The Sun.
London, England, 1861-09-20 00:00:00

THE FRENCH EXPEDITION TO
DARIEN.

In April last M. Bonardiol, accompanied by
several French engineers, proceeded to the Isthmus
of Darien for the purpose of surveying the route
for a ship canal between the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans. They ascended the Savaua river for
thirteen miles, and the Lara for nine, and had
arrived at the Chuquanaqua, when they were
compelled to return by the heavy rains.
They met with no opposition from the Indians,
and report very favourably of the line, the highest
elevation they crossed being 150 metres. M. Bo-
nardiol and assistants have arrived in New York
on their way back to France, and will return to
the isthmus in December to complete the survey.
The above route, from the Gulf of San Miguel
to Caledonia Harbour or Port Escoces, via the
Savana, Lara, Chuquanaqua, and Sucubti rivers,
is familiar to the public from the writings of
Dr. Edward Cullen, who discovered it in 1849.
It was imperfectly surveyed in 1854 by a British,
French, and American expedition, sent out at his
instance, to assist the engineers of the Atlantic and
Pacific Junction Company. It will be recollected
that Mr. Gisborne, the engineer-in-chief of that
company, on his return, in April, 1854, reported
that a tunnel three miles in length would be
necessary, upon which the company was imme-
diately dissolved. Five months afterwards, how-
ever, viz., in September, 1854, the Admiralty
published the survey of Caledonia Harbour
and Port Escoces, by Commander Parsons,
of her Majesty's surveying ship Scorpion,
in which a valley is plainly laid down immediately
to the west of the mountain which Mr. Gisborne
said should be tunnelled. This valley is precisely
in the position assigned to it five years be-
fore by Dr. Cullen, who offered to guide Mr.
Gisborne to it. That gentleman, however, so
totally disbelieved its existence that he never took
the trouble to search for it. After the return of
the expedition, re iyeeta, Dr. Cullen applied to
the British, French, and American government for
a renewed survey, founding his demand upon the
facts set forth in his pamphlet, entitled " The Mis-
managed Darien Expedition." At Paris he sub-
mitted his maps and plans, together with Parsons'
survey, to the Emperor, who examined them, and
referred the question to a commission of the
Corps des Ponts et Chaussees. That commission
gave the Emperor a most favourable opinion of
the practicability of the canal without a tunnel.
Owing, however, to the continual wars in Europe
and elsewhere since 1854, the matter lay in
abeyance until October, 1859, when Dr. Cullen,
on his return from Bogota, had al third audience
with the Emperor, who declared hiAecided convic-
tion of the practicability of the canal and his deter-
mination to cut it. Hence the expedition of M.
Bonardiol and assistants.

A BEGGAR BOY SHOT BY A YOUNG

WOMAN.

The sitting magistrates at the West Riding
Court, Bradford, were yesterday (Thursday) engaged
in investigating a charge of manslaughter against a
young woman named Nancy Wood, daughter of
Mr. Jacob Wood, a respectable dairy farmer living
at Bolton-fold, near Bradford. The case was of a
singular and peculiarly painful character. The
prisoner, who is described as an industrious and
well-conducted person, lived with her father and
mother, and besides assisting in household duties
worked as a dressmaker. Her age is 22 years. On
Wednesday evening last, between 5 and 6 o'clock,
she was at home with some children, when a youth
of weak intellect named John Henry Fieldhouse, a
pertinacious beggar from Bradford, entered the
' kitchen and asked for drink. Some coffee was given
to him by a little boy, the prisoner's brother, after
which the mendicant demanded bread. The pri-
soner ordered him to go away, but he did not do
so, whereupon she took down a single. barrelled
fowling-piece belonging to an elder brother, which
had been placed across a kreel used in drying oaten
cakes, and pointed the gun towards the deceased,
who had then been in the house about 10 minutes.
At that moment Mrs. Wood, the prisoner's mother,
entered the house with two cans of milk, and on
seeing her daughter holding the gun as described
she gave it a slight blow or push with one of
her hands, and it went off instantly, the con-
tents, which proved to be No. 8 shot, entering the
right side of the beggar boy's chest, over the region
of the heart. His death was instantaneous. Mr. J.
N. Terry, who saw him shortly afterwards, stated
that the heart was shot to pieces. The gun was
produced before the magistrates, and Thos. Wood,
the brother of the prisoner, stated that he used it
for shooting sparrows, and generally kept it in
the house unloaded, but on the last occasion when
he had it out of doors he took it home loaded, and
is on the bread Kreel, where it remained
until his sister got it on the evening in question.
The gun was much out of repair, and would go off
both at full cock and half cock when slightly struck
or shaken, as was shown in court. The trigger, for
want of a screw, was tied on with a piece of band.
Thomas Wood was unable to say whether he left
the gun fully cooked or half-cocked, but he knew
he left a percussion cap on it, and be stated that no
one saw him load it, nor did be tell anybody that
he had left it loaded. The prisoner was taken into
custody by William Whitaker, a West Riding
police-constable, shortly after the youth was shot,
and the body of the deceased was removed to the
Bolton Hotel, there to await a coroner's inquest,
which will be held to-day. When apprehended
the prisoner made no statement, nor did she say
auything before the magistrates, but seemed greatly
distressed. She was committed for trial at the
assizes, and bail (two sureties in £5O each) was
taken for her appearance there.