The Sun.
London, England, 1851-12-20 00:00:00

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THE ISTHMUS OF PANAMA.
SOCTEIA.MPTON, DEC. 17.—Captain Chappell, R.N.,
the Secretary of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Com-
pany, has furnished the subjoined extracts from an
official report made to that company upon the present
state of the Isthmus of Panama, and of the works on
the railway now constructing there. This communi-
cation will be found to contain information upon the
subject hitherto unknown in this country, and taken
in connexion with the certainty of the near comple-
tion of the railway, and the probability that, besides
being crossed by the Californian and west coast
traffic, the Panama route must at no distant day be
adopted as the main channel of European intercourse
with Australia, New Zealand, Polynesia, &c., any
authentic and reliable information from this quarter is
at the present moment most opportune:—
Panama, Nov. 17,1851.
" I proceeded in the little steamer Gorgona to Limon
Bay. A strong breeze was blowing at the time from
N.W., and much sea running into the bay then and
during the two days I was on Manzsniila Island. It
afforded me, however, a favourable opportunity of
judging of the general eligibility of the position ;
far more ao, in fact, than I should have had with the
wind at its usual quarter, N.E. With the breeze as
it generally blows there (except for three months in
the year) ships drawing twenty feet of water 'night
haul to the wharf, land or embark mails, passengers,
specie, and merchandise. In the other months of
November, December, and January, however, the
north wiad occasionally blows home and raises a
swell ; upon such occasions ships might make fast to
moorings, laid down for that purP"''', two cables'
length from the wharf, and land and embark anything
find everything in boats with ease, facility, and
dispatch. run out in Victor Bay,
" There is a wharf already
with from 10 feet to 1,2 feet water alongside it,
and 19 feet at the end, but it is to be carried out
into four and a half fathoms of watsr, and the space
inside filled with earth, &c., that warehouses may be
built on the site,
and as near as possible to the land-
ing place.
a A lighthouse is to be built on Manzanilla
and although fresh water has not been met with there
as yet, it is intended to dig for it, and if none be found
tanks are to be erected to receive the rain water, as
is done at Bermuda and other places.
" On toe afternoon of the 7th instant I left the
railway terminus on a sort of platform car propelled
by a locomotive, and travelled three miles to where
some trifling repair was being made, a portion of the
line traversing a swamp. At that spot we got into
hand cars, and were whirled along to Gatun at nearly
locomotive speed.
"As it was 5 pM. when we reached Gatun, we
did not go beyond it that evening, there being only
another hour's. daylight, but returned to Manzmilla
Island, where we slept.
" On the following day I went over th 3 line to a
p- left V/ mile heyoad Gatun, and nine miles from
Mar:zit:llla Island, which point in fact is the extent
to which rails have as yet been laid continuously.
" It might have suited the Panama Railroad Gaul-
ploy to have made use of that part of the read which
is finished, but I think it is better that they do not
use it as yet, for to have swarms of IY:oplo on the line
before it is quite ready would occasion great incon-
venience. The company have decid,d, therefore,
that the road shall not be used uutil it is properly ft
for travel as far as Barbadoes (six miles below Gar_
gona, and where it is now iratended to cross the
Chaves), which will probably be in April or May
next; after which, although the river will not be
bridged by that time, it is expected that two months
more will take the lice to Gorguna.
" I will now give you as faithful a description as I
can of that part of the railway which I myself ex-
amined, and state how much of the rest of the line I
believe to be made, the length of the intervening
spaces or breaks which must be finished before the
severed portions can be united into one continuous
line of railway, the physical features of the country
across which the unfinished road is to pass, the time
when it will be probably opened, and the opinion ge-
rally entertained of it in the neighbouring countries.
"The northern or Atlantic terminus of the Panama
Railroad rests on M::zanilla Hand, of about 800 acres
area, on the eastern side of Limon or Navy Bay.
"On the north-western extremity (nearly) of the
island is a small cove named Victor Bay,' which
has ben judiciously chosen for one of the termini of
the railway, and on the north-western confine of
which a wharf, as already observed, has ken con-
structea, near which, but a little in rear of it, the
line of railway runs.

" The formation of Manzanilla Island is coralia-
ceous, with sand and shell intermixed ; the lead is
low, and thickly wooded with large timber tress, a
portion of which have been cleared upon a space
twice as large as is need: nary for the immediate re-
quirements of the railway.
" The eastern boundary of the island rests on M in-
zanilla Bay, where there is good shelter at all times
for vessels of 400 tons burden and less. There are
many smaller islands in the IDAy, but I did not visit
them, as the sea was too heavy to admit of my doing
so, and the narrow strait which divides the island of
Manzanilla from the main could not be passed in a
boat, owing to its being crossed by the line cf rail-
way, the piles of which are only about three feet from
each other ; they are of a yellow pine, and driven in
from eight to ten feet water.
" The distance by railway from the northern
terminus to Gatun is 7f miles, of which two-thirds
are piled and the rest graded,' and the sleepers, rails,
&c., laid on the solid earth. Two small mounds of
earth are cut through in the line, which furnish the
red clay for the fillings, embankments, &c., 1 miles
of which are completed, and 3i yet to be done. I
saw the dirt carts, locomotives, &c , at work filling
in, and as the soil is near the spot where they want it
they get on fast.
" Wherever the sleepers have been laid upon the
solid earth the railroad is firm and unyielding; it is
the same where the piles are filled in, for the red clay
has settled down and consolidated so thoroughly that
the rain seems to have no effect upon it. I walked
over some parts of it, and the only inconvenience I
experienced was that caused by the clay sticking to
the soles of my boots. It should be borne in mind
that I am describing the condition of those parts of
the railway as I found them after several months'
rain ; the rain, however, to my great surprise, did
not seem to have injured the road in any shape.
" At'present there are only 500 workmen employed
on the road. As the dry season commences at the
end of next month, the force of labourers is to he
largely increased, unless the remainder of the work is
done by contract, which it is likely to be.
" Wherever it is necessary the railroad has been
effectually drained.
" On our way to Gatuu we crossed the river of
that name, and the Mendic river, eke on the cars ;
both of these streams are tributaries of the Chagres.
Although full at present, the Gatun is only 50 feet
span ; the Mendic is much smaller and in the sum-
mer dry.
"They intend to bridge the river Gatun with the
hard Bullet tree of the country and form abutments
on either side of solid masonry, for which there is
plenty of stone in the neighbourhood.
" Tne only part of the road which I noticed had
given way was a small portion, about 2f miles from
the terminus. Same of the supports had settled with
the weight of the locomotives, which rendered it ne-
cessary to lift the rails, cross ties, aad sleepers, and
restore the level of the line by fixing additional piecss
of scantling under the cross ties.
"I should here remark that the swamps I crossed
adreeed''tOt, the line—butpuddlesof
quagmires—there is nothing of the sort, in-
. water,. which accu-
mulate in the rainy season, but in the dry season
evaporate and leave firm ground.
" The rail
way in such places is constructed after a
process which tliii that of
the term
It was
structure being
a crib. was on one of
of
these cribbed portions
nthe line that the supports bad
sunk, owing to the brushwoodbrokenk under the lower
blocks of timber of the eibw
having become com-
pressed by the weight of the locomotives until it rested
firmly on the ground beneath, and
with a consistency
enabling it to resist further pressure. The engineers
say they are not apprehensive that any more of their
work will settle.
" I have stated that I travelled on the railway
mile and a half beyond Getup, the extent yet railed ina
unbroken connexion with the Atlantic terminus.
That portion is piled, and the filling in
parts will be
from 10 to 12 feet deep. What lam now about to
report, however, rests on the statements of the engi-
neers.
"From the extreme point visited by me to Aherca
Lagarto is a distance of 4f miles, of which 1 trine is
Piled and one mile graded, leaving two miles yet to be
dealt with, and which consists chiefly, but not entirely,
0,.
Swamp. Half a mile of the piling in this tract has
been filled in.
"From Aherca L sgarto to Bujio de Soldado are
three miles of good ground, 2f miles of which are
graded and the rails laid, leaving only half a mile to
finish.
" From Bujio de Soldado to Frijole Grand. four
miles intervene, of which 2i miles are graded, but
rails for about one mile only. No filling is requisite
thereabouts.
" From Frijol, Grande to Barrebaco.as, where it is
note intended to bridge the Chagres, iles, half
a mile of which is graded, but reg.ils9a'rels 2i
m
laid.no
ground thereabouts is firm and good.
The
gdoonee,s
nceotnsriesqtsuiorfe ;ixilmiles
of firm, hard ground?
"From I3lrh
_lcoas twohGicohr
being all that is Receliissarnyg.—
light cutting and filling
" Of the last six miles, 300 feet are included in the
span of the iron bridge to he thrown across the
Chagres ; that bridge is to have two arches resting on
a atone pier on an island in the river.
"Until the bridge is built the river will be ferried
by beats,
n\ 4' By reference to what I have
_stated, it will be