards, both with 
 muskets, pikes, stones and swords. Yet not- 
 withstanding, through all these arms the Pi- 
 rates forced and fought their way till at last 
 they gained the castle. The Spaniards who 
 remained alive cast themselves down from the 
 Castle into the sea, choosing rather to die pre- 
 cipitated by their own selves (few or none sur- 
 viving the fall) than ask any quarter for their 
 lives. The Governor himself retreated to the 
 corps du garde, before which were placed two 
 pieces of cannon. Here he intended still to 
 defend himself, neither would he demand any 
 quarter. But at last he was killed with a mus- 
 ket shot, which pierced his skull into the 
 brain. 
 
 The Governor being dead, and the corps du 
 garde surrounded, they found still remaining 
 in it alive to the number of thirty men, 
 whereof scarce ten were not wounded. These in- 
 formed the Pirates that eight or nine of their 
 soldiers had deserted their colours, and were 
 
226 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 gone to Panama to carry news of their arrival 
 and invasion. These thirty men alone were re- 
 maining of three hundred and fourteen, where- 
 with the castle was garrisoned, among which 
 number not one officer was found alive. They 
 were all made prisoners, and compelled to tell 
 whatever they knew of their designs and enter- 
 prises. Among other things they declared that 
 the Governor of Panama had notice sent him 
 three weeks ago from Cartagena, how that the 
 English were equipping a fleet at Hispaniola, 
 with designs to come and take the said city of 
 Panama. Moreover, that this their inten- 
 tion had been made known by a person, who had 
 run away from the Pirates at the river De la 
 Hacha, where they provided their fleet with 
 corn. That, upon this news, the said Governor 
 had sent one hundred and sixty-four men to 
 strengthen the garrison of their castle, together 
 with much provisions and warlike ammunition. 
 The ordinary garrison whereof did only consist 
 of one hundred and fifty men. So that in all 
 they made the number aforementioned of three 
 hundred and fourteen men being all very well 
 armed. Besides this they had declared that the 
 Governor of Panama had placed several ambus- 
 cades all along the river of Chagre, and that he 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 227 
 
 waited for their coming, in the open fields of 
 Panama, with three thousand six hundred men. 
 
 The taking of this castle cost the Pirates 
 excessively dear, in comparison to the small 
 number they used to lose at other time and 
 places. Yea, their toil and labour here far 
 exceeded what they sustained at the conquest 
 of the Isle of St. Catherine and its adjacent. 
 For coming to number their men, they found 
 that they had lost above one hundred, besides 
 those that were wounded, whose number ex- 
 ceeded seventy. They commanded the Span- 
 iards that were prisoners to cast all the dead 
 bodies of their own men down from the top of 
 the mountain to the seaside, and afterwards to 
 bury them. Such as were wounded were car- 
 ried to the church belonging to the castle of 
 which they made a hospital and where also they 
 shut up the women. 
 
 Capt. Morgan remained not long time behind 
 at the Isle of St. Catherine, after taking the 
 castle of Chagre of which he had notice pres- 
 ently sent him. Yet notwithstanding, before he 
 departed thence, he caused to be embarked all 
 the provisions that could be found, together 
 with great quantities of maize or Indian wheat, 
 and cassave, whereof in like manner is made 
 
228 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 bread in those parts. He commanded likewise 
 great store of provisions should be transported 
 to the garrison of the aforesaid castle of 
 Chagre, from what partsoever they could be 
 got. At a certain place on the island they cast 
 into the sea all the guns belonging thereto, with 
 a design to return and leave that island well 
 garrisoned, for the perpetual possession of 
 Pirates. Notwithstanding, he ordered all the 
 houses and forts to be set on fire excepting only 
 the castle of St. Teresa, which he judged to be 
 the strongest and securest wherein to secure 
 himself at his return from Panama. He carried 
 with him all the prisoners of the island, and 
 thus set sail for the river of Chagre, where he 
 arrived in the space of eight days. Here the 
 joy of the whole fleet was so great, when they 
 spied the English colours upon the castle that 
 they minded not their way into the river, 
 which occasioned them to lose four of their 
 ships at the entry thereof, that, wherein Capt. 
 Morgan went being one of the four. Yet their 
 fortune was so good as to be able to save all the 
 men and goods that were in the said vessels. 
 Yea, the ships likewise had been preserved, if 
 a strong northerly wind had not risen on that 
 pccasion, which cast the ships upon the rock 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 229 
 
 above mentioned, that lies at the entry of the 
 said river. 
 
 Capt. Morgan was brought into the castle 
 with great acclamations of triumph and joy of 
 all the Pirates, both of those that were within, 
 and also them that were newly come. Having 
 understood the whole transactions of the con- 
 quest, he commanded all the prisoners to begin 
 to work and repair what was necessary, espe- 
 cially in setting up new palisades, or pales, 
 round about the forts depending on the castle. 
 There were still in the river some Spanish ves- 
 sels, called by them chatten, which serve for the 
 transportation of merchandize up and down the 
 said river as also for going to Porto Bello and 
 Nicaragua. These are commonly mounted with 
 two great guns of iron and four other small ones 
 of brass. All these vessels they seized on, to- 
 gether with four other ships they found there, 
 and all the canoes. In the castle they left a gar- 
 rison of five hundred men, and in the ships 
 within the river one hundred and fifty more. 
 These things being done, Captain Morgan de- 
 parted toward Panama, at the head of one 
 thousand two hundred men. He carried very 
 small provisions with him, being in good hopes 
 he should provide himself sufficiently among 
 
230 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 the Spaniards, whom he knew to lie in am- 
 buscade at several places by the way. 
 
 Capt. Morgan set forth from the castle of 
 Chagre, towards Panama, the 8th day of Jan- 
 uary in the year 1671. He had under his control 
 one thousand two hundred men, five boats with 
 artillery, and thirty-two canoes, all of which 
 were filled with the said people. Thus he 
 steered his course up the river towards Panama. 
 That day they sailed only six leagues, and came 
 to a place called De los Bracos. Here a party 
 of his men went on shore only to sleep some few 
 hours and stretch their limbs they being almost 
 crippled with lying too much crowded in the 
 boats. After they had rested awhile, they went 
 abroad, to see if any victuals could be found in 
 the neighboring plantations. But they could 
 find none, the Spaniards being fled and carrying 
 with them all the provisions they had. This 
 day, being the first of their journey, there was 
 amongst them such scarcity of victuals that the 
 greatest part were forced to pass with only a 
 pipe of tobacco, without any other refreshment. 
 
 The next day, very early in the morning, 
 they continued their journey, and came about 
 evening to a place called Cruz de Juan Grallego. 
 Here they were compelled to leave their boats 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 231 
 
 and canoes, by reason the river was very dry 
 for the want of rain, and the many obstacles of 
 trees that were fallen into it. 
 
 The guides told them that abont two leagues 
 farther on the country would be very good to 
 continue the journey by land. Hereupon they 
 left some companies, being in all one hundred 
 and sixty men, on board the boats to defend 
 them, with intent they might serve for a place 
 of refuge, in case of necessity. 
 
 The next morning, being the third day of their 
 journey, they all went ashore, excepting those 
 above mentioned who were to keep the boats. 
 To these Capt. Morgan gave very strict orders, 
 under great penalties, that no man upon any 
 pretext whatsoever, should dare to leave the 
 boats and go ashore. This he did, fearing lest 
 they should be surprised and cut off by an am- 
 buscade of Spaniards, that might chance to lie 
 thereabouts in the neighboring woods, which ap- 
 peared so thick as to seem almost impenetrable. 
 
 Having this morning begun their march they 
 found the ways so dirty and irksome, that Capt. 
 Morgan thought it more convenient to trans- 
 port some of the men in canoes (though it 
 could not be done without great labor) to a 
 place farther up the river called Cedro Bueno. 
 
232 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Thus they re-embarked, and the canoes re- 
 turned for the rest that were left behind. So 
 that about night they found themselves alto- 
 gether at the said place. The Pirates were ex- 
 tremely desirous to meet any Spaniards or 
 Indians, hoping to fill their bellies with what 
 provisions they should take from them. For 
 now they were reduced almost to the very ex- 
 tremity of hunger. 
 
 On the fourth day, the greater part of the 
 Pirates marched by land, being led by one of the 
 guides. The rest went by water, farther up with 
 the canoes, being conducted by another guide, 
 who always went before them with two of the 
 said canoes, to discover on both sides of the 
 river the ambuscades of the Spaniards. These 
 had also spies, who were very dextrous, and 
 could at any time give notice of all accidents or 
 of the arrival of the Pirates, six hours at least 
 before they came to any place. 
 
 This day about noon they found themselves 
 near a post, called Torna Cavallos. Here the 
 guide of the canoes began to cry aloud he per- 
 ceived an ambuscade. His voice caused infinite 
 joy to all the Pirates, as persuading themselves 
 they should find some provisions, wherewith to 
 satiate their hunger, which was very great. 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 233 
 
 Being come to the place, they found nobody in 
 it, the Spaniards who were there not long before 
 being everyone fled, and leaving nothing behind 
 unless it were a small number of leather bags, 
 all empty, and a few crumbs of bread scattered 
 upon the ground where they had eaten. Being 
 angry at this misfortune, they pulled down a 
 few little huts which the Spaniards had made, 
 and afterwards fell to eating leather bags, as 
 being desirous to afford something to the fer- 
 ment of their stomachs, which now was grown 
 so sharp that it did gnaw their very bowels, 
 having nothing to prey on. Thus they made a 
 huge banquet upon those bags of leather, which 
 doubtless had been more grateful unto them, if 
 divers quarrels had not risen concerning who 
 should have the greatest share. 
 
 By the circumference of the place, they con- 
 jectured five hundred Spaniards, more or less, 
 had been there. And these, finding no victuals, 
 they were now infinitely desirous to meet, in- 
 tending to devour some of them rather than 
 perish. Whom they would certainly on that 
 occasion have roasted or boiled, to satisfy their 
 famine, had they been able to take them. 
 
 After they had feasted themselves with those 
 pieces of leather they quitted the place, and 
 
234 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 marched farther on till they came about night 
 to another post called Torna Munni. Here they 
 found another ambuscade but as barren and 
 desert as the former. They searched the neigh- 
 boring woods, but could not find the least thing 
 to eat, the Spaniards having been so provident 
 as not to leave behind them anywhere the least 
 crumb of sustenance, whereby the Pirates were 
 now brought to the extremity aforementioned. 
 
 Here again he was happy, that had reserved 
 since noon any small piece of leather whereof to 
 make his supper, drinking after it a good 
 draught of water for his greatest comfort. 
 Some persons, who were never out of their 
 mother's kitchen may ask how these Pirates 
 could eat, swallow and digest those pieces of 
 leather, so hard and dry. To whom I only 
 answer : That could they once experiment with 
 hunger, or rather famine, is, they would cer- 
 tainly find the manner, by their own necessity, 
 as the Pirates did. For these first took the 
 leather, and sliced it in pieces. Then they beat 
 it between two stones, to render it by this means 
 supple and tender. Lastly, they scraped off the 
 hair, and roasted or boiled it upon the fire. 
 And being thus cooked they cut it into small 
 morsels, and ate it, helping it down with fre- 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 235 
 
 quent gulps of water, which by good fortune 
 they had near at hand. 
 
 They continued their march the fifth day, and 
 about noon came to a place called Barbacoa. 1 
 Here likewise they found traces of another am- 
 buscade, but the place totally as unprovided as 
 the two preceding were. At a small distance 
 were to be seen several plantations, which 
 they searched very narrowly, but could not find 
 any person, animal or other thing that was 
 capable of relieving their extreme and ravenous 
 hunger. Finally, having ranged up and down 
 and searched a long time, they found a certain 
 grotto which seemed to be but lately hewn out 
 of a rock, in which they found two sacks of 
 meal, wheat and like things, with two great jars 
 of wine, and certain fruits called Platanos. 
 Capt. Morgan knowing that some of his men 
 were now, through hunger, reduced almost to 
 the extremity of their lives, and fearing lest the 
 major part should be brought into the same con- 
 dition, caused all that was found to be dis- 
 tributed amongst them who were in greatest 
 necessity. 
 
 Having refreshed themselves with these vict- 
 
 1 To-day known as Barbacoas, near where the P. R. R. crosses 
 the Chagres. 
 
236 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 uals, they began to march, and with greater 
 courage than ever. Such as could not go well 
 for weakness were put in the canoes. Thus they 
 prosecuted their journey till late at night, at 
 which time they came to a plantation where they 
 took up their rest. But without eating anything 
 at all for the Spaniards as before, had swept 
 away all manner of provisions, not leaving be- 
 hind them the least sign of victuals. 
 
 On the sixth day they continued their march, 
 part of them by land through the woods and 
 part by water in the canoes. Howbeit they were 
 constrained to rest themselves very frequently 
 by the way, both for the ruggedness thereof and 
 the extreme weakness they were under. To this 
 they endeavoured to occur, by eating some 
 leaves of trees and green herbs, or grass, such 
 as they could pick, for such was the miserable 
 condition they were in. This day, at noon, they 
 arrived at a plantation, where they found a barn 
 full of maize. Immediately they beat down the 
 doors, and fell to eating of it dry as much as 
 they could devour. Afterwards they dis- 
 tributed great quantities, giving to every man a 
 good allowance thereof. 
 
 Being thus provided, they prosecuted their 
 journey, which having continued for the space 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 237 
 
 of an hour, or thereabouts, they met with an 
 ambuscade of Indians. This they no sooner 
 had discovered, than they threw away their 
 maize, with the sudden hopes they conceived of 
 finding all things in abundance. But after all 
 this haste, they found themselves much de- 
 ceived, they meeting neither Indians, nor vict- 
 uals, nor anything else of what they had im- 
 agined. They saw notwithstanding on the other 
 side of the river a troop of a hundred Indians, 
 more or less, who all escaped away through the 
 agility of their feet. Some few Pirates there 
 were who leaped into the river, the sooner to 
 reach the shore to see if they could take any of 
 the said Indians prisoners. But all was in vain 
 for being much more nimble on their feet than 
 the Pirates, they easily baffled their endeavours. 
 Neither did they only baffle them but killed also 
 two or three of the Pirates with their arrows, 
 shooting at them at a distance and crying : Ha ; 
 Perros, a la savana, a la savana. Ha; ye dogs, 
 go to the plain, go to the plain. 
 
 This day they could advance no farther, by 
 reason they were necessitated to pass the river 
 hereabouts to continue their march on the other 
 side. Hereupon they took up their repose for 
 that night, Howbeit their sleep was not heavy 
 
238 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 nor profound, for great nmrmurings were heard 
 that night in the camp, many complaining of 
 Capt. Morgan and his conduct in that enter- 
 prize, and being desirous to return home. On 
 the contrary, others would rather die there than 
 go back one step from what they had under- 
 taken. But others who had greater courage 
 than any of these two parties did laugh and joke 
 at all their discourses. In the meanwhile they 
 had a guide who much comforted them, saying : 
 It would not be long before they met with 
 people, from whom they should reap consider- 
 able advantage. 
 
 The seventh day, in the morning, they all 
 made clean their arms, and every one dis- 
 charged his pistol or musket, without bullet, to 
 examine the security of their firelocks. This be- 
 ing done, they passed to the other side of the 
 river in the canoes, leaving the post where they 
 had rested the night before, called Santa Cruz. 
 Thus they proceeded on their journey till noon, 
 at which time they arrived at a village called 
 Cruz. 1 Being at a great distance as yet from 
 the place, they perceived much smoke to arise 
 out of the chimneys. 
 
 1 Now called Cruces, head of navigation on the Chagres for 
 parties bound for Panama. 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 239 
 
 The sight hereof afforded them great joy and 
 hopes of finding people in the town and after- 
 wards what they most desired, which was plenty 
 of good cheer. Thus they went on with as much 
 haste as they could, making several arguments 
 to one another upon the external signs, though 
 all like castles built in the air. For, said they, 
 there is smoke coming out of every house, 
 therefore they are making good fires, to roast 
 and boil what we are to eat. With other things 
 to this purpose. 
 
 At length they arrived there in great haste, 
 all sweating and panting, but found no person 
 in the town, nor anything that was eatable 
 wherewith to refresh themselves, unless it were 
 good fires to warm themselves, which they 
 wanted not. For the Spaniards before their 
 departure, had every one set fire to his own 
 house, excepting only the storehouses and 
 stables belonging to the King. 
 
 They had not left behind them any beast 
 whatsoever, either dead or alive. This occa- 
 sioned much confusion in their minds, they not 
 rinding the least thing to lay hold on, unless it 
 were some few cats and dogs, which they im- 
 mediately killed and devoured with great ap- 
 petite. 
 
240 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 At last in the King's stables they found by- 
 good fortune fifteen or sixteen jars of Peru 
 wine, and a leather sack full of bread. But no 
 sooner had they begun to drink of the said wine 
 when they fell sick, almost every man. This 
 sudden disaster made them think that the wine 
 was poisoned, which caused a new consternation 
 in the whole camp, as judging themselves now 
 to be irrecoverably lost. But the true reason 
 was, their huge want of sustenance in that 
 whole voyage, and the manifold sorts of trash 
 which they had eaten upon that occasion. Their 
 sickness was so great that day as to cause them 
 to remain there till the next morning, without 
 being able to prosecute their journey as they 
 used to do, in the afternoon. 
 
 This village is seated in the latitude of 9 de- 
 grees and 2 minutes, north, being distant from 
 the river of Chagre twenty-six Spanish 
 leagues, 1 and eight from Panama. Moreover, 
 this is the last place to which boats or canoes 
 can come; for which reason they built here 
 store-houses, wherein to keep all sorts of mer- 
 chandize, which hence to and from Panama are 
 transported upon the backs of mules. 
 
 1 The chronicler doubtless meant to say " from the mouth 
 of the river Chagre." 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 241 
 
 Here, therefore, Capt. Morgan was con- 
 strained to leave his canoes and land all his 
 men, though never so weak in their bodies. But 
 lest the canoes should be surprized, or take up 
 too many men for their defence, he resolved to 
 send them all back to the place where the boats 
 were, excepting one, which he caused to be hid- 
 den, to the intent it might serve to carry intel- 
 ligence according to the exigence of affairs. 
 Many of the Spaniards and Indians belonging 
 to this village were fled to the plantations there- 
 abouts. 
 
 Hereupon Capt. Morgan gave express orders 
 that none should dare to go out of the village, 
 except in whole companies of a hundred to- 
 gether. 
 
 The occasion hereof was his fear lest the 
 enemies should take an advantage upon his 
 men, by any sudden assault. Notwithstanding 
 one party of the English soldiers, stickled not 
 to contravene these commands, being tempted 
 with the desire of finding victuals. But these 
 were soon glad to fly into the town again being 
 assaulted with great fury by some Spaniards 
 and Indians, who snatched up one of the Pi- 
 rates, and carried him away prisoner. Thus 
 the vigilance and care of Capt. Morgan was not 
 
242 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 sufficient to prevent every accident that might 
 happen. 
 
 On the eighth day, in the morning, Capt. Mor- 
 gan sent two hundred men before the body of 
 his army, to discover the way to Panama, and 
 see if they had laid any ambuscades therein, 
 especially considering the places by which they 
 were to pass were very fit for that purpose, the 
 paths being so narrow that only ten or twelve 
 persons could march in a file and oftentimes 
 not so many. 
 
 Having marched about the space of ten hours, 
 they came to a place called Quebrada Obscura. 
 Here, all on the sudden three or four thousand 
 arrows were shot at them, without being able 
 to perceive whence they came, or who shot 
 them. The place whence it was presumed they 
 were shot was a high rocky mountain, excavated 
 from one side to the other, wherein was a grotto 
 that went through it, only capable of admitting 
 one horse, or rather beast laded. This multi- 
 tude of arrows caused a huge alarm among the 
 Pirates, especially since they could not discover 
 the place whence they were discharged. 
 
 At last seeing no more arrows to appear 
 they marched a little farther, and entered into 
 a wood. Here they perceived some Indians to 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 243 
 
 fly as fast as they could possibly before tbem, 
 to take the advantage of another post, and 
 thence observe the march of the Pirates. There 
 remained notwithstanding one troop of Indians 
 upon the place, with full designs to fight and 
 defend themselves. This combat they per- 
 formed with huge courage, till such time as 
 their captain fell to the ground wounded, who 
 although he was now in despair of life, yet his 
 valour being greater than his strength, would 
 demand no quarter, but, endeavouring to raise 
 himself, with undaunted mind laid hold of his 
 azagaya, or javelin, and struck at one of the 
 Pirates. But before he could second the blow, 
 he was shot to death with a pistol. This was 
 also the fate of many of his companions, who, 
 like good and courageous soldiers lost their 
 lives with their captain, for the defence of their 
 country. 
 
 The Pirates endeavoured, as much as possi- 
 ble, to lay hold on some of the Indians and take 
 them prisoners. But they being infinitely 
 swifter than the Pirates, every one escaped, 
 leaving eight Pirates dead upon the place, and 
 ten wounded. Yea, had the Indians been more 
 dextrous in military affairs, they might have 
 defended that passage and not let one soul pass, 
 
244 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Within a little while after they came to a large 
 campaign field open, and full of variegated 
 meadows. From here they could perceive at a 
 distance before them a parcel of Indians, who 
 stood on top of a mountain very near the way by 
 which the Pirates were to pass. They sent a 
 troop of fifty men, the nimblest they could pick 
 out, to see if they could catch any of them, and 
 afterwards force them to declare whereabouts 
 their companions had their mansions. But all 
 their industry was in vain for they escaped 
 through their nimbleness, and presently after- 
 wards showed themselves in another place, hal- 
 looing to the English and crying : A la savana, 
 A la savana, cornudos, perros Ingleses ; that is 
 To the plain, to the plain, ye cuckolds, ye Eng- 
 lish dogs. While these things passed, the ten 
 Pirates that were wounded a little before were 
 dressed and plastered up. 
 
 At this place there was a wood, and on each 
 side thereof a mountain. The Indians had im- 
 mediately possessed themselves of one, and the 
 Pirates took possession of the other that was 
 opposite to it. Capt. Morgan was persuaded 
 that in the wood had been placed an ambuscade, 
 as lying so conveniently for that purpose. 
 Hereupon he sent before two hundred men to 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 245 
 
 search it. The Spaniards and Indians perceiv- 
 ing the Pirates to descend the mountain, did so 
 too, as if they designed to attack them. But 
 being got into the wood, out of sight of the Pi- 
 rates, they disappeared, and were seen no more, 
 leaving the passage open to them. 
 
 About night there fell a great rain, which 
 caused the Pirates to march the faster and seek 
 everywhere for houses wherein to preserve 
 their arms from being wet. But the Indians had 
 set fire to every one thereabouts, and trans- 
 ported all their cattle to remote places, to the 
 end that the pirates, finding neither houses nor 
 victuals, might be constrained to return home- 
 wards. Notwithstanding, after diligent search 
 they found a few little huts belonging to shep- 
 herds, but in them nothing to eat. These not 
 being capable of holding many men, they placed 
 in them out of every company a small number; 
 who kept the arms of all the rest of the army. 
 Those who remained in the open field endured 
 much hardship that night, the rain not ceasing 
 to fall until the morning. 
 
 The next morning about break of day being 
 the ninth of this tedious journey, Capt. Morgan 
 continued his march while the fresh air of the 
 morning lasted. For the clouds then hanging 
 
246 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 as yet over their head were much more favor- 
 able to them than the scorching rays of the sun, 
 by reason the way was now more difficult and 
 laborious than all the preceding. After two 
 hours' march they discovered a troop of about 
 twenty Spaniards, who observed the motions 
 of the Pirates. They endeavoured to catch 
 some of them, but could lay hold on none, they 
 suddenly disappearing, and absconding them- 
 selves in caves among the rocks totally unknown 
 to the Pirates. 
 
 At last they came to a high mountain which 
 when they ascended, they discovered from the 
 top thereof the South Sea. The happy sight, 
 as if it were the end of their labours, caused 
 infinite joy among all the Pirates. Hence they 
 could descry also one ship and six boats, which 
 were set forth from Panama and sailed towards 
 the islands of Taboga and Taboguilla. Having 
 descended this mountain, they came to a vale, 
 in which they found great quantity of cattle, 
 whereof they killed good store. Here while 
 some were employed in killing and flaying of 
 cows, horses, bulls and chiefly asses, of which 
 there was a very large number, others busied 
 themselves in kindling fires and getting wood 
 wherewith to roast them. Thus cutting the 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 247 
 
 flesh of these animals into convenient pieces, or 
 gobbets, they threw them into the fire, and half 
 carbonadoed or roasted, they devoured them 
 with incredible haste and appetite. For such 
 was their hunger that they more resembled can- 
 nibals than Europeans at this banquet, the 
 blood many times running down from their 
 beards to the middle of their bodies. 
 
 Having satisfied their hunger with these de- 
 licious meats, Capt. Morgan ordered them to 
 continue the march. Here again he sent before 
 the main body fifty men, with intent to take 
 some prisoners, if possibly they could. For he 
 seemed now to be much concerned that in nine 
 days' time he could not meet one person who 
 might inform him of the condition and forces 
 of the Spaniards. 
 
 About evening they discovered a troop of two 
 hundred Spaniards, more or less, who hallooed 
 to the Pirates, but these could not understand 
 what they said. A little while after they came 
 the first time within sight of the highest steeple 
 of Panama. This steeple they no sooner had 
 discovered than they began to show signs of 
 extreme joy, casting up their hats into the air, 
 leaping for mirth, and shouting even just as 
 if they had already obtained the victory and 
 
248 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 entire accomplishment of their designs. All the 
 trumpets were sounded and every drum beaten, 
 in token of this universal acclamation and huge 
 alacrity of their minds. 
 
 Thus they pitched their camp for that night 
 with general content of the whole army, waiting 
 with impatience for the morning, at which time 
 they intended to attack the city. This evening 
 there appeared fifty horse, who came out of the 
 city, hearing the noise of the drums and 
 trumpets of the Pirates, to observe, as it was 
 thought, their motions. They came almost 
 within musket-shot of the army, being preceded 
 by a trumpet that sounded marvellously well. 
 Those on horseback hallooed aloud to the Pi- 
 rates, and threatened them, saying: Perros! 
 nos veremos, that is, Ye dogs ! we shall meet ye. 
 Having made this menace, they returned into 
 the city, excepting only seven or eight horse- 
 men who remained hovering thereabouts to 
 watch what motions the Pirates made. 
 
 Immediately after, the City began to fire and 
 ceased not to play with their biggest guns all 
 night long against the camp, but with little or 
 no harm to the Pirates, whom they could not 
 conveniently reach. About this time also the 
 200 Spaniards whom the Pirates had seen in 
 
The March Across the Isthmus 249 
 
 the afternoon appeared again within sight, 
 making a resemblance as if they would block 
 the passages, to the intent no Pirates might 
 escape the hands of their forces. But the 
 Pirates, who were now in a manner besieged 
 instead of conceiving any fear of their block- 
 ades, as soon as they had placed sentries about 
 their camp, began every one to open their 
 satchels and without any preparation of nap- 
 kins or plates, fell to eating very heartily the 
 remaining pieces of bulls and horses' flesh 
 which they had received since noon. This be- 
 ing done they laid themselves down to sleep 
 upon the grass with great repose and huge satis- 
 faction, expecting only with impatience the 
 dawning of the next day. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 MORGAN SACKS PANAMA 
 
 On the tenth day betimes in the morning, 
 they put all their men in convenient order, and 
 with drums and trumpet sounding, continued 
 their march directly towards the City. But one 
 of the guides desired Capt. Morgan not to take 
 the common highway that led thither, fearing 
 lest they should find in it much resistence and 
 many ambuscades. He presently took his ad- 
 vice, and chose another way that went through 
 the wood, although very irksome and difficult. 
 Thus the Spaniards, perceiving the Pirates had 
 taken another way, which they scarce had 
 thought on or believed were compelled to leave 
 their stops and batteries, and come out to meet 
 them. The Governor of Panama put his forces 
 in order, consisting of two squadrons, four regi- 
 ments of foot, and a huge number of wild bulls, 
 which were driven by a great number of In- 
 dians, with some negroes and others, to help 
 them. 
 
 250 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 251 
 
 The Pirates, being now upon their march, 
 came to the top of a little hill, whence they had 
 a large prospect of the City and campaign coun- 
 try underneath. Here they discovered the 
 forces of the people of Panama, extended in 
 battle array and when they perceived them to 
 be so numerous, they were suddenly surprized 
 with great fear, much doubting the fortune of 
 the day. Yea, few or none there were but 
 wished themselves at home, or at least free 
 from the obligation of that engagement, 
 wherein they perceived their lives must be so 
 narrowly concerned. 
 
 Having been some time at a stand, in a waver- 
 ing condition of mind, they at last reflected upon 
 the straits they had brought themselves into, 
 and that now they ought of necessity either to 
 fight resolutely or die, for no quarter could be 
 expected from an enemy against whom they had 
 committed so many cruelties on all occasions. 
 Hereupon they encouraged one another, and re- 
 solved either to conquer, or spend the last drop 
 of blood in their bodies. Afterwards they di- 
 vided themselves into three battalions, or 
 troops, sending before them one or two hundred 
 buccaneers, which sort of people are infinitely 
 dextrous at shooting with guns. Thus the Pi- 
 
252 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 rates left the hill and descended marching di- 
 rectly towards the Spaniards, who were posted 
 in a spacious field, waiting for their coming. 
 
 As soon as they drew near them the Span- 
 iards began to shout and cry, Viva el Rey ! God 
 save the King! and immediately their horse 
 began to move against the Pirates but the field 
 being full of quags and very soft underfoot they 
 could not ply to and fro and wheel about, as 
 they desired. The two hundred buccaneers who 
 went before, every one putting one knee to the 
 ground, gave them a full volley of shot, where- 
 with the battle was instantly kindled very 
 hot. 
 
 The Spaniards, defended themselves very 
 courageously, acting all they could possibly per- 
 form to disorder the Pirates. Their foot, in 
 like manner endeavoured to second the horse, 
 but were constrained by the Pirates to separate 
 from them. Thus finding themselves frustrated 
 of their designs, they attempted to drive the 
 bulls against them at their backs and by this 
 means put them in disorder, but the greatest 
 part of the wild cattle ran away, being fright- 
 ened with the noise of the battle and some few 
 that broke through the English Companies did 
 no other harm than to tear the colours in pieces, 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 253 
 
 whereas the buccaneers shooting them dead, left 
 not one to trouble them thereabouts. 
 
 The battle having now continued for the 
 space of two hours, at the end thereof the great- 
 est part of the Spanish force was ruined and 
 almost all killed. The rest fled away, which 
 being perceived by the foot, and that they could 
 not possibly prevail, they discharged the shot 
 they had in their muskets, throwing them on the 
 ground, betook themselves to flight everyone 
 which way he could run. The Pirates could 
 not possibly follow them, as being too much 
 harassed and wearied with the long journey 
 they had lately made. Many of them, not being 
 able to fly whither they desired, hid themselves 
 for that present among the shrubs of the sea- 
 side. But very unfortunately, for most of them 
 being found out by the Pirates were instantly 
 killed, without giving quarter to any. Some 
 religious men were brought prisoners before 
 Capt. Morgan, but he being deaf to their cries 
 and lamentations, commanded them all to be 
 immediately pistoled, which was immediately 
 done. 
 
 Soon after they brought a captain to his 
 presence, whom he examined very strictly about 
 several things, particularly wherein consisted 
 
254 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 the forces of those of Panama. To which he 
 answered : Their whole strength did consist in 
 400 horse, 24 Companies of foot, each being of 
 100 men complete, 60 Indians and some negroes 
 who were to drive 2000 wild bulls and cause 
 them to run over the English camp, and thus by 
 breaking their files put them into a total dis- 
 order and confusion. He discovered more, that 
 in the city they had made trenches and raised 
 batteries in several places, in which they had 
 placed many guns and that at the entry of the 
 highway which led to the City they had built 
 a fort which was mounted with eight great guns 
 of brass, and defended by fifty men. 
 
 Captain Morgan, having heard this informa- 
 tion, gave orders instantly, they should march 
 another way. But before setting forth, he made 
 a review of all his men, whereof he found both 
 killed and wounded a considerable number, and 
 much greater than had been believed. Of the 
 Spaniards were found six hundred dead upon 
 the place, besides the wounded and prisoners. 
 The Pirates were nothing discouraged, seeing 
 their number so much diminished, but rather 
 filled with greater pride than before, perceiving 
 what huge advantage they had obtained against 
 their enemies. Thus having rested themselves 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 255 
 
 some while, they prepared to march cour- 
 ageously towards the city, plighting their oaths 
 to one another in general they would fight till 
 never a man was left alive. With this courage 
 they recommenced their march, either to con- 
 quer or be conquered, carrying with them all 
 the Prisoners. 
 
 They found much difficulty in their approach 
 to the city. For within the town the Spaniards 
 had placed many great guns, at several quarters 
 thereof, some of which were charged with small 
 pieces of iron, and others with musket-bullets. 
 With all these they saluted the Pirates at their 
 drawing nigh to the place, and gave them full 
 and frequent broadsides, firing at them inces- 
 santly. Whence it came to pass that unavoid- 
 ably they lost, at every step they advanced great 
 number of men. But neither these manifest 
 dangers to their lives, nor the sight of so many 
 of their own men dropping continually at their 
 sides, could deter them from advancing farther 
 and gaining ground every moment upon the 
 enemy. Thus, although the Spaniards never 
 ceased to fire and act the best they could for 
 their defence, yet notwithstanding they were 
 forced to deliver the city after the space of 
 three hours combat. 
 
256 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 The Pirates having now possessed themselves 
 thereof, killed and destroyed as many as at- 
 tempted to make the least opposition against 
 them. The inhabitants had caused the best of 
 their goods to be transported to more remote 
 and occult places. Howbeit they found within 
 the city as yet several warehouses, very well 
 stocked with all sorts of merchandize, as well 
 as silks, cloths, linen, and other things of con- 
 siderable value. 
 
 As soon as the first fury of their entrance 
 into the city was over, Capt. Morgan assembled 
 all his men at a certain place which he assigned, 
 and then commanded them under very great 
 penalties that none of them should dare to drink 
 or taste any wine. The reason he gave for this 
 injunction was, because he had received private 
 intelligence that it had been all poisoned by the 
 Spaniards. Howbeit it was the opinion of many 
 that he gave these prudent orders to prevent 
 the debauchery of his people, which he foresaw 
 would be very great at the beginning, after so 
 much hunger sustained by the way, fearing 
 withal lest the Spaniards seeing them in wine, 
 should rally their forces and fall upon the city, 
 and use them as inhumanly as they had used the 
 inhabitants before. 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 257 
 
 Capt. Morgan, as soon as he had placed 
 guards at several quarters where he thought 
 necessary, both within and without the city of 
 Panama, immediately commanded twenty-five 
 men to seize a great boat which had struck in 
 the port for want of water at a low tide, so that 
 she could not be put out to sea. The same day, 
 about noon, he caused certain men privately to 
 set fire to several great edifices of the city, no- 
 body knowing whence the fire proceeded nor 
 who were the authors thereof, much less what 
 motives persuaded Capt. Morgan thereto, which 
 are as yet unknown to this day. The fire in- 
 creased so fast that before night the greatest 
 part of the city was in flame. 
 
 Capt. Morgan endeavoured to make the pub- 
 lic believe the Spaniards had been the cause 
 thereof, which suspicions he surmised among his 
 own people, perceiving they reflected upon him 
 for that action. Many of the Spaniards as also 
 some of the Pirates, used all the means possible 
 either to extinguish the flame, or by blowing up 
 houses with gunpowder, and pulling down 
 others, to stop its progress. But all was in vain 
 for in less than half an hour it consumed a 
 whole street. 
 
 All the houses of this city were built with 
 
258 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 cedar, being of very curious and magnificent 
 structure, and richly adorned within, especially 
 with hangings and paintings whereof part was 
 already transported out of the Pirates' way, 
 and another great part was consumed by the 
 voracity of the fire. There belonged to this city 
 (which is also the head of a bishopric), eight 
 monasteries, whereof seven were for men and 
 one for women, two stately churches and one 
 hospital. The churches and monasteries were 
 all richly adorned with altar-pieces and paint- 
 ings, and huge quantity of gold and silver, with 
 other precious things, all of which the ecclesi- 
 astics had hidden and concealed. 
 
 Besides the above ornaments, here were to 
 be seen two thousand houses of magnificent and 
 prodigious building, being all or the greatest 
 part inhabited by merchants of that country 
 who are vastly rich. For the rest of the in- 
 habitants of lesser quality and tradesmen, this 
 city contained five thousand houses more. Here 
 were also a great number of stables which 
 served for the horses and mules that carry all 
 the plate, belonging as well to the King of Spain 
 as to private men, towards the coast of the 
 North Sea. The neighbouring fields belonging 
 to this city are all cultivated with fertile planta- 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 259 
 
 tions and pleasant gardens, which afford de- 
 licious prospects to the inhabitants the whole 
 year long. 
 
 The Genoese had in this city of Panama a 
 stately and magnificent house belonging to 
 their trade and commerce of negroes. This 
 building likewise was commanded by Capt. Mor- 
 gan to be set on fire whereby it was burnt to the 
 very ground. Besides which pile of buildings, 
 there were consumed to the number of two hun- 
 dred warehouses, and a great number of slaves 
 who had hid themselves therein, together with 
 an infinite multitude of sacks of meal. 
 
 The fire of all the houses and buildings was 
 seen to continue four weeks after the day it 
 begun. The Pirates in the meanwhile, at least 
 the greatest part of them, camped some time 
 without the city, fearing and expecting that the 
 Spaniards would come and fight them anew. 
 For it was known that they had an incomparable 
 number of men more than the Pirates had. This 
 occasioned them to keep the field thereby to 
 preserve their forces united, which now were 
 very much diminished by the losses of the pre- 
 ceding battles, as also because they had a great 
 many wounded, all of which they had put into 
 one of the churches which alone remained stand- 
 
260 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 ing, the rest being consumed by tbe fire. More- 
 over, besides these decreases of their men Capt. 
 Morgan had sent a convoy of one hundred and 
 fifty to the Castle of Chagre, to carry the news 
 of his victory obtained against Panama. 
 
 They saw many times whole troops of Span- 
 iards cruize to and fro in the campaign fields 
 which gave them occasion to suspect their rally- 
 ing anew: Yet they never had the courage to 
 attempt anything against the Pirates. In the 
 afternoon of this fatal day Captain Morgan re- 
 entered again the city with his troops, to the 
 intent that every one might take up his lodgings, 
 which now they could hardly find, very few 
 houses having escaped the desolation of the 
 fire. Soon after they fell to seeking very care- 
 fully among the ruins and ashes for utensils of 
 plate or gold which peradventure were not quite 
 wasted by the flames. And of such things they 
 found no small number in several places, espe- 
 cially in wells and cisterns where the Spaniards 
 had hid them from the covetous search of the 
 Pirates. 
 
 The next day Capt. Morgan despatched away 
 two troops of Pirates, of one hundred and fifty 
 men each, being all very stout soldiers and well 
 armed, with orders to seek for the inhabitants 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 261 
 
 of Panama who were escaped from the hands of 
 their enemies. These men, having made several 
 excursions up and down the campaign fields, 
 woods and mountains, adjoining to Panama, re- 
 turned after two days' time bringing with them 
 above two hundred prisoners, between men, 
 women and slaves. 
 
 The same day returned also the boat above 
 mentioned, which Capt. Morgan had sent into 
 the South Sea, bringing with it three other 
 boats which they had taken in a little while. 
 But all these prizes they could willingly have 
 given, yea, although they had employed greater 
 labour into the bargain, for one certain galleon 
 which miraculously escaped their industry, be- 
 ing very richly laden with all the King's plate 
 and a great quantity of riches of gold, pearls, 
 jewels and other most precious goods of all the 
 best and richest merchants of Panama. On 
 board of this galleon were also the religious 
 women, belonging to the nunnery of the said 
 city, who had embarked with them all the orna- 
 ments of the church consisting of a large quan- 
 tity of gold, plate and other things of great 
 value. 
 
 The strength of this galleon was nothing con- 
 siderable as having only seven guns and ten or 
 
262 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 twelve muskets for its whole defence, being on 
 the other side very ill-provided of victuals and 
 other necessaries, with great want of fresh 
 water, and having no more sails than the upper- 
 most sails of the main mast. This description 
 of the said ship, the Pirates received from cer- 
 tain persons who had spoken with seven mar- 
 iners belonging to the galleon, at such time as 
 they came ashore in the cock-boat to take in 
 fresh water. Hence they concluded for certain 
 they might easily have taken the said vessel had 
 they given her chase and pursued her, as they 
 ought to have done, especially considering the 
 said. galleon could not long subsist at sea. 
 
 But they were impeded from following this 
 vastly rich prize by gluttony and drunkenness, 
 having plentifully debauched themselves with 
 several sorts of rich wines they found there 
 ready to their hands. So that they chose rather 
 to satiate their appetite with the things above 
 mentioned, than to lay hold on the occasion of 
 such a huge advantage, although this sole prize 
 would certainly have been of far more value 
 and consequence to them than all they secured 
 at Panama, and other places thereabout. 
 
 The next day, repenting of their negligence, 
 and being totally wearied of the vices and de- 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 263 
 
 baucheries aforesaid, they set forth to sea an- 
 other boat well armed, to pursue with all speed 
 imaginable the said galleon. But their present 
 care and diligence was in vain, the Spaniards 
 who were on board the said ship having re- 
 ceived intelligence of the danger they were in 
 one or two days before, while the Pirates were 
 cruizing so near them, whereupon they fled to 
 places more remote and unknown to their ene- 
 mies. 
 
 Notwithstanding, the Pirates found in the 
 ports of the islands of Taboga and Taboguilla, 
 several boats that were laden with many sorts 
 of very good merchandize all of which they took 
 and brought to Panama where, being arrived, 
 they made an exact relation of all that had 
 passed while they were abroad to Capt. Mor- 
 gan. The prisoners confirmed what the Pirates 
 had said, adding thereto, that they undoubtedly 
 knew whereabouts the said galleon might be at 
 that present, but that it was very probable they 
 had been relieved before now from other places. 
 
 These relations stirred up Capt. Morgan 
 anew to send forth all the boats that were in the 
 port of Panama with design to seek and pursue 
 the said galleon till they could find her. The 
 boats aforesaid, being in all four, set sail from 
 
264 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Panama and having spent eight days in cruiz- 
 ing to and fro and searching several ports and 
 creeks, they lost all their hope of finding what 
 they so earnestly sought for. 
 
 Hereupon they resolved to return to the isles 
 of Taboga and Taboguilla. Here they found a 
 reasonably good ship that was newly come 
 from Payta, (Peru), being laden with cloth, 
 soap, sugar and biscuit, and with twenty thou- 
 sand pieces of eight in ready money. This ves- 
 sel they instantly seized, not finding the least 
 resistance from any person within her. Near 
 to the said ship was also a boat, whereof in like 
 manner they possessed themselves. Upon the 
 boat they laded great part of the merchandize 
 they had found in the ship, together with some 
 slaves they had taken in the said island. With 
 this purchase they returned to Panama, some- 
 thing better satisfied of their voyage, yet withal 
 much discontented they could not meet with the 
 galleon. 
 
 The convoy which Capt. Morgan had sent to 
 the castle of Chagre returned much about the 
 same time, bringing with them very good news. 
 For while Captain Morgan was upon his jour- 
 ney to Panama, those he had left in the castle 
 of Chagre had sent forth to sea two boats to 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 265 
 
 exercise piracy. These happened to meet with 
 a Spanish ship, which they began to chase 
 within sight of the castle. This being perceived 
 by the Pirates that were in the castle, they put 
 forth Spanish colours, thereby to allure and 
 deceive the ship that fled before the boats. 
 Thus the poor Spaniards thinking to find refuge 
 for themselves under the castle and the guns 
 thereof, by flying into the port, were caught in 
 a snare and made prisoners where they thought 
 to find defence. The cargo which was found on 
 board the said vessel consisted of victuals and 
 provisions that were all eatable things. Noth- 
 ing could be more opportune than this prize 
 for the castle, where they had begun already to 
 experience great scarcity of things of this kind. 
 
 This good fortune of the garrison of Chagre 
 gave occasion to Capt. Morgan to remain longer 
 time than he had determined at Panama. And 
 hereupon he ordered several new excursions to 
 be made into the whole country round about 
 the city. So that while the Pirates at Panama 
 were employed in these expeditions, those at 
 Chagre were busied in exercising piracy upon 
 the North Sea. 
 
 Capt. Morgan used to send forth daily parties 
 of two hundred men to make inroads into all 
 
266 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 the fields and country thereabouts, and when 
 one party came back another consisting of two 
 hundred more was ready to go forth. By this 
 means they gathered in a short time a huge 
 quantity of riches, and a no less number of 
 prisoners. These, being brought into the city, 
 were presently put to the most exquisite tor- 
 ture imaginable to make them confess both 
 other people's goods and their own. 
 
 Here it happened that one poor and miserable 
 wretch was found in the house of a gentleman 
 of great quality, who had put on, amidst the 
 confusion of things a pair of teffety breeches 
 belonging to his master with a little silver key 
 hanging at the strings thereof. This being per- 
 ceived by the Pirates they immediately asked 
 him where was the cabinet of the said key. His 
 answer was : He knew not what was become of 
 it, but only that finding those breeches in his 
 master's house, he had made bold to wear them. 
 Not being able to extort any other confession 
 out of him they first put him upon the rack, 
 wherewith they inhumanly disjointed his arms. 
 After this they twisted a cord about his fore- 
 head, which they wrung so hard that his eyes 
 appeared as big as eggs, and were ready to fall 
 out of his skull. But neither with these tor- 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 267 
 
 ments could they obtain any positive answer to 
 their demands. Whereupon they soon after 
 hung him up, giving him infinite blows and 
 stripes while he was under that intolerable 
 pain and posture of body. Afterwards they 
 cut off his nose and ears and singed his face 
 with burning straw, till he could speak nor la- 
 ment his misery no longer. Then losing all 
 hopes of hearing any confession from his 
 mouth, they commanded a negro to run him 
 through with a lance, which put an end to his 
 life, and a period to their cruel and inhuman 
 tortures. After this execrable manner did 
 many others of those miserable prisoners finish 
 their days,, the common sport and recreation of 
 these Pirates being these and other tragedies 
 not inferior. 
 
 They spared in these their cruelties, no sex 
 or condition whatsoever. For as to religious 
 persons and priests, they granted them less 
 quarter than to others, unless they could pro- 
 duce a considerable sum of money, capable of 
 being sufficient ransom. "Women themselves 
 were no better used, and Oapt. Morgan, their 
 leader and commander, gave them no good ex- 
 ample on this point. For as soon as any beau- 
 tiful woman was brought as a prisoner to his 
 
268 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 presence, lie used all the means he could both 
 of rigor and mildness to bend her to his pleas- 
 ure, for a confirmation of which assertion I 
 shall here give my reader a short history of a 
 lady, whose virtue and constancy ought to be 
 transmitted to posterity as a memorable exam- 
 ple of her sex. 
 
 Among the prisoners that were brought by 
 the Pirates from the islands of Tavoga and Ta- 
 vogilla, there was found a gentlewoman of good 
 quality, as also no less virtue and chastity, who 
 was wife to one of the richest merchants in all 
 of those countries. Her years were but few, 
 and her beauty so great as peradventure I may 
 doubt whether in all Europe one could be found 
 to surpass her perfections either of comeliness 
 or honesty. Her husband at that present was 
 absent from home, being gone as far as the 
 kingdom of Peru, about great concerns of com- 
 merce and trade, wherein his employments did 
 lie. This virtuous lady, likewise, hearing that 
 Pirates were coming to assault Panama, had 
 absented herself thence in the company of other 
 friends and relations, thereby to preserve her 
 life amidst the dangers which the cruelties and 
 tyrannies of those hard-hearted enemies did 
 seem to menace to every citizen. But no sooner 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 269 
 
 had she appeared in the presence of Capt. Mor- 
 gan than he commanded they should lodge her 
 in a certain apartment by herself giving her a 
 negress, or black woman, to wait upon her, and 
 that she should be treated with all the respect 
 and regale due to her quality. The poor afflicted 
 lady did beg with multitude of sobs and tears 
 she might be suffered to lodge among the other 
 prisoners, her relations, fearing lest the unex- 
 pected kindness of the commander might prove 
 to be a design upon her chastity. But Capt. 
 Morgan would by no means hearken to her peti- 
 tion, and all he commanded, in answer thereto, 
 was she should be treated with more particular 
 care than before and have her victuals carried 
 from his own table. 
 
 This lady had formerly heard very strange 
 reports concerning the Pirates, before their ar- 
 rival at Panama, intimating to her, as if they 
 were not men, but as they said, heretics, who 
 did neither invoke the Blessed Trinity nor be- 
 lieve in Jesus Christ. But now she began to 
 have better thoughts of them than ever before 
 having experienced the manifold civilities of 
 Capt. Morgan, especially hearing him many 
 times to swear by the name of God, and of 
 Jesus Christ, in whom, she was persuaded they 
 
270 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 did not believe. Neither did she now think 
 them to be so bad, or to have the shapes of 
 beasts, as from the relations of several people 
 she had oftentimes heard. For as to the name 
 of robbers or thieves, which was commonly 
 given them by others, she wondered not much 
 at it seeing, as she did, that among all nations 
 of the universe there were to be found some 
 wicked men, who naturally coveted to possess 
 the goods of others. 
 
 Conformable to the persuasion of this lady 
 was the opinion of another woman of weak un- 
 derstanding, at Panama who used to say, before 
 the Pirates came thither, she desired very much 
 and had a great curiosity to see one of those 
 men called Pirates for as much as her husband 
 had often told her they were not men, like 
 others, but rather irrational beasts. This silly 
 woman at last happened to see the first of them, 
 and cried out aloud saying: Jesus bless me! 
 these thieves are like us Spaniards. 
 
 This false civility of Capt. Morgan where- 
 with he used this lady was soon after changed 
 into barbarous cruelty. For three or four days 
 being past, he came to see her and the virtuous 
 lady repulsed him with all the civility imagi- 
 nable and many humble and modest expressions 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 271 
 
 of her mind. But Capt. Morgan still persisted 
 in Ms disorderly request, presenting her withal 
 with much pearl, gold and all that he had got 
 that was precious and valuable in that voyage. 
 But the lady being in no manner willing to con- 
 sent thereto nor accept his presents, and show- 
 ing herself in all respects like Susannah for 
 constancy, he presently changed note and began 
 to speak to her in another tone, threatening her 
 with a thousand cruelties and hard usages at 
 his hands. 
 
 To all these things she gave this resolute and 
 positive answer, than which no other could be 
 extorted from her: Sir, my life is in your 
 hands; but as to my body, in relation to that 
 which you would persuade me to, my soul shall 
 sooner be separated from it through the vio- 
 lence of your arms than I shall condescend to 
 your request. No sooner had Captain Morgan 
 understood this heroic resolution of her mind 
 than he commanded her to be stripped of the 
 best of her apparel and imprisoned in a dark- 
 some and stinking cellar. Here she had allowed 
 her an extremely small quantity of meat and 
 drink, wherewith she had much ado to sustain 
 life for a few days. 
 
 Under this hardship the constant and virtu- 
 
272 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 ous lady ceased not to pray daily to God Al- 
 mighty for constancy and patience against the 
 cruelties of Capt. Morgan. But he being now 
 thoroughly convinced of her chaste resolutions, 
 as also desirous to conceal the cause of her 
 confinement and hard usage, since many of the 
 Pirates, his companions, did compassionate her 
 condition, laid many false accusations to her 
 charge giving to understand she held intelli- 
 gence with the Spaniards and corresponded 
 with them by letters abusing thereby his former 
 lenity and kindness. 
 
 I myself was an eye witness to these things 
 here related, and could never have judged such 
 constancy of mind and virtuous chastity to be 
 found in the world, if my own eyes and ears 
 had not informed me thereof. But of this in- 
 comparable lady I shall say something more 
 hereafter in its proper place, whereupon I shall 
 leave her at present to continue my history. 
 
 Capt. Morgan having now been at Panama 
 the full space of three weeks commanded all 
 things to be put in order for his departure. To 
 this effect, he gave orders to every company 
 of men to seek out for so many beasts of car- 
 riage as might suffice to convey the whole spoil 
 of the city to the river where his canoes lay. 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 273 
 
 About this time a great rumour was spread 
 in the city of a considerable number of Pirates 
 who intended to leave Capt. Morgan and that, 
 by taking a ship which was in the port, they 
 determined to go and rob upon the South Sea 
 till they had got as much as they thought fit, 
 and then return homewards by the way of the 
 East Indies into Europe. For which purpose, 
 they had already gathered great quantity of 
 provisions, which they had hidden in private 
 places, with sufficient store of powder, bullets, 
 and all other sorts of ammunition, likewise 
 some great guns, belonging to the town, mus- 
 kets and other things where with they designed 
 not only to equip the said vessel but also to 
 fortify themselves and raise batteries in some 
 island or other, which might serve them for a 
 place of refuge. 
 
 This design had certainly taken effect as they 
 intended, had not Capt. Morgan had timely ad- 
 vice thereof given him by one of the comrades. 
 Hereupon he instantly commanded the main- 
 mast of the said ship should be cut down and 
 burnt, together with all the other boats that 
 were in the port. Hereby, the intentions of all 
 or most of his companions were totally frus- 
 trated. After this Captain Morgan sent forth 
 
274 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 many of the Spaniards into the adjoining fields 
 and country, to seek for money wherewith to 
 ransom not only themselves but also the rest of 
 the prisoners, as likewise the ecclesiastics both 
 secular and regular. Moreover he commanded 
 all the artillery of the town to be spoiled, that 
 is to say, nailed and stopped up. 
 
 At the same time he sent out a strong com- 
 pany of men to seek for the Governor of Pan- 
 ama, of whom intelligence was brought that he 
 had laid several ambuscades in the way of which 
 he had to pass on his return. But those who 
 were sent upon this design returned soon after, 
 saying they had not found any sign or appear- 
 ance of such ambuscades for, a confirmation 
 whereof they brought with them some prison- 
 ers they had taken, who declared that the said 
 Governor had had an intention of making some 
 opposition by the way, but that the men whom 
 he designed to effect it were unwilling to under- 
 take any such enterprize, so that for want of 
 means he could not put his design into 'execu- 
 tion. 
 
 On the 24th of February of the year 1671, 
 Captain Morgan, departed from the city of 
 Panama, or rather from the place where the 
 said city of Panama did stand; of the spoils 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 275 
 
 whereof he carried with him one hundred and 
 seventy-five beasts of carriage laden with sil- 
 ver, gold and other precious things besides six 
 hundred prisoners, more or less, between men, 
 women, children and slaves. That day they 
 came to a river that passes through a delicious 
 campaign field, at the distance of a league from 
 Panama. 
 
 Here Capt. Morgan put all his forces into 
 good order of martial array in such manner 
 that the prisoners were in the middle of the 
 camp, surrounded on all sides with Pirates. At 
 which present conjuncture nothing else was to 
 be heard but lamentations, cries, shrieks and 
 doleful signs, of the many women and children, 
 who were persuaded Capt. Morgan designed to 
 transport them all and carry them into his own 
 country for slaves. Besides that, among all 
 those miserable prisoners there was extreme 
 hunger and thirst endured at that time, which 
 hardship and misery Capt. Morgan designedly 
 caused them to sustain, with intent to excite 
 them more earnestly to seek for money where- 
 with to ransom themselves according to the tax 
 he had set upon every one. 
 
 Many of the women begged of Capt. Morgan 
 upon their knees, with infinite sighs and tears 
 
276 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 he would permit them to return to Panama, and 
 there live in company with their dear husbands 
 and children, in their little huts of straw which 
 they would erect, seeing they had not houses 
 until the rebuilding of the city. But his answer 
 was: He came not hither to hear lamentation 
 and cries, but rather to seek money. Therefore 
 they ought to seek out for that in the first place, 
 wherever it were to be had and bring it to him, 
 otherwise he would assuredly transport them 
 all to such places whither they cared not to 
 go. 
 
 The next day when the march began, those 
 lamentable cries and shrieks were renewed in 
 so much* as it would have caused compassion in 
 the hardest heart to hear them. But Capt. 
 Morgan, a man little given to mercy, was not 
 moved therewith in the least. They marched in 
 the same order as was said before; one part 
 of the Pirates proceeding in the van, the prison- 
 ers in the middle, and the rest of the Pirates in 
 the rear-guard, by whom the miserable were at 
 every step, punched and thrust in their backs 
 and sides with the blunt end of their arms to 
 make them march faster. 
 
 The beautiful and virtuous lady of whom we 
 made mention heretofore for her unparalleled 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 277 
 
 constancy and chastity, was led prisoner by her- 
 self between two Pirates who guarded her. 
 Her lamentations now did pierce the skies, see- 
 ing herself carried away into foreign captivity, 
 often crying to the Pirates, and telling them: 
 That she had given order to two religious per- 
 sons, in whom she had relied, to go to a certain 
 place and fetch so much money as her ransom 
 did amount to. That they had promised faith- 
 fully to do it, but having obtained the said 
 money, instead of bringing it to her, they had 
 employed it another way to ransom some of 
 their own particular friends. 
 
 This ill action of theirs was discovered by a 
 slave, who brought a letter to the said lady. 
 Her complaints, and the cause thereof being 
 brought to the ears of Capt. Morgan, he 
 thought fit to enquire thereinto. Having found 
 the thing to be true, especially hearing it con- 
 firmed by the confession of the said religious 
 men though under some frivolous excuses of 
 having diverted the money but for a day or 
 two, within which time they expected more 
 sums to repay it, he gave liberty to the said 
 lady, whom otherwise he designed to transport 
 to Jamaica. But in the meanwhile he detained 
 the said religious men as prisoners in her place, 
 
278 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 using them according to the deserts of their 
 incompassionate intrigues. 
 
 As soon as Capt. Morgan arrived upon his 
 march at the town called Cruz, situated on the 
 banks of the river Chagre as was mentioned 
 before, he commanded an order to be published 
 among the prisoners, that within the space of 
 three days every one of them should bring in 
 his ransom, under the penalty aforementioned 
 of being transported to Jamaica. 
 
 In the meanwhile he gave orders for so much 
 crie and maize to be collected thereabouts as 
 was necessary for the victualling of all his 
 ships. At this place some of the prisoners were 
 ransomed but many others could not bring in 
 their money in so short a time. Hereupon he 
 continued his voyage, leaving the village on the 
 5th day of March next following, and carrying 
 with him all the spoil that ever he could trans- 
 port. 
 
 From this village he likewise led away some 
 new prisoners who were inhabitants of the said 
 place. So that these new prisoners were added 
 to those of Panama who had not as yet paid 
 their ransoms, and all transported. But the 
 two religious men who had diverted the money 
 belonging to the lady, were ransomed three 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 279 
 
 days after their imprisonment by other persons 
 who had more compassion for their condition 
 than they had shown for hers. 
 
 About the middle of the way to the castle of 
 Chagre Capt. Morgan commanded them to be 
 placed in due order according to their custom, 
 and caused every one to be sworn that they had 
 reserved nor concealed nothing privately to 
 themselves, even not so much as the value of 
 a sixpence. This being done, Capt. Morgan 
 having had some experience that those lewd 
 fellows would not much stickle to swear falsely 
 in points of interest, he commanded every one 
 to be searched very strictly, both in their 
 clothes and everywhere it might be presumed 
 they had reserved anything. Yea, to the intent 
 this order might not be ill taken by his compan- 
 ions, he permitted himself to be searched, even 
 to the very soles of his shoes. To this effect, 
 by. common consent, there was assigned one out 
 of every company to be the searchers of all the 
 rest. 
 
 The French Pirates that went on this expe- 
 dition with Capt. Morgan were not well satisfied 
 with this new custom of searching. But their 
 number being less than that of the English, they 
 were forced to it as well as the others had done 
 
280 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 before them. The search being over, they re- 
 embarked in their canoes and boats, which at- 
 tended them on the river, and arrived at the 
 castle of Chagre on the 9th day of the said 
 month of March. Here they found all things 
 in good order, excepting the wounded men, 
 whom they left there at the time of their de- 
 parture. For of these the greatest number 
 were dead, through the wounds they had re- 
 ceived. 
 
 From Chagre Capt. Morgan sent presently 
 after his arrival, a great boat to Porto Bello, 
 wherein were all the prisoners he had taken at 
 the Isle of St. Catherine, demanding by them 
 a considerable ransom, threatening otherwise 
 to ruin and demolish it even to the ground. To 
 this message those of Porto Bello made an- 
 swer: They would not give one farthing 
 towards the ransom of the said castle, and that 
 the English might do with it as they pleased. 
 This answer being come, the dividend was made 
 of all the spoil they had obtained in that voy- 
 age. Thus every company, and every particu- 
 lar person therein included, received their por- 
 tion of what was got, or rather what part Capt. 
 Morgan was pleased to give them. For so it 
 was, that the rest of his companions, even of 
 
Morgan Sacks Panama 281 
 
 his own nation, complained of his proceedings 
 in this particular, and feared not to tell him 
 openly to his face that he had reserved the best 
 jewels for himself. For they judged it impos- 
 sible that no greater share should belong to 
 them than two hundred pieces of eight per 
 capita, of so many valuable booties and robber- 
 ies as they had obtained. Which small sum 
 they thought too little reward for so much 
 labour and such huge and manifest dangers as 
 they had so often exposed their lives to. But 
 Capt. Morgan was dead to all these and many 
 other complaints of this kind, having designed 
 in his mind to cheat them of as much as he 
 could. 
 
 At last Capt. Morgan finding himself obnox- 
 ious by many obloquies and detractions among 
 his people, began to fear the consequences 
 thereof and hereupon thinking it unsafe to re- 
 main any longer time at Chagre, he commanded 
 the ordnance of the said castle to be carried on 
 board his ship. Afterwards he caused the 
 greatest part of the walls to be demolished, and 
 the edifices to be burnt, and as many other 
 things spoiled and ruined as could conveniently 
 be done in a short while. 
 
 These orders being performed, he went se- 
 
282 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 cretly on board his own ship, without giving 
 any notice of his departure to his companions, 
 nor calling any council as he used to do. Thus 
 he set sail and put out to sea, not bidding any- 
 body adieu, being only followed by three or 
 four vessels of the whole fleet. These were 
 such (as the French Pirates believed) as went 
 shares with Capt. Morgan towards the best and 
 greatest part of the spoil which had been con- 
 cealed from them in the dividend. 
 
 The Frenchmen could very willingly have 
 revenged this affront upon Capt. Morgan and 
 those that followed him', had they found them- 
 selves with sufficient means to encounter him at 
 sea. Yea, they had much ado to find sufficient 
 victuals and provisions for their voyage to 
 Jamaica, he having left them totally unprovided 
 of all things. 
 
"V/Jk ^ r j 
 
 TWO-YEAB-OLD BANANA TBEES. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 PANAMA OF TO-DAY 
 
 The situation of Panama Viejo was beauti- 
 ful. It stood upon a wooded coast. A wide 
 expanse of savanna stretched behind it, and 
 beyond this ranged the mountains, from the 
 summit of which Morgan's men looked down 
 upon the doomed city. The natural features of 
 the position did not lend themselves to defence 
 and but slight attempt at fortification was 
 made. At the time that the city was founded, 
 and for a century thereafter, there did not ap- 
 pear to be any necessity for providing against 
 attack. Spain was supreme on Terra Firma 
 and in the neighboring seas. To reach Panama 
 a hostile force would need to make the journey 
 round Cape Horn, or to cross the Isthmus, and 
 both of these undertakings were considered too 
 difficult to be seriously considered as possible 
 contingencies. 
 
 Drake's excursions to the Pacific and the sack 
 
 283 
 
284 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 of Panama by the buccaneers rudely awakened 
 the Spaniards to the fact that their position on 
 the mainland was no longer secure, and that 
 their important cities must in future be strong- 
 holds. This consideration precluded all thought 
 of rebuilding Panama on its original site and a 
 new one was sought in a less accessible location. 
 The point selected was a spit of volcanic rock 
 jutting into the bay. Here the new city was 
 founded, in 1673, by royal decree, the formal 
 dedication taking place on the spot which is 
 now occupied by the central plaza. Extraor- 
 dinary inducements to build were extended to 
 the former inhabitants of the old capital, which 
 was entirely abandoned by official order. 
 
 The work of fortifying' Panama was carried 
 out regardless of cost. Upwards of $11,000,000 
 were spent upon the walls and auxiliary de- 
 fences. Most of the large buildings were con- 
 structed with a view to withstanding attack. A 
 great wall completely surrounded the city. It 
 was from 30 to 40 feet in height and in places 
 as much as 60 feet broad. On the inland side, 
 a deep moat stretched from one arm of the bay 
 to another, cutting off the point on which the 
 city stood. This moat was not filled in until 
 some time in the fifties. 
 
Panama of To-day 285 
 
 Panama as reconstructed was the strongest 
 city in the New World. Sharp, and other pi- 
 rates, came and looked it over, but decided that 
 it offered no opportunity for successful attack. 
 The armament of the battery, which stretched 
 along the sea wall, was sufficient to annihilate 
 a fleet of that day. Another condition made 
 the position peculiarly difficult of approach. In 
 the Pacific, the tidal oscillation is about 22 feet, 
 so that a vessel anchored near the shore in deep 
 water, may find itself high and dry a few hours 
 later. The rock upon which the city is built 
 runs out into the sea with a gradual slope, and, 
 at low tide, a mile and a half of tufa is exposed. 
 This is extremely slippery, and a party at- 
 tempting to reach the walls over it would have 
 had great difficulty in maintaining a foothold, 
 not to mention the risk of being cut off by the 
 returning tide. 
 
 The old walls of Panama have been pulled 
 down for the most part, but small portions 
 remain here and there. One of these is to be 
 seen on Central Avenue, almost opposite the 
 church of La Merced. This remnant affords 
 a very fair idea of the size and composition of 
 the wall on the land side. One of the main 
 gates was near this spot. The battery, or sea 
 
286 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 wall, remains practically intact. It used to be 
 a favorite promenade of the population of 
 Panama. For Americans the old sea wall 
 should have a peculiar interest. Here, in the 
 days of the " forty-niners," parties of voy- 
 agers to California used to spend much of their 
 time eagerly gazing seaward for a sight of the 
 vessel which was to bear them on the way. 
 Sometimes the weary wait would extend into 
 weeks, and frequently an epidemic of yellow 
 fever, or some other virulent disease, would 
 break out in the meanwhile. Under such con- 
 ditions IT. S. Grant, who was on his way to the 
 Pacific Coast with a detachment of troops, 
 passed many dreary hours sitting on these 
 weather-worn parapets. The spot is associated 
 with memories of many prominent and pic- 
 turesque characters. Here the debonair Lola 
 Montez, in male attire and smoking a cigarette, 
 habitually walked of an evening, with a score 
 of attendant admirers. One who was present, 
 has described an occasion when De Lesseps 
 stood in the midst of a group of distinguished 
 visitors and from the sea wall presented to 
 their imaginations a picture of crowded sails 
 bearing down upon the entrance to the finished 
 canal. This was only two years before the 
 
Panama of To-day 287 
 
 debacle, but the great promoter spoke with 
 such eloquent conviction that his hearers were 
 persuaded against their better judgment and 
 returned to France, as he had determined that 
 they should, with glowing reports of the enter- 
 prise. 
 
 Under the sea wall, or rather built into it, is 
 the prison. The long narrow cells run through 
 to the face of the battery and at that end long 
 slits in the wall give entrance to light and sea 
 air. At the other end, grated doors look upon 
 a small courtyard, in which one or two police, 
 armed with rifles, patrol day and night. The 
 cells are cool, but necessarily damp. The un- 
 fortunate who is consigned to this prison has 
 an indefinite stay before him, for the wheels of 
 Panama justice move spasmodically and, un- 
 less they be greased, with deadly slowness. 
 
 In the early eighties a case containing 
 $50,000 in gold, which was designed to pay the 
 crew of an American war vessel in Panama 
 harbor, mysteriously disappeared from the 
 warehouse of the Panama Railroad. Seven 
 Americans were arrested on suspicion and 
 thrown into Chiriqui Prison, as it is called. 
 There was no evidence against these men. In- 
 deed, it was said that they were arrested to 
 
288 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 shield the true culprits, who were generally be- 
 lieved to have been Panamans. After several 
 months without trial, the Americans were re- 
 leased, but never received any indemnity for 
 the confinement, which probably wrought per- 
 manent injury to their health. 
 
 A few years later, two British subjects were 
 incarcerated in the same place for months with- 
 out any specific charge being brought against 
 them, and despite the protest of their consul. 
 These occurrences, and others of a similar 
 nature, took place under the government of 
 Colombia and during the French occupancy of 
 the canal district, but, as I shall presently 
 show, like miscarriages of justice have hap- 
 pened since Panama's independence and dur- 
 ing our tenure of the Canal Zone. 
 
 One afternoon I leaned upon the parapet of 
 the sea wall, looking down into the prison 
 courtyard. Beneath me stood about a dozen 
 of the prisoners, begging in whining tones 
 for nickels and cigarettes. Their brown backs 
 were bare. In fact, they wore but one gar- 
 ment, a pair of trousers. As I learned later, 
 this condition of semi-nakedness was deliber- 
 ately maintained for the sake of facilitating 
 cleanliness. I asked one after another what he 
 
Panama of To-day 289 
 
 was confined for and in nearly every case the 
 answer was : ' ' For beating a policeman, ' ' at 
 which the representative of the force who stood 
 nearby, leaning negligently upon his rifle, 
 smiled appreciatively. 
 
 Presently my eye fell upon a white man, who 
 stood a little apart from the rest in the shadow 
 of a tree. He was a fine looking young fel- 
 low, — hardly more than a boy, in fact, — 
 clean-skinned and muscular, with a frank en- 
 gaging countenance. Then, and in the course 
 of several visits to him afterwards, I learned 
 his story. We will call him Jones. Jones, 
 then, was the son of a man holding the position 
 of superintendent of an important division of 
 the subway system in New York. The boy had 
 been well brought up, but the desire for adven- 
 ture led him to leave home against his father's 
 wish. He came to Panama without letting his 
 people know of his whereabouts and secured 
 work in connection with the dredging opera- 
 tions of the Canal. His quarters were in Colon 
 and there he seems to have got into bad com- 
 pany. One of * his companions, a Panaman 
 named Dufour, suggested a robbery to him. 
 Jones declined to take part in the affair. It 
 was carried out, nevertheless, and Dufour was 
 
290 Panama and the Canal To-day- 
 arrested on suspicion, which pointed very 
 strongly to him. Jones, who was known as a 
 companion of the suspect, was haled before a 
 magistrate in Colon, where an examination was 
 held in Spanish, of which language the boy did 
 not understand half a dozen words. There was 
 no one present to represent or befriend this 
 American citizen and employe of the Isthmian 
 Canal Commission. 
 
 Jones and Dufour were confined in Chiriqui 
 Prison. In a few days the latter, whose father 
 is a well-to-do saloon keeper, procured bail and 
 with that his troubles ended. The Panaman 
 authorities would rather have the bail than the 
 man at any time. The former means so much 
 net profit; the latter more or less expense. 
 "When a person secures his liberty on bail, no 
 more need be heard of his case, unless he is 
 very insistent in his demands for a trial. 
 
 Jones, held merely on suspicion of having 
 some knowledge of the crime, was cut off from 
 the world at large and apparently forgotten. 
 When I came across him, he had been several 
 weeks in confinement. He had no means of 
 communicating with anyone who might help 
 him. His fellow-prisoners were negroes, or 
 Panamans of the lowest class. He had not 
 
Panama of To-day 291 
 
 sufficient clothing, nor even the means of wri- 
 ting a letter. 
 
 The Canal Zone authorities made no enquiry 
 about this man. After he passed into the keep- 
 ing of the Panama Government, the Commis- 
 sion apparently washed its hands of him. 
 There is something obviously wrong about such 
 neglect. An American citizen in the remotest 
 part of the world would be looked after by the 
 nearest consular representative of his country 
 under similar circumstances. In this case the 
 consul was absent from his post on leave and 
 his deputy did not seem to have known any- 
 thing about Jones. The Panaman authorities 
 should be required to notify the Commission 
 immediately after making an arrest of a Canal 
 employe and it should be the duty of the dis- 
 trict attorney, or his assistant, to protect the 
 man's legal interests. 
 
 I was impressed with the truth of the boy's 
 Story, and also convinced that there was very 
 little of the criminal in his make-up. I de- 
 cided to see what I could do for him and as 
 a first step called upon the vice-consul with a 
 request that he would secure for me permis- 
 sion to visit Jones in the prison. In response, 
 I received a letter from the Governor of the 
 
292 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Province, saying that a pass would be issued 
 to me if I would state on what day I proposed 
 to make the visit. This did not suit my book 
 at all, and I decided to try a simpler method. 
 Driving to the prison, I alighted with as great 
 an air of importance as I could assume and 
 bustled through £he gateway, the sentries on 
 either side presenting arms. Walking to the 
 guardhouse I briefly asked the captain on duty 
 for Jones, and a policeman was immediately 
 ordered to show me to the man's cell. I found 
 him much more cheerful and uncomplaining 
 than I believe that I could have been myself 
 under the circumstances. He was anxious to 
 be brought to trial, of course, and somewhat 
 indignant because, on the day before, he had 
 been informed that the authorities had decided 
 to charge him with being the principal in the 
 robbery. 
 
 To cut a long story short, I despaired of 
 moving the wheels of justice through the vice- 
 consul and appealed to Mr. Squiers, the Amer- 
 ican Minister at Panama. He took the matter 
 up with as much expedition as possible, con- 
 sidering the painful deliberation with which 
 official business is conducted in all Latin- 
 American countries, 
 
Panama of To-day 293 
 
 Jones had been in prison about a month 
 when I went up-country, where I was absent 
 three weeks. On my return I learned that Mr. 
 Squiers had written to the boy's father — who 
 knew nothing of his whereabouts during all 
 this time — and had come to an understanding 
 with the Panaman authorities that when money 
 to send Jones home should be forthcoming, he 
 would be quietly released. 
 
 I returned to the States and, about two weeks 
 later, received a Panama paper containing the 
 account of Jones' escape from the prison. No 
 doubt he would have been released soon, but 
 it gave me some satisfaction to learn that he 
 had settled the matter for himself. What af- 
 terwards became of him I have never learned. 
 
 Two more illustrations of Panama justice 
 will be given to show that, while always devi- 
 ous in its course, it is quite as apt to work 
 in favor of the guilty as of the innocent. 
 
 One of the Panama Eailroad Company's lo- 
 comotive engineers was one day annoyed by a 
 negro insisting upon jumping upon the foot- 
 board of the engine which was being used for 
 switching. At length, completely losing his 
 temper, the engine driver struck the negro on 
 the head with a coupling pin and killed him. 
 
294 Panama and the Ganal To-day 
 
 The crime was committed within the limits of 
 Colon, and the Panaman officials quite properly 
 arrested the offender and put him in prison 
 under a charge of murder. Immediately, the 
 " brotherhood," or whatever the organization 
 to which the man belonged is correctly termed, 
 began to agitate for his release and threatened 
 a strike in case their demand should not be 
 complied with. There was only one thing for 
 the Commission to do, and that was to secure 
 the murderer's release with all the despatch 
 possible. After a brief confinement, he was set 
 at liberty and has never been brought to trial. 
 
 Within a year, a native of America, who be- 
 came a Panaman citizen some time ago and 
 gained a position of some importance in his 
 adopted country, committed as cold-blooded 
 and brutal a murder as it is possible to con- 
 ceive. The victim was an American who, as 
 the editor of a local newspaper, had given of- 
 fence to the murderer. The latter was allowed 
 bail, pending his trial, which terminated in a 
 complete acquittal. 
 
 In the time of the French, Panama was, in 
 a sense, a busier place than it is now, but a 
 great deal of its business was of a questionable 
 character. The offices of the Panama Canal 
 
Panama of To-day 295 
 
 Company were in the heart of the city. They 
 occupied a large building which still stands in 
 a corner of the Cathedral Plaza. Around this 
 square were a number of substantial buildings 
 and a few comfortable residences stood in the 
 streets that lead off it. But, for the greater 
 part, the city was a squalid collection of dives, 
 gin shops, and gambling hells. Aside from a 
 handful of well-to-do, educated Colombians, a 
 few employes of the Panama Canal Company, 
 and the foreign consuls, the population of the 
 city was made up of a very low class. The Pan- 
 amans themselves were abbut as mixed a lot 
 as you would find anywhere, almost every na- 
 tion on earth entering into their composition. 
 There were always a number of negroes from 
 the canal works, more or less drunk and quar- 
 relsome, hanging about the entrances to the 
 groggeries. This element was reinforced by the 
 crowd of loafers of all nationalities with whom 
 the city was infested. 
 
 The present condition of Panama is in strik- 
 ing contrast with what it was twenty, or even 
 ten, years ago. The worst sections have been 
 cleaned out. The principal streets have been 
 widened and all of them are paved and drained. 
 Comparatively decent saloons, where order is 
 
296 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 maintained, have taken the place of the low 
 liquor shops that abounded formerly. In this 
 connection, it may be well to say that the na- 
 tives are markedly abstemious in the use of 
 alcohol. I do not recollect to have ever seen 
 a Panaman intoxicated. 
 
 A street railway was projected by an Amer- 
 ican corporation a few years ago, but the enter- 
 prise came to nought and it is doubtful 
 whether it would have paid. The limits of the 
 city are not extensive and one of the hacks, 
 which afford sufficiently convenient means of 
 transportation, will carry a passenger from 
 any one point in it to any other for ten cents. 
 There are a number of large stores, some of 
 the best being run by Chinese, of whom there 
 is a numerous colony in Panama. 
 
 The police seem to have been selected for 
 their lack of stature. They are temptingly 
 small and it is little to be wondered at that the 
 most prevalent violation of law seems to con- 
 sist of " beating a policeman." "What they 
 lack in size, they make up for in numbers. 
 They are to be seen at every corner, and where 
 one is at the moment, ten will appear instantly 
 at the sound of his whistle. And that whistle 
 is blown whenever there is anything doing. A 
 
Panama of To-day 297 
 
 Panaman policeman would not attempt to kick 
 a dog without the aid of a fellow bluecoat. I 
 once saw an Irish-American steam-shoveller 
 arrested in the streets of the city. He was very 
 mellow, but perfectly harmless and good hu- 
 mored. He began the trouble by pleasantly 
 chucking one of the guardians of the peace 
 under the chin. Now to wound the dignity of 
 a Panaman policeman is worse than to give him 
 a blow in the face. The affronted " bobby " 
 backed into the middle of the road and blew 
 his whistle. Instantly his twin brother — if 
 the evidence of the genial toper was worth any- 
 thing — appeared on the scene, blowing his 
 whistle as he ran. Presently there were an 
 even dozen of " the finest " on the spot, each 
 armed with a rifle — and a whistle. Mean- 
 while, the steam- shoveller had made himself 
 comfortable with his back against the wall and 
 evidently enjoyed the situation immensely. 
 He grinned amicably at the group of helmeted 
 pygmies while treating them to a string of 
 choice slang, of which they understood not a 
 word. 
 
 After a consultation, the platoon, or brigade, 
 or whatever it was, decided to charge. They 
 came on hesitatingly with a clatter of arms 
 
298 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 and a shout. The genial Irish-American la- 
 zily leaned forward and buffeted the foremost 
 on the side of the head, knocking him back- 
 wards among his fellows and disorganizing the 
 ranks. They retired to reform and hold an- 
 other consultation. 
 
 This manoeuvre was performed three or four 
 times with the same result. By this time the 
 force had been swelled to eighteen and the 
 canal man had become tired of the game. He 
 wanted to sleep and quietly lay down and 
 stretched out comfortably. Thereupon the 
 entire detachment of bluecoats piled on top of 
 him, reminding me forcibly of Gulliver and the 
 Lilliputians. 
 
 At the time of Colombian rule, this man 
 would have been shot offhand. As it was, he 
 was merely locked up over night, after being 
 somewhat roughly man-handled, and fined in 
 the morning. 
 
 I was walking along one of the deserted main 
 streets of the city, at about two o'clock in the 
 morning, when I came across five policemen 
 standing in front of a house from which issued 
 the most appalling cries and groans I have ever 
 heard. It was pretty evident that a woman 
 was being murdered within. The policemen 
 
Panama of To-day 299 
 
 continued to stand in the road, shouting ' ' Hey 
 there ! " or words to that effect, until I wearied 
 of the business and went on my way. But you 
 must not imagine that the Panaman policeman 
 is remiss in the performance of his duty. At- 
 tempt to drive a block in the city without your 
 carriage lamps alight and you will soon arrive 
 at a different conclusion. 
 
 The houses of Panama are of the kind best 
 adapted to the climate. A living room or bed- 
 chamber usually has a set of slatted double 
 doors extending to the ceiling at either end of 
 it. One set opens upon the front verandah, the 
 other upon the balcony which runs round the 
 patio, or central courtyard. In the day the 
 doors are kept closed to exclude the light, 
 while they permit a passage of air through the 
 slats. 
 
 Most of the better class of residences in the 
 city are built of stone and their ground floors 
 are given over to stores or offices. Walls are 
 usually whitewashed or blue-tinted. The wood- 
 work is green and a roof of deep-red terra- 
 cotta tiles surmounts the whole. The coloring, 
 and the Oriental influence displayed in all 
 Spanish architecture, combine to give a very 
 pleasing effect. The patio is derived from the 
 
300 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Moors. It is a quadrangle, open to the sky, 
 round which the house is built. It may be bare 
 of ornamentation and, on the other hand, it 
 may be beautified with flowering plants and 
 statuary. The only stairway of the house as- 
 cends from the patio and connects with the 
 tiers of verandahs upon which the rooms of 
 the different floors open. These verandahs are 
 not, like those on the outside of the dwelling, 
 designed to be sitting places, but furnish the 
 passage-ways. 
 
 In olden times the patio was the favorite 
 resort of the family in the cool of the evening. 
 It is now a more or less commonplace court- 
 yard, without any romance about it. It may 
 contain a fountain, but the guitar of the novels 
 is never in evidence. As likely as not it is open 
 to the gaze of every passer-by upon the street 
 and probably the back doors of two or three 
 shops open on to it. 
 
 Previous to the sanitation that was instituted 
 by the United States authorities, the patios 
 were the chief breeding places of mosquitoes. 
 Each one contained a large rain barrel, into 
 which a pipe reaching from the roof emptied 
 itself.. Now every house has connection with 
 the water system, and its owner is compelled 
 
PATIO OP THE PRESIDENT'S PALACE, PANAMA. 
 
Panama of To-day 301 
 
 to keep his premises clean and free from 
 refuse. 
 
 The interior of a Panama residence is some- 
 what bare, but the absence of draperies and 
 carpets is conducive to cleanliness and cool- 
 ness. The walls of living rooms are so high 
 that any attempt at ornamentation would be 
 likely to produce an incongruous effect. Only 
 the most necessary furniture, and that of the 
 plainest type, is used. The simple cane- 
 bottomed chairs of a parlor are arranged in 
 two precise rows across the room with a sug- 
 gestion of cold formality that belies the char- 
 acter of the occupants of the house. 
 
 There is discernible in Panama a tendency 
 among the upper class to depart from the old 
 and tried customs in favor of those that obtain 
 in northern climes. This is perhaps a natural 
 consequence of the close communication of the 
 people with Americans in recent years. So far 
 as the movement relates to hygiene it is com- 
 mendable, but not so where it interferes with 
 distinctly picturesque and appropriate cus- 
 toms of the country. Plumbing is an unques- 
 tionable boon to the Panamans, but they might 
 well halt improvement when it begins to en- 
 croach upon the architectural features of their 
 
302 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 buildings. The invasion of galvanized iron is 
 a case in point. It is impossible to conceive 
 of a single advantage that it possesses over the 
 customary tiles. The two materials are cer- 
 tainly not comparable in artistic effect. The 
 metal can hardly be the cheaper or the more 
 durable. The terra-cotta is made all over the 
 country and will outlast two or three genera- 
 tions of householders. 
 
 It is to be feared that the Panamans may be 
 led too far towards copying exotic examples in 
 the architecture of their public buildings. The 
 new ' ' Palacio, ' ' which contains a large theatre 
 at one end and the chambers of the Legisla- 
 ture at the other, is a garish mixture of two 
 conflicting styles. The interior construction 
 conforms to the Spanish-American type, but 
 the exterior has something of the blatant aspect 
 of a New York bank building. The venerable 
 church of San Felipe, across the street, seems 
 to frown down upon it in dignified disapproval. 
 
 Twenty years ago, as I remember, beautiful 
 flowers grew abundantly about the houses and 
 the patios of Panama. Now, they are so scarce 
 that once I spent an hour in the search for an 
 ordinary bunch and found them at last in the 
 secluded garden of the Orfelinato de 8cm 
 
RUBBER TREES PLANTED BY THE FRENCH. 
 
Panama of To-day 303 
 
 Jose, — I believe the only place in the city 
 where they are grown in any considerable 
 quantity, — and where the good sisters charged 
 me an exorbitant price for them. The natives 
 generally attribute the disappearance of their 
 flowers to the extensive use of kerosene by the 
 Canal Commission's Sanitary Department. 
 This is not, however, an entirely satisfactory 
 explanation. It is probable that the drastic 
 cleaning up process, to which Panama was 
 treated a few years ago, involved the destruc- 
 tion of most of the small plants and little or no 
 effort has been made to replace them. 
 
 The French canal companies took great 
 pains in the beautifying of the grounds in their 
 possession. This was especially the case at 
 the Ancon hospital, where the verandahs, and 
 even the wards, were brightened by flowering 
 plants and graceful palms. Sad to say, this 
 otherwise praiseworthy feature of their man- 
 agement was a powerful agency for the spread 
 of death and disease. The pots containing the 
 plants were kept standing in saucers con- 
 stantly filled with water. This suitable pre- 
 caution against the attacks of ants created 
 ideal breeding places for mosquitoes which, at 
 that time, however, were not recognized as 
 
304 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 enemies to health. The French surgeons were 
 sorely puzzled to account for the fact that the 
 hospital was a hotbed of yellow fever and ma- 
 laria, and the originating point of thousands 
 of cases of these diseases. 
 
 The country house of the better class of 
 Panamans is usually a two-storied structure of 
 stone or brick, though wood is beginning to be 
 used extensively. The ground floor is devoted 
 to storerooms, or given over to the use of serv- 
 ants, but they more frequently occupy out- 
 buildings in the courtyard. The owner and his 
 family reside in the upper story, after the cus- 
 tom which prevails in all Spanish-American 
 countries. This arrangement is probably 
 prompted by several considerations. Not the 
 least potent of these is disclosed by the com- 
 monly current proverb : ' ' Smallpox never goes 
 upstairs." 
 
 The country house is the usual unbroken 
 block. In place of the interior patio is an ex- 
 tensive yard, called by the same name. To this 
 the same suggestion of the Orient attaches, 
 and is especially pronounced in the case of the 
 low mud wall and the ever-present well. The 
 country patio always contains shade trees, 
 and, not infrequently, vines and flowers. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE CHURCHES OF PANAMA 1 
 
 Among the population of the Republic of 
 Panama there is a sprinkling of well-bred 
 families descended from Spaniards, French, 
 and Italians. Numerically they are insignifi- 
 cant, but in every other respect they are the 
 most important element in the community. 
 They absolutely control things political, the 
 masses being quite willing to blindly follow the 
 lead of one or another prominent partisan. 
 Most of the business and property is in their 
 hands. The members of these " illustrious 
 families," as they are termed in Spanish- 
 American countries, are generally well edu- 
 cated, it having been long the custom to send 
 them to Spain or France for their schooling. 
 The tendency now is to have the youths of this 
 class taught in the United States. 
 
 1 Portions of this chapter have been printed in articles contrib- 
 uted by the author to Travel Magazine. 
 
 305 
 
306 Panama and the Canal To-day- 
 Peculiar marital connections are common 
 among the better class. As a rule, the off- 
 spring of irregular relations are well treated. 
 Not infrequently they are legitimatized and 
 taken into the family presided over by the 
 legal wife. In 1888, the Colombian Legisla- 
 ture enacted a law of which the following is 
 an extract: 
 
 ' ' Art. 34. El matrimonio contraido conf orme 
 a los ritos de la Religion Catolica anula ipso 
 jure el matrimonio puramente civil, celebrado 
 antes por los contrayentes con otra persona. 
 
 " Art. 35. Para los efectos meramente ci- 
 viles, la Ley reconoce la legitimidad de los hijos 
 concebidos antes de que se anule un matrimonio 
 civil a virtud de lo dispuesto en el articulo an- 
 terior. 
 
 ' ' Art. 36. El hombre que habiendose casado 
 civilmente, se case luego con otra mujer con 
 arreglo a los ritos de la Eeligion Catolica es 
 obligado a suministrar alimentos congruos a 
 la primera mujer y a los hijos habidos en ella, 
 mientras esta no case catolicamente. ' ' 1 
 
 1 Art. 34. Marriage contracted according to the rites of the 
 Catholic Religion of itself annuls (ipso facto) a purely civil mar- 
 riage previously celebrated by the contractants with other 
 persons. 
 
 Art. 35. For the purely civil effects of the Law, it acknowledges 
 
The Churches of Panama 307 
 
 Civil marriages came into vogue following 
 the dispossession of the Church and the evic- 
 tion of the priests from their holdings. With 
 its return, to some extent, to the former influ- 
 ence that it enjoyed, the Church has sought to 
 nullify all marriages that have been contracted 
 without its sanction and many men have 
 eagerly seized the excuse for breaking bonds 
 which have become irksome. 
 
 Aside from fiestas, which are numerous, but 
 not so much so as they used to be, Sunday is 
 the chief holiday. After morning services, the 
 day is devoted to amusement and a wide choice 
 of diversions is offered to the people. The 
 cocking main will draw as many as the enclo- 
 sure will hold. The seats rise all round the pit 
 in tiers. Money is bet freely on the birds, and 
 men, whose demeanor is usually dignified 
 and self-possessed, abandon themselves to wild 
 excitement. The choicest seats are occupied 
 by persons prominent in the community. I 
 have seen the Chief of Police holding a watch 
 
 the legitimacy of children conceived prior to the annulment of a 
 civil marriage by virtue of the provision of the preceding article. 
 Art. 36. The man who having married civilly marries sub- 
 sequently with another woman, according to the rites of the 
 Catholic Religion, is obliged to provide maintenance for the 
 first wife and for the children had by her, so long as she does not 
 many according to the Catholic Religion. 
 
308 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 on the game cocks and a Legislator acting as 
 referee. 
 
 Women are not permitted to attend the cock- 
 fights, but the bull ring is open to them and 
 they are to be seen there in large numbers on 
 Sunday afternoon. The animal advertised as 
 an " arrogant bull " is a phlegmatic creature 
 that enters the enclosure with an air of being 
 sadly bored. His " arrogance " is hidden be- 
 neath a benevolent expression and an evident 
 disinclination to cause annoyance or harm to 
 anyone. In fact, so meek and placid is he, that 
 it requires a vast amount of pricking and goad- 
 ing to arouse his resentment in the slightest 
 degree. The performance cannot fairly be 
 called a bull-fight. It is bull baiting, pure and 
 simple. Frequently the spectators become im- 
 patient of the animal's persistent nonchalance, 
 and crowd into the ring and lend their efforts 
 toward animating him with sticks and stones. 
 I could not learn of anyone ever having been 
 hurt in a Panaman bull-fight, but there is a 
 fairly well authenticated tradition of the toro 
 having once ripped up the breeches of a pica- 
 dor, who incautiously turned his back upon the 
 beast and stooped over to pick up a cigarette. 
 If the story is true, I hardly think that it can 
 
The Churches of Panama 309 
 
 be said to reflect great discredit upon the bull, 
 for the best behaved animal might be expected 
 to yield to such a temptation. 
 
 In recent years, a baseball game between 
 teams of Canal employes has become a regular 
 feature of the Sunday program. Some excel- 
 lent players have been developed in the Zone, 
 and the keenest rivalry exists between the 
 several nines. The Panamans have not yet 
 taken to the game actively, but as spectators 
 they appear to enjoy it immensely. 
 
 The Jamaican negroes have imported the 
 British national pastime to the Isthmus and 
 a Sunday match between colored elevens usu- 
 ally takes place at the Colon end of the line. 
 
 In the evening the municipal band plays in 
 the Cathedral Plaza and the people sit out on 
 the overlooking balconies or promenade about 
 the square. The Plaza is the heart of the city, 
 topographically, socially and commercially. 
 Around its sides are ranged, the Cathedral, the 
 principal hotel, the leading bank, the Bishop's 
 Palace, and some of the best stores. 
 
 Sunday is the day for the weekly drawing 
 of the Panama Lottery, an institution dear to 
 the people. Its offices are on the ground floor 
 of the Bishop's Palace, not such an incongru- 
 
310 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 cms situation as might appear at first flush, 
 for the Lottery enjoys the patronage of the 
 Church, which is a beneficiary of it in a sub- 
 stantial degree. The grand prize is $7,500, 
 paid in silver, so that the fortunate winner 
 needs a cart to carry, off his bonanza. Every- 
 one takes at least one chance weekly. Tickets 
 may be bought in all the stores and women and 
 children peddle them about the streets. 
 
 The new theatre is occasionally visited by a 
 good company of actors, when the Sunday 
 night performance is attended by the elite of 
 the city. For the greater part of the year, 
 however, the theatre is in disuse. 
 
 Driving, or riding, out upon the savannas 
 that lie adjacent to the city, is a favorite di- 
 version of Panamans and Americans. These 
 stretches of rich grassland, dotted with palms 
 and other trees, afford ideal picnicking grounds. 
 Several suburban residences are situated upon 
 the savannas, and the wonder is that a greater 
 number of Panamans do not live out there in 
 the dry season. 
 
 Almost since the time of the foundation of 
 the city, Taboga has been a favorite resort of 
 its population and of the foreign element. It 
 is the most beautiful of the islands that lie in 
 
BISHOP'S PALACE, PANAMA. 
 
 A STREET IN DAVID. 
 
The Churches of Panama 311 
 
 the Bay of Panama. The French established 
 a sanatorium there for convalescents, which 
 has been enlarged and improved by the Com- 
 mission. 
 
 There are many legends connected with Ta- 
 boga, which is said to have been a resort of 
 pirates before the modern city of Panama was 
 founded. One of the stories tells how among 
 the first ships to touch at the island was one 
 manned by buccaneers. These men were much 
 impressed by the young women of Taboga, 
 who are to this day noted for their beauty. 
 The pirates announced that on a certain eve- 
 ning they would give a dance on board their 
 vessel, and the islanders were invited. "When 
 the time arrived, a pretext was found for 
 taking the women on board before the men. 
 As soon as they were on the deck, the ship 
 attempted to make sail and leave with them. 
 Many of the women, however, jumped into the 
 water and swam ashore, whilst the men of the 
 island put off in their canoes and attacked the 
 vessel. At the conclusion of the fight, the 
 pirates got away with a few of the fair Taboga 
 damsels, but they paid for them with the loss 
 of several of their own number. 
 
 In the vicinity of Panama are several ceme- 
 
312 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 teries, one for Jews, one for Chinese, one which 
 was used by the French, and another in which 
 natives are deposited under a peculiar system 
 of tenancy. 
 
 The native cemetery contains a large field 
 which is well filled with graves, some of which 
 are permanent resting places. The reader 
 would naturally suppose that that is an almost 
 invariable condition of a grave, but not so in 
 Panama. Around this field are ranged tiers of 
 niches in a stone wall. Each of these recepta- 
 cles is designed to hold a coffin. When filled, 
 the entrance is closed with plaster and the 
 dates of beginning and end of the lease are 
 written on the outside. The usual length of 
 occupancy is eighteen months. At the end of 
 this time, the lease must be renewed, if the 
 remains are to be allowed to rest in peace any 
 longer. Otherwise, the niche is opened, the 
 coffin taken out and its contents dumped on to a 
 bone pile in a small field at the back of the ceme- 
 tery proper. The occupants of the bovedas 
 are usually connected with the better class of 
 families, but it is seldom that the lease of a 
 niche is renewed more than once or twice. 
 The poorer classes find burial in a neigh- 
 boring field which is so small that it is dug up 
 
The Churches of Panama 313 
 
 every few years to make room for a fresh 
 crop. 
 
 The cemetery privileges have been farmed 
 out as a concession by the government for 
 many years. Hence the businesslike methods 
 of disposing of the dead which prevail. In 
 recent years there has been a little improve- 
 ment in the matter of the bone piles and dis- 
 used coffins. Formerly there was no attempt 
 at disinfecting them, until foreign physicians 
 raised a stir about the matter. The old coffins 
 were, and still are, sold second hand and often 
 did duty for four or five successive corpses. 
 I believe that at the present time some method 
 of disinfection is employed, but to all outward 
 appearance the cemetery is just what it was 
 twenty years ago. 
 
 In this connection, Nelson says: " While on 
 the Isthmus during March, 1888, I went out to 
 see how things were in the new cemetery, and 
 you can fancy my surprise at finding that all 
 the numbers on the graves had been doubled. 
 That large plot had been filled and over each 
 grave was a simple wooden cross, painted 
 black. Above was the number of the year, 
 ' 1884,' and on the arm of the cross the num- 
 ber of the grave. For instance, you would 
 
314 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 have, say, ' 3640 ' on the arm of the cross, 
 below that ' 1888,' and above it in a scroll 
 ' 1886.' The wherefore of it was as follows: 
 In 1886, 3640 was the first occupant,, but, as the 
 cemetery had been dug over from end to end, 
 he had been evicted, and twice 3640 was the 
 number of the grave in 1888. Not only were 
 all the numbers in tbat main cemetery dupli- 
 cated, but they were digging over the cemetery 
 at the back." 
 
 Time was when no city of the western 
 hemisphere, and but few in all the world, could 
 compare with Panama in wealth and grandeur. 
 Two hundred and fifty years ago, the capital 
 of the Spanish possessions in America was at 
 tbe height of her glory. The eclipse was sudden 
 and complete. Henry Morgan, leading a col- 
 lection of ruffians of all nationalities, captured 
 the city and reduced it to ashes. Among the 
 many handsome buildings thus destroyed were 
 thirty ecclesiastical edifices. Nothing remains 
 of Old Panama but a few gray ruins, over- 
 grown by jungle, above which the tower of San 
 Anastasius Cathedral raises its venerable head. 
 At its altar Pizarro made votive supplication 
 on the eve of his momentous voyage to the 
 south. What a world of romance and tragedy 
 
The Churches of Panama 315 
 
 centred about those crumbling walls in the 
 palmy days of Panama! 
 
 Early in 1673, two years after the destruc- 
 tion of the old city, a new capital was founded 
 on a site six miles farther west, chosen for its 
 superior defensive situation. With the fear of 
 repeated attack strong upon them, the Span- 
 iards built the present Panama in such for- 
 midable fashion that Dampier and other free- 
 booters, who approached it with sinister de- 
 signs, abandoned all thought of assault at sight 
 of its defences. A high wall, 60 feet broad 
 along a considerable portion of its length, sur- 
 rounded the place. The principal buildings 
 were constructed with a view to their conver- 
 sion into forts in emergency. This was espe- 
 cially the case with the churches, as their ex- 
 terior aspects plainly denote. The walls are 
 extremely thick and the doors have the pro- 
 portions of unusually heavy gates. The win- 
 dows are invariably sixteen feet or more from 
 the ground and the upper portions of the 
 buildings are frequently pierced with port- 
 holes. 
 
 On a day in January, 1673, the royal procla- 
 mation commanding the population to raise a 
 new city with all possible speed was read by 
 
316 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 the Governor, on the spot now occupied by the 
 Central Plaza, which remains, as it always has 
 been, the focal point of the social and business 
 life of Panama. On that occasion, the sites of 
 the Cathedral and cemetery were marked off. 
 The latter has long since been built over, but 
 the former stands, and probably will for cen- 
 turies to come, facing due south upon the park. 
 The foundation of the Cathedral was immedi- 
 ately laid but its construction lagged, and fifty 
 years after its commencement little progress 
 had been made with it. Its ultimate completion 
 was effected through the generosity of the first 
 native Bishop of Panama. The bishop's father 
 was an illiterate half-breed, who prospered as 
 a charcoal burner, and finally amassed a large 
 fortune by shrewd methods in other fields of 
 business. He gave his only son the best edu- 
 cation that Europe could afford and left to 
 him what was, in those days, an enormous sum 
 of money. This wealth, the son devoted en- 
 tirely to the erection of the Cathedral, which 
 was finished in 1760. 
 
 The Cathedral is a stately pile, somewhat 
 disfigured by modern innovations, one of which 
 was a bilious coat of yellow-wash, applied in 
 honor of President Roosevelt's visit to Pan- 
 
The Churches of Panama 317 
 
 ama. The architecture of the edifice, like that 
 of all the other churches of the city, is the 
 Moorish style, familiar to us iu what we call 
 the " Mission " buildings of California and the 
 Southwest. All the old churches of Panama — 
 and none of them is less than a century in 
 age, — conform to this style, but the ruins of 
 the large monastical buildings betray decided 
 departure from it. 
 
 The main entrance to the Cathedral is com- 
 posed of three massive double-doors of hard- 
 wood, five inches thick, and bound with beau- 
 tiful worked brass. The interior is divided 
 into three aisles by long rows of pure white 
 columns, arched on the outer sides at about 
 twenty feet elevation and in the centre at a 
 much greater height. The central arches al- 
 ternate in form, one of almost flat construction 
 being followed by one elongated and extending 
 to the top of the building. The effect is pecul- 
 iar but not unpleasing. In striking contrast 
 with the white stonework is the rich deep 
 red of the roof, which is probably' made of 
 cedar. 
 
 The Cathedral is in a remarkably fine state 
 of preservation, although the earthquake of 
 1882 cracked some of the arches, and damaged 
 
318 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 the facade. The same disturbance filled in the 
 subterranean passage which led from the crypt 
 to the sea-wall. Similar underground ways 
 seem to have existed in connection with all the 
 ecclesiastical buildings of Panama. They were 
 probably designed as a means of escape in case 
 of an attack from the land quarter and would 
 have been naturally suggested by the experi- 
 ence of the Morgan raid. 
 
 The oldest church in Panama bears upon its 
 front the inscription, ' ' San Felipe Neri, 1688, ' ' 
 evidently cut at the time of construction. It is 
 a plain structure, but impressive in the strength 
 and simplicity of its appearance. The front is 
 of cut stone and the rear walls of small boul- 
 ders, set in mortar which seems to be as sound 
 to-day as ever it was. Used in this manner, 
 or as the outer covering of walls, cement is to 
 be seen in a perfect state of preservation in all 
 the ecclesiastical buildings of Panama. Its 
 extraordinary durability in a destructive cli- 
 mate would lead to the belief that the Span- 
 iards had. a method of manufacturing the mate- 
 rial superior to any of which we know. Vari- 
 ous tints were imparted to it, and a common 
 form of embellishment was practised by set- 
 ting in it, pieces of nacre, or the large mother 
 
The Churches of Panama 319 
 
 of pearl shells that are secured from the neigh- 
 boring islands. This kind of ornament is still 
 to be seen on the towers of some of the churches 
 where the inset pieces have held in place for 
 a century or more. 
 
 San Felipe is surmounted by a tower of the 
 Moorish type, in which are the ancient bells, 
 lashed to wooden cross pieces. The old church 
 is peculiarly attractive by reason of the entire 
 absence of renovation. It stands just as it did 
 when first erected, in mute protest against the 
 bad taste displayed in the modern buildings 
 about it. 
 
 Nearby San Felipe is the large and interest- 
 ing church of San Francisco, which was com- 
 pleted shortly before the Cathedral. It is 
 made of stone, probably the tufa, or volcanic 
 rock, that underlies the city. Its facade, now 
 much time-worn and, perhaps, injured by earth- 
 quakes, was originally beautified by intricately 
 carved masonry. Its ponderous doors are 
 adorned with huge brazen knobs. Within, 
 rows of heavy columns, supporting graceful 
 arches, from a vista culminating in the grand 
 carved wood altar, towering to the roof. Nu- 
 merous mural tablets and marble slabs in the 
 door, some of them bearing the coats of arms 
 
320 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 of old Castilian families, indicate that this 
 was, at one time, a favorite place of worship 
 with the wealthy and titled persons of Panama. 
 Here they came on Sunday and -fiestas, in 
 coaches and palanquins, their servants walking 
 behind, with chairs upon their heads; for the 
 churches of those days were not furnished with 
 pews and they are only partially so now. 
 Originally, large monastical buildings extended 
 from the church to the sea-wall. Here and 
 there, bits of their ruins may be found embod- 
 ied in some modern structure. 
 
 The ruins of the church of San Domingo, 
 which was destroyed by fire, attract visitors on 
 account of the famous " flat arch." Several 
 arches spanned the edifice, but to this alone 
 was given the peculiar construction which ex- 
 cites the wonder of architects and engineers. 
 Theoretically it lacks stability, but actually it 
 has withstood the strain of years and the shock 
 of earthquakes that overthrew other, and ap- 
 parently much more substantial, portions of 
 the building. 
 
 A quaint legend attaches to this curious 
 piece of masonry. It is said that when first 
 built, the arch fell. It was reconstructed and 
 fell again, and so for a third time. Once more 
 
SAN FELIPE NEHI. 
 
 11 ioi 
 
 I 
 
 .'"■.' 
 
 , . ■ 
 
 wi I. '. f. f. ! : rv-^V i 
 
 RUINS OF SAN DOMINGO. 
 
The Churches of Panama 321 
 
 it was erected and as the supports were about 
 to be removed, the architect, who was a monk, 
 stood beneath the arch and prayed that if it 
 should not stand for all time, it might then fall 
 upon his head. 
 
 La Merced stood near the landward gate of 
 the old city wall, portions of which are still 
 to be found among the buildings of Central 
 Avenue, opposite the church. 
 
 While following the Moorish style, that pre- 
 vails in all the churches of Panama, La Merced 
 is distinctly original in design. The material 
 employed in its construction is, in the main, a 
 species of sandstone, but in parts stone brought 
 from the ruins of the church of the same name 
 in Panama Viejo was used, as the inscriptions 
 upon it testify. These are, in some instances, 
 upside down, owing to the careless manner in 
 which the old tablets were inserted in the new 
 walls. 
 
 Flanking the entrance are two stone chapels 
 of pure Oriental type, surmounted by domed 
 cupolas. One of these buildings is devoted to 
 mortuary functions; the other contains a 
 shrine, over which hangs a lamp that is said 
 to have burned continuously for more than fifty 
 years. The entrance is closed by an iron- 
 
322 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 barred gate, in front of which, one or two 
 kneeling figures may be seen at almost any 
 hour of the day or night. 
 
 The great side-doors, facing the Avenue, 
 are studded with beautifully carved heads in 
 brass and two enormous knockers, or handles, 
 are formed in the shape of brazen angels. 
 La Merced has the distinction of being the 
 oldest church in Panama, after San Felipe 
 Neri. 
 
 The church of Santa Ana bears every ap- 
 pearance of decay and neglect, inside and out. 
 It was erected about one hundred and fifty 
 years ago by El Conde de Santa Ana, whose 
 bones repose in the vault. Judging from the 
 inscription and coats of arms on the floor of 
 the interior, the church was a sort of family 
 appurtenance for several generations, and 
 probably sank into poverty with the decline of 
 its patrons' fortunes. The rich silver sacra- 
 mental service, the lecterns of the same metal, 
 and other property of the church sadly reflect 
 a by-gone prosperity. 
 
 In one thing, at least, — and that no small 
 matter, — Santa Ana is richer than the other 
 churches of Panama. Its archives, going back 
 to the earliest days of the city, are intact; 
 
CHURCH OF SANTA ANA. 
 
 : &W- : #%W 'SSI 
 
 
 RUINS OF THE OLD JESUIT COLLEGE AND MONASTERY. 
 
The Churches of Panama 323 
 
 whereas, in every other case the church records 
 and other documents have been mutilated by 
 worms, destroyed, or lost. 
 
 The ruins of the old Jesuit College and Mon- 
 astery extend along Avenida B, for a distance 
 of about one hundred yards, and occupy almost 
 the entire block behind. In places, detached 
 portions of the ruined walls, twenty feet or 
 more in height, stand on the very edge of the 
 sidewalk, a palpable menace to life and limb. 
 Shops and small dwellings have been erected in 
 convenient corners of the ruins where econ- 
 omy of construction could be effected by using 
 the original walls. The remains of this once 
 splendid building occupy a large tract .of 
 ground in the heart of the city. Nevertheless, 
 it is not without regret that one learns that the 
 determination of the Government to tax church 
 property has decided the owners to clear this 
 site and devote it to modern improvements. 
 In these days we are moving away from former 
 ages so rapidly that few tangible connections 
 remain. 
 
 This building was completed early in the 
 eighteenth century, and was the largest and 
 most imposing edifice in the city at the time. 
 It was made of stone and brick and rose to the 
 
324 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 unusual height of five stories. It did not lack 
 architectural beauty, if we may judge from the 
 main entrance, which still stands, facing the 
 Avenue. The enormous doors remain intact, 
 framed in a graceful archway and surmounted 
 by the symbol of the Order of Jesus, a bleeding 
 heart, carved in sandstone. The monastery 
 had not long been built when it was destroyed 
 by the fire which, in 1737, devoured a large por- 
 tion of the city and included the church of San 
 Domingo in its sweep. 
 
 The little church of San Jose is built against 
 an angle of the ruins of San Domingo, and has 
 stood there for probably considerably more 
 than a century. Not long since, there died at 
 his post an extremely aged priest who had 
 acted as cura of San Jose for nearly eighty 
 years. The church is the smallest and, per- 
 haps, the poorest in Panama. The little wooden 
 bell tower, in the left hand corner of the ma- 
 sonry facade, was doubtless originally designed 
 for a temporary convenience and the money for 
 a substantial substitute has never been avail- 
 able. The interior displays similar indications 
 of poverty in its wooden columns and choir 
 loft and cheap finishings. There is no attempt 
 
The Churches of Panama 325 
 
 at decoration. Kalsomine covers the walls and 
 woodwork, but the gaudily dressed figures of 
 saints on altar and shrine afford an over- 
 abundance of color. 
 
CHAPTER VII 1 
 
 THE COUNTRY AND ITS RESOURCES 
 
 The narrow strip of land, running east and 
 west, and connecting the continents of North 
 and South America, used to be considered a 
 part of the latter, but is now generally looked 
 upon as a portion of Central America. This 
 classification is consistent with the physical and 
 climatic features of the territory of Panama, 
 which more closely resemble those of Costa 
 Rica, than they do those of Colombia. 
 
 The Republic of Panama occupies an area 
 of nearly 32,000 square miles, of which the 
 extreme length is 430 miles and the average 
 breadth 70 miles. Its inland borders, dividing 
 it on the one hand from Costa Rica, and on the 
 other Colombia, aggregate less than 350 miles, 
 while its coast line totals 1,245 miles, consid- 
 
 1 The greater part of this chapter is extracted from articles 
 contributed by the author to the " Bulletin of the American 
 Republics," August, 1909, and "The Independent," Oct. 21, 
 1909. 
 
 326 
 
The Country and Its Resources 327 
 
 erably more than half of which faces the Pa- 
 cific. This peculiar formation of the territory 
 insures two great advantages; either coast is 
 easily accessible from any point in the interior 
 and the entire area might be brought within 
 the scope of a railroad more readily than the 
 domain of any other nation in the world. Sur- 
 veys for such a road to extend from Panama to 
 David, in the Province of Chiriqui, have been 
 made and the Government has contracted with 
 the Panama Railroad to build it. 
 
 The climate, while tropical, is much less try- 
 ing than is generally supposed, the proximity 
 of the oceans to all parts of the interior tending 
 to temper the heat. In the dry season, the 
 temperature averages about 76 degrees Fah- 
 renheit, in the wet season a few degrees more, 
 with very little variation at any time. 
 
 The rainfall on the Atlantic coast averages 
 140 inches in the year; on the Pacific coast, 
 about 60 inches, and in the interior 93 inches. 
 The dry season extends from the beginning of 
 the year to about the first of May, but the rains 
 do not cease and commence with the regularity 
 they display in India and other parts of the 
 tropics. 
 
 The greater part of the country is broken by 
 
3 28 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 short, irregular ranges of mountains, varying 
 in height from 1,500 feet to 11,750 feet. The 
 Sierra de Chiriqui, which enters Panama from 
 Costa Eica, contains the Volcano, 11,265 feet 
 in elevation, Pico Blanco, 11,750 feet, and 
 Rovalo, 7,020 feet. Between the mountain 
 spurs lie rich, wooded valleys and great ex- 
 panses of level, grassy llano. 
 
 Two-thirds of the area of Panama is for- 
 ested with trees of valuable wood, the Atlan- 
 tic side of the divide and the Province of Darien 
 being the most thickly covered. On the Pacific 
 slope, where the rainfall and humidity are less, 
 the forest is more open and the growth of 
 smaller dimensions. On this side, too, the drain- 
 age is better and there are fewer swamps and 
 a less extent of mangrove thicket along the 
 shore than upon the Atlantic coast. 
 
 The region is remarkably well watered, one 
 hundred and fifty streams flowing into the Car- 
 ibbean Sea and twice that number into the 
 Pacific Ocean. The utility of the latter for 
 commercial purposes is restricted by the great 
 tidal fluctuation, which embraces a range of 
 twenty feet. The ports on this coast are neces- 
 sarily situated some distance up the rivers and 
 long delays are usually entailed in reaching 
 
The Country and Its Resources 329 
 
 and leaving them, for each operation must be 
 favored by the tide. There is one point npon 
 the Pacific littoral admirably situated for an 
 outside port. That is Charco Azul, or Blue 
 Pool, near the Costa Eican border. Here is a 
 large sea hole with depth varying from sixty 
 to one hundred and five fathoms and having 
 anchorage around the inner edge. Charco 
 Azul must ultimately become the principal port 
 of Panama west of the Canal. It is situated in 
 the section of the country where the earliest 
 and greatest development will take place, and 
 it is the only harbor on the coast that is always 
 navigable regardless of tidal conditions. The 
 coast-wise traffic that must be generated by the 
 Canal will demand such a port, and decline to 
 enter rivers passable only at high tide, and 
 then solely by vessels having no more than ten 
 feet of draft. On the Atlantic coast there are 
 several good harbors, but, excepting for Bocas 
 del Toro and Colon, that part of the Isthmus 
 is undeveloped and gives little promise of set- 
 tlement. 
 
 Upon the Atlantic side, the country is, for 
 the most part, covered with heavy forest and 
 jungle, which extends down to the water line 
 and is composed of great trees of valuable 
 
330 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 hardwood, rising out of undergrowth so dense 
 as to be impenetrable without the aid of the 
 machete. This territory presents a fine field 
 for lumbering, but the industry cannot be car- 
 ried on profitably except by corporations with 
 large capital. Until the land is cleared, the 
 Atlantic belt must remain an uninhabited wil- 
 derness. Even when opened to agriculture it 
 will, owing to its excessive rainfall, be less 
 attractive to settlers than land upon the Pacific 
 coast. The San Bias country, east of the 
 Canal Zone, is practically terra incognita. Its 
 Indian inhabitants have ever been inimical *to 
 the white man and Spain failed to bring them 
 under subjection. They acknowledge alle- 
 giance to the Panama Government and consult 
 the President in the election of their chief *but, 
 otherwise, are permitted to manage their own 
 affairs. With the exception of coming to 
 Colon for salt and other necessities and bring- 
 ing in large quantities of cocoanuts, they hold 
 no intercourse with the outer world. 
 
 The Darien section is wild, forest clad, and 
 uninhabited, save for a sprinkling of Indians. 
 It contains the greatest extent of natural rub- 
 ber growth, but otherwise presents less promise 
 of development than does the territory to the 
 
The Country and Its Resources 331 
 
 west of the Canal Zone. An English syndicate 
 is operating a large rubber tract in Darien, the 
 product of which is of excellent quality. An- 
 other large tract, worked by a Boston company, 
 extends twenty miles on either side of Mariato 
 Point. This concern is making extensive im- 
 provements in its property and planting sev- 
 eral hundred thousand new trees every year. 
 It has shipped rubber to the States of a quality 
 equal to the finest Para product and command- 
 ing the top price in the market. The plant is 
 also systematically cultivated by a corporation 
 located at Las Cascadas, a few miles from the 
 Canal line. 
 
 The rubber tree is found wild in every part 
 of the country and the species called Castilla 
 will thrive anywhere, if planted under proper 
 conditions and provided with the shade essen- 
 tial to its healthy development. At one time, 
 large quantities of rubber were shipped from 
 Chiriqui, but, as it was gathered by the old 
 native method of cutting down the trees, and 
 replanting was neglected, the valuable stands 
 of the Province disappeared and now the trees 
 are to be found only in scattered specimens 
 which, however, exhibit a vigor that indicates 
 the results to be expected from scientific cul- 
 
332 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 ture. The commercial cultivation of rubber is, 
 of course, practically only for the capitalist. 
 The individual of small means, even though he 
 should be able to meet the initial expense, could 
 not afford to wait for the returns, which a 
 rubber plantation will not begin to yield before 
 the seventh or eighth year. 
 
 There is an ample amount of latent water 
 power at various points in the country. In the 
 vicinity of David a very simple and inexpen- 
 sive development is possible and a sufficient 
 demand already exists to make it economically 
 feasible. Saw mills, leather factories, distil- 
 leries, sugar refineries, etc., might be profitably 
 operated by such power which could be also 
 utilized to supply the city with electric light. 
 
 All the freight in the interior is carried in 
 bullock carts or by pack animals, by far the 
 greater part of it, aside from the banana ship- 
 ments, reaching one or other of the ports on 
 the Pacific. Except for Bocas del Toro, the 
 depot of the United Fruit Company, David is 
 the principal point in the interior, but Eeme- 
 dios, Sona, and Aguadulce, as well as some 
 smaller ports, have a fair export trade. The 
 City of David has about 4,000 inhabitants and 
 is growing apace. It is situated some nine 
 
V 
 
 ; : 1 1 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 r 
 
 ll 
 
 
 
The Country and Its Resources 333 
 
 miles from the coast and three from the river 
 port of Pedregal, which is the outlet for its 
 exports. There are a number of industrial 
 plants in the place, such as wood and leather 
 factories, distilleries, coffee mills, etc. Two 
 lines, each running two steamboats, maintain 
 a regular service between David and Panama, 
 calling at intermediate points with sufficient 
 frequency to meet the demands of traffic. There 
 are also a number of small luggers carrying 
 passengers and freight up and down the coast. 
 The stretch of country lying to the south of 
 the divide and to the west of the Canal Zone 
 is much more open than that in other parts of 
 the Isthmus. The growth is mainly what the 
 natives term " monte," that is, plants of mod- 
 erate size with here and there a large tree. 
 Trails and cart roads can be made through it 
 with ease and it is readily cleared with the 
 machete. At frequent intervals this jungle 
 gives place to extensive expanses of savana, 
 or llano, as it is commonly called up-country. 
 Numerous streams present almost the only 
 difficult places in a continuous road from Agua- 
 dulce to David and beyond. Bridges, to which 
 additions are constantly being made, span 
 many of them. It is in this section of the coun- 
 
334 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 try only that any agricultural and industrial 
 progress has been made. Along this stretch 
 are several towns and hundreds of hamlets, but 
 the population is very sparse and must in- 
 crease many fold before the splendid resources 
 of this region can be adequately exploited. 
 This lack is the most serious disadvantage 
 under which the country rests. The entire 
 population of the Eepublic, including that of 
 the Canal Zone, is no more than 300,000. Of 
 these, perhaps, one half are to be found scat- 
 tered over the interior. Chiriqui, the richest 
 and most important province from the agricul- 
 tural view point, has fewer than 100,000 in- 
 habitants. The Indians can not be counted on 
 to meet the demands of labor and only a small 
 proportion of the Panamans are available for 
 hire. Extensive immigration must be induced 
 and, fortunately, an immediate source of sup- 
 ply is at hand. There are thousands of hardy 
 Spaniards and Italians engaged on the Canal 
 who will shortly be released. It is probable 
 that a large proportion of these will be glad 
 to remain in the country and take up land. 
 , They make excellent farmers, and will furnish 
 a desirable new element in the general popu- 
 lation. 
 
Jr 
 
 
The Country and Its Resources 335 
 
 There is nowhere in the world richer land 
 than that of the Bepublic of Panama, and the 
 Pacific section of the Province of Chiriqui sur- 
 passes all other parts in fertility of soil, salu- 
 brity of climate, scenic beauty and conditions 
 adapted to agricultural pursuits. The District 
 of David is an ideal farming country. From 
 the coast, the land gradually rises to the moun- 
 tains, about forty miles inland. Stretches of 
 monte alternate with large tracts of gently 
 rolling llano, reminding one of the famous 
 " blue grass " country in the neighborhood of 
 Lexington, Kentucky, and covered with a thick 
 mat of similar grass. Frequent streams and 
 clumps of forest lend diversity to the landscape 
 which has an ever-present background of 
 mountain peaks whose heads penetrate the 
 clouds. Finer land for cattle raising it would 
 be impossible to imagine. The llanos furnish 
 ample range of the best kind and rich por- 
 treros, filled with heavier growth, are fenced 
 in upon the bottom lands. 
 
 Cattle raising is the only agricultural indus- 
 try to which any intelligence and care have 
 been devoted to the natives. By constant ex- 
 periment, and selection over a long period of 
 years, an excellent breed of cattle has been 
 
336 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 produced. At four years of age an average 
 Chiriqui steer will yield about 400 pounds of 
 meat and fetch from. $30 to $35 gold at David. 
 The home market is not yet sufficiently sup- 
 plied and it will be considerably enlarged with 
 the opening of the Canal. The present method 
 of shipment, which involves a steamboat jour- 
 ney of three or four days, prevents the delivery 
 of the animals in Panama in the best condition, 
 but with the establishment of the railroad from 
 the capital to David this difficulty will be ob- 
 viated. There is an abundance of nutritious 
 food in the District. Guinea grass grows in 
 tall bunches and savoya with a high broad 
 blade. Del Para is a sort of creeper, intro- 
 duced from Brazil. Jujuca is an extremely 
 succulent grass that abounds in the river bot- 
 toms and can be depended on in the driest 
 seasons. Jenjebrillo is similar to "blue grass," 
 and gives a blade five inches in length during 
 the rain. Sieta is a kind of sage, highly nutri- 
 tious, that grows on sandy soil. Without doubt, 
 alfalfa would thrive in this section, where the 
 soil is a loose loam precisely adapted to deep- 
 rooting plants. 
 
 Horse raising is not carried on to anything 
 like the extent that it might be with profit. The 
 
The Country and Its Resources 337 
 
 Panama market is far from being fully sup- 
 plied. Only stallions are used for draft and 
 riding, the mares being left upon the range for 
 breeding purposes. The native horse is not 
 large, but stocky, and has great endurance. 
 Even more promising than horse raising is the 
 breeding of mules, which are of greater service 
 and command a considerably higher price. 
 
 Throughout this section the top soil is six 
 feet or more in depth and of marvellous fer- 
 tility. This extreme richness accounts for the 
 fact that cultivation is entirely neglected. The 
 natives cut down the monte and burn it where 
 it lies. The ground is then ready for planting. 
 The surface is scratched with a machete and 
 seed dropped in. The crop is then allowed to 
 take care of itself. There is no plowing, nor 
 rooting; no weeding nor pruning. And, de- 
 spite this haphazard method, the resultant 
 crops are such as few parts of the earth can 
 produce under intense cultivation. Sugar cane 
 has been harvested continuously for fifteen 
 years from the same field without replanting 
 and the yield weighs eighteen pounds, and 
 sometimes more, to the stalk. There are 
 patches in Chiriqui where Kaffir corn has 
 grown continuously for twenty years, without 
 
338 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 attention, and fine potatoes are gathered from 
 ground sown fourteen years ago. The tobacco 
 plant is neither topped nor trimmed but is al- 
 lowed to grow in unaided contest with weeds. 
 When cut, it is hung in a hut to dry, prepara- 
 tory to shipping. Scientific curing is quite un- 
 known; nevertheless, the leaf compares favor- 
 ably with that of Pennsylvania, for instance. 
 There is every reason for believing that, with 
 proper management, a high grade of tobacco 
 can be raised in Chiriqui and not improbable 
 that an excellent wrapper leaf may be grown 
 under cover. 
 
 Coffee grows wild all over the Pacific coast 
 region. Its systematic cultivation is limited to 
 the Boquete Valley on the southern slope of the 
 Volcan. The industry is in the hands of a few 
 Americans and Englishmen who are producing 
 a bean of superlative quality, which sells for 
 fifteen cents gold a pound in Panama. Trial 
 shipments to New York brought the highest 
 prices but, since the output is far from equal- 
 ling the domestic demand, there is no induce- 
 ment to export. Cacao thrives without extraor- 
 dinary attention, and is not subject to the wind 
 storms which cause so much damage to planta- 
 tion in other parts of the world. Little effort 
 
The Country and Its Resources 339 
 
 has been devoted to the cultivation of this val- 
 uable crop and only one plantation is main- 
 tained under proper management. The owner 
 of this always secured the best price for his 
 product in the London market. A short fibre 
 cotton grows extensively in Chiriqui. Small 
 quantities of it are exported and sell at good 
 figures owing to the excellence of the quality. 
 Fibre cultivation has not yet been entered upon, 
 although many parts of the country are well 
 adapted to the growth of such plants, and sev- 
 eral species of commercial value are found in 
 a wild state. Specimen fibres sent to England 
 and Germany have been pronounced by experts 
 to be stronger than hemp. 
 
 In short, tropical plants of all descriptions, 
 as well as many peculiar to the temperate zone, 
 thrive in Panama. The varying character of 
 the land, with its different soils and altitudes, 
 makes it possible to raise the greatest variety 
 of crops in a comparatively small area. For 
 instance, on a strip running back 25 or 30 miles 
 from the Pacific Ocean, along the shore, fine 
 playa furnishes the best possible ground for 
 cocoanut plantations. Back of this is excel- 
 lent sugar land. Still farther back, fibres and 
 rubber thrive. And so, in succession, tobacco, 
 
340 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 cacao, coffee, and, in the higher altitudes, the 
 vegetables of the temperate regions. Along the 
 Costa Eican border is a belt of tropical fruit 
 land as rich as any in the world. While 
 oranges, grape fruit, mangoes, pineapples, 
 papayas, etc. grow wild in different parts of 
 the country, they are not cultivated, and large 
 quantities are imported from Jamaica. Even 
 the supply of bananas, of which the consump- 
 tion is great, is not met by the native produc- 
 tion. 
 
 Since the earliest settlement by Spain, a 
 wide-spread belief has prevailed that rich de- 
 posits of the precious metals exist in the San 
 Bias country and the report of a recent scien- 
 tific expedition strengthens this supposition. 
 ■ But in the almost total absence of exact infor- 
 mation it is hazardous to express an opinion 
 as to the mineral resources of Panama. The 
 numerous gold ornaments that have been found 
 in the ancient Indian graves indicate the pres- 
 ence at one time of large quantities of that 
 metal. It is possible that a geological survey 
 of the Isthmus would reveal unsuspected min- 
 eral wealth. Manganese has been discovered 
 in several places, and there is scientific author- 
 ity for the statement that extensive coal depos- 
 
The Country and Its Resources 341 
 
 its exist. Lignite of an excellent quality is dis- 
 tributed over a wide area. When transporta- 
 tion facilities are increased this will furnish 
 fuel for industrial purposes and must prove an 
 important factor in the development of the 
 country. 
 
 The Eepublic of Panama presents a splendid 
 field for the investment of American capital 
 and the application of American energy and 
 enterprise. Since the occupation of the Canal 
 Zone by the United States, development has 
 advanced appreciably in the interior, and espe- 
 cially in Chiriqui. Many public improvements 
 are projected in this section, and it will doubt- 
 less be well settled and extensively devoted to 
 agriculture in the course of the next decade. 
 The Government is disposed to offer every en- 
 couragement to American settlers, and cor- 
 porations may depend upon liberal treatment 
 and the utmost security. The character of the 
 vegetation and the lay of the land along the 
 Pacific Coast render clearing and road-making 
 comparatively easy and inexpensive. At pres- 
 ent ox carts and buggies run between David 
 and Boquete, Bugaba, Divala and other points. 
 The construction of a railroad from Panama 
 to David in the near future is assured, and, 
 
342 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 with, rapid transportation available, a large and 
 profitable industry should be established. The 
 Panama Canal will bring the world's markets 
 within easy reach of various products of this 
 section. Its sugar and its cocoanuts, to men- 
 tion only two of the most assured exports, will 
 find a ready sale. 
 
 The only drawback to a speedy extension 
 of agriculture is the paucity of labor, and 
 means of overcoming that difficulty are within 
 reach. 
 
 The constantly increasing number of Amer- 
 icans who look to foreign lands for fields of 
 enterprise fall, for the most part, into two 
 categories — gold-seekers and home-seekers. 
 I will not incur the responsibility of advising 
 the former to try their fortune on the Isthmus 
 of Panama for, although that region may con- 
 tain rich mineral deposits, as many believe that 
 it does, my inquiries have failed to elicit satis- 
 factory evidence of such a condition. On the 
 other hand, I can confidently assert that to 
 Americans anxious to engage in agriculture 
 Panama offers splendid opportunities. 
 
 Viewing the territory from the latter stand- 
 point, a large proportion of it is excluded from 
 consideration, leaving, however, a section suf- 
 
The Country and Its Resources 343 
 
 ficiently rich and extensive to support several 
 millions of inhabitants. 
 
 Such is the belt of land extending from the 
 Canal Zone to the Costa Eican border, roughly 
 stated, 250 miles in length by 40 miles in 
 breadth. This is the only portion of the inte- 
 rior that contains any considerable population, 
 or in which any degree of development has 
 been attained. In both these respects the sec- 
 tion comprising the Districts of David, Bugaba, 
 and Alanje, is far in advance of other parts of 
 the country and must, by reason of its superior 
 natural advantages and industrial facilities, be 
 the seat of the earliest and greatest develop- 
 ment. With an extensive experience of trop- 
 ical countries, I declare unhesitatingly that 
 there is nowhere in the world a region richer 
 in natural resources than this. Furthermore, 
 it has the characteristic, extremely rare in the 
 tropics, of a climate devoid of excessive heat. 
 The mean temperature is somewhat below 80 
 degrees and the extreme fluctuations do not 
 vary from this more than 10 degrees. This 
 applies to the coastal regions; the highlands 
 enjoy cooler and less humid atmosphere. The 
 first four months of the year embrace the dry 
 season. This period is entirely free from the 
 
344 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 torridity of the tropical summer. Sufficient 
 rain falls to keep the vegetation green and in- 
 sure fresh food and abundance of water for the 
 live stock. The rainy season extends over 
 eight months of the year. The rainfall takes 
 the form of heavy showers, seldom lasting 
 longer than an hour at one time, or covering 
 in the aggregate more than four or five hours 
 of the twenty-four. It is only at the end of 
 this term that the downfall is great, and during 
 August and September Chiriqui is visited by 
 a return of typical summer weather lasting for 
 a month or six weeks. The lay of the land and 
 the nature of the soil create perfect drainage. 
 The water runs off the surface in an incredibly 
 short while after a downpour and nothing like 
 a swamp exists in all the region under consid- 
 eration. 
 
 The land runs up from the ocean to the moun- 
 tains in such easy gradients that bullock carts 
 of the heaviest and most cumbersome build 
 make the journey from David to Boquete with- 
 out difficulty. The growth in this section is 
 thick but of such moderate size as to be easily 
 cleared with the machete. Expanses of llano, 
 miles in extent, alternate with the woodland. 
 
 The reason for the long neglect of the natural 
 
The Country and Its Resources 345 
 
 resources of this marvellously rich country is 
 not far to seek. One of them was lack of capi- 
 tal; another, and a more potent one, was the 
 unsettled condition in which the people have 
 lived for generations past. The territory now 
 possessed by the Republic of Panama has been, 
 until the beginning of the present century, the 
 seat of frequent revolutions, each one involving 
 confiscation and destruction of property. This 
 condition suppressed native enterprise and re- 
 pelled foreign capital. Now, however, the in- 
 terests of the United States in the country are 
 a guarantee of peace and stability. 
 
 I have no hesitation in declaring that no 
 country in the world holds greater promise for 
 corporate enterprise, in a variety of directions, 
 than does the Republic of Panama. The pros- 
 pects for individual American immigrants 
 must be stated with some qualifications. Any 
 American of good character may go to Pan- 
 ama and secure title to a considerable tract of 
 public land at a cost of five pesos — equal to 
 $2.50 in United States currency — per hectare, 
 on condition of fencing it and reducing it to 
 cultivation within five years. The cost of clear- 
 ing will be 20 pesos per hectare, and of general 
 labor, one peso per day. Thus a man with 
 
346 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 $1,500 may take up and improve 50 hectares, 
 or about 125 acres, of land, and a very moder- 
 ate knowledge of farming will suffice to insure 
 good crops. But the question of marketing 
 the produce involves less simple considerations. 
 Very little public land is available along the 
 existing lines of communication. It is not nec- 
 essary, however, to resort to the settled dis- 
 tricts in order to secure good land. The rich- 
 est in the country is generally believed to be 
 that beyond Divala and Bugaba, the outposts 
 of settlement, and the Costa Eican border. But 
 in this frontier region, otherwise most desir- 
 able, two serious difficulties will be encountered 
 by the settler of moderate means — those of 
 transportation and labor. To a company un- 
 dertaking development in this section the ex- 
 penditure of, say, $5,000, in the construction of 
 roads and the importation of laborers, would 
 be a small matter, but to the individual, with 
 comparatively little produce to send to market, 
 the expense would be prohibitive. It is safe 
 to predict that in ten, or fifteen years time, this 
 entire territory will be covered by a network 
 of highways and dotted with villages. In the 
 meanwhile, I would suggest that Americans 
 with small capital settling in Panama should 
 

 
 
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The Country and Its Resources 347 
 
 form colonies, which would insure advantages 
 besides that of pooling the expense of road- 
 making and securing labor. A still better plan 
 would be to occupy land on, or near the prop- 
 erty of some development company — of which 
 several are projected — and take advantage of 
 its facilities for marketing produce and attract- 
 ing labor. 
 
 Of course, the quick crops, such as sugar cane 
 and tobacco, must be the mainstay of the small 
 farmer. But, by putting a portion of his land 
 into an orange grove or a cacao plantation, he 
 may, in the course of seven or eight years, 
 create a valuable property. Almost anything 
 that he may raise will, under the conditions 
 that have been suggested, be salable at a 
 profit. There already exists a number of mar- 
 kets in which the products of Panama, actual 
 and potential, might be disposed of in large 
 quantities. The Canal will bring the ports of 
 Ohiriqui into water communication with the en- 
 tire coast of the United States and with prac- 
 tically every part of the world. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE ANCIENT GRAVES OF CHIBIQTJI 
 
 Although the Province of Chiriqui must 
 have been often traversed by the Conquista- 
 dores, very little is said about it, or its inhab- 
 itants, in the Spanish writings that have been 
 preserved. The Indians of that region have 
 traditions relating to their ancestors and cred- 
 iting them with a degree of development much 
 greater than that displayed by their supposed 
 descendants. It is a universal human trait to 
 erect lasting monuments of one kind or another, 
 if they be but heaps of stones, but the former 
 people who occupied the western end of the 
 Isthmus of Panama appear to have deliber- 
 ately refrained from leaving any such traces 
 of their existence. Not only that, but no re- 
 mains of towns, or structures of any kind have 
 been found above ground that could be con- 
 nected with them. 
 
 Chiriqui was first brought to the notice of 
 the outer world by the discovery of the graves 
 
 348 
 
The Ancient Graves of Chiriqui 349 
 
 of a vanished race. In the latter part of 1858, 
 two natives of the village of Bugaba acciden- 
 tally unearthed a golden image of ancient man- 
 ufacture. Pursuing the search into deeper 
 ground and over a larger area, they found 
 themselves in the midst of a Jwacal, or ceme- 
 tery. The discovery could not be kept secret 
 and in a short while a thousand men were on 
 the spot. Out of this burial place one hundred 
 and thirty pounds of ornaments, made of pure 
 gold, or tumbago, a mixture of gold and copper, 
 were taken in the space of a few months. The 
 Indians had no idea of the value of these arti- 
 cles as curiosities, and melted them. The 
 bullion value of the ornaments secured from 
 twelve acres of ground exceeded $50,000. 
 
 The search for huacas, as the graves are 
 called, was extended all over the Pacific section 
 of the Province, and several thousand Indians 
 and Chiricanos engaged in it. With a little 
 practice the explorers easily located the graves. 
 The gold hunter carried a light iron rod with 
 which he prodded the ground as he walked 
 along. "When a hard substance was encoun- 
 tered below the surface, further investigation 
 generally revealed a huaca. It is said that, in 
 the course of five or six years, gold ornaments 
 
350 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 to the value of $400,000 were collected in Chiri- 
 qui. At the present time, although a new 
 grave is occasionally found, the yield has prob- 
 ably almost reached its limit. 
 
 Professor Wm. H. Holmes, of the United 
 States Bureau of Ethnology, who has made a 
 special study of these graves and their con- 
 tents, says: " There is probably no valid rea- 
 son for assigning the remains of this region to 
 a very high antiquity. The highest stage of 
 culture here may have been either earlier or 
 later than the period of highest civilization in 
 Mexico and South America or contemporaneous 
 with it. As to the affinities of the ancient mid- 
 dle Isthmian tribes with the peoples north and 
 south of them we can learn nothing positive 
 from the evidences of their art. So far as the 
 pottery has come within my observation, it 
 appears to indicate a somewhat closer relation- 
 ship with the ancient Costa Eican peoples than 
 with those of continental South America; yet 
 in their burial customs, and especially in their 
 use of gold, they were like the ancient peoples 
 of Middle and Southern New Granada. . . . 
 The graves do not often seem to have had a 
 uniform position in relation to one another or 
 to the points of the compass. In some cases 
 
The Ancient Graves of Chiriqui 351 
 
 they are clustered about a central tomb, and 
 then assume a somewhat radiate arrangement; 
 again, according to Mr. McNeil, they were 
 placed end to end, occupying long trenches. He 
 describes the pits as being oval and quadran- 
 gular and as having a depth ranging from a 
 few feet to eighteen feet. The paving or pack 
 consists of earth and water-worn stones; the 
 latter are pitched in without order and form 
 but a small percentage of the filling. . . . The 
 flat stones which cover the cyst are often ten 
 or fifteen feet below the surface, and are in 
 some cases very heavy, weighing three hundred 
 pounds or more. A single stone is in some 
 cases large enough to cover the entire space, 
 but more frequently two or more flat stones 
 are laid side by side across the cavity. These 
 were supported by river stones a foot or more 
 in length, set around the margin of the cyst. 
 . . . The implements, pieces of pottery, and 
 ornaments were probably buried with the dead, 
 pretty much as are similar objects in«all parts 
 of America. The almost total disappearance 
 of the human remains makes a determination 
 of exact relative disposition impossible. The 
 universal testimony, however, is that all were 
 not placed with the body, but that some were 
 
352 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 added as the graves were filled, being placed in 
 crevices of the walls or pillars or thrown in 
 upon the accumulating earth or pebbles of the 
 surface pavement. The relics obtained from 
 the tombs are confined almost exclusively to 
 the three least perishable materials: stone, 
 clay, and metal." 
 
 The people who made these graves were 
 skilled in the working of metals, gold, silver, 
 copper, and tin. They made bronze and plated 
 other metals with gold in a lasting and finished 
 manner. Most of the gold ornaments appear 
 to 'have been cast, probably in molds of clay. 
 The metal objects which have been secured 
 from the graves of Chiriqui are probably for 
 the most part personal ornaments. It is ob- 
 vious, however, that many of them had an em- 
 blematical significance, and most likely that 
 some were connected with religious functions, 
 or, perhaps, represented idols. 
 
 The metal ornaments are found in only a 
 small proportion of the graves, those probably 
 of chiefs and persons of importance in the 
 community. The workmanship of these objects 
 betrays great and varied skill-. The manner in 
 which the different parts of complex figures 
 were joined together is difficult to determine. 
 
tmi%L 
 
 K.» 5^ 
 
 POTTERY AND STONE ARTICLES FROM ANCIENT GRAVES. 
 
 - k *4 ^ ^ " 
 
 'V 1 "' 
 
 5^L 
 
 GOLD ORNAMENTS PROM ANCIENT GRAVES. 
 
The Ancient Graves of Chiriqui 353 
 
 There are no traces of solder and if such a 
 material was used it must have been of the 
 same composition as the body of the object, 
 and applied in such a way as to leave no marks. 
 " At the junction of the parts there are often 
 decided indications of hammering, or at least 
 of the strong pressure of an implement; but 
 in pursuing the matter further we find a sin- 
 gular perfection in the joining, which amounts 
 to a coalescence of the metals of the two parts 
 concerned. . . . All points considered, I am in- 
 clined to believe that the objects were cast, and 
 cast in their entirety. It is plain, however, that 
 the original model was made up of separately 
 constructed parts of wire or wire-like strands 
 and of eccentric and often massive parts, and 
 that all were set together by the assistance of 
 pressure, the indications being that the mate- 
 rial used was sufficiently plastic to be worked 
 after the manner of clay, dough, or wax. In 
 one case, for example, the body of a serpent, 
 consisting of two wires neatly twisted together, 
 is held in the hand of a grotesque figure. The 
 hand consists of four fingers made by doubling 
 together two short pieces of wire. The coil has 
 been laid across the hand and pressed down 
 into it until half buried, and the ends of the 
 
354 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 fingers are drawn up around it without any 
 indications of hammer strokes. Indeed, the 
 effect is just such as would have been produced 
 if the artist had worked in wax. Again, in the 
 modelling of the eyes we have a good illustra- 
 tion. The eye is a minute ball cleft across the 
 entire diameter by a sharp instrument, thus 
 giving the effect of the parted lids. Now, if 
 the material had been gold or copper, as in the 
 specimens, the ball would have been separated 
 into two parts or hemispheres, which would 
 not exhibit any great distortion, but as we see 
 them here the parts are flattened and much 
 drawn out by the pressure of the cutting edge, 
 just as if the material had been decidedly 
 plastic." 
 
 Most of the metal figures represent the 
 human form, in more or less distorted present- 
 ment, and various animal shapes. The vege- 
 table kingdom does not appear to have fur- 
 nished models to the workers in metal or in 
 clay. Even the conventional designs with 
 which some of the more elaborate pieces are 
 surrounded and the ornamentation of the pot- 
 tery never includes leaf designs as might have 
 been expected. The frog seems to have been 
 one of the most favored forms. The tortoise, 
 
The Ancient Graves of Chiriqui 355 
 
 tiger, eagle, armadillo, and dog are also fre- 
 quently represented. In most of the ornaments 
 and in many of the pieces of pottery a small 
 loose ball is enclosed with the evident design 
 of furnishing a rattle. A great number of 
 bells have been found, of about the size and 
 almost exactly like our slotted sleigh bells. 
 Almost all the objects have little loops by 
 means of which they were suspended from the 
 neck with strings of deer gut, or grass. 
 
 De Zeltner thus describes one of the pieces 
 which he secured : ' ' The most curious piece in 
 my collection is a gold figure of a man, seven 
 centimeters in height. The head is ornamented 
 with a diadem terminated at each side with the 
 head of a frog. The body is nude, except a 
 girdle, also in the form of a plait supporting 
 a flat piece intended to cover the privates, and 
 two round ornaments on each side. The arms 
 are extended from the body; the well drawn 
 hands hold, one of them, a short, round club, 
 the other a musical instrument, of which one 
 end is in the mouth and the other forms an 
 enlargement like that of a flute made of a 
 human bone. It is not probable that this is a 
 pipe. Both thighs have an enlargement and 
 the toes are not marked in this little figurine." 
 
356 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 Among the ornaments which I secured on 
 the Isthmus, is a figure of a tortoise, two and 
 a half inches long and two inches broad. It is 
 made of copper, plated with gold. The figure 
 is perfectly proportioned, one side being ex- 
 actly like the other. From each of the fore- 
 feet a comparatively heavy strand of twisted 
 wire extends to the mouth. Each flipper is 
 finished in a conventional design which includes 
 a frog's head. The body appears to be formed 
 of one piece of metal about one-sixteenth of an 
 inch in thickness. There can be little doubt 
 about this having been cast. Underneath, a 
 piece of barred metal, somewhat resembling 
 ribs, and enclosing a small metal ball, gives 
 rotundity to the figure. This piece is attached 
 to the former only at one end but there is not 
 the slightest appearance of joint, so that the 
 presumption is that the whole was cast in one 
 piece and the lower portion bent over into posi- 
 tion. 
 
 Nelson refers to a specimen which caused 
 him a great deal of speculation. ' ' It evidently 
 was intended for the figure of some king. It 
 was in bronze, and that surprised me greatly, 
 because the art of casting in bronze is deemed 
 
The Ancient Graves of Chiriqui 357 
 
 an art to this day, if I have been rightly in- 
 formed. ' ' 
 
 The greater part of the contents of the 
 graves is pottery, plain and glazed. This takes 
 the greatest variety of form and color. Some 
 of it is quite black and some light yellow, vari- 
 ous tints of red and brown intervening. The 
 shapes are exceedingly artistic and the forma- 
 tion perfect. The ornamentation ranges from 
 crude outlines of animal forms, that of the alli- 
 gator prevailing, to complex and regular geo- 
 metrical designs. A distinct evolution from 
 one to the other may be traced through a series 
 of vases or pots. The pigment used in color- 
 ing was remarkably durable, for, in many cases, 
 the ornamentation is as fresh as though it had 
 been done but a year ago. The Indians pay 
 little regard to the pottery and the greater part 
 of it is broken and thrown aside. At least, that 
 used to be the case, but of late years the graves 
 have yielded little else, and the huaca hunters 
 are glad to get the profits that accrue from the 
 sale of the less valuable articles. 
 
 I came across a native in the neighborhood 
 of Divala, from whom I obtained some unusu- 
 ally good specimens, but could not induce him 
 to tell where he had secured them. I after- 
 
358 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 wards learned that he had discovered a ceme- 
 tery in an unoccupied spot on the outskirts of 
 the village. He naturally wished to get the full 
 benefit of his find and resorted to a shrewd 
 measure for insuring that object. The place 
 was thickly covered with vegetation, but lay 
 near one of the beaten paths and the discoverer 
 feared that some passer-by might light upon 
 it in the same manner as he had done. Taking 
 a lusty rooster to the spot by night, he tied it 
 to a tree and so left it. Before long the vil- 
 lagers began to talk about the mysterious cock 
 which could never be seen, but which crowed 
 at all hours of the day and night. Soon the 
 spot had gained a reputation for being haunted 
 and any one who had to go by it hastened his 
 footsteps. The originator of this ruse deserved 
 of better success than he experienced. The 
 villagers noted his frequent visits after dark 
 to the vicinity of the haunted spot and follow- 
 ing one night, found him at work with a 
 machete, opening a grave by the light of a lan- 
 tern. The next day the entire village was at 
 work in the huacal and its treasures were soon 
 exhausted. „ 
 
 Implements and utensils, always of stone, are 
 found in quantities in the graves. Large pieces 
 
The Ancient Graves of Chiriqui 359 
 
 of sandstone, which take a great variety of 
 forms, were evidently used to grind corn. 
 These are often two feet or more in length, 
 and perhaps as high. The top is concave and 
 in some cases a stone roller is found which fits 
 into this surface groove. Usually they are 
 made to represent some animal, the jaguar or 
 puma most frequently furnishing the model. 
 Occasionally the grindstone is circular in form 
 and surrounded by a mass of curiously carved 
 figures. The workmanship and ingenuity dis- 
 played is simply marvellous. A great variety 
 of stone chisels and hatchets have been taken 
 out of these burial places. They were un- 
 doubtedly the implements with which the 
 grindstones were carved and seem to have been 
 the only durable tools used by these people. 
 They are finely polished and perfectly propor- 
 tioned, many of them having surprisingly sharp 
 edges. 
 
 Some miles distant from David, standing 
 upon the open plain, is an object which some 
 persons have tried to connect with the grave 
 makers of ancient Chiriqui. This is a huge 
 boulder, called the pedra pintada, or painted 
 stone. A variety of hieroglyphics are cut on 
 the surface of this stone and many of them 
 
360 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 have been painted. It is possible that these 
 inscriptions may be of Indian origin and date 
 back a considerable time, but it appears to me 
 to be absurd to try to establish a connection 
 between them and the huaca builders. The 
 paint, of course, is of comparatively modern 
 origin, and there is no radical resemblance be- 
 tween the pictures and characters on this great 
 stone and the figures taken out of the graves, 
 or the ornamentation of the pottery. Then 
 again, if the ancient inhabitants of Chiriqui left 
 this monument, it is passing strange that it 
 should be the only thing of the kind surviving 
 them. The pedra pintada has probably been in 
 its present condition during many generations. 
 Although it is not described in any writing of 
 which I am aware, the grandfathers of living 
 Chiricanos spoke of it as an old landmark and 
 the local Indians declare that it was there in 
 its " painted " state when their people first 
 came to that part of the country, which was 
 certainly not less than one hundred and fifty 
 years ago. But that would leave a gap of sev- 
 eral centuries, at least, between the carved 
 boulder and the last of the huaca makers. 
 
 More than one scientist has made an effort 
 to solve the mystery of the ancient people of 
 
The Ancient Graves of Chiriqui 361 
 
 Chiriqui, but none with satisfactory result. A 
 doubtful authority once claimed to have dis- 
 covered in one of the graves an article made 
 of a certain stone, which he declared was not 
 to be found in its natural state at any place 
 nearer to Chiriqui than Behring Strait. As- 
 suming this to be true, it affords a foundation 
 for a very pretty conjecture. 
 
 The most puzzling feature of the question is 
 the absence of any remains above ground. It 
 must be supposed that a people who had 
 reached the stage of development indicated by 
 the metal and pottery work, and who displayed 
 not a little structural skill in the fashioning 
 and construction of their graves, must have 
 made dwellings of stone which is abundant all 
 over the country. But, if they did so, how has 
 the last vestige of such buildings disappeared? 
 Probably we shall never know any more than 
 we now do about the matter. 
 
 The presence of so much gold in the graves 
 has led to the belief that it was plentiful in this 
 region. Although the mining operations of late 
 years have not yielded satisfactory results, it 
 is quite possible that rich deposits do exist and 
 that they will be discovered when closer atten- 
 tion is devoted to prospecting. 
 
362 Panama and the Canal To-day- 
 There are records of the Spaniards having 
 mined successfully at a spot near the Costa 
 Rican border in Chiriqui. Many attempts have 
 been made to discover this mine and recently 
 it was rumored that a party of Indians wan- 
 dering through an unfrequented district had 
 come across some old cast iron church bells, 
 which are believed to indicate the site of the 
 settlement that stood in the vicinity of the lost 
 mine. 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 UP-COUNTRY IN A COASTING STEAiyTEB 
 
 That part of Chiriqui that lies between the 
 mountains and the Pacific Ocean is the garden 
 spot of Panama. It contains the richest soil 
 and has the finest scenery in the territory of 
 the Republic. Its climate is delightful in the 
 dry season and far from bad during the rains. 
 Its people are friendly, law abiding and indus- 
 trious in their easy-going way. 
 
 Few visitors to the Isthmus make the jour- 
 ney up to Chiriqui. Perhaps the discomforts 
 of the voyage deter them, but more probably 
 they are ignorant of the pleasures that await 
 them at the end of it. Canal employes have 
 only begun to go to the beautiful Province 
 since the recent order permitting them to take 
 their vacations at Boquete, on the slope of El 
 Volcan, went into effect. 
 
 About the middle of April, 1908, I left Pan- 
 ama with the intention of spending three weeks 
 
 363 
 
364 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 in Chiriqui and of exploring the Island of Coiba 
 on the way. In order to carry out the latter 
 part of the program, it was necessary to ar- 
 range with the steamship company to have me 
 dropped on the island by the boat on which I 
 left Panama and picked up by the one follow- 
 ing, a week later. I was accompanied on this 
 expedition by Mr. C. M. Brown, an employe of 
 the Commission, who speaks Spanish fluently, 
 and who had been in Chiriqui as a Commis- 
 sioner of the United States G-overnment at the 
 time of the election for President of Panama. 
 Apropos of that election, the United States as- 
 signed several army officers and others to the 
 temporary service of the Eepublic of Panama, 
 with a view to their employment in maintaining 
 order during the election and insuring a fair 
 vote. As a matter of fact, the arrangement 
 worked somewhat one-sidedly, for the natives, 
 who were aware that the United States favored 
 the candidacy of Don Jose de Obaldia, took it 
 for granted that the commissioners were pres- 
 ent in his behalf and voted accordingly. How- 
 ever, the result was the election of as good a 
 man as the country could produce and one 
 whose premature death was a distinct loss to it. 
 The up-country steamer leaves Panama on 
 
Up-Country in a Coasting Steamer 365 
 
 Friday, with an uncertain schedule, depending 
 upon the particular ports for which it may re- 
 ceive freight, so the 292 miles between the cap- 
 ital and David may be covered in forty-eight 
 hours, or six days. The length of run will de- 
 pend, not only upon the number of stops, but 
 more greatly, perhaps, upon the luck that may 
 be experienced in catching tides. 
 
 The boat was timed to leave its wharf in 
 Panama at two o'clock and we were warned to 
 be on time, the agent giving the impression that 
 the National Navigation Company is as inexor- 
 ably prompt as the Pennsylvania Railroad. 
 That agent had a riotous imagination. There 
 were several other matters in which his repre- 
 sentations failed to touch with the realization 
 at any point. We sent our baggage down to 
 the dock at an early hour. It was much more 
 extensive than would have been the case had 
 we merely contemplated a trip to Chiriqui. In 
 view of a stay of ten days, or longer, on the 
 almost uninhabited island of Coiba, we carried 
 provisions, cooking utensils, machetes, camp 
 cots, blankets, and an assortment of trinkets 
 with which to trade. We also took saddles for 
 use in Chiriqui. It is well to have your own 
 saddle in such expeditions, but more desirable 
 
366 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 still to have your own bridle. From a dirty, 
 native hair-rope bridle I received a nasty sore 
 which spread all over my hand and was not 
 cured for a month or more. 
 
 As the time of departure drew near, we 
 found ourselves with important business on 
 hand and, telephoning to the steamship office, 
 learned that we might have an hour leeway. 
 This, with what, in our ignorance of the ways 
 of coast-wise shipping, we considered reckless 
 risk of being left behind, we extended to two 
 hours. It was four o'clock when we drove up 
 to the wharf, perspiring and anxious. A 
 glance at the shed showed that half the freight 
 had yet to be loaded. For three or more hours 
 we hung about that wharf, taking snap-shots 
 and watching the happy-go-lucky manner in 
 which the stevedores went about their work. 
 Stuff went into the hold haphazard and, of 
 course, when it came to unloading at interme- 
 diate ports a general rummaging preceded the 
 finding of the particular consignment sought. 
 We saw an essential part of an ice-machine 
 dropped between the boat's side and the land- 
 ing. No attempt was made to recover it. 
 
 At about seven o'clock, the hawsers were 
 thrown off and we were told to get on board. 
 
Up-Country in a Coasting Steamer 367 
 
 There was no gangway. The passengers 
 scrambled over the side onto the lower deck 
 and made their way above by climbing over a 
 disorderly mass of freight. When I reached 
 the upper deck I looked around for Brown and 
 at last espied him in a wherry about a quarter 
 of a mile behind the ship, which was puffing out 
 toward sea. I began to fear that I should make 
 the journey alone, but had I known the truth 
 of the situation I would have borrowed one of 
 the ship's boats to return to shore and go up 
 to the Tivoli for a leisurely dinner. 
 
 When we had gone about two miles from 
 shore we stopped and cast anchor. It appeared 
 that we had only run out to deep water, at the 
 turn of the tide, to finish loading. Presently a 
 dilapidated old lugger sailed alongside and her 
 crew commenced to transfer her contents to our 
 deck by the light of smoking kerosene lamps. 
 It was a picturesque scene but I tired of it 
 long before ten o 'clock, when the last piece had 
 been handed over and the agent's clerks left 
 us. They were thoroughly fagged, poor fel- 
 lows, but rest was yet far from them. The boat 
 carried them a short distance and landed them 
 on the slimy tufa, over which they had to make 
 their way for a mile and a half to the mainland. 
 
368 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 That reminds me of one of the many good 
 stories which are told on the Isthmus at the 
 expense of members of the several Congres- 
 sional picnic parties which have visited the 
 Canal Zone. I can not say whether these 
 jaunts have ever resulted in profit to the people 
 who paid for them, though I very much doubt 
 it. What I can declare positively, however, is 
 that on more than one occasion members of 
 these official parties have grossly disgraced the 
 country which they represented. This was the 
 case, as I witnessed, in the Spring of 1908, when 
 several — I am tempted to say a majority — 
 of the visiting Congressmen acted like the worst 
 hoodlums, creating nightly disturbances in the 
 reservation set apart for prostitutes in the city 
 of Panama. The worst of it was that these 
 men would have passed for unusually rowdy 
 Canal laborers if they had not made a point, 
 in their drunken elation, of loudly and con- 
 stantly proclaiming themselves " Congressmen 
 of the United States." 
 
 But to revert to my anecdote: 
 
 One of the engineers was endeavoring to ex- 
 plain to a member of the Congressional party 
 why a lock would be necessary in a sea level 
 canal. 
 
THE WHARF AT PUERTO MUTIS. 
 
Up-Country in a Coasting Steamer 369 
 
 ' ' You see, the tide in the Pacific rises twenty 
 feet higher than that in the Atlantic," said the 
 major. 
 
 " You don't say! " cried the astonished leg- 
 islator. " How often does that happen? " 
 
 At four o'clock on the morning after our de- 
 parture I was awakened by the siren giving 
 out long toots that echoed among the hills and 
 forests. We were in the San Pedro Eiver, ap- 
 proaching Puerto Mutis, and the tooting was 
 to announce our arrival. We tied up to a small 
 wharf, with a stone warehouse beside it. Not 
 a living soul was in sight, nor a human habita- 
 tion. In the course of fifteen or twenty minutes 
 a native in short breeches, with his shirt tails 
 exposed, strolled leisurely down to the wharf, 
 sat down on a stack of scantlings and gazed 
 dreamily at the ship. Presently his counter- 
 part joined him and our crew handed over to 
 them about twenty-four small packages. Then 
 a person in authority, wearing a deep scowl and 
 a heavy mustache, came on the scene with a 
 bill of lading and occupied forty minutes in 
 checking the stuff. About the time he had fin- 
 ished, the sun came out and a dozen natives 
 with machetes turned up, eager to work when 
 it was all over. It had taken us two hours to 
 
370 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 discharge two dozen cases of wine, or some- 
 thing of the sort. 
 
 Twelve hours after our final departure we 
 were anchored in the Sona Biver, about ten 
 miles below the town. After bumping a rock, 
 we stopped here to await the tide, which did 
 not rise high enough to allow us to proceed 
 until five o'clock in the evening. The delay 
 was very tantalizing, but we soon became ac- 
 customed to delays on this trip, which was the 
 slowest I had ever made, with the single excep- 
 tion of a train journey from Alexandria to 
 Cairo in the seventies. Save for an occasional 
 alligator, a few monkeys in the trees, and the 
 birds, there was no sign of life. The country 
 thereabouts is uninhabited and the river banks 
 are lined with dense stands of mangrove. 
 Within twenty yards of the ship was a tall tree 
 covered with orchids that would readily have 
 fetched $500 in New York. It is quite possible 
 that orchid gathering in these forests would be 
 profitable. Since leaving Panama I had seen 
 a score of directions in which money could be 
 made. The day before we had run through 
 waters between Punta Mala and Punta Mariato 
 that are fairly teeming with fish of all kinds. 
 A man with a couple of trawlers could make 
 
Up-Country in a Coasting Steamer 371 
 
 $500 a month. The price of fresh fish in Pan- 
 ama is twenty cents gold a pound. 
 
 The vessel was a marvellous contraption, 
 more like a houseboat than a ship. It stood 
 thirty feet out of water and only six feet below. 
 It rolled in the lightest ripple and it seemed 
 to me could not fail to turn turtle in a heavy 
 sea. But in that I was mistaken, for it had 
 been brought out from England under its own 
 steam and had weathered several fairly stiff 
 storms on its regular runs. It was two hun- 
 dred tons burden and about seventy-five feet 
 in length. It had a galvanized iron roof. Im- 
 mediately under this, in a space amidships, 
 near the funnel, — the hottest spot that could 
 have been chosen, but the only one available, — 
 the tables were set for meals. The food was 
 indescribably bad and inexcusably so consider- 
 ing that sixty pesos is charged for the trip from 
 Panama to David. No matter how inviting the 
 fare might have been, I should have been un- 
 able to stomach it after seeing a steward pull 
 a dirty sheet from a bunk and wipe the plates 
 upon it. Fortunately, we had an ample supply 
 of provisions and did not need to draw upon 
 the ship's resources, except for ice, the supply 
 of which gave out on the third day. 
 
372 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 There were a few cabins fore and aft for 
 first-class passengers, — miserable little cud- 
 dies designed to accommodate four persons. 
 Brown and myself were fortunate in having 
 what is called " the ladies' cabin," right for- 
 ward by the wheel and next to the captain's 
 room. The lower deck was open. It was de- 
 voted to second-class passengers, — who had 
 no kind of shelter, — cattle, horses, pigs, chick- 
 ens, and scattered packages of light cargo. 
 
 The passengers were all, excepting ourselves, 
 natives, and included a number of generals and 
 governors. The crew was a doubtful lot and 
 the captain confessed that in an emergency 
 they would be a hindrance, rather than a help. 
 The steward was willing but idiotic. The skip- 
 per 's monkey appeared to be one of the most 
 intelligent creatures on board.' 
 
 Captain Crawford is a Britisher who has had 
 a varied and adventurous career, a sort of Cap- 
 tain Kettle. At the time I travelled with him 
 he was planning to deliver two second-hand tor- 
 pedo destroyers to Castro. The mate was a 
 gigantic Italian who looked like an Algerine 
 pirate. But, despite his hairy face and fierce 
 demeanor, Beppo was a fine and likable fellow. 
 The undersized crew were in mortal terror of 
 
Up-Country in a Coasting Steamer 373 
 
 hiih. When he shot an order at one of them, 
 the man jumped as though he had received an 
 electric shock. Beppo had been a pearl fisher 
 and had sailed these waters for twenty years 
 continuously. His actual capacity was that of 
 pilot, a highly important one on a trip which 
 is all the way through narrow channels, among 
 small islands and rocks, upon a poorly charted 
 coast. (I had a better chart than the captain 
 was furnished with.) 
 
 The engineer was, of course, a Scotsman, 
 McMurray by name. In the evenings he would 
 come up from the bowels of the boat, where his 
 engines were constructed on- the lines of a 
 daschund, and, perching himself on the rail 
 beside our cabin, would smoke his short, black 
 pipe and tell yarns in a brogue that brought 
 the smell of heather to your nostrils. He and 
 Captain Crawford had brought this Noah's 
 Ark from Liverpool round the Horn to Pan- 
 ama. The story of that voyage would make an 
 epic of seamanship. 
 
 None of the officers ever wore a coat, or 
 changed his shirt. They all started the voyage 
 with dirty linen, which was soon filthy. Like 
 the passengers, they wore slippers constantly, 
 the company's cap doing duty for uniform, but 
 
374 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 even this Captain Crawford only donned in the 
 terminal ports. There was a pronounced ab- 
 sence of red tape. The quarter deck was con- 
 trived by shutting off a space about the wheel 
 with a rope. Our cabin was by courtesy in- 
 cluded in the enclosure. 
 
 The captain did not seem to keep any log, but 
 I may have been mistaken about this. If he 
 had one, it must have been interesting. I 
 pumped him on the subject, hoping to get a 
 chance to read the log, if such a thing was 
 in existence, but he skilfully evaded the ques- 
 tion. 
 
 The crew were merely cargo shifters. They 
 didn 't swab, much less holy-stone, and the decks 
 were covered with dirt and pitch stains. The 
 ship's bell was struck less than half a dozen 
 times in two days. 
 
 The boat was fairly alive with ants and 
 cockroaches. At night the latter would run all 
 over one's face and body, so that the only way 
 to secure sleep was by hanging a hammock on 
 deck. But when the vessel happened to be an- 
 chored for the night in a river the mosquitoes 
 put this out of the question. 
 
 One had to eat with great circumspection. 
 The ants were in everything. My clothes, bag- 
 
Up-Country in a Coasting Steamer 375 
 
 gage, camera, pistol holster, everything in 
 short, was full of them. 
 
 It was dark by the time we had docked at 
 Sona, and the unloading was carried on by 
 lamp-light. We lay there all night devoured 
 by mosquitoes and sand flies. 
 
 In describing the little discomforts of this 
 trip I have no thought of intimating that it 
 was anything but pleasurable. The man who 
 does not enjoy roughing it, loses the spice of 
 travel, and should never go beyond easy reach 
 of Pullman cars and modern hotels. This jour- 
 ney up to Chiriqui was delightful. It involved 
 no actual hardship, and every annoyance was 
 relieved by a humorous element in the situa- 
 tion. Had the discomforts been twice as great, 
 they would have been more than offset by the 
 beauties of the scenery, the novel manifesta- 
 tions of human and animal life, the moonlit 
 seas and the gorgeous sunsets. Furthermore, 
 I was not lost to the fact that the National 
 Navigation Company did not run its boat for 
 my special benefit, and that the arrangements 
 and conditions were doubtless well enough 
 adapted to the tastes and requirements of the 
 majority of persons patronizing the line. I 
 often wonder why travellers do not more com- 
 
376 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 monly bear this point in mind. The amusingly 
 pettish criticisms of foreign hotels and customs 
 which do not happen to tally with their ideas 
 of the fitness of things, recorded by some of 
 them, mark them for greenhorns and unrea- 
 sonable beings. 
 
 It was the morning of Easter Sunday when 
 we steamed out of Sona Eiver, and we expected 
 before nightfall to be landed on Coiba, or rather 
 Eancheria, a neighboring island. The agent 
 of the steamship company had once been inter- 
 ested in pearl fisheries which had their head- 
 quarters on Rancheria. The enterprise had 
 been abandoned some years before, but he as- 
 sured us that we would find a village and some 
 good huts on the island. The latter belonged 
 to the company and the agent urged us to oc- 
 cupy them. This proved to be another of his 
 wild flights of fancy. However, we had not 
 entirely lost faith in him at that time and deter- 
 mined to follow his advice. The easternmost 
 point of the island, Punta Marguerita, was the 
 place from which it had been arranged that we 
 should signal passing steamers when we were 
 ready to be taken off, and it seemed to be wise 
 to reconnoitre this island first, and afterwards 
 get some of the natives to row us over to Coiba, 
 
Up-Country in a Coasting Steamer 377 
 
 which is only about five miles distant from 
 it. 
 
 It was about five o 'clock in the evening when 
 the " David " came to anchor, entirely out of 
 its course and in the midst of a number of nasty 
 rocks, about two miles from Eancheria. Beppo 
 and one of the crew rowed Brown and myself 
 and our belongings to the island. We landed 
 on a patch of sandy beach, about two acres in 
 extent. On the edge of this were two deserted 
 huts, which the jungle would shortly take into 
 its embrace. The little open space was entirely 
 enclosed by heavy growth, quite impenetrable, 
 except with the aid of the machete. Back in 
 this wilderness somewhere the village that had 
 stood in the open a few years before was now 
 buried beyond sight. 
 
 Our first thought was to congratulate our- 
 selves that we had not arrived after dark. In • 
 that case, trusting to the agent's report of con- 
 ditions, we should probably have left the boat 
 and sent it back to the ship without investiga- 
 tion. Our one chance for continued life would 
 then have lain in the somewhat unlikely chance 
 of attracting the attention of the people on 
 Coiba. We would have been shut in on our 
 little sand patch without water. The under- 
 
378 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 growth came down thickly to the sea at every 
 other part of the shore within view. We might 
 have risked the danger of becoming meat for 
 sharks by attempting to wade round to the 
 point from which our signal was to have been 
 given, but it is doubtful whether our state 
 would have been bettered by success. 
 
 However, we did not waste much time in con- 
 jectures, but started, after a short delay, to 
 row across to Coiba. On the way Beppo told 
 us stories of pearl fishers' fights with sharks 
 and drew our attention to the great shells of 
 the pearl oyster, many of them larger than 
 dinner plates, lying thickly at the bottom of the 
 sea. It was difficult to believe that we were 
 looking down over thirty feet, so clear and still 
 was the water. A little uneasiness was occa- 
 sioned in our minds by a school of young 
 whales, through which we had to pass on our 
 way. There was no fear of their intentionally 
 harming us, but if one of them should happen 
 to come up under the boat and give it a playful 
 whisk with his tail we knew that the conse- 
 quences would be tragic. 
 
 Suddenly we rounded a projecting rock and 
 shot into a little cove. On a narrow beach run- 
 ning back to the monte were six or eight na- 
 
Up-Country in a Coasting Steamer 379 
 
 tives, stark naked. At the unexpected sight of 
 us they ran for the shelter of their nearby hut 
 and presently emerged in the garments which 
 were reserved for rare trips to the mainland, 
 thirty-five miles away. This family of old-time 
 pearl fishers were the only inhabitants within 
 miles. We learned from them that similar 
 little groups were to be found at widely sepa- 
 rated points around the coast, but that the total 
 number of inhabitants of the island would not 
 amount to one hundred. Asked what was the 
 prevailing condition of the islanders, they 
 answered: " Necessidad! " They were ex- 
 tremely poor, but their condition was probably 
 not an unhappy one. They toiled not, neither 
 did they reap. Nothing whatever was culti- 
 vated, but they had plenty to eat between fish, 
 deer, bananas and cocoanuts. 
 
 President Obaldia had provided us with a 
 letter addressed to alcaldes and other officials, 
 but these people could not read. It was to meet 
 such a contingency that we had manufactured 
 a document that was calculated to strike awe 
 into the ignorant breast. The basis of it was 
 a certificate of admission to practice before the 
 Supreme Court of the Canal Zone. This was 
 signed in large characters and blood-red ink by 
 
380 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 " Buster Brown," " Tommy Dodd," and 
 " Weary Willie." A large red seal held down 
 two yellow cigar ribbons in the left-hand cor- 
 ner. The document was punched and tied up 
 with a piece of red tape and a brass employe's 
 check of the I. C. C. 
 
 Impressed by the imposing appearance of 
 this document, the Coibans told us all that they 
 knew about their island, which was not much. 
 It was too thickly covered with forest and un- 
 dergrowth to be penetrable. No one, to their 
 knowledge, had gone into the interior these 
 many years back. They believed that there 
 were Indians back among the central moun- 
 tains, because gourds, hand-fashioned, and 
 other articles of human use had come down 
 from time to time in the streams to the coast. 
 
 President Obaldia had told us how, a genera- 
 tion ago, Coiba had produced the fattest cattle 
 and the heaviest sugar cane in all Panama. An 
 American, named Captain Harkness, had set- 
 tled not far from the point where we landed 
 and had set up a sugar mill. He died on the 
 island and his place was abandoned. The re- 
 mains of it have long since been swallowed up 
 by the wilderness. 
 
 A lumbering operation on a large scale might 
 
Up-Country in a Coasting Steamer 381 
 
 be established on this island with profit, and 
 after the trees had been cleared, the extremely 
 rich land would yield abundant crops of vari- 
 ous kinds. The island is about thirty-five miles 
 in length and from seven to ten in breadth. It 
 is well watered and slopes in every direction 
 from a small group of mountains that occupy 
 the interior. 
 
 Without machete men it would not be possi- 
 ble to make an excursion across the island as we 
 had intended and it was evident that machete 
 men in sufficient numbers could not be had. 
 So, after buying some fruit and a pet deer 
 from the islanders, we rowed back to the ship 
 in the light of the moon, arriving at about ten 
 o 'clock. 
 
 The remainder of our journey did not differ 
 in any important respect from the former part 
 of it. We arrived in due course at Pedragal, 
 the port of David, and there we were met by 
 Don Lorenzo Obaldia, the manager of his 
 father's Chiriqui ranch, and one of the most 
 genial and hospitable gentlemen it has ever 
 been my good fortune to come in contact with. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 DAVID AND THE INTERIOB 
 
 David is an old town. There was a settle- 
 ment where it stands at least two centuries 
 back. The country thereabouts contained sev- 
 eral fine estates, occupying large tracts of land, 
 that had been granted to members of distin- 
 guished Spanish families by the Crown. In 
 the Obaldia town house is a portrait of Don 
 Lorenzo's great-grandfather, a stately old gen- 
 tleman in the stiff and formal costume of the 
 day, which the gentlemen of that time wore, to 
 their great discomfort, in the most remote for- 
 eign countries. This first of the Obaldias in 
 Chiriqui built, after the manner of his people, 
 a substantial mansion and great stone gate- 
 ways, remains of which are to be seen about the 
 place at the present time. He was one of the 
 pioneers of the Chiriqui cattle business. His 
 good lady planted wild fig trees on the large 
 expanse of llano before the house, and many 
 
 382 
 
David and the Interior 383 
 
 travellers before us have found grateful rest 
 in the shade of their giant branches. ^ Don 
 Lorenzo's mother was a Jovenet, a member of 
 another old family of Chiriqui which owns 
 tens of thousands of hectares of the richest 
 land. 
 
 Some day these Chiriqui properties will 
 represent great wealth. At present they yield 
 only a few thousand dollars a year from the 
 sale of the cattle raised upon them. The land- 
 owners of Chiriqui, like the old-time planters 
 of our South, have long since fallen into con- 
 firmed habits of ease, which they could not 
 shake off, if they would. It must be left to 
 another generation to apply enterprising meth- 
 ods to the development of their lands. 
 
 Another deterrent to improvement has been 
 the constantly disturbed condition of the land 
 since the wars of independence began, early in 
 the last century. Eevolutions have been fre- 
 quent in the past hundred years, and each was 
 the occasion for destruction and confiscation of 
 property. In one of these uprisings, which oc- 
 curred shortly before our occupation of the 
 Canal Zone, the late President Obaldia was 
 forced to flee for his life from his Chiriqui 
 estate. The insurrectos seized his youngest 
 
384 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 son and, in the belief that the father had hidden 
 a large sum of money somewhere on the ranch, 
 subjected the boy to the most inhuman treat- 
 ment, in the attempt to make him reveal the 
 supposed hiding place. 
 
 There is a half-sunken boat in the river at 
 Pedragal, immediately opposite the wharf. At 
 the time of the revolution in question it was 
 afloat. On this the insurgents kept young 
 Obaldia prisoner for weeks. He was scantily 
 fed, and only half clothed. The mosquitoes and 
 sand flies drove him to the verge of insanity. 
 His captors constantly threatened him with 
 death and kept him for long periods without 
 water. But they failed to break down the 
 youngster's fortitude and, if there was any 
 truth in the story of hidden money, he main- 
 tained his determination not to reveal its 
 whereabouts. 
 
 David is a picturesque city of from four to 
 five thousand inhabitants. Of these, perhaps, 
 five per cent are well-to-do, the majority being 
 poor, but having all their actual needs supplied, 
 which, after all, is a condition approximating 
 wealth. Most of the dwellings are one-storied 
 structures of frame or mud, with thatched 
 roofs and small courtyards, or patios. The 
 
David and the Interior 385 
 
 streets are in excellent condition and the town 
 is remarkably clean and orderly. 
 
 There are two or three hotels, the principal 
 being that which has been conducted for years 
 by Senor Lombardi, a descendant of one of 
 several Italians who came to this country many 
 years ago. Lombardi runs a general store, and 
 does considerable banking business. I was 
 present one day when a band of Indians, who 
 had come many days' journey to sell a few 
 dollars ' worth of their products, — chiefly 
 straw hats, — carried on the negotiation with 
 the proprietor. Several hours were consumed 
 in disposing of goods, for which the Indians 
 were glad to get about ten dollars. They in- 
 sisted on putting up one article at a time. The 
 price of this would be haggled over for half 
 an hour. At short intervals, Lombardi pro- 
 duced a bottle of aguardiente and poured out a 
 glass, which was passed round among the ven- 
 dors. After four or five treats, the selling pro- 
 ceeded a little more briskly. When they had 
 received their money, the Indians proceeded to 
 spend the greater part of it in the cantinas 
 about town, and ultimately started on their 
 long tramp home with about two dollars' worth 
 of salt and other necessities. 
 
386 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 The rooms for guests are ranged along a low 
 wing to the main building. Each room has 
 large double doors opening on the street, for 
 the admission of bulky goods. In other words 
 it is constructed to serve as a warehouse, as 
 well as a bedroom. It is open at the top up to 
 the peak of the roof and a partition termina- 
 ting half way to the ceiling divides it from the 
 next compartment. The floor is of stone and 
 the walls whitewashed. All things considered, 
 this arrangement is well adapted to cleanliness 
 and coolness. With the mosquito bars which 
 we had brought, the nights were passed com- 
 fortably enough on camp cots. 
 
 There is not much to detain the traveller in 
 David, but the town is a convenient headquar- 
 ters from which to make excursions to various 
 parts of the Province, and it should yield his- 
 torical material of interest, but the careless-, 
 ness displayed all over Panama toward records 
 and archives has resulted in the loss and de- 
 struction of many valuable documents. I could 
 not find anything of the sort at David, either 
 in the church or the municipal building. At 
 Alanje, when we went there, the cura showed 
 us a miraculous painting in the interesting old 
 church, and some yellow, leather bound docu- 
 
David and the Interior 387 
 
 ments which, judging from the scraps that 
 could be read, would have been extremely en- 
 tertaining, but they were more than half 
 eaten away by worms and badly- damaged by 
 damp. 
 
 I arrived in Chiriqui suffering from an intes- 
 tinal trouble, which is about the worst thing one 
 can take into the interior. It had not been, con- 
 tracted in the country, but on shipboard. It 
 speaks volumes for the climate of Chiriqui and 
 the water, that I was able to hold up for two 
 weeks, riding from twenty-five to fifty miles a 
 day, and living on milk and eggs. 
 
 The day after our arrival at David, we rode 
 out about twenty-two miles and returned to the 
 town in the evening. I was barely able to get 
 back and felt so ill that I decided to go down 
 to Panama on the boat that had brought 
 us up. Early the next morning our baggage 
 was piled on a bullock cart in front of the door 
 and a hack stood ready to take us to Pedragal. 
 At the last moment, I could not bring myself to 
 the point of abandoning our project on which 
 more than mere pleasure depended. I had the 
 things put back in our room and rested for the 
 remainder of that day. 
 
 The next day we went out to Divala, a village, 
 
388 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 toward the Costa Rican border. The settle- 
 ment consists of the homes of the laborers em- 
 ployed on the cattle ranch of Mr. Leslie Wil- 
 son, an American, whose experience affords a 
 good illustration of what may be done with 
 energy and calculation in this country. Mr. 
 Wilson and three or four other Americans 
 started coffee planting in the vicinity of Divala 
 about twelve years ago. They discovered, after 
 a while, that they had chosen a poor location. 
 The coffee fincas were abandoned and the 
 others went up to Boquete, where they pros- 
 pered. Wilson decided to turn his land into 
 a cattle ranch. He had but a few hundred 
 dollars, which would have gone but a short way 
 toward employing the labor necessary to clear 
 the land and make potreros, not to mention the 
 matter of stocking them. As luck would have 
 it, a revolution broke out at about that time 
 and Wilson shrewdly conceived the plan of of- 
 fering the protection that would attach to em- 
 ployes of an American citizen to as many men 
 as cared to give him their labor in considera- 
 tion of it. In this way he contrived to get a 
 great deal of work done for practically nothing. 
 The Divala ranch is now one of the finest and 
 best cared for in the Province, It is well worth 
 
David and the Interior 389 
 
 the price that the owner puts upon it, which is 
 $50,000. 
 
 As cattle raising is the principal and the 
 most promising industry of the Province, it 
 may be well to give some details of the Divala 
 ranch, which is representative of well-kept 
 property of the kind. There are fewer than 
 half a dozen cattle ranches of similar propor- 
 tions in the entire territory of the Eepublic and 
 their aggregate stock is less than ten thousand 
 head. If the figures were ten times as great 
 they would not represent a quantity sufficient 
 to supply the existing demand. 
 
 A number of factors combine to make the 
 prospect for the cattle raiser in Chiriqui par- 
 ticularly bright. Epidemic diseases are un- 
 known. Pleuro-pneumonia and anthrax have 
 never been heard of. Black-leg once made its 
 appearance but was readily combatted by vac- 
 cination. 
 
 The number of lean cattle is much greater 
 than that of the potrero fed animals. Many 
 natives keep small herds on the commons, 
 which will support them during the rainy 
 months. These cattle can be bought at eighteen 
 and twenty dollars a head, gold, on the range, 
 and after six or eight months' fattening in the 
 
390 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 potrero they sell at from thirty to thirty-five 
 dollars in David. 
 
 At Divala, about fifteen hundred acres are in 
 fattening pastures. In the States, three acres, 
 at least, are considered necessary to support 
 a steer ; here one acre per head is sufficient for 
 fattening. Mr. Wilson stated : " As to the cost 
 of feeding cattle, I can tell from a careful rec- 
 ord kept by me, that it is nine cents per head 
 per month, including cattle large and small, as 
 well as horses and oxen. The amount includes 
 the yearly cleaning of pastures, repairing 
 fences, salt, tar, and acid, wages -of cowboy and 
 helper. ' ' 
 
 The natural increase of cattle in Chiriqui is 
 thirty per cent per year. The cost of making 
 potreros, including planting, fencing, etc., is 
 less than six dollars per acre and this might 
 be considerably reduced by the employment of 
 machinery in the work. From these and the 
 foregoing facts it is easy to calculate that cat- 
 tle raising in Chiriqui is an extremely profit- 
 able business. 
 
 At Boquete, situated in a mountain gap, at 
 an altitude of about eleven hundred meters 
 above sea level, is a colony of Americans, Brit- 
 ishers, French, and Germans. They are chiefly 
 
David and the Interior 391 
 
 engaged in the production of coffee, and ship 
 a very high grade berry to Panama, where it 
 fetches fifteen cents gold per pound. A good 
 quality of sugar cane and superior tobacco are 
 also raised in the valley. The new railway, 
 which will pass close to Boquete, will be of 
 great benefit to the section. 
 
 The settlers here have achieved prosperity 
 in the face of great difficulties. In the past ten 
 years they have made great advances. Heavy 
 machinery is employed and the most approved 
 methods of culture are followed. In fact, the 
 valley is far ahead of any other portion of the 
 country in agricultural development. The cli- 
 mate being so near temperate that the fruits 
 and vegetables of the temperate zone are 
 grown, makes work possible to a much greater 
 degree than it is on the plains. 
 
 There is little difficulty in passing from one 
 point to another in Chiriqui. Pukha roads are 
 not numerous, nor are they necessary. The 
 long stretches of level llano would be passable 
 for a baby carriage. When the monte, or for- 
 est growth, occurs, a fairly good trail is always 
 open through it. Crossing the rivers, where no 
 bridges exist, is sometimes a little difficult, but 
 buggies and ox-carts manage to make their way 
 
392 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 over all the principal roads. The Government 
 is carrying out improvements in the matter of 
 better roads, more bridges, and extensions of 
 the telephone line. 
 
 The interior of Panama is very sparsely in- 
 habited. In Chiriqni, miles intervene between 
 the little hamlets, and the larger settlements 
 are far apart. Despite this fact, travel is not 
 attended by any danger. One hears tales of 
 banditti, but it is doubtful whether such gentry 
 are at all numerous. It is customary to go 
 armed upon the plains and it is possible that 
 by omitting this precaution one would incur a 
 risk of being robbed. It is my impression that 
 the Chiricanos are exceptionally peaceable and 
 law-abiding. Nor are they given to thieving as 
 are the natives of most Latin-American coun- 
 tries. In fact, the only complaint that I could 
 justly make against the people of the interior 
 is on account of their stupidity. It is almost 
 impossible to get an intelligent answer from 
 one of them to a question bearing upon his 
 everyday life. One day we asked the way of 
 a man, who had, doubtless, lived in the district 
 all his life, and following his direction, lost the 
 road and our mozo, and went ten miles astray. 
 
 We returned to David one evening, our trav- 
 
David and the Interior 393 
 
 els ended, with the prospect of going back to 
 Panama on the Pacific Mail boat the following 
 night. After dinner at the hotel, a young doc- 
 tor who had just arrived from the Zone, came 
 into my room and confided the startling intel- 
 ligence that he had been sent up in response 
 to an alarming telegram from the municipal 
 physician, stating that a number of cases of 
 small-pox had occurred at Bugaba and in the 
 vicinity. 
 
 I did not credit this statement, because if 
 anything of the kind had happened, we should 
 surely have heard of it. But the circumstance 
 was disturbing in any case, for it promised 
 quarantine at the other end of our journey, 
 rather than submit to which I would have re- 
 mained another week in Chiriqui, although I 
 was anxious for rest and medical attention. 
 "We decided to go in to Bugaba the next day 
 and ascertain the truth of the report. 
 
 Bugaba is the outpost of Chiriqui, near the 
 border of Costa Eica and about thirty miles 
 from David. It has the reputation of being a 
 settlement of outlaws, who have fled from jus- 
 tice in Panama and Costa Eica. But, like 
 many another place, its reputation is worse 
 than it deserves. As we approached the vil- 
 
394 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 lage we began to inquire of scattered country- 
 men whether they had heard anything of small- 
 pox thereabouts. None of them ever seemed 
 to have had acquaintance with the disease, and 
 I may say, that I do not recollect to have seen 
 a pock marked person in Chiriqui. 
 
 The Alcalde of Bugaba enjoys the reputation 
 of being the worst cut-throat in the community. 
 He is said to have killed seventeen men in pri- 
 vate quarrels. However, he treated us very 
 decently and we enjoyed a good breakfast at 
 his house. The crowd that surrounded us at 
 the Alcalde's office was rather a rough looking 
 lot, but probably just as harmless as other 
 Chiricanos. 
 
 As we started to ride up to the Alcalde's resi- 
 dence, a German, named Christian Wahl, joined 
 us. He, I learned, filled the self-constituted 
 position of local physician. 
 
 " Any small-pox about here? " I asked. 
 
 "Oh! yes, lots," was the alarming reply. 
 
 " Where? " I cried. " Show me some? " 
 
 " Oh, dem small pots. We have to dig for 
 dem." 
 
 It transpired that Mr. Wahl was referring to ' 
 the Chiriqui pottery, of which a great deal has 
 been found in the neighborhood of Bugaba. 
 
David and the Interior 395 
 
 When I made him understand the true import 
 of my inquiry he laughed at the idea of small- 
 pox anywhere thereabouts. 
 
 He said that he sometimes had to treat 
 natives for an eruption which was caused by 
 drinking too much of a beverage produced from 
 corn. This was the nearest approach to small- 
 pox in Chiriqui that he had ever heard of. 
 
 During the brief rest before starting back 
 Christian Wahl gave us an interesting account 
 of his history. It appears that his father, a 
 German physician of Cincinnati, had migrated 
 to Chiriqui at the outbreak of our Civil War, 
 to escape conscription. Wahl's father married 
 the daughter of one of his fellow settlers and 
 Christian was born at Bugaba and had never 
 been farther away from ' the place than Pan- 
 ama. He had inherited his father's medical 
 library and seemed to be a pretty fair self- 
 made doctor. His children were growing up 
 in the wilds, without education of any sort and 
 bid fair to become, in all but complexion, ordi- 
 nary Chiricano peasants. . 
 
 The companions of the elder Wahl married 
 native women and probably sank to the social 
 level of their wives. Reminders of them are 
 to be seen about Bugaba in the shape of tow- 
 
396 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 haired children, dirty and half clad, who can- 
 not understand a word of German and do not 
 suspect that their grandfathers were other than 
 native Panamans. 
 
 Late in the evening we reported the result of 
 our investigation to the commission's doctor 
 and went on board the " Taboga " without 
 fear of detention at the end of our voyage. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 PHEPABING FOB OPEEATION 1 
 
 The progress that lias been made in the 
 construction of the Canal during the twelve 
 months since this volume first appeared, is 
 amazing even to one who has been familiar 
 with the operation from the time when the 
 French controlled it. At the close of the year 
 1911, the enormous lock chambers are almost 
 completed and their great gates are in course 
 of erection; less than ten per cent, of the ex- 
 cavation in the Culebra Cut remains to be done ; 
 the site of Lake Gatun is being cleared pre- 
 paratory to letting the Chagres Eiver into it. 
 
 In short, all along the line, work is in its 
 final stage. Those who would see the Canal 
 to the best advantage must do so within the 
 next few months. Now, and for a little while 
 hence, it will be possible to perceive what has 
 been done, as well as to conceive the form of 
 
 1 This chapter, and that following, have been added to the 
 present edition in order that the very latest information may 
 be given as to the progress of the canal and of the country itself. 
 
398 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 the finished structure. Not so when the oper- 
 ation is completed. After the water is let into 
 the works the gigantic proportions of the locks 
 will not be appreciable to the full extent and 
 
 SIDEWALL OF LOCKS COMPARED WITH A SIX - STORY 
 BUILDING 
 
 the great dam will look like a low, common- 
 place hill, covered with vegetation. As Colonel 
 Goethals said to the writer: " When the tax- 
 payer comes through the Canal, two years 
 hence, he will ask, ' Where is that costly dam 
 ^bout which so much fuss was made? ' '? 
 
Preparing for Operation 399 
 
 The Chief Engineer and his aides are con- 
 fident that the waterway will be in a state to 
 admit the passage of vessels from one ocean 
 to the other at a date not later than July 1, 
 1913. It will not, however, be thrown open 
 to general traffic until after several months of 
 test and experiment. 
 
 The attitude of the American press and pub- 
 lic toward the undertaking has undergone a 
 great change in the past few years. Shortly 
 before the inauguration of President Taft a 
 trivial slide at Gatun excited the country to 
 such an extent that the Administration deemed 
 it necessary to send a special commission to 
 the Isthmus for the purpose of investigating 
 the circumstances. Since that time several 
 slides of more serious nature have occurred 
 without attracting extraordinary notice, al- 
 though the Commission frankly describes all 
 such occurrences in its weekly publication, the 
 Canal Record. 
 
 There are twenty-one slides of varying ex- 
 tent along the Culebra Cut, the largest being 
 that at Cucaracha, covering an area of forty- 
 seven acres. The movement here started in 
 1884, and is still active. Since July, 1905, 
 over nine million cubic yards of extra excava- 
 
400 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 tion have been necessitated by slides, and there 
 are at present three million cubic yards of 
 material in motion. A great deal of expense 
 and trouble has been occasioned by these dis- 
 turbances, but they are not to be considered 
 as sources of future danger. It is highly im- 
 probable that any serious movements of the 
 earth will take place after the Canal is com- 
 pleted. 
 
 The locks are the most essential and at the 
 same time the most hazardous features of the 
 waterway. It is believed, however, that the 
 safety devices which will be installed and the 
 precautions which will be enforced may be de- 
 pended upon to prevent any serious mishaps. 
 Experience proves that the great majority of 
 accidents that occur in the operation of locks 
 are due to mistaken signals. In the Panama 
 Canal no vessel will be permitted to go through 
 a lock under its own steam. Electricity, ap- 
 plied through locomotives operating on the 
 walls, will be employed to tow ships through 
 the locks. Protective chains, guard gates, 
 caissons, emergency dams, and other contri- 
 vances will be available to minimize the effects 
 of any mischance. Not content with these pro- 
 visions for safety, the Canal administration is 
 
Preparing for Operation 401 
 
 seeking authority from Congress to place a 
 pilot on board every vessel entering the Canal, 
 
 MODEL OF LOCKS 
 
 The lock on the right is nearly filled for an upward lockage. Four 
 electric locomotives are shown securely holding a 10,000-ton ship, and 
 ready to tow it out of the lock, so soon as the upper gates are opened. 
 At the entrance to the lock on the left is shown a caisson in position 
 and acting as a barrier between the high level above and the low level 
 below the lock. 
 
 On the right is shown an emergency dam in its normal position when 
 not in use and on the left the other dam is shown swung in position 
 across the lock with the wicket girder down in readiness to support the 
 wickets or gates which complete the barrier. 
 
 with control over its navigation throughout 
 the passage. Such a measure would be ap- 
 proved by owners and masters of merchant 
 
402 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 ships, who would find in it relief from respon- 
 sibility and ready indemnity for any damages 
 that might be incurred during transit. On the 
 other hand, naval officers will certainly oppose 
 the measure as an infringement upon their 
 dignity and a reflection upon their capability. 
 
 The locks will be filled and emptied through a 
 system of culverts. One culvert, two hundred 
 
 CROSS SECTION OF LOCK CHAMBER AND WALLS OF LOCKS 
 
 A — Passageway for operators E — These culverts run under the lock floor 
 D _ ,, , , . and alternate with those from sidewalls 
 
 B— Gallery for electric wires F— Wells opening from lateral culverts 
 C— Drainage gallery „ «"'°, lock chamber 
 
 G — Culvert m sidewalls 
 D — Culvert in centre wall H — Lateral culverts 
 
 and fifty-four square feet in area of cross sec- 
 tion, about the area of the Hudson River tun- 
 nels of the Pennsylvania Railroad, extends the 
 entire length of each of the middle and side 
 walls, and from each of these main culverts 
 there are several smaller ones which extend 
 under the lock chambers and connect with them 
 through holes in their floors. To fill a lock 
 the valves at the upper end are opened and 
 the lower valves closed. The water flows from 
 
Preparing for Operation 403 
 
 the upper pool through the large culverts into 
 the small laterals and thence to the lock cham- 
 ber. In emptying the lock, the valves at the 
 upper end are closed and those at the lower 
 opened, permitting the water to flow into the 
 lower lock. This system distributes the water 
 as evenly as possible over the entire horizon- 
 tal area of the lock and reduces the distur- 
 bance in the chamber when it is being filled or 
 emptied. 
 
 The average time of filling and emptying a 
 lock will be about fifteen minutes, without open- 
 ing the valves so suddenly as to create dis- 
 turbing currents in the locks or approaches. 
 The time required to pass a vessel through 
 all the locks is estimated at three hours; one 
 hour and a half in the three locks at Gatun, 
 and about the same time in the three on the 
 Pacific side. The time of passage of a vessel 
 through the entire Canal is estimated as rang- 
 ing from ten to twelve hours. 
 
 The Canal operation is highly creditable to 
 those immediately connected with it, as well as 
 to the nation at large. From beginning to end 
 it has been singularly free from graft and cor- 
 ruption. Viewed in unprejudiced retrospect, 
 the course of the work is seen to have been 
 
404 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 characterized by wise plans, admirable achieve- 
 ments, and a remarkable absence of blunders. 
 We have learned from it a striking lesson in 
 administration. There can be no question 
 about the fact that the main factor in the un- 
 qualified success which has attended the oper- 
 ation under Army Engineers is the one-man 
 control of affairs. No one admits more readily 
 than Colonel Goethals himself that, for lack 
 of the advantage which he has enjoyed, his 
 predecessor was hopelessly handicapped. The 
 great good fortune lay in finding the right man 
 at hand, — one not only capable of directing 
 the great undertaking, but also willing to 
 take the entire responsibility of it upon his 
 shoulders. 
 
 The facts connected with this centralization 
 of authority have never been truthfully re- 
 cited, although many garbled accounts of them 
 have been published. The belief that Colonel 
 Groethals sought the power which was conferred 
 upon him is general, but erroneous. 
 
 The seven-headed Commission was a cum- 
 bersome and inharmonious body from the 
 outset. Each chief engineer found himself 
 hampered by his associates, several of whom 
 had little or no knowledge of the technical 
 
Preparing for Operation 405 
 
 questions involved in the operation. Mr. 
 Stevens was compelled to report that he could 
 not proceed without exemption from interfer- 
 ence by the civil authority. This declaration 
 was construed by the Administration as a 
 resignation (contrary to the intention of Mr. 
 Stevens), because the President and Secretary 
 of War were eager to try the plan of construc- 
 tion under Army Engineers. Colonel Groethals 
 assumed the duties of Chief Engineer under 
 the same conditions as Mr. Stevens and ex- 
 perienced the same difficulties. In accordance 
 with army training and traditions, he accepted 
 his task as he found it, and neither complained 
 nor asked for relief. It was Governor Black- 
 burn, himself a member of the Commission, 
 who represented to President Roosevelt the 
 hopelessness of proceeding under the existing 
 conditions and urged upon him the advisabil- 
 ity of placing the direction of affairs in the 
 hands of one man. The President sought the 
 authority of Congress to effect his purpose 
 and failing, carried his point by a character- 
 istically Eooseveltian method. 
 
 The entire Commission was subordinated to 
 the Chief Engineer. He was given a free and 
 unhampered hand in the direction of affairs 
 
406 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 in the Zone. From that time there has never 
 for an instant been any question as to who 
 was " boss of the job." There has been no 
 misunderstanding as to the source of orders, 
 nor any doubt about their execution. The 
 work has moved swiftly and with precision, 
 directed by one mind, and free from the dis- 
 turbance of conflicting ideas arid purposes. 
 Colonel Goethals has used the power that was 
 placed in his hands, fully and firmly, but with- 
 out abusing it in any degree. 
 
 The Canal administration has no further 
 anxiety regarding the construction. Every 
 detail of the remaining work connected with 
 it is planned and provided for, even to the final 
 process of cleaning up the line. Consider- 
 ation is now centred on the problems involved 
 in the operation of the waterway. It is highly 
 important that these should be solved immedi- 
 ately and preparations made without delay for 
 meeting the demands that will grow out of 
 them. But action must wait upon the ap- 
 proval and sanction of Congress. 
 
 The Canal administration has well-defined 
 plans to meet all the exigencies that may be 
 expected to arise from the prospective situa- 
 tion. These will be embraced in a bill to be 
 
Preparing for Operation 407 
 
 introduced to Congress at the earliest oppor- 
 tunity. 
 
 The principal sections of the Canal bill will 
 provide for (1) determining rates of toll and 
 methods of measuring tonnage; (2) the crea- 
 tion of a permanent organization; (3) the 
 future occupation of the Canal Zone; (4) the 
 control of vessels passing through the Canal; 
 (5) the future status of the Panama Eailroad. 
 
 The greatest conflict of opinions may be ex- 
 pected to arise over the vital question of tolls. 
 The proposition that American shipping should 
 be favored and fostered by exemption from 
 toll charges when passing through the Amer- 
 ican waterway has many supporters. Others 
 will recommend nominal tolls, without dis- 
 crimination. It is the natural hope of Euro- 
 pean shipowners that Congress will adopt this 
 view. They express the opinion that if our 
 Government attempts to earn interest on the 
 money invested in the Canal, it will lose the 
 traffic to the Tehuantepec Eailroad. It is 
 difficult to believe, however, that, even with a 
 toll of one dollar and a quarter, — the charge 
 likely to be adopted, — the Isthmian land route 
 can compete with the waterway. 
 
 Sir Owen Phillips, probably the leading 
 
408 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 authority on shipping in Great Britain, in a 
 recent public statement said: " America has 
 the greatest opportunity before her to benefit 
 the commerce of the world by making the Canal 
 practically a free waterway, only charging 
 sufficient to pay expenses. ... It must be 
 realized that the Panama Canal never can pay 
 commercially." But it is precisely on this 
 point that the Canal administration makes its 
 strongest contention. The proposed legisla- 
 tion is based on the assumption that the 
 Panama Canal is first and last a commercial 
 enterprise. In a discussion of the subject 
 with the writer, Colonel Goethals crystallized 
 the idea in the following crisp sentence: 
 " Having built the Canal, the next thing will 
 be to secure to the people who have paid for 
 it a fair return on their money." This would 
 be beyond the bounds of possibility with a toll 
 lower than one dollar per ton. 1 
 
 The scheme of the Canal administration 
 carries the idea of a commercial administra- 
 tion to the utmost extent. The Chief Engineer 
 recommends the assumption by the Government 
 
 1 The Suez Canal Company has just announced a reduction 
 of toll from $1.68 to $1.32 per ton to take effect from Janu- 
 ary 1, 1912. 
 
Preparing for Operation 409 
 
 of a variety of business functions, such as sup- 
 plying coal, oil, food, laundry work, repairs, 
 ship chandlery; in short everything that a 
 vessel in transit might require. It is his belief 
 that under official management such utilities 
 will be provided more cheaply and efficiently 
 than they would be by corporations or private 
 individuals, and at the same time at a profit 
 to the Canal account. 
 
 The success of the Canal will depend largely 
 upon the decision arrived at in the matter of 
 tolls. Several lines are already projected to 
 use the waterway provided conditions are fa- 
 vorable. A judicious conclusion will be of 
 the greatest importance, but a mistake will not 
 be irredeemable. 
 
 If he should receive early authority to do 
 so, the Chief Engineer is satisfied that he can 
 form an adequate force for the operation of 
 the Canal from the Americans at present em- 
 ployed in the work, about one half of whom 
 could be given positions. If, however, action 
 is delayed until it becomes necessary to engage 
 unseasoned and inexperienced men, the result 
 will be considerably higher cost and lower effi- 
 ciency in the maintenance of the waterway. 
 
 Throughout our operations on the Isthmus 
 
410 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 there has been in progress a process of elim- 
 ination of the unfit and steady improvement 
 in the matters of physique, skill, and morale, 
 of those retained. The result is a higher gen- 
 eral standard than that existing among any 
 body of men in the service of our country. 
 This is a valuable national asset which should 
 be conserved as far as possible, but which will 
 be dissipated, if immediate advantage is not 
 taken of it, for, with the diminishing necessities 
 of the work, the Commission will shortly com- 
 mence to reduce its force. 
 
 Furthermore, it is of the greatest importance 
 that the selection of the new operatives should 
 begin at once and the task of drilling them in 
 their future duties should be entered upon not 
 later than the middle of the year 1912. In the 
 opinion of the Chief Engineer the men who are 
 to handle the machinery of the Canal should 
 have at least eighteen months of preliminary 
 experience and practice with it. If this is pro- 
 vided for the operation of the Canal will follow 
 its completion with the least possible disloca- 
 tion, the greatest economy, and no likelihood 
 of accident. 
 
 Colonel Goethals, who is chiefly responsible 
 for the provisions which will be contained in 
 
Preparing for Operation 411 
 
 the prospective bill, has given much careful 
 thought to means of contriving the lowest costs, 
 consistent with efficiency, in the matters of 
 wages, operation, and sanitation. It is not 
 proposed that the high wage scale at present 
 in effect shall apply to the future employes. 
 That scale was instituted when the force was 
 first recruited, and when residence in the Zone 
 entailed dangers and discomforts which have 
 long since been eliminated from the situation. 
 Under present conditions the suggested com- 
 promise appears to be eminently fair. In the 
 case of machinists, who are now receiving 
 sixty-five cents an hour, as against forty cents 
 paid to their class in the States, the bill fixes 
 a rate of fifty cents. In other grades the ad- 
 justment is made on a proportional scale. It 
 has been ascertained that a number of men, 
 probably sufficient for the requirements, are 
 willing to remain on the proposed terms, but 
 it is not believed that new men can be engaged 
 without higher pay. 
 
 The bill contemplates an organization under 
 the control of a single head, subject to appoint- 
 ment and removal by the President. The 
 scheme of organization involves the subordina- 
 tion of all offices and functions within the Zone 
 
412 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 to the operation of the Canal during times of 
 peace, with provision for the immediate and 
 automatic transfer of control to the military 
 authority in the event of war, when the officer 
 commanding the garrison in the Zone would 
 assume entire charge of the waterway and the 
 territory, whilst the superintendent of the 
 Canal would take the position of a staff of- 
 ficer. 
 
 Various suggestions have heen advanced for 
 the disposition of the spare land in the Zone 
 after the completion of the Canal. At present 
 there are about two thousand negro squatters 
 scattered over it. These are men who have 
 deserted the labor force and taken up their 
 abode with their families in the recesses of the 
 bush. At a few points within the territory 
 Americans and others hold small tracts of land 
 under old titles. There was at Gatun a village 
 that dated from the days of Columbian rule, 
 but a few years ago the inhabitants were re* 
 quired to abandon the place, after being liber- 
 ally indemnified for the loss of their holdings. 
 The chief occupation of the Canal Zone is 
 represented by the labor camps and sta- 
 tions along the line, and the settlement at 
 Ancon. 
 
Preparing for Operation 413 
 
 After its completion the administration of 
 the Canal will involve the police supervision 
 and sanitary regulation of the Zone. Great 
 saving in the expense of these services will be 
 effected by the adoption of the Chief Engi- 
 neer's recommendation that all persons not 
 included in the military and operating forces 
 shall be removed and excluded from the Zone 
 on the completion of* the Canal. If this should 
 be done, the police and sanitary services would 
 be confined to the immediate localities of the 
 stations which will be situated at Gratun, Mira- 
 flores, Pedro Miguel, Ancon, and Balboa. The 
 remainder of the territory will be uninhabited 
 and may be allowed to lapse into jungle with- 
 out becoming the source of disease or the scene 
 of disorder, as it surely will if the present vaga- 
 bond population of the outskirts is permitted 
 to continue its occupancy, or if settlers are 
 allowed to locate in it, as has been suggested 
 in certain quarters. 
 
 The relocation of the Panama Railroad is 
 nearly completed. The new line is slightly 
 more than forty-seven miles in length. The 
 original terminuses of Colon and Panama are 
 retained. It had been intended to take the 
 line through the Culebra Cut on a berm, but 
 
414 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 the numerous slides have led to the abandon- 
 ment of that design and the road is carried 
 round through the foot hills. The total cost 
 of the new line will be about nine million 
 dollars. 
 
 The Canal bill provides for the treatment 
 of the Panama Railroad, at present a separate 
 interest, as a complementary accessory to the 
 Canal, and its adaptation to any military neces- 
 sities that may arise. 
 
 Balboa will be the chief future point in the 
 Canal. It is situated at the Pacific mouth of it 
 and has already extensive docks, machine shops, 
 and other buildings. Here will be the head- 
 quarters of the Canal and the principal entre- 
 pot of its traffic. There is no doubt but that 
 Balboa will grow into a town of large propor- 
 tions, and there are not a few, conversant with 
 the situation and prospects, who entertain the 
 opinion that Balboa will grow at the expense 
 of Panama. It must become a great commer- 
 cial centre and point of transhipment. 
 
 It may be well to remind the reader that the 
 cities of Colon and Panama, although geo- 
 graphically within the Canal Zone, were ex- 
 cluded from the lease of that territory to the 
 United States and remain in the possession. 
 
Preparing for Operation 415 
 
 and under the jurisdiction of the Republic of 
 Panama. The United States has by treaty- 
 agreement certain conditional control over the 
 cities in question in the matters of order and 
 sanitation. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 PEOGRESS IN PANAMA 
 
 Progress is hardly the proper word to apply 
 to the movement in the Republic since the first 
 edition of this work was published. Aside from 
 the extent to which it has been carried along by 
 the advance of the Canal operation, the 
 country has made no progress, nor have its 
 people availed themselves in anything like the 
 degree possible of the opportunities that have 
 been created by the development of the Ameri- 
 can enterprise.' 
 
 That the country is susceptible of splendid 
 development is beyond question, but whether 
 it will take place or not must, of course, depend 
 upon the people, and they are not at present 
 headed in the right direction, nor possessed of 
 the degree of interest and purpose that the 
 situation demands. In the interior the people 
 have no ambition beyond the needs and pleas- 
 ures of the immediate morrow. The masses 
 
 416 
 
Pro gress in Panama 417 
 
 live from hand to mouth — happily enough, 
 maybe, but uselessly. They are either blind to 
 their immediate opportunities, or careless of 
 them. In the towns, corn costs ten cents • a 
 pound, rice fifteen cents, and eggs are as dear 
 as in New York, whilst there is a scarcity of 
 these commodities even at those prices, with 
 rice and corn fields surrounding the spots. The 
 trouble is that the cultivator is too indolent, or 
 not sufficiently enterprising, to raise more than 
 enough for his personal needs. 
 
 The few well-to-do display no interest in the 
 poorer classes, nor any in the progress of the 
 country, except in so far as it may affect them- 
 selves immediately. They seem to be quite 
 content that the old order of things should con- 
 tinue, and display no realization of the fact that 
 the world, even the Latin-American portion of 
 it, is moving past them and going ahead. There 
 is an utter lack of community interest or co- 
 operation. In our Western settlements, poor 
 men have accomplished wonders by working 
 together with a singleness of purpose and an 
 unselfish regard for the general prosperity of 
 their community. Similar results are, of course, 
 possible everywhere. The man of means who 
 should start a movement of that sort in Panama 
 
418 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 would set a valuable example to Ms country- 
 men. 
 
 In the City of Panama, business men lack 
 the enterprise and self-confidence to avail 
 themselves of the new openings for endeavor 
 that have grown out of the Canal operation 
 and will continue for some years to do so. They 
 are allowing foreigners to come in and secure 
 advantages, which they should, at least in some 
 degree, retain for themselves. Some of the 
 larger business houses of Panama would do 
 well to take in experienced Americans as 
 partners, or well paid managers. 
 
 During the past year there has been a marked 
 increase in the interest evinced by Americans 
 in the country as a field for investment and 
 settlement. This should not be accepted by the 
 people as evidence of a wild desire to secure 
 property in Panama. There appears to be 
 danger of the Government falling into this 
 error and repulsing capital, which is coy enough 
 under any circumstances and especially re- 
 luctant where every form of undertaking is ex- 
 perimental. No doubt a considerable proportion 
 of the applications made to the Government 
 for grants of land and other concessions are 
 advanced by irresponsible speculators, without 
 
Progress in Panama 419 
 
 means or substantial backing, and wisdom 
 would dictate tbe exercise of strict discrimina- 
 tion against such propositions. But, on the 
 other hand, the utmost encouragement should 
 be given to genuine and advantageous offers on 
 the part of foreign capitalists to establish in- 
 dustries in the country. Unless such encourage- 
 ment is forthcoming the money will promptly 
 pass elsewhere. Several other inviting fields 
 will be brought into close touch with the United 
 States by the opening of the Canal, and other 
 governments are making attractive offers to 
 American capital and showing a keen apprecia- 
 tion of the advantages to be gained by securing 
 it. Quite recently a syndicate of American 
 monied men, representing $2,000,000, or more, 
 decided to transfer their plans for investment 
 from Panama to Ecuador. 
 
 Many Americans are looking toward Panama 
 as a possible place of settlement, but they find 
 many discouraging difficulties in their way. 
 Most of these it is within the power of the 
 Government to mitigate or remove. American 
 emigration to Panama will not reach consider- 
 able proportions until the persons in this coun- 
 try desiring information regarding the former 
 shall have better facilities for securing it and 
 
420 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 acting upon it. The prospective settler is 
 usually a man of small means, who can not 
 afford the expense and trouble of going down 
 to the Isthmus on an uncertain quest for land. 
 He must be put in the way of getting reliable 
 and full information in the States, of selecting 
 his tract and of receiving his provisional title 
 before leaving home. The late President 
 Obaldia was fully alive to this need and had 
 planned to provide for it. The present Ad- 
 ministration appears to be indifferent to the 
 matter. 
 
 The future development of the country, if 
 it is to be at all commensurate with its splendid 
 resources, must depend in the main upon 
 corporate investment and enterprise, and settle- 
 ment on the colony plan. Americans can not be 
 recommended to settle singly or in small num- 
 bers in the midst of native communities. 
 
 The natives have not at present the knowl- 
 edge nor experience to make the most of their 
 opportunities. Perhaps they have not the 
 energy, nor the initiative. It is quite possible, 
 however, that all these qualifications may be 
 acquired in time, should the people have the 
 benefit of the example of modern methods and 
 habits of industry. I have no doubt but that 
 
Progress in Panama 421 
 
 a small colony of Americans, farming in a 
 country district of Panama would soon influence 
 the surrounding community and cause a trans- 
 formation in its manner of working and living. 
 For instance, I can not believe that the natives 
 would be indifferent to the effects of the use of 
 the plough and the harrow when they had been 
 clearly demonstrated, and I believe that they 
 would be glad to make their immediate environ- 
 ment more comfortable if they should be shown 
 how it might be done at little trouble and 
 expense. 
 
 The Government is doing all that it can, with 
 the extremely limited means at its command^ 
 to improve conditions in the interior. It is 
 building roads and bridges throughout the 
 settled districts, and extending the electrical 
 means of communication. These are the first 
 and most urgent needs of the people. But the 
 Government has not, and never will have, 
 sufficient funds to improve the rivers and har- 
 bors, to develop the water powers, to exploit 
 the forests, and to effect the score of other 
 extensive improvements that are desirable. If 
 these things are done at all, it must be through 
 the medium of foreign capital. 
 
 The much talked of railroad from Panama to 
 
422 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 David has made no advance beyond the stage 
 of preliminary survey. This is due to the 
 opposition of President Arosemena, who re- 
 jected all the bids for the construction of the 
 line and, for the second time, vetoed a railroad 
 bill sent to him by the Assembly. The action 
 of the President has given rise to much adverse 
 criticism and not a little unsavory insinuation. 
 There is no doubt that the next administration 
 will put the project into effect. 
 
 During the year 1911, a few corporate enter- 
 prises of importance have been launched, with 
 the backing of foreign capital. The chief of 
 these is a railroad in Darien, for which a con- 
 cession has been given to a German company. 
 The line will penetrate an entirely unexploited 
 region, rich in timber and fertile lands. An- 
 other development of consequence is the ac- 
 quisition by Mr. Minor Keith of the charter 
 and property of the long-latent street railway 
 company. The construction and operation of 
 the system may now be looked for at an early 
 time. 
 
 In the summer of 1911 I made a tour in the 
 Pacific section of the interior, omitting the 
 Province of Chiriqui. I was surprised to find 
 in the region between the Canal Zone and 
 
* •',-§8 ) • 
 
Progress in Panama 423 
 
 Chiriqui, agricultural land quite as rich as any 
 in that Province. In fact, the llanos in Code 
 are the most extensive that I have seen in the 
 country. It may he said that, whilst the llanos 
 in Chiriqui are as lakes in the midst of forest, 
 in Code, the monte is as an island in a sea of 
 savannah. In Panama Province, particularly 
 ahout La Chorrera and Chame, there are fine 
 pasture lands, partially occupied by natives 
 of means. From the former district cattle are 
 sent to the City of Panama on the hoof and, 
 after a leisurely drive, arrive in good condition 
 for killing. The lower half of Code is com- 
 posed of splendid agricultural land. With the 
 exception of occasional light monte, it is open, 
 gently rolling, well-watered and well-drained. 
 The grass upon the llanos is thick and succu- 
 lent. The cattle are healthy and of good weight. 
 The usual crops thrive with little care, but the 
 amount of cultivation is far below what it 
 should be. The people of the countryside 
 appear to be happy and healthful. Cleanliness 
 is a pronounced characteristic of themselves 
 and their dwellings. Back of Penonome, in the 
 mountain district, there are forests of valuable 
 hardwoods, but at present no facilities exist 
 for getting out the timber. If, however, the 
 
424 Pana ma and the Canal To-day 
 
 United States authorities establish a sanitarium 
 in the Valley of the Anton, as they have some 
 thought of doing, this section will be connected 
 with the sea coast by a good road. Eubber and 
 cacao are successfully grown in this hinterland, 
 and gold mining is carried on to a small ex- 
 tent. In the neighboring Province of Veraguas 
 there are also a number of workings from which 
 gold in more or less paying quantities is pro- 
 duced, but so far, the mining industries of 
 Panama have not shown any striking results. 
 Some of the best assays have been of ore from 
 deposits so difficult of access as to make their 
 operation a matter of doubtful profit. It is 
 quite possible that, with ample capital, some 
 of these mines might be made to pay hand- 
 somely. 
 
 The northern portion of Los Santos and the 
 eastern section of Veraguas are much like 
 lower Code in the character of their lands. The 
 remaining parts of the two former provinces 
 are forested. Certain limited sections contain 
 very valuable tracts of mahogany and other 
 commercial hardwoods. These are much more 
 accessible than the timber lands of the back- 
 country of Code. In order, however, to locate 
 tracts desirable for operation it is necessary 
 
Progress in Panama 425 
 
 to do extensive prospecting under the guidance 
 of men familiar with these forests. 
 
 The Darien country is in general heavily 
 forested and contains the largest quantity of 
 hardwood timber in the Eepublic. There are, 
 however, in the stretch between the Canal Zone 
 and the Eio Chepo, many extensive areas of 
 fine savannah, some of which is taken up and 
 in use. Several important developments are to 
 be looked for in the Darien country in the near 
 future. 
 
 I receive frequent enquiries as to the diffi- 
 culties and dangers of travel in the interior* 
 Neither exist in a degree that need concern a 
 healthy man, with an ordinary stock of common 
 sense. My last trip up-country was made in 
 the middle of the rainy season when travel is 
 more than ordinarily hazardous. I spent little 
 time in the towns and the best accommodation 
 available, as a rule, was a native hut. This 
 involved some degree of discomfort, but hardly 
 any danger which was not avoidable. Drinking 
 water should always be boiled as a precaution, 
 although it is quite safe to drink it in the great 
 majority of cases. Mosquito netting should 
 always be used when sleeping in a settlement 
 or within a quarter of a mile of one. Under 
 
426 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 those circumstances the insect which transmits 
 malaria has ample chance to infect itself, but 
 in the open country its sting is not apt to be 
 followed by ill consequences. It is well to carry 
 one's own provisions to a great extent, and to 
 depend upon the casual supply for little more 
 than fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs. Fruit is 
 often eaten to excess with bad results. There 
 need be no anxiety about drinking the milk, but 
 the country meat is a source of grave dan- 
 ger. It is offered as food too soon after being 
 slaughtered to be digestible, and it is always 
 hung where flies and other insects can freely 
 feed upon it. Cuts, sores, even the slightest 
 abrasions, should be promptly disinfected and 
 kept clean in the tropics. For any kind of 
 itching or eruption the best remedy is dhobie's 
 ointment. A few simple medicines, such as a 
 laxative, an astringent, a digestive, quinine, and 
 salol, will meet all other requirements. 
 
 It is not to be inferred from the foregoing 
 that any but men in robust health may safely 
 subject themselves to the fatigues and discom- 
 forts of roughing it in Panama, or elsewhere 
 in the tropics. Under such circumstances there 
 must be more or less of a tax on the strength 
 and stamina of the traveller. I am constrained 
 
Progress in Panama 427 
 
 to refer to a remedy which I have found to be 
 the most valuable adjunct to the medicine case. 
 Sanatogen is so widely recognized by the 
 medical profession as to need no advertisement, 
 and I should be able to acknowledge my debt 
 to it without incurring suspicion as to my 
 •motives. I have frequently used Sanatogen to 
 fortify the system previous to an unusual strain 
 and to accelerate recuperation after one. I find 
 that a few weeks ' course of the food — it is not 
 a medicine — will put me in the best state of 
 preparation for the most trying tropical trip, 
 and a similar course afterwards will speedily 
 restore any loss of vitality that may have re- 
 sulted from my exertions. 
 
 In a former chapter I have touched upon 
 the opportunities for Americans in Panama. 
 It may be of interest to add the following from 
 a recent article by myself in Lippincott's 
 Magazine: 
 
 " With a few thousand dollars the man of 
 ordinary intelligence and energy may settle in 
 Panama with the assurance of gaining a com- 
 petency for life in a comparatively few years. 
 The time will come, within twenty-five years, 
 probably, when a man may take up land any- 
 where in Chiriqui and be practically certain of 
 
428 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 success from its cultivation. At present, how- 
 ever, the country is sparsely settled, and the 
 newcomer must make his location with due 
 regard to lines of communication and existing 
 centres of habitation. His wisest course is to 
 settle on a tract immediately adjoining some 
 established development, such as a large cattle- 
 ranch, or on the property of one or another 
 of the corporations which are carrying out 
 extensive improvements in different parts of 
 the country. The advantages of such a course 
 are too obvious to require detailed statement. 
 
 " The ideal plan for men of small means is 
 to form colonies. This may be done in con- 
 junction with some existing corporate opera- 
 tion, or independently. There are companies 
 in a position to sell land ready for cultivation 
 at lower figures than it would cost the individual 
 to clear it. The arrangement would have the 
 additional advantage of involving a number of 
 facilities which the lone settler, or the small 
 group, could create only at considerable expense 
 and after years of labor. Ten or a dozen 
 families taking up land in combination would 
 share the burden of road-making and establish- 
 ing other general utilities; they would market 
 their produce with the utmost economy, and 
 
Progress in Panama 429 
 
 purchase their supplies to the greatest advan- 
 tage. In a colony composed of carefully 
 selected members, the mutual aid, encourage- 
 ment, and companionship will go a long way 
 towards insuring happiness and success. Such 
 a settlement may safely count on the coopera- 
 tion of the Government to any reasonable ex- 
 tent. It will construct what bridges may be 
 necessary along their roads, extend the tele- 
 phone and telegraph to their village, and other- 
 wise put them in possession of all the publio 
 conveniences enjoyed by the older centres of 
 the interior. 
 
 ' ' The best opportunities for corporate enter- 
 prise in Panama are in connection with lumber- 
 ing, cattle-raising, and the production of sugar. 
 The Darien country to the east of the Canal 
 Zone is a vast forest of hardwoods, including 
 mahogany and other kinds for which the de- 
 mand is constant. A railroad is projected in 
 this region, and doubtless it will soon be the 
 scene of extensive operations. Several lumber 
 companies have secured tracts in this section, 
 and large shipments will be made from it as 
 soon as the all-water route is made available 
 by the opening of the Canal. Mahogany will 
 then be laid down in New York more cheaply 
 
430 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 than it can be marketed from any other part 
 of the world. 
 
 " Cattle-raising in Panama is a field of en- 
 deavor which a man may confidently enter into 
 with five thousand dollars, or even less. He 
 can hardly fail of success. He may count on 
 tripling his investment in five years, with a 
 greater ratio of enhancement thereafter. This 
 statement is not based on mere conjecture, but 
 on actual experience of Americans and others. 
 
 " The unsettled political conditions previous 
 to the independence of Panama prevented the 
 investment of large capital in any industries. 
 The biggest ranch in the country contains fewer 
 than five thousand head of stock, and probably 
 there has never been a much greater number 
 in single ownership. It is quite certain, how- 
 ever, that cattle-raising on a comparatively 
 extensive scale would be much more profitable 
 than the smaller operations. There are two 
 or three of the latter earning twenty-five per 
 cent, net profit annually, although- worked by 
 the crude and wasteful methods of the natives. 
 It is practically certain that a company which 
 should handle twenty-five thousand head of 
 cattle, combining ranging on the llanos with 
 fattening in potreros, and employing machin- 
 
Progress in Panama 431 
 
 ery, would clear from forty to fifty per cent, 
 annually on the money invested by it. 
 
 ' ' The yield of sugar-cane per acre in Chiriqui 
 is equalled only by that in Hawaii. In the 
 former country, however, there is no more than 
 the most meagre cultivation, and replanting is 
 necessary no oftener than once in twelve years. 
 In the latter, the cane must be renewed every 
 seven years and stimulated by fertilizers and 
 irrigation. A ton of Hawaiian cane will repre- 
 sent at least twice as great a cost of production 
 as a ton grown in Chiriqui. 
 
 " Sugar manufacture at present is confined 
 to the primitive bullock-power, wooden press, 
 and the product is the coarse brown, molasses- 
 laden article, known throughout Latin- America 
 as dulce. Its superior advantage in the matter 
 of cane production, and its prospective facilities 
 for shipping the finished article, should enable 
 Panama to market a high-grade sugar in com- 
 petition with any of the present cane-growing 
 countries. Two companies with ample financial 
 resources are preparing to erect modern mills 
 of large capacity that will turn out a high test 
 sugar. These concerns must depend in the main 
 upon small cultivators for their cane supply, 
 after the manner of the Cuban centrals. The 
 
432 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 company will sell or lease a certain acreage to 
 the settler, under a contract which will bind the 
 latter to plant the land, or a minimum portion 
 of it, in cane, and require the former to take 
 the product at a price to be regulated by the 
 season's market conditions. The company may 
 take the cane off the ground, after it has been 
 cut, or require the cultivator to deliver it on 
 the cars of the field railway. Under such an 
 arrangement, the company's interests and those 
 of the settler overlap. The latter can depend 
 upon an equitable contract which will enable 
 him to make a fair profit. If, in addition to his 
 sugar tract, he has a few acres in coffee, cacao, 
 or bananas, he may realize a good income from 
 a comparatively small investment. With a few 
 thousand dollars an American might handle 
 one hundred and twenty acres for a sugar com- 
 pany. His only considerable expenses would 
 be cost of labor, draft animals, and purchase 
 price or rent of land. 
 
 " The best returns are to be had from the 
 cultivation of long-time crops, such as rubber, 
 cacao, coffee, and cocoanuts. None of these will 
 begin to yield short of six years, but soon after- 
 wards they will afford a life-income, represent- 
 ing an enormous percentage of profit, with little 
 
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Progress in Panama 433 
 
 further expense or trouble. The man of moder- 
 ate means can best achieve the desired result 
 by combining a short-time and a long-time crop, 
 such as bananas and cacao, or sugar and cocoa- 
 nuts. 
 
 " Cacao and cocoanuts are the most profitable 
 tropical crops. A few thousand dollars judi- 
 ciously spent in a plantation of either will, ten 
 years later, yield an annual income largely in 
 excess of the original investment. No extraor- 
 dinary degree of experience or skill is required 
 for success, and a man may easily make a 
 living out of sugar or bananas while "awaiting 
 the maturity of his more valuable product. 
 
 " As the City of Panama responds to the 
 new and increased demands for trade and com- 
 merce which will inevitably arise from the open- 
 ing of the Canal, there will be a number and a 
 variety of business opportunities available to 
 Americans of the right sort." 
 
 Public lands may be secured in the Eepublic 
 of Panama at a price of one dollar per acre. 
 Such land is not, however, llano, or open gra- 
 zing ground, but monte, which is land cov- 
 ered with trees and brush. If it is to be 
 ploughed, at least twelve dollars per acre will 
 need to be expended upon it before that con- 
 
434 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 dition is attained. The purchase price of the 
 land is paid, one half at the time the applica- 
 tion is granted, when a provisional title is 
 given, and the other half four years later, when 
 the definitive or absolute title is issued. The 
 latter will be granted only in case " the land 
 is fenced with fences of a permanent character 
 and is cultivated in at least four-fifths of its 
 extent. If the cultivation be of an extent less 
 than that part, only the part cultivated will be 
 definitively adjudicated, and the remainder will 
 be declared vacant; but the grantee will in all 
 cases pay, as a penalty for the violation of the 
 contract, the price to be paid as if the total 
 adjudication had taken place." In other 
 words, if a definitive title is applied for, the 
 entire second half of the purchase price must 
 be paid, regardless of the amount of land actu- 
 ally transferred. Title must be perfected not 
 later than the close of the four-year period, 
 but it may be done sooner, if the required im- 
 provements have been effected at the time that 
 application is made. 
 
 The law specifies the following definitions 
 of "cultivation:" "First. Lands cleared, 
 ploughed, hoed, and prepared for the cultiva- 
 tion of plants in conformity with the usage of 
 
Progress in Panama 435 
 
 modern agricultural art. Second. Lands sown 
 in permanent useful plants at a distance of no 
 more than ten metres one from the other, for 
 which purpose it has previously been cleared. 
 Third. Lands dedicated to the cultivation of 
 permanent plants under shade, at a distance of 
 no more than four metres one from the other. 
 Fourth. That occupied by the houses or habi- 
 tations and their annexes." The first of these 
 paragraphs refers to fruit trees, tobacco, etc.; 
 the second, to cacao, bananas, etc. ; and the 
 third to rubber. Lands converted into potrero 
 for the fattening of cattle would come under 
 the second paragraph. 
 
 Application for public land must be made to 
 the Administrator of Lands of the province in 
 which the tract desired is situated. The peti- 
 tion will be posted for thirty days in his office 
 and will be read in public on a holiday, " such 
 reading being previously announced by a roll 
 of the drum ; " it will also be published in the 
 Official Gazette. If no opposition is presented 
 in the meanwhile, certain further formalities 
 will be performed, payment required of the 
 first half of the purchase price, and a provi- 
 sional title, granting possession and conditional 
 use, will be issued. 
 
436 Panama and the Canal To-day 
 
 The llanos are " commons," and there is no 
 legal limit to the number of cattle that an indi- 
 vidual may graze upon them, but no more than 
 thirty acres of these lands may be fenced, or 
 excluded for private use. 
 
 THE END. 
 
APPENDICES 
 
APPENDICES 
 
 THE PANAMA CANAL CONVENTION 
 
 The United States of America and the Re- 
 public of Panama being desirous to insure the 
 construction of a ship-canal across the Isthmus 
 of Panama to connect the Atlantic and Pacific 
 oceans, and the Congress of the United States 
 of America having passed an act approved 
 June 28, 1902, in furtherance of that object, by 
 which the President of the United States is 
 authorized to acquire within a reasonable time 
 the control of the necessary territory of the 
 Republic of Colombia, and the sovereignty of 
 such territory being actually vested in the Re- 
 public of Panama, the high contracting parties 
 have resolved for that purpose to conclude a 
 convention and have accordingly appointed as 
 their plenipotentiaries, — 
 
 The President of the United States of Amer- 
 ica, John Hay, Secretary of State, and the 
 
 439 
 
440 Appendices 
 
 Government of the Republic of Panama, Phil- 
 ippe Bunau Varilla, Envoy Extraordinary and 
 Minister Plenipotentiary of the Republic of 
 Panama, thereunto specially empowered by 
 said government, who after communicating 
 with each other their respective full powers 
 found to be in good and due form, have agreed 
 upon and concluded the following articles : 
 
 Abticle I 
 
 The United States guarantees and will main- 
 tain the independence of the Republic of Pan- 
 ama. 
 
 Aeticle II 
 
 The Republic of Panama grants to the United 
 States in perpetuity the use, occupation and 
 control of a zone of land and land under water 
 for the construction, maintenance, operation, 
 sanitation and protection of said Canal of the 
 width of ten miles extending to the distance 
 of five miles on each side of the centre line of 
 the route of the Canal to be constructed; the 
 said Zone beginning in the Caribbean Sea three 
 marine miles from mean low water mark and 
 extending to and across the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama into the Pacific Ocean to a distance of 
 
Appendices 441 
 
 three marine miles from mean low water mark 
 with the proviso that the cities of Panama and 
 Colon and the harbors adjacent to said cities, 
 which are included within the boundaries of the 
 Zone above described, shall not be included 
 within this grant. The Republic of Panama 
 further grants to the United States in perpe- 
 tuity the use, occupation and control of any 
 other lands and waters outside of the Zone 
 above described which may be necessary and 
 convenient for the protection of the said Canal 
 or of any auxiliary canal or other works neces- 
 sary and convenient for the construction, main- 
 tenance, operation, sanitation and protection of 
 the said enterprise. 
 
 The Eepublic of Panama further grants in 
 like manner to the United States in perpetuity 
 all islands within the limits of the Zone above 
 described and in addition thereto the group of 
 small islands in the Bay of Panama, named 
 Perico, Naos, Culebra and Flamenco. 
 
 Article III 
 
 The Eepublic of Panama grants to the United 
 States all the rights, power and authority 
 within the Zone mentioned and described in 
 
442 Appendices 
 
 Article II of this agreement and within the 
 limits of all auxiliary lands and waters men- 
 tioned and described in said Article II which 
 the United States would possess and exercise 
 if it were the sovereign of the territory within 
 which said lands and waters are located to the 
 entire exclusion of the exercise by the Eepublic 
 of Panama of any such sovereign rights, power 
 or authority. 
 
 Abticle IV 
 
 As rights subsidiary to the above grants the 
 Republic of Panama grants in perpetuity to 
 the United States the rights to use the rivers, 
 streams, lakes and other bodies of water within 
 its limits for navigation, the supply of water, or 
 water-power, or other purposes, so far as the 
 use of said rivers, streams, lakes and bodies of 
 water and the waters thereof may be necessary 
 and convenient for the construction, mainte- 
 nance, operation, sanitation and protection of 
 the said Canal. 
 
 Article V 
 
 The Republic of Panama grants to the United 
 States in perpetuity a monopoly for the con- 
 struction, maintenance and operation of any 
 system of communication by means of canal or 
 
Appendices 443 
 
 railroad across its territory between the Carib- 
 bean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 Article VI 
 
 The grants herein contained shall in no man- 
 ner invalidate the titles or rights of private 
 land-holders or owners of private property in 
 the said Zone or in or to any of the lands or 
 waters granted to the United States by the pro- 
 visions of any Article of this treaty, nor shall 
 they interfere with the rights of way over the 
 public roads passing through the said Zone or 
 over any of the said lands or waters unless said 
 rights of way or private rights shall conflict 
 with rights herein granted to the United States, 
 in which case the rights of the United States 
 shall be superior. All damages caused to the 
 owners of private lands or private property of 
 any kind by the operations of the United States, 
 its agents or employees, or by reason of the 
 construction, maintenance, operation, sanita- 
 tion and protection of the said Canal or of the 
 works of sanitation and protection herein pro- 
 vided for, shall be appraised and settled by a 
 joint commission appointed by the Government 
 of the United States and the Eepublic of Pan- 
 ama, whose decisions as to such damages shall 
 
444 Appendices 
 
 be final and whose awards as to such damages 
 shall be paid solely to the United States. No 
 part of the work on said Canal or the Panama 
 railroad or on any auxiliary works relating 
 thereto and authorized by the terms of this 
 treaty shall be prevented, delayed or impeded 
 by or pending such proceedings to ascertain 
 such damages. The appraisal of the said pri- 
 vate lands and private property and the assess- 
 ment of damages to them shall be based upon 
 their value before the date of this convention. 
 
 Article VII 
 
 The Eepublic of Panama grants to the United 
 States with the limits of the cities of Panama 
 and Colon and their adjacent harbors and 
 within the territory adjacent thereto the right 
 to acquire by purchase or by the exercise of the 
 right of eminent domain, any lands, buildings, 
 water rights or other properties necessary and 
 convenient for the construction, maintenance, 
 operation and protection of the Canal and of 
 any works of sanitation, such as the collection 
 and disposition of sewage and the distribution 
 of water in the said cities of Panama and 
 Colon, which in the discretion of the United 
 States may be necessary and convenient for 
 
Appendices 445 
 
 the construction, maintenance, operation, sani- 
 tation and protection of the said Canal and 
 railroad. All such works of sanitation, collec- 
 tion and disposition of sewage and distribution 
 of water in the cities of Panama and Colon shall 
 be made at the expense of the United States, 
 and the Government of the United States, its 
 agents or nominees shall be authorized to im- 
 pose .and collect water rates and sewage rates 
 which shall be sufficient to provide for the pay- 
 ment of interest and the amortisation of the 
 principal of the cost of said works within a 
 period of fifty years, and upon the expiration 
 of said term of fifty years the system of sewers 
 and water works shall revert to and become 
 the properties of the cities of Panama and 
 Colon respectively; and the use of the water 
 shall be free to the inhabitants of Panama and 
 Colon, except to the extent that water rates may 
 be necessary for the operation and mainte- 
 nance of sewers and water. 
 
 The Republic of Panama agrees that the cit- 
 ies of Panama and Colon shall comply in per- 
 petuity with the sanitary ordinances whether of 
 a preventive or curative character prescribed 
 by the United States, and in case the Govern- 
 ment of Panama is unable or fails in its duty 
 
446 Appendices 
 
 to enforce this compliance by the cities of Pan- 
 ama and Colon with the sanitary ordinances of 
 the United States the Republic of Panama 
 grants to the United States the right and au- 
 thority to enforce the same. 
 
 The same right and authority are granted to 
 the United States for the maintenance of pub- 
 lic order in the cities of Panama and Colon and 
 the territorities and harbors adjacent thereto 
 in case the Eepublic of Panama should not be, 
 in the judgment of the United States, able to 
 maintain such order. 
 
 Article VIII 
 
 The Republic of Panama grants to the 
 United States all rights which it now has or 
 hereafter may acquire to the property of the 
 New Panama Canal Company and the Panama 
 Railroad Company as a result of the transfer 
 of sovereignty from the Republic of Colombia 
 to the Republic of Panama over the Isthmus of 
 Panama, and authorizes the New Panama 
 Canal Company to sell and transfer to the 
 United States its rights, privileges, properties 
 and concessions as well as the Panama Rail- 
 road and all the shares or part of the shares 
 of th^,t company; but the public land situated 
 
Appendices 447 
 
 outside of the zone described in Article II of 
 this treaty now included in the concessions to 
 both said enterprises and not required in the 
 construction or operation of the Canal shall re- 
 vert to the Eepublic of Panama except any 
 property now owned by or in the possession of 
 said companies within Panama or Colon or the 
 ports or terminals thereof. 
 
 Article IX 
 
 The United States agrees that the ports at 
 either entrance of the Canal and the waters 
 thereof, and the Eepublic of Panama agrees 
 that the towns of Panama and Colon, shall be 
 free for all time, so that there shall not be im- 
 posed or collected customhouse tolls, tonnage, 
 anchorage, lighthouse, wharf, pilot, or quaran- 
 tine dues or any other charges or taxes of any 
 kind upon any vessel using or passing through 
 the Canal or belonging to or employed by the 
 United States, directly or indirectly, in connec- 
 tion with the construction, maintenance, opera- 
 tion, sanitation and protection of the main 
 Canal, or auxiliary works, or upon the cargo, 
 officers, crew, or passengers of any such vessels, 
 except such tolls and charges as may be im- 
 posed by the United States for the use of the. 
 
448 Appendices 
 
 Canal and other works, and except tolls and 
 charges imposed by the Republic of Panama 
 upon merchandise destined to be introduced for 
 the consumption of the rest of the Eepublic of 
 Panama, and upon vessels touching at the ports 
 of Colon and Panama and which do not cross 
 the Canal. 
 
 The Government of the Republic of Panama 
 shall have the right to establish in such ports 
 and in the towns of Panama and Colon such 
 houses and guards as it may deem necessary 
 to collect duties on importation destined to 
 other portions of Panama and to prevent con- 
 traband trade. The United States shall have 
 the right to make use of the towns and har- 
 bors of Panama and Colon as places of anchor- 
 age, and for making repairs, for loading, un- 
 loading, depositing, or transshipping cargoes 
 either in transit or destined for the service of 
 the Canal and for other works pertaining to 
 the Canal. 
 
 Aeticlb X 
 
 The Republic of Panama agrees that there 
 shall not be imposed any taxes, national, munic- 
 ipal, departmental, or of any other class, upon 
 the Canal, the railways and auxiliary works, 
 
Appendices 449 
 
 tugs and other vessels employed in the service 
 of the Canal, storehouses, workshops, offices, 
 quarters for laborers, factories of all kinds, 
 warehouses, wharves, machinery and other 
 works, property, and effects appertaining to 
 the Canal or railroad and auxiliary works, or 
 their officers or employees, situated within the 
 cities of Panama and Colon, and that there 
 shall not be imposed contributions or charges 
 of a personal character of any kind upon offi- 
 cers, employees, laborers, and other individuals 
 in the service of the Canal and railroad and 
 auxiliary works. 
 
 Article XI 
 
 The United States agrees that the official 
 despatches of the Government of the Republic 
 of Panama shall be transmitted over any tele- 
 graph or telephone lines established for canal 
 purposes and used for public and private busi- 
 ness at rates not higher than those required 
 from officials in the service of the United 
 States. 
 
 Article XII 
 
 The Government of the Eepublic of Panama 
 shall permit the immigration and free access 
 to the lands and workshops of the Canal and 
 
450 Appendices 
 
 its auxiliary works of all employees and work- 
 men of whatever nationality under contract to 
 work upon or seeking employment upon or in 
 any wise connected with the said Canal and its 
 auxiliary works, with their respective families, 
 and all such persons shall be free and exempt 
 from the military service of the Eepublic of 
 Panama. 
 
 Article XIII 
 
 The United States may import at any time 
 into the said zone and auxiliary lands, free of 
 custom duties, imposts, taxes, or other charges, 
 and without any restrictions, any and all ves- 
 sels, dredges, engines, cars, machinery, tolls, 
 explosives, materials, supplies, and other arti- 
 cles necessary and convenient in the construc- 
 tion, maintenance, operation, sanitation and 
 protection of the Canal and auxiliary works, 
 and all provisions, medicines, clothing, supplies 
 and other things necessary and convenient for 
 the officers, employees, workmen and laborers 
 in the service and employ of the United States 
 and for their families. If any such articles are 
 disposed of for use outside of the zone and aux- 
 iliary lands granted to the United States and 
 within the territory of the Republic, they shall 
 
Appendices 451 
 
 be subject to the same import or other duties 
 as like articles under the laws of the Republic 
 of Panama. 
 
 Article XIV 
 
 As the price of compensation for the rights, 
 powers and privileges granted in this conven- 
 tion by the Republic of Panama to the United 
 States, the Government of the United States 
 agrees to pay to the Republic of Panama the 
 sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) in gold 
 coin of the United States on the exchange of 
 the ratification of this convention and also an 
 annual payment during the life of this conven- 
 tion of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars 
 ($250,000) in like gold coin, beginning nine 
 years after the date aforesaid. 
 
 The provisions of this article shall be in ad- 
 dition to all other benefits assured to the Re- 
 public of Panama under this convention. But 
 no delay or difference of opinion under this 
 article or any other provisions of this treaty 
 shall affect or interrupt the full operation and 
 effect of this convention in all other respects. 
 
 Article XV 
 
 The joint commission referred to in Article 
 VI shall be established as follows : 
 
452 Appendices 
 
 The President of the United States shall 
 nominate two persons and the President of the 
 Eepublic of Panama shall nominate two per- 
 sons and they shall proceed to a decision^ but 
 in case of disagreement of the Commission (by 
 reason of their being equally divided in con- 
 clusion) an umpire shall be appointed by the 
 two Governments who shall render the decis- 
 ion. In the event of the death, absence, or in- 
 capacity of a commissioner or umpire, or of his 
 omitting, declining or ceasing to act, his place 
 shall be filled by the appointment of another 
 person in the manner above indicated. All de- 
 cisions by a majority of the Commission or by 
 the umpire shall be final. 
 
 Article XVI 
 
 The two Governments shall make adequate 
 provisions by mutual agreement for the pursuit, 
 capture, imprisonment, detention and delivery 
 within the said zone and auxiliary lands to the 
 authorities of the Eepublic of Panama of per- 
 sons charged with the commitment of crimes, 
 felonies or misdemeanors without said zone 
 and for the pursuit, capture, imprisonment, de- 
 tention and delivery without said zone to the 
 authorities of the United States of persons 
 
Appendices 453 
 
 charged with, the commitment of crimes, fel- 
 onies and misdemeanors within said zone and 
 auxiliary lands. 
 
 Abticle XVII 
 
 The Republic of Panama grants to the 
 United States the use of all the ports of the 
 Republic open to commerce as places of refuge 
 for any vessels employed in the Canal enter- 
 prise, and for all vessels passing or bound to 
 pass through the Canal which may be in dis- 
 tress and be driven to seek refuge in said ports. 
 Such vessels shall be exempt from anchorage 
 and tonnage dues on the part of the Republic 
 of Panama. 
 
 Article XVIII 
 
 The Canal, when constructed, and the en- 
 trances thereto shall be neutral in perpetuity, 
 and shall be opened upon the terms provided 
 for by Section I of Article Three of, and in 
 conformity with all the stipulations of, the 
 treaty entered into by the Governments of the 
 United States and Great Britain on November 
 18, 1901. 
 
 Article XIX 
 
 The Government of the Republic of Panama 
 shall have the right to transport over the Canal 
 
454 Appendices 
 
 its vessels and its troops and munitions of 
 war in such vessels at all times without paying 
 charges of any kind. The exemption is to be 
 extended to the auxiliary railway for the trans- 
 portation of persons in the service of the Re- 
 public of Panama, or of the police force 
 charged with the preservation of public order 
 outside of said zone, as well as to their bag- 
 gage munitions of war and supplies. 
 
 Article XX 
 
 If by virtue of any existing treaty in rela- 
 tion to the territory of the Isthmus of Pan- 
 ama, whereof the obligations shall descend or 
 be assumed by the Republic of Panama, there 
 may be any privilege or concession in favor 
 of the Government or the citizens and subjects 
 of a third power relative to an interoceanic 
 means of communication which in any of its 
 terms may be incompatible with the terms of 
 the present convention, the Republic of Pan- 
 ama agrees to cancel or modify such treaty in 
 due form, for which purpose it shall give to 
 the said third power the requisite notification 
 within the term of four months from the date of 
 the present convention, and in case the exist- 
 ing treaty contains no clause permitting its 
 
Appendices 455 
 
 modification or annulment, the Bepublic of 
 Panama agrees to procure its modification or 
 annulment in such form that there shall not 
 exist any conflict with the stipulations of the 
 present convention. 
 
 Article XXI 
 
 The rights and privileges granted by the 
 Republic of Panama to the United States in 
 the preceding Articles are understood to be 
 free of all anterior debts, liens, trusts, or lia- 
 bilities, or concessions or privileges to other 
 Governments, corporations, syndicates or indi- 
 viduals ; and consequently, if there should arise 
 any claims on account of the present conces- 
 sions and privileges or otherwise, the claimant 
 shall resort to the Government of the Eepublic 
 of Panama and not the United States for any 
 indemnity or compromise which may be re- 
 quired. 
 
 Article XXII 
 
 The Republic of Panama renounces and 
 grants to the United States the participation 
 to which it might be entitled in the future earn- 
 ing of the Canal under Article XV of the con- 
 
456 Appendices 
 
 cessionary contract with Lucein N. B. "Wyse 
 now owned by the New Panama Canal Com- 
 pany and any and all other rights or claims of 
 a pecuniary nature arising under or relating to 
 said concession, or arising under or relating to 
 the concessions to the Panama Railroad Com- 
 pany or any extension or modification thereof, 
 and it likewise renounces, confirms and grants 
 to the United States, now and hereafter, all 
 the rights and property reserved in the said 
 concessions which otherwise would belong to 
 Panama, at or before the expiration of the 
 terms of ninety-nine years of the concessions 
 granted to or held by the above mentioned 
 party and companies, and all right, title and 
 interest which it now has or may hereafter 
 have, in and to the lands, canal, works, prop- 
 erty and rights held by the said companies 
 under said concessions or otherwise, and ac- 
 quired or to be acquired by the United States 
 from or through the New Panama Canal Com- 
 pany, including property and rights which 
 might or may in the future either by lapse of 
 time, forfeiture or otherwise, revert to the 
 Republic of Panama under any contracts or 
 concessions, with said Wyse, the Universal 
 Panama Canal Company, the Panama Railroad 
 
Appendices 457 
 
 Company and the New Panama Canal Com- 
 pany. 
 
 The aforesaid rights and property shall be 
 and are free and released from any present 
 or reversionary interest in or claims of Pan- 
 ama, and the title of the United States thereto 
 upon consummation of the contemplated pur- 
 chase by the United States from the New Pan- 
 ama Canal Company shall be absolute, so far 
 as concerns the Republic of Panama, excepting 
 always the rights of the Republic specifically 
 secured under this treaty. 
 
 Article XXIII 
 
 If it should become necessary at any time* 
 to employ armed forces for the safety or pro- 
 tection of the Canal, or of the ships that make 
 use of the same, or the railroads and auxiliary 
 works, the United States shall have the right, 
 at all times and in its discretion, to use its 
 police and its land and naval forces or to es- 
 tablish fortifications for these purposes. 
 
 Article XXIV 
 
 No change in the Government or in the laws 
 and treaties of the Republic of Panama, with- 
 
458 Appendices 
 
 out the consent of the United States, affect any 
 right of the United States under the present 
 convention, or under any treaty stipulation 
 between the two countries that now exists or 
 may hereafter exist touching the subject mat- 
 ter of this convention. 
 
 If the Eepublic of Panama shall hereafter 
 enter as a constituent into any other Govern- 
 ment or into any union or confederation of 
 states, so as to merge her sovereignty or inde- 
 pendence in such Government, union or con- 
 federation, the rights of the United States 
 under this convention shall not be in any re- 
 spect lessened or impaired. 
 
 Abticle XXV 
 
 For the better performance of the engage- 
 ments of this convention and to the end of the 
 efficient protection of the Canal and the pre- 
 servation of its neutrality, the Government of 
 the Eepublic of Panama will sell or lease to 
 the United States lands adequate and necessary 
 for naval or coaling stations on the Pacific 
 coast and on the western Caribbean coast of 
 the Republic at certain points to be agreed 
 upon with the President of the United States. 
 
Appendices 459 
 
 Aeticlb XXVI 
 
 This convention when signed by the Plenipo- 
 tentiaries of the Contracting Parties shall be 
 ratified by the respective Governments and the 
 ratification shall be exchanged at Washington 
 at the earliest date possible. 
 
 In faith whereof the respective Plenipoten- 
 tiaries have signed the present convention in 
 duplicate and have hereunto affixed their re- 
 spective seals. 
 
 Done at the City of Washington the 18th day 
 of November in the year of our Lord nineteen 
 hundred and three. 
 
 John Hay. [seal] 
 
 p. bltnatj vaeilla. [seal] 
 
460 
 
 Appendices 
 
 II 
 
 CANAL STATISTICS 
 
 Length from deep water to deep water 
 Length on land ... . 
 
 Bottom width of channel, maximum 
 Bottom width of channel, minimum, 9 
 
 miles, Culebra Cut 
 
 Locks, in pairs 
 
 Locks, usable length 
 
 Locks, usable width 
 
 Gatun Lake, area 
 
 Gatun Lake, channel depth 
 Excavation, estimated total 
 Excavation, amount accomplished April 1, 
 
 1910 
 
 Excavation by the French .... 
 Excavation by French, useful to present 
 
 Canal 
 
 Concrete, total estimated for Canal . 
 Time of transit through completed Canal 
 Time of passage through locks . 
 Relocated Panama Railroad, estimated cost 
 Relocated Panama Railroad, length 
 
 Canal Zone, area 
 
 Canal Zone area, owned by United States 
 
 French buildings, number acquired . 
 
 French buildings, number used . 
 
 French buildings, net value when acquired 
 
 Value of utilized French equipment 
 
 Canal force, actually at work 
 
 Canal force, Americans 
 
 Cost of Canal, estimated total 
 
 Work begun by Americans . 
 
 Date of completion 
 
 50£ miles. 
 40J miles. 
 1,000 feet. 
 
 300 feet. 
 
 12 
 
 1,000 feet. 
 
 110 feet. 
 
 164 sq. m, 
 
 85 to 45 feet. 
 
 174,666,594 c. y. 
 
 103,205,666 c. y. 
 78,146,960 c. y. 
 
 29,908,000 c. y. 
 5,000,000 c. y. 
 10 to 12 hours. 
 3 hours. 
 $7,225,000 
 
 46.2 miles, 
 about 448 sq. m. 
 about 322 sq. m. 
 2,150 
 1,537 
 SI ,959,203 
 $1,000,000 
 about 39,000 
 about 5,500 
 $375,000,000 
 May 4, 1904 
 Jan. 1, 1915 
 
Appendices 
 
 461 
 
 III 
 
 DISTANCES FROM AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN AT- 
 LANTIC PORTS, VIA THE PANAMA CANAL 
 
 
 ■ i 
 
 <° a 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 I* 
 
 H a 
 
 5 
 
 DQ 
 '3 
 
 a 
 
 % 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 From 
 
 
 1 
 
 a 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 a 
 
 ft) 
 
 a 
 
 
 It 
 
 
 3 
 
 $ 
 
 
 '3 
 
 9 
 t-t 
 
 I 
 
 cS 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 H « o 
 
 Eh 
 
 H 
 
 Eh 
 
 Eh 
 
 Eh 
 
 Eh 
 
 New York 
 
 6,074 
 
 5,299 
 
 2,684 
 
 3,359 
 
 4,021 
 
 4,630 
 
 4,838 
 
 Norfolk 
 
 5,872 
 
 5,079 
 
 2,662 
 
 3,157 
 
 3,819 
 
 4,428 
 
 4,636 
 
 Charleston 
 
 5,673 
 
 4,898 
 
 2,463 
 
 2,958 
 
 3,638 
 
 4,229 
 
 4,437 
 
 Port Tampa 
 
 5,328 
 
 4,553 
 
 2,098 
 
 2,593 
 
 3,255 
 
 3,864 
 
 4,072 
 
 New Orleans 
 
 5,477 
 
 4,698 
 
 2,263 
 
 2,758 
 
 3,420 
 
 4,029 
 
 4,237 
 
 Galveston 
 
 5,574 
 
 4,799 
 
 2,364 
 
 2,858 
 
 3,520 
 
 4,129 
 
 4,338 
 
 Liverpool 
 Hamburg 
 
 8,813 
 
 8,038 
 
 5,603 
 
 6,098 
 
 6,760 
 
 7,369 
 
 7,577 
 
 9,242 
 
 8,467 
 
 6,032 
 
 6,527 
 
 7,189 
 
 7,798 
 
 8,006 
 
 Antwerp 
 
 8,963 
 
 8,188 
 
 5,753 
 
 6,248 
 
 6,910 
 
 7,519 
 
 7,727 
 
 Bordeaux 
 
 8,713 
 
 7,938 
 
 5,503 
 
 5,998 
 
 6,660 
 
 7,269 
 
 7,477 
 
 Gibraltar 
 
 8,447 
 
 7,672 
 
 5,237 
 
 5,723 
 
 6,394 
 
 7,003 
 
 7,211 
 
 
 
 .ST<a 
 >- 
 
 e8TJ 
 
 
 .3 
 > 
 
 
 
 From 
 
 
 •fl 
 
 Jj'* 
 
 ■a 8 3 
 
 
 o: - 
 
 a 
 5- 
 
 
 
 |l 
 
 Sgi 
 ■as -a 
 
 III 
 
 fl 
 
 
 a 
 Is 33 ' 
 
 
 
 
 HcotH 
 
 
 o a 
 Eh H 
 
 O <3 >> 
 EhEhoQ 
 
 Eh H 
 
 New York 
 
 
 9,835 
 
 10,885 
 
 11,585 
 
 9,852 
 
 10,427 
 
 8,892 
 
 Norfolk 
 
 
 9,634 
 
 10,684 
 
 11,384 
 
 9,650 
 
 9,858 
 
 8,690 
 
 Charleston 
 
 
 9,344 
 
 10,367 
 
 10,809 
 
 9,451 
 
 10,006 
 
 8,491 
 
 Port Tampa 
 
 
 9,069 
 
 10,119 
 
 10,819 
 
 9,086 
 
 9,661 
 
 8,126 
 
 New Orleans 
 
 
 9,234 
 
 10,284 
 
 10,984 
 
 9,251 
 
 9,826 
 
 8,291 
 
 Galveston 
 
 
 9,335 
 
 10,385 
 
 11,085 
 
 9,352 
 
 9,927 
 
 8,392 
 
 Liverpool 
 Hamburg 
 
 
 12,574 
 
 13,624 
 
 14,324 
 
 12,591 
 
 13,166 
 
 11,631 
 
 
 13,003 
 
 14,053 
 
 14,753 
 
 13,020 
 
 13,595 
 
 12,060 
 
 Antwerp 
 
 
 12,724 
 
 13.774 
 
 14,474 
 
 12,741 
 
 13,316 
 
 11,781 
 
 Bordeaux 
 
 
 12,474 
 
 13,524 
 
 14,224 
 
 12,491 
 
 13,066 
 
 11,471 
 
 Gibraltar 
 
 
 12,208 
 
 13,258 
 
 13,958 
 
 12,225 
 
 11,188 
 
 11,265 
 
 "A" Via Honolulu adds 252 miles. 
 
 "B" Omitting Tahiti reduces voyages from by 52 miles. 
 
 "C" Voyage from Brito to Sydney by Wellington is 232 miles less than by 
 way of Tahiti : from Panama it is 405 miles less. 
 
 "D" Voyage from Brito to Wellington direct is J§5 shorter than via Tahiti, 
 and from Panama i\ is 55g mjjes sljprter, 
 
462 Appendices 
 
 IV 
 
 BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 Books 
 
 Abbot, Henry Larcom: Problems of the Panama Canal. New 
 
 York and London, 1907. 
 Bates, Linden Wallace: Retrieval at Panama. New York, 
 
 1907. 
 Bigelow, John: The Panama Canal and The Daughters of 
 
 Danaus. New York, 1908. 
 Bkistow, Joseph Little: Report of, 1905. 
 Bunau-Varilla, Philippe : Nicaragua or Panama. New York, 
 
 1901. 
 Bunau-Varilla, Philippe: Comparative characteristics of 
 
 Panama and Nicaragua. New York, 1902. 
 Bunau-Varilla, Philippe: Le Detroit de Panama. Paris, 
 
 1907. 
 Burr, William Hubert: Ancient and Modern Engineering and 
 
 the Isthmian Canal. New York, 1902. 
 Burr, William Hubert: The Canal Record, Ancon, Canal 
 
 Zone, 1907-1908. 
 Campbell, David N. E.: Searchlight on the Panama Canal. 
 
 Baltimore, Md., 1909. 
 Cornish, Vaughan: The Panama Canal and its Makers. Lon- 
 don, 1909. 
 Freeman, John Ripley: Lock Canal at Panama. Washington, 
 
 1909. 
 Goethals, George V.: The Isthmian Canal. Washington, 
 
 1909. 
 Hall, A. B., and C. L. Chester: Panama and the Canal. New 
 
 York, 1910. 
 Johnson, Emory R.: The Isthmian Canal in its Economic 
 
 Aspects. Chicago, 1906. 
 Johnson, Willis Fletcher: Four centuries of the Panama 
 
 Canal. New York, 1906. 
 Lindsay, Charles H. A. F.: Panama, the Isthmus and the 
 
 Canal. Philadelphia, 1906. 
 
 Official Proceedings of the new Panama Canal Company at 
 Paris, Dec. 30th, 1903. Washington, 1904. 
 
Appendices 463 
 
 Papers relating to the Construction of the Panama Canal, 
 Washington, 1907. 
 
 Pensa, Henri: La Republique et le Canal de Panama. Paris, 
 
 1906. 
 Robinson, Tracy: Panama; a personal record of forty-six 
 
 years, 1861-1907. New York and Panama, 1907. 
 Rousseau, Harry T.: The Isthmian Canal. Washington, 1909. 
 Shonts, Hon. Theodore P.: Speech of. Washington, 1907. 
 Smith, Joseph Russell: The Organization of Ocean Commerce. 
 
 Philadelphia, 1905. 
 Stevens, John P.: A Sketch of the Panama Canal; its past, 
 
 present and possible future. New Haven, Conn., 1908. 
 Sullivan and Cromwell : Compilation of executive documents 
 
 and diplomatic correspondence relative to a trans-isthmian 
 
 canal in South America. New York, 1905. 
 Tapt, William Howard: Arrangement of Pending Questions 
 
 with Panama. International Bureau of American Republics, 
 
 1904. 
 Taft, William Howard: The Panama Canal. Washington, 
 
 1905. 
 Ta vernier, Edouard: Etude due Canal interoceanique de 
 
 l'Amerique contrale au point de vue diplomatique, juridique 
 
 et 6conomique. Paris, 1908. 
 Viallate, Achille: Les Etats-Unis et le canal interoceanique. 
 
 Paris, 1904. 
 Viallate, Achille: Essais d'histoire diplomatique americaine. 
 
 Paris, 1905. 
 Wallace, John Findley: Some Engineering Problems in the 
 
 Panama Canal. Chicago, 1906. 
 Weir, Hugh C: The Conquest of the Isthmus. New York, 
 
 1909. 
 Wegener, Georg: Der Panama-kanal. Leipzig, 1904. 
 Wyse, Lucien Napoleon Bonaparte: Le rapt de Panama. 
 
 Toulon, 1904. 
 
 Documents and Reports 
 1900-1909 
 
 Annual Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission, 1906. Wash- 
 ington, 1907. 
 
 Annual Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission, 1907. Wash- 
 ington, 1907. 
 
464 Appendices 
 
 Annual Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission, 1908. Wash- 
 ington, 1908. 
 
 Annual Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission, 1909. Wash- 
 ington, 1909. 
 
 Annual Report of the Health Dept., Panama, Canal Zone. 
 
 Washington, 1907-1908. 
 Annual Report of the Department of Sanitation, Panama, Canal 
 Zone, Washington, 1907. 
 
 Hearings before the Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals. 
 Washington, 1902. 
 
 Laws of the Canal Zone, Isthmus of Panama, enacted by the 
 Isthmian Canal Commission. Washington, 1906. 
 
 Manual of Information concerning employments for service on 
 the Isthmus of Panama. Washington, 1908. 
 
 Notes on Panama. Compiled and arranged by Captain H. C. 
 Hale, General Staff. Washington, 1903. 
 
 Report of the Board of Consulting Engineers for the Panama 
 Canal. Washington, 1906. 
 
 Report of the Chief Sanitary Officer of the Canal Zone, W. C. 
 Goras. Washington, 1905. 
 
 Report of the Chief Engineer of the Isthmian Canal Commission, 
 1904-1905. Washington, 1905. 
 
 Report of the Engineering Committee, 1905, Washington, 1905 
 
 Report of the Health Department of the Isthmian Canal Com- 
 mission. Washington) 1905-1906. 
 
 Report of the Isthmian Canal Commission, 1899-1901. Wash- 
 ington, 1901-1902. 
 
 Report of the Nicaragua Canal Commission, 1897-1899. Balti- 
 more, 1899. 
 
 Report of Population, Deaths, etc., Panama Canal Zone. Wash- 
 ington, 1906. 
 
 Report of the Senate Committee on Interoceanic Canals on the 
 proposed ship canals through the American Isthmus con- 
 necting the continents of North and South America. Wash- 
 ington, 1901. 
 
 Roosevelt, President: The Code of Civil Procedure of the Canal 
 Zone. Washington, 1907. 
 
 Roosevelt, President: Message from the President transmitting 
 report of Board of Engineers. Washington, 1909. 
 
 Roosevelt, President: Message from the President transmitting 
 a letter from the Secretary of War. Washington, 1909. 
 
Appendices 465 
 
 Roosevelt, President: Special message of President Roosevelt 
 to the two houses of Congress. Washington, 1906. 
 
 Roosevelt, President: Message from the President, transmitting 
 the report of the Board of Consulting Engineers on Panama 
 Canal and of the Isthmian Canal Commission on the Panama 
 Canal, together with a letter written by Chief Engineer 
 Stevens. Washington, 1906. 
 
 Same as above. Ordered reprinted- with the views of the 
 minority. Washington, 1906. 
 
 Sea-level canal connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, etc. 
 Washington, 1906. 
 
 Statement of William Howard Taft, Sec. of War, before the 
 Committee on Interoceanic Canals of the U. S. Washington, 
 1906. 
 
 Sundry technical reports in relation to the Panama Canal, 
 covering 1899-1904 inclusive. Panama, 1905. 
 
 The Panama Canal. Isthmian Canal Commission. 1910. 
 
 Magazine Articles 
 
 Abbot, H. L.: The Panama Canal and the Regulation of the 
 Chagres River. Engineering Magazine, Dec, 1902. 
 
 Abbot, H. L.: Natural Conditions affecting the Construction 
 of the Panama Canal. Engineering Magazine, Aug., 1904. 
 
 Abbot, H. L.: Hydraulics of the Chagres River. Engineering 
 Magazine, June, 1910. 
 
 Baker, B. N.: What use is the Panama Canal to our country 
 without American ships? North American Review, Nov., 
 1909. 
 
 Barrett, John: Panama, Central America and Mexico. In- 
 dependent, July, 1909. 
 
 Bel, Raymond: L'isthme de Panama et le canal interoceanique. 
 Tour de monde, Jan., 1902. 
 
 Burr, Wm. H.: The Panama Route for a Ship Canal. Popular 
 Science Monthly, July, Aug., 1902. 
 
 Burt, George A.: A Comparison of the Isthmian Canal pro- 
 jects. Engineering Magazine, April, 1900. 
 
 Carr, John F.: The Panama Canal: history, conditions, 
 prospects. Outlook, April, May, June, 1906. 
 
 Colquhoun, A. R.: The strategical and economical effect of 
 the opening of the Panama Canal. Royal United Service 
 Institution Journal, Feb., 1908. 
 
 Colquhoun, A. R.: An Englishman's views of the Panama 
 Canal. North American Review, March, 1908. 
 
466 Appendices 
 
 Davis, Arthur P.: Panama and the Nicaragua Canals com- 
 pared. Forum, Jan., 1901. 
 
 Denison, Lindsay: Making good at Panama. Everybody's 
 Magazine, May, 1906. 
 
 Evans, Robley D.: The Panama Canal. Hampton's Magazine, 
 Jan., Feb., March, 1910. 
 
 Ford, James T.: The present condition and prospects of the 
 Panama Canal Works. Institution of Civil Engineers, Feb., 
 1901. 
 
 Ghent, W. J.: Labor and the Commissary at Panama. Inde- 
 pendent, May, 1909. 
 
 Goethals, G. W. : Special report on the Panama Canal situation. 
 National Geographic Magazine, April, 1909. 
 
 Gorgas, Wm. C: Solving the Health Problem at Panama. 
 American Review of Reviews, July, 1904. 
 
 Hains, Peter C: The Labor Problem on the Panama Canal. 
 North American Review, July, 1904. 
 
 Htjberich, Charles H.: Le canal transisthmique. Revue du 
 droit publique, March, April, 1903. 
 
 Johnson, Emory R.: The Panama Canal. Independent, April, 
 1903. 
 
 Johnson, Emory R.: The Panama Canal: the title and con- 
 cession. Political Science Quarterly, June, 1903. 
 
 Johnson, Emory R.: Effect of the Canal upon the Pacific 
 Railways. Railway World, Jan., 1904. 
 
 Kieffer, H. P. : Constructing the Concrete Locks of the Panama 
 Canal. Scientific American, Aug., 1909. 
 
 Lampe, Felix: Deutsche Arteilrahme am Panama-und 
 Nikaragua-Kanal. Deutsche Monatschrift, Sept., 1902. 
 
 Leigh, John G.: The Panama Canal. The Pall Mall Magazine, 
 
 April, 1902. 
 Leigh, John G.: Sanitation and the Panama Canal. Lancet 
 
 (London), June, 1905. 
 
 Lindsay, C. H. Forbes: " Investigating " the Canal. Harper's 
 Weekly, Feb. 27 and Mar. 6, 1909. 
 
 Lindsay, C. H. Forbes: The Situation at Panama. American 
 Review of Reviews. April,, 1909. 
 
 Lindsay, C. H. Forbes: Panama, a field for American enter- 
 prise. Independent, Oct. 21, 1909. 
 
 Morison, George S.: The Panama Canal. Am. Soc. of Civil 
 Engineers, 1903. 
 
Appendices 467 
 
 Palmer, Frederick: Many minds and one Canal. Collier's 
 
 Weekly, Feb., 1905. 
 Parsons, Wm. B.: The Panama Canal. Century Magazine, 
 
 Nov., 1905. 
 Rowland, Henry C: The truth about Panama. Appleton's 
 
 Booklover's Magazine, April, June, 1906; May, 1908. 
 Richardson, Gardner: Progress in Panama. Independent, 
 
 April, 1909. 
 Richardson, Gardner: The Construction of the Canal. Inde- 
 pendent, May, 1909. 
 Slosson, E. E. and G. Richardson: The sea-tev«l versus the 
 
 lock canal. Independent, March, 1906. 
 Springer, J. F.: The Panama Canal. Iron Age, July 1, 8, 
 
 1909. 
 Taft, William Howard: The Panama Canal; why the lock- 
 
 . system was chosen. Century Magazine, Dec, 1906. 
 Taft, William Howard: An answer to the Panama Canal 
 
 critics. McClure's Magazine, May, 1909. 
 Tatham, Wm.: The present aspects of the Panama Canal from 
 
 the tourist's point of view. Franklin Institute Journal, 
 
 Sept., 1909. 
 Viallate, Achille : Les Etats-Unis et le canal interoceanique, 
 
 un chaptre d'histoire diplomatique americaine. Revue 
 
 ginerale de droit internationale publique, Jan., Feb., 1903. 
 Varilla-Bt/nau, Philippe: Panama et Nicaragua. Science 
 
 au XXE siecle, April, 1903. 
 Wilson, Owen: The Conquest of the Tropics. World's Work, 
 
 July, 1908. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Abbott, General H. L., 117- 
 120, 127. 
 
 Amador, President, 91, 106. 
 
 Ammen, Admiral, 38. 
 
 Ancon, 173-176, 412, 413; 
 Tivoli Hotel, 173-175; An- 
 con Hospital, 176. 
 
 Anton, The, 424. 
 
 Armero, 72-73. 
 
 Army Engineers, Work under, 
 141-149, 403-406; person- 
 nel and organization, 142- 
 145; sanitation, q. v. 
 
 Arosemena, Pres., 422. 
 
 Aspinwall, W. H., 41. 
 
 Atrato Route, 13-14. 
 
 Bailey, John, 26, 27. 
 
 Balboa, 413, 414. 
 
 Balboa, Vasco Nunez de, 5-9; 
 
 discovers the Pacific, 6; 
 
 quarrel with Pedrarias and 
 
 execution, 6-8; estimate of 
 
 character, 8-9. 
 Baldwin, James L., 44. 
 Biddle, Charles, 25. 
 Blackburn, J. C. S., 142, 405. 
 Bolivar, Simon, 26. 
 Brodley, Captain, 218-219. 
 
 Brown, C. M., 364-381. 
 Burr, William H., 103, 117- 
 120. 
 
 Canal — Description of the, 
 130-140; the channel, 130- 
 131 ; Gatun Dam and Lake, 
 131-133; Miraflores Dams 
 and Lake, 132-133; Pedro 
 Miguel Dam, 132; terri- 
 tory traversed, 133-134; 
 lock structures, 134-136, 
 397-398, 400-403; excava- 
 tion, 136-137, 397; ex- 
 penditures, 137-138; equip- 
 ment, 138-140; question 
 of tolls and operation, 407- 
 412. 
 
 Canal, Saavedra's early sug- 
 gestion of a, 11-12. 
 
 Canal zone, 133-134, 407, 411- 
 414, 422, 425, 429. 
 
 Cemeteries, 312-314. 
 
 Center, Colonel, 53-54. 
 
 Charne, 423. 
 
 Charles V., 12-13. 
 
 Chauncey, Henry, 41. 
 
 Chepo, Rio, 425. 
 
 Childs, Colonel, 31-32. 
 
 Chiriqui, 158, 328-347, 396, 
 422, 423, 427, 431; as a 
 
 469 
 
470 
 
 Index 
 
 health resort, 158; ancient 
 graves of, 348-362; jour- 
 ney from Panama to, 363- 
 381; journeyings in, 382- 
 396; vide resources of the 
 country. 
 Churches of Panama, 314-325. 
 Clay, Henry, 23-24. 
 Code, 423, 424. 
 
 Colon, 158-161, 164-168; its 
 relation to Canal Zone and 
 American occupation, 133- 
 134, 414; improvements in, 
 138, 159, 160-161; as the 
 terminus of the Panama 
 Railroad, 164, 413; in the 
 revolution of 1885, 165-166; 
 land ownership in, 167-168; 
 in the revolution of 1903, 
 90-96. 
 
 Colombia, The revolt against, 
 90-99. 
 
 Columbus, His search for a 
 western passage, 1-4. 
 
 Comiti Technique, 82-83, 112; 
 purpose and accomplish- 
 ment, 82; report and plan, 
 82-83; plan in relation to 
 present project, 112. 
 
 Consulting Engineers, Inter- 
 national Board of, 117-123; 
 appointment and composi- 
 tion, 116-117; purpose of, 
 118; report of, 119; minor- 
 ity report and plan of, 121- 
 123. 
 
 Cordova, De, 9. 
 
 Cortez, 9, 11. 
 
 Cucaracha, 399. 
 
 Culebra Cut, 130-133, 136, 
 171-173, 413; the Canal 
 channel in, 130-133; exca- 
 vation in, 136, 397; engi- 
 neering headquarters at, 171 ; 
 French work in, 171-172; 
 landslides in, 173, 399-400. 
 
 D 
 
 Dampier, 315. 
 
 Darien, 422, 425, 429. 
 
 Darien expedition, 16-17. 
 
 Darien route, 19. 
 
 David, City of, 382-387, 422. 
 
 Davis, Admiral Chas. H., 33. 
 
 Davis, General George W., 103, 
 
 117-120. 
 Drake, Sir Francis, 15, 283. 
 
 E 
 
 Esquemeling's narrative of the 
 sack of Panama, 181-282. 
 
 Ferdinand and Isabella, 2. 
 
 French enterprise, The, 63-90; 
 extravagance and graft at 
 the inception, 63-67, 70-74; 
 technical plans, 74, 76-77, 
 82-84; receiver appointed 
 for Panama Canal Company, 
 77-78; statement of re- 
 ceipts and expenditures, 78; 
 new Panama Canal Com- 
 pany organized, 81; ap- 
 pointment of ComiU Tech- 
 nique, 81-83; sale of proper- 
 ties to the United States, 86- 
 90. 
 
 Froude, 69. 
 
 G 
 
 Gaillard, Colonel D. D., 142, 
 143. 
 
 Gama, Vasco de, 4, 9. 
 
 Garella, Napoleon, 28. 
 
 Gatun Dam, 123-126, 171, 
 397-399, 413; suggested by 
 minority of Consulting En- 
 gineers (q. v.), 123; de- 
 
Index 
 
 471 
 
 scription of, 123-125; thor- 
 ough test of, 125-126; mate- 
 rial required for, 171. 
 
 Gatun Lake, 123, 126-133, 
 397-398; method of forma- 
 tion, 123; water supply and 
 lockages, 126-128; channel 
 through, 130. 
 
 Goethals, Colonel George W., 
 142, 149, 171, 398-399, 404- 
 406, 408-413. 
 
 Gomara, 4. 
 
 Gonima, General, 165. 
 
 Gorgas, Colonel William C, 
 104, 141-142, 150-156. 
 
 Gorgoza, 34-35. 
 
 Grant, President, 33. 
 
 Grunsky, Carl E., 103. 
 
 Guerard, Adolph, 117-120. 
 
 Guizot, 28. 
 
 H 
 
 Harding, Major Chester, 143. 
 Harrod, Benjamin M., 103. 
 Hay, Secretary, 90. 
 Hayes, President, 39-40. 
 Hecker, Frank J., 103. 
 Herren, Dr., 90. 
 His*, Elijah, 29-30. 
 Hoadley, David, 49. 
 Hodges, Colonel H. F., 142, 
 
 144. 
 Holmes, Wm. H., 350-354. 
 Hubbard, Commander John, 
 
 93-96. 
 Huertas, General, 106-107. 
 Humboldt's suggestions for a 
 
 canal, 20-22. 
 Hunter, Henry, 117-120. 
 
 Isthmian Canal Commission, 
 86-89, 103-104, 113-115, 
 142-145; the first Commis- 
 
 sion appointed, 86; it makes 
 a comparative investigation 
 of Nicaraguan and Panama 
 routes, 86-87; ultimately 
 recommends purchase of 
 New Panama Company's 
 rights and properties, 86- 
 89; Commission takes charge 
 of operation, its composi- 
 tion and duties, 103-104; 
 reorganization of Commis- 
 sion, 113-115; composition 
 of present Commission, 142; 
 reorganization of duties, 
 142-145. 
 
 Jackson, President, 25. 
 
 K 
 
 Kane, Commander, 165-166. 
 Keith, Minor, 422. 
 
 Labor on the Isthmus, 45-46, 
 139-140, 145-148; various 
 kinds that have been tried, 
 45-46; composition and 
 strength of the present force, 
 139, 409-411; expensive and 
 inefficient character of, 145- 
 148. 
 
 La Chorrera, 423. 
 
 Land, Public, 433-436. 
 
 Lesseps, Ferdinand de, 35-40, 
 63-68, 70-76, 79; promotes 
 the Canal project, 35-40; 
 his methods, 63-68, 70-73; 
 his plan, 74; his failure, 74- 
 79. 
 
 Lock, or sea level canal, 111— 
 113, 116-120; the Walker 
 Commission's plan, 111-113; 
 the findings of the Board of 
 
472 
 
 Index 
 
 Consulting Engineers, 118- 
 119, 121-123. 
 
 Locks of the Canal, 134-136, 
 171, 397-398; description 
 of, 134-135, 402-403; 
 method and time of passage, 
 135-136, 400-402; material 
 required for, 171. 
 
 Lock-canal plans, 121-140; the 
 plan of the minority of 
 Board of Consulting En- 
 gineers, 121-123; present 
 plan, 123-140. 
 
 Lombardi, Sefior, 385. 
 
 Los Santos, 424. 
 
 Louis Philippe, 26. 
 
 Lull, Captain E. P., 33. 
 
 M 
 
 Magellan, Ferdinand, 9. 
 Magoon, Judge, 115. 
 Marriage Laws, Peculiar, 306- 
 
 307. 
 McNeil, 351. - 
 Menocal, A. G., 33, 38. 
 Milla, Manuel, 19. 
 Miraflores, 413. 
 Morgan's raid on Panama, 15, 
 
 181-282, 314, 318. 
 
 N 
 
 Napoleon, Louis, 27. 
 
 Nashville, The affair of the, 92- 
 96. 
 
 Nelson, Lord, 18-19. 
 
 Nelson, William, 51. 
 
 Nelson, Dr. Wolfred, 70-72. 
 
 New Panama Canal Company, 
 81-90; organized, 81; Co- 
 mite Technique appointed, 
 81-82; its report, 83; sale 
 of its rights and property to 
 the United States, 86-90. 
 
 Nicaraguan Route, 15, 18-19, 
 
 23-27, 29-32, 34, 36, 38, 84- 
 89, 100-102; first transit line 
 at Nicaragua, 15; British 
 designs for acquisition of, 
 18-19; Aaron Palmer's proj- 
 ect, 23-25; investigations 
 by the United States, 25- 
 26; French interests in, 26- 
 27; United States secures 
 right of way by, 29; Clay- 
 ton-Bulwer treaty, 30-31; 
 transportation line estab- 
 lished by an American com- 
 pany, 31-32; the Interna- 
 tional Canal Commission 
 recommends the, 34; an- 
 other French attempt, 36; 
 a concession granted to 
 Americans, 38; French op- 
 pose American projects, 83- 
 84; Nicaragua and the 
 United States make a con- 
 vention, 84r-85; Maritime 
 Canal Company's project, 
 85; Walker Commission in- 
 vestigates the, 86, 88; cam- 
 paign in Congress in favor 
 of the, 100; comparison of 
 Panama Route and the, 101. 
 Noble, Alfred, 117-120. 
 
 O 
 
 Obaldia, Don Jose' de, 364, 
 
 379, 380, 420. 
 Obaldia, Don Lorenzo de, 381- 
 
 383. 
 Ojeda, Alonzo de, 5. 
 
 Palmer, Aaron H., 23-25. 
 
 Panama Canal Company, 63- 
 90; vide " French Enter- 
 prise, The." 
 
 Panama, City of, 158-161, 
 
Index 
 
 473 
 
 283-304, 413, 414, 433; 
 sanitation by the United 
 States, 158-161; relocation 
 of, 283-285; old walls of, 
 284-287; strange working 
 of the law in, 287-294; the 
 people, 295; the police, 296- 
 299; the houses of the, 299- 
 304. 
 
 Panama, Definition of Ameri- 
 can policy toward, 105-106. 
 
 Panama, Independence of, 99. 
 
 Panama, Railroad, 32, 41-62, 
 164-174, 407; the under- 
 taking by an American syn- 
 dicate, 41—17; labor diffi- 
 culties, 45-46; prosperous 
 operation, 47-50; decline 
 and transfer to the French, 
 50-58; acquisition by the 
 United States, 58; improve- 
 ment and relocation, 59- 
 62, 413-414, 418; the Com- 
 pany's holdings in Colon, 
 167-168; description of line 
 from Colon to La Boca, 168- 
 173. 
 
 Panama, Route, 27-29, 33-40, 
 99-101; the first French 
 concession, 27-29; early 
 American investigations of, 
 33-34; concession secured 
 by Wyse for French Syn- 
 dicate, 35-36, vide " French 
 Enterprise, The"; United 
 States makes a convention 
 with Panama, 99-100; com- 
 parison of Panaman and 
 Nicaraguan Routes, 101. 
 
 Panama, United States con- 
 vention with, 99-100, and 
 Appendix. 
 
 Panama Viejo, 179-282. 
 
 Park, Trenor W., 57. 
 
 Parsons, William B., 103, 117- 
 120. 
 
 Pedrarias, 6-8. 
 
 Pedro Miguel, 413. 
 
 Penonome, 423. 
 
 Peterson, William, 16-17. 
 
 Petrie, 54. 
 
 Philip II, 13-14. 
 
 Phillips, Sir Owen, 407-408. 
 
 Physical conditions of the 
 
 country, 326-347. 
 Polo, Marco, 2-3. 
 Post-road from Panama to 
 
 Porto Bello, 9-10, 180-181. 
 Prestan, Pedro, 165-166. 
 Purchase of French Canal 
 
 rights and property, 86-90. 
 
 Q 
 
 Quellenec, M. L., 117-120. 
 
 R 
 
 Randolph, Isham, 117-120. 
 
 Reclus, Lieutenant, 36, 38. 
 
 Resources of the country, 328- 
 347; hardwoods, 328-330, 
 423-425, 429; rubber, 330- 
 332, 424, 432; cattle lands, 
 335-337, 423, 425, 429, 430; 
 sugar lands, 337, 429, 431- 
 433; tobacco, 338; coffee, 338, 
 432-433; fibres, 338; fruits, 
 339-340, 432; minerals, 
 340-341, 424. 
 
 Ripley, Joseph, 117-120. 
 
 Roosevelt, President, 97-99, 
 103, 106, 114-120, 126, 136, 
 141, 405. 
 
 Rourke, L. K., 143. 
 
 Rousseau, H. H., 142, 144, 
 161-163. 
 
 S 
 
 Saavedra, Alvaro de, 11. 
 Sage, Russell, 57. 
 Sanitation on the Isthmus, 69- 
 
474 
 
 Index 
 
 70, 138, 141-142, 149-163; 
 difficulties of the French, 
 69-70; outlay by United 
 States in Colon and Panama, 
 138; splendid work of 
 Colonel Gorgas, 141-142, 
 150-151; former condition 
 of Panama and Colon, 149- 
 150; campaign against the 
 mosquito, 152-154; com- 
 parison of past and present 
 conditions, 156-163. 
 
 Saville, C. M., 144. 
 
 Shonts, Theodore P., 115, 145. 
 
 Sibert, Colonel Wm. L., 142, 
 143. 
 
 Soto, De, 9. 
 
 Squiers, 292. 
 
 Stearns, Frederick P., 117- 
 120. 
 
 Stevens, John F., 116, 119, 
 141, 147, 171, 405. 
 
 Stevens, John L., 26, 41. 
 
 Stockwell, Alden B., 57. 
 
 Taft, President, 104, 119, 
 
 141, 149, 399, 405. 
 Tehuantepec Route, 11, 407. 
 
 Thatcher, Maurice H., 142. 
 Tincauser, Eugene, 117-120. 
 Totten, G. M., 32, 42-44, 51. 
 Trautwine, J. C., 44. 
 Tiirr, Etienne, 35. 
 
 Van Buren, President, 26. 
 Veraguas, 424. 
 Vespucci, Amerigo, 4-5. 
 
 W 
 
 Wahl, Christian, 394-395. 
 Walker, Admiral John C, 86, 
 
 103, 113. 
 Wallace, Dr., 149. 
 Wallace, John, 104,. 115-116. 
 Watt, J. M. G., 144. 
 Welcker, J. W., 117-120. 
 Williams, J. J., 44. 
 Williamson, S. B., 143. 
 Wilson, Leslie, 388-390. 
 Wyse, Lieutenant L. N. B., 
 
 35-36, 38, 68, 81. 
 
 Z 
 
 Zeltner, De, 355.