ranamou Canal Keuie.ar'

996.2)005

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OCTOBER 1, 1981



On the Cover

Dominaling the cover is

a photo by Mel Kenned]^ of two ships from the Far East completing their transit of Gatun Locks as maintenance work

proceeds on schedule. Moving clock- wise: a closeup of the cupola on the San Francisco Church in the Casco

Viejo, by Arthur Pollack: Panama's

exhibit featuring the Canal al EXPO

SHIP '80 in Hong Kong, by Willie

K

Friar: the approach to the river station at Candelarias, by Ed Arm

truster: the SS "Cristobal" leaves Cristobal pier, by T. G, Kaye Ric/iey, a walk on the Great Wall of China bv

Willie K. Fnar.

Inside front cover: As the cruise

ship "Island Princess" moves north bound through Pedro Miguel Locks, passengers crowd along the upper

railing for

a spectacular shipboard

view: by Mel Kennedy. Inside back

cover: After 42 years of government

service, it's the end of the line for the SS "Cristobal." seen at her familiar berth at Cristobal's pier 8; by Kevin

Jenkins. Cover design: Mel Kerinedy.

At right,

a southbound vessel moves through Pedro Miguel Locks as work on the locotnotive tow track system is in progress. Renovation of the tow track systems at all three locks is a multimillion dollar Canal improve- ment project.

From

the Administrator

of the

Panama Canal

Commission ' elebrating its second

anniversary and ncaring the end

of the transition period defined in the Panama Canal Treaty, the Panama Canal Commission has

forged ahead in meeting its commitments while maintaining

a

continuity of efficient service to Canal users. Although the challenge of change continues to be a part of

life at the Panama Canal, it is

a challenge that is being

successfully met.

A "can do"

attitude prevails and Commission

employees continue to respond

effectively to the demands placed upon the waterway as the tonnage of shipping moving

through the Canal reaches record levels. While the current outlook is promising, the Canal must

continue to offer efficient service

ata competitive price if it is to remain an economical means for shipping an important share of world trade. With this in mind, a number of steps have been

taken during the past year to increase Canal transit capacity and to improve the service provided to Canal users. These extensive Canal

modernization and capacity

improvement programs, financed by revenues, are beginning to show results. They are evidence

of our commitment that the Canal will remain a vital link in the world transportation chain. It

isa commitment that is dependent to a great extent upon the availability of skilled employees who are dedicated to the enduring mission of the Canal. To that end, the Commission has set in motion

extensive training programs that

will insure future personnel needs will be met within the context of the new relationship

between the United States and Panama.

Noteworthy for the administration of the waterway was the confirmation in June of

this year of the Honorable

William R. Gianelli as the

Assistant Secretary of the Army

for Civil Works. In this capacity Mr. Gianelli is responsible for monitoring the operation of the Panama Canal Commission and

serves as chairman of its binational Board of Directors. Since the Canal Commission

operates as

a business that must

pay all costs and conduct

a breakeven financial operation, it

is subject to the pressures of

inflation and other economic and

business fluctuations. I am

optimistic that, through

continued management emphasis on keeping costs to a minimum

and retaining

a dedicated and

well-trained work force, the Panama Canal will remain a

viable artery for world commerce.

The Panama Canal Review
ktmV ()( lOBtK I. IVXI

ADMINISTRATOR

D. P. McAuliffe

DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR

Fernando Manfredo Jr. ACTING DIRECTOR

OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Willie K. Friar

EDITOR

Vicki M. Boatwright

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Fannie P. Hernandez

ART DIRECTOR

Mel Kennedy

ILLUSTRATION

Carlos Mendez

PHOTOGRAPHY

Panama Canal Commission

photographers who contributed

to this edition of the REVIEW are Alberto Acevcdo, Don Goode,

Kevin Jenkins, Arthur Pollack

and T. G. Kaye Richey. Other

photographers whose works appear in these pages arc Edwin

Armbruster, who supplied nearly

all of the photographs for the

"Canal Water Watchers" story;

James E. Ferrara; Willie K. Friar;

Mel Kennedy; Angelo J. Mariano

Sr., staff photographer for the

Port of New Orleans, who supplied photographs of the SS

"Cristobal" and the Water Transportation Division staff in New

Orleans; and Susan K. Stabler.

Official Panama Canal Publication

In This Issue I

The Parfitt and the Alianza will help push

Canal transit capacity

upwards.

Page 8

Canal Water Watchers

by Jan Meriwether

Utilizing every mode of travel from horses to helicopters, the men and

womeii of the Commission's

Meteorological and

Hydrographic Branch

manage the Canal's watershed. Their work takes them into the

jungles, up the rivers and

on the lakes of Panama as they monitor the Canal's water supply.

Page 10

Beauty in Two Sizes

The Resplendent

Quetzal and

the Harpy Eagle

One of the most beautiful birds in the world and

the most powerful

eagle on earth can be found in Panama today.

Page 20

Casco Vicjo

A Walk Into Panama's Past by Susan Hall Liang

A walking tour of the Casco Viejo

offers a view of the

bustling present alongside

the silent past. Historic

buildings put to presentday use and ruins undergoing restoration enable the visitor to trace three centuries

of Panama's history.

Page 24

Two New Tugs

A Capital Idea I

October 1, 1981
From the Panama Canal

to the Great Wall

by Willie K. Friar

A new U.S. -China trade agreement has increased

the amount of cargo moving through the Canal

bound for China.

Page 34

China shipping was the focus of both

EXPOSHIP '80 and the Far East Trade

and Shipping Conference

held in Hong Kong.

Page 40

Kites are fun . . . and work . . . but

mostly funi by Susan K. Stabler

Kite flying is a 2,000-yearold tradition that originated in China and

found its way to the Isthmus. Page 44

Industrious Immigrants:

The Chinese in Panama

by Janet Lcn-Rios

Helping to run the Panama

Canal is part of the Chinese-Panamanians'

contribution to the growth

and development of their adopted country.

Page 47

The statistics speak

for themselves

Page 54

SS "Cristobal"

The End of the Line

by Fannie P. Hernandez

Canal residents hold fond memories of voyages aboard the SS

Cristobal. Her

retirement marks the end

of the Panama Line. Page 56

From the Editor

If you've been wondering where

the Panama Canal Review has

been since last October, let me

assure you, it's been around—to shipping and trade exhibitions in Hong Kong and China with its former editor Willie Friar, to remote

river stations in Panama's jungles

with Jan Meriwether and members

of the Meteorological and Hydrographic Branch team, to New

Orleans aboard the SS Cristobal

with Fannie Hernandez and to the

Casco Viejo in the heart of Panama

City with Susan Liang.

It is my hope that these stories and

the others contained in this issue of the Review are successful in con- veying to you, the reader, the

continuing importance of the Pan- ama Canal to world commerce; the

essential role being played by the

Canal employee in the safe and

efficient operation of the waterway;

the richness of the culture and the

beauty of the country in which we

live; and the wealth of memories

being stored up by those of us

fortunate enough to be a part of it all. The preparation of the REVIEW has

always been an effort of love on the

part of many people. Chief among

them are the staff members, who put

in long hours of hard work during

trying times to make story ideas and

photo possibilities a reality. Thanks

go also to Nan Chong, Pat Booth and

Beverly Williams of the Commission's Library/Museum and Eco- nomist Richard Wainio for their assistance in researching vital in- formation. A special debt of gratitude is owed to the Commission

Printing Office's Jose S. Alegria,

whose knowledge of typography and

advice on layout were invaluable in the production of this magazine.

All aniclcs and illustrations in the PANAMA CANAL

REVIEW may be reprinted in full or in part without further permission by crediting the PANAMA CANAL REVIEW as

the source. The REVIEW is normally published twice a year

Yearly subscnption is $3 50 for third class mail and $6. 50 for

first class mail The price for back issues is $1 75 for third class and $3 25 when sent by firsl class For subscriptions, send money order made payable to the Panama Canal Commission to PANAMA CANAL REVIEW, Panama Canal Commission Office of Public Affairs. A,P O, Miami.

Fla 34011 The editonal office is located in Room 100 Administration Building. Balboa Heights, Republic of Panama.

The Panama Canal Review
THIS SUMMER THE

Panama Canal Commission

added two new tugboats to its fleet, the H. R. Parfitt, named for the

last governor of the Canal Zone,

and the Alianza. The Progreso,

sister ship to the Alianza,

is scheduled to arrive in November.

The tugs are the first of four

currently being procured as part of

a Commission capital improvement

program to increase the Canal's

daily transit capacity.

The Parfitt, built by Thunderbolt

Marine Industries of Savannah,

Georgia, at a cost of $4.9 million, is one of the most versatile tugboats in the world and the largest of its kind

J

Two New Tugs

A Capital Idea

in the Western Hemisphere. Its outstanding feature is a unique

cycloidal propeller system that enables the tug to direct its thrust in any direction without changing its heading. In place of the standard screw propeller blade, the Parfitt is equipped with two 40-ton, five-blade Voith-Schneider propulsion units. The Parfitt's high degree of maneuverability makes the tug

particularly well-suited for operating

in the confines of the locks and

channels.

With its 4,000 horsepower, the

Parfitt has a capacity for pulling

80,000 pounds ahead or astern and

60,000 pounds sideways.

Six Canal tug masters were

specially trained to operate the new

tug by Capt. Arthur Robert

Naismith, an expert on loan from

the Harbor Board of New Zealand.

Naismith accompanied the Parfitt to the Isthmus from Georgia, following

its christening in Savannah.

The $3.9 million Aliar)za was

christened at the Dredging Division

in Gamboa shortly after its arrival. The Alianza's conventional

propulsion system with twin

propellers in Kort Nozzles is more

efficient than an open propeller

system. Although the Alianza

cannot direct its thrust sideways, its 3,000-horsepower engines are able

to pull in excess of 90,000 pounds

ahead and 70,000 pounds astern. The Alianza is the first tug

purchased by the Commission to have flanking rudders, which allow

the tug to be steered while backing.

Built by Bollinger Machine Shop

and Shipyard, Incorporated of Lockport, Louisiana, the Alianza is the seventeenth member of the

Commission's tugboat fleet. The Parfitt and the Alianza are both on duty with the Canal

Support Division assisting ships in Gaillard Cut, at the north end of Pedro Miguel Locks and in Miraflores Lake. The Alianza is also working at the south end of Miraflores Locks.

In addition to the new tugs, other

Canal improvements either completed or planned by the Commission include the purchase of additional towing locomotives, the

improvement of lighting at the locks

and a ship tie-up station to be lo- cated north of Pedro Miguel Locks.

8 October 1, 1981
Above, the tug

"H. R. Parfitt"

givesa push to

assist an Israeli

container ship

into the locks

chamber, while

the "Alianza," at

left, demonstrates

its firefighting

capabilities.

Opposite page,

the blue and gold

house flag of the

companii that

built the "Alianza"

IS removed and

the Panama

Canal flag raised

in its place

following the tug's

christening.

The Panama Canal Review
10 October 1, 1981
THE LIFEBLOOD OF THE PAN- ama Canal is its water supply,

and the responsibility for managing

this vital resource is shouldered by the

men and women of the Panama Canal

Commission's Meteorological and Hydrographic Branch. Utilizing computers and helicopters, as well as machetes and horses, the branch's

mission is to meet the water management objectives of the Commission:

assuring that enough water is available

for navigation in the Canal, while

simultaneously carrying out an effective flood control program.

The 41 employees of the Meteorological and Hydrographic Branch

cover more territory than any other

Commission group as they monitor

the 1,289 square-mile Gatun-Madden

Lake watershed. Runoff from the

watershed nourishes the rivers, principally the Chagres, that fill man-made

Madden and Gatun lakes. These lakes

supply the water essential to the

operation of the Canal and the

generation of hydroelectric power.

Billions of gallons of water are required daily since, for transit operations alone, every ship that moves

through the waterway uses 52 million gallons of fresh water, which flow

through the locks and into the ocean. One of the basic duties of branch

personnel is to collect and record

hydrologic and meteorological data, or data relating to water on and below

the earth's surface and in the

atmosphere. Early records indicate

that the United States' decision to

build a canal across Panama rather

than Nicaragua was greatly influenced

by hydrologic studies of area rainfall, river flows, flooding and lake levels. The earliest known attempt to systematically collect such data in Panama was a rainfall recording

At left, the early morning

stillness is broken as the drum

gates at Madden Dam are

lowered, releasing a thundering

cascade of water which will help

clear the Chagres River of

aquatic weeds and lower the

level of Madden Lake. At right, one of the earliest stilling wells,

which still houses a water-stage

register to measure the level of

Gatun Lake, is situated in Gamboa.

station set up on Taboga Island in 1861. The Panama Railroad and the

original French canal company, Compagnie Universelle du Canal In- teroceanique, kept hydraulic, or river flow, and climatological records, al- though these records were often

fragmentary and inaccurate.

French engineers wisely recognized

the importance of this data to any

construction project in a country

where deluges can deposit inches of water in a matter of hours and gentle

streams can be quickly transformed

into dangerous, raging rivers. Rainfall stations were established by the

French at Balboa, Gamboa and Naos

Island, as were stream gauging

stations on the Chagres River at Gamboa and Bohio. Records of water

temperatures, tidal variations and

barometric pressure were also kept by

the French, who used the finest instruments available. One of their original barometers is still functioning

perfectly in the Meteorological and

Hydrographic Branch office in the

Administration Building, a testimony

to the quality of the French instru- ments. When the second French company,

the Compagnie Nouuelle du Canal de

Panama, was begun in 1894 for the

purpose of constructing a lock-type

canal, efforts to collect accurate

hydrologic data were increased, and

The Panama Canal Review 11

This aerial view shows two of the major rivers in the watershed, the Pequeni and the Boqueron, whose flow into Madden Lake has been greatly reduced by lack of rainfall during the dry season.

self-recording instruments were used

for the first time. The collected data provided a valuable foundation to U.S. planners when the task of building the Panama Canal changed hands in 1904.

Brig. Gen. Henry Abbot, a consulting engineer for the second French

company and a member of the U.S. Board of Consulting Engineers to the Isthmian Canal Commission and the

U.S. Senate, had begun basic studies

of river and water storage hydraulics

for a lock-type canal as early as 1894. General Abbot was a firm believer in the importance of gathering such data

so that accurate forecasts could be made about the canal's water supply. He also believed that the key to building a canal across Panama was

understanding the hydraulics, or flow,

of the Chagres River. General Abbot was of the opinion that the failure of

the French to appreciate the im

portance of controlling the waters o

this powerful river was largely respon

sible for their lack of success Gathering data on the mighty Chagres

River and its tributaries and makinc

forecasts about the water supply tc operate a canal were the priman.

responsibilities of the Isthmian Cana

Commission's Bureau of Meteorology and River Hydraulics, which was

created in 1905 and was the fore runner of today's Meteorological anc Hydrographic Branch.

While the "Met and Hyd" unit has

12 October 1, 198

been moved around on the organizational chart many times since 1905, its mandate to report on "all natural phenomena which may affect the water supply and the consequent

navigation of the Panama Canal" has remained in effect. Over the years, new rainfall and

river gauging stations have been set up throughout the watershed to provide a more precise picture of the water situation in the Canal area. The

instruments installed at the stations are self-recording, and the data is periodically gathered by employees

CARIBBEAN SEA

AnaiN BRivER 0>-Ake

Watershed Sluliuns: I he Lonlinu.il yjlhL-iing ol hydrolnj;K;il ilat,i in the 1 ,2S'J-',L|Uai-c mile Canal watershed requires an extensive net wiirk ol dala-eollcetingstalittns .\slhe map illusirales. the Met and Hyd Branch currently opcrLiles ihirleen ramtall slalions. se\en rner stations and lour lake sialions, as well as the Ayua Salud study area.

who in the early days spent days

traveling by boat on the rivers and by

foot through the beautiful but often inhospitable jungle to reach the remote locations. A river or lake station consists of a small building to house data-collecting instruments and provide living quarters for crews when they have to work

in the field for an extended period of time. Although today these stations are still isolated in the jungles, modern

means of transportation, such as

helicopters, have made them more

easily accessible and improvements, such as screens on the windows and

gas stoves, have made the stations more comfortable. The backbone of the Meteorological and Hydrographic Branch's

data collection system has traditionally been the digital recorder, which is hooked up to a system of

floats and weights to measure water

levels or rainfall amounts. The 35

digital recorders now in use in the watershed take measurements and mark readings on paper tapes every

15 minutes. Another water-level recording instrument, the analog rec- order, is similar to the digital recorder except that it provides a continuous

trace on a paper tape of the river or

lake elevation much like an electro- cardiograph machine traces the continuous beat of a person's heart. Together these instruments provide

the hydrologist with an accurate

picture of the rise and fall of water

levels in the watershed. The transmittal of that data to the

office in Balboa Heights was drastically altered by the installation of a telemetering system in 1966 that thrust the branch into the computer

age. With telemetry, the water level of the river or lake elevation and rainfall amounts measured by the digital recorders are translated by an elec- tronic encoder into audio signals that are transmitted by radio to the

terminal. Currently, all of the river, lake and rainfall stations throughout

the watershed automatically tele- meter every 15 minutes reports of hydrology data taken by the digital recorders to the terminal in Balboa

Heights.

The Panama Canai. Review 13
During the 30 years prior to 1966,

employees known as "observers"

actually lived at the remote stations to monitor instruments and report in- formation to the main office. They

kept in touch by telephone and later by radio after it was discovered that phone lines were practically im- possible to keep up in the jungles.

With telemetry, observers went the

way of pith helmets and white

starched suits, but stories about these

hardy individuals, who lived isolated in the jungle with only the bare essentials

and the company of the Indians and

sometimes family members, still cir- culate. Meteorological and Hydrographic

Branch Chief William Shaw likes to tell a story about one colorful character

named Noon who was known for his dry humor. It seems that a chief of the

branch was ina boat upriver from

Noon's station when the boat tipped

over, spilling the chief and his gear into the swiftly flowing stream. At the same

moment. Noon received

a call from

the main office inquiring into the

whereabouts of the chief. Looking

upriver and quickly assessing the

situation, Noon calmly replied, "He'll be along any minute now. His chair

and cushion just floated past the

station." While digital recorders and the

telemetering system have greatly

facilitated today's data collection,

many aspects of the hydrologist's and

technician's jobs have not changed

over the century. Personnel must still trek into the jungles to check and

maintain the instruments at the

stations. In addition, they collect data

tapes from river, lake and rainfall recording instruments on a monthly

basis, and, as the saying goes, getting

there is half the fun. Because of the remoteness of the

stations, travel accounts for about 20

percent of the branch's field activity.

Four-wheel-drive vehicles, horses,

cayucos, piraguas (a widened cayuco)

and even helicopters are all used to venture out into the field. The most

frequently used mode of transportation besides one's own two feet, is the

cayuco,

a long narrow boat carved

from

a tree trunk and used by the

Indians for centuries. No craft has

been found better suited for navi- gating jungle rivers. The Choco Indians provide the Met

and Hyd Branch with unfinished

14 October 1, 1981
Just getting to the remote jungle

stations such as the one at Candelaria, at left, is a challenge

which can involve, opposite page

from bottom, pushing

a cayuco

up

a rock strewn riverbed or

traveling in four-wheel-drive

vehicles and in helicopters. At

top, river travel is routine for

palanqueros Jos^ Durango, in foreground, and Amadeo

Riquelme and for maintenance

leader Doroteo Guerrero, at

rear, who go prepared for

whatever lies ahead.

rough cayucos which branch per- sonnel then complete. The longest

cayuco used by the branch is 47 feet. "Palancamen," or pole men, stand in the bow of the cayuco and guide it with

long poles, though motors are used for speed and for maneuvering up rapids.

The nature of the work of the Met

and Hyd Branch requires its employees to spend a great deal of time

out in the watershed. The field office,

located at the north end of Pedro

Miguel Locks, coordinates all field work and is constantly buzzing with

activity as crews prepare to go out into or return from the jungles, rivers and

lakes. Crews usually visit each station

twice

a month during the dry season, and the work is often dirty, exhausting

and hazardous. But for every flooding

river, poisonous snake, biting insect

and muddy trail encountered, there are also the beauties of crystalline rivers washed in sunshine, unspoiled

tracts of jungle and peaceful solitude. Members of the Met and Hyd Branch

family seem to thrive on this type of outdoor activity.

Field crews take along their supplies, since very few provisions are stocked at the stations and there is no

electricity for refrigeration. The crew member who is randomly appointed

"cook" must prepare meals over

a small propane-gas stove, and the

concoctions devised range from di- sastrous to delicious. Sancocho, a hearty soup made out of whatever is

available, is the traditional fare for lunch. One group, however, found a

little something extra in their bowls

The Panama Canal Review 15

after the cook unknowingly boiled an unfortunate lizard who fell into the uncovered pot. As one man said,

"If it weren't for the claws and tail dished out with the meat and

vegetables, cooky might have gotten away with it." Because Panama's climate is di- vided into a dry and rainy season, the branch's work is seasonal. Most

repairs and painting of stations and

equipment and the clearing of trails into the jungle are scheduled for the dry months. As the rainy season, or

flood season, approaches, the branch

gears up for the added responsibilities, tasks and worries which the torrential rains and swollen rivers bring. The heavy rains that normally occur from October until late December or

early January are vital to the operation

of the Canal because they help to fill Gatun and Madden lakes. While these

lake levels must be kept as high as

possible during the rainy season in anticipation of the dry season, there is always a very real danger of flooding. A flood hydrologist is on duty at all times during the flood season to forecast runoff and river and lake

levels. During this period, appear- ances can be deceiving; the sun may

be shining over Balboa while deluges over the watershed are creating flood conditions. In the flood season, field crews spend a week at each river station every month to physically measure the flow of water past the

station. River gauging cannot be done

by self-recording instruments. The

task requiresa person to go out ina gauging car suspended over the river on a cable. When this is done at night over a rapidly rising river, the job takes

Although the design of the gauging car, at right and top

center, has improved over the

century, its function remains the same. Palanqueto Emilio

Valencia, opposite page, balances himself in a gauging

car while preparing to lower

a

current meter into the swollen

river to measure the flow of

water. Above left, hiidrological technician Ed Armbruster makes a delicate adjustment to a digital recorder, workhorse of the data

collection system.

on an added dimension of danger. When lake elevations reach

a

critical level. Met and Hyd personnel

direct the spilling operations at Gatun

and Miraflores spillways and at Madden Dam to safely discharge any

flood waters which could damage

locks machinery and Canal facilities. Each year the Meteorological and

Hydrographic Branch holds

a flood control exercise within the Commission to assure that the appropriate

personnel are informed and prepared

in the event ofa real flood that could

necessitate closing the Canal. The mighty Chagres River, which

presented sucha formidable challenge

to the builders of the Panama Canal, provides most of the huge volume of

water necessary to operate the locks. The course of the Canal through Gatun Lake follows the Chagres

riverbed. The Chagres, however, is also the greatest source of flooding. Hydrologists never underestimate the awesome potential of this powerful

river, which can rise as much as 15 feet per hour during heavy rains.

In 1966, the Chagres was running

high enough to wash out the gauging

car cable hanging 43 feet above

normal river level at the Chico River

station.

A hydrologist who was at the

station described

a sound like roaring thunder as the river rushed by with a

force strong enough to shake the

station and frightening enough to send him scurrying for higher ground.

The Panama Canal Review
18 October 1, 1981
Data collection in the field

involves a wide range of

activities and personalities;

opposite page, supervisory

hydrotogist Frank Robinson

visits the Agua Salud study area; above left, hydrologist Luis

Alvarado immerses himself in the survey of riverbed levels

while, above right, a gaily

bedecked Gloria Bazcorizo, a Choco Indian, signs her monthly

pay slip from the branch for

collecting sediment samples in the river.

In addition to its regular duties, the

Met and Hyd Branch conducts special

projects such as the Agua Salud study

area, a five-square-mile area in the

middle of the Madden-Gatun water- shed with physical characteristics that make it representative of the entire area. Instruments set up on this tract of land collect data such as rainfall, streamflow, soil moisture and eva- poration that will be used to establish

the parameters for a special computer

model. Once the computer model has

been adjusted to accurately represent

conditions in the Madden-Gatun

watershed, the branch hopes to use it as a tool to forecast stream flows and

resulting lake levels faster, more

reliably and less subjectively.

Another project that will reap future

benefits for the Canal operation is a sedimentation study currently underway to collect data on the nature and

amount of sediment in the river channels. Much of this sediment is washed downstream and deposited in Madden Lake, thus affecting the lake's water storage capacity.

In addition to their own sampling.

Met and Hyd personnel have enlisted

the aid of Indians and village school

teachers to periodically collect sedi- ment samples from the rivers and turn them over to field crews passing by on

their way to river stations. With the

data gathered from the project, the

branch can better predict the future

availability of water.

While the Meteorological and Hydrographic Branch's mission to manage the water supply of the Panama

Canal is unique, it does cooperate

with and exchange information, professional opinions and technical as- sistance with its counterparts in the

United States and Panama, including

the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Weather Service and Panama's Re- newable Natural Resources Bureau

(RENARE), the Institute of Hydraulic

Resources and Electrification (IRHE)

and the National Institute of Water

and Sewerage Systems (IDAAN).

The Met and Hyd Branch seems

blessed with high morale and a special

camaraderie among its members.

Some branch personnel attribute this to the sheer enjoyment derived from

their work, with its wide variety of duties and working environments. But more than just the pleasure of the

work is the recognition of the vital role which the branch plays in the

successful operation of the Panama

Canal.

The Panama Canal Review 19
Beauty in Two Sizes

The Resplendent

Quetzal

and the

Harpy Eagle

Quetzal watercolor

by Lois Morgan

IN THE COOL, MOIST CLOUDforests of western Chiriqui Province, one can catch a rare glimpse of a fabled creature once deified by

ancient civilizations. Magnificent in its glittering plumage of green and

crimson, the resplendent quetzal has

been linked to human history for centuries.

Also known locally as the "guaco,"

the resplendent quetzal belongs to the

trogon family, brilliantly colored, solitary birds that inhabit the tropical forests of the Americas, Asia and

Africa. While members of this family are not often spotted by backyard

bird-watchers, since trogons avoid

establishing habitats near townsitcs

and people, they are, nevertheless,

quite numerous in Panama. However,

the resplendent quetzal, thought by

many to be one of the most beautiful birds in the world, is becoming

increasingly scarce. Although most trogons are devoid

of ornamental plumes, the male

quetzal is an outstanding exception.

This bird owes much of its fame to the

elongated plumes which extend over and beyond the tip of its tail. The two

central plumes of this "tail covert" are much longer than the bird's body. An

iridescent golden-green, they measure

from 15 to 30 inches long and take

about three years to grow to their full length.

The feathers of the resplendent

quetzal are loosely attached to the

bird's body and come out easily. It has

been reported that a male quetzal will take flight from a branch by lifting off of it backwards rather than forwards

to avoid pulling the delicate tail coverts over the rough wood. The

female quetzal, like the females of most other bird species, is not nearly as striking as her dazzling mate. She

lacks the long, graceful tail coverts,

and her coloration is much duller. Quetzals, like woodpeckers, nest in holes in decaying tree trunks. This

arrangement does not seem to present a problem to the male quetzal,

who enters the nest and apparently

sits so that its tail is held upright

against the rear wall with the long tail coverts continuing upward and over

its head so that the tips extend out the entrance. Quetzals have been observed, however, with broken and

damaged tail coverts, perhaps as a

result of this nesting position.

(Continued on page 22)

20 October 1, 1981
WHILE WESTERN PANAMA

is the habitat for one of the

most beautiful birds in the world, the

tropica! lowlands and mountains of the Darien represent one of the last refuges for the largest and most

powerful eagle on earth, the harpy

eagle.

This magnificent bird of prey was

reported to be fairly common in Panama over 100 years ago, and

sightings of harpies were once rec- orded on Barro Colorado Island and in Pacora, La Campana, Fort Sherman

and Puerto Obaldia in the San Bias. Today, it takes the determination of an ardent bird-watcher to get a

glimpse of a harpy. Hunting and

extensive habitat destruction have

driven them to the most inaccessible

areas, where they make their nests in the tallest trees, usually well over 100

feet high.

For Dr. Nathan Gale, a veterinarian

and past president of the Panama

Audubon Society, getting a look at a harpy eagle in the wild meant flying to the isolated Darien town of El Real,

traveling upriver from there by cayuco

for two days, then scaling the rugged

Tacarcuna Mountains, where per- sistence finally paid off. Although the jungles of Panama are

alive with brilliantly colored birds, the

harpy eagle is an exception, sedately

clothed in gray, black and white. The

back, wings, tail, neck and head are varying shades of gray, while the

breast feathers are white and the

undersides of the wings are white with

horizontal gray bars. Toward the back

of its head an adult harpy boasts a double crest of dark feathers which,

when raised, gives the eagle a

.a^iw 3^1^^

particularly fierce appearance. What

the harpy lacks in coloration, it more

than makes up for in brute strength.

The word harpy comes from the

Greek "harpyiai," which means

"snatchers." In classical mythology,

harpies were fearsome creatures,

usually represented by vulture-like birds with female faces. A harpy eagle

sweeping through the branches at 40

to 50 miles per hour to snatch a monkey or sloth from a tree with its razor-sharp talons is worthy of its name.

Like most birds of prey, the female

is larger than her mate, in this case, about one third larger. An adult female

weighs up to twenty pounds and is approximately three feet long. A wing

span of from 5V^ to 7 feet makes the

harpy a powerful and agile flyer, but it

rarely navigates in the open sky.

Instead, the eagle deftly maneuvers in and above the jungle canopy while

looking for prey in the treetops.

Besides sloths and monkeys, the

harpy's quarry includes opossums,

coatimundis, porcupines, snakes and,

at times, large birds such as macaws. The eagle's huge and powerful feet

Its distinctive double crest

raised, the male harpi; at the

Panama City racetrack zoo

patiently sits for a portrait. The

harpy photos which accompany

this story were shot by T. G.

Kaye Richey, seen below

finishing up his assignment as

the eagle's trainer keeps a sharp

lookout.

with their three-inch talons usually mean instant death to unwary prey. Dr. Gale has had a wealth of experience with this awesome bird. He once kept an injured female harpy

in his backyard while trying to locate a

suitable residence for it. A part of one

wing had been shot away by a hunter

in Santa Fe in the Darien Province,

and the hunter was subsequently

trying to sell the bird. Hearing about

the harpy's plight. Dr. Gale chartered

a plane and flew to Santa Fe with plans

to buy the eagle, repair its wing, and

then get the bird into a captivebreeding program. During the trip

(Continued on page 23)

The Panama Canal Review 21
Resplendent Quetzal

(Continued from page 20)

To the ancient Toltec and Mayan

tribes in Mexico and Central America,

the quetzal was revered as Quetzaicoatl, the god of creation and

fertility. With the Aztecs, reverence

for the quetzal reached its peak.

Quetzalcoatl comes from the Aztec

word "quetzalli," meaning "precious

feather" and "coati" meaning

"snake," thus, the god was also known

as the plumed serpent. Over the

years, Quetzalcoatl emerged into a god with human form who adorned

himself with the beautiful plumes of the quetzal. To the Indians, these

plumes became coveted objects

whose use was limited by law to

royalty and nobility. Aztec law also made it illegal to kill a quetzal, and the

Indians were supposed to capture the

bird alive, remove the tail coverts and

then release the bird so that it could

grow another set. Some historians think that the myth

of Quetzalcoatl was largely responsible for the defeat of the Aztecs by the

Spanish explorer Hern^n Cortes, who

conquered Mexico in the early 1500s. Montezuma, the Aztec emperor,

believed that Cortes was the god

Quetzalcoatl incarnate returning to

his people as had been prophesied in a

legend. Cortes, who placed quetzal

plumes on his helmet, was received

with honors; and by the time the

Aztecs realized their mistake, he and

his men had captured the city.

Indian legend also offers an ex- planation for the intensity and contrast of coloration of the male quetzal,

with its crested head, upper plumage

and chest of iridescent green, and

lower breast and belly of deep

crimson.

The Mayans believed that after the

Spanish conquistador Pedro de Al- varado and his mercenaries had slain over 20,000 Mayas on the battlefield of Quetzaltenango (an area of Guatemala with a Mayan name meaning

"place of Quetzals"), the quetzals flew

to the earth and covered the dead

Indians with their green feathers. The

birds soaked up the blood of the dead

and have been crimson on the

underside ever since. After the Spanish conquest, the

quetzal was hunted relentlessly and

became so rare that some Europeans

considered it a legendary bird that never really existed. The quetzal was

rediscovered by Europeans in the

nineteenth century and its skins were

sent to Europe to collectors and to be

used in fashions. Although today the

quetzal is protected by law in some

countries, such as Panama, its numbers are still decreasing due to the

continued hunting of the bird for its plumes and the destruction of the

bird's natural habitat as forests are cut down for farming and pastureland.

It is ironic that the quetzal, the

national bird of Guatemala and the name of that country's monetary unit,

is far more numerous in Panama than

in Guatemala, since the destruction of the original forest over Guatemala's

central highlands has resulted in the

quetzal's near total disappearance

from that area. Most sightings of the quetzal in Panama have been in western Chiriqui, but the bird has also been

spotted in Bocas del Toro, eastern

Chiriqui and Veraguas. Scientists and

amateur bird-watchers alike travel to these areas to observe this rare bird,

since, with a little hiking and perhaps

the help of a local guide, the quetzal's

habitat is usually accessible.

One of the better-known areas for seeing the quetzal is on the Fernandez

farm in Cerro Punta near El Volc^n in Chiriqui. The family has reserved a

part of their farm for the birds and for a

small fee will take people to the area. The government of Panama has also

set aside the Volc^n Baru area, a

favorite habitat of the quetzal, as a

national park.

The quetzal, once thought to guide

the destiny of an entire civilization,

today must allow its own destiny to be

determined by human kind.

Above, even though few quetzals

remain in Guatemala todaii, the

quetzal motif continues to be

popular in fabric and jewelry

designs, as well as appearing on Guatemalan money, which is named for this lovely bird.

Opposite, the gentle

inquisitiveness of the harpy's

face can be deceiving, but there

is no mistaking the deadly

potential of the powerful talons.

22 October 1, 1981
Harpi; Eagle

(Continued from page 21)

home, he placed a sack over the

struggling bird to keep its head and

wings immobile and held the eagle on

his lap, grasping its legs to keep the

deadly feet motionless. "The worst

thing I could imagine was that I would

be cooped up in a small airplane with a harpy eagle loose," Dr. Gale re- marked.

It isn't easy to have an extra mouth

or beak to feed, especially when it consumes two to three pounds of meat a day. Dr. Gale relates that sympathetic Panama Canal police

officers often left bags on his doorstep

containing wild animals which had

been killed on the road. When

roadkills were not available, he fed the

voracious bird two pounds of beef

kidneys daily. Although the harpy

eagle learned to recognize Dr. Gale,

like all wild birds of prey it never became tame. The female harpy now resides at the zoo located on the grounds of Panama

City's racetrack, Hip6dromo Pre- sidente Rem6n. Along with a male

harpy obtained from a man in the

Volc^n area, it is housed in a special

20- by 40-foot cage. There are plans to move both birds into a larger cage at Parquc Nacional Soberania (Summit

Gardens), where they will be cared for by Panama's Renewable Natural

Resources Conservation Agency.

Dr. Gale's experience with the

harpy eagle actually began prior to his coming to Panama. While serving as

the assistant director of the Los

Angeles Zoo, he and some colleagues

collaborated with the movie industry

in the production of a film entitled "Harpy." The zoo sponsored the

movie company's purchase of two

harpy eagles, a male and a female, to

star in the film. The plot centers around a man, played by actor Hugh

O'Brian, who wants to do away with

his wife. He comes up with the

ingenious and sinister scheme of using a great harpy eagle to do the job. The

bird is trained to attack a wig, which he

later presents to his wife as a gift. Unfortunately for her, a harpy eagle

rarely misses its prey. The two harpy eagles were trained

for the movie in the arid Mojave

Desert of eastern California. The birds

became the zoo's property after the

filming was completed, but there was

one problem: the harpies had learned

to attack so well that they became

unapproachable. Frank Todd, a friend

of Dr. Gale and the former curator of birds at the Los Angeles Zoo, made

the mistake of climbing on top of the

eagles' chain link cage to get a look at a newborn chick, the first ever born in captivity. He was attacked through

the fence by the male harpy, and

extensive surgery was required on his face where the talons had struck him.

The harpy's regal if not fearsome

appearance, as well as its tremendous

power, make it a very impressive

creature. According to research by

Julian Chan, a historian with Pan- ama's Government Tourist Bureau,

the harpy eagle is recognized unofficially as the national bird of Panama.

The power and beauty personified

by the harpy eagle and the quetzal

make them two of Panama's more

remarkable birds. For as long as the

Isthmian forests and jungles remain

intact, these birds also will survive to awe and inspire future generations.

The Panama Canal Review 23
i

3. Correos Nacionales

Postal Administration

9 Plaza de Francia French Pla/a

Ji irtiij ijuil]

N I'.iLiL ii» ijc .1 usticia Palace of Justice

ae la cuiuau uc ilanania

7. Iglesia de Santo Domingo

Church of Santo Domingo

24 October 1, 1981
yntb t)^€inania i) ^fa^l

<^tonj uij ^uAan crlall d».iana

f'Koljctf' und iXllda Wnietlck

IF YOU ARE SHOPPING OR

sightseeing in Panama City and

venture off the beaten path into that part of Central Avenue beyond Santa

Ana Plaza, you'll find yourself in the

San Felipe section, also known as the

"Casco Viejo." Here, if you know

where to look, you can step three

centuries into Panama's past. Unlike

the historic ruins of Old Panama and

Fort San Lorenzo, life has gone on in the Casco Viejo, and history lives alongside hanging laundry, laughing

children, and noisy neighbors.

For the Casco Viejo, which translates into "Old Shell," is the site upon

which the present city had its beginnings. Situated on the tip of a peninsula that juts out into the Bay of Panama, the Casco Viejo was the

central setting for the second period of Panamanian history, which began

with the moving of the city from Old

Panama after it was reduced to ashes

during the attack of the pirate Henry

Morgan in 1671. Located a short drive or walk

farther down Central Avenue from the

downtown commercial section of Panama City, the area includes

Cathedral Plaza, the National Theatre

and the French Plaza. If you want to walk there from Central Avenue, you

can recognize Santa Ana Plaza by its thousand shoeshine boys and the men

discussing politics. Central Avenue

exits Santa Ana to the left of the

"Coca Cola" cafe, passes the headquarters of Citibank, narrows at La

Merced Church and opens again as it enters the heart of the Casco Viejo:

Cathedral Plaza, dominated by the

cathedral's twin towers encrusted

with mother of pearl.

Narrow streets lined with pastelpainted houses; balconies bearing

occasional cascades of flowers; tree- shaded plazas; thick stone arches;

weathered stone ruins; a carved

wooden altar totally overlaid in gold

cjn the Casco Viejo,

flower-bedecked balconies offer shade from the tropical sun.

leaf— all these and more survive in the

Casco Viejo to tell the story of the

tumultuous history of Panama as it grew from a small walled city into the

crossroads of the world.

Currently, renovation work is un- derway on many of the historical buildings in the Casco Viejo and the

neighborhood is taking on a new

brightness. However, much of the area is yet in disrepair, and the streets are never as clean as we would like theni to be. But the people of the

Casco Viejo, many of whose one room

combination living-dining- bedrooms

are fully visible to the passerby, keep a lookout over what goes on in the

street and are always ready to offer directions and a friendly smile. On a quick tour of the area the

careless glance will note only that this

is an old section, and not much more.

But given an hour or two for a leisurely

stroll, you can trace the path of Panama's growth from a province of Spain's viceroyalty of Nueva Granada, to a state and later a department

of the Republic of Colombia, and

finally, following its separation from

Colombia in 1903, to the independent

republic we know today.

The move to a new site had become

necessary when Morgan's attack on

Old Panama convinced the city fathers that the 150-year-old site was

indefensible. The original Spanish settlements on

the Isthmus were on the Atlantic

coast, called the "Castilla de Oro," at Nombre de Dios and Porto Bello. Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the

Isthmus in 1513 and there, standing

"silent, upon a peak in Darien," first saw the Pacific, which lay to the south,

and called it the "South Sea." Walking

into its waters, he claimed all that bordered the sea for the monarchs of Spain.

Shortly thereafter Pedro Arias de

Avila, also known as Pedrarias D^vila,

another Spanish explorer and Bal- boa's rival for power on the Isthmus,

had Balboa beheaded and became the

undisputed leader of Castilla de Oro.

Pedrarias then decided that he needed

a city on the Pacific coast with a

suitable harbor that would serve as a base for transisthmian traffic from the

lands he hoped to discover further south.

Thus on August 15, 1519, the feast day of Our Lady of the Assumption,

the first City of Panama was founded.

In the next century and a half it became one of the principal cities of the New World, growing to a population of 10,000. Pedrarias' foresight was confirmed as the Isthmus

became the chief route for travel and

shipment of treasure from all of Latin

America south of Mexico, and PanThe Panama Canal Review 25
C ommission employees Alida de

Obaldia Emerick, great-granddaughter of the second president of Panama, and her husband, Robert,

begina walking tour through the

Casco Viejo at the French Plaza, at

right. Below, while there they

examine one of the plaques

honoring the French canal

construction effort. Later, at far

right, they view the Golden Altar,

carved four centuries ago and

embellished with dazzling gold leaf.

ama became one of Spain's leading

trade centers. But finally, the very

wealth of the city, symbolized by its reputation as the "City of Gold,"

becamea temptation to Morgan and

brought on its destruction.

Authority to rebuilda new city at another site was quickly given by the

reigning queen of Spain, Mariana of Austria. Construction was begun near

the base of Ancon Hill, with plans for

a

great wall surrounding the city,

a moat

across the peninsula and cannon

guarding both the sea and land

approaches. The official transfer of the city to its new site was made on

January 21, 1673. One good place to begin

a walking

tour of the Casco Viejo is the French

Plaza, at the southern tip of the

peninsula. This plaza, dedicated to the

French effort to build

a sea-level canal,

is bounded by part of the original seawall. Vaults, or "b6vedas," in the

seawall give this section of the wall its old name, "Las B6vedas." Up until the

early 1900s, this area was

a fort and

the vaults were used as jails, primarily

for prisoners sentenced for minor

crimes. The legend that there is

a deeper set of vaults into which

prisoners were put to be drowned by

the rising tide lacks any basis in fact. Placed within a colonnade in the

seawall are twelve marble plaques

inscribed with

a history of the French

Canal construction years and the names of distinguished individuals who served in that effort.

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26 October 1, 1981
The Panama Canal Review 27
In the plaza stands the white, neoclassical Palace of Justice, with the

words "IVSTITIA" and "LEX," Latin

for "justice" and "law," chiseled into the upper front wall. Part of the palace once housed Panama's Congress and

today it is the home of the Supreme

Court of Panama and other lesser courts. Above the vaults is the seawall

promenade. At one time the wall stretched its arms along the shore,

then joined and closed off the city at 10th Street, where there was a gate

called the "puerta de tierra" (the land

gate) through which the city communicated with the outside.

The "puerta de tierra" gave access

to a drawbridge that spanned the moat. The city became an island every

night when, at the 9 o'clock curfew,

the bridge was drawn up and no more

traffic was allowed through.

The wall around the city stood 20 to 30 feet high and was 10 to 13 feet thick. Along the wall were 15 sentry boxes.

Part of one of the two bastions that defended the "puerta de tierra" still remains. Known as the "baluarte de

Jesus" (The Bastion of Jesus), it can

be seen at 10th Street near A Avenue.

About three blocks west of the

French Plaza at the corner of Fourth

Street and A Avenue, are the ruins of one of the first churches built in the new city, the Church of Santo

Domingo. In this church the first Bishop of Panama and Diocesan

Prelate Lucas Fernandez Piedrahita

celebrated the first pontifical mass for

the young city of Panama. Over the

years, the church was destroyed by

fire several times and subsequently

rebuilt. After the Colombian government divested the Church of its belongings, Santo Domingo was put

up for auction in 1857, sold, and

eventually fell into disrepair.

Inside the ruins of Santo Domingo is

a - " \\

28 October 1, 1981
the famous flat arch. Built without a keystone and with the slightest of curves, the arch has held for over two

centuries and was instrumental in the

decision to make Panama the location

for a canal to unite the Atlantic and

Pacific oceans. Engineers accepted

the arch as proof that Panama, unlike

other Central American nations, was

free from the threat of earthquakes.

Next to the Church of Santo

Domingo is a small side chapel, built many years later, that now serves as

the Museum of Religious Colonial Art. Worth noting in the museum is the

hand-carved, polichrome, wooden

statue of Our Lady of the Rosary.

Considered miraculous by many of the faithful, the statue is a relic of the

first city of Panama. Every October on

the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary a mass in her honor is said in the museum.

Farther west of Santo Domingo, on

the corner of Ninth Street, is the San

Jos6 Church, also known as the

Church of the Golden Altar. It is a

favorite tourist attraction. The altar came from an earlier church built by the Augustinian

Recollect Fathers in the first city of Panama. Legend has it that it was

saved from Morgan by a certain

Brother Joseph, who covered the

altar with tar and then had the

temerity to ask Morgan for a chari- table donation to help finish its construction. Morgan is said to have

exclaimed, "This brother is more of a

pirate than I!" and then to have given

the amount requested.

The church was later used as a school and finally abandoned until priests of the Augustinian order,

which had been banned from the

country along with other religious

orders by the Colombian government

in 1833, were allowed to return to take over the church in 1898. They began work on restoring the

church and in particular the ornately

carved altar, which they covered in gold leaf. Considered an especially

lovely work of art, the altar is totally

Creole in construction, i.e., made by

Central American artisans using local motifs such as vines and flowers. As is customary with Spanish cities, at the center of the Casco Viejo is a plaza where the cathedral and government buildings were constructed. It is

y

9k

siil

Sculptures of angels grace the

cupola of the beautiful San

Francisco Church in the Sim6n

Bolivar Plaza, above. Opposite page:

Above, in mute testimony to the skill of artisans of yesteryear, the flat arch, once the support for a choir

loft in the Santo Domingo Church,

still holds after two centuries.

Below, not far from the Palace of

Justice, Bob and Alida stroll along

the seawall promenade in the

French Plaza, where 17th century

soldiers once made their rounds, ever vigilant for pirate attacks.

The Panama Canal Review 29

known alternatively as Independence

Plaza, because it was the site of Panama's declaration of indepen- dence from Colombia in 1903, and as Cathedral Plaza. The first stone of the cathedral was

laid in 1688, and work on its construction continued sporadically

for over a century before it was

completed. The cathedral has one

center nave, four lateral naves and

two towers encrusted with mother-ofpearl from the Perlas Islands. The bells

in the towers are considered to have a

particularly beautiful tone and still ring out today calling the faithful to mass.

Next to the cathedral are the ruins

of the Jesuit convent and college. Completed in 175], the University of San Javier was short lived, however,

as the Jesuits were expelled from Panama less than 20 years later. The

building was burned in a fire in 1781, and the ruins that can now be seen on A Avenue are all that is left of one of the oldest universities in the Americas.Also in the plaza, on the south side, stands what was originally the Grand

Hotel. It was built in 1875 with a mansard roof, a sign of the French

influence of the times. Bought by the French Canal Company, the building served as their canal-construction

administration building until the United States acquired it along with all the other assets of the French Canal Company for forty million dollars. The

Isthmian Canal Commission, the U.S. Government agency responsible for construction of the Panama Canal, used the building as its first headquarters. It now serves as the Zone One post office building of Panama.

Next to the post office is the Municipal Palace. On this very spot stood the old "cabildo" (town hall), where Panama's independence from

Spain was declared in 1821 and from Colombia in 1903. The original struc- ture was demolished and replaced by

the present neo-classical building in 1910. It not only serves as the assembly hall of the Panama City Municipal Council, but also houses

the offices of the Panamanian Acad- emy of History and the Museum of History, which has many exhibits, including a 1596 map of the city of Portobelo, in addition to other maps

and documents of historical interest.

Directly across from the cathedral

stands the Hotel Central. Built in the

1880s, its first owners were the irhman brothers, members of a -irominent Panamanian family of 'rench origin. The wooden hotel has

?een better days. Once its guests were

jold prospectors traveling to and from

California; agents of the French Canal

Construction Company; and in later

.ears, employees of the Isthmian

Canal Commission. In the cafe of the

lotel, political and social leaders of Panama often met to discuss issues of 'he day. Today it hosts occasional

tourists of modest means, and all that

IS left to remind one of the hotel's former charm and gaiety is the original

%Jn the picturesque Sim6n Bolivar

Plaza, at top left, stands a monument to the famous South American liberator. At top right, the wooden staircase is the only reminder of the Hotel Central's former splendor. Above, once the Union Club, this building is now a club for the National Guard. Opposite page: Above, the cathedral

towers, encrusted with mother-ofpearl, glisten in the sunlight. Below

(left), shade trees and benches offer a place to sit and rest in the Cathedral Plaza. Below (right), this post office once served as the administration building for the French canal company.

The Panama Canal Review 31

staircase in the main lobby. Two blocks north of the plaza, on

5th Street, is the Presidential Palace, The palace was built by Judge Luis de Lozada Quinones, one of the two members of the "Real Audiencia"

(Royal Court) present in Panama when the governor unexpectedly died

in 1673. The judge did not hesitate in taking over the reins of government. Lozada decided to build a combination home and office at the best

point in the city. He commandeered

materials sent from Spain for the construction of the new city, diverted funds sent from Peru for the same

purpose, seized slaves who had been

assigned to the construction of the defense moats and used them all to

build his own home.

Constructed of hewn stone, the house was larger than any other of the

time. It had sufficient space to store

the gold brought from southern ports, as well as goods on their way from

Spain to the merchants of the southern colonies, and its location enabled the judge to keep a sharp eye on ships trading with Peru. The City Council complained to the king of this abuse of public funds and

labor, adding that Lozada was too busy building his own house to take

care of public matters. Charles II, in response to the complaints, placed the Bishop of Panama in charge of the government;

but it was not until Lozada's death that the building passed out of his control and became the Pacific Customs

House.

Later, the building was used as a storehouse and for a few years it was a school. Finally, in 1875, it was set aside as the residence for the Colombian

governors of the Department of

Panama, and from 1903 on, for the president of the newly independent

republic. In 1922, President Belisario Porras ordered the refurbishing that gave it the Moorish characteristics

that it now has.

In the palace today are a number of beautiful staterooms decorated with murals by the Panamanian artist Roberto Lewis, and on the third floor

is a penthouse, occupied by the president and his family. But most

impressive is the patio just inside the entrance to the palace, with its small fountain and its pillars encrusted with

mother-of-pearl. Since 1922, live her ons have moved gracefully about the fountain in the patio, giving the edifice a second name, the Palace of the Herons.

Southeast of the palace, on a small plaza on 3rd Street, stands the Bolivar

Institute, a coeducational high school.

32 October 1, 1981

In this building, originally the San

Francisco Convent, is the room where

the "Sociedad Bolivariana " meets.

This room, recently restored, was the

seat of the Panama Congress or- ganized by Sim6n Bolivar in 1826. A

ceremony here in 1956, attended by

President Eisenhower and the heads

of government of all the Latin .American nations, commemorated

that congress.

Bolivar, considered the father of the ndependence of South America from

Bpain, called the congress to discuss he formation of a union of Hispanic- American states. Although Bolivar

imself did not attend and the ongress was unsuccessful, his ideals

•re still alive today and considered the lope of the future by many Latin American nations. In the small, charming park in front of the institute

s a statue of Bolivar, notable not only

for its beauty but also because it is said

to be the only such monument in Latin

."America that depicts Bolivar in civilian

attire. One block over from the Bolivar

Institute is the National Theatre. Built

in 1907, the theatre was recently completely restored and has an

elegant beauty. The structure is neo- baroque and the interior is decorated

in gilt and red velvet, with ceiling murals painted by Roberto Lewis. The

theatre has excellent acoustics and

five levels that seat 995 people. The National Theatre faces the sea. Two blocks to the south is the French

Plaza, where we began. The entire Casco Viejo is not much more than

ten blocks by five blocks square. The current renovation program

being carried out by Panama's Insti- tute of Tourism includes reinforcing foundations and restoring decorative

and structural elements of buildings and ruins. Where needed, walls are being injected with epoxy cement for strength, while others are being covered with a special sealing material

for protection against the elements. Plans call for jasmine and lemon trees

to be planted in renovated parks, in addition to eventual illumination of these historical sites. At an approximate cost of $2.5

million, the project is meant not only

to beautify the Casco Viejo but also, and primarily, to preserve the historical buildings and plazas that recall Panama's varied and fascinating past. For the city's past as a crossroads

for enormous wealth, gold and merchandise of all kinds three hundred

years ago augured the role Panama

plays today as the crossroads of the

world, with the ships and goods of many nations transiting the Canal.

The Panama Canal Review 33

To the Great Wa

^«.- /.
China Trade and the Panama Canal

story and photographs

by Willie K. Friar

IN SIZE, SHE WAS DWARFED

by tankers that shuttle Alaska

North Slope oil through the Panama

Canal, and her cargo was small

compared to the payloads aboard the

giant containerships that tower over

the locks.

Still, the Wumen, a 475-foot-long,

66-foot-beam general cargo ship,

attracted attention at the Canal. She

flies the flag of the People's Republic of China (PRC) and transits by vessels under this flag were rare occurrences

prior to last year, with the number

ranging from zero in the early 1970's to a maximum of one per year in fiscal year 1977. In fiscal year 1980,

however, Chinese-flag transits in- creased to 29, nearly 300 percent over

the prior year, and in 1981 that number is expected to more than

double to approximately 65 transits. Even more important has been the

increase in Canal trade moving to and

from China in all vessels, regardless of

flag. That trade rose from less than 1 million long tons annually in fiscal years 1976 and 1977 to 3.2 million long tons in fiscal year 1979, jumping to 8

million tons in fiscal year 1980. This

year cargo originating in or destined

for China will likely exceed 11 million long tons, accounting for nearly 6.5 percent of all Canal trade. Two events have been instrumental

in causing the increase in China's use

of the Panama Canal. One has been

the tremendous growth in the size of the Chinese merchant fleet and the

other was the implementing of United

States-China trade agreements in 1980. The Chinese-flag merchant marine

has grown from some 250 vessels,

totalling about 1.2 million deadweight

tons in 1970, to over 850 vessels and

nearly 7 million deadweight tons

today. Additionally, ships controlled

by the People's Republic of China, but

registered in Hong Kong and else- where, are believed to total 2 million- plus deadweight tons and, last year,

36 October 1, 1981
SELECTED COMMODITY MOVEMENTS ORIGINATING IN OR

DESTINED FOR PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

FISCAL YEAR 1980

(Jong ronsi

To China

Wheat 2,730,653 Corn 1,264,508 Soybeans 846,302 Sugar 435,957 Cotton 360,010 Phosphates 284,759 Manufactures of iron and steel 227,224 Paper and products 210,901

All other 646,569

Total cargo to China 7,006,883

From China: Ores 596,195 Gasoline 315,614

All other 91,511

Total cargo from China 1,003,320

Total cargo to and from China 8,010,203

Total Canal commercial cargo 167,214,955 Percent of total Canal commercial cargo 4.8%

Carri^ing cargo

to China

In centerfold, two People's Republic

of China vessels pass through Pedro

Miguel Locks July 28, transporting U.S. wheat from New Orleans to China. The Yunghai, which carried 31,966 long tons, paid $26,898 in tolls; and the Hua)jang, shown entering the

left chamber with a cargo of 24,388

long tons, paid $22,718. At left (above), after passing through the Canal, the Wumen lies at anchor in the Huangpu River, having completed

a voyage halfway around the world. She transited October 23, carrying

general cargo from Houston, Tex. and Jacksonville and Panama City,

Fla. Agent at the Canal for the Wumen and all COSCO ships is Pacific Ford, S.A. Aided by a tug, the U.S. flag ship. Pride o/ Texas, at left, moves through the Canal en route to China with 34,430 long tons of wheat. Owned by the Connecticut Bank and

Trust Company, the vessel is repre- sented at the Canal by Boyd Bros. Steamship Agencies, Ltd.

the country had a further 1-1.5 million deadweight tons on charter. A significant part of that tonnage is being utilized in China's trade through

the Panama Canal, primarily to and

from the United States. Trade be- tween the United States and China

has increased sharply since the

implementation of bilateral trade

agreements between the two countries in 1980. Among the most

publicized features of the arrange- ments were the extension of most

favored nation (MFN) status to China

and the grain trade agreement.

Together these agreements have

resulted in China becoming the fourth

largest market in the world for U.S.

agricultural products.

The United States-China grain

agreement committed China to pur- chase and the United States to supply

from 6 million to 9 million metric tons

of wheat and corn annually, over the

four years beginning January 1, 1981. China can purchase more than 9

million metric tons, but must notify the U.S. Government before doing so. U.S. grain has been shipped to China since the resumption of trade

between those countries in 1972, but

the annual volume has fluctuated

widely from no grain in some years to approximately 4 million tons in fiscal year 1974 and 4.8 milHon in 1980. Through nine months of fiscal year

1981, grain trade to China through the

Panama Canal has totalled some 5.2

million long tons and is expected to reach approximately 6.5 million tons by year-end.

The grain agreement regulates

trade between the two countries, thus

assuring a sustained high level of movement through the Canal. Fur- thermore, increases beyond the

amounts guaranteed by the agree- ment could occur. Under the terms of the agreement, 80-85 percent of the

grain is wheat, while only 15-20 percent is corn. Since corn is used

primarily as a feed grain for animals,

this low proportion of corn to wheat

suggests no major increase in imports

for feed purposes is planned for the next several years; but if the Chinese

diet changes to include more meat (as

has the Japanese diet in the last few

decades), corn purchases from the

United States could rise sharply in the years ahead.

China's continuing growth in population, which is now close to one billion people, could mean an increased

demand not only for agricultural

commodities but for other United

States exports as well, depending on

future political and economic developments in China.

The United States Department of Commerce, recognizing China as a

potential market for U.S. equipment

and technology, sponsored the U.S.

National Exhibition in Peking in November 1981. This exhibition gave

American firms the first opportunity in more than 30 years to promote their products and services at a U.S. trade

fair in China.

The equipment included in the

exhibition was selected to present the

most advanced technology the United

States has to offer in the areas of China's most urgent needs.

Two hundred forty firms took

advantage of this opportunity to display their products, meet with

officials of various Chinese industries

and get a firsthand look at the country

and its people.

On the following pages are scenes

at the exhibition held in the Peking

Exhibit Hall, which was crowded

with students and business people

throughout the 11 days it was open.

The Panama Canal Review 37

U.S. exibition

in Pehing

Counterclockwise from left: Inside the Peking Exhibit Hall, U.S. and

Chinese flags drape the wall above

displays of U.S. equipment and

services. The soaring white steeple of the trade fair building makes it a landmark in the capital. A group of Chinese men gather around a computer display to listen to the commentary of an American exhibitor.

Officials of the China Ocean Shipping Company sign a menu in a Peking

restaurant before presenting it to the

writer of this article. COSCO, the PRC government agency responsible

for Chinese shipping, assisted in the preparation of this story by making

arrangements for meetings with ship- ping officials in Peking, Canton, and

Shanghai as well as providing many

opportunities for photographs, Be- gun in 403 BC, the 3,750-miie long Great Wall, like the Panama Canal, is one of the great engineering achieve- ments of the world. The only manmade structure that can be seen from earth's orbit, it is believed to have once stretched 31,500 miles.

HE Panama Canal Review 39
EXPOSHIP '80: Panama and the Canal on Exhibit

THE PANAMA CANAL COMmission joined Panama in participating in EXPOSHIP' 80, the

international shipping exhibition held

in Hong Kong, November 17-21,

featuring goods and services from all segments of the shipping industry.

In addition to contributing a photographic display of the Canal and a videotape of a Canal transit to Panama's impressive exhibit, the

Commission provided brochures in English, Spanish, Chinese, and Jap- anese for the more than 500 delegates

from all over the world who came to the exhibition and to the Far East Trade and Shipping Conference held

November 19-20. The exhibition, organized by the

publishers of Seatrade and set up on

the roof of the Ocean Terminal in Kowloon overlooking the dramatically

beautiful and busy harbor of Hong

Kong, afforded delegates the opportunity to see the latest technical

developments in shipping and a chance to discuss international maritime problems and the future of the

shipping industry.

The focus of the exhibition was on

China, and the first day of the

Shipping Conference had as its theme, "The Maritime Development

of the People's Republic of China and

the Hong Kong Connection."

Topics covered included: "China's

Shipbuilding Industry and its Requirements."

EXPOSHIP 80

in Hong Kong

At left (above), a U.S. Navy vessel and a Chinese junk are silhouetted

against the twilight sky in Hong Kong

Harbor as EXPOSHIP '80 delegates

return by ferry to hotels on the island

of Hong Kong. At left, Marcela de la Espriella de Martin, wife of the Consul

General of Panama in Hong Kong,

cuts the ribbon opening the Panama

exhibit, while her husband, Gary

Martin (at left), their two children and

members of Panama's official delegation look on. At right, wearing Panama's colorful national dress, the

"pollera," the Martins' daughter Lill Judith poses for photographers with one of the exhibition's guides in front

of the Panama exhibit.

40 October 1, 1981
The Panama Canal Review 41

CHINA CORPORATION OF S.

42 October 1. 1981

Seatrade international

shipping exibition

Clockwise from right: Scenes at Seatrade's EXPOSHIP '80 include Hong Kong's exhibit, which had

tourism as its theme; the flags of the

world's maritime nations flying from

the roof of the Ocean Terminal in Kowloon, where the exhibition was

held; one of Hong Kong's famous

floating restaurants; the People's Republic of China exhibit, which

featured China's shipbuilding in- dustry; former secretary of the Panama Canal Commission Tom

Constant and his wife, Clarine. with George Fisher, deputy director of the Panama Port Authority, and Gilberto

Harris, of Panama's Directorate of Maritime Affairs in New York, visiting Panama's pavilion; and a section of Panama's exhibit, one of the largest, which featured the Canal, the Colon

Free Zone, maritime activities, fishing and tourism.

IPBUILDING IN

HE Panama Canal Review 43

By Susan K. Stabler BETWEEN THE MONTHS OF

December and May, when Isth- mian breezes can whip a newspaper

off the front stairs or unwind a wrap- around skirt in less time than it takes

to say "Dry season!" local residents are given to flights of fancy. The sighing of palm trees and the clacking of bamboo are all it takes to

alert Panama's kiting enthusiasts that

there's a good tail wind blowing and

it's time to tie one on. Since 1976 high-spirited Atlantic siders have held a Charlie Brown Kiteflying Contest each year to coincide

with the annual Christmas tree burn in Coco Solo. The contest's founder, Dr. Mel Boreham, says that kite fliers of all ages turn out for the event, from great grandparents down to, in one in- stance, a year-and-a-half-old toddler. While it is a day of fun for everyone and the competition is friendly, preparations for the kite contest are

not, shall we say, taken lightly by the

participants. Weeks before the event, books on kite building and flying are put on reserve in the Cristobal High

School Library. There, would-be

contestants sketch plans and take

notes on various flying techniques in

hopes of outdoing the competition on

the big day. Prizes are awarded mostly along

traditional lines—most colorful kite, longest tail, highest flier, best home- made kite and so on—but recognition has been given spontaneously in new

catergories as the situation required. A "Greatest Tangle of Twine Award" seemed appropriate, for example, when five kites tangled into one line, creating a knotty airborne problem. And "The Flight of the Phoenix Award," named after the bird

in Egyptian mythology that became a symbol of resurrection after it self- destructed and then rose alive again,

Kites are

fun . . .

was fittingly bestowed upon one

youngster for his homemade entry. The kite, made with a ft-ame of dry,

brittle tree branches, flew for only a few moments before crashing to the ground, whereupon its young de- signer/builder patiently repaired it and

flew if again. Some contestants, like David and

Scot Hudson, go so far as to order

elaborate aerial toys from the United

States for the contest. Their dual-line, acrobatic kite known as a "Sky-ro- Gyro" trails a majestic, 70-foot red tail, and cost, according to Scot, "sixteen

dollars and fifty cents, plus postage."

Kite competitions such as the one

held locally are tame in comparison to the Nagasaki fighting-kite contests developed hundreds of years ago in Japan and still held today. The object

of the game could aptly be termed

"divide and conquer." Each participant has a small paper kite, usually

less than a yard long, that will fly in any

direction at great speed, with or without a tail. The handheld line of the

fighting kite is glazed with powdered

glass or porcelain, using egg white or

some other viscous substance as an

adhesive. The line becomes a highaltitude razor which, when guided by

the hand of a skilled competitor, can saw through an opponent's line and

set his kite adrift. Some adept kite fighters are able to encircle and snare a severed kite and

bring it back to earth to claim as spoils. Kite fighting has spread to other

countries, and India, in particular, lays claim to excellence in this sport. But it must be said that kite fighting is no

child's game: competition is bitter, often ending in violence, and the sport has long been banned in Malaysia for that very reason. The invention of kites is usually credited to the Chinese, but kites have had a sky-hold in nearly every corner

of the world for more than 2,000 years

Early Malaysian fishermen lightly suspended their baited lines ft'om leaf shaped kites to avoid frightening awa;

the fish. In Polynesia, kites have fo years been thought of as a means c making contact with the heavenPolynesian kites are most often mac

with native bark cloth called "tapa" combination with wood, rushes, feat ers and shells, which produces a ratt

in flight. Kites appeared in Europe arour

the fifteenth century. By tl eighteenth century inventive weste' minds saw no end to the possibiliti.

for their use. Kites became tools

scientific inquiry, such as in the case > Ben Franklin's famous kite exper ment during a lightening storm. Wit thermometers attached, kites were means of determining temperatures a

different altitudes. Kite flying alsc played an important role in the development of the first airplane by

44 October 1, 1981

the Wright brothers. They experi- mented with changes in the positioning of lifting surfaces on a specially developed kite to determine the effect

of different configurations upon flight. Records of the earliest uses of kites

in the Orient reveal that they occupied

an important place in religious and

social life. Kites were used to determine fates and make prophesies,

to announce births and other happy

events, and to fight wars and celebrate

victories. Chinese folklore abounds with tales about kites. In fact, the most widely

and

work . . .

cepted theory of their origin is 3ntained in a legend about a Chinese

;-neral named Han Hsin (196 B.C.). ne general is said to have flown a kite

er the walls of a palace he had under

^ge in order to gauge the distance tween his men and the fortress so

at a tunnel of the correct length

'uld be dug to allow his troops to

.ter. Kites were used to military ad- ntage again two hundred years

er, according to legend, when the

/

Two boys and two lines, below left, connect to only one kite in the case of David

and Scot Hudson's "Sky-roGyro," at left. Below, Leslie Griffin loves kite flying, but

tangled twine is one thing the author's daughter could do

without.

army of the Han Dynasty frightened

its enemy into retreating by flying kites attached with bamboo hummers over

the enemy camp in the dead of night. Kites large enough to bear a man

were used by the Chinese as observation posts. Later, when their tendency to dive to earth and splinter into a thousand pieces became

apparent, man-bearing kites became a form of punishment. So interwoven are kites in Chinese

folklore and history that even today

the ninth day of the ninth month is set aside as Kite Day or the "Festival of Ascending on High." By tradition, Chinese people of all ages fill the skies with colorful kites of myriad shapes and sizes on this day to float away bad

luck for the entire year.

In contrast to the Chinese, the appeal of kites to the early Japanese was religious and ceremonial rather than technological and functional. While the original Chinese kites were

basically rectangular, Japanese kites

were fashioned in the shapes of

butterflies, fish, turtles, birds, drag- ons, bats and deities. The symbolic

meaning of kites was very important, a

turtle representing long life and a dragon, known for its ability to soar above the heavens, represented prosperity. In the nineteenth century, the Japanese became taken with the notion that bigger is better where kites are concerned. The result was the

creation of the "wan-wan," an im- mense kite 90 feet in diameter, made

with 3,000 sheets of Japanese paper and weighing a ton, with a 430-foot- long tail. Needless to say, it took the planning and effort of a whole community to launch the kite. Today, Hamamatsu, Japan, holds a yearly festival built around the construction and flying of giant kites, although the proportions are not quite so ambitious as the original wan-wans,

nor the efforts to fly them quite so

frenetic.

lE Panama Canal Review 45
i

but mosth; i

fun!

Kites are an essential part of the

celebration of several special days in Japan each year, including the May 5 "Boys' Festival." On this day, fish- shaped kites are flown on a bamboo

pole in front of each Japanese home, a separate kite for father, mother and

each boy in the family. The fish represented is the carp, the Japanese

symbol for courage.

While no other part of the world can

top the Orient in the creation of exotic

and unusual kites, the United States is

still the front-runner in kite production

and sales. Kite flying is enjoying a comeback in popularity in the Western world, along with a general

resurgence in interest in the out-of- doors.

Although the world has changed

dramatically in the thousands of years

since the first kite winged its way

heavenward, kite flying has changed

hardly at all. Nylon line may have

replaced fiber twine, but flying a kite is

still one of life's simple pleasures.

Whether you are an Atlantic-side

community member participating in the Charlie Brown kite contest or a Japanese community member helping

to launch a wan-wan, the truth remains that kites are fun. For when

a kite soars, the human spirit soars

with it.

The hoisting aloft of fish kites

is part of the traditional

"Boys' Festival" celebration at the Japanese school in

Panama City. Each kite

represents a family member.

46 October 1, 1981
^^\fi^.

^

AMONG OLDER PANAMANIANS, THE WORD

"Chino" not only refers to Chinese persons, but also

to the corner grocery store,

a remnant of the early decades

of this century when more likely than not the corner grocery was run by a Chinese. Since that time, the role of the Chinese in Panama has extended far beyond the corner,

into every facet of Panamanian life. No one is quite sure when the first Chinese arrived in Panama. Indeed, in a book entitled "Columbus was

Chinese," author Hans Breuer postulates that in prehistoric times both the North and South American continents were

for centuries the recipients of Asian immigrants, both by way of the then-existing land bridge across Alaska's Bering

Strait and asa result of fishing expeditions which were

blown off course, then carried by wind and current across

the ocean. There is considerable evidence in support of both of these theories.

In any case, modern Chinese have been in Panama since

the late 1800s. What brought them to the Isthmus in the first place? As

nearly as can be ascertained, they did not so much leave China headed for Panama as they left home m hopes of a

better life elsewhere. War with Britain, followed by

a humiliating defeat by the

tiny island nation of Japan, as well as internal problems, had

left China in chaos and confusion. The Chinese left China in

fairly large numbers around the late 1800's and early 1900's

for the same reasons that people have left their homelands

for centuries— to seek relief and new hope when things became unbearable at home. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 Chinese may have passed through Panama during

this period on their way to other destinations in Latin America, As a race, the Chinese have been one of the most

stereotyped. Interestingly, however, the stereotype has changed over the years. While the early Chinese residents

of Panama were thought of as being mysterious, aloof and

lawless, they are now viewed as being industrious,

intelligent, courteous and patient, with great respect for their elders and for the family.

It is not difficult to surmise how the original stereotype developed, for the Chinese came from a culture where

everything—language, both written and spoken, dress,

religion, and customs—was totally different from anything known in this hemisphere. These differences made them

both unapproachable to others and clannish among

themselves, further isolating them and making them objects

of distrust and suspicion. The history of the Chinese people in Panama, as in other

parts of the world, has had its ups and downs. Chinese

labor, which contributed so greatly to the construction of the railroads in the United States, was also contracted to help build the Panama Railroad. Sources differ on the exact

Janet Len-Rtos, the Commission's SPILLWAY editor, is married

to Felipe A. Len-Rios.

a Chinese-Panamamar) emp/oyed as

a

ciuil engineer in the Engineering and Construction Bureau.

Felipe's father, the late Antonio ten, emmigrated from

Canton, China to Chiriqui, Republic of Panama in the mid

1920s. There he met his wife, Filomena Rios de ten, who now

resides

m Colon. The Len-Rioses have two Chmese- PanamanianAmerican children, Antonio and Maria.

number of Chinese that came, but it was probably around

a thousand. The Chinese workers gained immediate favor with their employers because of their industriousness. Despite their small stature, they equalled or bettered the work output of any other nationality group working on the railroad. The participation of the Chinese on the railroad was

short-lived, it turned out. as were many of the Chinese

themselves. What happened is an oft-told tale. According to the story, after only a short time on the Isthmus, the Chinese were suddenly possessed with a "melancholy" that caused them to commit suicide by the hundreds, hanging themselves by their long braided hair from trees or impaling themselves on sharp instruments. The fact of the suicides is apparently true, although no one is entirely sure of how or why they happened. Some say

that the depression was the aftermath of malaria; others

insist that it was caused by the withdrawal of

a daily ration of opium promised the Chinese workers in their contract. There is no absolutely verifiable explanation for what

happened, and it is likely that

a combination of events led to the suicides. Life was not easy on the Isthmus for anyone,

but it may have been particularly hard for the Chinese

because of the immense cultural gap that existed between them and the native population, as well as between the Chinese and other groups hired to work on the railroad. Combined with this were the heat and rain, sickness and

death that plagued all of the construction workers. To avoid further incidents, the railroad company quickly gathered as many as it could of the remaining Chinese and

sent them to the Chinese colony in Jamaica, hoping that there they would find the combination of cultural and

environmental factors that would enable them to survive. Apparently some Chinese worked on the French canal

effort, but Chinese workers were not used by the United

States in the building of the waterway. Chief Engineer John

Stevens was very enthusiastic about the Chinese and

invited bids on contracts to hire up to fifteen thousand Chinese laborers. However, a great hue and cry arose over

having the laborers imported into the Canal Zone to work

fora government that since 1882 had excluded the importation of Chinese labor into its own country. Of the Chinese that came to Panama during the French

Chinese

influence

in Panamanian

culture

On page 47,a traditional method of watering is used at the Chinese garden

in Margarita. Clockwise from top left,a

carnival dragon donated to the fvluseum

of Panamanian Man forms part of its Chinese exhibit; Sybil Harley L-am

receives acupuncture treatment from

Dr. Julio C6sar Wong; architectural embellishments add to the Oriental

flavor of

a local restaurant; Jos6 Chan

shows his sister-in-law Margarita and

niece Cristi an ancient way of doing mathematics; Virginia Tarn Le6n- Guerrero views a display at a recent People's Republic of China exhibit in Panama; and beautiful imported

porcelain ware is available in many local stores.

HE Panama Canal Review 49

canal construction era, it is believed that very few actually worked on the construction. Most opened small shops—groceries, laundries, barber shops and liquor

stores. Chinese business success is somewhat legendary in Panama. The Chinese, like anyone else, like to make

money, but their business philosophy is conservative, and

they have always been willing to work long hours and be

satisfied with

a small but steady profit margin.

Long before there were any roads, the Chinese were among the first to bring produce out from the interior of Panama for sale in the cities. Traveling by cart, the Chinese

traders would carry staple items such as hardware and

cloth into the interior and exchange them for the products

of the countryside. Besides shopkeeping, the Chinese were also involved in agriculture and operated truck gardens, referred to locally as "Chinese gardens," supplying fresh fruits and vegetables

to the construction workers. During the time of the American canal construction the Chinese were issued

special licenses to operate in the Canal Zone, where they grew produce for the commissaries and also delivered fresh vegetables from door to door in baskets hanging from yokes

that they carried across their shoulders. Perhaps it is the Chinese' great liking for

a wide variety of fresh vegetables that led them to become gardeners. In Panama, they have introduced a number of vegetables not commonly used in Panamanian cookery, among them the

different types of mustard greens, spinach, bean sprouts and the delightfully crunchy "Chinese yam." The vegetables

are cooked perfectly to retain

a flavor, color and texture

that would please even the most Western palate. Laboring with the same diligence that earned them their reputation as good workers in railroad days, the Chinese

gaineda reputation for being superior gardeners, producing

crops with their old-fashioned methods on plots of poor,

clay soil when more sophisticated instruments, employed

on better soil, failed. Mention the word "Chinese" and the first thing that many

people think of is food, for the memory of eating good

Chinese cuisine tends to linger, even if, as the joke goes,

that "full" feeling doesn't. The Chinese are recognized as being masters of the art of cooking, and Chinese food has a

reputation not only for being delicious, but also for being

easy on the budget. Here in Panama, the classified section

of the telephone directory contains listings for some two

dozen Chinese restaurants, and Chinese eating establish- ments tend to "mushroom" wherever the Chinese settle. The Chinese are by tradition family centered. An old Chinese saying states that the best worker you can employ

is

a family member, and most Chinese enterprises fiave been family run. While the Chinese have always revered

Tea

and

companij

DenisG Manfredo, (standing at left in top

photo}, wife of Commission Deputy

Administrator Fernando Manfredo Jr., entertains visiting family members at her home in Balboa Heights. Mrs. Manfredo

ISa fourth-generation Chinese

Panamanian.

their scholars, they did not always believe in

a great deal of education for the ordinary individual, feeling that an

educated child might seek employment away from the

family. Children, therefore, were educated to the level where they could serve well in the family enterprise, and

that was all. One reason why early Chinese immigrants kept to themselves was a fear that in associating with others their children would lose their traditional Chinese values and

forget old ways. Until the late 1930s, the Chinese living in Panama tried, whenever possible, to send their children back to China for at least part of their education in hopes

that the experience would reinforce and enrich their Chinese identity. This initial reluctance to meld into the culture may have been a factor contributing to the aura of mystery and fear that surrounded early Chinese immigrants in Panama and was perhaps an ancestral memory of centuries when China was literally closed off from the outside world. A measure of that mystery and fear was the name given to the central street in the section of Panama City where most

Chinese lived, Salsipuedes, which translates "get out if you

can." The Chinese community in Panama has changed

considerably since the days when Salsipuedes was

a narrow

lane lined with Chinese shops. Today only vestiges of the

old Chinatown remain near the public market area around

Salsipuedes and Calle Carlos A. Mendoza. Here one finds various Chinese stores, including barber shops, res- taurants, drygoods stores, laundries and retail groceries

that carrya wide selection of Chinese food items, such as huge bags of dried mushrooms, seaweed, all kinds of teas, various Chinese sauces and spices, almond cakes, pickled mustard greens, chirimoyas and a favorite treat of Isthmian

children, Chinese plums. While more Chinese shops are located in this area than in other places about the city, Panama in reality has no

Chinatown. The Chinese population has melded into the community and lifestyle of Panama, and the average Chinese household looks no different from any other household.

True, if one looks closely, the porcelain figure of

a laughing Buddha or the three traditional figures repre- senting longevity, fame and fortune may be found among

the household treasures ina Chinese-Panamanian home,

but in most households where these objects appear they are regarded as symbols of tradition and decoration rather than

Chinese

in the Commission

Clockwise from bottom left, Alicia Chen

ISa position classification specialist in the Personnel Operations Division; Ricardo B. Chen is chief of the

Industrial Division's Engineering Branch; Jorge Fong, a surveying technician, works out of the Surveys Branch in Pedro Miguel; Victoria Lee is a secretary-stenographer in the Admeasurement office; power systems

dispatcher Santiago Chang works at the Balboa Substation; and Alberto Wong is a sanitary engineer at the Mount Hope

filtration plant.

E Panama Canal Review 51
having any religious significance. The majority of Chinese in Panama are practicing Catholics.

National societies exist among some members of the

Chinese population in Panama, with membership in most

based upon the area in China where the member or the

member's ancestors originated. Some societies have tried

to maintain aspects of Chinese culture and tradition among

the young by promoting the Chinese language and from

time to time sponsoring programs of a cultural nature

featuring local Chinese artists and performers; but most of these clubs are now mainly social in nature. The Chinese Association of Panama is an organization of Chinese businessmen in Panama City that sponsors,

among other activities, a Chinese float in the yearly carnival

parade; makes donations to local charitable organizations

in the name of the association; and provides for elderly

Chinese who have no families or other means of support.

The children of Chinese in Panama no longer return to China to be educated, and while a generation or so ago

most Chinese grew up trilingual, speaking fluent Spanish,

English and Chinese, this is no longer the case. As often

happens with the children of immigrants, they learn the

language of the country where they live, not the country of

their origin. Few of the new generation speak Chinese,

although many still do learn English, the language of business and technology.

Chinese now reside in every area of the country, every

sector of every city and span all socio-economic levels of Panamanian society. No longer can they be thought of only

as cooks, gardeners or shopkeepers. The Chinese are also doctors, scientists, computer technicians, lawyers, en- gineers and entrepreneurs.

While the Chinese were not involved in the construction

of the Panama Canal, they are now involved in its operation.

The Panama Canal organization currently employs a number of Chinese-Panamanian men and women in a wide

spectrum of jobs, including employment in all phases of the

financial management operation, as well as in technical and

engineering positions. They are also among the trained

workers entering the Commission's ranks through the

apprentice program. The Canal, however, has yet to see its

first Chinese-Panamanian ship pilot. Past contributions by the Chinese to the development of the Panamanian way of life have been considerable. The

Chinese are now contributing with their learning as

professionals to the technical advancement and economic

growth of the country and to the well-being of its inhabitants. By working hard to better themselves, they

have become valuable citizens able to contribute to a country they have adopted as their own.

Chinese

traditions

in Panama

Right (top), looking regal in a dress encrusted with pearls, the Chinese

community's 1926 carnival queen, Emma

Chan, poses for an official portrait.

Right (bottom), the Chinese community

participates with a float in the 1981

carnival parade. At far right, the wife of a local businessman enacts the ritual of

lighting incense sticks in a Chinese

temple in Panama City.

52 October 1, 1981
•'*w

* »»«.»VI.''

OCEANGOING COMMERCIAL TRANSITS BY NATIONALITY

9 Monlto FY 1981 Long No ol Tons

Nalionolltv fronsffs Cargo

Belgian 75 1,182,341

British 649 7,596,779 Chilean 143 849,705 Colombian 105 964,462 Cuban 90 396,939

Cypriol 80 311,729 Chinese, Nationalist 103 1,328,615 Danish 202 2,224,305 Ecuadorian 208 853,531 French 66 831,014 German. West 190 2,664,734 Greek 1.175 18,327,219 Honduran 72 119,960

Italian 107 1,034.637 Japanese 879 7,389,990

Liberian 1.328 22.581,841 Netherlands 150 1.139.779 Norwegian 296 4,330,696 Panamanian 1.087 10,018,149 Peruvian 181 1,879,508

Philippine 118 1,570,661

Polish 72 319.677 Singaporean 126 1.318.624 South Korean 126 2,026,236 Spanish 95 514,873 Swedish 114 897.940 United States 1,584 26.262,876 U.S.S.R 405 1.365.026 Yugoslavian 97 1.108.058

All other 489 5,465,652

Total 10,412 126,875,556

9 Monllii FY 1980

Story by

Fannie P. Hernandez SS Cristobal

W.idely

acclaimed as one

of the safest,

most modern and

beautiful ships in

the world when put

into service in 1939,

over the \,>ears

the SS "Cristobal"

carried thousands

of passengers and

countless tons of

cargo to and from

the Isthmus. Her

retirement in

September at age

42 signified the

end of the historic

Panama Line.

At right, bearing silent witness to the ship's final transformation from

passenger liner to cargo

carrier, containerized cargo

sits on the decks of the

"Cristobal," seen here on

the Mississippi as she

departs New Orleans for Panama.

The End of the Line

I ,.* *Jl ' ' 11 III IIIIUIIIII III II" """""""""

The Panama Canal Review 57

SS Cristobal

WHEN THE SS CRISTOBAL

eased away from the Cristobal

piers for the last time on September

19, 1981, she left behind a wealth of memories for thousands of Canal

employees, many of whom began and

ended their Isthmian careers aboard

her. No longer the vital supply link between the Isthmus and the United

States, no longer the most efficient (and most festive) way to transport employees, the last of the "Three First Ladies of the U.S. t^erchant Marine"

sailed off for New Orleans to be turned

over to the US. (Maritime Administration. Her sister ships, the Panama

and the Ancon, had been retired in 1956 and 1961, respectively, and at 42, the Cristobal was the oldest vessel in the U.S. Merchant Marine still active

in blue waters. Although in her later years the passenger capacity was reduced to 12 and her principal function was to carry

cargo, in the first 10 years she spent

plying the waters between Cristobal and New Orleans the Cristobal was

first and foremost a passenger ship, often carrying a full load of 216, with

cars, household goods and commissary supplies a necessary sideline.

In one year she would make 27 roundtrip voyages, carrying some 5,000 passengers, 1,500 vehicles, 5,000 tons

of household goods and 154,000 tons

of other freight. She is remembered by most as a

family ship, friendly, homey, sometimes a little bouncy, but sympathetically so. She was famous for her food, and passengers on diets would deprive themselves for a week

in advance so they could guiltlessly give way to the terrible temptation of her menu.

Happ^/ days gone by are

reflected in these photos

takert aboard the "Cristobal" during the

1960s: outstanding cuisine served in the softlii-lit dining room was a major

attraction of the uoyages,

but the swimming pool and

shuffleboard were the real

kid-pleasers.

In those days the ship carried a doctor, and overeating competed with sunburn and seasickness as the most common ailment. But most of his business came during the first 24

hours. After that, people got their sea

legs, gave up trying to eat everything on the menu, and settled down to shuffleboard, splashing in the pool, and getting to know the people they'd been casually saying hello to on the job and in the commissary for the past two

years. Many a lifelong friendship dates from a voyage together, and the Canal

organization was better for those

informal ties that crisscrossed the

organizational chart. During the summer months, in order to accommodate families with school-age children, sailing dates were

adjusted with an eye on the school

calendar. Long-time Isthmian resident Jeneth Baker, who also sailed on one

served on the main deck, the kids came running, slicking down their wet

hair to sip bouillon from china bowls. Meal times were announced on

chimes and dinner was the social event of the day. One dressed for "Jk dinner, the men in coat and tie, the

ladies in long dresses, and the children

in their Sunday best. The mirrored

dining room was colorful and cool. The chandeliers sparkled, and there was a lamp on each immaculately- laid, table. Impeccably-attired waiters al- ways were willing to please the whims

of passengers. Mrs. Baker remembers the captain's Saturday night dinners as the

highlight of the voyage. The Cris- tobaFs menus offered Alaska King

crab, lobster, filet mignon, prime ribs, sirloin steak, oysters, shrimp, Virginia ham, smoked fish, turtle soup, gumbo

soups, health foods and a variety of

fling before hitting the books. From

time to time, they became a little rowdy and a few deck chairs went

over the side, cushions were tossed

into the pool, and, on at least one

occasion, apples and oranges were

thrown into the Cristobafs steam

whistle. The Cristobal was known as a happy ship. The atmosphere con- veyed on board was one of ease and

well-being. Her crews shared a great

pride and affection for the vessel. They stayed on for years and

contributed immensely to the ship's personality. Captains, cooks, engineers, electricians, stewards and

stewardesses and other members of the Cnsfobafs family left an indelible mark in the minds and hearts of the passengers who sailed with them. Without a doubt, anyone who ever

sailed with the remarkable Mary

of the ship's last voyages, described

with nostalgia her first voyage on the Cristobal as a child one summer

nearly 30 years ago. In those days the

ship went to New York instead of New

Orleans, with a stop at Port-au-Pnnce,

Haiti. More than half of the passengers

boarding at Cristobal were children,

recalls Mrs. Baker, all spiffed up in their best clothes, but it didn't take them long to find the pool and get changed into their bathing suits. The

voyage was a festive one, with children running all over the ship, making

friends, playing games in and out of the pool, and getting into mischief. In the evenings, while their parents

partied or rendezvoused in the bar, the children, in pajamas, ate popcorn

and watched movies in the lounge. The beautiful, tiled pool was the most popular spot on the vessel. When the mid -morning snack was

fresh fruit. It all added up to the finest food available. After one evening meal

the captain asked Mrs. Baker's father what he wanted for dessert and he

replied that he really preferred another juicy steak. That is exactly what he got. After dinner there were "horse- races" on the promenade deck, bingo games and other games and it was

customary for many passengers to

stroll around and around the deck

with their small children in tow. At the end of summer, to make

leaving home to return to school less

painfijl for the college students, the Cristobal offered "college specials," with Lucho Azc^rraga or a local combo going along from time to time

to provide musical entertainment. Those voyages were lively indeed, with dancing and the fun and antics of carefree young people on their last

58 October 1, 1981

Fawson will long remember this

spirited, vivacious, caring human

being whose official title was "stewardess," but who for 19 years served

also as nurse, babysitter, confidant,

ifeboat drillmaster, waitress, laun- dress and general problem solver. According to one passenger, "Mary

did everything but steer the ship." Born in Coventry in the Midlands, Mary worked for Britain's Civil Defense for five years during World War II, as a Red Cross nurse by day

and as a munitions worker by night. A war widow, Mary began her

:areer in the British Merchant Marine

n 1957 and, prior to boarding the

Cristobal on June 7, 1963, had served

on the British Railway's SS Isle of Sook to the Channel Island of Jersey;

the R.M.S. Edinburgh CastietoSouth

Africa; the Southern Cross and the R.M.S. Rangitofo, often seen at the

The Panama Canal Review 59
f

41 *
SS Cristobal

Canal; the Grace Line's Santa Paula and the Brazil of the Moore Mc- Cormack Line. With her philosophy "to do good to every human being who comes my

way," Mary took a personal interest in each and every passenger on the ship. To assure the happiest and safest voyage possible, she took it upon

herself to offer lifeboat drills. Pas- sengers who sailed with Mary will remember her sincerity as she lined them up in the upper lounge, checked

each life jacket, and went through the motions of how to jump into the water

or into a lifeboat safely and how to survive in the water. She was so

convincing and protective that Commission employee Dorothy Manthorne, who sailed with Mary on

several occasions, remarked, "1 would

not be afraid to go down with Mary on

board. I feel sure that she would see to

it that we were all saved." When the Cristobal became a

freighter, the scope of Mary's duties was reduced, but the enthusiasm with which she continued to serve the

ship's twelve passengers and its

officers never diminished. The responsibility for piloting the Cristobal the 1,403 nautical miles between Cristobal and New Orleans

over the last 15 years rested with her master Capt. Joseph P. Krieg. Relieving him as captain was Robert

Jensen, who joined the Cristobats crew in 1967. Between the two of them

they experienced a fair share of excitement aboard what Jensen liked to call "the Queen of the Caribbean." One unforgettable experience took

place on an evening in August of 1969, when the gale winds of Hurricane

Camille. one of the most devastating storms to ever hit the United States, carried the Cristobal on a wild, three- mile ride away from her anchorage in the Mississippi. With more than 200 Isthmus-bound passengers aboard, 96

of them children, the Cristoba/ veered

past other vessels, her anchor chains

dragging, and eventually went aground on the river bank. What ensued was quite literally a nightmare, as life-jacketed passengers

gathered in the pitch-black darkness

of the lounge, badly frightened but remaining calm. Red, muddy water blew in through the promenade

windows, and the lounge and all the decks were awash with seawater and

rain. Clothes, bed linen and mattresses were soaked as the state- rooms flooded, and water sloshed

across the corridors. Trucks and

trailers carried as cargo broke from

their moorings and overturned. The

bolted benches in front of the ship's stack were pulled away by the force of the wind and blown from the vessel. The ship's wind gage blew out at 165 mph.

Boatswain Isaac Wing recalled his fear that the ship would catch fire as sparks flew from short-circuited elecNicaragua when a small boat signaled

the ship to slow down. Thinking the boat was in distress, the Cristobal reduced speed, at which point the

boat's occupants held up lobsters they wanted to sell or trade. On another voyage, a young soldier who subsisted solely upon the snacks

served on deck at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. was asked by the steward on the third day out why he didn't go to the dining W^?^^

f„£ii_,

trical equipment. The Cristobal's

position on the river bank shifted several times during the course of the

night; but despite overturned tables and chairs, broken china and slippery

floors, miraculously, no one was

injured. By morning, the storm had passed and two tugs arrived to pull the Cristobal off the bank of the Mississippi. Captain Krieg took her into port for assessment of the damage,

and most of the passengers were

flown to the Isthmus. The following week the Panama

Canal Spillway carried a story on the hurricane that included a verbatim

transcript of a letter written from on

board the Cristoba/ during the storm

by 13-year-old Gary Tochterman, the son of a Canal couple. "Don't ever get

in a hurricane," he wrote to a friend. "I'm not exaggerating either. It is worse than 1 can describe." Not all of the noteworthy hap- penings on the Cristobal were trau- matic, as in the case of the hurricane. Some were merely exasperating, others poignant and a few, downright

funny. Once, for example, the Cristobal was northbound off the coast of

60 October 1, 1981

room for meals. He replied that he

didn't have the money to pay for them. Passengers also provided some

humorous moments aboard ship. One woman who boarded in Haiti wore a

life jacket and slept in a chair on the promenade deck the entire trip from

Port-au-Prince to New York City. Beginning in 1961, when the Pan- ama Line's terminus was moved from New York, the Canal's business in New Orleans was handled by repre- sentatives of three Panama Canal

divisions; Water Transportation, Pro- curement and Accounting. For 20

years the careful judgments and

intelligent decisions made in the New

Orleans office were responsible for the smooth and economical flow of all goods, from groceries to paper clips, to the Panama Canal. Working with their counterparts in the Water Transportation Division's Cristobal office, the members of the New Orleans shore staff also had

'esponsibility for assisting the Cris- obafs passengers in clearing customs

and immigration and getting their :iaggage, pets and vehicles off the

essel without delay. Sometimes it took more than one

ry to accomplish that task. Cargo

The Panama Canal Review 61

specialist Jean Piedescaizo, who

numbered among her duties the job of getting Cristobal passengers and their belongings from the ship to the

terminal, recalls one particular man

who debarked with six dogs in tow. In the confusion of getting the dogs off the ship and into Jean's waiting van,

the man forgot his wife. Jean had to make another trip back to the ship to pick her up. Patience and good humor have been characteristics of other staff members who served the Panama

Canal community in such ways as helping to find lost shipments of household goods and arranging hotel reservations and air transportation for passengers who missed the Cris- tobafs sailing. On one occasion the staff went so

far as to track down a bejeweled pet poodle that had jumped from the arms

of a boarding woman passenger into the Mississippi River and had swum

upstream against the current until he was out of sight. The crews aboard two tugboats went out to search for the dog, but came back emptyhanded.

It took reassurances from the shore

staff that everything possible would be done to find the dog to convince the

hysterical woman to board the Cris- tobal without her beloved pet. Food

was put in various areas of the port, and on the third day the pooch

appeared, apparently no worse for his taste of life on the Mississippi. The

poodle was sent by plane to his mistress on the Isthmus. Heading up the shore staff was

general agent Joseph Quintas, who

had regular dealings with local employees of the Storehouse and Water

Transportation divisions in expediting

supplies to the Canal. With the retirement of the Cristoba/, the job of carrying supplies to the Panama Canal and its employees

People and places are part of

the "Cristobal's" past: counterclockwise, stewardess Mary Fawson, a friend to all passengers; in the wheelhouse,

Capt. Joseph Krieg and WTD

Acting Chief James Bird, who

was once the "Cristobal's" purser; the vessel's first home

port; everything from groceries

to locomotives shipped to the Canal from New Orleans.
SS Cristobal s:%

and transporting their vehicles and

household goods has been taken over by a vessel under contract with the

Defense Transportation System. The

Water Transportation Division has

been abolished, but the New Orleans

office continues many of its past

functions as part of the Storehouse

Division. While it's the end of the line for the

42-year-old Cristobal, the memories

she left with Canal employees will last a lifetime.

The staff members of the Water

Transportation Division's New

Orleans office, at right, pose for a final group portrait, and the

Carlin family, below, waves a

teatful goodbye.

62 October 1, 1981
THE RETIREMENT OF THE

SS Cristobal this year brings to an end 133 years of U.S. Governmentsponsored steamship service between

the United States and the Isthmus of Panama, a service that had its beginnings in March 1848, a year

before the discovery of gold in California. Even then, the Congress of the United States realized the value of the Isthmus of Panama in providing a

rapid means of communication be- tween the east and west coasts of the

country (which at that time numbered

29 states) and authorized the Navy to contract for the carrying of mail by

steamer from New York and New

Orleans to California and Oregon, via the Isthmus.

The same realization of the value of the Isthmus as a convenient route to the west coast led the following year,

in 1849, to the commencement of work on a railroad across the Isthmus.

The Panama Railroad Company was, however, a private corporation, es- tablished under an act of the New

York legislature and incorporated

under the laws of New York. One can

imagine the jubilation of the stockholders when the news came later that year that gold had been discovered in California. During the construction of the

railroad, the company chartered more

than 100 vessels to carry supplies and

soon realized that it would be

convenient to have ships of its own. One of its first maritime ventures was

in 1850, when it began operating two

small steamers on the Chagres River. One of them was used to tow barges in connection with the construction

work, but the other was put to work

carrying passengers upriver to a point

below Gorgona, about halfway across

the Isthmus, from which point trav- elers rode mules or walked the rest of the way.

The Panama Railroad Company

was a money maker from the start, and travelers paid $5 just to walk the

right of way before the trains started

running. Soon after the railroad

opened, in 1855, the company saw a need for its own steamship line to serve shippers and to promote

business for the railroad. The next

year the company founded the

Central American Line, which in time

operated steamers on a route which

included all of the Pacific coast ports

between Panama and Acapulco.

The End of the Line SS CRISTOBAL

In 1881, the French Canal Company obtained control of the Panama

Railroad Company, but the company

continued to function under principally United States management.

The Railroad got out of the steamship

business for a while, content to depend upon the services of the

Pacific Mail Company, a private,

government-subsidized line; but in 1893 the Railroad started the Columbian Line between New York and

Colon, and in 1896, it was renamed the

Panama Railroad Steamship Line.

Among the ships acquired when the

Columbian Line was founded were the

Allianca, the Advance, and the

Finance, which ten years later were to transport thousands of workers to the

Isthmus to take part in the construction of the Canal. In 1904, when the

United States purchased the French

holdings, the railroad and its steamships became the property of the

United States. In 1905, the steamers

Mexico and Havana were purchased

from the Ward Line and renamed

Colon and Panama, and in 1908, the

freighters Shawmut and Tremont

were purchased from the Boston

Steamship Company and renamed

Ancon and Cristobal.

These namesakes of the last three

Panama Canal ships were used in those early days to carry heavy

cargoes of machinery, cement and

other building materials for the

construction effort. The Ancon made

history when she left Cristobal pier on

the morning of August 15, 1914, to make the first official transit of the

Panama Canal. Actually, her sister ship the Cristobal had transited the

Canal some days earlier, on August 3,

in an unpublicized test to make sure

that everything would work. Credit

also goes to the Allianca, which was

the first ship put through a lock. She

was locked through Gatun Locks

from sea level to Gatun Lake and back on June 8, 1914. A slump in world trade in the early

1920s, together with the decline in cargo to the Canal Zone following the

end of the construction of the Canal,

resulted in a reduction in the fleet of the Panama Railroad Steamship Line.

The Allianca and Advance were taken

out of service. The Finance had sunk

in New York harbor in 1908. The Ancon and Cristobal, reconditioned for passenger/cargo service

at a cost of $1 million each, continued

to provide service from New York to the Isthmus until 1939. That year they were replaced by three first-class, cargo/passenger ships, the Cristobal,

the Panama and the Ancon. These

sister ships were constructed by the

Shipbuilding Division of Bethlehem

Steel at Quincy, Mass. at an approximate cost of $4 million each, paid for out of the earnings of the Panama

Railroad.

The Cristobal, the third and last of the ships to be constructed, slipped

into the water on March 4, 1939, after Mrs. Clarence S. Ridley, wife of the

Canal Zone Governor, shattered a

bottle of champagne on her bow. The

Cristobal sailed from New York in late August, her arrival eagerly awaited by

many an Isthmian ready to make the return trip to attend the World's Fair. The new ships were the first to be

built in an American shipyard under

the stringent safety regulations outlined by the United States Maritime

Commission. Widely acclaimed as the

safest and most modern of their time,

the vessels were, in the words of the

Panama Railroad Steamship Line's Vice President T. H. Rossbottom, "a

fleet of ships as beautiful and modern

and advanced in New World comforts

as American skill and ingenuity could

make them."

Completely fireproof from stem to

stern, they marked the beginning of a new era in shipbuilding in world

standards of safety, efficiency, and

attractiveness and were unique in the

spaciousness and comfort of pas- senger accommodations. Differing

only in their interior decor, they

featured air-conditioned public

rooms, a bathroom for each state- room, and furnishings of fireproof

materials. They had eight veranda

suites overlooking the sea, with a

cluster of four large staterooms

around each veranda; unusually wide,

glass-enclosed promenades; spacious sun decks; a tiled swimming pool; a

children's playroom, and many other

innovations seen only on the transatlantic luxury liners of the day.

The vessels, each with its dove grey

The Panama Canal Review 63

The End of the Line

^

I

64 October 1, 1981

The original SS "Ancon," seen at far left (top) and above, helped

carry 1,500 Barbadian laborers

to Cristobal in 1909 and in 1914 made the first official transit of

the Canal. The "Cristobal" and

the "Allianca," at left (top and

bottom) had actually made prior

test runs. The construction of

three new ships for the Panama

Line in 1939 was a news-making

event across the United States.

U.S. Secretary of War and Mrs. Harry Woodring took part in the "Ancon's" christening, at far

right. The ship's luxurious

nterior, at right (top to bottom), was typical also of the "Cristobal" and "Panama." The

"Ancon," seen at far left bottom) in Pedro Miguel Locks,

set a glorious record of wartime

service.

^^^.

The Panama Canal Review 65
hull, white superstructure and tan

funnel with silver bands, were the

cooperative effort of well-known naval

architect George Sharp and Raymond

Loewy, a famous industrial engineer of

his time.

In the years prior to the acquisition

of the three new vessels, the old

Ancon and old Cristobal had offered

10-day, roundtrip voyages between

Cristobal and New York, with Port- au-Prince, Haiti as a port of call on

both southbound and northbound

sailings.

When the new ships were put into service, the Panama Railroad Steamship Line shortened its name to the

Panama Line and for the first time

advertised its steamship service to

lure the tourist trade. The New York

to Panama cruises featuring sightseeing tours of Port-au-Prince became

very popular. In addition to passengers, the ships carried tons of bananas

from Central America and raw cotton,

coffee, sugar, plantains and lumber

that were loaded on at Port-au-Prince.

The vessels were earning their keep.

When the war came, the Panama

and Cristobal were taken over by the U.S. Army Transport Service and

converted to troop carriers. But

probably no American merchant ship

had a more distinguished war career than the Ancon. She was the first and

best known of the U.S. Navy

communications ships and for two

years was the only headquarters

communications vessel in the Euro- pean Theater. She traveled further, was in more major operations and

carried more famous political and

military leaders than any other ship of her type. The Ancon had many close

calls in combat, but, miraculously,

while ships alongside her were tor- pedoed and sunk, she was never hit. She participated in the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, Salerno and

Normandy. When the war ended in Europe, she was converted for Pacific duty, miles of wire and tons of sensitive radio devices installed below

and above deck. She took an active

part in the Okinawa campaign and on

September 2, 1945, it was from the

Ancon that the news of the final surrender of Japan was flashed to the

world from Tokyo Bay. Aboard were

90 war correspondents, photographers and newsreelmen repre- senting the United States, England,

China and Australia. Among them

The End of the Line SS CRISTOBAL

were John Mason Brown, who was to write "To All Hands," a summary of invasion experiences on the Ancon,

and Quintin Reynolds, who wrote

about the Ancon in "The Curtain

Rises." With a glorious record of service to her country, the Ancon was

returned to the Panama Line on

February 25, 1946. The Panama, renamed the James

Parker, called frequently at Cristobal

during the first part of the war. Later,

she was on the Atlantic run as far as South Africa and then operated

between the United States and the

Atlantic Theater of War. Just before

her return to civilian service, the

vessel was again converted, this time

for carrying brides and babies. On one

voyage, the Panama also brought

back $80 million worth of paintings

that the Germans had looted from

various European capitals. Space was made for the art works in the air- conditioned dining room, and later they were delivered to the National Art Gallery in Washington , D.C.

When the Panama was returned to the line after the war, passengers and

cargo went aboard for the first post- war sailing out of New York on September 20, 1946. Half an hour

before sailing time, a maritime strike was called and the Panama was held

in port. For 14 days the passengers

lived aboard the ship courtesy of the

Panama Line. The Cristobal was returned on

June 14, 1946, after four years and five months of military service. The

vessel's first war duty was to carry troops to Australia, where she re- loaded and carried field artillery to New Caledonia. She transported

troops to Suez and took part in the

invasion of Casablanca and operated

in the Mediterranean area, landing

troops at Utah Beach after the

Normandy Invasion. When the war

ended, the Cristobal transported the

wounded and war brides and children

of 17 different nationalities to the

United States. On July 1, 1951, following 102 years

of service, the Panama Railroad

Company was abolished by executive

order of President Truman. As the

result of an administrative reorganization, the railroad and the steamship

line became separate divisions of the Panama Canal Company.

The Panama Line was affected by a general decline in world shipping and

began to lose money. The 16-year-old

Panama was withdrawn in the interest

of economy and sold in 1956 to American President Lines to become

the President Hoover. The Panama

was later sold to Demetrius Chandris,

a London-based, Greek shipowner of cruise vessels, and sails under the new name of Regina Prima.

Through the years, there was

opposition by the steamship industry

to the U.S. Government's operation

of the Panama Line. However, Congress accepted the argument that the

strategic Canal needed its own supply

service that could readily be rerouted

in an emergency and kept under the

Canal company's control at all times.

In 1932, President Hoover recom- mended that the line be abolished, but

the House voted to retain it. The old controversy continued, however, and

after months of heated hearings, on December 24, 1960, President Eisenhower ordered the Canal organization

to stop carrying commercial cargoes

and non-government passengers,

effective February 10, 1961. Ten days later, the Ancon sailed out

of New York for the last time. The

Panama Line's terminus was moved

from Pier 64, North River to facilities made available by the U.S. Army

Transportation Terminal at Poland

and Dauphine streets in New Orleans.

A new and shorter run between the

Isthmus and New Orleans was inau- gurated by the Ancon, renewing old

ties that had been established before

the Gold Rush days.

In June 1961, the Ancon was retired and a year later was turned over to the

Maine Maritime Academy, where she

served as a training ship for 10 years.

In 1973, the once proud "Mighfy A, "as she was known during the war, was

dismantled, her machinery and equipment sold and her hull cut up for scrap. The service between Cristobal and

New Orleans that was begun by the

Ancon was taken up by the Cristobal,

and the rest is Canal history.

66 October 1, 1981
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The Panama Canal Review 67

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